At the Hong Family Martial Arts Hall.
"Master, it’s getting late. I will take my leave now." After being drilled by Hong Ming all afternoon, Qin Hao wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and bowed with cupped hands.
Ever since Hong Ming formally accepted him as a disciple, his master had frequently given him special private instruction to aid his cultivation. Every time he came to the Martial Arts Hall, he faced Hong Ming’s strict regimen. Exhausting as it was, his strength had indeed improved significantly. Now, the bloodline on his arm was transitioning from light red to solid red. He had already completed one-tenth of the process.
Hearing this, Hong Ming said, "Stay for dinner. I happen to have some things to discuss with you."
A hint of hesitation crossed Qin Hao’s face. Noticing this, Hong Ming asked, "What is it?"
"To answer you, Master, I have already made plans with Senior Brother Zhou Tao..." Qin Hao replied, bracing himself.
Upon hearing this, Hong Ming fixed his gaze on Qin Hao until the young man shifted uncomfortably. Only then did he speak:
"Qin Hao, although you were the last to join, you are the most talented disciple under my wing.
"With your talent and my guidance, I believe it won’t be many years before you master the Iron Wire Fist.
"When that time comes, you will have a place of your own, even in White Stone City.
"As for your Senior Brother Zhou Tao and the others, their family backgrounds might not be top-tier, but they are far from poor. Therefore, their minds are focused more on other matters rather than martial arts.
"I do not oppose you getting close to them, but you must understand that excessive indulgence in pleasure will only bury your natural gifts."
Qin Hao fell silent for a long time before replying, "Thank you for the warning, Master. I will keep it in mind!"
Hong Ming waved his hand, signaling that he could leave. He no longer intended to keep him for dinner.
"I will take my leave," Qin Hao said, turning to walk away.
"Senior Brother Li Mo." Before he even stepped out of the courtyard, Qin Hao ran into Li Mo rushing toward him, prompting him to greet the older disciple.
"Junior Brother Qin Hao," Li Mo offered a hasty reply before dashing into the courtyard.
"Master!" Seeing Hong Ming, Li Mo skidded to a halt. His breathing was a bit ragged, but his face carried a lingering look of utter astonishment.
"What has you in such a panic?" Seeing the usually steady Li Mo in such a state, Hong Ming gave him a scrutinizing look and asked.
"Master, I have good news for you," Li Mo said, scratching his head with a sheepish grin.
"Let’s hear it."
Li Mo dropped his smile and said seriously, "Master, Junior Brother Su Chen—he has stabilized his bloodline!"
Having just walked out the door, Qin Hao paused slightly when Li Mo’s voice drifted from behind him. Waves of shock rippled through his heart. "Su Chen... he actually stabilized his bloodline!" he thought in disbelief.
He hadn’t forgotten how Su Chen had stolen his thunder just ten days ago. To think that only ten days had passed, and Su Chen had already stabilized his bloodline. At this rate, the guy was practically catching up to him.
For certain reasons, Qin Hao had deliberately hidden the exact number of days it took him, waiting a few extra days before informing Hong Ming. In reality, it had only taken him nine days to stabilize his bloodline. By comparison, he was only one day faster than Su Chen. The problem was, Su Chen had never even come to the Martial Arts Hall. This meant he had most likely achieved it entirely on his own, whereas Qin Hao had the benefit of Hong Ming’s direct guidance. Putting that aside, the actual gap between the two of them was almost nonexistent.
"Su Chen..." Qin Hao murmured under his breath, his expression gradually losing its calm. Merely thinking of that name stirred up turbulence in his heart—along with a creeping sense of crisis.
"What did you just say?" Hong Ming reacted as if he had gone deaf, his voice involuntarily rising a few octaves as he stared at Li Mo.
Seeing his master lose his composure so completely, Li Mo could only offer a wry smile. However, remembering that he had reacted the exact same way earlier, he quickly understood.
