Chapter 63: Chapter 59: Three Months

Chen Qing got up, pushed open the door to his room, and walked to the well in the courtyard. He drew a bucket of refreshingly cool well water to wash up.

Amid the SPLASH of water, Ms. Han strolled in from outside the courtyard with a vegetable basket on her arm. “Ah Qing, two groups of people came this morning. They all said they were delivering things for you.”

As she spoke, she took a heavy package and a small white porcelain bottle from her basket. “Here. This package is from the Cheng Family’s Steward, and as for this little porcelain bottle… the person who delivered it said he was Jiang Yang’s junior brother.”

“Oh?”

Chen Qing was a little surprised. He took the items and turned back into his room.

He unwrapped the package. Inside was a thick stack of silver notes, amounting to three hundred taels, with twenty plump, round Blood Qi Pills stacked next to them.

Chen Qing understood immediately. This was the Cheng Family’s generous reward for risking his life yesterday.

After all, while it was true the Cheng Family had done him a great service, such favors wouldn’t last forever.

From now on, the Cheng Family would surely place even greater importance on him.

As for the small white porcelain bottle, he removed the soft stopper to find three Blood Qi Pills of the same quality lying inside.

’This Jiang Yang is a clever man.’

Looking at the porcelain bottle in his hand, Chen Qing instantly understood Jiang Yang’s intentions.

He carefully put away the silver notes. As for the Blood Qi Pills, he would need to inspect them to ensure they were safe before consuming them.

Once everything was in order, Chen Qing finally left and went to the Zhou Institute.

“Good morning, Brother Chen!”

“Brother Chen!”

As he walked, the disciples he encountered greeted him enthusiastically, their tones holding a newfound, genuine warmth compared to before.

Chen Qing nodded in acknowledgment and walked toward his spot.

“Brother Chen!”

Song Yufeng hurried over, lowered his voice, his face filled with admiration. “The story of your fight at the Goddess Temple Pier yesterday has spread all over the institute! That Tian Yaosong is known for being a tough nut to crack, but you actually managed to take him down…”

He looked Chen Qing up and down with concern. “You didn’t injure your bones or muscles, did you?”

Chen Qing replied calmly, “I’m fine. It was just a minor injury.”

’No wonder the disciples in the institute were so warm toward him.’

It was all because Chen Qing had stepped in to help the Cheng Family yesterday.

’Who wouldn’t want someone who would stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them without hesitation, ready to go through fire and water for them when it’s a matter of life and death?’

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Song Yufeng breathed a sigh of relief. He then glanced left and right and lowered his voice even more. “But Brother Chen, something big happened at the institute yesterday! People from the Zhu Family… they came to pay a formal visit to Master. It caused quite a stir.”

“The Zhu Family!?”

Hearing this, Chen Qing’s heart stirred. He asked, “Why did the Zhu Family come looking for Master?”

The Zhu Family was the head of the Five Great Noble Families of Gaolin County. Their roots ran deep, and it was rumored that even the County Magistrate had intricate ties with them.

Recently, they had been recruiting Guests far and wide, enjoying a period of unrivaled prominence.

Song Yufeng shook his head, looking clueless. “I’m not sure about the details. I was practicing my fist techniques at the time and just heard a loud BANG from Master’s room, like someone slamming a table. It was pretty loud. After the people from the Zhu Family left, Master’s expression… wasn’t very good.”

Chen Qing’s brow furrowed slightly.

’The waters of Gaolin County were once kept in a delicate balance by the Captain’s Mansion.’

’Now that the Captain is severely injured, the scales have already tipped.’

’The recent purge of the Captain’s forces was a clear move by factions to attack their rivals. Could it be that the Zhu Family came to recruit Master into their fold, and a conflict arose because he refused?’

’Forget it. I can’t figure it out just by thinking about it.’

After a moment of thought, he temporarily set aside his doubts and asked instead, “What about you? How’s your training going?”

Song Yufeng took a deep breath, fighting spirit flaring in his eyes. “My blood and qi are sufficient! In the next few days, I’m going to make my first attempt at breaking through!”

Chen Qing clapped him on the shoulder. “Good! Stay calm and give it your all.”

“Thank you, Brother Chen! I won’t let you down!” Song Yufeng clenched his fists tightly.

The days slipped by like flowing water.

During the day, Chen Qing focused on his Cultivation of the Long Arm Pile Skill at the Zhou Institute, and at night, he returned home to diligently practice the Fishing Toad Force.

Before he knew it, three months had passed, and early winter had arrived.

