Having studied for a hundred years, why do you call me the Martial Saint?

Seeing that Gu Shuxian showed no fear, Luo Lie frowned, wondering where his confidence came from.

Gu Shuxian spoke slowly and deliberately:

"Your plan is good, but my two companions have escaped. If they report you, you'll be in trouble."

"I'm doing this for your own good. If you turn back now, there's still a chance."

So this is all the so-called confidence you have?

Luo Lie almost burst out laughing.

He said coldly:

"Even if your two companions go and complain, who would believe them?"

"Furthermore, Zhao Kui and I are the top talents in the miscellaneous servants' quarters, having already entered the inner cultivation stage and about to become outer disciples!"

"Do you think the sect would make things difficult for us because of a few good-for-nothings like you?"

Gu Shuxian blinked and said in surprise:

"You've already reached the internal energy stage?"

He really hadn't expected this. Now that they were old enough to enter the outer sect with their inner energy, they still wouldn't let go of these lowly servants, lest they contract serious illnesses.

"Ha, of course a piece of trash like you wouldn't understand!"

Luo Lie smiled proudly, stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes full of self-satisfaction.

"My junior brother Zhao and I have only been disciples for a few years, yet we have already cultivated our inner energy!"

"Do you know how many menial disciples have wasted ten years, unable even to forge their bones?"

"And we, in less than two years, stepped from Bone Forging to Inner Breath!"

Luo Lie became increasingly arrogant as he spoke, as if he could already see a bright future.

"Do you know what Guo Xunzhen, the master of skill transmission, said?"

He said that Zhao and I were the most talented disciples he had seen in all these years!

"Once we enter the outer sect, with our talent, achieving the Open Meridian Realm or even higher will be just around the corner!"

"And you good-for-nothings, destined to spend your whole lives chopping wood and feeding horses in the servants' quarters, you're not even as good as the mud beneath our feet!"

As Zhao Kui listened to Luo Lie's words, he puffed out his chest with pride.

Yes, he is a genius.

This was said personally by the person in charge of transmitting the skills.

He mastered the art of internal energy cultivation from bone forging in just two years, faster than those senior disciples who had spent over a decade in the outer sect!

He has a bright future ahead of him, why would he stop because of a menial job?

"Zhao Kui, make your move."

Luo Lie said coldly, "If you don't even have this much courage, you're not worthy of being called brothers with me, Luo Lie!"

"I don't need a loser as a brother!"

Zhao Kui gripped the axe tightly and closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with ruthlessness!

How could he let Senior Brother Luo look down on him? Zhao Kui is a renowned hero!

Zhao Kui stepped forward, determined to put his courage into practice!

At this moment, Gu Shuxian spoke in a strange tone:

"Didn't the master of skill transmission tell you?"

"What?"

Zhao Kui stopped in his tracks, and even Luo Lie frowned.

They were quite concerned about the matter concerning the Transmission of Skills Deacon. Among the large group of useless deacons in the Miscellaneous Service Hall, the Transmission of Skills Deacon was the only one who saw things clearly and knew how to curry favor with these geniuses in advance.

"That's true." Gu Shuxian said to himself, "He's probably afraid of discouraging you, so he's never mentioned it."

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Luo Lie asked in a deep voice.

Gu Shuxian glanced at the two of them and asked:

"Haven't you ever thought about this? So many deacons, who clearly have far more resources than ordinary disciples, are all trapped in the Inner Breath Realm?"

"Because they are trash," Luo Lie said coldly.

Gu Shuxian smiled but did not answer directly.

"Let me share some basic knowledge about martial arts."

"The four martial arts realms of training the flesh, forging the bones, cultivating internal energy, and opening the meridians are never achieved step by step."

"The two levels of physical training, namely, flesh training and bone forging, mainly depend on one's innate talent. Even if one is exceptionally gifted, it still takes time to train. The difference between ordinary people and geniuses is actually not that great."

"However, things change once you reach the Inner Breath Realm."

"Talent begins here, and it will divide people into different classes."

"From bone forging to internal energy cultivation, one only needs to cultivate a wisp of internal energy to be considered successful."

