Chapter 52: You've Also Taken on an Apprentice?

Chapter 52: You've Also Taken on an Apprentice?

Yang Yan stepped out of the martial hall, heading to the martial assembly alone.

As soon as he left the hall, a black hovercar was waiting, with a young man in a tight-fitting martial outfit standing beside it, full of vigor.

"Master Yang, Master asked me to pick you up," the young man said respectfully as he opened the car door.

"Oh, it's you, Qiu Xi," Yang Yan nodded and got into the car.

Qiu Xi drove the hovercar smoothly, briefly explaining the purpose of the day's meeting and the attendees to Yang Yan along the way, mentioning that it also involved the City Hall.

Finally, Qiu Xi glanced at the rearview mirror, hesitated for a moment, and asked, "Master Yang, how is Senior Brother Yang Yao doing lately?"

Yang Yan, an old hand in the industry, could easily read Qiu Xi's thoughts. He chuckled, "What, you're still not satisfied after losing to him last time?"

Qiu Xi quickly replied, "No! A martial artist's loss is a loss, even half a punch is a loss! It's just that I haven't seen Senior Brother Yang Yao for a while, and I want to have another match with him."

Yang Yan recalled the past and smiled, "Then just send him a message and challenge him!

Martial artists speak with their fists, no need for roundabout ways, it's not very refreshing!"

"When I was young, I loved challenging others. Along the way, I made many friends. We fought together and supported each other. Our opponents became our closest friends."

With Yang Yan's approval, Qiu Xi nodded seriously, "Qiu Xi understands!"

The rest of the journey was silent.

Looking out the window at the passing scenery, Yang Yan felt a hint of worry. The appearance of that Grandmaster would disrupt the entire Dong San Qu's balance.

He hoped he could get through these last few years peacefully.

But if things didn't go well, he might have to take a few of his disciples, including Ji Jingqiu, to seek help from some old friends.

At that moment, as if on cue, Yang Yan's smart terminal received a private message.

It was a voice message, and the sender's voice was rough and aged. The message was brief, but it sounded full of schadenfreude: "Old man, are you dead yet?"

Yang Yan narrowed his eyes, feigning a sigh, and his voice was desolate, "Soon."

The other side fell silent.

After a long while, the other side grunted, "You old troublemaker, you should be able to hold on for a while longer. Don't die too soon, or you won't see my disciple slaughtering the world!"

Yang Yan was surprised, "You've taken on an apprentice too?"

The sender was one of his many old friends.

The two had had many conflicts and disputes in the past, almost going their separate ways. They had weathered storms together, but in the end, the other had embarked on the Heavenly Path Campaign while Yang Yan had married and had a son...

But in their twilight years, the past conflicts and disputes had become the strongest bond between them.

The other side spoke lightly, "Yeah, I've taken on a disciple with good luck. He touched the Gate of the Celestial Human in just seven days."

Yang Yan remained calm, "That's great. Touching the Gate of the Celestial Human in seven days? That's more impressive than you and me."

"Haha, just luck," the other side said, unable to hide his pride. "How about you?"

Yang Yan played along, "I also took on a disciple in Dong Sanhuang Planet. As for luck..."

Thinking of Ji Jingqiu's early life, Yang Yan sighed, "This kid must have offended the goddess of good luck before birth, abandoned by fate from the moment he was born."

The other side fell silent for a moment, then consoled, "There are countless unlucky people in this world. You don't have to help every one you meet."

Yang Yan knew that his old friend thought he had taken on a disciple like his previous ones, Li Liuzi and Wei'er.

"I'll be passing by Dong Sanhuang Planet soon. Let's meet up before you die."

Without revealing his friend's excuse, Yang Yan found it amusing. He wondered, "How many limits has your disciple broken so far?"

"He broke the second limit in three months, using the Blood Qi Gate Penetration Technique. He has a good chance of breaking the fifth limit."

"Hmm, that's good," Yang Yan nodded slightly.

He calculated in his mind.

Regardless of the limit-breaking method, the first barrier was often the easiest.