With the new year approaching, the situation at the Zhou Institute improved slightly. A few new disciples arrived, but many old ones also left.

Even Qi Wenhan, an older disciple, packed his bags and left. It was said that he had been recruited by Liu Xiaolou and had entered the service of the Li Family.

The institute felt increasingly empty.

Chen Qing’s progress, however, had not stalled. In particular, after arduous Cultivation, his Fishing Toad Force had finally reached the Second Realm.

[Fate Plate: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Success is Inevitable]

[Long Arm Pile Skill: Great Success (1615/2000)]

[Long Arm Fist: Great Success (1501/2000)]

[Gale Saber Technique: Great Success (214/1000)]

[Great Success in Fishing Toad Skill (171/500)]

…..

For Chen Qing, as long as he followed his routine, reaching the Transmutation Force realm through Cultivation was only a matter of time.

The Fishing Toad Force had three realms in total, with Perfection being the Third Realm.

The cold wind howled, and the disciples in the courtyard put on extra layers to ward off the chill.

Chen Qing stood atop a wooden pile, steady as the Pan Stone. With each breath he exhaled, a plume of white mist streamed out like silk.

“Big news! Huge news!”

A disciple rushed in from outside the courtyard like a whirlwind, shouting breathlessly, “Songfeng Martial Arts Hall! Gao Sheng! He… he’s going to attempt a breakthrough to the Transmutation Force realm!”

UPROAR!

The entire Zhou Institute erupted like a pot of boiling water! Every disciple’s face was instantly filled with shock and disbelief!

Transmutation Force!

That was a peak of Martial Arts they could only gaze up at but never reach. A successful breakthrough was like a carp leaping over the Dragon’s Gate; he would immediately become an honored guest courted by all the major powers, with a lifetime of glory and wealth within his grasp.

“Gao Sheng from the Songfeng Martial Arts Hall? He… he’s that talented? How long has it been since the Martial Arts Examination?”

“My heavens! If he succeeds, won’t the Songfeng Martial Arts Hall have three masters at the Transmutation Force realm?”

“Can he do it? I heard the breakthrough to Transmutation Force is incredibly dangerous. So many geniuses have failed and fallen by the wayside. There are plenty of people who only succeed after three or four attempts…”

“…..”

The sound of whispering spread like a tide as the disciples exchanged glances, unable to hide their worry.

The Songfeng Martial Arts Hall and the Zhou Institute had a deep-seated enmity. Qin Lie, for instance, had been defeated by Gao Sheng.

If this man truly broke through to Transmutation Force, it would be no different than a sharp sword hanging over the heads of the Zhou Institute disciples.

Sun Shun silently continued his pile practice, but his movements were a bit heavier than usual.

Zhou Yu’s brow was tightly furrowed, his expression grave.

Zhengzi Bridge forced a few jokes with his followers, but the envy and jealousy in his eyes were hard to conceal. He soon lost interest in talking and seemed somewhat distracted.

Luo Qian, on the other hand, quickly summoned the messenger disciple and quietly instructed him to go and find out more.

“Transmutation Force…”

Atop the wooden pile, Chen Qing slowly exhaled a long stream of white breath.

’He wasn’t far from that threshold himself.’

The entire afternoon, a tense and anxious atmosphere hung over the Zhou Institute.

It wasn’t until the sun began to set in the west that the disciple who had been sent to gather information ran back, panting. He had a strange expression of relief on his face. “There’s news! Gao Sheng… his attempt to break through to Transmutation Force… failed!”

PHEW!

As if an invisible boulder had been lifted, a collective, suppressed sigh of relief echoed through the courtyard.

Gao Sheng’s failure was undoubtedly a piece of temporary good news for the disciples of the Zhou Institute.

However, this fleeting moment of ease vanished in an instant, replaced by a deeper worry that crept into everyone’s hearts.

’The chances of succeeding on the first attempt were slim to begin with. But now that he has this experience, what about the next time? Or the time after that?’

’Maybe one of those times, he’ll actually succeed?’

Sun Shun looked somewhat melancholic. “The Transmutation Force realm isn’t so easily reached.”

He had previously attempted to break through for the third time, but he ultimately failed and even injured his blood and qi, leaving him unable to practice Martial Arts for two months.

It wasn’t just Sun Shun; the other few disciples at the Dark Force realm also had complicated expressions.

They were more worried about their own futures.

’If even someone like Gao Sheng, who is more talented than Qin Lie, failed to break through, do we even stand a chance?’

…….

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep