Formal Initiation

"This is Wu Changlu, the legitimate son of Wu Yueming, an elder of Wu Family Fortress. They say he had some talent for martial arts. He entered the Third Rank at sixteen and was only eighteen this year, yet there were already rumors outside that he might step into the Fourth Rank next year. It seemed Wu Yueming thought highly of him." In the inner courtyard's council hall, Yuchi Xiao's expression shifted slightly when he watched Xia Daoming open the leather sack and reveal a young face.

Xia Daoming's expression also changed slightly at those words, but he quickly returned to normal. He then looked to Liang Jingtang and asked, "Hall Master, do you think this Pledge of Allegiance will do?"

"Since he was a collateral descendant of Wu Family Fortress and carried no small amount of weight, this Pledge of Allegiance is quite good." Liang Jingtang nodded, a faint smile appearing on his imposing face.

Wu Family Fortress lay outside the eastern gate of Li City and was a force beyond the city that could not be underestimated. Its fortress lord, Wu Yueli, was also a Sixth-Rank Martial Master.

Hidden Dragon Hall and Wu Family Fortress had long held grudges against each other, though not yet to the point of erupting into a fight to the death.

The Pledge of Allegiance Liang Jingtang had demanded was for Xia Daoming to kill a collateral descendant of Wu Family Fortress at the Third-Rank Martial Master level.

If he killed a direct descendant of the fortress lord and word somehow leaked out, the situation could easily spiral out of control.

But if he killed a collateral descendant, then even if word leaked out, it would not provoke a major conflict.

Moreover, killing a collateral descendant could somewhat weaken Wu Family Fortress, ease the hatred in their hearts, test Xia Daoming's courage and resolve, and ensure his loyalty.

After all, Xia Daoming was merely a Fourth-Rank Martial Master. Without Hidden Dragon Hall as his backing, if news of this ever leaked out, Wu Family Fortress would surely hunt him down and destroy him. He would have no choice but to remain loyal to Hidden Dragon Hall.

"These are three thousand taels of silver. Please accept them, Master!" Seeing Liang Jingtang nod, Xia Daoming immediately knelt and presented three thousand taels' worth of silver notes.

"Good!" Liang Jingtang accepted the notes, then turned to Yuchi Xiao. "You are the Senior Disciple Brother. Find a time to gather your junior brothers and sisters so everyone can get acquainted with Daoming. You can look after one another in the future.

"I am getting on in years, so I will not join in the fun and make you all uncomfortable. Take this head away and deal with it as well."

"Yes, Master." Yuchi Xiao gave a slight bow in response. He picked up the leather sack from the table, tied the head securely inside, nodded to Xia Daoming, and turned to leave.

After Yuchi Xiao left, Liang Jingtang pointed at a sandalwood chair beside him. "Sit."

"Yes!" Xia Daoming answered and took his seat.

"Generally speaking, once one reaches the Fourth Rank in martial cultivation, one must temper oneself at the Fourth-Rank realm while striving to make one's qi, blood, and force mighty and surging, and one's meridians tough and resilient. At the same time, one takes a dose of a secret medicine every month, preparing to comprehend the secret diagram and cultivate enough Hidden Strength to strike through the fifth meridian barrier.

"This process generally takes one or two years before one can study the secret diagram. You should have done the same, but you will turn twenty-five at the New Year. If you delay any longer, then even if you are fortunate enough to comprehend the secret diagram, you may not have enough time to cultivate sufficient Hidden Strength to break through the barrier before turning thirty.

"Given your aptitude, you will likely need to study the secret diagram six times, perhaps even more, before you can comprehend Hidden Strength. That alone will take at least three years.

"And ordinarily, after comprehending the secret diagram and cultivating Hidden Strength, one must accumulate another two or three years' worth of it before one can attempt to strike through the fifth meridian barrier. You truly cannot afford any further delay.

"Fortunately, your qi, blood, and force appear rather mighty and surging. You must have put in no small amount of hard work over the past two years and consumed many supplements that strengthened your qi and blood. Today, I will make an exception and let you study the secret diagram.

"As for the secret medicine, after studying the secret diagram, you may take a dose every half month. Hopefully, that can make up for the two years you missed.

"But you must prepare yourself mentally. Once a person passes twenty-five, their qi and blood generally reach their peak. If you cannot comprehend the secret diagram and cultivate Hidden Strength before then, even consuming great quantities of tonics will only let you maintain your peak state, and that would already be fortunate.

"So, if you truly need to study the secret diagram six times or more before comprehending it, then your chances of breaking through the fifth meridian barrier and becoming a Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master are actually very slim." After Xia Daoming sat down, Liang Jingtang spoke earnestly and at length.

