Chapter 40
This Child Is Like Me
Qin Huai and Gao Leya agreed on a time. Then, he continued to collect his own experience.
“Good morning, Senior Brother Qin!”
“Hello, Senior Brother Qin!”
All the martial artists and apprentices who saw Qin Huai on the drill ground would take the initiative to stop and greet him.
“Junior Brother Qin is so handsome.” A few senior sisters looked at Qin Huai with infatuated eyes.
“Not only is Junior Brother Qin handsome, but he’s also a good fighter. Most importantly, he’s kind. I don’t know how many people in our dojo have been saved by him these days.”
Qin Huai’s popularity was very high now, and he had collected more experience than usual. As the saying goes, when there’s a happy event, people are in high spirits.
Qin Huai looked at the experience points he had earned, and the smile on his face became more bright.
Suddenly, someone blocked Qin Huai’s path.
Li Bowu was thin and had a slightly acrid face. He was wearing a blue robe and holding a folding fan in his hand. There was a bit of scholarly air about him, but not much.
The third refinement martial artists in the dojo were the least experienced and were also the most talented group in the Changshan Dojo. They were twenty-five years old and barely ranked 19th on the martial rankings.
He was also one of the candidates to be Sun Yuanshan’s direct disciple.
As Qin Huai looked at the person who had arrived, this piece of information popped up in his mind.
It was all thanks to Sun Ziyao’s tea party. Although he didn’t speak much, he had a deeper understanding of the dojo than others by listening to the senior brothers and sisters ‘conversations.
For example, the apprentices, first and second refinement in the eight major martial arts centers were equivalent to servants. Not only did they have to practice martial arts every day, but they also had to go to the mine to mine and forge iron. If there were tasks for the higher-ups, they had to run around Pingnan City.
Being an escort and picking herbs were both good. However, it was different at the third refinement.
The third and fourth refinement would be upgraded to an instructor. They taught the apprentices and the first and second refinement disciples how to practice the fist technique, and also took care of the recruitment assessment of the disciples, just like Gu He, who had refused to let Qin Huai in.
Most of them were in charge of management and could be considered to be involved in the management of the dojo. They even had the right to mobilize a small number of martial apprentices to work for him.
There were some small martial arts dojos in the city, and their owners were only at the third or fourth refinement.
At the fifth refinement, one would be at the level of the Deputy Dojo Master or even the Dojo Master of the eight big dojos. He was truly below one person and above a thousand people.
As for the sixth refinement… In the entire Pingnan City, there were only a few of them.
“Junior Brother Qin, I have something that is not worth saying.” Li Bowu coughed lightly.
“Senior Brother, please speak.” Qin Huai was silent.
“Your performance in the mine was extraordinary, and you saved the lives of many of our fellow disciples. Senior Brother just wants to praise you, but… Junior Brother’s actions are a little too deliberate. You are very talented and very ambitious!” Li Bowu put on the attitude of a teacher. With a serious face, he lectured.
“I can see that you want to rise to the top in a single bound. You want to use the reputation and good name of your fellow disciples to become master’s fifth direct disciple. But everything still has to be done in an orderly manner.
“You’re still inexperienced, and you’ve only been in the dojo for half a month. It’s still too early for you to become a personal disciple. There are still many senior brothers waiting for you.
“As the old saying goes, the gun hits the bird that takes the lead.
“You care too much about the title of personal disciple. Be careful of the dissatisfaction of those senior brothers. In the end, they’ll leave you. That’s why I advise you to restrain yourself. Focus on your cultivation~”
Qin Huai listened to Li Bowu’s long speech and finally understood what the latter meant. This was a hint that he shouldn’t snatch his position of ‘fifth personal disciple.’
But unfortunately, he had already become a personal disciple the day before yesterday. It was just that this matter had yet to be announced.
“Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother.” Qin Huai only cupped his fists, unwilling to explain further. Then, he quickly left to continue his experience-gathering journey.
After collecting the experience points, he did not practice. Instead, he returned to his courtyard to replenish the poison he had used.
He went up the mountain at dawn.
Sun Yuanshan was still facing the cliff as usual, practicing a slow fist technique. Wearing white robes, it was as if a banished immortal had descended to the world, making people feel relaxed and happy just by looking at him.
