Twilight's Threshold Chapter 183: Age-Guarding Inheritance - Novel Cool

Chapter 183: Age-Guarding Inheritance

Chapter 183: Age-Guarding Inheritance

"Not bad, you've all learned the movements, but you still need to improve when it comes to actual combat."

Hu Ma was quite satisfied with the apprentices' skills and said, "In the future, Zhou Datong should take them through more training using the methods taught by Second Uncle, with real fighting involved..."

"...But if you’re using knives, don’t go after the two bell boys."

"Even if the Black Oil Ointment is good, that part won’t grow back..."

"..."

Earlier, Second Uncle had taught them to practice their movements in the village with the intent of going all out.

The method was simple but effective.

This kind of training didn’t require any fancy techniques. After a while, they all became quite ruthless in actual combat.

"You’ve passed this test. Now let’s see how well you’ve mastered your techniques."

Hu Ma crossed his legs and sat on a bench, thinking that a Grandmaster Chair would be better for his back and would make him look more authoritative.

Hearing his instructions, Zhou Datong and the others were all on edge, queuing up in front of him and extending their wrists for him to test their skills.

The method was straightforward; he only needed to use his own firepower for a slight probe to gauge their foundation.

Not everyone could hide their true Daoist Power like a reincarnated one by controlling the Life Incense in the incense burner.

"Hmm?"

After testing a few of them, Hu Ma was slightly surprised: "Not bad..."

None of the apprentices had broken the One Pillar Dao, but several were quite close.

Zhou Datong already had about eight or nine-tenths of the One Pillar Dao’s power, just a step away from reaching one pillar. The others, such as Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu, were also doing well, with about seven or eight-tenths of the power. While they didn’t match Zhou Datong, their progress was still quite commendable.

Hu Ma quickly understood the reason.

These young men, who had been running the mountains with Second Uncle since they were young, lifting stone locks and strictly sealing the fire furnaces to prevent any leakage, had built a solid foundation. Though his own body was dead and couldn’t generate any vitality, they were different. They generated vitality daily, and their furnace fires were extremely strong. Moreover, they had been eating Green Food in the village, which was quite nourishing, so it was only natural that they were well-supplemented.

After all, the treatment in his village was excellent.

In other villages, the apprentices' rations might not be as complete, and there were instances where inferior food was provided. The savings from the apprentices' mouths would end up in the hands of the managers.

However, Hu Ma, who had taken over the management of the village early on, had never been stingy with them. He didn’t care about such things.

This resulted in them all having a solid foundation, nearly reaching one pillar.

However, as he continued to test the others, he found that apart from Zhou Datong and the few outstanding ones, there were also some with six or seven-tenths of the power, and a few with five or six-tenths. Finally, there was one with only two or three-tenths of the power, and Hu Ma’s face immediately turned serious:

"Why is your power so weak? Be honest, do you...?"

"..."

He clenched his hand and gestured up and down, looking extremely serious at the apprentice.

"No... no..."

The apprentice, seeing Hu Ma’s serious expression, was almost in tears: "...Not that often!"

Hu Ma was speechless: "Just as I thought!"

One Pillar Dao represents twenty years of vitality.

Using men as an example, if they live to twenty without spilling their seed, having major illnesses, and regularly exercising, their vitality would reach a peak, making them strong enough that even Wandering Filthy Ghosts would hesitate to mess with them.

Of course, this is the ideal scenario. In reality, with the current conditions, it’s hard for everyone to be well-fed, and there’s no guarantee they won’t fall ill. As a result, their power would be far below the ideal level.

For ordinary people, even at the prime age of twenty, their power is only around six or seven-tenths, and that’s if they are relatively healthy.

In the sect, one Pillar Dao is equivalent to this. With the nourishment from Blood Food, the members can reach Three Pillars of Daoist Power in a short time, which is known as Sixty-Year Dao. This is the highest level of Daoist Power that ordinary people can only dream of.

These apprentices, though not yet part of the sect, are all in their mid-teens. While their bodies haven’t reached their peak, they are regularly supplemented with Green Food and White Food. They should have reached six or seven-tenths of the power, which is reasonable.

This guy’s weak power clearly shows he’s not being honest, and he’s probably indulging himself every one or two days.

"The miners in the Blood Food Mine work hard every day and can still hold back. You’re here eating well and drinking well, and you can’t hold back?"

Hu Ma frowned and said sternly, "Stop it!"

"If you do this again, I’ll give you a knife. It’s either your hand or that place. You choose!"

"..."

"Understood, understood..."

The apprentice hurriedly agreed, almost swearing.

The other apprentices exchanged glances, feeling afraid. They were all in their mid-teens, and in the morning, their beds would be lined with flagpoles.

While they knew they shouldn’t break their chastity and should practice abstinence to build up their strength, occasionally, they couldn’t resist. The consequences were so severe?

