Mr. Hong, Unfathomably Deep

Lin Feng held up his torch and searched for a while, only to find that Wang Shanxiong's vegetable cellar was completely empty—cleaner even than his own.

It seemed he had read too many novels and let his imagination run wild.

Lin Feng hid Wang Shanxiong's head in Wang Shanxiong's vegetable cellar, then quietly left.

Afraid the villagers would see his ragged clothes and body covered in wounds, Lin Feng took a detour to Mr. Hong's home.

He did not enter through the front gate. Instead, he vaulted straight over the wall into Mr. Hong's courtyard.

The moment Lin Feng landed, the maid Yue'e appeared with a whoosh around the corner of the main house, poking out half her head to look at him.

The maid Yue'e's movement technique was actually even faster than his.

Lin Feng pretended not to see the maid Yue'e.

The maid Yue'e was taken aback when she saw Lin Feng. She did not know why Brother Lin Feng had climbed over the wall when he could have simply entered through the front gate.

And why was Brother Lin Feng covered in injuries?

After spending so much time together, they had become quite familiar. The maid Yue'e would not suspect Lin Feng of harboring ill intent.

After landing, Lin Feng called out softly, "Is Sister Yue'e here?"

Hearing Lin Feng call for her, the maid Yue'e immediately walked over to him.

"Brother Lin Feng, how did you get hurt?"

Lin Feng said, "I ran into bandits while hunting in the mountains, and they beat me into this state.

"I was afraid my family would be frightened if they saw me like this, so I came here first.

"I was worried the villagers might see me and cause unnecessary trouble, so I took a detour and climbed over the wall.

"Sister Yue'e, could you get me something to eat? I'll leave after I've eaten."

The maid Yue'e suddenly understood.

"Brother Lin Feng, come inside first. I'll get you some Healing Ointment so you can tend to your wounds."

Lin Feng glanced at the house.

Mr. Hong's home had only two rooms. Mr. Hong lived in the main house, while the maid Yue'e lived in the side room.

Since the maid Yue'e was inviting him inside, she certainly was not bringing him into her own private room. It had to be the main house where Mr. Hong lived.

Lin Feng hesitated, then asked, "Will I disturb Mr. Hong in this state?

"I can just stay in the courtyard for a while. It'll be enough if you make me something to eat."

The maid Yue'e grabbed Lin Feng and pulled him toward the main house.

"We're all children of the martial world. Mr. Hong won't mind."

Half-pushed and half-willing, Lin Feng entered the main house.

Once inside, Lin Feng saw Mr. Hong sitting cross-legged on the bed with his eyes closed.

The maid Yue'e found some Healing Ointment and strips of cloth for bandaging wounds, placed them on the table, then went to the kitchen to prepare food for Lin Feng.

Not long after the maid Yue'e left, Mr. Hong opened his eyes.

Lin Feng hurriedly greeted him. "Greetings, Mr. Hong."

Mr. Hong nodded and carefully examined Lin Feng's injuries. "You're badly hurt. Apply the medicine quickly.

"The green pills in that bottle are for oral use. Take three. The red powder in the other bottle is for external use."

After swallowing three green pills, Lin Feng immediately felt much better.

Lin Feng's eyes widened. This medicine worked so well. It was even faster than an IV drip in my previous life.

These healing medicines had to be extremely precious.

Coming to Mr. Hong's place had truly been the right choice. It seemed Mr. Hong and Yue'e already considered him family; otherwise, they would not have let him use such precious medicine.

Lin Feng then carefully applied the red powder to the wounds on his body.

He used only a little, afraid of wasting it.

After treating the wounds on his chest and thighs, Lin Feng wrapped them with the cloth strips.

He could not reach the wounds on his back, so he left them alone for now.

At that moment, Mr. Hong spoke. "Come sit on the bed. I'll tend to the wounds on your back."

Lin Feng walked to the bed and sat down. "Sorry to trouble you, Mr. Hong."

As Mr. Hong applied the medicine, he asked, "How did you get these injuries?"

Lin Feng gave the explanation he had long prepared.

"I went hunting in the mountains today and ran into some villains halfway there. I took a beating and barely escaped with my life."

"Then you were truly fortunate to survive.

"The person you encountered had a master and was an expert with a realm of cultivation.

"His Arhat Fist had reached at least the seventh level.

