Fellow Disciples

"I told you to take it, so take it! Starting today, you must take some nourishing meat or pills to strengthen your Blood Essence every day and cultivate diligently. Strive to become a Fourth-Rank Martial Master as soon as possible, or face family punishment!" Xia Daoming said sternly, leaving no room for doubt.

"This servant obeys!" Liu Qiaolian replied solemnly, then stood up without another word.

"You may go then. I'm going to cultivate," Xia Daoming said.

"Yes, Master." Liu Qiaolian curtsied and replied, then left with light steps.

Watching Liu Qiaolian's graceful back disappear at the doorway, Xia Daoming shook his head helplessly.

Outside the door, Liu Qiaolian, now out of Xia Daoming's sight, quickly walked into her room, closed the door, and suddenly covered her face, weeping.

After a long while, she took out the brocade box containing the Silver Deer Pill. After looking at it for a while, she suddenly pressed it to her chest and smiled through her tears.

Xia Daoming naturally knew nothing of Liu Qiaolian's private weeping and tearful smile. After she left, he returned to his training room, sat cross-legged, and mentally replayed the anomalies he had seen while observing the secret diagram.

The snake's body writhed, its skin shedding inch by inch.

Limbs sprouted from beneath its belly.

A fleshy lump protruded from its forehead.

The snake's aura changed, becoming more ancient, profound, and powerful.

It was like Manifest Strength undergoing tempering and refinement, continuously condensing into a purer form, transforming into the more powerful Hidden Strength.

A Flood Dragon was born, perhaps lurking in the abyss, perhaps swimming in the lakes, or perhaps traveling up rivers, about to enter the sea...

Xia Daoming "saw" more meridians and acupoints beyond the original four.

They coiled and wound within his body like snakes and dragons, seemingly complex and intertwined, yet possessing their own inherent laws and patterns.

Xia Daoming suppressed the urge to forcefully break through the bottleneck of the fifth meridian with his powerful strength. He used the method for refining Hidden Strength taught by Liang Jingtang, combined with the artistic conception observed and understood from the secret diagram, to circulate his Blood Essence and strength rhythmically within the four meridians.

Hidden Strength, from a certain perspective, was a more condensed and refined form of vital force.

Xia Daoming's meridians had undergone nine levels of expansion and strengthening at each rank of Martial Master.

Stronger meridians could not only accommodate more vital energy but also made the vital energy within them more condensed.

The secret medicine mentioned by Liang Jingtang served no other purpose than to condense qi.

However, the effect of the secret medicine was far inferior to Xia Daoming's system.

To some extent, Xia Daoming's Manifest Strength was already a semi-finished Hidden Strength. He had simply been unaware of the secrets of Hidden Strength, which had caused him to remain at the semi-finished stage.

Now that he had received the techniques for cultivating Hidden Strength and glimpsed its artistic conception within the secret diagram, converting his internal 劲力 into Hidden Strength would naturally be much easier for him than for others.

Filaments of impurities seeped out from his skin.

The Blood Essence and Jingli within his meridians became purer and more powerful, and it was easier to restrain them, making them more hidden.

Feeling the subtle changes within his body, Xia Daoming became immersed in it.

From the beginning of Xu Shi (7 PM - 9 PM) to the beginning of Yin Shi (1 AM - 3 AM), Xia Daoming cultivated Hidden Strength in meditation for a full four hours, only stopping with a sense of helplessness when both his meridians and head felt as if they were being torn apart.

Under normal circumstances, even martial arts prodigies could only endure the initial cultivation of Hidden Strength for about half an hour before their meridians gave out.

Under the moonlight, Xia Daoming stripped off his clothes and poured several buckets of well water over himself to wash away the filth. He then returned to his bedroom and fell asleep.

The next day, he woke up.

Xia Daoming felt a dull ache in his meridians and head, but he also felt much lighter and filled with an indescribable sense of power.

"Hidden Strength really is different. I only cultivated for most of the night, yet I feel like my strength has improved significantly," Xia Daoming said with great surprise.

After breakfast.

Xia Daoming gave a few brief instructions and then headed to the Hidden Dragon Martial Arts School.

Becoming Liang Jingtang's personal disciple not only granted him the privilege of observing the Mysterious Divine Rhyme Diagram and learning the techniques for Hidden Strength but also allowed him to study more profound martial arts.

One was a set of fist and foot techniques, the Dragon Snake Nine Transformations.

Another was a movement technique, the Soaring Dragon Nine Steps.

The last was a spear technique, the Dragon Snake Nine Spears.

Previously, what Xia Daoming had learned in Black Stone City were merely some derived fist and foot techniques from these three martial arts, focusing on form and stance.

The Dragon Snake Transformations were the most mysterious and unpredictable.

Therefore, the three martial arts taught by Liang Jingtang emphasized intent over form.

Although the fist and foot techniques were called Nine Transformations, the movement technique Nine Steps, and the spear technique Nine Spears, they were in reality infinitely variable and difficult to quantify. The key lay in comprehension.

Xia Daoming had already glimpsed the entire transformation process of the snake turning into a Flood Dragon from the secret diagram. With Liang Jingtang personally teaching him the martial arts, his comprehension was very rapid.

This greatly surprised and somewhat saddened Liang Jingtang.

With such comprehension, if he were also at the Great Martial Master realm, his combat power would undoubtedly be astonishing.

However, in Liang Jingtang's view, Xia Daoming had a very slim chance of becoming a Great Martial Master. Even with his strong comprehension, the power he could unleash was limited.