Based on his understanding of sharpness and his estimation of Jingqiu, he believed that Jingqiu could break through the first barrier in about a week.

By then, combined with Jingqiu's enhanced physique before the limit break, he would be comparable to a first-limit-breaking martial artist.

He wouldn't lose to that old friend's disciple.

It seemed that this old friend wouldn't be able to beat him while he was alive.

As for after his death...

Who could defeat a dead man?

Yang Yan smiled silently.

Through the rearview mirror, Qiu Xi noticed that Master Yang seemed particularly cheerful that night.

Moreover, compared to the last time, Master Yang looked much older, possibly due to the effects of his previous injury.

But at the same time, he also looked more relaxed, as if a heavy burden had been lifted.

Qiu Xi couldn't tell if this was good or bad.

They arrived at the martial assembly headquarters.

Qiu Xi led the way, and many people greeted Yang Yan with fist salutes as they passed by.

The impact of the last incident was significant. If it weren't for Yang Yan's intervention, not only would the Taian City martial assembly have to close down, but some of its members would have been arrested.

Yang Yan was repeatedly invited to take the most honored seat, but he refused multiple times and finally sat in the closest seat to the honored position.

The meeting was dull and uninteresting.

Yang Yan listened with his eyes half-closed, almost dozing off. He felt disappointed, expecting some inside information but only hearing meaningless worries and arguments.

In the end, someone proposed that the Taian City martial halls should take this opportunity to unite, pool all their resources, and select the most outstanding martial artists for intensive training.

When that person opens the dojo, they will send these trained martial artists to learn from him, and upon their return, they will contribute to their hometown.

Yang Yan strongly agreed, almost saying directly that his disciple, Ji Jingqiu, should be included.

As the meeting ended, Yang Yan was about to leave when the president of the martial assembly personally invited him to another conference room.

Inside, someone had been waiting for a long time.

"Mr. Yang, it's an honor to meet you. I've heard so much about you! I'm Zhang Secretary from the City Hall, you can just call me that."

The man with the gold-rimmed glasses greeted him with a smile and asked, "May I ask, do you have a disciple named Ji Jingqiu?"

"The City Hall would like to ask him for a small favor."

...

...

That night, Ji Jingqiu didn't return home but stayed at the Martial Arts Academy.

After dinner, he practiced a few sets of foundation stances to aid digestion.

Given his current situation, the foundation stances and breathing techniques provided much less stimulation to his internal blood and qi.

If he needed to further stimulate the circulation of blood and qi, he would require higher-level body skill techniques.

After the foundation training, it was time for body skill techniques.

However, he had no plans to enter the True Seed Realm anytime soon.

After a brief rest, Ji Jingqiu turned on his terminal and entered the Martial Artist Forum.

He had previously discovered by chance that there was a dedicated martial arts forum for the Sharpening Breakthrough Technique, where many martial artists who practiced the Sharpening Method shared their experiences.

Among them were those who had chosen the Eternal Blade Technique.

This delighted him, and he was prepared to learn from everyone's experiences.

[Discussion on Small Tips for Sharpening and Restoring Heart Qi: Listen to Music! As we all know, music can give people courage and hope!]



[The Sharpening Method is easy to break through the first gate, but don't get too happy too soon. The real challenge lies ahead!]



[The Cultivating Sharpness Method still requires battle to nurture sharpness!]



Ji Jingqiu was amazed, thinking that there was always something to learn from others, and netizens were indeed awesome!

What a midnight online version of depression.

Others listen to songs and get depressed, but I listen to songs and become more ambitious!

Read the original at 9@Book/Bar!

Additionally, regarding the statement that the first gate is easy to break, Ji Jingqiu deeply agreed.

He had tried sharpening his blade the night before and in the early morning today.

The key to the Eternal Blade Technique was to use one's heart as the sharpening stone.

During the sharpening process, the heart qi would gradually diminish until it could no longer support the process and would have to stop.

This diminishing process was very uncomfortable, and towards the end, it was somewhat similar to spiritual cultivation, with various negative emotions and distracting thoughts arising like demons, overwhelming him.

