Dragon Gate

One tael of silver was enough to cover an ordinary person's expenses for more than half a year.

A hundred and twenty taels was enough to ensure a worry-free life, provided one did not marry and establish a household.

Of course, the expense of practicing martial arts was no less than that of marrying and establishing a household.

For instance, Li Xian's three bowls of Eight-Treasure Soup a day cost ninety taels of silver over a month.

A hundred and twenty taels would not last even two months.

Of course, with such enormous expenditure, Li Xian's strength also improved with immediate, visible results.

On the ninth day after his visit to the Marquis's Residence, the muscles and bones throughout his body resonated in unison, and he fully entered the stage of muscle and bone great accomplishment.

Next, he needed only another three to five days of internal organ refinement to catch up with Liu Fu, while also attaining a physique equivalent to that of a Core-Embracing Grandmaster in his previous life.

The conflict between Li Xian and the Dingfeng Marquis Estate had been kept tightly under wraps.

But after so many days, a few scraps of information had finally leaked out.

Ordinary people might know nothing about it, but within that small, select circle of the upper class, faint murmurs circulated in private.

For a time, the name "Li Xian" formally entered the awareness of Lijiang City's upper circles, becoming known to everyone there in a manner that earned their recognition.

The Dragon Spring Martial Arts Hall.

Hongyu was not teaching martial arts that day. Instead, she prepared tea and refreshments and came to the study originally used by the hall master, Zhou Juechen.

Seated inside was an elderly man past sixty, yet still white-haired with a youthful face. From the corner of his eye, he glanced toward the outer courtyard from time to time.

"Elder Zhou, if you want to take a look, I can take you over. Or shall I simply call him here?"

"No need."

The old man waved a hand. "Why would an unwelcome old man like me go over there? To invite humiliation?"

Those words...

Left Hongyu somewhat embarrassed, unsure how to respond.

She could only lower her head and pretend to concentrate on brewing and pouring the tea.

After taking a sip, the old man finally asked again, "So... is that boy really so gifted in martial arts?"

The question immediately made Hongyu's expression turn solemn. "He surpasses even the rumors."

"The rumors say he has a profound understanding of martial arts and already discerned its true essence from books, allowing him to break through three stages in just two or three months and enter internal organ refinement. Is that true as well?"

"Of all the martial artists I have seen in my life, Young Master Li's talent stands at the very pinnacle. With all due respect, even Master's natural gifts fall a little short of his."

Hongyu said earnestly, "And he works hard enough at his training, too. For more than half a month, he has kept at it through wind and rain, without a moment's rest. Naturally, the results have been immediate. I can sense his improvement almost every day. In my view, attaining Viscera Great Accomplishment in a few more months will be no problem, and blood exchange and marrow washing in a year or two is by no means a wild hope."

"Viscera Great Accomplishment in a few months, blood exchange and marrow washing in a year or two..."

Though the old man was a Confucian scholar, the scholars of the current dynasty also pursued excellence in both letters and arms.

He naturally knew what Viscera Great Accomplishment and blood exchange and marrow washing meant.

These were martial realms one would not trade even for a county magistrate's post.

For a moment, he could not help muttering, "So when I told him to focus on his studies, I was actually holding him back?"

"Well... gold shines wherever it is. An outstanding talent like Young Master Li could hope to become a Jieyuan if he pursued letters, and could ultimately overawe an entire province if he pursued martial arts."

Hongyu paused here. "Young Master Li is only twenty-two this year. If he really can undergo blood exchange and marrow washing in a year or two, and maintain this rate of growth, then by the next gathering five years from now, when he is twenty-seven, he may well have a chance to leap over the Dragon Gate and ascend to heaven in a single bound!"

"Leaping Over the Dragon Gate!"

Hearing Hongyu utter those words, the old man could not help looking moved.

Even as a renowned Confucian scholar of the current dynasty, he dared not aspire to stand alongside those who had transformed into dragons.

Yet according to Hongyu...

That boy actually had such a chance!?

Only after a long while did he let out a deep breath. "Leaping Over the Dragon Gate!"

His words were filled with countless sighs.

Hongyu did not dare say anything more.

