Xingyi Family!

The Inherited Martial Hall, known to the citizens of Lanling Base City as the Jiang Family Martial Hall.

The major families within the HR Alliance all had a habit of recruiting martial artists, and War God Level experts were even invited to serve as family retainers.

The Jiang Family had no such need.

Its second-generation members, Jiang Zhe's elders, were far stronger than ordinary War God Level retainers.

Why would they need those freeloading, unreliable people? Some of them even had poor character and harbored ambitions of magpie occupying the dove's nest.

The Jiang Family did not need War God retainers, but it did freely train young martial artists.

It established Jiang Family Martial Halls to help struggling martial artists grow from students into Intermediate Warriors. Once they could stand on their own in the Wilderness Zone, they would automatically lose their status as Jiang Family Martial Hall members.

This selfless investment earned the Jiang Family an excellent reputation throughout Lanling Base City. It held a position almost like that of a Local Emperor—at a single call, all sides answered.

Inherited Martial Halls were spread throughout the major districts of Lanling Base City and its subordinate Satellite Cities. All were built in the style of Nine-Story Alloy Towers, making them highly recognizable.

This Nine-Story Alloy Tower in the heart of the Jiang Family estate covered more than two thousand square meters and stood over seventy meters tall. It was not used solely by the Jiang Family's direct descendants: the bottom four floors were for martial hall students, while the top five were for the Jiang Family's private use.

It was around four in the afternoon, already nearing dusk.

The students in the Inherited Martial Hall were leaving one after another. Along the way, students constantly greeted Jiang Zhe, and Jiang Zhe responded to each with a smile.

"Is that the youngest young master of the Jiang Family's third generation? He's already old enough to train in martial arts?"

"Yeah. I heard that during this morning's assessment, Young Master Zhe was only a hair away from becoming an Advanced Student!"

"Such terrifying martial talent?"

"What did you expect? That's Jiang Family blood. The martial talent of the Jiang Family's direct descendants is never bad. After all, they used to be an Ancient Martial Arts Family."

The hushed conversations of several students in the distance reached Jiang Zhe's ears.

The corner of Jiang Zhe's mouth curled upward. What man did not enjoy hearing others praise him?

He entered the Inherited Martial Hall and took the internal elevator to the fifth floor. Butler Wu was arranging miscellaneous matters at the front desk. When he saw Jiang Zhe emerge from the elevator, his eyes lit up, and he set aside his work.

"Perfect timing, Young Master Zhe. I was just about to send someone to deliver this month's monthly allowance to you."

"Hm? Didn't I already receive my spending money at the beginning of the month?" Jiang Zhe asked in surprise.

The old butler smiled. "Young Master Zhe, times have changed. Now that you are an Intermediate Student, your monthly allowance naturally has to increase as well. The master and the others left in a hurry and did not specify how your allowance should be issued. I just consulted Young Master Wen, and we decided to first make up your July allowance according to the standards once used for the other young masters. As for your August allowance, we will have to wait until the master and the others return before deciding."

With things put this plainly, how could Jiang Zhe fail to understand? This was the old butler showing him goodwill, allowing him to receive an extra month's allowance.

He had previously received ten thousand Hanxia Coins in pocket money every month. This time, he should be getting a little more. Better than nothing.

"Thank you, Great-Uncle."

Butler Wu had served the Jiang Family his entire life and had been born into the household. Jiang Zhe and his cousins all treated him with great respect.

"Young Master Zhe is too polite. The one hundred thousand monthly allowance has already been transferred to your account. There is one more rather important item that needs to be handed to you in person."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Zhe's communication watch received the transfer notification.

One hundred thousand was enough to buy two Series 5 Intermediate Battle General throwing knives outright. It would have made Luo Feng, who had only just started down the martial path, weep with envy.

Yet Jiang Zhe did not care much about it.

Life in a great family was simply this plain, unpretentious, and boring.

He was only curious about the important item Butler Wu had mentioned. Could it be the Bloodwine they had discussed before?

