When Liang Qu dressed up neatly and reappeared in the hall, everyone was visibly impressed.
His long arms, thin waist, and mantis-like legs, coupled with a mountain oxhide belt that tightly wrapped his clothes to show off his physique, made him appear tall and vigorous, like a majestic spear.
Yang Dongxiong praised heartily, "Good, this is the spirit of youth!"
"Oh no, my title as the most handsome is really going to be snatched away!"
"Junior Brother Xu, give it a rest, it's always been me, hasn't it?" Cao Rang chuckled.
"It's a pity the Senior Brother is not here. He's the richest and could gift something amazing, probably some rare elixir."
"By the way, Master, have you informed the Senior Brother?"
Yang Dongxiong nodded, "I wrote the letter last night, haven't sent it yet, but I'll have someone deliver it shortly. We should get a reply in about a month, and it'll surely be rectified then."
Seeing Liang Qu's confusion, Xu Zishuai explained, "Senior Brother joined the Western Army, and he's now an Army Commander. I heard he's about to be promoted again, so it's inconvenient for him to come back — that's why you haven't seen him."
Liang Qu understood.
The group chatted some more, mostly asking about Liang Qu's life situation.
After a short while, Third Senior Brother Lu Gang offered to leave; he's not much of a talker and prefers smithing, eager to go back to work on long spear designs.
"Junior Brother, just come by my house this evening. Follow the road at the Yang Manor's entrance until you see a grain store called Xuji. There's an alley beside it, go straight down and you'll see a large anvil, that's my place."
"Okay, I've got it, Third Senior Brother, take care."
After Lu Gang left, the others chatted a bit longer.
When the timing seemed right, they gradually left, leaving only the three youngest disciples in the hall.
Yang Dongxiong took a sip of tea, "Little Nine, how thick is the chi in your chest now?"
Liang Qu didn't want to lie about his cultivation progress, as it would ultimately harm his own development.
He answered honestly, "About as thick as my index finger."
Hearing this, both Hu Qi and Xiang Changsong were surprised, "Junior Brother, you've only been learning for a month, how have you progressed so fast? I haven't seen you take any medicine!"
"I caught another Treasure Fish a few days ago," Liang Qu scratched his head, "It was an eel, completely vermilion, and had an ox tail at the back. I was so overjoyed when I caught it that I cooked and ate it immediately. After eating, my whole body felt hot, and I practiced punches until the chi, which was the thickness of a chopstick, grew to the thickness of a finger."
"A vermilion eel with an ox tail?"
Hu Qi and Xiang Changsong were deep in thought, this kind of Treasure Fish didn't seem familiar.
"Master Yang, do you know what kind of fish this is?"
"I haven't heard of it either, but the Jianghuai Marshlands are vast. There are too many fish species we don't know about, it's not surprising," Yang Dongxiong concluded.
Not knowing was good, because Liang Qu had made it up.
He originally wanted to say he caught another Horned Pomfret because it was, in his understanding, the best fish, but then realized that it couldn't have directly boosted his chi to the thickness of an index finger, so he just invented a tale.
The modern rivers have so many undiscovered species, and the ancient environment, even more so.
Besides, if there are small Treasure Fish like a Red Blood Perch weight of half a tael per jin, and Horned Pomfrets weighing half a tael per jin, then it was only natural there might be others weighing ten taels, hundreds of taels per jin, producing miraculous effects.
"Even so, Junior Brother, achieving the thickness of a chopstick without medicine in just a month, you have great talent. When Master has time, he might help you assess your destiny and see how gifted you are. Bone-reading reveals too little."
Destiny?
Liang Qu absorbed the new term, not understanding its significance.
Seeming to catch on to Liang Qu's confusion, Hu Qi explained, "This 'destiny' is not about fate, but refers to talent. Junior Brother, you can just think of it this way, it will become clear after your destiny is assessed."
Unexpectedly, Yang Dongxiong shook his head, "I've run out of incense ash, the necessary tools, assessing destiny will have to wait."
Liang Qu asked, "Master, I heard from Senior Brother Hu that the chi in the chest needs to be the thickness of a pinky before breaking through the Skin Barrier. I didn't know how before and forced it to grow to the thickness of an index finger. Is that a problem?"
"There's no need to worry. There's no difference; after breaking the Skin Barrier, you'll continue to accumulate chest chi. The thickness of a pinky is just the minimum requirement for breaking the barrier, while an index finger thickness makes it even easier."
Liang Qu felt relieved.
He was worried he might have practiced wrong since he had never been exposed to such skills.
Having only read novels, he knew the fantasy and reality were vastly different, and it gave him unease.
"Since you're still injured, you can wait for it to heal before continuing your practice. For now, follow along with Hu Qi at the Martial Hall, and he'll teach you as he goes. He'll also explain some common knowledge and essentials, then have Xiang Changsong take you to the Evergreen Medical Hall to get acquainted so that getting prescriptions in the future will be convenient."