Several days later.

Outside the East City.

Wu Family Fortress.

Inside a large courtyard, three coffins were placed.

Each coffin held a corpse, and one of them was a headless corpse.

Two men stood beside the coffin of the headless corpse.

One man, nearing seventy, had short, bowed legs but arms that reached his knees and very large palms.

The other man, nearing sixty, was tall and thin, with a large frame and exceptionally long arms.

These two men were the Wu Family Fortress elder Wu Yueming, Wu Changlu's father, who had the bowed legs, and the fortress lord Wu Yueli, the other man.

However, it was strange.

Wu Yueming looked at the headless young son in the coffin, his expression showing little grief, even appearing somewhat indifferent.

Wu Yueli, on the other hand, was clearly filled with grief and anger, veins bulging on his forehead.

"How dare they kill a disciple of our Wu Family Fortress! This matter must be thoroughly investigated!" Wu Yueli said, his eyes flashing with ferocity.

Soon, eight Wu Yun Guards of the Wu Family Fortress, clad in black cloaks, rode out of the castle gates like a whirlwind.

—

Flowing Cloud Workshop, Drunken Cloud Tower.

As Xia Daoming and Yuchi Xiao dismounted from their carriage, they saw a middle-aged man in brocade clothing, with a large belly, a round face, and a fair, beardless complexion, greet them with a smile.

"Senior Brother Yuchi, what an honor to have you grace us with your presence! Please forgive my poor welcome!"

"Go on, why bother with such pleasantries between fellow disciples?" Yuchi Xiao waved his hand with a smile and then pointed to Xia Daoming beside him. "This is the new disciple my master has taken, Xia Daoming."

"So you are Junior Brother Xia. You truly are a talented young man, a person of distinguished appearance," the middle-aged man said, turning to Xia Daoming with a face full of smiles and praise.

Xia Daoming couldn't help but be stunned.

With his looks, what did he have to do with being a person of distinguished appearance?

"Daoming, this is Jiao Yongbao, the owner of Drunken Cloud Tower. He was once my master's most formidable disciple, but he later encountered some circumstances and turned to business. Don't let his prosperous appearance fool you; he's a Fourth-Rank Martial Master. In terms of combat skill, you are definitely no match for him now," Yuchi Xiao said.

"Senior Brother Yuchi, you flatter me too much. With this layer of fat and my age, my martial arts are long past their prime. Unlike Junior Brother Xia, who is young and strong with abundant Blood Essence!" Jiao Yongbao said with a smile, waving his hands. A fleeting look of melancholy passed through his eyes.

"Senior Brother Jiao is too modest!" Xia Daoming said with a slight smile.

"Are Xingji and the others here?" Yuchi Xiao asked.

"Heh heh, when Senior Brother summons us, and especially to introduce a new junior brother, how could they not come? They've been waiting upstairs for a long time," Jiao Yongbao said with a smile, then personally led the two into the restaurant.

On the third floor, in the Cloud Gui Chamber.

Two men and one woman were already waiting.

"Daoming, this is Zhuo Xingji. He is the chief escort of the Xingyou Escort Agency. For us martial artists, cultivation consumes a lot of money, especially if you want to break through to become a Fifth-Rank Great Martial Master; the expenses will inevitably be greater in the coming years.

Sometimes you can go to the Xingyou Escort Agency to find work. It's hard work and carries some danger, but we are all fellow disciples. Xingji will certainly not treat you unfairly," Yuchi Xiao said, introducing a man who looked about thirty-four or thirty-five years old, tall and imposing, with rough facial skin, giving the impression of someone who often traveled outdoors, exposed to wind and sun.

"Haha, of course. As long as Junior Brother Xia is willing to help at my agency, I, your brother, will pay you half again the reward of an escort of the same rank," Zhuo Xingji said heartily.

"Thank you in advance, Senior Brother Zhuo," Xia Daoming said, cupping his hands.

"This is your Senior Sister Liu Xiaoqiang. As for her place, you should try to visit less in the coming years!" Yuchi Xiao quickly turned to a charming young woman and introduced her.

"Senior Brother Yuchi, what do you mean by that? Are you saying that if my own brother visits my Jade Flower Pavilion, I, your junior sister, would charge him?" Liu Xiaoqiang lightly struck Yuchi Xiao with her hand, not forgetting to roll her eyes at him.

"Ahem, I certainly didn't mean that. I'm just worried that Junior Brother Xia, being young and vigorous, with a fiery spirit, might become infatuated with women and neglect his cultivation.

Besides, men, when they go to such places, have to pay for some expenses themselves. Can I advance the money for you? Where would that leave Junior Brother Xia's dignity?" Yuchi Xiao said.

"Pah! Infatuated with women? Junior sister, I run a respectable establishment that only offers music and dance!" Liu Xiaoqiang rolled her eyes again.

"Yes, yes, Junior Sister runs a respectable establishment!" Yuchi Xiao quickly nodded.

The others watched this scene as if it were commonplace, smiling silently.

Xia Daoming, looking at the charming young woman before him, whose alluring figure was tightly wrapped in a purple shirt and skirt, with a light veil draped over her shoulders, looking less like a martial artist and more like a woman of the world, was dumbfounded.

So his senior sister ran a pleasure house!

Doesn't that mean he could get freebies from her in the future? Pah, is that the kind of person I am?

Today's update is complete. New book, please support generously.

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