Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Phew…”
Rong Kaixuan made a half turn and spun like a top to make his way behind Rong Jielin. He quickly sent a punch out with all of his might.
That one punch seemed to have gathered all the True Qi in his body. The agitated wind caused by the punch was cold and ear-piercing.
Rong Jielin’s heart sensed something. Rong Kaixuan’s pathetic amount of True Qi was definitely insufficient to hurt him, but he could see something different about the punch that his grandson had made toward him.
It was a sort of manner that only a true blue Martial Artist would have. It was a heart that bravely moved forward and gave the attack his best shot without holding back or wanting to retreat.
The difference between a Martial Artist and a Spiritualist was that when Martial Artists faced enemies, they had to fight at close range. If one wasn’t careful, one would lose one’s life on the spot. Without enough guts and that sort of fearless manner, a Martial Artist wouldn’t have much of a future to speak of.
Once Rong Jielin noticed that a pleased smile spread across his old and wrinkled face.
He laughed cheekily and suddenly stood still with his body bent forward slightly. He slowly unleashed an air about him as if he was an ancient tree that had been planted here for tens of thousands of years. He covered the entire area with that incomparable air within himself.
Rong Kaixuan’s expression changed dramatically. His body was now being attacked by a coldness that he couldn’t describe.
It was a terrible feeling. It was the same overwhelming sense of danger that he had felt when he sent his first Spirit Body Fighter to the deep mountains and met that ferocious tiger for the first time.
His feet kept moving back as he tried his best to retreat.
But Rong Jielin had already unleashed his true abilities.
His speed and strength were way above what Rong Kaixuan was able to muster.
Pak!
There was a quiet blast as Rong Kaixuan’s body was sent flying high up in the air. He spun one round in the air and landed neatly on the ground.
“Grandpa, you… You cheated!” Rong Kaixuan unhappily yelled.
Rong Jielin burst out laughing. His laughter sounded like he was extremely comforted.
If Rong Jielin had held back his ability to match Rong Kaixuan’s, the two of them might have continued fighting for a while more. Because the old man unleashed his true ability as a Peak Stage Martial Arts Teacher, the huge difference between their abilities instantly decided who won and who lost.
Rong Jielin had absolute strength, absolute speed, and absolute power.
When the difference was that great, even if Rong Kaixuan was a genius, there was nothing he could have done to win.
“Kaixuan, you’ve already done an excellent job.” Rong Jiexuan finally stopped laughing after a while. He turned and raised his voice by an octave. “Cai! Call those three punks over here.”
“Yes, Master!” Rong Cai responded from afar.
Of course, the three punks Rong Jielin referred to were his three sons.
After a few moments, Rong Yihe and his two brothers arrived in the courtyard.
When they saw their father with Rong Kaixuan, they were all quite surprised. They all knew that the old man treated Rong Kaixuan differently, but surely there was no need for all three of them to accompany him too, right?
When Rong Jielin saw Rong Yiyang, he scoffed quietly and wished he could vent his anger.
“Yiyang, look at what you’ve done.”
Rong Yiyang froze for a while and had questions on his face. “Father, what have I done now?”
Rong Jielin scoffed coldly, “Didn’t you say that Kaixuan had no gifting for martial arts?”
“That’s right.” Rong Yiyang nodded and replied, “Kaixuan only managed to gather and cultivate True Qi when he was very close to turning 15 years old, so his gift in martial arts is quite poor.”
“Tsk, you know nothing.” Rong Jielin glared at him and said, “Kaixuan has the heart of a Martial Artist, and he’s a rare genius in martial arts.”
“What?”
The three brothers and Rong Cai were shocked. They turned to look at Rong Kaixuan. They had a surprised look in their eyes.
Rong Kaixuan awkwardly scratched his head and wondered what on earth this heart of a Martial Artist was all about.
“Impossible,” Rong Yiyang said with disbelief. “I taught Kaixuan myself. If he had the heart of a Martial Artist, how could I have missed it?”
Rong Jielin sighed deeply. “You are an idiot, and that’s what makes me the angriest.” He briefly paused and said, “Your judgment is terrible. You can’t tell when the stone is a piece of jade and insist on saying that it’s just an ordinary rock, so what can I do about that?”
Rong Yiyang’s expression was angry and embarrassed at the same time, but there was a look of joy deep in his eyes that he could not conceal.
He was used to being scolded and blamed by his father. Deep inside his heart, the one he was most concerned about was still his one and only precious son.
When he heard that Rong Kaixuan had the heart of a Martial Artist, the joy within him was difficult to describe.
Rong Yihe thought for a while before saying, “Father, the heart of a Martial Artist requires a long period of training and battling before one can discover and cultivate it. How did Kaixuan even have it in the first place?”
Rong Jielin was silent for a moment. He frowned slightly and looked back at Rong Kaixuan.
Rong Kaixuan felt his heart tremble. He guiltily hung his head.
His heart was pounding. He was feeling upset inside. Did he have to talk about what happened with the Spirit Body after all?
After a few moments, Rong Jielin quietly said, “Kaixuan, a month ago you were already trained in boxing for a little more than 10 years but you were unable to gather any True Qi. Can you tell me how you eventually gathered your True Qi?”
Rong Kaixuan’s expression was bitter, but he managed to squeeze a smile out. The smile made him look even uglier than if he had cried.
