Chapter 90: Xiao Peng's Shocking Revelation!

Chapter 90: Xiao Peng's Shocking Revelation!

Fourth hour and four beats.

Jiang Ning opened the martial arts school's main gate.

The disciples filed in one after another.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang!"

"Greetings, Senior Brother Jiang!"

". . ."

The disciples greeted Jiang Ning with respect.

"Junior Brother Jiang!"

Xiao Peng appeared before Jiang Ning and spoke slowly.

His eyes were sharp as he looked at Jiang Ning.

"Senior Brother Xiao," Jiang Ning smiled.

Xiao Peng said, "I heard that Junior Brother Jiang was formally accepted as a senior disciple by Master Wang the day before yesterday?"

Jiang Ning nodded slightly, "Yes!"

Hearing this, Xiao Peng's gaze intensified as he looked at Jiang Ning, "Junior Brother Jiang, how about a friendly spar?"

"There's no need," Jiang Ning shook his head, "I still need to go home."

"Is Junior Brother Jiang afraid?" Xiao Peng saw Jiang Ning about to leave and couldn't help but provoke him.

Jiang Ning smiled, knowing that if he continued to refuse, Xiao Peng would not give up.

Then, he extended his hand, "Senior Brother Xiao, we are fellow disciples, both learning the Five Beasts Fist. A handshake will do!"

Xiao Peng also extended his right hand, "Good!"

The next moment, they shook hands.

Xiao Peng immediately exerted his strength.

In an instant, he felt that with three-tenths of his strength, he gripped Jiang Ning's palm, but it was like a drop in the ocean, causing no ripples.

Xiao Peng looked at Jiang Ning with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Jiang Ning's right hand also slowly exerted force.

Xiao Peng's eyebrows furrowed, and the distance between his eyebrows narrowed.

As Jiang Ning slowly tightened his right hand, Xiao Peng felt a force that kept increasing.

After just a few breaths,

Xiao Peng's forehead broke out in a thin layer of sweat, and his right hand, still clasped with Jiang Ning's, trembled slightly beneath his sleeve.

At this moment, Jiang Ning released his hand and withdrew.

"Senior Brother Xiao, you have great strength! I'm impressed!" Jiang Ning clasped his hands and turned to leave.

Watching Jiang Ning's carefree departure, Xiao Peng's expression became incredibly complex.

He could clearly feel that Jiang Ning's strength was formidable, and under continuous pressure, it had become difficult for him to resist, reaching the limit of his palm's bone compression.

And from Jiang Ning's demeanor, it was evident that he still had more to give.

If Jiang Ning continued to exert pressure, Xiao Peng would have no choice but to beg for mercy, or else his hand bones might have been crushed.

So how could he not understand that Jiang Ning's words were a way of saving face for himself?

Otherwise, if he had begged for mercy in front of everyone, he would have completely lost face.

"His strength surpasses mine! He has mastered all five forms of the Five Beasts Fist, reaching the realm of perfection! I am no match for him!" Xiao Peng thought to himself.

At this moment,

Among the onlooking disciples, someone spoke up, "Senior Brother Xiao, how strong is Senior Brother Jiang's strength?"

"Very strong!" Xiao Peng nodded and continued, "No wonder he is so highly regarded by Lord Shen."

"How does he compare to Senior Brother Xiao?" the disciple asked further.

"You're being a bit offensive!" Xiao Peng glanced at the disciple.

After saying this, he also turned and walked towards the exit of the martial arts school.

For him now, there was no need to stay at the school any longer.

He had private tutors at home and professional sparring partners, so he rarely visited the school these days.

The reason he returned to the school today was because he heard that Jiang Ning had been accepted as a personal disciple by Master Wang.

As Xiao Peng left, the other disciples in the school began to discuss.

"Brothers, who do you think is stronger, Senior Brother Jiang or Senior Brother Xiao?"

"I can't tell! But I think Senior Brother Xiao should be stronger in terms of strength! After all, Senior Brother Xiao has been training at the school for several months, and even before that, he had been practicing martial arts for some time."

"I agree. After all, Senior Brother Xiao has been practicing for a long time, and he has already reached the level of mastering the four limbs and having single-arm strength exceeding four hundred jin."

"I'm not so sure," someone said, and seeing the curious gazes of the others, he continued, "Look! When Senior Brother Jiang left just now, he was relaxed and at ease, clearly in a good state! But I saw Senior Brother Xiao's forehead breaking out in a thin layer of sweat!"

"Sweating?" someone asked in confusion, "Is that true?"

"Of course!" The man nodded, "So I think that maybe Senior Brother Xiao is not as good as Senior Brother Jiang. Don't you remember Senior Brother Xiao's temperament? When has he ever been so quiet?"

"But... but Senior Brother Jiang has only been at the school for less than a month and a half! How can he compare to Senior Brother Xiao in terms of strength?"

The man continued, "Could you have imagined that Senior Brother Jiang, having mastered all five forms, would pass Master Wang's test in just over a month and be accepted as a senior disciple?"

