The Selection Begins

"Brother-in-law..."

In the outer court, Fire Ox stood with his hands behind his back, Niu Yong beside him. After much hesitation, Niu Yong finally could not help speaking.

But before he could finish, Fire Ox interrupted him:

"I know what you want to say. You want to ask why I gave the Treasure Fish to Wei Sheng?"

Niu Yong said nothing, merely looking up at Fire Ox, wanting an answer.

"In this Five Tiger Generals Selection, whoever commands the winner will receive a Sinew Refinement Method and a Leopard Fetus Sinew-Transforming Pill..."

At those words.

Niu Yong's expression changed slightly.

Naturally, he knew that his brother-in-law had remained at the Six Refinements level for years precisely because he lacked a corresponding Sinew Refinement Method.

The higher one climbed in martial cultivation, the rarer the cultivation methods became.

The gap between Flesh Refinement and Tendon Refinement, in particular, was a watershed.

Many martial artists with good talent languished at the Six Refinements level for more than a decade because they lacked a corresponding Sinew Refinement Method. Even when their vitality declined and their hair turned white, they had yet to break through.

"So that's why..." Niu Yong understood at last.

He had never understood why Violent Bear needed to act so brutally over the little silver awarded for nominating one of the Five Tiger Generals.

Now he understood.

Violent Bear was seeking a cultivation method too.

Like his brother-in-law, he was trapped at the Six Refinements level.

This nomination of the Five Tiger Generals was their best opportunity.

"I originally had a chance to obtain that Sinew Refinement Method, but now... Xiao Ran is crippled, and that chance is gone!"

Fire Ox's tone was calm, but Niu Yong heard the unwillingness in his words!

"I could give you the Treasure Fish, but what good would that do? Help you reach the Second Refinement? That would solve nothing! What I want now isn't the Second Refinement, but the Third Refinement!"

Niu Yong lowered his head, his face full of defiance.

He badly wanted to say that even if it went to Wei Sheng, he might not necessarily reach the Third Refinement.

But in the end, he did not say it.

"Wei Sheng is different. He has good talent and excellent comprehension. With this treasure's help, perhaps he can break through that barrier..."

Fire Ox's voice grew fainter and fainter. By the end, even he felt it sounded rather unrealistic.

"Enough! I've done everything I can. The rest is up to heaven!"

"Old Che, come over to my place for fish soup!"

"No thanks. If you fail to reach the Third Refinement and blame me for drinking your fish soup, who am I supposed to appeal to?"

After leaving the Fire Bull Outer Court, Wei Sheng carried the Treasure Fish and invited Che Zhenzhong over. Che Zhenzhong declined with a smile.

"I've had Treasure Fish before. Enjoy it yourself, and try to reach the Third Refinement soon."

After watching Che Zhenzhong leave.

The brothers, Wei Sheng and Wei He, returned home.

"Brother, what kind of Treasure Fish is this?"

Once they closed the door, Wei He, who had held back the whole way, finally could not resist asking.

Ever since leaving Fire Ox's home, his eyes had remained fixed on the Treasure Fish, as though he were looking not at a fish but at a priceless treasure.

"A small head, a short snout, a blue-green back and gray tail, a milky-white belly, and a pair of hard horns. It's clearly an Oxhorn Pomfret..."

Wei Sheng smiled.

This was actually his first time seeing this kind of Treasure Fish too, but he had asked Che Zhenzhong on the way.

"Oxhorn Pomfret... I've heard of it. One costs dozens of taels of silver at the fish market, yet Brother Fire Ox just gave it to you, Second Brother."

Wei He clicked his tongue.

Dozens of taels of silver! In the past, that was a sum they would never even have dared imagine.

Wei Sheng fell silent.

Although he knew Fire Ox had done this on the off chance that he might reach the Third Refinement and take Xiao Ran's place in the Five Tiger Generals Selection.

He also felt that he had received far too many favors from Fire Ox along the way.

Had Fire Ox not taught him the Savage Bull Fist, he could never have embarked on the martial path.