"But to achieve the goal of opening the meridians, one needs to cultivate dozens, or even hundreds, of strands of internal energy to connect the twelve meridians of the hands and feet throughout the body."

"In other words, the difficulty at this stage is not two or three times that of the previous stage, but a hundred times greater."

"...Beginning at the Inner Breath Realm, mediocre individuals are no longer qualified."

Gu Shuxian glanced at the two of them.

"It took you two years to reach the threshold of internal energy."

"Based on this talent, from internal energy cultivation to meridian opening, it would take approximately..."

"Two hundred years."

The dense forest suddenly became completely quiet.

Luo Lie's arrogant expression froze; his lips moved, but no sound came out.

Zhao Kui's hand holding the axe also began to tremble.

He even began to uncontrollably recall details he had previously unconsciously ignored.

"Nonsense! Zhao Kui, kill him!"

Luo Lie roared ferociously.

Zhao Kui, his eyes red, raised his hand axe high!

"Aren't you curious why I know so much?" Gu Shuxian asked with a smile.

Zhao Kui and Luo Lie were not going to listen to this now.

This person is utterly smearing their inner pride!

They just want to kill this noisy bastard!

Zhao Kui swung his axe straight at Gu Shuxian's forehead!

Even Luo Lie stopped watching.

A fist the size of a sandbag suddenly slammed out, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound that cut through the air!

"Because I..."

With a casual parry, Gu Shuxian knocked Zhao Kui's axe out of his hand and embedded it in a tree trunk three zhang away.

With his other hand, he effortlessly caught Luo Lie's punch, which was imbued with all his strength.

"It just so happens to be a meridian."

How is that possible?!

Luo Lie's eyes widened.

He has already entered the realm of internal energy cultivation. By mobilizing a single breath of internal energy, he can use both internal and external forces, making this punch extremely powerful!

If someone with strong bones were to take this punch, they would definitely be bedridden for ten days to half a month.

But when his fist slammed into the man's palm, all that was left was a dull thud.

The other party didn't budge an inch!

Luo Lie was unaware that, in addition to his realm being suppressed, his cultivation technique was also being suppressed.

The ever-flowing inner energy of Zixia was instantly extinguished by the killing intent of Vajra the moment it entered the opponent's body!

It's like trying to tie a steel knife with a willow branch; instead of binding the knife, you end up being chopped to pieces.

In order not to surprise Luo Lie too much, Gu Shuxian still made a move.

But it wasn't the movement Luo Lie had imagined.

Gu Shuxian tightened his five fingers.

Click.

Luo Lie's finger bones were completely broken!

At the same time, a domineering and sharp internal force rushed into his arm, sweeping through it like a hot knife through butter, as if tearing it into eight pieces!

Luo Lie screamed in agony, clutching his throbbing arm and staggering backward.

Meanwhile, Zhao Kui was still in shock from having his hand axe knocked away when Gu Shuxian punched him straight in the chest.

Zhao Kui was sent flying backwards for more than ten steps, a clear fist mark dented into his chest, blood gushing from his mouth, his eyes filled with disbelief.

He fell straight to the ground, trying to say something, but could only utter muffled hoarse sounds.

"You've trained well; you didn't get killed by one punch."

Gu Shuxian praised.

He then slowly walked towards the half-crippled Luo Lie.

Luo Lie lay sprawled on the ground, frantically kicking himself backward with his legs.

"You have opened your meridians! You have opened your meridians!"

"I was blind and didn't recognize your greatness! Please let me go! Please let me go!"

"I...I don't know why you're hiding in the servants' quarters, but...I won't say anything!"

Gu Shuxian questioned, "Aren't dead people even less likely to speak?"

Luo Lie trembled like a leaf, and said anxiously in a shaky voice:

"You...you killed me! The sect will investigate! Yes! The sect will investigate! Killing a fellow disciple is a capital offense! A capital offense! You can't kill me!"

"Oh? If I kill you all, throw you off a cliff, and then report you missing in a couple of days, saying you were carried off by a tiger, then..."

Gu Shuxian smiled gently.

"Who knows?"