From a slave to the Great Qian Martial Saint

The ninth day of the ninth lunar month is the annual day for determining the ranks of martial arts practitioners.

Just like last year, all the servants in the manor who had applied for martial arts manuals but had not yet been ranked went to the small training ground next to the manor to participate in the evaluation.

Although the vast majority of people cannot reach the ninth rank requirement, seeing others successfully achieve the rank can be a form of encouragement.

Chen Shi did not go to the small training ground because he was to be assessed as a seventh-rank official this year!

Masters and servants are different, and their distinctions are made in a separate setting.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth ranks are different, and each has its own designated area.

The higher the rank, the fewer people participate in the ranking process. For the seventh rank, there is no distinction between master and servant, and they are all arranged in the same place.

At 7:45 AM, Chen Shi arrived at the small garden in the southwest corner of the Marquis's residence, where the seventh-rank assessment would be conducted.

The official time was set for 9:00 AM, and Chen Shi, as a servant, arrived unusually early, a quarter of an hour early, to wait.

In the small garden, the space had already been set up. Actually, there was nothing special that needed to be arranged. In addition to clearing out the space, a small table and a grand chair were placed there.

There is only one chair.

As the sun rose higher, it was already past 9 AM, and the group of people walked in unhurriedly.

Zhou Bingzhi, one of the four chief stewards of the Marquis's residence, was a sixth-rank official, Tongzhi Sanqi Shilang, dispatched by the government to be in charge of this rank determination test.

The two men, one on each side and half a step behind, followed a middle-aged man with a tall, imposing figure and an air of nonchalance on his face. This man was none other than Gu Tingliang, the third master of the Jing'an Marquis's mansion.

In addition, there are two other young people, one is Gu Hanying, and the other is Gu Chenglie.

As expected, Gu Hanying also participated in this product selection.

That makes sense. At the beginning of the year, she had already reached the peak of the eighth rank. In the past six months, according to Mu Yunsheng, Gu Hanying has been diligently practicing, and with the assistance of the 'Mysterious Frost Divine Body,' breaking through to the seventh rank was only a matter of course.

Upon seeing Gu Hanying, Chen Shi couldn't help but feel a flutter in his heart.

Since their parting at Yongqiu Mountain at the beginning of the year, he had not seen Gu Hanying again, and more than half a year had passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Hanying has probably forgotten about that promise from that night.

"Greetings, Third Master; greetings, Third Master and Fourth Miss."

As he pondered, the group approached, and Chen Shi quickly stepped forward to pay his respects.

Gu Tingliang nodded slightly and sat down in the only chair.

Tong Zhilang and Zhou Bingzhi, who were in charge of ordering the goods, stood on either side of the table.

Since the Third Master is here, there is indeed no other place to sit.

Chen Shi had been wondering who this chair was for, but he never expected that Gu Tingliang would come in person.

Although it's a seventh-grade assessment, it's not a big deal, so there's no need to trouble you, sir.

Presumably, it's because Gu Hanying participated in this product selection.

Everyone in the Hou family knows that the Third Master dotes on the Fourth Miss the most.

Thinking of this, Chen Shi couldn't help but glance at Gu Hanying again.

Gu Hanying looked overjoyed and was as lively and adorable as ever, but she didn't look at him at all.

Chen Shi chuckled to himself, realizing that he had actually taken the Fourth Miss's words seriously in her moment of panic.

I decided to stop thinking about it.

"You've come to the wrong place. This is the Rank 7 Assessment Center."

Gu Chenglie glanced at Chen Shi with a look of disdain.

"Reporting to Third Master, I have come to participate in the seventh-rank assessment."

Chen Shi spoke, his tone neither humble nor arrogant.

"Overestimating yourself!"

Gu Chenglie snorted coldly and ignored Chen Shi.

Given his status, he wouldn't bother arguing with a servant in front of Gu Tingliang.

Chen Shi was puzzled as to why Gu Chenglie was also participating in the seventh-rank assessment.

Although he had already reached the eighth rank of cultivation, he was still quite far from the seventh rank.