"You should know that Senior Brother Jiang is a genius highly regarded by Lord Shen. Moreover, Lord Shen values Senior Brother Jiang so much that he is willing to stand against the Cao family and even break the rules of the Wan Hua Tower."

"Moreover, with the help of a grand figure like Shen Lord, it's not surprising that Jiang Senior Apprentice Brother's martial arts progress is so fast! Even if Jiang Senior Apprentice Brother enters the Ninth Stage Martial Dao in just a month, I'd still consider it normal!"

The disciples in the front courtyard of the martial arts academy contemplated these words for a moment, then slowly nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile, Xiao Peng exited the academy's main gate.

He extended his right hand from within his sleeve, and upon seeing the clear fingerprints left by Jiang Ning on his palm, he clenched his fist and channeled his qi and blood to wash over his hand, gradually dissipating the fingerprints.

"What formidable strength!"

"Jiang Ning's strength should be between six hundred and seven to eight hundred jin!"

"He's only been learning martial arts for a short time, yet he already possesses such formidable strength. I wonder how many good things Shen Congyun has given him to make his strength increase so rapidly!"

Xiao Peng muttered to himself, and a hint of jealousy flashed in his eyes.

"Why isn't I the genius that Shen Congyun values?"

"If Jiang Ning participates in the competition for the Inspection Bureau's position with Shen Congyun's support, how can I possibly compete with him?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Peng's heart was filled with intense unwillingness.

He had originally thought that defeating Cheng Ran and entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao would be enough.

He was quite confident about these two points.

In his opinion, defeating Cheng Ran wouldn't be difficult, and entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao wouldn't be hard either.

Now that he had achieved perfection in his qi and blood, reaching this stage, and with his skin transformation well underway, entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao was a natural progression.

The most challenging aspect of the Ninth Stage Martial Dao was accumulating qi and blood to perfection and circulating it throughout the body.

Once one achieved perfection in qi and blood, entering the Ninth Stage Martial Dao with sufficient resources wouldn't take too long.

He estimated that within a month to a month and a half, he would be able to achieve success in skin transformation and enter the Ninth Stage Martial Dao, fully capable of doing so before the Inspection Bureau's establishment.

However, Jiang Ning's sudden appearance had completely disrupted his plans.

That was why he had come to the academy today, to test Jiang Ning's abilities.

After all, in Luoshui County, Shen Congyun had shown favor to an outsider from the outer city and even stood against the Cao family for this commoner. This news had spread throughout the various factions.

Xiao Peng was naturally aware of this.

Being valued by Shen Congyun, he couldn't help but take Jiang Ning seriously.

But after today's test, his heart sank.

Not only was he outmatched in martial arts skills, but even in strength.

The intensity of one's strength was closely related to the abundance of qi and blood.

From the force he felt from Jiang Ning's right hand earlier, Xiao Peng knew that Jiang Ning either possessed innate divine strength or had extremely abundant qi and blood, if not already perfect, then very close to perfection.

Xiao Peng stood rooted to the spot, staring blankly at the blue sky above.

After a long while, he sighed.

"Sigh..."

He walked forward with a slight slump in his shoulders.

Wan Hua Tower.

This place was the most luxurious in all of Luoshui County.

When Jiang Ning arrived at the entrance of Wan Hua Tower, it was already noon.

After opening the academy's main gate, he had returned home for a while.

He also successfully delivered the silver to Jiang Li and Liu Wanwan.

It wasn't until after lunch that he set out for Wan Hua Tower.

His purpose for coming to Wan Hua Tower was simple.

He wanted to retrieve the gift that Shen Congyun had mentioned before leaving, a gift that could only be obtained after achieving perfection in qi and blood.

"Sir, I am Xiao Lu, and I am here to assist you in purchasing anything you desire at Wan Hua Tower."

As soon as Jiang Ning stepped into Wan Hua Tower, a servant girl in a light green skirt approached him, gracefully bowed, and inquired.

"I wish to see Lin Qingyi, the deputy master of the tower," Jiang Ning replied.

As he spoke, he extended his arm from within his sleeve, revealing a white jade token in his hand, no larger than a palm.

This token had been given to him by Shen Congyun before his departure, and possessing it granted him significant privileges at Wan Hua Tower, including the right to meet with the deputy master.

When the servant girl heard Jiang Ning's words, her mouth opened slightly, ready to speak.

But as soon as Jiang Ning displayed the white jade token, she closed her mouth, her expression respectful as she bowed gracefully.

"I'm afraid I don't know if the deputy master will see you, but I will convey your request, sir. May I ask for your esteemed name?"

Jiang Ning cupped his hands in greeting, "I am Jiang Ning. Thank you, miss."

"Please wait a moment, sir," the servant girl in the light green skirt said.

She then took small steps to another servant girl and whispered something in her ear.

Shortly after.

The other servant girl hurried over to Jiang Ning, taking small steps.

"Jiang Gongzi, please follow me, Xiao Lu, to the VIP room for some tea. The deputy master may not be able to respond immediately."

"Very well," Jiang Ning nodded.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end