I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

"I heard from Zhan Ping that you just broke through to the Five Internal Organs Realm?"

Inside the Shougong Hall, Chen Lutang sat at the head of the table, sipping tea while observing Xie An. Wei Xiang stood respectfully behind him.

Xie An nodded: "I just broke through."

"Come forward." Chen Lutang became unusually warm, and when Xie An stepped forward, he personally examined Xie An's bones and blood.

Eh?

After assessing his physical constitution and vital energy, Chen Lutang's eyes lit up.

He discovered that although Xie An had only just broken through to the Five Organs Realm, his bones were strong and resilient, his breathing was long and deep, and his blood and qi were even better than Wei Dian's, who had just broken through to the Blood Rush Realm.

After a moment, Chen Lutang said, "Logically speaking, you started practicing martial arts at seventeen, past your prime, so your physical constitution shouldn't be this profound. Zhan Ping said you took a special herb in your early years?"

Xie An had mentioned this to Liu He before, and it seems that Liu He informed Zhan Ping about it.

Xie An nodded in agreement.

Chen Lutang nodded slightly. "Having entered the sect for half a year and started from scratch to become a martial artist at the Five Viscera Realm is already a genius. I, Chen Lutang, open my school to pass on my skills not only to glorify our sect, but also to promote our martial arts. With your progress, the probability of breaking through to the Ming Jin level within two years is not small. Wei Xiang."

Wei Xiang, standing behind Xie An, immediately took out a cloth bag and handed it to him. "Although you are not Master's direct disciple, Master values ​​you highly. This contains three doses of Qi and Blood Powder and two doses of Tiger Bone Marrow Essence Soup, which can help you break through to the Blood Refining Realm as soon as possible."

Tiger Bone Marrow Soup is an essential medicinal supplement for breaking through to the Blood Refining Realm. It is made from the bone marrow of an adult tiger and is extremely precious. The market price is twenty taels of silver per dose.

Two sets would cost forty taels.

Adding the three doses of Qi and Blood Powder, the total value is nearly fifty taels.

This was no small sum for Xie An.

"Thank you, Master." Xie An accepted the cloth bag with both hands.

Chen Lutang nodded slightly: "Although you are only at the Five Viscera Realm, I will tell you some things as well, so that you will not go astray on your path of martial arts in the future."

"Please enlighten me, Master." Xie An naturally knew that guidance from a master like Chen Lutang was extremely important to him.

Chen Lutang explained in detail: "There's an old saying in our martial arts world—ten years of practicing blood-boosting techniques is not as good as one day of mastering the obvious strength, and ten years of mastering the obvious strength is not as good as three years of mastering the hidden strength."

"Ninety-nine percent of the martial arts schools on the market teach only the first level of kung fu, focusing on external training of the skin, tendons, bones, viscera, and blood, emphasizing proper posture and full strength. The 'whip power' of Tan Tui, the 'bridge hand hardness' of Hong Quan, and the 'drilling power' of Chuo Jiao, when trained to the end, are all called 'Ming Jin'."

He paused, a hint of mockery in his eyes, typical of a seasoned martial arts practitioner:

"One punch can shatter bricks and break wooden planks, sounds impressive. Escort services, martial arts schools, and guarding the homes of wealthy families—that's enough to make a living. But against a water monster or some sinister creature... it's a total loss."

Xie An was immediately startled.

Judging from Chen Lutang's tone, he had obviously seen water monsters and other supernatural beings before, and it was commonplace for him.

"Then... what about the second floor?" Xie An pressed.

"The second level is called Hidden Strength." Chen Lutang slowly inhaled, his chest slightly expanding, and then slowly exhaled.

With just this simple breathing movement, Xie An heard a very faint "gurgling" sound coming from inside his body.

"After passing through the Ming Jin stage, your Qi and blood are nourished to the point of overflowing, and a breath of vital energy is gently nurtured in your Dantian." Chen Lutang extended his index finger and lightly pointed it in the air. "This breath travels through the meridians, penetrates the pores, and can transmit power through objects. In the martial arts world, this technique is called 'hitting a cow across a mountain,' or 'needle in cotton.'"

"Back in the day, 70% of the masters listed in the 'Hundred Schools Martial Arts Association' of Baiyun County possessed Ming Jin (manifest strength), and 20% had only a smattering of An Jin (hidden strength). Those who truly mastered An Jin could be counted on two hands." Chen Lutang's tone was calm, yet every word resonated deeply. "Do you know what it looks like when An Jin strikes someone?"

Xie An swallowed hard. "Please speak frankly, Master."

"There's no visible injury, just a red mark at most." Chen Lutang gently pressed his hand on the tabletop, "but the hidden force has penetrated deep inside—"

Before he finished speaking, a crisp "crack" came from the blue brick floor under the table leg, and the brick surface cracked with fine, spiderweb-like lines.

Xie An was dumbfounded.

Chen Lutang's palm strike traveled through the tabletop, along the corner of the table, and down to the ground, shattering the blue bricks.

It's absolutely outrageous.

This reminded Xie An of the eunuch Yu Huatian from the movies of his previous life.

