May I seek good fortune and avoid misfortune, and live a long and prosperous life.

Ten days later, Li Heng appeared in a city called Kangcheng, which belonged to Chongzhou of the Chu Kingdom.

Here, he chose to lie low for a while to avoid being found by the Blood Lotus Cult.

He currently possesses an immortal body, but desperately lacks a method to protect his path.

After arriving in this world, Li Heng learned that there were martial arts manuals here. If one mastered them to a high level, one could fight against a hundred people and injure them by plucking a leaf.

The Blood Lotus Cult only taught its ordinary followers some evil techniques that could only be used to obtain the essence and blood of living people, and had no actual combat ability.

To obtain the Blood Lotus Sect's core cultivation techniques, one must pass an assessment before gradually acquiring them; this path is no longer viable.

Li Heng had no choice but to try other methods.

He chose to join a well-regarded martial arts school in the city.

This martial arts school charges reasonable fees and even allows students to work odd jobs there instead of paying tuition.

Li Heng didn't have many copper coins, so he decisively chose to work odd jobs at a martial arts school to learn martial arts.

Inside the Zhao Family Martial Arts School, Master Zhao tested Li Heng's physical constitution, then shook his head and said:

"Kid, you don't have the talent for martial arts. You should change careers as soon as possible, lest you waste half your life."

Li Heng remained unmoved and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Please teach me martial arts, sir. Although I am slow-witted, I am sincere in my desire to learn martial arts. Even if I achieve nothing in the future, I will never regret it."

Master Zhao of the martial arts school didn't try to persuade him any further. You can't reason with a devil who's asking for it. He had already done his duty.

"Alright then, since you insist on learning martial arts, then go ahead and learn. If you can't afford the tuition, you'll have to do odd jobs at the martial arts school. Can you handle the hardship?"

"Young man, you are not afraid of hardship. As the ancients said, 'Only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above others.'"

Master Zhao nodded. "Then I'll accept you as my apprentice. Go back first, and come to formally become my apprentice tomorrow morning."

And so, Li Heng began a new chapter in his life.

Every day, Li Heng would serve tea and water to Master Zhao at the martial arts school, do laundry and cook, and massage his legs and back. In his spare time, Master Zhao would also teach Li Heng some basic fist and foot techniques and stance training.

And so spring came and autumn went, and another year passed.

During this time, Li Heng would go to the teahouse whenever he had free time to sit and listen to various news from the martial arts world, but unfortunately he never heard any more news about the Blood Lotus Sect.

The Blood Lotus Curse on Li Heng's body had fully activated, and the Blood Lotus pattern on his chest had disappeared smoothly. Due to his immortal constitution, the vicious consequences of the Blood Lotus Curse's activation, which could shorten a person's lifespan, had no effect on Li Heng at all.

Li Heng successfully transitioned from apprentice to formal disciple, and Master Zhao of the martial arts school taught him an internal energy cultivation technique called Tortoise Shell Kung Fu.

This skill is unremarkable, only a third-rate skill in the martial arts world. Its main advantage is that it is easy to learn and the internal energy is balanced and harmonious. However, it is not good at offense and is more defensive, but it is strong in resisting blows.

However, even though this technique has a low barrier to entry and is easy to learn, it still took Li Heng more than five months to successfully cultivate his first strand of internal energy.

Meanwhile, his fellow martial arts students from the same school, the fastest of whom mastered the basics in just ten days, and even the slowest mastered them in one or two months.

This made Master Zhao of the martial arts school shake his head, his last hope for him shattered. From then on, apart from teaching him some common techniques, he was left to fend for himself, with no intention of imparting any core techniques.

Another year later, Li Heng was 18 years old, and he had successfully become a ninth-rank martial artist.

He learned from Master Zhao that martial arts realms are divided into the Innate Realm and below the Innate Realm.

Below the Innate Realm, the cultivation level is divided into nine grades, with the first grade being the highest and the ninth grade the lowest.

Those ranked from third to first rank can be called first-rate martial artists, those ranked from sixth to fourth rank can be called second-rate martial artists, and those ranked from ninth to seventh rank can be called third-rate martial artists.