Chen Shi didn't think that his cultivation had improved so rapidly in such a short time; he thought he was practicing diligently like Gu Hanying.

So it must have been some kind of shortcut.

Blood of a strange beast!

Suddenly, Chen Shi couldn't help but recall seeing some caged carriages in Zhang Henian's camp. He hadn't paid much attention to them, as they lived off the land.

Now it seems that those carriages transporting the strange beasts may not have been secretly resold by Zhang Henian, but were instead brought to Gu Chenglie for his use.

Thinking of this, Chen Shi sneered inwardly.

If the master finds out about this, Gu Chenglie will inevitably be punished.

The Marquis's residence has a rule that Gu family members must not take shortcuts in martial arts training!

The path of martial arts is arduous; the most important thing is one's character and temperament!

In reality, whether or not one uses the blood of exotic beasts to aid cultivation is irrelevant; the key is the process.

Take Gu Hanying for example. She went into the mountains to hunt strange beasts. Although she quickly improved her strength by using the blood of the strange beasts, she also experienced danger and hardship, which she would naturally remember.

But Gu Chenglie was different. He directly ordered people to capture the strange beast and bring it to him. He even collected its blood for him to smear on his body and practice the martial arts moves a few times.

He won't cherish such achievements because they come too easily!

If this continues, he will develop laziness, making further cultivation increasingly difficult, and he may find it hard to make any further progress.

However, this has nothing to do with Chen Shi.

Moreover, since Gu Chenglie dared to do this, he must have done it secretly, at least not to the master's knowledge, and Chen Shi had no way to report it.

"Only three people this year?"

After they were seated, a maid served tea and snacks, and Gu Tingliang casually asked a question.

"Reporting to the master, there are only three people."

Zhou Bingzhi nodded, bent over, and said with a smile.

"Three people is already quite a lot, considering this is a seventh-grade assessment. Moreover, this year, both the Fourth Miss and the Third Young Master will definitely succeed in achieving their grades. Two seventh-grade students in one year is truly remarkable."

"That's true."

Gu Tingliang nodded, glanced at the sun which was already rising, yawned, and waved his hand.

"Let's get started quickly then. I have an appointment to see a traditional opera after the test is over."

"Yes."

Zhou Bingzhi nodded, glanced at Tong Zhilang, then turned to Chen Shi and the others and spoke.

"For the seventh-grade assessment, one must first reach the early stage of the Condensation Realm. There's no need to distinguish the order. Fourth Miss, Third Master, and Chen Shi, you can all demonstrate together."

"Yes."

Chen Shi responded, took a few steps back, and came to an open space.

Gu Chenglie and Gu Hanying also came over and lined up with Chen Shi.

The next moment, the three of them mobilized their blood energy together.

Blood energy rapidly gathered in the arms of the three people, and then solidified into a physical form.

Gu Chenglie has a pair of tiger paws, while Gu Hanying has a pair of crane wings.

However, in martial arts involving fists and feet, the power of the blood and qi condensed in different forms naturally varies depending on the form of the beast being imitated.

For example, among the three at this moment, the tiger's paw is fierce and heavy, the crane's wings are light and agile, and Chen Shi's scorpion claws, in addition to being able to cut, also have a stronger shell in terms of defense.

Regardless of its form, as long as it is formed from condensed blood energy, it possesses extremely strong defensive capabilities. Upon reaching the mid-stage of the seventh rank, the condensed blood energy almost covers the entire body, integrating offense and defense, and can completely overwhelm the eighth rank.

"The Fourth Miss's crane wing feathers are clearly defined, and their shape is perfect! Of course, Third Master Lie's tiger paws are also strong and powerful."

Tong Zhilang stood to the side, praising repeatedly, and then said to Gu Tingliang with a big smile.

"This time, the three of you in the household will surely succeed in obtaining the required grade."

"Um."

Gu Tingliang wasn't very interested and yawned again.

"Then let's move on to the next test."

"Yes."

Tong Zhilang nodded, then turned to Chen Shi and the others, and said with a smile.

"Like the ninth and eighth ranks, the second item is also a sparring test. I wonder who will start first?"