At Jiang Che’s words,

Lin Xue’er and Gong Yulei, who were practicing nearby, both looked over.

Jiang Che then explained the whole story to Zhang Xiong, though he left out the details of his encounter with the flower thief.

He hadn’t spoken quietly, so the other two heard everything.

Gong Yulei let out a cold snort and resumed his practice.

He already had one foot in the Stone Skin Realm; he no longer had any use for things like the Qi Replenishing Pill.

Moreover, in his eyes, only weaklings with poor Root Bone needed to rely on external aids!

’A weakling who breaks through with elixir pills is still a weakling!’ he thought with disdain.

Zhang Xiong stepped forward, patted Jiang Che’s back, and exclaimed with relief:

"You’ve finally caught up! That’s great!"

Jiang Che’s Qi Blood had always been far behind the three of them, and Zhang Xiong had been a bit worried about it.

Especially when Jiang Che started leaving early frequently, he even suspected that Jiang Che had given up on himself.

Fortunately, things had now taken a turn for the better.

As a friend, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xue’er bit her lip, her expression tinged with jealousy.

This Jiang Che, whom she had always looked down on, had actually gotten so damn lucky and obtained a Qi Replenishing Pill!

She cultivated diligently every day, slowly managing to condense eighty percent of her Qi Blood.

And now, with a single pill, Jiang Che was about to catch up to her.

’How is that fair!’

Lin Xue’er was deeply indignant. She glared at Jiang Che before starting to furiously strike the wooden dummy.

Jiang Che was unaware of Lin Xue’er’s inner turmoil and just found her behavior baffling.

He thought about how Yin Yingying had also suddenly said strange things before.

Jiang Che couldn’t help but lament that women were truly hard to understand.

Just then, Master Luo Kun came over from the Apprentice Hall.

When he saw Jiang Che, he was startled and immediately came over to grab his wrist.

"How has your Qi Blood increased so much?!" Luo Kun asked in shock.

Jiang Che explained it all over again.

"I see..." Luo Kun nodded. "Not bad! Such an opportunity is rare. You must cultivate diligently from now on!"

Jiang Che understood the hidden meaning in his master’s words and could only give an awkward smile.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t working hard, but his Cloud-Stacking Fist was already maxed out. He couldn’t very well practice something else at the Martial Arts Hall, could he?

Luo Kun offered a few more words of encouragement, then went to meditate under the eaves.

Jiang Che also began his practice.

Before long, a luxurious horse-drawn carriage with the character "Shao" written on it stopped at the entrance of the Martial Arts Hall.

A refined-looking middle-aged man in a cyan robe stepped out of the carriage.

"That looks like a carriage from the Inner City Shao Family."

"The Shao Family? As in, the Shao Family from the Five Great Noble Families?"

"That’s right. But why would someone from the Shao Family come to the Martial Arts Hall?"

"No idea..."

The new apprentices practicing the White Cloud Fist immediately broke into a flurry of discussion.

Someone more knowledgeable mentioned that their second senior brother was from the Shao Family, so perhaps the visitor was here for him.

"Excuse me, is Young Master Jiang Che here?" the man asked.

"He’s in the Disciple Courtyard! I’ll show you the way!"

An apprentice stepped forward to greet him and then led the middle-aged man to the Disciple Courtyard.

After the man left, the apprentices started gossiping again.

"He’s here for Senior Brother Jiang!"

"What’s this Senior Brother Jiang’s background?"

"I don’t know. He’s from a carpenter’s family in the south of the city. Logically, he shouldn’t know anyone from the Shao Family!"

"You don’t think he caused trouble and they’ve come for him, do you?"

"Who knows!"

The refined middle-aged man arrived at the Disciple Courtyard and asked the four people practicing their martial arts, "Which of you is Young Master Jiang Che?"

"I am Jiang Che."

Jiang Che stopped his practice and walked over.

The man looked Jiang Che up and down and nodded slightly.

"I am Steward Hu of the Shao Mansion. I’ve come to deliver your Guest Minister’s Waist Token."

After speaking, he took out a wooden waist token from his robes and handed it over.

Jiang Che nodded and accepted it.

Steward Hu then took out an invitation and said:

"This is an invitation to my master’s sixtieth birthday celebration next month. I must ask that the Young Master be sure to attend."

Jiang Che accepted it with both hands and said:

"I will certainly be there on time to offer my congratulations!"

Steward Hu then gave a slight bow to Luo Kun and took his leave.

Jiang Che put away the invitation and returned to the training grounds.

Zhang Xiong sidled over, his voice filled with surprise.

"What was that all about? How come the Shao Mansion’s steward came looking for you? Spill the beans, now!"

