Hearts Change Easily

"Th-this is such a coincidence?"

Chen Xun stared at the painting before him in surprise, joy nearly spilling from his eyes.

"I actually found the Acupoint-Finding Secret Art so easily."

For a moment, Chen Xun felt as though he were dreaming.

Then he slapped his cheeks, forcing himself to calm down.

"Since I've found it, I need to adjust my original strategy."

Chen Xun leaped upward, rising more than a meter into the air before taking down the painting hanging on the wall.

With a thought, a book appeared in Chen Xun's hand.

The empty equipment slot was quickly occupied by a new item—the painting itself.

A flood of information poured into Chen Xun's mind.

It took Chen Xun quite a while to digest it all.

"Not bad. It really is the Acupoint-Finding Secret Art."

Chen Xun grinned.

The [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art] was divided into the Mountain Lord Breathing Method and the Mountain Lord Visualization.

The Mountain Lord was naturally the tiger, king of all beasts.

The core principle of the Mountain Lord Breathing Method was to turn one's body into a forest, with Blood Qi becoming the Mountain Lord that constantly patrolled its territory.

The moment it discovered anything unusual, it could immediately sense it.

Clearly, this was an exceptionally powerful breathing method.

Not only could it be used to find the Blood Pool Acupoint, it could also inspect the body for hidden injuries and toxins.

The Mountain Lord Visualization, meanwhile, involved sketching an image of a fierce tiger descending the mountain within one's mind.

Once cultivated to a profound realm, it could cause one's entire body to emit the terrifying aura of a tiger, intimidating enemies.

It could further enhance the Mountain Lord Breathing Method, making one even more sensitive to abnormalities within the body.

Basically, as long as one cultivated the [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art] to the proficient realm, one could find the hidden Blood Pool Acupoint within the human body.

If it reached minor success, major success, or even perfection, one could naturally find even more hidden Blood Pool Acupoints.

Of course, this secret art was extremely difficult to cultivate.

Let alone perfection—even major success was difficult to attain without sufficient talent.

After obtaining the [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art], Chen Xun hurriedly took the painting from his inventory.

Then he hung it back up, making it appear exactly as it had before.

Without the enhancement of that item, the experience that had previously been incomparably clear in Chen Xun's mind suddenly became much hazier.

If he truly began cultivating it himself, his progress probably would not be very fast.

Of course, compared to a newcomer who had just encountered the [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art], he would still be much faster.

Chen Xun then stood where he was and waited quietly.

As he waited, Chen Xun secretly cultivated the [Mountain Lord Acupoint-Finding Secret Art].

He familiarized himself with the breathing method and visualized the image of a tiger descending the mountain.

Finally, with a creak, the door opened, and the person Chen Xun had been waiting for arrived.

"I heard you've cultivated the Iron Garment Art?"

The Li Family's Seventh Young Master looked at Chen Xun with interest.

"Yes, Seventh Young Master."

This had been the information Chen Xun registered in the first place, and it was also meant to demonstrate that he had the confidence to serve as a human punching bag.

"What realm?"

"I'm close to minor success, Seventh Young Master."

"Ho, not bad. Looks like your physique is quite suited to cultivating the Iron Garment Art!"

For hard techniques like [Iron Cloth Shirt] and [Iron Garment Art], lacking sufficient bodily compatibility would lead to slow progress in the early stages and stagnation in the later stages.

"Looks like I can have a satisfying fight today."

The Seventh Young Master laughed excitedly.

Chen Xun's mouth twitched. He could not be happy about it.

Very soon, the Chen Xun version of a human punching bag went into service.

He was not required to simply let the Seventh Young Master attack him. He could defend himself, but he could not counterattack.

Thus, the Seventh Young Master swung palm after palm at Chen Xun, while Chen Xun continuously defended with both arms.

As for the results, they left much to be desired.

The Seventh Young Master's palm technique was exceedingly tricky and swift, often slipping through the gaps in Chen Xun's defense to strike his chest, back, and even his face.

For the entire morning, Chen Xun did nothing but take a beating.