"However, his Stele Breaking Hand was at most at the second level, so its power was not yet too great. If his Stele Breaking Hand had reached the third level, you would have been in danger.

"Furthermore, that man likely had internal injuries. The Internal Energy he released was hollow and impure."

Lin Feng was inwardly shocked. An expert truly was an expert.

Lin Feng hurriedly flattered him. "Mr. Hong, you're amazing. You can tell so much just by looking at my wounds. How did you do it?"

Mr. Hong smiled faintly. "Practice martial arts long enough and rise high enough in realm, and naturally you will understand.

"But you are not bad yourself. Your body is exceptionally sturdy. If it had been someone else, they likely would not have escaped."

Seeing that Mr. Hong no longer avoided talking about martial arts, Lin Feng struck while the iron was hot and asked the question that had been troubling him.

"Mr. Hong, what is a realm? And what is Internal Energy?"

"A realm is a classification created by martial artists based on the changes their bodies undergo during cultivation.

"If one can cultivate Low-grade Martial Arts to great mastery, one will enter the Skin Refining Realm.

"At this realm, the skin and membranes become tougher.

"Different martial arts refine different parts of the body.

"For those who practice fist and palm techniques, the skin and membranes of their upper bodies and arms are strengthened.

"For those who practice leg techniques, the skin and membranes of their legs are strengthened.

"Some pursue the defensive power of their skin and membranes. They practice fists, palms, and legs alike, while also training some horizontal hard gong to strengthen the skin and membranes over their entire bodies.

"Thus, some people divide the Skin Refining Realm into four levels.

"They are Ox Skin, Stone Skin, Iron Skin, and Copper Skin.

"However, in my view, spending vast amounts of time cultivating Iron Skin and Copper Skin is utter foolishness.

"The true purpose of Skin Refining is to allow Internal Energy and true qi to penetrate the skin and membranes more easily, not to enhance their defensive power."

"Of course, I am not saying that pursuing the defensive power of the skin and membranes is bad. It is simply that a martial artist's time is limited. If one spends too much time on Skin Refining at the beginning, it becomes difficult to climb to higher realms."

After hearing this, Lin Feng had even more questions. "Mr. Hong, what is true qi? What realms come after the Skin Refining Realm?"

"After the Skin Refining Realm comes the Muscle Refining Realm, followed by the Bone Refining Realm.

"These three realms are collectively known as the Lower Three Realms.

"Once one reaches the Skin Refining Realm, one possesses Internal Energy and can be considered a third-rate expert.

"Upon reaching the Bone Refining Realm, one's Internal Energy reaches its peak and begins transforming into true qi.

"True qi is still far too distant for you, so I will not say more about it.

"At your stage, laying a solid foundation is what matters most."

Lin Feng said sincerely, "Mr. Hong, I want to learn true martial arts from you."

Mr. Hong stroked his beard, seeming to ponder.

After a moment, Mr. Hong said, "At your age, it is already somewhat late to switch to the martial arts of my sect. I fear you may find it difficult to achieve much."

Lin Feng said, "This disciple firmly believes that diligence can make up for shortcomings. So long as Mr. Hong is willing to teach me, I definitely will not practice worse than anyone else."

Taking a disciple involved tremendous karma, so Mr. Hong did not dare accept one casually.

Yet Mr. Hong also wanted to pass on some martial arts that would allow Lin Feng to protect himself.

After pondering for a while longer, Mr. Hong said, "How about this? In a moment, I'll have Yue'e teach you a set of our sect's Basic Swordplay.

"If you can gain entry into this swordplay within one month, I will accept you as my disciple."

Lin Feng said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Hong."

Perhaps Mr. Hong had seen how badly Lin Feng had been beaten today and felt somewhat sorry for him, which was why he had told him so much.

During this time, Lin Feng had treated Mr. Hong as he would his own paralyzed elderly father.

Every heart was made of flesh. Mr. Hong had also come to regard Lin Feng as one of his younger kin.

However, Lin Feng felt that Mr. Hong did not seem particularly willing to accept him as a disciple.

It had taken him at least a year to gain entry into each of the two Low-tier Martial Arts he practiced. The Basic Swordplay Mr. Hong intended to teach him certainly would not be Low-tier Martial Arts.

Asking him to gain entry within a month was truly making things difficult for him.

But he had the system. Once he learned Basic Swordplay, would gaining entry not be easy?

This master was as good as mine.