Bull-Demon Skin Refining had further helped him forge a solid foundation in martial arts.

And now there was this Treasure Fish...

He owed far too much.

At that thought, Wei Sheng felt as though the Treasure Fish in his hand, which weighed only six or seven jin, had suddenly become heavier than ten thousand jin.

"Fine. If it comes to it, I'll help him this once!"

Wei Sheng could tell that, for Fire Ox to invest so heavily, there had to be more behind the Five Tiger Generals Selection than a simple order from Black Tiger. There was definitely a deeper reason.

And given Fire Ox's current standing and strength, there were few things that could make him so desperate.

"What could it be? So hard to guess..." Wei Sheng's smile turned playful.

"Second Brother, you're entering the selection?" Wei He looked worried.

"Don't worry. I asked Old Che. Basically everyone entering this time is at the Third Refinement... I'll have them in the palm of my hand!"

Wei Sheng was not boasting.

His strength simply would not allow otherwise!

Leaving everything else aside.

His immense strength of five thousand jin alone was enough to crush the whole lot of Third Refinement martial artists.

Wei He had wanted to say more, but at the thought of the annihilated Hong Family, he immediately fell silent.

His second brother had been able to trample even the Hong Family into oblivion, despite their Fourth Refinement expert. Dealing with a few Third Refinement martial artists would indeed be easy.

"But could that draw the Hong Family's attention?"

After all, Wei Sheng had risen far too quickly, and his cultivation was also at the Third Refinement. It would be hard not to arouse suspicion.

If anyone connected him to the Hong Family incident, it would certainly be no good thing.

"When the time comes, I'll credit my breakthrough to the Third Refinement entirely to the Treasure Fish and Fire Ox... Besides, I only reached the Third Refinement after the Eldest Master of the Hong Family died. What does the Hong Family's destruction have to do with me?"

The plan was foolproof!

At this point, Wei Sheng smiled and said:

"Xiao He, I want some fish!"

"Then I'll go prepare the Treasure Fish. But I've never cooked Treasure Fish before."

"It's fine. Just cook it normally. I'll go get some medicinal herbs."

"All right."

Two hours later.

Wei Sheng lifted the lid from the soup pot. The fish soup was milky white, bubbling away, its fragrance wafting into his nose.

"Here, Xiao He. Have more soup..."

Wei Sheng ladled a large bowl of fish soup for Wei He, then served himself a bowl.

"It really is delicious..."

After savoring a mouthful, Wei He closed his eyes and could not help speaking in rapture.

After tasting it, Wei Sheng nodded in wholehearted agreement.

He had added no seasonings to the soup apart from a little salt, yet it had no trace of a muddy, fishy taste. It was incredibly delicious.

"Here, Xiao He. Have some fish..."

In the end.

Of the whole Treasure Fish, Wei He only drank the soup and ate a little of the flesh.

There was no helping it. It was too nourishing.

His body was too weak, and eating too much at once would do him harm instead.

Thus, the remaining half-plus of the fish and the soup all went into Wei Sheng's stomach.

After eating and drinking his fill, Wei Sheng felt as though a flame were flowing through his abdomen. Wherever that "flame" passed, even the rate at which his vitality condensed increased considerably compared with before.

He hurriedly took advantage of the medicinal potency and began practicing the Spirit Ape Flesh-Refining Method.

As his muscles rippled, strands of Jin Force seeped into them and began tempering them.

Only after a full three days of refining was that medicinal potency completely absorbed:

"It truly deserves to be called a Treasure Fish. This one meal was worth more than half a month of arduous cultivation..."

If he had two more Treasure Fish, he was confident he could convert the Jin Force in his body into "Spirit Ape Force" in an extremely short time, then use it to reach the entry level of his Flesh Refinement Method.

Unfortunately, Treasure Fish were far too hard to come by!

Never mind two-he was not even confident he could obtain one.

Putting that thought aside, Wei Sheng changed into his blue-green gang uniform and stepped out of his home.

The Five Tiger Generals Selection had begun!