Qin Huai silently followed behind his Master Sun Yuanshan and practiced, gaining some experience in passing.
“How’s the progress of your plan?” After the punch, Sun Yuanshan turned around and said.
“As expected, Hong San has already made his move.” Qin Huai told him about the murder in the mine and his guess about the treasure map. In the middle, he naturally omitted the strong evidence of his own experience to confirm the conjecture, and only said it was a guess.
“How confident are you in going up against Hong San?”
“About fifty percent.” Qin Huai was humble.
“Should we bring our brothers and give him a counter-encirclement?” Sun Yuanshan suggested.
“I’m afraid there’s a mole. It wouldn’t be good if we beat the grass and alert the snake, causing Hong San to escape.” Qin Huai voiced his concerns.
“Alright, then let’s go according to your plan.” Sun Yuanshan was pleased. There was still a chance to defeat Hong San with the three white dragons, but to kill Hong San…
However, Sun Yuanshan did not ask why Qin Huai was so confident in killing Hong San.
Qin Huai’s goal was to kill Hong San. He was massacring wantonly to put pressure on him.
He asked the higher-ups of the Thunderbolt Dojo to force Hong San to take the initiative to fight him. After all, Hong San was the only one who had the chance to kill him within the second refinement.
As long as the ruthless and radical Hong San died… Under the tacit understanding of the two dojos, regardless of whether it was the people from the Thunderbolt Dojo or the Changshan Dojo, they would restrain themselves in the mine. There would not be any scenes of life and death.
That way, he would be able to calmly collect experience points from both sides and gradually improve.
And this time, Gao Leya’s involvement was a heaven-sent opportunity. He had an absolute advantage in the mine. His spirit eye technique, breath control technique, and the poisonous substances he had meticulously concocted could all play their greatest roles in the mine.
“I see you’ve put on more weight than two days ago. It means you’re in a good mood and don’t have any psychological burden. That’s good.” Sun Yuanshan sized up Qin Huai. Then, he patted his chest. “I can’t help much this time, so just take this.”
Qin Huai looked at the bag of gray powder that had hit his chest.
“This is bone-softening powder. After ordinary people inhale it for five breaths, they will be powerless. A second-refinement martial artist would last for twenty breaths before their physical strength would decline, and their Qi and blood would be sealed. It can reduce Hong San’s combat power by quite a bit.”
Sun Yuanshan looked at Qin Huai, who was holding the gray powder and did not move for a long time, and began to persuade him.
“Don’t think that using poison to win is unfair. Martial arts are the result of practicing a certain method to the extreme in order to kill people. Poison and martial arts are the same thing. Winning and surviving is the true skill.
“Otherwise, do you think that the reason I could live to eighty years old was because of the longevity art and my cultivation?
“Quick, put it away and keep it in your chest.”
Qin Huai raised his head and looked at the serious Sun Yuanshan in a new light. He had thought that this sage-like Dojo Master would be a rigid person.
He didn’t expect… His master’s views were actually similar to his own.
“Master, I can’t fit anything in here.” He untied his robe, revealing his body. His chain mail was already filled with the poison that he had prepared after collecting the experience points.
Qin Huai was afraid that Hong San would call for a siege, so he had specially prepared a large dose. At that time, in the cramped mine, his poison could attack and retreat, and he would be invincible.
“But Master’s bone softening powder’s ingredients are really hard to find.”
“I asked your eldest senior brother to find this after going through several mountains outside Pingnan City,” Sun Yuanshan said with a smile.
The master and disciple then discussed the usage and order of the poison in Qin Huai’s body, which made Qin Huai feel like he had obtained a treasure.
“You’re a quick learner.” Sun Yuanshan touched his beard with a gratified look.
He watched as Qin Huai descended the mountain. He muttered, “This child is like me. He has almost all of my demeanor when I was young.
…
Qin Huai found Gao Leya, who had been waiting for a long time.
“Let’s go, Senior Brother Gao.”
“Alright!” Gao Leya’s face was full of smiles, and he was even holding a map in his hand. He took the lead and walked toward the mine.
“Warrior realm, oh warrior. I, Gao Leya, am coming soon!”