Chapter 690: Torment
The next day.
“Black Tiger… come on, let’s do the striking drills!”
Ye Fengchun had been exhausted like a dead dog yesterday, but boys who had made it this far all had a ruthless streak; he got up early today and actively invited.
His eyes were eager, as if saying: “Come on… have some fun… hurt each other…”
Xun Heihu glanced at him, shook his head, silently apologized in his heart, and found Jade Instructor: “Jade Instructor… I’ve entered the ranks.”
“What?”
Though his voice was quiet, the square was filled with martial artists, all with sharp senses.
Jade Instructor’s eyes lit up; her hands moved like flying, pressing at various points on Xun Heihu’s body.
Xun Heihu’s skin tensed as if in a reflex, his bronze hue deepening further, an inner force hidden within, poised and ready to unleash.
“Good, good… body like a bronze statue, strength like an ox… definitely a Ninth Rank achievement.”
Jade Instructor sighed in admiration: “Pity you’re not a girl—I’d have taken you as my disciple.”
“That’s… Xun Heihu? He broke through?”
“He’s only been here a few months?”
The youths and maidens murmured among themselves; some fell silent and began their striking drills.
“He… he broke through?”
Ye Fengchun gaped, bitter and helpless…
Jiang Yuyan, witnessing this, showed no expression on her face, only walked to the nearby wooden post.
Thud! Thud!
Each strike seemed stronger than the last; soon her arms swelled and reddened. But the girl felt nothing, letting the post grind her skin raw so the medicinal effects could fully penetrate…
…
“Come with me.”
Jade Instructor ignored them; in her view, letting the martial apprentices endure more stimulation was beneficial.
She led Xun Heihu to the back of Bai Lu Courtyard.
“This Jade Instructor… is definitely an Internal Force expert!”
Following behind her, Xun Heihu stared at her graceful back, her full hips, and began to drift into idle thoughts: “If this instructor didn’t have that scar on her face, she’d be beautiful… Wait, what am I thinking? Even if martial cultivators have vigorous blood and qi, there must be boundaries…”
He forced his gaze to the buildings on either side, noticing a row of elegant Jiangnan-style tiled houses.
Red bricks, green tiles, horse-head walls—each had its own charm.
Some villas had small bridges over flowing streams, passing through lotus-filled ponds, paved with blue stone slabs; atop the bridges stood adorable lion statues, and he couldn’t help but marvel.
The next day.
“Black Tiger… come on, let’s do the striking drills!”
Ye Fengchun had been exhausted like a dead dog yesterday, but boys who had made it this far all had a ruthless streak; he got up early today and actively invited.
His eyes were eager, as if saying: “Come on… have some fun… hurt each other…”
Xun Heihu glanced at him, shook his head, silently apologized in his heart, and found Jade Instructor: “Jade Instructor… I’ve entered the ranks.”
“What?”
Though his voice was quiet, the square was filled with martial artists, all with sharp senses.
Jade Instructor’s eyes lit up; her hands moved like flying, pressing at various points on Xun Heihu’s body.
Xun Heihu’s skin tensed as if in a reflex, his bronze hue deepening further, an inner force hidden within, poised and ready to unleash.
“Good, good… body like a bronze statue, strength like an ox… definitely a Ninth Rank achievement.”
Jade Instructor sighed in admiration: “Pity you’re not a girl—I’d have taken you as my disciple.”
“That’s… Xun Heihu? He broke through?”
“He’s only been here a few months?”
The youths and maidens murmured among themselves; some fell silent and began their striking drills.
“He… he broke through?”
Ye Fengchun gaped, bitter and helpless…
Jiang Yuyan, witnessing this, showed no expression on her face, only walked to the nearby wooden post.
Thud! Thud!
Each strike seemed stronger than the last; soon her arms swelled and reddened. But the girl felt nothing, letting the post grind her skin raw so the medicinal effects could fully penetrate…
…
“Come with me.”
Jade Instructor ignored them; in her view, letting the martial apprentices endure more stimulation was beneficial.
She led Xun Heihu to the back of Bai Lu Courtyard.
“This Jade Instructor… is definitely an Internal Force expert!”
Following behind her, Xun Heihu stared at her graceful back, her full hips, and began to drift into idle thoughts: “If this instructor didn’t have that scar on her face, she’d be beautiful… Wait, what am I thinking? Even if martial cultivators have vigorous blood and qi, there must be boundaries…”
He forced his gaze to the buildings on either side, noticing a row of elegant Jiangnan-style tiled houses.
Red bricks, green tiles, horse-head walls—each had its own charm.
Some villas had small bridges over flowing streams, passing through lotus-filled ponds, paved with blue stone slabs; atop the bridges stood adorable lion statues, and he couldn’t help but marvel.
