Chapter 92: The Best Whetstone

Chapter 92: The Best Whetstone

As the young man walked away, Ji Jingqiu composed himself and entered the training studio.

A disheveled figure sat cross-legged in the center of the training ground, his hair unkempt and tangled, his beard untrimmed for who knows how many days, his white martial arts uniform stained, and deep wrinkles on the corners of his eyes and forehead, making him look like a middle-aged man crushed by life.

This scene was hard to ignore.

A middle-aged man who looked no different from a vagrant turned out to be the martial arts prodigy who had the potential to challenge the sun thirty-one years ago! The only thing that left a deep impression on Ji Jingqiu was Zhuang Budong's eyes, which remained calm and tranquil even in dire straits.

"What's your business here?" Zhuang Budong's voice was deep, with a hint of hoarseness. When he spoke, each word seemed imbued with power, striking at the heart.

This unprecedented and strange feeling was as if a mind secret technique had been infused into his voice, and the power of the mind resonated with the sound.

Ji Jingqiu said, "Isn't this a training studio? I came to find a sparring partner."

Zhuang Budong remained silent for a moment, then slowly stood up.

His stature wasn't particularly tall, but he was well-proportioned and muscular. He nodded and said, "Sure. But let me make it clear that after sparring with me, you might have some trouble."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

Ji Jingqiu frowned. This 'I don't know' could mean that Zhuang Budong was unaware of his potential enemies, or he had made too many enemies to know who might come knocking.

His gaze swept across the corner of the training ground.

This training ground was in a sorry state, with peeling paint on the walls, dust, and trash in the corners, not to mention the ground, which was even worse, full of pits, cracks, and footprints of various sizes, making it unbearable to look at.

Training here without knowing the terrain could easily lead to missteps.

The air was also filled with a damp and musty smell.

The only thing that seemed to be in good condition was the weapon rack in the corner.

"Let's use the knives," Ji Jingqiu suddenly felt a stir in his heart.

Zhuang Budong walked to the corner, took out two knives, and tossed one to Ji Jingqiu.

Ji Jingqiu caught it; it was a knife similar to the Tang knife from his past life, straight and upright, seemingly infused with special materials, making it quite heavy despite its short length, but not too light in his grip.

However, Ji Jingqiu still felt the knife's blade was too short.

"Who goes first, you or me?" Zhuang Budong asked straightforwardly.

"You go first," Ji Jingqiu replied after a moment's thought.

"Okay, here I come."

As the words left his mouth, a crisp sound rang out, and a cold light flashed by.

A bright knife light passed before Ji Jingqiu's eyes, and a hurried knife ring sounded in his ears.

When Zhuang Budong drew his knife from its sheath and gripped the handle, it was as if a different person had taken over, his spirit transformed, and a sharp intent locked onto Ji Jingqiu.

At this moment, the person standing before Ji Jingqiu was no longer the disheveled and dejected man but a seasoned knife master.

Ji Jingqiu's heart grew heavy. In that instant, he felt a chilling sensation, and his body's qi and blood seemed momentarily suppressed.

This was hard for him to understand.

Could the light of the knife and the sound of it being drawn from its sheath make him feel a chilling sensation? There seemed to be some strange power in Zhuang Budong that Ji Jingqiu had never felt before, yet it felt familiar.

The next moment, Zhuang Budong took a step forward, his stance upright as he drew his knife and thrust it forward.

A standard vertical slash.

Ji Jingqiu raised his knife to block, and although Zhuang Budong's strength wasn't great, his force was skillfully applied, nearly causing Ji Jingqiu to lose his grip on his knife with the first strike.

A numbing sensation traveled from the knife to his palm.

Zhuang Budong didn't continue the attack but took a step back, sheathed his knife, and said calmly, "You've come to the wrong place. I only spar here; I don't teach."

However, Ji Jingqiu felt exhilarated.

With just the first strike, he had felt tremendous pressure! This was the opponent he had been longing for! In the thirty-one years of his seclusion, aside from seeking the path to the sixth limit, he had devoted all his remaining time to martial arts, reaching an incredibly high level in combat skills.

This was what Ji Jingqiu lacked.

And sparring and having a sparring partner was the fastest way to improve!

He had found the perfect whetstone for his current situation, and hearing Zhuang Budong's dismissal, Ji Jingqiu looked around the training ground.

As a fellow martial artist, he immediately saw through Zhuang Budong's true nature. Testing the waters, he said, "Name your price. How about 100,000?"

