Ultimate True Lord

For a moment, the Taotie pattern flashed with light, but then dimmed again.

"Choose, enhance to level three."

With a thought, a lightning-fast stream of black-gold light merged into Jiang Ming's body. Twisted characters appeared on the Primal Furnace.

[Technique: Red Sand Palm, Brown Sand]

Enhancement 3: Increases the hardness of the palm when using Red Sand Palm by 70%!

He snapped out of his daze and immediately felt as if a continuous stream of hot liquid was gushing out of his palm. Like an invisible current, it covered the surface of his palm layer by layer, making his skin thicker and more solidified.

It was noticeable that Jiang Ming's entire palm seemed to have grown slightly larger, as if his five fingers were wearing a thick, tough leather glove.

"Bang!"

He turned around and struck the trunk of the large tree behind him with a powerful palm strike.

With a whoosh, the entire tree trembled violently, and the remaining withered leaves scattered all over the ground.

Jiang Ming looked closely and saw that on the surface of the tree trunk was a palm print much larger than a normal person's, which had dented the uneven bark.

"I don't feel anything at all."

"My hand can already be considered a blunt weapon, a kind of weapon. Even a blade, unless it is sharp enough, can probably only cut through the surface membrane of my skin, but not damage the flesh inside."

He clenched his fists, feeling his power gradually bursting forth.

Jiang Ming took a deep breath and then continued practicing the other martial arts manuals he had acquired.

……

……

Time flies, and a month has passed.

On Wen Jin's side, many things are still in the preparation stage. He is recruiting people everywhere to prepare for future development. As for Jiang Ming, he has been assigned to Wen Jin and no longer needs to take turns going up the mountain to collect herbs as before.

Moreover, the sudden drop in winter temperatures has drastically reduced the yield of common medicinal herbs. It seems we'll have to wait until temperatures gradually rise before we can go up the mountain again.

Now he only needs to wait patiently. Once Wen Jin is ready, he can lead the herb-gathering team into the depths of the Yancang Mountains for the first time.

During this period, Jiang Ming received a salary for a month without working, but he was still paid money.

A corner of the inner courtyard of Hongsha Martial Arts School.

Two figures were exchanging blows rapidly, their fists flying everywhere, occasionally colliding with each other, producing a series of loud thuds.

The tall, imposing figure among them had sharp eyes and his punches were wide and powerful, as if he were known for his bravery and toughness.

"A tiger pushes the mountain!"

Jiang Ming leaped forward, rapidly closing the distance, and unleashed a palm strike, creating a gust of wind in the air.

"Bang!"

Opposite him, the fat figure raised one palm and unleashed a straightforward move from the Red Sand Palm technique, "Red Sand Scattering Everywhere."

The two men's palms collided, creating a gust of wind that exploded in the air.

Jiang Ming seized the opportunity, spun around and swept his arm horizontally, like an axe, forcing his opponent to move again.

The next moment, he unleashed a Singing Sand Hand strike, aiming straight for Liu Longquan's chest. Liu Longquan smiled faintly, raised his arm, and blocked the trajectory of the Singing Sand Hand.

But, right now.

Jiang Ming quickly changed his move, his right arm flashing out in a long and tricky arc, turning a visible attack into a hidden one, a heart-piercing claw strike coming from the side.

"Sizzle!"

It seemed that this underhanded move was about to succeed.

"call!"

A palm strike swiftly pierced through Jiang Ming's other arm's defensive stance, its angle sharp and its move ruthless.

"Whoosh!"

The red sand hand strike stopped in front of Jiang Ming's throat.

Jiang Ming's Heart-Piercing Claw was a step too late, stopping about three inches from Liu Longquan's left chest, near his heart.

In the courtyard, the two remained motionless, still in their attacking stances.

The master and apprentice, without prior arrangement, switched from open attacks to covert ones, each unleashing a hidden strike with lightning speed to attack the other's vitals.

