An Agreement? Asking for Cultivation Techniques

Jade Skin in Skin Tempering! Dragon and elephant in Flesh Refining!

This kid... had actually reached such an earthshaking height in both of the first two Body Tempering realms?!

It was simply inconceivable!

The more the old man watched, the more astonished he became-and the more pleased!

"Enough!" the old man suddenly called out, once again giving his sleeve a seemingly casual wave!

Bang!

An overwhelming force swept toward him!

Dongfang Yueming felt an irresistible force slam into his blade, sending him flying backward. He staggered back seven or eight steps before he barely managed to steady himself! The webbing between his thumb and forefinger tingled as he gripped his blade!

Strong! Far too strong!

Dongfang Yueming stared at the old man in shock! The man had deflected his all-out attack so effortlessly, without even being forced to reveal his true strength!

Just what realm has this old man reached?!

Seemingly seeing Dongfang Yueming's shock, the old man chuckled and stroked his beard:

"No need to be surprised, kid. I stepped into the Qi Refining Realm long ago. With your current strength, you're naturally no match for me."

The Qi Refining Realm?!

Dongfang Yueming's pupils contracted again! Just as he thought! The old man was a transcendent existence who had surpassed the Body Tempering Realm!

He grew even more wary. "Senior, you tested me late at night. May I ask... for what reason?" He truly couldn't understand how a freshman who had only recently enrolled could run into such "unusual" things one after another.

Seeing the wariness in Dongfang Yueming's eyes, the old man's smile grew a little kinder:

"Hehe, there's no need to be nervous. I mean you no harm."

He paused, a glint of cunning flashing through his eyes:

"Let me introduce myself. My surname... is also Shi. You could say the girl you were dancing with just now and I are family."

Hearing the old man say that he and Shi Qing (Senior Shi) were family, Dongfang Yueming had a sudden lapse of reason and almost blurted out:

"Grandfather?!"

He had instinctively taken this white-haired, white-bearded old man for someone of Shi Qing's grandfather's generation.

"Pfft-cough, cough, cough!"

Dongfang Yueming's sudden "Grandfather" nearly made the old man choke! He froze for a moment, then wore an expression caught between laughter and tears and waved his hand in utter helplessness.

"Cough, cough... well... kid, you can't go calling people by the wrong generation!" The old man caught his breath, his expression somewhat odd. "Although... since you've already called me that, I wouldn't mind accepting it... but strictly speaking, you shouldn't call me Grandfather. You should call me... Uncle."

"Uncle?!"

Now it was Dongfang Yueming's turn to be shocked!

He stared in disbelief at the old man before him, who had white hair and a youthful face (though he looked more like he had white hair and wrinkled skin)!

This... this old man, who looks at least seventy or eighty, is only of Shi Qing's uncle's generation?! Shi Qing only looks about twenty! Isn't that age gap far too big?!

Seeing Dongfang Yueming's expression, which had "You're kidding me" written all over it, the old man once again looked profoundly helpless. He sighed and explained, as though the words were hard to get out:

"Ah... it's a long story. It's a kind of... special 'illness' in the Shi family's main lineage, I suppose. It causes... well, faster aging. You don't need to concern yourself with the details."

Aging faster? A special illness?

Questions sprang up one after another in Dongfang Yueming's mind. An "illness" that even a powerful Qi Refining Realm martial artist couldn't resist, and that even accelerated aging? That sounded far too inconceivable!

There was probably some unknown secret hidden behind it.

But the old man clearly didn't want to discuss it further. He abruptly changed the subject, his expression turning deadly serious as he fixed his burning gaze on Dongfang Yueming:

"Kid, I came to find you today because I have a favor to ask!"

"A favor?" Dongfang Yueming grew even warier. What could a Qi Refining Realm expert need to ask of a greenhorn like him, who had only just entered the Flesh Refining Realm?

The old man spoke in a grave voice:

"I need you to make absolutely sure-no matter what-that you raise your cultivation to the Marrow Cleansing Realm of Body Tempering within six months!"

"What?! Reach the Marrow Cleansing Realm in six months?!"

Dongfang Yueming was stunned once again!

What kind of joke is that?!

He had only just stepped into the Flesh Refining Realm! He still had to get through the two major realms of Bone Tempering and Tendon Transformation before he reached Marrow Cleansing!

The farther one progressed on the path of Body Tempering, the harder it became! Breaking through each major realm required a vast amount of time and resources!

Six months?! To charge from the Flesh Refining Realm to the Marrow Cleansing Realm?!

It was a tale from the Arabian Nights! Even with the Point Allocation System, he would need a vast number of points and the support of cultivation techniques for the later realms!

"Senior, what are you..." Dongfang Yueming couldn't understand. "Why do you want me to do this? And isn't this demand... a little too high?"

"High?" The old man's gaze was sharp as a blade, as though it could see through Dongfang Yueming's heart. "For others, it might be an unattainable height! But for you... a kid who cultivated both Skin Tempering and Flesh Refining to a nearly perfect level, it isn't impossible!"

His tone was firm and decisive, leaving no room for doubt. "You only need to tell me whether you can do it!"

The invisible pressure of a Qi Refining Realm expert descended upon him once more!

Feeling that pressure, Dongfang Yueming's thoughts raced. This old fellow was being so serious, even going so far as to reveal some family secrets to approach him. He must have a significant objective! And though the demand was outrageous... for him, as long as he had enough points and the cultivation techniques for the later realms, it wasn't necessarily impossible!

Risk and opportunity went hand in hand!

At that thought, Dongfang Yueming's eyes darted about, and a perfectly measured look of difficulty appeared on his face:

"Senior, I naturally want to do my best to meet your expectations. But as you know, the farther one goes on the path of Body Tempering, the harder it becomes. It takes not only talent, but also the support of top-tier cultivation techniques and vast resources!"

He rubbed his hands together and asked tentatively, "You see... I still haven't even found cultivation techniques for the Bone Forging Realm and Tendon Transformation Realm... could you... give me some 'benefits'? For example, could you first give me top-tier techniques for those two realms to study?"

He was taking the opportunity to shake the old man down!