Zhuang Budong remained silent, and Ji Jingqiu's gaze sharpened, catching a momentary twitch in the other man's throat. Confidently, he pursued, "Add another 100,000. Others probably won't pay you much for sparring, or your training ground wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

Zhuang Budong was silent for a long time, then emphasized, "I'll remind you again: coming here will bring you trouble."

"Will a Divine Soaring Realm martial artist come to cause me trouble?"

"No. This is the Four Guardians Star, a place for nurturing martial arts seeds. Such things aren't allowed here."

"Then will a martial artist who has cultivated a superior body come to cause me trouble?"

"Haha."

The meaning of this laugh was simple.

A martial artist who had cultivated a superior body was a core member wherever they were and would never be sent to do menial tasks.

Ji Jingqiu held his knife and said slowly, "I've broken through all five limits of the celestial human, and my physique is special. As long as it's not a martial artist who has cultivated a superior body, they are just whetstones to me. I came to the Four Guardians Star to meet fellow martial artists and identify my weaknesses."

Zhuang Budong was silent for a moment, then said, "Your martial skills are too poor. If you were a martial artist who had cultivated a middle-rank body, you wouldn't be my match as long as your martial skills weren't too bad."

"Then why should I pay you?" Ji Jingqiu asked earnestly.

Zhuang Budong lowered his head, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

Judging by his current state, he seemed far from the 'nearly half-mad' state mentioned in the mission profile.

"100,000, and it's paid upfront," Zhuang Budong said after a slight pause. "This price is very reasonable. I can teach you not only knife techniques but other skills as well. At this price, you won't find a teacher and sparring partner like me elsewhere, unless..."

He didn't finish his sentence but looked directly at Ji Jingqiu and said solemnly, "If you accept, we'll continue. And even if you regret it later, I won't refund you."

Ji Jingqiu first checked his terminal and was relieved to see he had the money.

He wasn't sure if he could get reimbursed by the Administration later.

If not, he'd have to turn to the Starlight Corporation...

"Okay."

"Transfer the money. Which faction are you from?"

"I'm currently at Starlight Corporation."

Zhuang Budong nodded, realizing that he was a Martial Artist recruited by the company, which explained his financial stability.

After the payment was settled, Zhuang Budong, expressionless, drew his blade and said, "Your foundation is weak. I'll start by teaching you the most basic techniques of exerting and releasing force. I hope you can keep up with my progress."

Zhuang Budong's teaching style was extremely rough, obviously lacking in teaching experience. He began by demonstrating a set of moves, but his explanation of the key points was vague and confusing.

However, after trying it a couple of times, Ji Jingqiu quickly grasped the fundamentals, as they were indeed basic.

Without further ado, Zhuang Budong continued teaching more advanced techniques until he felt that Ji Jingqiu had mastered the basics sufficiently, and then calmly said, "The foundation is not difficult. You've almost got it. The next step is to spar. Real combat is the best way to master techniques. Don't worry about getting injured; just outside this street is a hospital. As long as you have money, even a broken neck can be treated within a short time."

"Good!"

As Ji Jingqiu assumed a combat stance, Zhuang Budong once again demonstrated his previous offensive, drawing his blade and thrusting forward!

This time, Ji Jingqiu successfully released the powerful force transmitted through the blade.

Zhuang Budong said nothing, stepping back a few paces to adjust the distance, and then thrust and slashed downward again, feeding Ji Jingqiu the blade.

After repeating this three times, Ji Jingqiu had completely mastered the technique of releasing force.

Zhuang Budong stepped back and said, "Now it's your turn to attack, using the force exertion method I taught you earlier."

Ji Jingqiu took a deep breath and thrust forward with his blade.

As they repeated this process, Ji Jingqiu absorbed Zhuang Budong's experience at an astonishing speed, perfectly mastering the most basic techniques of slashing, parrying, blocking, chopping, and vibrating.

Then, they practiced various fundamental combinations.

Zhuang Budong was not a good teacher, but he was undoubtedly an excellent training partner.

Whenever Ji Jingqiu could perfectly handle his offense or turn the tables, Zhuang Budong would provide new challenges, increasing the difficulty by switching to more complex combinations, ensuring Ji Jingqiu faced continuous pressure and challenges.

Through these challenges and pressure, Ji Jingqiu directly experienced his own progress.

Gradually, as Ji Jingqiu's improvement became evident, a hint of solemnity appeared on Zhuang Budong's face.