"Haha, not bad!"

Liu Longquan slowly withdrew his palm, a hint of appreciation in his eyes, and said with a touch of emotion, "Your Red Sand Palm fundamentals are quite solid, and you've certainly taken my fighting philosophy to heart. Your switching between light and shadow is extremely skillful..."

"Excellent, truly excellent!"

Jiang Ming shook his head.

"We were still one step behind, and the teacher struck at our vital point first."

He had nothing to be proud of; Liu Longquan was suppressing his own strength to give him sparring practice. Even so, Jiang Ming still couldn't beat him.

"Hmph."

Liu Longquan smiled faintly.

"If I can't even handle a young upstart like you, then all my years of cultivation have been for nothing!"

He coughed and continued.

"You've mastered the Nine Moves of Overt and Covert Techniques very well; even Wang Zheng and Chen Jian might not be able to match you. The only thing you lack is control over your power and timing; you're slightly off."

"As for controlling power, you need to master soft strength and rebalance your body's energy and blood. As for timing, at your age, being able to occasionally seize your opponent's fleeting openings is already quite impressive..."

"To make good judgments about seizing opportunities often requires a lot of practical experience, and naturally, the older you get, the more experienced you become. You're still young."

Liu Longquan looked at the taciturn Jiang Ming and spoke slowly.

For some reason, over the past month, as he constantly sparred with Jiang Ming and exchanged insights, Liu Longquan increasingly felt that this young man resembled his younger self.

Taciturn, steady yet ruthless.

Although he seemed like an ordinary nobody in the past, his actions subtly revealed a low-key confidence. He did his work without seeking attention.

"This kid does have some of my style from back in the day."

Liu Longquan glanced at Jiang Ming and sighed inwardly.

"Teacher, I've been practicing the Soft Strength technique for a while now, but I feel my progress has been a bit slow lately. Is there any way to speed up my training?"

Jiang Ming spoke up, directly asking about some of his confusion regarding cultivation.

Liu Longquan hesitated for a moment, then immediately spoke.

"Your situation is normal. In our Red Sand Palm, from White Sand to Brown Sand, each breakthrough is based on the previous accumulation of Qi and blood. It's a process of slow polishing and careful refinement; you can't rush it."

"If you want to significantly accelerate the accumulation of qi and blood, you can only see obvious results by using a large amount of red medicine as an aid."

He paused, then continued, "The vast majority of orthodox martial arts in the world follow this principle. Although progress is slow, the foundation is quite solid, and by proceeding steadily, you won't go wrong."

"Among orthodox martial arts of the same type, the Red Sand Palm is already quite fast."

Liu Longquan put his hands behind his back and explained in more detail.

"In this respect, most orthodox martial arts are the same. Only those unorthodox and heretical methods are different."

"Unorthodox martial arts, taking a shortcut. These techniques accumulate both strong and weak internal energy very quickly, making advancement seem rapid and giving one a huge advantage..."

"However, the drawbacks are also very significant. Among martial artists of the same cultivation level, those who practice unorthodox martial arts have a weaker foundation than those who practice orthodox martial arts, and they are basically no match for them in a head-on confrontation."

"Moreover, the cultivation process is fraught with hidden dangers. This kind of martial art generally doesn't have visualization diagrams to guide the way; sometimes, cultivation relies entirely on your own personal understanding of the general principles of the martial art. A slight mistake can lead to qi deviation..."

"In addition, some unorthodox martial arts can be cultivated at an incredibly fast pace in the early stages. However, once you reach a critical level, the obstacles become extremely difficult, often causing you to stagnate for years or even more than a decade, remaining stuck in the same place."

At this point, Liu Longquan looked at Jiang Ming and slowly said.

"Don't even think about those crooked paths."

"With the support of my Red Sand Martial Arts School, and the regular supply of Blood Sand Pills and Red Medicine for your training, you only need to persevere for another two years to have a good chance of breaking through to the Entangling Force level."