Once it went too far, it could cause irreversible damage.

Fortunately, Ji Jingqiu's heart qi, while not exceptionally high, was definitely durable enough.

In the early morning, he sharpened his blade for four hours straight.

Just based on this, Ji Jingqiu felt that Yang Shi's argument about sharpness from the previous day was correct.

If sharpness meant not giving up, then for sixteen years, he had never interrupted his heart qi and had never bowed down in defeat.

The determination in his heart might not be exceptionally high, but it was definitely the most resilient to the diminishing process.

Moreover, he had external support.

When his heart qi was completely diminished, it was time for Fat Tiger to take over.

Although Fat Tiger's sharpening efficiency was far inferior to his own, Fat Tiger did not experience the diminishing of heart qi.

To prevent Fat Tiger from slacking off during work, Ji Jingqiu assigned the Bodhi Tree a new role—supervisor.

In a sense, both Fat Tiger and the Bodhi Tree were manifestations of his spiritual cultivation.

So Fat Tiger's efforts were almost equivalent to his own.

Perfect.

At this rate, he felt he could soon attempt his first limit break.

Perhaps...

Tomorrow morning?

Ji Jingqiu scrolled down the forum.

[The Sharpening Method is fast for the first limit break, I broke through the first heaven gate on the seventh day, thinking I was a genius. But the subsequent recovery of sharpness hit me like a blow, cultivating sharpness is too difficult!]



[Fight, nurturing sharpness through battle is the fastest!]



[Seven days? Then you're definitely not a genius, I broke through the first heaven gate in just three days!]



[I broke through the first heaven gate on the first day (bowing)!]



...

Ji Jingqiu was stunned by this comment, marveling at the vast population of the Federation, which numbered in the billions. With such a massive population, it was no wonder that geniuses were abundant and never in short supply.

Dong Sanhuang Planet was too small.

However.

As he scrolled further down.

He grew quieter.

[Three days? Isn't the first gate broken on the first day?]



[I only remember opening the Heaven Gate and then breaking through the first heaven gate.]



[Haha, is that so? In my time, I used the Life and Death Technique to unravel the mystery of life and death, breaking through five limits and reaching the peak!]



[Forgive my bluntness, but the Sharpening Breakthrough Method also has its merits. In my time, with a single burst of sharpness, I broke through five gates, and countless netizens revered me as a grandmaster!]



[I'm ashamed, I only broke through four gates with a single burst of sharpness...]



Ji Jingqiu fell into deep thought.

Where did this thread go wrong?

I had been out of touch for too long, forgetting that boasting online was not illegal.

Ji Jingqiu scrolled back up and retracted his previous likes.

Then, he posted a comment, "I'm ashamed. Today, I opened the Heaven Gate in the afternoon, and my essence surged through the first heaven gate, feeling a sense of accomplishment.

"I'm ashamed, it took me until tomorrow morning to break through the first heaven gate," I said, closing the forum with a thoughtful expression.

I hoped that one day, the internet would be filled with honest people like me!

Ji Jingqiu put down his terminal and entered a meditative state.

Although there were many boastful netizens, some posts were quite interesting.

He planned to try out one or two of the methods mentioned.

For example, one post mentioned that the creator of the Eternal Blade Technique had left a hidden surprise for later practitioners.

Martial artists could inscribe a sentence on the blade without diminishing their heart qi, as long as they did it in one go.

Ji Jingqiu sat in meditation, gazing at the inner world he had created.

This inner world was like a pure land, but beyond it lay the impure world, a sea of suffering, which was truly unbearable to witness.

He anticipated the Bodhi Tree's endless growth, and on the day its canopy would reach the sky, perhaps the branches would be adorned with the majestic sight of the sun and moon.

He hoped that one day, the sky would no longer be filled with collapsing heavenly fire but instead with constellations and the sun and moon hanging in the sky.

He still loved stargazing on summer nights.

Ji Jingqiu, with a single burst of determination, inscribed eight characters on the blade—

"On this arduous journey, to reach the dawn star."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end