“Ah!” Rong Yiyang suddenly exclaimed as if he had remembered something. He shouted loudly, “Kaixuan, did you end up going to the deep mountains that night?”
Rong Kaixuan was surprised by this shout, but he immediately nodded.
Rong Yiyang was furious. He took a step forward as he started scolding his son. “I told you before that you were not allowed to go to the mountains! Yet, you actually dared to go there without telling me! Are you tired of living?! I’m going to beat you to death!”
Rong Kaixuan was dumbfounded. He had never imagined his father’s reaction would be that violent.
Just when Rong Kaixuan was hesitating about whether to avoid his father’s furious attack, Rong Jielin glared at Rong Yiyang and shouted, “I’ll see who dares to touch my grandson!”
Rong Yiyang stopped himself and stiffly replied, “Father, I’m trying to discipline my own son.”
“Tsk, you are my son too. Do you want me to discipline you now?” Rong Jielin argued back.
Rong Yihe and Rong Yiying exchanged glances. There was a faint smile on their faces.
Rong Yihe coughed quietly and tried to resolve the situation. “Father, Yiyang, stop it now.”
Rong Yiying chimed in, “Yiyang, tell us what’s going on. If Kaixuan really did something wrong, we’ll make sure he repents. That will be enough.”
Rong Yiyang stomped his feet. “My brothers, you don’t understand.” He glared hard at his son and said, “That day, Kaixuan used his boxing technique to attempt gathering True Qi but failed, so he asked me if he would be able to gather True Qi if he faced an emergency situation that pushed him to the brink of death to ignite that potential inside of him and allow him to gather True Qi. He wanted to go to the deep mountains to try.” He took a deep breath and continued. “You all know how dangerous that mountain range behind the estate is. If he had gone in…
“…he might even have run into a Magical Beast.”
Rong Yihe gasped and turned to look at Rong Kaixuan in surprise. “Kaixuan, did you really go into the mountains?”
Rong Kaixuan nodded and quietly said, “Father, but I’m still standing here in one piece, right?”
Actually, that night he had gone into the mountains by transferring his will to the Spirit Body he evoked, so his own actual body wasn’t in danger at all.
But there was no way he was saying any of that.
Rong Yiyang grumpily said, “I told you before, you shouldn’t ask for the sort of experience that pushes you to the brink of death. If you find yourself in these 10% survival situations often, one of these days you’re going to die.”
Rong Yiying sighed quietly and said, “Kaixuan, don’t blame your father. He said that for your own good. Some good swimmers drown too, and there are also many powerful cultivators with the heart of a Martial Artist who have met terrible ends.”
“Tsk, what are you talking about?” Rong Yihe unhappily asked. “Having the heart of a Martial Artist is a good thing. If you were the one with it, I’m sure you would have gone mad with happiness by now.”
There was an awkward look on Rong Yiying’s face as he replied, “Eldest Brother, I’m not very gifted in this area, so there’s no way I would have the heart of a Martial Artist.”
Rong Jielin scoffed quietly. The three brothers immediately stopped speaking.
The old man looked at Rong Kaixuan. His gaze was gentle. “Kaixuan, did you meet something in the deep mountains that helped you to successfully gather True Qi?”
Rong Kaixuan nodded gravely and replied, “That’s right, Grandpa. I ran into a ferocious tiger in the deep mountains. After I had attacked it, I successfully gathered True Qi.”
The rest of them exchanged glances. Rong Yiyang, in particular, felt fear in his heart.
Rong Jielin burst out laughing and said, “I knew it. Ho-ho, your heart of a Martial Artist was probably awakened at that moment.”
Rong Kaixuan hesitantly asked, “Grandpa, what is this heart of a Martial Artist?”
Rong Jielin stroked his long beard and replied, “Martial Artists do not only cultivate True Qi. They also cultivate battling techniques. A Martial Artist who is an expert in fighting is very different from a Martial Artist who has only spent time cultivating his Qi. If they are at the same stage and had to fight each other, the former would be able to kill off the latter very easily. Even if they are at different stages, the Martial Artist who is an expert in fighting is also able to overcome those who are at a higher stage.” He paused for a while and continued to explain. “Martial Artists who are good at fighting have been through countless battles, and their bodies will start to have a certain instinct. When they fight with others, they are able to pre-empt their opponent and make use of their strong points while avoiding attacks. This is an instinctive sort of reaction. Once one has the heart of a Martial Artist, no matter how powerful the enemy is, he will not be afraid of them at all.” There was a cold glint in the old man’s eyes as he proudly proclaimed, “This is what we Martial Artists consider the all-important heart of a Martial Artist!”
Rong Kaixuan intently listened to all his words and finally understood where he had gotten the heart of a Martial Artist from.
The Spirit Body he had left behind in the mountains had already reached Middle Stage Martial Artist. In the process of reaching this stage, it had gone through several battles and was severely injured many times.
If a normal human being had suffered such injuries, he would have died many times by now.
But the Spirit Body was still in one good piece and successfully advanced in stage.
When the Spirit Body transferred all its battling experiences to Rong Kaixuan, he had become one with the Spirit Body and was now filled with the same experiences.
Those experiences had ignited a particular energy within his body. It made him possess this heart of a Martial Artist, which was so important to Martial Artists.