Ultimate True Lord

Back at the martial arts school, Jiang Ming stopped thinking about what had just happened.

He prepared the herbs for the Qi-regulating soup and was about to brew it when Jiang Tao tiptoed over and pushed Jiang Ming aside.

"Brother, you go and rest. I can handle this little thing of brewing the medicine."

She tilted her little face up, her eyes serious and sensible, and said softly.

"I've heard all the senior students at the martial arts school talking about it. Brother, you've only had three months left since you became an apprentice. Whether you can make it through and become a formal disciple depends on these last hundred days."

"Just focus on practicing your boxing, don't worry about any other chores, I'll take care of it," Jiang Tao said softly, as she took out a small cloth money bag from her bosom and gently stuffed it into Jiang Ming's hand.

"This is what I've saved up over the past six months. I usually help the neighbors around here by twisting hemp rope, sewing shoe soles, mending clothes, and even sewing the training clothes of the martial arts brothers when they get torn."

"I've saved up two or three coins a day, three or five coins at a time, and it's all here. Brother, keep it; you can use it to buy grain or medicine."

Jiang Ming lowered his head and looked at the bulging money bag, which contained four or five hundred coins, all of which Jiang Tao had painstakingly saved up day and night by sewing.

He nodded silently, raised his hand and gently rubbed the top of his little sister's head, his voice deep and his tone resolute.

"I will break through to the White Sand realm and become a formal disciple of the martial arts school."

Don't worry.

From that day on, Jiang Ming devoted himself entirely to his training, working even harder than usual. Even the other disciples in the outer courtyard couldn't help but glance at him, their faces showing surprise and a hint of admiration in their eyes.

From then on, every day, as soon as the other disciples arrived at the outer courtyard, they would see Jiang Ming already there. He would either be lifting stone weights while sweating profusely, or repeatedly practicing his palm techniques on wooden stakes, completely absorbed in his training.

Mid-February.

It took me more than ten days to learn the basics of Baoshiquan (抱石拳).

Jiang Ming glanced at the Primal Furnace; its bottom was now covered with a ring of Taotie patterns. With the blood-nourishing and qi-replenishing tonic, his essence and blood were indeed recovering much faster, reaching twice the usual rate.

If you take the Qi-regulating decoction every day, the recovery period for essence and blood can be shortened to one and a half months.

Unfortunately, he only bought twenty sets, enough for twenty days. Any more, and Jiang Ming wouldn't have enough money to cover his daily expenses.

Hongsha Martial Arts School, Outer Courtyard.

At a glance, about 30% of the people still practicing in the outer courtyard have left. All the disciples who entered the academy before mid-May of last year have already left.

Those who remained gritted their teeth and focused intently on honing their skills, practicing diligently.

In the afternoon, after Jiang Ming and Lin Lei finished practicing their palm strikes in front of the clay pot, they moved to a corner near the courtyard gate to spar. After a few exchanges, Lin Lei's face darkened, and he complained, suppressing his anger.

"It's infuriating to think about it. In these three months, Fang Heng has become a completely different person."

He clenched his fists, his tone a mixture of anger and frustration: "A few days ago, I went to the inner court to find him, and those two inner court disciples who were like his lackeys yelled at me, telling me to get lost and not try to curry favor!"

Fang Heng just stood there watching, not saying a word, clearly tacitly approving!

Jiang Ming silently dusted off his hands, understanding dawning on him.

Fang Heng is exceptionally talented. He started practicing magic only two months after entering the academy, and now he is almost at the peak of his skill and is about to break through to the White Sand level.

Faced with a huge gap in talent, coupled with the influence of those around them, their mindset naturally changed.

"Give me back my connection. Fang Heng and I have been friends since we were kids. I was the one who joined this martial arts school first. He only got interested after he heard that I was practicing here. I even encouraged him to give it a try, which finally made him decide to go for it."

Lin Lei grew angrier as he spoke, and couldn't help but spit under his breath: "They used to be so easygoing following us around, but now that they've gained favor in the inner courtyard, they've become arrogant and don't even care about our old friendship. They've truly forgotten their roots!"

"I misjudged him before; I never realized Fang Heng was such an ingrate!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the outer courtyard gate creaked open.

At the doorway, Fang Heng stood there quietly, his face cold and gloomy, his eyes surging with anger, mixed with a hint of condescending contempt, clearly having heard everything that had just been said.

His gaze swept coldly over the two of them, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm, and he began to belittle Jiang Ming as well.

"Gossiping behind people's backs, how could you do that? You're all hopeless good-for-nothings, destined to spend your lives stuck in the outer courtyard complaining about everything! Oh no, in a few months you'll all be packing your bags and getting out of here..."

Lin Lei was shocked and furious to find Fang Heng standing at the door. His face flushed red, and he immediately retorted sharply, "I'm gossiping? What I said wasn't true? We've been friends since we were kids..."

You don't deserve to be my friend.

Fang Heng interrupted him coldly, his eyes filled with even more chill. He was narrow-minded and now hated not only Lin Lei but also Jiang Ming beside him, assuming that the two of them were conspiring to slander him.

The words fell.

He didn't look at the two of them again, turned around and left.

Lin Lei stared at Fang Heng's retreating figure, his face turning pale and then red, filled with anger and frustration. He clenched his fists and stood frozen in place, unable to utter a word for a long time.

As dusk fell, the martial arts school disciples gradually dispersed. Inner court disciples also emerged in twos and threes. Wang Yan, an inner court disciple who had gone out with Fang Heng to buy medicine earlier, glanced sideways at Jiang Ming and his companion from afar.

As he walked, he whispered and laughed to his companions and Fang Heng, his face full of contempt.

Lin Lei and Jiang Ming were not far apart and could vaguely hear a few harsh words.

"Those mediocre students from the outer academy are useless; any further training will be a waste of their time."

"Once ten months are up, they'll be packing their bags and getting out of here."

"Look at yourself, what kind of person are you? You dare to compare yourself to Brother Heng?"

These harsh words were so offensive that even many outer disciples nearby were mocked, their faces turning ugly. They dared not speak out, and could only lower their heads in embarrassment.

Time flies, and another two months have passed.

In mid-April, the weather warmed up, and the warm spring breeze swept by. The branches in Wangyue City, which had been bare a month ago, sprouted new green leaves. However, the hearts of the people in the outer courtyard felt no warmth at all.

Less than half of the original disciples remain in the outer academy. Yet, among those who have reached the end of their terms, not a single one has successfully broken through to the White Sand realm.

It's easy to imagine how difficult this hurdle is.

However, within the inner courtyard, two or three disciples successively broke through the bottleneck, mastered the White Sand level, and became formal disciples of the martial arts school.

One of them was Fang Heng.

On this day, Jiang Ming polished his hands as usual, stirring his palms in the warm red sand for a while, then quickly took them out and applied green ointment.

He stood aside, just exhaling a breath of stale air.

On the surface of his palm, the primordial furnace suddenly glowed faintly, and the dense Taotie patterns finally covered the top of the furnace, signifying that his essence and blood had been fully restored.

"It's finally done..."