The Proper Use of an Immortal Couple

You had earned the appreciation of a Sect Noble Daughter and completed the Acquaintance storyline.

Acquaintance quest completed. Calculating rewards.

Quest rating: D.

You received 10 Achievement Points!

Name: Li Rui

Age: 0

Talent: Martial Bones

Achievement: 60/100

This worked too?!

Li Rui was somewhat dumbfounded. He had merely stood in the stables—how had he somehow earned someone's appreciation and gained "10" Achievement Points?

He had truly sat at home while wealth fell from the sky.

He had obtained "10" Achievement Points without lifting a finger.

The Sect Noble Daughter probably referred to the young girl who had been traveling with Young Master Zhu earlier.

He did not even know what he had done, yet he had actually earned that girl's appreciation.

But of course, he would not refuse Achievement Points that had fallen into his lap.

Immortal Couple.

Li Rui's mouth twitched.

He was old enough to be that girl's grandfather. Their generations were simply too far apart.

Though men remained youngsters until the day they died, what he liked were mature women with long legs. That girl's face was pretty enough, but her legs were neither long nor slender enough.

He truly could not muster any interest.

The next moment, he seemed to think of something, and his eyes lit up.

"Perhaps the Immortal Couple achievement doesn't require actually becoming companions. It might not even require truly liking someone—perhaps it doesn't even have to be the same person!"

"As long as I earn someone's goodwill, I can increase my Achievement Points. The only requirement may be that their status is noble enough."

The scope of goodwill was far too broad.

It was not limited to romantic affection. Respect, for instance, was also a form of goodwill.

At that moment, the Huaqing Sect girl looked to Li Rui like a bottomless pool of Achievement Points!

Yet Li Rui had no intention of taking the initiative to curry favor with that girl.

Being overly humble would not earn respect. It would only make others look down on him.

Only sufficient strength could earn the respect of others.

There were no fewer than ten great sects like the Huaqing Sect in all of Cloud Province.

There were far more than a hundred Sect Noble Daughters.

Now that he possessed Martial Bones, his strength was advancing by leaps and bounds. Once he grew stronger in the future, those noble daughters would come flocking to him of their own accord. Why obsess over the Huaqing Sect girl alone?

"Take it slow."

Li Rui had long passed the naive age when hot blood rushed to his head. Steadiness and the ability to endure loneliness were what truly mattered.

The days passed one by one.

This time, Young Master Zhu stayed for an exceptionally long time, frequently coming and going with the three members of the Huaqing Sect.

Before long, even the servants of Zhu Residence knew of their presence.

The servants of Zhu Residence had no entertainment to speak of.

Three years ago, when Master Zhu of the Zhu Family had married a sixteen-year-old concubine, it had been the subject of gossip for ages after meals and over tea. Not to mention something as fresh and novel as the Huaqing Sect.

At the Martial Arts Arena, the Zhu Family guards gathered in groups of three or five, chatting.

Li Rui was among them as well.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Young Master Zhu and the Huaqing Sect.

A young guard raised the subject. "What realm do you think the young master and those senior and junior fellow disciples of his are in?"

Yang Yong stroked his chin. "The young master Entered Rank a few years ago. We haven't heard any news of a breakthrough, so I reckon they're all Ninth Rank."

Hearing Yang Yong's analysis, the other guards nodded in agreement.

Another guard said, "Do you think it's possible they're Eighth Rank?"

At the mention of Eighth Rank, the others all bared their teeth.

He really dared to say it.

Even some martial arts school masters in the city were only Eighth Rank. Those three young men and women were about the same age as the young master, no more than twenty at most.

Eighth Rank before reaching twenty.

Good heavens.

They did not even dare imagine it.

When they thought of how they had trained in martial arts all their lives only to never even touch the threshold of becoming Martial Masters, while others might already be Eighth Rank, the gap between people truly was greater than the gap between men and dogs.

Most of the time, Li Rui merely chimed in with a word or two.

The words of that Martial Master from forty years ago surfaced in his mind.

"Train the skin, train the bones, then train the sinews. Lesser training, intermediate training, then major training—only then may one be said to have entered the gate."

Back when he was Little Li rather than Old Li, he had once fantasized that perhaps he was a martial arts prodigy. After saving silver for several years, he had happily gone to a martial arts school.

In the end, reality slapped him hard across the face.

Not only had he failed to learn martial arts, but the school had also cheated him out of five taels of silver.

It had pained him for a long time.

Still, it had not been entirely without gain. At least he had learned the realm divisions of this world's cultivation system.

"When heaven and earth first opened, the Human Emperor established the Nine Ranks. The powerful of the world are divided into nine realms according to their strength, and each realm is further divided into lesser, intermediate, and major training."

"The first three ranks are Stonehide, Copper Bone, and Willow Sinew. These are the three realms of shedding mortality."

"Those who cultivate to Willow Sinew have sinews and bones like iron, with a body full of terrifying strength. A single punch would wound if it grazed you and kill if it struck you."

Beyond that lay the Innate Realm, but those were far too distant for Li Rui. Qinghe County did not have any experts above Willow Sinew; perhaps only upon reaching Anning Prefecture could he learn more.

Stepping into the Stonehide Realm was also called Entering Rank in the martial world.

Once one Entered Rank, one could be openly addressed as a Martial Master.

At the martial arts schools in the city, one could serve as an instructor and earn the respect of others.

In the Zhu Family, those who had not Entered Rank could only be called guards. But once one Entered Rank, Master Zhu of the Zhu Family would hire them as a residence-guarding Martial Master, and they would automatically shed their lowly status.

But practicing martial arts was exceedingly difficult.

In all his years at the Zhu Family, Li Rui had never seen a single guard Enter Rank and shed his status. He had not even heard of one in all of Clear River.

Time flowed on.

A heavy snow that lasted three days and three nights turned the entire world into a vast expanse of white.

Inside the room.

Huff, huff, huff.

Li Rui practiced his punches bare-chested. His vigorous blood and qi coursed through his veins, and even in the bitterly cold twelfth lunar month, he did not feel cold in the slightest.

His arms revolved in turns like windmills, and the faint sound of rushing wind could be heard. It was extraordinary indeed.

Fist wind!

In his previous life, some people in short videos had claimed they could create fist wind, but in reality, they had merely used their sleeves to fan up a breeze. It could not be mentioned in the same breath as Li Rui's fist wind now.

Li Rui had secretly tested it already. He could now lift a stone block weighing a full four hundred jin.

He was unbelievably powerful.

For the Eight Section Brocade to be cultivated to such a degree was rare even across all of Clear River.

There were no trash Cultivation Methods, only trash people.

With the Eight Section Brocade in his hands, Li Rui could still kill someone.

And all of this was thanks to his Martial Bones.

Ever since obtaining Martial Bones, cultivating had become a matter of advancing by leaps and bounds. What others needed years to accomplish, he had achieved in merely a month. Every day, he could clearly feel himself growing stronger.

Suddenly!

He felt his blood boil throughout his body. His heart pounded with tremendous force, and he could even hear its thumping.

He clenched his fist.

Li Rui stared at his palm in disbelief. In just an instant, his strength had more than doubled!

Not only that, at some point, his palm had gained a layer of crystalline outer skin, tough and resilient to the touch.

His pupils widened, then his face broke into wild joy.

He recalled something a martial arts school instructor had once said.

"When qi surges to the Big Dipper and the skin resembles jade, one has entered the Stonehide Realm!"