As their blades clashed, Zhuang Budong's blade flicked upwards, creating a slight opening in Ji Jingqiu's offense, disrupting his footwork and breath.

Ji Jingqiu was about to ask why this move hadn't been taught earlier when Zhuang Budong suddenly spoke.

"You... learn very quickly," Zhuang Budong said, his tone softening as he spoke earnestly. "I must have misjudged you. You are indeed a talented individual."

He turned his head in thought, then carefully said, "I'll give you five hundred thousand."

Ji Jingqiu looked up in confusion.

Zhuang Budong calmly explained, "The charging standards are different for ordinary and talented individuals. Teaching you was not too taxing, and it's not much different from a simple training session."

"What does it mean to be talented individual in your eyes, Senior Zhuang?" Ji Jingqiu asked.

"Martial Wisdom," Zhuang Budong declared, a rare resolute tone in his voice. "Achievements like the Celestial Human Five Limits only determine the lower limit. Only Martial Wisdom decides a Martial Artist's upper limit!"

Ji Jingqiu understood, but he was also curious. "I wonder how much the person who left earlier paid?"

"He didn't pay any money," Zhuang Budong paused, his voice turning gloomy. "He came with a favor, one that I owe. I... owe many favors."

"That's all for today. I'll send you some names of Lower Rank Sword Techniques through the terminal. You can find and learn them on your own. Once you've mastered them all, you can come back to me, and I'll help you with the next step of your improvement."

Without waiting for Ji Jingqiu's response, Zhuang Budong sheathed his blade, placed it back on the weapon rack, and after operating the terminal, Ji Jingqiu received a notification of the fifty thousand credit transfer.

This man truly keeps his word about returning money...

After completing these tasks, Zhuang Budong returned to the center of the training ground, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state again.

"Senior Zhuang, can I ask one last question? When you drew your blade earlier, what power did you use that caused my qi and blood to momentarily calm down?" Ji Jingqiu asked softly.

Zhuang Budong kept his eyes closed and calmly replied, "That was the use of Psychic Energy. I can sense that your body has also generated Psychic Energy. If you maintain your progress, I will teach you."

Ji Jingqiu thought to himself that his plan seemed to be working. The initial meeting had left a deep impression on this man.

Otherwise, Zhuang Budong would most likely not have answered his question, let alone offer to teach him in the future.

The person acknowledged by a Martial Arts genius must be a Martial Arts genius himself!

Ji Jingqiu exhaled in relief and left.

Before leaving the training ground, he couldn't help but turn back for one last look.

In the dilapidated training ground, this destitute middle-aged man seemed forgotten by time, living in his own world.

Was he still trying to forge new heights for the Galactic Martial Arts?

...

...

In the Starlight Corporation's branch office, a meeting was taking place.

"We understand Manager Lou's intention, but it's temporarily impossible to allocate new resources unless you approve us to squeeze some from other Martial Artists," said Luo Ben, his face filled with difficulty.

Lou Qinglan glanced at this obstacle. This was a request she couldn't agree to. Even if the Martial Artists whose resources were reduced didn't hold a grudge against Ji Jingqiu, they might still resent her.

"Haha, resources can always be squeezed out if the branch puts in the effort," Zhang Yaode chimed in.

Luo Ben's eyes darkened. This old man was indeed planning to use Lou Qinglan to challenge him!

As he was about to say something, Lou Qinglan suddenly opened a video.

In the video, Ge Hong scratched his head and said with a hearty laugh, "I've already given up my training ground. I fought with Brother Ji, and I'm thoroughly convinced. I suggest anyone who's not convinced to fight Brother Ji!"

Zhang Yaode chuckled, "This little Ge is as straightforward as ever."

Upon seeing this video, Luo Ben felt annoyed.

He had repeatedly tried to befriend Ge Hong, and it was partly due to his efforts that Ge Hong was granted the third private training ground. Yet, as soon as Manager Lou arrived, Ge Hong turned to her.

These Martial Artists were like wolves that couldn't be tamed!

Lou Qinglan spoke softly, "The resources that need to be squeezed will be squeezed. We must ensure the treatment of the recruited Martial Artists. If it's still not enough, the management will temporarily cover the expenses. It's all for the company, so I hope Uncle Zhang and Uncle Luo can lead by example."

Zhang Yaode rubbed his plump face and smiled, "Of course, of course!"

Luo Ben's face twitched, wishing he could smash Zhang Yaode's disgusting face.

Another day of striving for 7k+!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end