CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 42 COLLECTIVE ADVANCEMENT! _1

In the hot spring, white mist lingered. Zheng Fan sat in the pool with a towel draped over his shoulders, only his neck and head exposed above the water’s surface.

This water was not from a hot spring, of course. There wasn’t a spot in Hutou City from which one could channel hot spring water. However, after Siniang’s special concoction, it was comfortable even after soaking for a long time and wouldn’t cause pruned skin.

Before Zheng Fan, a stone floated on the water, also draped with a small towel.

A man and a stone soaked quietly together; it was hard to tell who was soaking whom.

It had been some time since Zheng Fan awoke, but Mo Wan remained just a stone.

Zheng Fan felt rather helpless about this. He didn’t know if the stone looked down on him, its father, or if it was just plain lazy.

Probably, it’s just too lazy to move. Yes, that must be it.

Tomorrow, his formal training would begin. For a moment, Zheng Fan felt a mixture of anticipation and nervousness.

His anticipation, to put it in more grandiose terms, was because he was about to embark on the path of cultivation. In the future, he too could move mountains and fill seas; a single punch could shatter the heavens, a single kick could split the earth!

An unparalleled martial artist, terrifying indeed!

However, judging by similar literary works he had read, the protagonist always seemed to start off as a dud.

Zheng Fan was afraid that he would be a dud too, especially since he wasn’t cultivating in some remote mountain valley, but was surrounded by many others watching him.

Being observed was, after all, a source of embarrassment.

Zheng Fan lowered his head and looked at the stone floating before him. It looked like an ordinary stone, yet it could float. Heh, how amusing.

So you won’t come out, huh!

Zheng Fan reached out and pushed the stone down.

A moment later, the stone floated back up, the small white towel still draped over it.

Still ignoring me!

Zheng Fan once again forcefully pushed the stone to the very bottom.

BLOOP.

BLOOP.

Bubbles rose, and the stone floated up once more, still draped in its white towel, leisurely soaking in the pool.

Damn it!

Zheng Fan picked up his own towel and roughly wiped his face.

Actually, he had no need to worry or fret.

Because at this very moment, outside, six of his companions, for the sake of "studying with the prince," had already begun their intensive preparations.

「...」

"So, is this how it’s done?"

Siniang, while studying the patterns embroidered on A Ming’s body, began to adjust her breathing.

She was skilled at controlling threads, an extremely meticulous form of manipulation. Now, she was beginning to control the qi and blood within her body according to that standard.

Her blood vessels, one by one, became her targets of manipulation, stimulated from within.

A short while later, in less than half a minute, Siniang abruptly opened her eyes.

A pink glow flashed briefly around her body.

She had succeeded, reaching the Half-step Ninth Rank!

Nearby, Ding Hao’s mouth was still hanging open.

He knew, and could clearly see, that these people had never practiced martial arts before; they were complete novices.

But he had just explained it, they had just practiced it, and then...

Ding Hao couldn’t help but wonder. If his subordinates were already this monstrously talented, then how terrifying must the aptitude of the master they spoke of be?

Ding Hao didn’t believe they were hiding their abilities or trying to fool him. Firstly, when they rescued him, their bodies didn’t glow when they took action, indicating they weren’t using this type of martial skill. Secondly, they had no reason to intentionally deceive him.

Could it be that they had all agreed to show off before a cripple like him, just to feel important?

"Girlish pink. Not bad, I quite like it," Siniang said, very satisfied with her color.

Young women want to appear mature, while mature women wish they could remain young forever.

"It doesn’t match your age," A Ming teased.

He was currently a living specimen. His stitches couldn’t be removed yet because they had to show Zheng Fan tomorrow. He was truly a walking textbook.

Siniang glared irritably at A Ming and retorted, "At least it’s better looking than your ’period red’!"

A Ming merely shrugged, preparing to put his clothes back on.

"Wait, let me try too."

Saying so, Blind Bei tugged at the shirt A Ming was halfway into putting on.

"Blind man, does it matter to your ’eyes’ whether I’m dressed or not?" A Ming asked.

"Life requires a sense of ritual," Blind Bei replied.

A Ming smiled helplessly and took off his shirt again, his eyes holding a look of fatherly indulgence.

"Tsk, tsk," Siniang clicked her tongue. "The girls who worked for me in the red-light district back in the day didn’t have to entertain guests as frequently as you do."

A Ming shook his head. "What an ungrateful thing to say. You should acknowledge my contributions."

Blind Bei closed his eyes, which looked no different whether open or shut.

He began to control the faint energies within his body using his mental force.

In truth, everyone has a bit of qi within them.

Ordinary people, if they exercise frequently, can also sense a vague feeling. The most extreme method is to clench your right hand forcefully for ten seconds, then suddenly open it; you’ll be able to feel it then.

Of course, this feeling is still too vague and imprecise.

Blind Bei used his spiritual power to search and his mental force to control, treating his body like a machine.

Fueling it, oiling it, and setting it... in motion.

Blind Bei took a bit longer, but he was steady, like a student. He wasn’t satisfied with merely solving the problem at hand and getting the correct answer; he wanted to thoroughly understand the definitions and formulas.

While others practiced martial arts relying on fate and innate talent, Blind Bei approached cultivation scientifically.

He slowly opened his eyes, which still looked the same whether open or shut.

