Formal Entry

"This is Wu Changlu, the legitimate son of Wu Yueming, an elder of the Wu Family Fortress. It's said he has some talent in martial arts. He reached Third-Rank at sixteen and is only eighteen now, but there are already rumors outside that he's expected to reach Fourth-Rank next year. He seems to be favored by Wu Yueming," said Yuchi Xiao, his expression shifting slightly as Xia Daoming opened the leather pouch, revealing a young face, in the inner courtyard's discussion hall.

Xia Daoming's expression flickered upon hearing this, but he quickly regained his composure and looked at Liang Jingtang, asking, "Hall Master, do you think this token of allegiance is acceptable?"

"Since he's a collateral descendant of the Wu Family Fortress and holds some significance, this token of allegiance is good," Liang Jingtang nodded, a slight smile appearing on his stern face.

The Wu Family Fortress is located outside the east gate of Li City and is a force that cannot be underestimated. The fortress master, Wu Yueli, is also a Sixth-Rank Martial Master.

The Hidden Dragon Hall and the Wu Family Fortress have a long-standing feud, but the two sides have not yet reached the point of engaging in a life-or-death struggle.

The token of allegiance that Liang Jingtang required was for Xia Daoming to kill a collateral descendant of the Wu Family Fortress at the Third-Rank Martial Master level.

If they were to kill a legitimate descendant of the fortress master and the news leaked, the situation could easily spiral out of control.

However, killing a collateral descendant, even if the news leaked, would not lead to a major conflict.

Furthermore, killing a collateral descendant would slightly weaken the Wu Family Fortress's strength, somewhat appeasing their anger, and it would also test Xia Daoming's courage, resolve, and guarantee his loyalty.

Since Xia Daoming was merely a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, without the backing of the Hidden Dragon Hall, if this news were to leak, he would inevitably be hunted down and killed by the Wu Family Fortress, leaving him no choice but to be loyal to the Hidden Dragon Hall.

"Here is three thousand taels of silver. Please accept it, Master!" Seeing Liang Jingtang nod, Xia Daoming immediately knelt and presented the three thousand taels in banknotes.

"Good!" Liang Jingtang accepted the banknotes and then turned to Yuchi Xiao, saying, "You are the senior disciple. Find a time to gather the junior disciples and let everyone get acquainted with Daoming, so they can look out for each other in the future.

At my age, I won't join the fun, lest you feel uncomfortable. Also, take this head and handle it."

"Yes, Master," Yuchi Xiao bowed slightly in response, picked up the leather pouch on the table to tie up the head, nodded at Xia Daoming, and turned to leave.

After Yuchi Xiao left, Liang Jingtang pointed to a sandalwood chair beside him and said, "Sit down."

"Yes!" Xia Daoming responded and sat down.

"Generally speaking, after reaching Fourth-Rank in martial arts cultivation, one must temper and strengthen themselves at the Fourth-Rank realm, striving to make their qi and blood potent and vigorous, and their meridians tough. Every month, they should take a dose of a unique secret medicine to prepare for comprehending the secret diagram and cultivating enough Hidden Strength to break through the fifth meridian bottleneck.

This process typically takes one to two years before one can observe the secret diagram. You should have done the same, but you will be twenty-five by next year. If you delay further, even if you happen to comprehend the secret diagram, you won't have enough time to cultivate sufficient Hidden Strength to break through the bottleneck before the age of thirty.

Given your aptitude, you might need to observe the secret diagram six times or even more to comprehend Hidden Strength, which would take at least three years.

Under normal circumstances, after comprehending the secret diagram and cultivating Hidden Strength, it still takes two to three years of accumulating Hidden Strength to potentially break through the fifth meridian bottleneck, so your time cannot afford any more delays.

Fortunately, I see that your qi and blood are quite vigorous. You must have put in a lot of effort and consumed many supplements to strengthen your qi and blood over the past two years. Today, I will make an exception and allow you to observe the secret diagram.

As for the secret medicine, you can take a dose every half month after observing the secret diagram. Hopefully, this will make up for the two years you've missed.

However, you must be mentally prepared. 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 with a large intake of tonics, maintaining peak condition would be considered good.

Therefore, if you truly need to observe it six or more times to comprehend the secret diagram, your chances of breaking through the fifth meridian bottleneck and becoming a Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master are very slim," Liang Jingtang said earnestly after Xia Daoming sat down.

Only then did Xia Daoming truly understand that Liang Jingtang had accepted him in the end because of his past camaraderie with Qiu Zhiheng.

