From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

As dawn broke, Chen Shi entered the city, broke the willow branch, and returned directly to the Marquis's residence.

In fact, they did not encounter the First Madam, Li Qinghan.

Did she deliberately take a longer route through other city gates, or did she have another way of getting into the city in the middle of the night by calling for the city gates to be opened?

It's all possible, but it has nothing to do with Chen Shi, and I'm too lazy to think about it.

I first went to the duty room to listen to the reports from my subordinates, and then signed some forms that needed to be signed. That was all for today. I gave Dongqing a brief instruction and went straight to the medicine shed upon entering the mansion.

As usual, I helped Mu Yunsheng with the work first.

This was what he promised Mu Yunsheng.

After working for more than an hour, I finished most of the work, drank a glass of water, and then went to the open space next to me to practice my skills.

After practicing for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, his body had completely relaxed and he took out a Hehuan Pill and swallowed it.

Even with the aid of medicinal baths, it only allowed Chen Shi to cultivate normally. Only by further stimulating his blood and qi with the Hehuan Pill could he significantly improve the cultivation effect.

"Cutting the throat to probe the nest...breaking down the entrance with two claws...covering the top with an inverted bowl..."

As he shouted out the names of each move, Chen Shi's hands moved wildly, like scorpion claws, sometimes slashing, sometimes locking.

After more than an hour, Chen Shi began to unconsciously look at Mu Yunsheng not far away, feeling increasingly agitated. He knew he had reached his limit.

He withdrew the silver needle and precisely pierced the lower abdomen. Amidst the stinging pain, a surge of evil fire erupted.

With each use of the Hehuan Pill, Chen Shi was able to endure the effects of the pill for longer and longer periods of time, now exceeding an hour.

However, when practicing martial arts through the Hehuan Pill, one's moves are always tinged with a sense of madness.

But it's ultimately harmless.

Catching his breath, Chen Shi found a place to sit down and picked up the manual again, studying each move one by one. After a while, having rested enough and gained a better understanding of the moves, he got up to practice again.

At noon, as usual, Mu Yunsheng brought food from the kitchen.

Although he had only just begun cultivating, the energy expenditure of the Condensation Realm was much greater than that of the Explosive Qi Realm. Chen Shi ate the equivalent of five or six people's worth of food. In the end, Mu Yunsheng gave him half a bowl of her own food, which finally suppressed the hunger in his stomach.

The saying goes, "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." For ordinary families, the cost of food alone might be too high to afford if they wanted to learn martial arts.

"Did I eat too much?"

Chen Shi said somewhat embarrassedly, "Help me clear the dishes."

It's one thing to eat a lot, but to eat Mu Yunsheng's food as well.

"That's not much, not even as much as Gu Hanying ate."

Mu Yunsheng spoke in a flat tone, then casually added another sentence.

"She's also trying to reach the seventh rank recently."

"Fourth Miss..."

When Gu Hanying was mentioned, Chen Shi paused, and a hint of melancholy flashed across his face.

They haven't seen each other since they returned from Yongqiu Mountain.

It's perfectly normal for a young lady from a noble family to be seen by men of the opposite sex.

But Chen Shi thought he should be somewhat different.

After all, Gu Hanying gave him her hair as a token of love and said she wanted to marry him.

If that's the case, why hasn't Gu Hanying shown herself yet?

It was difficult for him to see Gu Hanying, but it was very easy for Gu Hanying to see him. For example, when she came to the medicine hut, she knew that Chen Shi would come to the medicine hut to practice his skills, but Gu Hanying did not.

Could it be that he regrets it?

"That's fine too."

Thinking of this, Chen Shi sighed softly and muttered to himself.

Heroes love beauties. He's not a hero, but as a man, he loves beauties, and Gu Hanying is indeed a beauty, kind, innocent, and lovely.

It is said that it is difficult for a man to pursue a woman but easy for a woman to pursue a man. How could he not be moved when a woman takes the initiative to show him her love?

But he was just a servant, while Gu Hanying was a noble lady. Even if he could escape slavery in the future, they would still be worlds apart.

Such a perverse thought should never have arisen in the first place.

Gu Hanying has now thought things through and regrets it, which is good for both of them.

"Yes, it's really good."

Mu Yunsheng casually responded, unaware of what Chen Shi was thinking, and continued.

"For some unknown reason, Gu Hanying worked much harder than before, cultivating in her own courtyard every day, almost to the point of neglecting to eat and sleep."

"In your own yard? Every day?"

"The Third Madam was worried that she had overworked herself, so she asked me to come and check on her. I only just found out myself."

"So that's how it is."

Chen Shi paused for a moment, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.

Although they say they can't reach her level, what toad doesn't want to eat swan meat?

It's just hypocrisy stemming from unfulfilled desires.

Upon learning that Gu Hanying was not deliberately avoiding him, Chen Shi felt much more relieved.

"By the way, why is Fourth Miss suddenly cultivating so diligently?"

Immediately afterwards, Chen Shi became somewhat worried about Gu Hanying and couldn't help but ask her a question.

After all, according to Mu Yunsheng, Gu Hanying was working too hard.

"I don't know."

Mu Yunsheng put the food box containing the dishes aside and said something indifferently.

"But she is perfectly healthy. At this rate, she should be able to break through to the seventh rank soon."

"That's good."

Chen Shi nodded, relieved, and asked no further questions.

He then took a deep breath, his expression hardened, and walked to the side to continue his cultivation.

If Gu Hanying, as a young lady, is so diligent, then he must not slack off in the slightest.

He practiced for two or three hours straight, until the sun was setting and it was getting late, before bidding farewell to Mu Yunsheng and leaving the medicine hut.

After leaving the mansion, he glanced at the duty room and, finding nothing amiss, went straight back to Sweetwater Lane.

Many vendors were hawking their wares on the street, mostly food, except for some trinkets. A man was pushing a cart with a full bucket of cooked mutton, the meat a rich red and the broth milky white. Chen Shi's mouth watered at the sight, and he simply bought the whole mutton.

After a whole afternoon of cultivation, he was now starving.

Back in the courtyard, Cui Nong had already cooked some food, and Chen Shi ate most of a sheep with it, which finally satisfied his hunger.

As night fell, Cui Nong and I did some light exercise to help with digestion.

Cui Nong was already asleep, but Chen Shi was still very energetic. He quietly got up and went to the courtyard to continue practicing his skills.

Since he began meditating to nourish his spirit, Chen Shi felt increasingly less and less awake.

Since that's the case, I might as well use the free time in the evenings to practice martial arts, after all, there are only three months left until the Holy Son's duel.

While not a strict requirement, it would be ideal if, after three months, one could achieve the goal of condensing blood and qi into the shape of both arms.

From then on, Chen Shi did this almost every day, making the most of all his time to cultivate diligently.

Time flies, and more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Although it is still far from being able to fully condense the blood energy into a pair of scorpion pincers, a small amount of blood energy has already been condensed on the back of the hand, forearm, and other parts of the body, resembling pieces of red carapace.

Overjoyed, Chen Shi studied even harder.

However, at this rate, it seems unlikely that the two claws will be fully formed within three months.

Chen Shi didn't care about this. He was calm and composed, and no matter the outcome, he just focused on practicing hard.

"Tsk tsk, so young, and already gone."

"Who can argue with that? Who would have thought?"

"Sigh, what a pity for all those women in his yard."

That morning, Chen Shi went to the duty room as usual. As soon as he entered, he heard several medicine servants talking.

Judging from their conversation, it seems someone in the Marquis's residence has died.