Only then did Xia Daoming truly understand that Liang Jingtang had ultimately accepted him a few days ago because of the old bond of fellow discipleship between him and Qiu Zhiheng.

At the same time, Xia Daoming had some doubts. After weighing his words, he asked, "Wasn't it said that only Fifth-Rank Martial Masters can cultivate Hidden Strength? From what you mean, a Fourth-Rank Martial Master can cultivate Hidden Strength as well."

"To be precise, once one comprehends the secret diagram, one can cultivate Hidden Strength. But only after Hidden Strength has accumulated to a certain degree can one break through the fifth meridian.

"Hidden Strength is force of a higher quality. If one fails to break through the fifth meridian and reach the Great Martial Master realm before turning thirty, not only will one be unable to cultivate more Hidden Strength, but the Hidden Strength one has will gradually dissipate instead.

"That is why I said that if you cannot accumulate sufficient Hidden Strength before thirty, you may as well stop dreaming of the Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master realm for the rest of your life.

"Precisely because of this, Fourth-Rank Martial Masters who have hope of reaching the Great Martial Master realm are ordinarily unwilling to expend the Hidden Strength they have painstakingly accumulated unless fighting for their lives. And after thirty, the Hidden Strength of Fourth-Rank Martial Masters who have lost that hope will quickly dissipate.

"So under normal circumstances, Fourth-Rank Martial Masters rarely use Hidden Strength. Only Great Martial Masters use it. Over time, many people came to regard Hidden Strength as force unique to Great Martial Masters, but that is not the case." Liang Jingtang explained in detail.

"Then doesn't that mean Wu Changlu was vastly different from the outside rumors? Not only was he already a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, he was also a genius descendant of Wu Family Fortress who had comprehended the secret diagram.

"It seemed Wu Family Fortress would certainly investigate this matter. Luckily, I chose a good place and concealed my face, or I might truly have brought great trouble upon myself." After hearing Liang Jingtang's explanation, Xia Daoming was secretly shocked and relieved.

Still feeling shocked and relieved, Xia Daoming continued to ask on the surface, "Master, without Hidden Strength, is it impossible to break through the fifth meridian?"

"In theory, it is possible. But who could cultivate Manifest Strength to such a formidable degree? Besides, meridians cannot be seen with the naked eye; one can only perceive them through imagined sensation. The more meridians one cultivates, the more complex the circulation of qi, blood, and force through them becomes. There can be no room for the slightest error.

"One moment of carelessness, and force will run wild, qi and blood will assault the heart, and the meridians will rupture, leading to death. Under such circumstances, one must comprehend the secret diagram, understand the arrangement of the meridians, and cultivate Hidden Strength.

"Hidden Strength is far more condensed and pure than Manifest Strength, making it more precise and nimble to control." Liang Jingtang explained.

Liang Jingtang's explanation left Xia Daoming with a wave of lingering fear.

His force was far stronger than that of an ordinary Fourth-Rank Martial Master, and he had not been without thoughts of directly breaking through the fifth meridian. It was only because he lacked the subsequent cultivation method and knew that the Fourth and Fifth Ranks were separated by a great threshold that he had not acted rashly.

Now, it seemed fortunate that he had not acted rashly. Otherwise, he might have exploded and died on the spot.

Liang Jingtang then taught him the formulas of the subsequent cultivation method, some tips for studying the secret diagram, and roughly outlined the pathways, nodes, rhythms, and other essentials of the meridians, qi, blood, and force at the Great Martial Master realm.

However, the latter could never allow one to comprehend the Great Martial Master realm's cultivation method through words alone. But with someone's guidance beforehand, once one sensed the spiritual essence within the secret diagram, one would have foreknowledge and could consciously verify it, deepen one's understanding, and avoid detours.

Liang Jingtang was a veteran Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master, rich in both martial cultivation experience and experience in teaching the Dao.

Xia Daoming, on the other hand, had leaped from a Subordinate Second Rank Martial Master to a Fourth-Rank Martial Master. Though his strength was exceptionally powerful, his understanding of the path of martial cultivation remained severely lacking.

Now that Liang Jingtang was teaching and explaining everything with such care, many points Xia Daoming had not understood about cultivating the Dragon Serpent Art suddenly became clear. His understanding of the true meaning of the Dragon Serpent Art deepened to another level.

Hearing your words is better than reading books for ten years! Xia Daoming secretly sighed in admiration. He already had a favorable impression of Liang Jingtang, and now he felt an added measure of respect for him.

Before long, the sun sank behind the western hills.

Liang Jingtang first led Xia Daoming into a secret chamber and had him wait inside.

Soon, Liang Jingtang returned, carrying a jade box in his hand.

Today's update is complete. Thanks to readers Xizi Hua, 20211216094838620, Autumn Divine Light, RPG Defense, and others for their rewards.