Leaping over the Dragon Gate...

That was what her master, Zhou Juechen, had sought all his life.

Even though he had trained tirelessly throughout the first half of his life, never pausing in the slightest, he still had no confidence that he could take that step this year.

As for whether Li Xian could truly leap over the Dragon Gate and transform from a carp into a dragon...

No one dared guarantee it.

"Forget it. I'm old, and I can't manage him anymore. If he wants to practice martial arts, let him. A twenty-two-year-old internal-organ martial master is no less impressive than the title of one of Lijiang's Four Great Talents. It's better than willingly sinking so low as to become a live-in son-in-law at the Marquis's Residence."

The old man seemed to have let it go now, setting down his teacup calmly.

"A live-in son-in-law at the Marquis's Residence..."

Hongyu smiled at that. "That Heir Apparent Yan is hailed as Lijiang's foremost young talent, accomplished in both letters and arms, but doesn't he also bear the titles of one of Lijiang's Four Great Talents and the Three Outstanding Heroes? Young Master Li is now no less his equal in any respect. To still speak of someone like him marrying into their family? Does the Dingfeng Marquis Estate have the nerve to gild its own face like that?"

"Marrying into the Marquis's Residence..."

The old man pondered briefly.

"Come to think of it, they were too clever for their own good."

Hongyu chuckled. "The Marquis's Residence and the Commandery Prince's Residence refused to let Young Master Li enter their household register because they feared gossip would spread and reach that 'Immortal Seedling,' letting her discover they were merely putting on a show to fool her! Now their clever scheme has backfired. Since Young Master Li isn't a live-in son-in-law, he'll still be a free man once he breaks off the engagement."

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple."

A trace of caution entered the old man's eyes.

"The reason this matter has developed to this point is that the central prize is the Dragon Gate Token that came with the 'Immortal Seedling.' To obtain that Dragon Gate Token, the Commandery Prince's Residence needs Yan Kaigui to marry that 'Immortal Seedling.' Yet Yan Kaigui and the marquis's daughter are in love... To put that 'Immortal Seedling' at ease about leaving the Dragon Gate Token at Prince Yue's Residence, they ultimately came up with this farce of finding someone for the marquis's daughter to marry."

He looked toward the capital. "Now... Leaping Over the Dragon Gate has yet to begin, and the Dragon Gate Token has yet to take effect. If that boy makes too much of a fuss and risks letting word reach the 'Immortal Seedling'... the Marquis's Residence won't allow it, and neither will Prince Yue's Residence."

At those words, the smile of someone enjoying a spectacle froze on Hongyu's face.

"Elder Zhou, are you saying..."

"That is a Dragon Gate Token!"

The old man spoke emphatically.

This time, Hongyu fell silent.

But as she looked toward the courtyard outside the window, where everyone was practicing martial arts, a trace of worry appeared between her brows.

"If I were that boy, I'd simply leave for distant lands. Out of sight, out of mind. It's not as though he really married into their household and can't leave their little patch of Jiangzhou."

The old man paused briefly. "Or he could have a proper talk with the Marquis's Residence and the Prince's Mansion. I believe that, to prevent the matter from escalating and letting that 'Immortal Seedling' hear the truth, both households would do their best to appease him. Perhaps the boy could even seize the chance to squeeze a sum out of them."

He added, "The prerequisite for that plan is that the boy can find connections, or rely on his strength, to gain the standing to speak with both households as an equal."

"Speak as an equal..."

Against such colossal powers as the Marquis's Residence and the Commandery Prince's Residence, even her master carried slightly too little weight, let alone Li Xian.

So could he only choose the first path and leave for distant lands?

The old man had already risen to his feet. "He isn't my student anyway. Why am I worrying myself over nothing? I'm off, I'm off."

Seeing this, Hongyu quickly gathered her thoughts and hurried after him to ask, "Elder Zhou... do you really not need me to call him over?"

The old man waved a hand, then clasped both hands behind his back and slowly made his way out of the martial arts hall.

Hongyu wanted to ask him to stay, but though her lips parted, she ultimately did not know what to say.

She could only accompany him the whole way and see him out of the martial arts hall.

(End of chapter)