Gifts from three great martial arts families

He had only ever seen that term in his family's ancient texts. It was said to be the pinnacle of martial arts, transforming the body, prolonging life, and even offering a glimpse of the legendary path to immortality.

His grandfather had trained his entire life, yet had only reached the peak of the Transformation Realm. A mere sliver separated him from Return to Truth, but he had never managed to break through.

And that Chen Hao was thirty years old...

"Grandpa, then should we..." Ye Chendong asked tentatively.

Ye Zhengying rose, walked to the window, and stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

After a long silence, he slowly asked, "Chendong, what is that alternate account you use in the livestream called?"

"Snow Blows at the East Gate."

"From now on, stop using that alternate account." Ye Zhengying turned around, his gaze deep. "Use our Ye Family's officially verified account."

Ye Chendong froze. "Grandpa, you mean..."

"Our Ye Family has passed down Wing Chun for generations and also practices internal martial arts. With a century of heritage behind us, even I have only reached the threshold of Return to Truth... The peak of the Return to the True Realm is still far beyond my reach, let alone the Xiantian Realm."

Ye Zhengying said gravely, "We must befriend someone like him. Even simply establishing goodwill would be an immense opportunity for the Ye Family."

He paused, then added, "Go take care of it immediately. Send gifts—the biggest gifts available. Let Chen Hao know that our Ye Family sincerely wishes to befriend him."

"If we befriend him, even a single word of guidance could let our Ye Family overcome its century-old bottleneck and rise to become the nation's foremost cultivation family!"

Ye Chendong perked up. "Yes, Grandpa!"

He turned and ran.

Watching his grandson leave, Ye Zhengying looked out the window again and murmured, "The Xiantian Realm... I have trained diligently for over seventy years, yet have never found the way in. How on earth did this young man do it?"

A profound longing flickered in his eyes.

Meanwhile, at the Wu Family estate in Luocheng.

The Wu Family's underground training room in Luocheng.

The thick hardwood floor was covered in fist marks and footprints. Wu Lie, head of the Wu Family, stood bare-chested, his muscles corded and bulging. He threw a punch, producing a dull boom in the air, but still failed to rein in his strength. His fist slammed into the punching bag, bursting it instantly.

"Damn it!" Wu Lie growled, frustration written all over his face.

Wu Tian, a young man standing nearby, hurried forward. "Family head, were you trying to break through to the Return to the True Realm again?"

Breathing heavily, Wu Lie took a towel and wiped away his sweat. His gaze fell on the livestream playing on a nearby phone, his eyes filled with conflicting emotions. "Trying to break through? Another hundred years of trying would do no good! In this age of declining Dharma, spiritual energy has vanished. Ordinary mortals like us will never reach even the threshold of the Xiantian Realm."

"But Mr. Chen Hao is different," Wu Tian said immediately. "He's so young, yet possesses power that reaches heaven and earth. He walks on water to slay demons and quells supernatural horrors with a wave of his hand. His cultivation is definitely far beyond Xiantian!"

Yesterday, after Wu Tian sent Chen Hao's livestream footage to the family head, the entire Wu Family had erupted.

All the elders held a meeting overnight, repeatedly verifying the footage's authenticity. In the end, they reached a conclusion that left everyone trembling:

This man was the only hope in the age of declining Dharma.

Wu Lie stared at the calm, unruffled Chen Hao on the screen, slowly clenching his fists.

"Our Wu Family has passed down Bajiquan for three hundred years, yet now we're stuck at the peak of the Transformation Realm, unable to advance an inch. An Esoteric Buddhism cultivation method Mr. Chen Hao casually produced allowed a living Buddha of Esoteric Buddhism to break through his bottleneck. If he would offer us even a single word of guidance..."

"The Wu Family would surely rise!"

Wu Lie fell silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

"Good! Good! Excellent!" he exclaimed three times, his eyes gleaming. "To think an expert like this truly exists in the world!"

He stood and said gravely, "Go immediately. Use our Wu Family's officially verified account to send Chen Hao gifts. Send the biggest gifts available! Let him know that our Wu Family wishes to be his friend!"