When Yu Huatian went to the hall where the bigwigs of the Eastern Depot gathered, he casually smashed the seventh chair with one hand while leaning on it, and uttered a harsh threat: "You ask me what the Western Depot is? Now I'll tell you—cases the Eastern Depot can't solve, the Western Depot will solve; people the Eastern Depot dares not kill, I will kill! Things the Eastern Depot dares not manage, I will manage! In short, what the Eastern Depot can manage, I will manage; what the Eastern Depot can't manage, I will manage even more! Execute first, report later, with imperial permission! This is the Western Depot, is that clear enough?"

However, Grandpa Yu Huatian was only there through the air.

Chen Lutang's move was still a bit lacking, but it was enough to shock Xie An.

Chen Lutang continued, "The bones and internal organs are all covered in hidden injuries from the shock. The mild ones can't get out of bed for three days, the severe ones... die vomiting blood after half a month, and the doctor still can't find the cause. So the slang in the martial arts world is—'Explicit strength takes money, hidden strength takes lives.'"

Silence fell in the room, with only the flickering candlelight.

Xie An's heart was pounding wildly, and he bowed deeply, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Chen Lutang waved his hand: "Go. Practice martial arts diligently. Once you break through to the Bloodline Realm, you'll be treated the same as Wei Dian."

"Yes."

After leaving Shougong Hall, Xie An breathed a sigh of relief. The skill Chen Lutang had just displayed still lingered in his mind.

Hitting a cow from across the mountain, concealing a needle in cotton.

That's truly remarkable.

"Junior Brother Xie An."

Wei Xiang chased after him out the door.

Xie An was quite surprised. "Is there anything else you need, Senior Brother?"

Wei Xiang smiled and said, "Wei Dian just broke through to the Blood Reaching Realm, which has put a lot of pressure on many disciples. I've also noticed that Ma Tie and Wu Wei, who were in the same cohort as Wei Dian, felt frustrated because of this, and their willpower has been somewhat diminished. You are the second best prospect among this group of apprentices after Wei Dian, so don't be discouraged by this, but don't be impatient for quick results either. Martial arts training requires taking one step at a time. Everyone has their own destiny, so don't compare yourself too much or force things. If you let your martial arts will be clouded because of this, it will be difficult to make any progress in this life."

For Xie An, such a reminder was completely unnecessary.

Xie An still sensed Wei Xiang's good intentions.

In the past, Xie An was just an unknown laborer in the backyard of the martial arts school, never noticed or cared about by anyone. Now, he has gradually risen in prominence, and even masters like his senior brother have begun to show him concern and care.

Regardless of past or present lives, everyone values ​​an individual.

"Thank you for reminding me, senior brother. I understand."

Wei Xiang smiled slightly, "Although Wei Dian has good luck, he is too high-profile and too sharp. In comparison, I have more faith in you. Go."

After bidding farewell to Wei Xiang, Xie An went to the courtyard and took a dose of Qi and Blood Powder, keeping the other two pills for later. He then went to the medicinal bath room and took a dose of Tiger Bone Marrow Soup.

Breaking through the final hurdle of the Blood Refining Realm is extremely difficult, unlike before when simply mastering Bajiquan would suffice. It requires medicinal baths from the very beginning to refine the bone marrow and blood.

……

"Xie An, I heard you've broken through to the Five Internal Organs Realm!"

The next morning, Xie An followed Li Shengnan to the riverbank. As soon as they entered, they saw Zhou Wu walking towards them in high spirits.

Xie An nodded in agreement.

"Haha, great!" Zhou Wu was overjoyed and patted Xie An hard on the shoulder. "Starting today, the monthly dose of Tiger Bone Soup will be changed to Tiger Offal Soup, and the Qi and Blood Powder and wages will be doubled."

Xie An's original treatment consisted of one dose of Tiger Bone Soup, three doses of Qi and Blood Powder, and five taels of silver per month.

double……

Putting everything else aside, his monthly wages alone amounted to ten taels of silver.

A full 120 taels a year.

With the support of the martial arts school, this treatment was more than enough to meet Xie An's daily needs and allow him to live a decent life.

"Thanks, boss."

After that, things returned to normal.

Xie An was not affected by Wei Dian's breakthrough to the Blood Crush Realm and continued his routine life.

Chen Lutang's progress in the second level of the Sunflower Manual is steadily improving. With the progress of Liu Wei and Zhang Long, Xie An can get some attribute points every three to five days. Although they are small, they add up to a considerable amount.

Xie An also practiced the fifth move of Bajiquan, the Mountain-Splitting Palm, and everything was back on track.

Before we knew it, it was the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year in the South.

That day, Xie An accompanied Li Shengnan to inspect the river in Yingyuan Village.

After the previous massacre at the dock, the population of Yingyuan Village decreased significantly, but the daily livelihood of fishing resumed.

In the late afternoon, Xie An planned to return home.

Suddenly, Ah Shui tiptoed over, seemingly wanting to say something but then stopping herself.

"Senior Sister, Liu Wei, please wait a moment." Xie An pulled Ah Shui a short distance away. "Ah Shui, what do you need me for?"

Ah Shui looked around to make sure no one was approaching before whispering, "Lord Xie An, I caught a precious fish near the inner room yesterday. I've been afraid of incurring the wrath of thieves and haven't dared to sell it. I only trust Lord Xie An; would you be willing to buy the precious fish?"