Yang Dongxiong made a few short decisions, recognizing that teaching such a low-level disciple directly wasn't necessary, and that letting Hu Qi teach him sufficed.
"By the way, do you know how to read?"
"I know a little, but not much."
"Then you should find time to study every day. I'll arrange a teacher for you."
"Thank you, Master."
After Yang Dongxiong had given all his instructions, it was already nine in the morning.
Liang Qu and his two Senior Brothers didn't linger, but headed to the Evergreen Medical Hall.
The Evergreen Medical Hall was the largest in Peaceful Sun Town, with four or five physicians attending to patients at the large hall, and a long line queued at the entrance.
Hu Qi and the others didn't mean to wait in line and brought Liang Qu into the hall.
As they entered, Xiang Changsong called out to the counter, "Shopkeeper Chen, this is the ninth disciple our Master has taken in, my Junior Brother, here to get acquainted."
The white-haired shopkeeper quickly left the counter to greet them and, turning to Liang Qu, praised, "Is this Ninth Young Master? Such an outstanding young man, truly unforgettable. You all quickly come over to greet him, make sure to be attentive."
Several of the busy little attendants put down their work to greet him, although they didn't call him Ninth Young Master, but rather Ninth Young Lord.
"Did you remember that clearly?"
"Yes, Shopkeeper, we remembered clearly."
"Alright, go back to work then."
Shopkeeper Chen turned and said, "According to our usual practice, when you come, it'll always be at half price."
"Thank you, Shopkeeper Chen."
"No need to thank me, your presence is our honor."
After brief socializing, the trio prepared to leave, with Hu Qi grabbing three packs of medicine on the way out, despite the shopkeeper's insistence that he didn't need to pay, treating it as a celebration for Master Yang taking on a talented new disciple.
While receiving all the flattering words, Liang Qu reminisced on the time he took Chen Qingjiang to get medicine and racked up debts, feeling as if he had truly succeeded.
Truly, a step to heaven.
On the way back to the Martial Hall, Hu Qi began explaining to Liang Qu how to break through barriers.
The method is quite simple; stimulate the blood and chi, meaning the long chi in the chest, letting it flow and dissolve, stimulating the skin all over the body.
When the stimulation reaches a certain level, the skin will have a considerable increase in strength, tough as cowhide.
"This cultivation does have some danger, so it's best if someone guides you. I'll demonstrate it once we get to the Martial Hall."
"As for the Four Barriers, after them comes the Seven Stages, which include Galloping Horse, Wolf Smoke, Hunting Tiger, Perfect Manifestation, Mourning Dragon, Forge, and Ascending Rainbow, with subdivisions within each stage."
"At the Peak of Galloping Horse, one can hold back dozens of galloping horses without moving. Wolf Smoke stage blood and chi rise like wolf smoke, enveloping a height of about one zhang, appearing almost godlike, intimidating as if surrounded by wolves."
“At Stage of Hunting Tiger, chi surges violently like waves; upon unleashing, ordinary people would feel terror like a timid hare meeting a fierce tiger, their courage torn apart.”
“At Stage of Perfect Manifestation, every move can shake the earth, crush mountains, and calm rivers, emerging as a Great General."
“Mourning Dragon stage allows one to break free from earthly shackles, leaping thousands of lengths into the clouds, revered as a Martial Saint of the land.”
“I don't know much about the Stages of Forge and Ascending Rainbow, only that Ascending Rainbow allows one to transform their physical body into a flying rainbow, ascending to the heavens.”
"In actuality, after the Four Barriers, there should be a Barrier of Viscera and Bowels, yet breaking it leads directly to the Initial Stage of Galloping Horse, so the two levels are often spoken of together."
Is the martial path of this world really that extraordinary?
Liang Qu wasn't sure if the descriptions were exaggerated, but it sounded quite grandiose.
“What's the level of Master Yang?”
“Hunting Tiger.”
“Hunting Tiger!?”
Liang Qu's pupils slightly shrank.
Could a small town like Peaceful Sun Town really host a Hunting Tiger expert?
Could the martial path be easily conquered, practically turning it into cabbage?
Hu Qi laughed, "Junior Brother, did you know there are three Martial Halls in Peaceful Sun Town?"
"I know."
"The other two only remain in Peaceful Sun Town because they’re barely qualified to set up a Hall here. Master Yang stays in Peaceful Sun Town merely because it is his hometown."
Liang Qu realized, that’s like the difference between a score of a hundred and ninety-nine, right?
The martial path in this world was far superior to what he had imagined, making him eagerly anticipate his breakthrough.
As for that Sword of Damocles known as Master Zhao or any others who'd once posed a threat to him, what petty troublemakers were they now?
(End of Chapter)