At the same time, Xia Daoming felt a bit puzzled and, after some deliberation, asked, "Didn't they say only Fifth-Rank Martial Masters can cultivate Hidden Strength? From what Master is saying, Fourth-Rank Martial Masters can also cultivate Hidden Strength."

"To be precise, one can cultivate Hidden Strength after comprehending the secret diagram. But only when Hidden Strength accumulates to a certain level can one break through the fifth meridian.

Hidden Strength is a higher quality of strength. If one cannot break through the fifth meridian before the age of thirty and reach the Great Martial Master realm, not only will they be unable to cultivate more Hidden Strength, but the Hidden Strength will also slowly dissipate.

That's why I said that if you cannot accumulate enough Hidden Strength before the age of thirty, you can basically forget about reaching the Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master realm in this lifetime.

Because of this, Fourth-Rank Martial Masters who have the potential to reach the Great Martial Master realm are reluctant to expend their hard-earned Hidden Strength in normal circumstances, unless it's a life-or-death struggle. After the age of thirty, for Fourth-Rank Martial Masters who have lost hope, their Hidden Strength will quickly dissipate.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, Fourth-Rank Martial Masters rarely use Hidden Strength; only Great Martial Masters do. Over time, many people have come to regard Hidden Strength as a strength exclusive to Great Martial Masters, but this is not the case," Liang Jingtang explained in detail.

"If that's the case, isn't Wu Changlu very different from the rumors? Not only is he already a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, but he's also a genius descendant of the Wu Family Fortress who has comprehended the secret diagram.

It seems the Wu Family Fortress will definitely investigate this matter. Fortunately, I chose a good location and concealed my face, otherwise, I might have gotten into serious trouble." Xia Daoming was secretly alarmed and relieved after hearing Liang Jingtang's explanation.

While inwardly surprised and relieved, Xia Daoming continued to ask for guidance, "Master, without Hidden Strength, is it impossible to break through the fifth meridian?"

"Theoretically, it is possible, but who can cultivate Manifest Strength to such a powerful degree? Moreover, the meridians are invisible; one can only feel them through imagination. The more meridians one cultivates, the more complex the circulation of qi and blood within the meridians becomes, allowing for no room for error.

With even the slightest carelessness, it can lead to chaotic energy flow, qi and blood rushing to the heart, and ruptured meridians, resulting in death. In such a situation, one must comprehend the secret diagram, understand the meridian pathways, and cultivate Hidden Strength.

Hidden Strength is far more condensed and pure than Manifest Strength, and it is controlled with greater precision and dexterity," Liang Jingtang explained.

Liang Jingtang's explanation made Xia Daoming feel a chill of fear.

His strength was far greater than that of a Fourth-Rank Martial Master, and he had indeed considered directly breaking through the fifth meridian. However, due to the lack of follow-up cultivation techniques and knowing that the leap from Fourth-Rank to Fifth-Rank Martial Master was a significant threshold, he had not acted rashly.

Now, it seemed fortunate that he hadn't acted rashly, or he might have exploded and died.

Next, Liang Jingtang imparted the subsequent cultivation techniques and methods, as well as some tips for observing the secret diagram. He also roughly outlined the pathways, nodes, and rhythms of qi and blood circulation for the Great Martial Master realm.

However, the latter could not be fully grasped through words alone. But with prior guidance, once one sensed the divine essence within the secret diagram, they would have foresight and could consciously verify it, deepen their understanding, and avoid detours.

Liang Jingtang was a veteran Sixth-Rank Great Martial Master with rich experience in martial arts cultivation and teaching.

Xia Daoming, on the other hand, had skipped from Second-Rank Martial Master to Fourth-Rank Martial Master. Although his strength was formidable, his understanding of martial arts cultivation was still lacking.

Now, with Liang Jingtang's meticulous instruction and explanation, many of his doubts regarding the cultivation of the Dragon Serpent Art were cleared up, and his understanding of the true meaning of the Dragon Serpent Art deepened.

"Truly, listening to your words is better than reading ten years of books!" Xia Daoming lamented inwardly, feeling even more respect for Liang Jingtang, whom he already held in high regard.

Soon, the sun began to set.

Liang Jingtang first led Xia Daoming into a secret chamber and asked him to wait there.

Shortly after, Liang Jingtang returned, holding a jade box in his hand.

Today's update is complete. Thank you to Xi Zi Hua, 20211216094838620, Qiu Zhi Shen Guang, RPG Fang Shou, and other book friends for their rewards.