The old butler smiled kindly and handed over a round porcelain box the size of a ping-pong ball. A faint fragrance wafted from it, and merely catching a whiff made his entire body feel comfortable. Jiang Zhe immediately realized its importance and hurriedly accepted the porcelain box.

When he lifted the lid, he found a crystalline paste inside.

The old butler explained, "The master calls it 'slag.' It can accelerate a martial artist's cultivation of Gene Primordial Energy."

"Slag? Slag?"

What a strange name...

As he marveled at it, Jiang Zhe's thoughts raced, matching it to a series of items with similar effects.

Wood Spirit? Purple Light Dew? Wood Essence Crystal? Nutrient Solution...

Since it was called "slag"...

Could it have come from some kind of medicinal furnace?

Could it be a treasure left behind by a cosmic civilization or an Ancient Civilization?

Based on his own "experience," Jiang Zhe felt that as long as he could see how the slag was produced, he would be able to guess its origin.

"Young Master Zhe, before you become a Pre-Martial Warrior and learn the Gene Primordial Energy Cultivation Method, you can only use slag for bathing."

"Each time you train until your body is exhausted, scrape out a tiny bit of slag with your fingernail and dissolve it in the bathwater. Then simply soak in the bathtub as usual. Your Physical Quality will improve somewhat."

"This is a month's supply, so be sure to use it wisely."

"Once you learn the Five Hearts to Heaven Cultivation Method, you can apply the slag to the soles of your feet, your palms, and the Baihui Acupoint on top of your head to increase the speed at which you cultivate Gene Primordial Energy."

"Thank you for telling me, Great-Uncle." Jiang Zhe nodded in thanks, indicating that he had remembered it.

He tucked the slag into his pocket and passed through the front desk into the training hall, where only Jiang Wu and Jiang Sisi were present.

His bear-like cousin Jiang Wu was wielding a Horse-Chopping Saber with fierce momentum. The blade light flowed without end, and a powerful, murderous aura rushed toward him.

This was not the Ninefold Thunder Blade.

It was the Jiang Family's own secret tome—the White Tiger Wind Summoning Blade.

As for what tier it would reach under Earth's classification system, Jiang Zhe did not know. Conservatively speaking, however, it was at least S-rank, belonging to the level of an advanced War God.

SS-rank represented the Planetary Level.

There were only two Ultimate techniques, an honor worthy only of Hong and the Thunder God.

His cousin Jiang Sisi was practicing movement techniques in a corner, dodging rubber bullets fired by a launcher.

With every dodge, she sought to move her body as little as possible. Though she was still somewhat clumsy, she had the right form.

She was practicing Subtle Realm movement.

Compared to his cousin's Blade Technique, Jiang Zhe was more interested in his cousin's movement technique, so he stopped to observe.

Basic—Subtle—Perfect—Artistic Conception!

This was how Earthlings classified the levels of movement techniques.

Yet from the perspective of the universe's advanced civilizations, "Subtle" and "Perfect" were both somewhat forced classifications. They were gaps produced by technique and experience, and fundamentally differed little from basic-level movement.

The Tao Te Ching says: "A tree that fills one's embrace grows from a tiny shoot; a nine-story terrace begins with a pile of earth; a journey of a thousand miles begins beneath one's feet."

Subtle and Perfect are both stages I must inevitably pass through.

But based on Luo Feng's experience, once I awaken Psychic Power, I should be able to transition through them quickly. Artistic Conception and domains are the two truly difficult stages.

Jiang Zhe murmured inwardly, his attention focused entirely on his cousin's footwork.

"It's the Chicken-Form Step."

Jiang Zhe recognized his cousin's footwork.

For the past sixteen years, he had studied ancient philosophical classics to cultivate his mind, while also extensively reading the Fist Scriptures treasured by his family. Influenced by his family's martial tradition, he had especially deep insight into Hsing-I Chuan.

"A chicken possesses the form of standing independently and the courage to fight."

"These are the two core principles of the Chicken-Form Step. When practicing her movement technique, Cousin is clearly placing greater emphasis on the former. Every step is steady and balanced. No matter how tricky her posture becomes, she never loses her balance. Her feet are like roots planted in the ground."

