Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
In a rather spacious courtyard in the Imperial Capital of the Great Xia Empire.
The owner of the courtyard was obviously a person with leisure and elegance.
The spacious courtyard was filled with pleasant pale green flowers and plants that were arranged like a secret garden.
To be able to own such a garden in the Imperial Capital where every inch of land was worth gold, it was a given that the status of the courtyard’s owner was either rich or noble.
The founder of the Fengquan Sect, Feng Zhihen.
His strength had long reached the Origin-returning Tier. Those in the Origin-returning Tier might be extraordinary, but there were many in the entire Great Xia Empire. That being said, he was the most unique one.
Ever since he reached the upper realm of the Origin-returning Tier and became a Master, he gave up on cultivating martial arts and began to devote himself to creating martial arts techniques!
Over the years, he had created more than a hundred martial arts techniques, and each possessed extraordinary combat strength.
Not only was he extremely powerful, but he was also extremely famous in the entire Imperial City. He was the honorary vice dean of the Xiyuan Martial Arts University, and the only person who had not joined the army but had obtained the rank of general!
Outsiders might not know about him, but if one knew about him, none would dare to disrespect him. Even the Great Xia Emperor had to bow politely when he met Deng Zhihen.
But now, as he got older and his energy gradually depleted, he had not gone out for a long time.
Every day, he would just sit in his courtyard and quietly think about the martial techniques he had created when he was in his prime. When he was in his prime, he had been full of himself, as such, he had created the martial techniques while only considering how to kill the enemy as fast as possible. He had disregarded the harm those techniques would cause to the people who practiced them.
But he was getting old.
He had lost all his spirit and was already thinking about how to remedy these problems.
Just like now, Feng Zhihen was quietly sitting on the rocking chair in the courtyard. He looked like an old man who would pass at any moment. Who would imagine that the old man had the combat strength of the upper realm?
One had to know that after one finished tempering one’s body and had truly stepped into the path of martial arts, the tiers were divided into three realms.
The lower realm included the Qi-gathering Tier and the True-transformation Tier.
The middle realm included the Convergence Tier and the Insight Tier.
The upper realm included the Origin-returning Tier and the Fortune Tier!
The old man had undoubtedly reached the peak of the upper realm.
Unfortunately, even so, he was still unable to escape the shackles of old age, illness, and death. Rather, because he had expended too much mental energy, he aged faster than the martial artists of his age.
The door to the courtyard was pushed open, and a young girl walked in.
This girl was dressed in fitting clothes. Her hair was tied into a ponytail that made it easy for her to move. She looked quite capable and valiant. However, she wore a large pair of glasses that made her look cute.
She squatted beside Feng Zhihen and poured away the cold tea in his cup, then replaced it with hot tea.
She said in a low voice, “Master.”
“Xiao Lingli, what’s the matter?” Feng Zhihen raised his eyes and looked at the girl in front of him with an affectionate smile in his eyes.
He asked, “You should be in cram school at this time, right? Why are you so free to come to my place? Did you skip class?”
Sun Lingli answered in a low voice, “I didn’t. I just have some matters to discuss with Master.”
“Nothing is more important than your cram school,” Feng Zhihen sighed, “You’re going to sit for the Longmen examination this year. I’m not worried about your martial arts ability, but your general knowledge results are a little bit… sigh… Yesterday, your teacher called me again and said that you’ve fallen from eighth place to third from the bottom. My face was red with embarrassment at that time. Lingli, I know that you don’t like studying, but you must know that if you only focus on martial arts, you’re no stronger than a boorish fellow. If you can’t combine your martial arts with general knowledge, it will be difficult for you to soar to the top.”
“Master, please don’t poke at me. I have really tried my best,” Sun Lingli also blushed a little embarrassedly.
She continued, “I really have serious business. I have received news from the Martial Arts Association that someone has privately taught the Killing-flame Fist Technique that you created without your permission.”
“The Killing-flame Fist?” Feng Zhihen narrowed his eyes, looking even older.
He pondered for a long time before saying, “I remember that I should have already released the authority of teaching the Killing-flame Fist within the Martial Arts Association.”