"It goes like this..." Li Mo proceeded to recount the entire sequence of events. It took Hong Ming quite a while to process the information before a bright smile broke out on his face.
"Good, good, good! This Su Chen is truly something else. I never expected him to cultivate to such a level all by himself!" Without the support of the Martial Arts Hall, without any pointers from him, and without the supply of medicinal broths, Su Chen had mastered the Iron Wire Fist in less than a month. Such talent easily rivaled Qin Hao’s.
"Li Mo, bring him to see me tomorrow." Hong Ming originally wanted to summon Su Chen immediately, but glancing at the darkening sky, he changed his mind.
"Yes, Master!"
Stepping out of the Martial Arts Hall, Qin Hao wore a sullen expression. Seeing this, Zhou Tao, who had been waiting in a carriage, couldn’t help but ask, "Junior Brother Qin Hao, what happened?"
Qin Hao shook his head, hesitating to speak.
"Junior Brother Qin Hao, feel free to speak your mind. If you’ve run into any trouble, you can always tell your older brother." Seeing his demeanor, Zhou Tao vaguely guessed that something was amiss and chuckled.
"It’s nothing major. Senior Brother, do you still remember Su Chen?" Qin Hao said, pursing his lips.
"Su Chen?" Zhou Tao chewed on the name for a moment before slapping his forehead. "You mean that Martial Arts Hall disciple from when you first joined?"
"Yeah."
"What about him?" Zhou Tao asked curiously.
Qin Hao lowered his gaze. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "He mastered the Iron Wire Fist."
"This..." Zhou Tao naturally understood what Qin Hao meant. "Mastering" it was just another way of saying he had stabilized his bloodline. "If I remember correctly, it’s been less than ten days since he first sensed the bloodline, right?"
Qin Hao didn’t speak; he merely nodded. He could see the astonishment in Zhou Tao’s eyes—the exact same look he had given when he found out Qin Hao had mastered the Iron Wire Fist.
"It seems this Su Chen will soon become our junior brother." Realization dawned on Zhou Tao, though he maintained a lighthearted smile. He had clearly figured out the reason for Qin Hao’s dejection but chose not to point it out.
Qin Hao nodded. "Senior Brother, I’m afraid I won’t be able to join you for drinks tonight."
"Haha, Junior Brother, why let it get to you? With your talent, you are bound to have a bright future. Why worry over a momentary setback?"
"You’re mistaken, Senior Brother," Qin Hao shook his head, feeling somewhat indignant at the remark. "To tell you the truth, even though Su Chen only took ten days to stabilize his bloodline, he still falls short compared to me."
Zhou Tao looked puzzled, prompting Qin Hao to explain, "It only took me nine days to stabilize my bloodline. I just worried it would be too shocking, so I deliberately delayed reporting it for a few days."
"Ah, I see." Zhou Tao was secretly shocked. He hadn’t expected Qin Hao to stabilize his bloodline in just nine days. His talent was even better than he had imagined. "In that case, you have even less reason to worry about this guy! Come on, my treat tonight. We’ll go to the Drunken Immortal Tower, and after we eat, I’ll take you to a pleasure house to enjoy some music!"
"Well..."
"Let’s go, let’s go, Junior Brother."
"Alright then, thank you, Senior Brother."
The next day.
Stepping out of the inner courtyard, Li Mo’s face was slightly dark. He absolutely did not expect that Su Chen would stand him up yet again. They had agreed he would come to the Martial Arts Hall today, but Li Mo had waited until dusk without seeing even a shadow of him.
Seeing Li Mo in such a mood, the newly accepted disciple, Fang Rou, asked with deep concern, "Senior Brother Li Mo, you look terrible. Are you sick?"
Li Mo looked up at the sky and shook his head. "Thank you for your concern, Junior Sister, but I’m fine. By the way, Junior Sister Fang Rou, did you need me for something?"
"It’s like this, Senior Brother. I was wondering if..."