Fortunately, Hu Ma only tested each of their powers and didn’t ask detailed questions. After finishing, he had a clear understanding. He then called Zhou Datong and led him into the inner courtyard. Once the door was closed, he took out an oil lamp from the cabinet.

Hu Ma smiled and said, "Datong, do you want to learn some skills?"

"Ah?"

Zhou Datong had been called in by Hu Ma, and he was already feeling uneasy.

Suddenly, Hu Ma placed an oil lamp on the table and then broke into a smile. The light from the oil lamp shone up from his chin, making the smile look particularly eerie, which instantly frightened Zhou Datong.

With a thud, he knelt down and shouted, "Brother Pockmarked, I was wrong. On the sixteenth of last month, at midnight, in the outhouse..."

"...I did something."

"Not just me, Zhou Liang and Zhao Zhu also did it, and that deaf one, he did it last time next to the sheep pen..."

"..."

"?"

Hu Ma was completely baffled. What the hell was this about?

These guys, are they usually so mischievous?

But in his current Daoist Power, having entered the inner circle, he had learned a lot about the inner workings. He understood that:

As long as one’s essence wasn’t truly lost, a few times wouldn’t be a problem. It was actually the Second Uncle, who, being outside the inner circle, didn’t understand the rules and would follow the strictest discipline, not daring to take a single step beyond the line.

But it was better not to know about these things. Now that he knew, he couldn’t just let it slide...

...After all, he had never done such things, so why should they?

"Do you know why I called you in?"

Hu Ma scolded Zhou Datong, "I wanted to teach you some skills."

"Do you think this is what?"

"This is something our Second Uncle spent his whole life trying to learn but never managed to. We are lucky to have learned it, and now I can teach it to you."

"But you, you couldn’t even bear a little hardship. You wasted all your efforts on sheep. Do you really have to go back to the village and suffer again?"

"..."

Zhou Datong, after being scolded, put on a mournful face, "I know I was wrong, Brother Pockmarked."

"It’s all because of that deaf one. We didn’t know about these things before. We only learned after seeing him do it..."

"..."

"That’s not it, how did you learn this without a teacher?"

Hu Ma found it quite strange, "Even in my past life, I had a teacher..."

But it was enough to let them know the severity. He didn’t say more, just told him to be careful, then pushed the oil lamp in front of him.

Now that his palm had been reborn as death, he wouldn’t be affected by the poison on the oil lamp. This lamp was one of the original batch passed down by the old shopkeeper. He had to use three of them for the act, and this was the only one left.

"Considering the face of the Second Uncle, I’ll let you off this time. When the New Year comes, make sure to bring something good for the Second Uncle."

Speaking sternly, he said, "Hold this lamp!"

Zhou Datong responded immediately, tilted his head to gauge it, and carefully picked it up.

"Ouch..."

But after holding the lamp for a short while, he suddenly let out a low cry, holding his left leg, and looked up at Hu Ma in disbelief.

"Don’t panic, this is the first step into our inner circle."

Hu Ma looked at Zhou Datong and said in a low voice, "This is the secret that people outside the inner circle will never understand."

Zhou Datong, listening, his eyes widened, and he suddenly became serious, "If it’s like this..."

"...Brother Pockmarked, do I have to call you Master from now on?"

"..."

Hu Ma was slightly taken aback, thinking for a moment.

Indeed, that was the logic.

He was passed the cultivation techniques without a master because of Mr. Wu Hong’s favor, which he had repaid with other methods.

But Zhou Datong didn’t have that. Logically, he should be considered a master for passing him the techniques, which was a great favor.

But they were all from the same village, fighting for their lives, and were about the same age. Taking on this title wasn’t necessary.

So, after a brief thought, he looked at Zhou Datong seriously and said, "No, in the future, if we talk about our origins in the inner circle, just call me Senior Brother."

"I’m taking you in on behalf of the Second Uncle. In the future, I’ll also take in the others. But the favor should be remembered by the Second Uncle. He will be the master of all of us, and this skill, we all learned from him."

"..."

Zhou Datong was surprised and nodded repeatedly, "I understand, Brother Pockmarked."

"Go!"

Hu Ma nodded, "The crutch by the wall, it’s the one you made for me. I’ve kept it for you all along."

...

At the same time, in the outer courtyard, the apprentices, seeing Zhou Datong being called by Hu Ma, didn’t know what was happening, all feeling uneasy. They waited until night, just before the lamps were lit, to see Zhou Datong come out, limping and leaning on a crutch, looking very pitiful.

"What happened?"

"..."

They all quickly gathered around and asked. Zhou Datong, with a bitter face, said, "Last month, I did something..."

"Brother Pockmarked found out, and he broke one of my legs to teach me a lesson."

"..."

"Whoa..."

The apprentices were instantly stunned, their necks involuntarily shrinking, all thinking, "We dare not, never again."

(End of Chapter)

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