“But to prevent the human martial techniques from being learned by the alien races, every martial technique in the human society must be strictly examined. As such, everyone who has learned the Killing-flame Fist should be registered in the Martial Arts Association,” Sun Lingli said seriously, “The martial arts center that taught the Killing-flame Fist has always been a heterodoxy center that sells fake martial techniques for a living… But recently, they suddenly started teaching real martial techniques. Master, it’s the Killing-flame Fist inherited from your lineage!”
“They haven’t been registered?”
“No.”
“No?” Feng Zhihen sighed lightly and said, “I should already know who they are.”
He raised his hand and gestured for Sun Lingli to help him up.
He sighed and asked, “Where are they?”
“Qingzhou City.”
“That far?” Feng Zhihen thought for a while and said, “Lingli, help me arrange a ticket to Qingzhou City.”
“But Master, you are not feeling well…”
“It’s alright. I am an Origin-returning Tier Master, how can I be unwell? I am just old and tired, so I am a little sleepy. There is no difference between sleeping on the road and sleeping at home.”
Feng Zhihen sighed again and said, “Did you say that the person in question had been using a fake Killing-flame Fist as a scam?”
“That’s right. In fact, the Martial Arts Association has consulted the Fengquan Sect several times on this matter, asking if we wanted them to take care of it… However, I have always remembered your instructions. The reputation of the sect is nothing but worldly possessions. If one is too rigid, one will definitely make a big mistake… so I only thought that the martial technique they were selling only had the same name and never bothered with them.”
Sun Lingli said seriously, “But I never thought that they did know the real martial technique, so I was even more puzzled. They clearly have the real one, so why did they take out a fake one? As if they are deliberately tarnishing the reputation of the Fengquan Sect… That’s not right. Everyone in the industry can see whether it’s real or fake at a glance. If they wanted to tarnish our sect’s reputation, they wouldn’t have done it this way.”
Feng Zhihen chuckled and said, “Won’t I know once I get there?”
Sun Lingli nodded and said, “That’s true. We’ll know once we get there.”
“No, I’ll know once I get there. This time, I won’t be bringing you along. I don’t even plan on bringing the guards that His Majesty has forcefully assigned to me. After all, I’m an upper realm Master. Even if I’m old, do I not have the ability to protect myself? To think His Majesty sent people to protect me, he’s worrying too much. If something does happen, I wonder who will be protecting who.”
Feng Zhihen glanced at his beloved disciple. This disciple of his was extremely talented, her talent could be said to be peerless. At such a young age, she was already at the advanced stage of the Qi-gathering Tier.
This was the result of him forcefully suppressing her advancement. After all, if she advanced too quickly, her foundation would easily become unstable. Although the Qi-gathering Tier was in the lower realm, it tempered the bones and determined the upper limit of a martial artist!
Especially since for every realm that she broke through, she would receive a large number of rewards in the martial arts universities. There were some things that even he felt were not bad.
How could he allow the child to break through without restraint before entering a martial arts university?
It was a pity that her martial arts talent seemed to be at the cost of her IQ… She was clearly such a dainty and beautiful young girl, and she also looked smart and intelligent. Yet why was she so stupid like a porcelain dummy when it came to things like Chinese, mathematics, physics, and chemistry?
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Fortunately, he had not allowed Sun Lingli to reveal her identity as the successor of the Fengquan Sect back then. It seemed that this move was extremely wise. Otherwise, if it was known that the successor of the Fengquan Sect was reprimanded speechless by her teacher, his reputation would really be thrown onto the streets.
He said seriously, “Stay here and study hard. Your martial arts cultivation is very high, and it will give you extra points. However, if your general knowledge results can not keep up, you will still not be able to enter Xiyuan Martial Arts University. I will say the same thing. Lingli, I am keen on you to inherit the Fengquan Sect, but if you can’t even enter Xiyuan Martial Arts University, then this thought can only be a mere thought.”
Sun Lingli said weakly, “But I really can’t understand them. I’ve been very serious, Master, you know that.”
“I know, but sometimes, the world isn’t fair. Giving… may not necessarily mean you’ll be rewarded,” Feng Zhihen sighed and looked at his pitiful disciple who had worked hard yet still couldn’t get the same return. Even now, she was still at the bottom of the ranks.
His heart was filled with affection for her, but he seemed to have thought of something as he turned his back so that she would not see the darkness in his eyes….