Wu Tian froze. "Dad, are you sure? We never use our family's official account to send gifts in livestreams..."

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Wu Lie's gaze was deep. "Tian, you're still young. You don't understand the value of an expert like him. A true Xiantian expert is a hundred times better than any grandmaster we could retain. Establishing goodwill with him can only benefit our Wu Family. There's no downside."

Wu Tian's eyes lit up. "I understand! Dad, I'll take care of it right away!"

He turned and ran.

Watching his son's retreating figure, Wu Lie's lips curved into a smile.

"A Xiantian expert..." he murmured. "Interesting. Very interesting."

The Qin Family, Wuling Mountain.

The Qin Family was a reclusive family in Western Hunan. They had lived in the Wuling Mountains for generations and were renowned for their mastery of medicine and Qimen Dunjia. Their current family head, Qin Wanshan, was eighty-five that year. He was a small, thin old man who looked unremarkable, yet ranked among the most extraordinary figures in Western Hunan.

At that moment, Qin Wanshan sat in his bamboo house, holding an old tablet and watching a video.

In the video, Chen Hao walked on water and slew a demon with a single sword strike.

He watched it three times, set down the tablet, then lifted his teacup and slowly took a sip.

"Grandpa, what do you think?" Qin Xiaoyu asked cautiously from beside him. She was Qin Wanshan's most beloved granddaughter and the most outstanding successor of her generation in the Qin Family.

Qin Wanshan set down his teacup and said slowly, "Projecting his energy like a sword, walking on water as though it were solid ground... In all my decades of life, I've never seen cultivation like this."

He paused, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes. "If I'm not mistaken, that monster was a Gu Diao. And a king that had mutated and evolved, at that. To slay such a ferocious beast with one sword strike, this young man's strength must be..."

"Must be what?" Qin Xiaoyu pressed.

Qin Wanshan fell silent for a moment before slowly uttering, "Utterly unfathomable."

Qin Xiaoyu drew in a sharp breath.

Who was her grandfather? The head of the Wuling Mountain Qin Family, a master of Qimen Dunjia who had witnessed countless extraordinary people and strange events. His standards were exceptionally high. His cultivation had even broken through to the Return to the True Realm, a realm attained by only a handful of people in the world. This was the first time in her life she had encountered anyone who could make him say "utterly unfathomable."

"Grandpa, then should we..."

Qin Wanshan set down his teacup and said gravely, "Use our Qin Family's officially verified account to send that young man gifts. Send the biggest gifts available."

Qin Xiaoyu froze. "Grandpa, our family has always kept a low profile. We've never taken part in things like this..."

"Times have changed." Qin Wanshan looked at her, his gaze deep. "Xiaoyu, you're still young. You don't understand. Establishing goodwill with an expert of this caliber would be an extraordinary opportunity for our Qin Family."

He paused, then added, "Go take care of it. Remember, be sincere. Don't put on airs as a reclusive family. Before someone like him, our meager resources aren't worth mentioning."

Qin Xiaoyu nodded firmly. "Yes, Grandpa!"

She turned and left.

Watching his granddaughter leave, Qin Wanshan turned his gaze to the Wuling Mountains outside the window and murmured, "The world is about to change..."

In the livestream, Chen Siyao was utterly stunned.

Just moments earlier, several "monsters" had suddenly stormed onto the gift leaderboard—

[Chancheng Ye Family] sent Carnival ×100! Message: The Chancheng Ye Family pays its respects to Celestial Master Chen!

[Luocheng Wu Family] sent Carnival ×100! Message: The Luocheng Wu Family wishes to establish goodwill with Celestial Master Chen!

[Wuling Mountain Qin Family] sent Carnival ×100! Message: The Wuling Mountain Qin Family has long admired Celestial Master Chen's great reputation!

All three accounts had golden official verification badges displayed prominently beside their names.

[Chancheng Ye Family]—Verification details: The Ye martial arts family of Chancheng, descendants of Ip Man.

[Luocheng Wu Family]—Verification details: Luocheng Wu Group, legal representative: Wu Lie.