"Seventh Young Master, I can't go on."

Chen Xun sprawled on the ground, bruises covering his body. The skin on his surface shifted from blue to red and back again, looking exceedingly strange.

He had not activated the [Iron Skin] trait. That would have been far too conspicuous.

"All right. Someone, take him away for treatment."

The Seventh Young Master said regretfully.

Before Chen Xun was carried away, the Seventh Young Master did not forget to tell him, "You're a fine training target. After one morning, I feel that my Dark Nether Palm has improved quite a bit."

"How about this? Come over for the next few days and accompany me in training."

"I won't treat you unfairly. I'll give you five taels of silver a day."

Chen Xun's eyes immediately lit up. He hurriedly struggled to his feet and cupped his hands toward the Seventh Young Master. "Thank you for your generous favor, Seventh Young Master."

"Good."

The Seventh Young Master was very satisfied with Chen Xun's attitude.

"Tell the physicians in the residence to use good medicine and have his injuries healed as quickly as possible."

"Yes, Seventh Young Master."

The servant carrying Chen Xun promptly replied respectfully.

Then the servant carried Chen Xun toward the Inner Court Medical Hall.

The others were not surprised by the sight. They merely sighed, "There are actually people bold enough to become the Seventh Young Master's human punching bag."

"Heh, can't be helped. The Seventh Young Master gives generous rewards. For money, what wouldn't these mud-legged peasants dare to do?"

"True enough."

The Li Family disciples discussed it loudly without the slightest concern for Chen Xun's presence.

Chen Xun's expression was as still as an ancient well, and he paid no attention to their voices.

Suddenly, a familiar voice entered Chen Xun's ears.

"Twelfth Young Master, this man's name is Chen Xun. I knew him from the outer court."

Following the voice, Chen Xun looked over and saw Sun An stooping beside a young man, waiting attentively.

This formed a stark contrast with the way Sun An had puffed out his chest before Chen Xun, looking full of confidence.

"Is that so? This fellow looks pretty tough. I heard Seventh Brother beat him for an entire morning before he finally couldn't endure it."

"Perfect. Since you know each other, should I give him my other attendant slot and have him serve as my meat shield?"

"Twelfth Young Master, you mustn't. Listen to this lowly one—this man's temperament is violent, his mouth is filthy, and he once publicly cursed at his companion in the dining hall. His wild nature is hard to tame. If you recruit him, it would truly be more trouble than it is worth."

"Is that so? Then forget it."

Afterward, the Twelfth Young Master left with Sun An.

Before leaving, Sun An subconsciously glanced toward Chen Xun and immediately met Chen Xun's deep, shadowed gaze.

As if shocked by electricity, Sun An hurriedly looked away the instant their gazes met.

Chen Xun no longer looked in that direction and slowly closed his eyes.

"Heh heh."

Chen Xun laughed. He could not even say why he had laughed.

Perhaps he simply found it laughable.

For the sake of an attendant's position he himself disdained, a former friend had actually slandered his reputation so viciously.

When they were in the dining hall, he had clearly been speaking up for Sun An.

At the Inner Court Medical Hall, a middle-aged physician treated Chen Xun.

He took Chen Xun's pulse, then fetched silver needles and used acupuncture to treat his injuries.

In less than half an hour, the bruises on Chen Xun's body had faded considerably.

The condition of turning blue and red, cold and hot, also vanished.

After drinking the freshly decocted medicinal soup, the physician told Chen Xun that he only needed to sleep, and by the next day he would be as lively as a dragon and as vigorous as a tiger.

And just as the physician had said, Chen Xun had returned to normal by the next day.

Thus, Chen Xun could only continue to the inner court's martial arts ground and keep serving as the Seventh Young Master's human punching bag.

From the moment the other party made the offer, Chen Xun had no possibility of refusing.

The only consolation was that the other party truly paid generously.

And so, Chen Xun served as a human punching bag for seven straight days.

Besides the thirty-five taels of silver in payment, Chen Xun also gained an unexpected harvest.