NOVEL WEB Chapter 111: Did You Eat the Heart of a Bear and the Gall of a Leopard?
My good-for-nothing master is really as unreliable as ever. Maybe it's really because he's getting old; he just likes to act mysterious and speak in riddles. According to his plan, perhaps by the time I'd smoothly arrived at the County Town and delivered the letter, I would have been able to meet directly with a Martial Artist from the Zhao Family in the Refining Internal Realm and take a look at their Middle Grade Cultivation Techniques. He thought he could make a grand impression on his disciple without even showing his face. But now, the problem is, the Zhao Family—Zhao Yuanchang—doesn't acknowledge me.
Sighing internally, Jiang Shu wasn't particularly disappointed or upset. After all, it wasn't like he didn't have a backup plan. "Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength" is the apex among Bone Forging Techniques. As long as I grind it on my panel until I Break the Limit, there's a very high chance I'll obtain a version of "Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength" that allows me to reach the Refining Internal Realm. I'd be able to step into the Refining Internal Realm that way too. Although, reaching the Refining Internal Realm this way would definitely make me far inferior compared to the Martial Artists of the Refining Internal Realm in Yongning County Town. But what I possess isn't just the Martial Arts of this world! Once I step into the Refining Internal Realm and grasp the transformation of strength! The Martial Arts Realms of the Da Jing Dynasty are very difficult for me to advance in. But in that realm on Xuanxing, I can make rapid progress! After improving my combat ability, I can trade benefits with influential families to obtain a true Middle Grade Cultivation Technique. Will that still be difficult? The path forward is still clear.
However, if Master Chou's letter had worked, I would have been able to skip this process! Cultivating a Middle Grade Cultivation Technique ahead of time would undoubtedly save me a lot of time. Moreover, with the Zhao Family's backing, I could also establish myself in the County Town and gain more Martial Arts resources. It wouldn't be like now, where I even have to find an inn for lodging!
Realm, strength! In this world, Martial Arts still decide everything. I'm just a Martial Artist in the Bone Forging Realm. Zhao Yuanchang, engrossed in his Martial Arts Cultivation, sees whomever he wishes and ignores those he doesn't. Faced with a personal letter from my master, he merely sent a steward to offer me a gold-medal honorary position. Does he, Jiang Shu, need this honorary position?
Jiang Shu's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't know if Zhao Yuanchang's actions were due to Master Chou or simply pure contempt for him. Regardless, this enmity was now forged. One day, when his Martial Arts training is accomplished, he will personally visit the Zhao Family! He will ask Zhao Yuanchang face to face what exactly was written in that letter!
"How have you been these past few days in the Zhang Family? If anything is troubling you, just let me know." Putting his emotions aside, Jiang Shu smiled and spoke to Zhang Ruo. "I'll mainly be in the County Town from now on. If there's anything I can help with, I definitely will."
He had gotten a fair understanding of Zhang Ruo's character during their journey. She indeed had the potential of a 'green tea bitch,' skillfully playing her two senior brothers around her finger. But being a 'green tea bitch' also implied she was clever and handled social situations smoothly. Just like now; when he asked her out, she answered all his questions without prying too much into his affairs. For that alone, he was willing to lend a hand within his capabilities in the future. Moreover, the County Town isn't like the County City. The County City is small, and its power structures aren't complex. As long as one has the strength of the Refining Internal Realm, they can pretty much bulldoze their way through. But the County Town has experts up to the Blood Exchange Realm. The major families all have several Martial Artists in the Refining Internal Realm. Even those in the Refining Internal Realm need to be somewhat low-key here, let alone someone like him, who is only in the Bone Forging Realm. Improving his strength is paramount, of course. But having an acquaintance from a prominent family like Zhang Ruo would also make it easier for him to integrate into the County Town. Zhang Ruo is an excellent candidate for that.
"Not too good." Jiang Shu's words directly stirred Zhang Ruo's emotions. She sighed and said, "It's not that my clan peers ostracize me, but I just can't connect with them at all. In the County City, all I knew was that exotic beast meat could improve a Martial Artist's Qi and blood. At that time, I thought if I could just have enough exotic beast meat every day, and occasionally some Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine, I would be perfectly content.
"But after arriving at the Zhang Family, I realized how shallow my perspective was. The true geniuses of our Zhang Family, every month, receive the most top-tier resources—not exotic beast meat, not Heaven and Earth Treasure Medicine, but Elixirs refined from both!
"When I was in the County City, I only came into contact with low-tier Cultivation Techniques, and I couldn't even claim to fully understand the low-tier Cultivation Techniques available there. But they casually critique the Middle Grade Martial Arts of various families. Several of them have already learned Middle Grade Cultivation Techniques and Martial Arts!
"These are the geniuses of our Zhang Family. As for those my age with average Martial Talent, they often attend banquets, hoping to meet geniuses from influential clans and form marital alliances. I'm stuck in the middle. I can't become a genius and advance further in Martial Arts, nor am I willing to become a tool for family alliances."
In front of Jiang Shu, Zhang Ruo couldn't hide her emotions at all. As she spoke, she furrowed her brows, presenting a pitiable sight.
In the County City, she was the genius who had shocked her grandfather by reaching the Bone Forging Realm at eighteen. But upon arriving at the Zhang Family, she realized that true geniuses her age had already completely tempered their upper and lower limbs by this point; some had even tempered more than half of their spine and ribs! This was just the disparity in Martial Arts Realms. In terms of Martial Arts, she had only learned two simple low-tier Martial Arts. Yet, every genius in the clan had learned five or six, if not more! Even at the same Realm, their combat strength was several times hers!
"And compared to the County City," she continued, her voice tinged with melancholy, "the County Town is just too vast. When I visited before, I was very young and couldn't leave the Zhang Family estate. I only felt that the County Town was more prosperous than the County City, that commoners all practiced Martial Arts and probably lived more comfortably than those in the County City. I thought practicing Martial Arts was the same everywhere, so I quickly returned to the County City."