With a sigh, Jiang Che told him how, by a strange twist of fate, he had rescued the young lady of the Shao Mansion.

Zhang Xiong was stunned silent for a long moment after hearing the story. He finally said quietly:

"Do you have any idea how hard it is to become an Honored Guest Elder of the Shao Mansion? They wouldn’t even look twice at an ordinary Stone Skin Realm expert. You’ve really hit the jackpot..."

BOOM!

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the corner.

The two of them turned to see that Gong Yulei had shattered a wooden dummy with a single punch, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Noticing Jiang Che’s gaze, he snorted coldly and stormed off.

He hadn’t cared much about the Qi Replenishing Pill; it was useless once you reached the Stone Skin Realm.

But even he wasn’t guaranteed an opportunity to become an Honored Guest Elder for the Shao Mansion!

The thought that such a precious opportunity had fallen into the hands of Jiang Che, someone he saw as completely lacking in Talent, filled him with indignation!

As for Lin Xue’er, she was still silently striking the wooden dummy, not even lifting her head.

But her breathing seemed to have become somewhat ragged.

Luo Kun looked at Jiang Che, feeling a wave of complex emotions.

’This Jiang Che... he’s constantly upending my opinion of him.’

’At first, I thought his Root Bone was poor and that he was merely hardworking, that it would be impossible for him to break through and form Qi Blood.’

’But then he actually comprehended the Inner Insight Realm, a state only attainable by the most focused and pure-hearted individuals.’

’Then, he smoothly broke through the Qi Blood barrier and reached the Bull Skin Realm.’

’Just when I had started to have high hopes for him, he began leaving early every day, his heart no longer in his training.’

’By now, I had long since given up on him.’

’And yet, he has stumbled into such a massive opportunity!’

’Not only did he get a Qi Supplement Pill to greatly boost his Qi Blood...’

’...he also gained the status of an Honored Guest Elder of the Shao Mansion!’

’An Honored Guest Elder of one of the Five Great Noble Families receives a monthly share of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat!’ 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

’Even if you just pile resources on him, that alone could slowly push Jiang Che all the way to the Stone Skin Realm!’

’Besides, I don’t believe for a second that the flower thief was so easy to catch.’

’Found a flower thief at the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm who was also an expert in Qinggong, just by luck?’

’Others might not understand, but as a Force Integration Artist of many years, I know exactly how formidable a Martial Artist at the Mid-stage of the Stone Skin Realm who has mastered Qinggong truly is!’

’This Jiang Che definitely has some kind of special Ability!’

The more Luo Kun looked at Jiang Che, the more pleased he became.

His hope for this disciple, whom he had all but given up on, was rekindled.

Furthermore, regarding Gong Yulei and Lin Xue’er, who had been provoked by Jiang Che’s success...

...he felt this was a good thing.

After all, competition breeds motivation!

He had been worrying that Gong Yulei’s rapid progress was causing him to underestimate the difficulty of Martial Arts Training.

Now, Jiang Che was perfectly positioned to temper his arrogance and sharpen his character!

’Sigh... If only Jiang Che’s Root Bone were a little better.’

He sighed again.

With different Root Bones, even if two people ate the same Exotic Beast Meat, the rate at which they accumulated Qi Blood would be worlds apart.

The best resources are no match for a superior Root Bone.

Otherwise, all the experts would be Noble Family Members. What chance would commoners have?

Tonics and resources only provide an advantage in the early stages.

But from the Stone Skin Realm onward, the importance of Root Bone becomes increasingly apparent.

Of all the disciples he had ever taught, only two had any hope of breaking through to Force Integration.

One of them was Shao Jianbo.

The other was Gong Yulei.

As a Noble Family Member, Shao Jianbo was not passionate about the Martial Dao.

Therefore, in order to cultivate a Force Integration Martial Artist...

...Luo Kun had pinned all his hopes on Gong Yulei.

As for the others, forget Force Integration.

Even reaching the Iron Skin Realm was practically impossible for them.

Of course, he would never tell them this, lest he crush their confidence.

’In the future, once Gong Yulei breaks through to Force Integration, I’ll take him to the Cangyun Sect for their assessment. The kid’s Root Bone is exceptional; he should have a very good chance this time...’

A faint sense of anticipation began to grow in Luo Kun’s heart.

There was something he hadn’t told his disciples.

The White Cloud Fist and Cloud-Stacking Fist they practiced...

...were actually prerequisite Martial Arts for a Cangyun Sect Cultivation Technique—the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique!

The better one mastered these two Fist Techniques, the faster their subsequent Cultivation of the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique would be!

This Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Technique was no ordinary Martial Art.

It was a True Skill that could lead one to become a Cultivated True Master!