Even though Xun Heihu had already broken through, he dared not show it even once.
“I don’t need to become someone’s disciple… but I’m short on silver—that’s a big problem.”
Ninth Rank martial artists have many ways to earn money: becoming a bodyguard, joining a escort agency, for example.
But each requires immense time and energy—unsuitable for Xun Heihu right now.
He had no choice but to take it one step at a time.
…
After visiting Zhang Kaitai, Xun Heihu followed Jade Instructor to register and select an empty villa to live in.
“I don’t need to become someone’s disciple—I already know the martial techniques, and as for silver… I can’t really be as shameless as the spirit said, right?”
Xun Heihu was nervous, about to speak, when Jade Instructor said:
“Those martial apprentices outside can’t even see the backs of the aristocratic youths—they’ll never amount to anything. But for a genius like you, seeing it yet unable to grasp it—that’s true despair…”
“But… Jade Instructor, didn’t you take Jiang Yuyan as your disciple?” Xun Heihu seemed to realize something: “So you also dislike this…?”
“Correct. You’re sharp. Had someone supported me back then, how could I have remained stuck at Sixth Rank my whole life?”
Jade Instructor said: “I advise you to accumulate well over these next few years, then immediately join the Five Beasts Army—you might still have a chance.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Jade Instructor.”
Xun Heihu bowed his thanks and went to his small courtyard.
Clang!
After closing the door, he exhaled a long breath and thought silently: “Others might despair… but I won’t.”
“I have the True Martial Talisman—it’s an unimaginable stroke of fortune. Even if I only train ten times harder than others each day, I’ll never fall behind the aristocratic youths!”
…
Several days later.
Bai Lu Courtyard, main gate.
“Dad?”
Xun Heihu stared at the weary Xun Liusix, his eyes reddening: “I… I’m Ninth Rank…”
“Those martial apprentices outside can’t even see the backs of the aristocratic youths—they’ll never amount to anything. But for a genius like you, seeing it yet unable to grasp it—that’s true despair…”
“But… Jade Instructor, didn’t you take Jiang Yuyan as your disciple?” Xun Heihu seemed to realize something: “So you also dislike this…?”
“Correct. You’re sharp. Had someone supported me back then, how could I have remained stuck at Sixth Rank my whole life?”
Jade Instructor said: “I advise you to accumulate well over these next few years, then immediately join the Five Beasts Army—you might still have a chance.”
“Thank you for your guidance, Jade Instructor.”
Xun Heihu bowed his thanks and went to his small courtyard.
Clang!
After closing the door, he exhaled a long breath and thought silently: “Others might despair… but I won’t.”
“I have the True Martial Talisman—it’s an unimaginable stroke of fortune. Even if I only train ten times harder than others each day, I’ll never fall behind the aristocratic youths!”
…
Several days later.
Bai Lu Courtyard, main gate.
“Dad?”
Xun Heihu stared at the weary Xun Liusix, his eyes reddening: “I… I’m Ninth Rank…”
“Hah! Good boy! No wonder you’re my son—in just a few months, you’ve entered the ranks!”
Xun Liusix clapped Xun Heihu on the shoulder, equally stunned inside.
He knew better than anyone what his son was truly like.
Had he misjudged him all along?
Was it because he’d been constantly traveling these past years, never observing closely enough?
He thought for a moment and handed over a bundle: “These are clothes and shoes your mother made for you… training is hard; eat more.”
Xun Liusix stepped forward, lowering his voice: “Sewn inside the clothes are a thousand taels in silver notes—all five-tael Baochao bills from Bao Yuan Bank, redeemable on sight… don’t be stingy.”
“Dad, where did you get so much silver?”
Xun Heihu was stunned.
He had indeed been secretly anxious lately, almost ready to sell himself into servitude…
He never expected his father to be a wealthy man.
“Borrowed from a friend…”
Xun Lao Liu brushed it off casually, then hesitated and added, “Also… never sell ‘Jin Gong Dan’ on your own! If you must sell it, I have connections!”
…
Watching Xun Lao Liu’s retreating back, Xun Heihu fell silent.
He returned to his small courtyard, shut the door and windows, tore open his clothes, and saw stack after stack of gleaming silver notes.
“Bao Yuan Hao — it’s the monopoly bank in Chuzhou, backed by the Five Beasts Sect…”
“A thousand taels, real money — if you’re careful, it’ll last a long time.”
“My dad just now… he clearly knows martial arts, and he’s strong!”
Xun Heihu gripped the Zhenwu Talisman around his neck, eager to ask his father about this treasure.
But remembering he had sworn a deadly oath never to reveal anything about the Zhenwu Talisman, he was torn…
End of Chapter