On his body, a gray light flashed and vanished.

Nearby, A Ming got up, covered his mouth with his hand, and whispered, "Heh, the signature color of an old bastard."

Ding Hao, standing beside them, had already grown numb.

Deep doubts had already taken root in his heart. Despite years of tempering his body from a young age, it had taken him a full five years to reach the Half-step Ninth Rank—a speed already considered fast in the military, otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to rise through the ranks. But these people... one, two, three... all succeeded in just a short while? What in the world has happened?

A Ming started to get dressed again.

Blind Bei reached out and stopped him.

"Don’t bother. Liang Cheng and the others are already here."

A Ming wore a helpless expression.

Siniang reached out, patting A Ming’s somewhat pale face, and said softly with a series of tsk-tsks, "Tsk, tsk, tsk, this little sister has it rough. You men don’t know how to cherish someone at all."

"..." A Ming.

Sure enough, Liang Cheng, Xue Three, and Fanli entered shortly after.

Blind Bei might be blind, but wherever he was, it was as if a radar had been placed there; the slightest rustle of leaves or blades of grass within a hundred-meter radius could not escape his notice.

A Ming continued to stand naked, serving as a textbook.

Liang Cheng went first.

He closed his eyes, then opened them.

Then, a flash of bright purple light flickered over his body and disappeared.

Siniang, standing beside A Ming, saw the light on Liang Cheng and exclaimed, almost in unison with A Ming, "bright purple."

Siniang playfully punched A Ming’s shoulder. "And you have the gall to tease him about his color?" she chided. "After your own ’period red’?"

A Ming said with some exasperation, "Sigh, this running gag about our colors just won’t die, will it?"

Actually, A Ming had wondered why the soap he’d put in his bag that day had slipped out so coincidentally, landing right at Liang Cheng’s feet. Then, Blind Bei had just so happened to appear. Considering Blind Bei’s abilities... Heh.

"There are only a few of us; we’ve got to find something interesting to talk about, right?" Siniang chuckled.

When friends gather, they often rehash each other’s embarrassing moments.

"Then we can discuss something else," A Ming suggested. "Like that time a certain top-ranked assassin tried to ambush his prey, only to get a face full of dung."

PFFT!

"Damn, ruthless!"

Xue Three, who was circulating his qi, wavered upon hearing this, nearly suffering a Qi deviation.

Fortunately, he quickly stabilized his mind and continued circulating his qi and blood.

Not long after, a hint of green appeared on his body.

Siniang commented, "Congratulations, it’s the color of nature. It will help you hide when ambushing others in the wild."

Xue Three wasn’t too fond of this color. He looked at Ding Hao and asked, "Hey, can this color be changed? Dyeing it is fine too."

Ding Hao shook his head. "I’ve never heard of the color being changeable. This color is related to your essence."

"..." Xue Three.

"AAARGH!"

"ARGH!"

"ARRRGHH!"

Nearby, Fanli began to squat in a horse stance, low growls rumbling persistently from his throat.

"Ah Li, don’t push yourself," Xue Three teased. "Be careful not to strain so hard you shit yourself."

A Ming chimed in, "Then you’d better move further away."

"..." Xue Three.

Finally, after about ten minutes, a yellow glow appeared on Fanli’s body.

Thus, apart from the lazy Mo Wan, who was still slacking off and soaking in the hot spring with My lord, the other six had all gloriously advanced to become Half-step Ninth Rank martial artists.

Ding Hao’s jaw nearly dropped.

The others, however, didn’t seem very surprised.

"Siniang, arrange for someone to take good care of Mr. Ding. Have My lord come for Mr. Ding’s lecture tomorrow," Blind Bei instructed.

"Okay," Siniang replied.

Blind Bei led the others out. After leaving the room and stepping into the courtyard, he paused.

In truth, they had little reason to be surprised. For them, being able to emit light, especially this kind of fleeting glow, didn’t mean much.

They each had their own distinct paths. Just now, they were merely glancing at some extracurricular material while engrossed in their own research projects.

It was like high-level mages or master assassins taking a moment from their busy schedules to learn the basics of being a martial artist.

"Have you felt it?" Blind Bei asked.

The others all nodded silently.

Blind Bei lifted his head, his face turned towards the setting sun, and said slowly, "We can only get stuck at the Half-step Ninth Rank. That barrier, that level of understanding, isn’t actually difficult for us. But we just can’t break through!

"There’s an invisible wall suppressing us."

Even Ah Li, who took the longest, had only spent about ten minutes.

So, what about My lord?

It was quite disheartening. In other teams, when calculating scores, they’d drop the highest and lowest, then take the average. Here, however, everyone *before* the last place was dropped, leaving only the one in last place...

Blind Bei sighed towards the setting sun and said, "Next, we must do whatever it takes to help My lord achieve his breakthrough!"

Meanwhile, the one ranked last, still blissfully unaware of the weighty expectations placed upon him, continued to soak in the pool with that stone.

After two maidservants came and added more hot water, raising the pool’s temperature again, the last-ranked individual seemed to abandon his contest with the stone.

Instead, he let out a long sigh of contentment and murmured, "Ah, so relaxing..."

Nearby, the stone, still wrapped in its towel, also released a few strings of bubbles: "BLOOP, BLOOP..."