Li Heng, who had just entered the ninth rank, could be considered the lowest level among martial artists. Many of his fellow disciples had already reached the late ninth rank, and the most powerful had successfully advanced to the early eighth rank.

The difference between each level of a martial artist's cultivation is enormous, especially after reaching the third level, where the difference between each level is like heaven and earth.

A first-rank martial artist can easily crush a second-rank martial artist, and a second-rank martial artist can easily crush a third-rank martial artist.

Just when Li Heng was planning to stay at the martial arts school until Master Zhao passed away, the unexpected finally happened.

Early that morning, a group of uninvited guests arrived at the martial arts school.

A fifth-rank martial artist, dressed in a black robe, with a scar on his face and a muscular build, arrived at the hall with a large group of disciples. In front of all the martial arts school students, he specifically asked Master Zhao to come out.

Master Zhao had not yet gotten out of bed when he heard his disciple hurriedly report to him. He quickly put on his clothes and came to the front hall.

"Zhao Tieshan, do you still recognize me?"

The burly man with the scar on his face, a fifth-rank official, sneered.

It turned out that the scarred, burly man was Master Zhao's enemy. Master Zhao had come to this small town to live in seclusion in order to escape his enemy.

"Of course I recognize you, Second Junior Brother. Back then, Master said that the position of gang leader would be decided by a martial arts competition. If you hadn't secretly drugged me, making me only able to exert seventy percent of my strength in the competition, how could I have lost to you?"

And what's most infuriating is that you used ruthless tactics during the duel, severely damaging my foundation and leaving me hopeless in my martial arts journey. That's bad enough, but today you're relentlessly pursuing me—are you trying to eliminate me completely?

"Let's settle this today. I, Zhao Tieshan, would rather die than submit to you."

"Senior brother, don't worry, I won't kill you. I'm here to challenge your school. This is the challenge letter. In three days, your school will be wiped out from the world. As long as I'm here, you won't have any peace!"

I will torture you until you die of old age. Besides, you are a useless person with no hope of martial arts. What kind of good disciple can you teach?

Look at these misfits you've produced! Not even a single seventh-rank disciple. Stop misleading students. I'm ruining your reputation; it's like doing a public service, hahaha!

Seeing that the situation around him was not right, Li Heng, adhering to the principle that a wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall, secretly shielded his fellow disciples in front of him, preparing to escape immediately if any danger arose.

Zhao Tieshan reluctantly accepted the challenge, because the scarred strongman was threatening his disciple's life. For a fifth-rank expert to deal with his disciple was a piece of cake.

That evening, Zhao Tieshan gathered all his disciples together and told them that they would go their separate ways and the martial arts school would soon be disbanded.

That evening, those elite disciples all received Zhao Tieshan's core teachings, and he instructed them to study hard and make a name for themselves in the future, so as not to disappoint his high expectations.

Zhao Tieshan didn't expect anything from Li Heng, only giving him some silver and a few words of encouragement before letting him leave on his own.

Li Heng had already planned to leave. After accepting the silver, he kowtowed to Zhao Tieshan to repay the kindness of passing on martial arts knowledge. Then he went back to his room to pack his luggage and quietly left the martial arts school under the moonlight.

"Master, should I go and kill this brat?"

Not far from the entrance of the martial arts school, a disciple looked at Li Heng, who was secretly leaving the school, made a throat-slitting gesture to the scarred man, and asked for permission.

The scarred, burly man shook his head and gave him a stern look: "Don't make decisions on your own. This is just a small fry, with only the cultivation of the early stage of the ninth rank. It's obvious that he hasn't received the true teachings of my senior brother."

Don't waste manpower watching this good-for-nothing. You assign people to keep a close eye on those elite disciples. I'm sure Zhao Tieshan has passed on the sect's legacy to them.

You are responsible for crippling them one by one. Heh heh, I want Zhao Tieshan to suffer for the rest of his life!

"Yes, sir!"

On the other side, Li Heng stood on a country path and glanced at the city in the distance.

The world is a treacherous place; he can't handle it here. It's best for him to stay away from trouble.

My cultivation is not about fighting and killing; if I don't die, I will eventually rise to the top.

Goodbye Cannes!