"But what I need to learn is not movement technique, but the Force Amplification Technique of the lower body. I need to increase my running speed and break through the Pre-Martial Warrior Boundary Line as soon as possible."

Before he realized it, Jiang Sisi had already finished a round of training, while Jiang Zhe was still immersed in pondering Force Amplification Techniques.

"Little Zhe, try testing your punching power again!"

A thunderous shout suddenly rang through the training hall.

Jiang Wu was behind Jiang Zhe. Careless as ever, he had sheathed his saber and failed to notice his cousin's unusual state. His shout drew a Death Glare from his own sister.

Only then did Jiang Wu realize he had caused trouble. He raised a hand to cover his mouth and prayed in a lowered voice, "Didn't hear it! Didn't hear it! Didn't hear it..."

"Alright, I'll give it a try."

Jiang Zhe was startled awake and agreed without any displeasure, walking over to the Punching Power Tester.

He was also curious whether, after suffering another headache, he would be like Luo Feng and leap directly past the Pre-Martial Warrior threshold from eight hundred kilograms of punching power.

He slowly took a deep breath and completely relaxed his body.

Then his gaze sharpened. Like a crouching tiger suddenly springing up, he centered his movement on his waist and hips. A powerful force burst from his waist and hips, traveled through his arched spine like a giant python, and flowed into his arm. His right fist blasted out like a cannonball.

Bang!

With a muffled impact, the punching target shook violently.

A number appeared on the Punching Power Tester's screen—"958 KG!"

Jiang Zhe's eyes lit up. He was a Pre-Martial Warrior just like that?

Before he could celebrate for long, his cousin's shout rang out beside him.

"Your roots and joints aren't firm. You're toppling before you even strike!"

"Again!"

"Pay attention to force under your feet. Grip the ground with the tips of your toes. Think of my footwork just now—like your feet are rooted in the earth."

Jiang Zhe was enlightened by his cousin's words and realized the flaw in his exertion. He tried again.

Standing before the punching target, he suddenly drove force through his feet. With a slight twist of his body, powerful force erupted from his waist and hips, traveling through his body joint by joint before reaching his arm. His fist shot out like an arrow leaving the bowstring, trailing an afterimage as it slammed into the punching target with a bang!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The Punching Power Tester's alert sounded.

—"1088 KG!"

Excited, Jiang Zhe threw punch after punch. His body swayed from side to side, and in the blink of an eye, he had unleashed more than ten blows.

The numbers on the Punching Power Tester's screen kept refreshing—"1010 KG, 1052 KG, 1021 KG, 1060 KG..."

Jiang Wu grinned foolishly, pleased by his cousin's talent.

Then he inexplicably felt a chill at the back of his neck. Turning his head, he met his little sister's resentful gaze. The smile on Jiang Wu's face froze as he slowly typed, "???"

Jiang Sisi said faintly, "When he asks us for the Gene Primordial Energy Cultivation Method later, are we giving it to him or not?"

"Of course we are. It's not some rare thing." Jiang Wu scratched his head, failing to get what his sister was trying to say.

Jiang Sisi's mouth twitched. "Before Grandpa left, his youngest grandson was still an Intermediate Student. After only a few days, when he comes back and sees that his youngest grandson has become an Intermediate Warrior, what expression do you think he'll have?"

Jiang Wu said, "Hey, now that you mention it, I really want to see that."

Jiang Sisi held her forehead and shook her head speechlessly.

The protagonist does not fight with his fists. He will use a weapon, but not a saber or a sword. Stay tuned.

However, there really was a martial artist in the original work who belonged to the Xingyi Style: Luo Feng's enemy, Molo. He created Beast Fist and entered the Primal Secret Realm. His talent was extremely strong. At the Cosmic Level, he possessed one hundredfold perfect-body force amplification, one of the prerequisites for being Promoted to Immortal. Some inferior World Masters might not even possess it.

At that time, Luo Feng probably only had seventy-eightfold Psychic Power Amplitude, while the Golden Horn Beast had eighty to ninetyfold strength amplification.

Finally, brothers, please vote and bookmark. Love you all.