Lord Shenxiu

Zhong Shenxiu introspected and felt that thirty-six acupoints within him had been fully unblocked. In his dantian, the Spirit Turtle True Qi was like a spring eye that had been opened, continuously gushing forth and giving him the illusion of inexhaustibility.

"Could it be so convenient?" he wondered.

At first, he was surprised, then he felt it was normal.

After all, how could an ordinary Innate Martial Practitioner possibly possess his wildly inventive mind and supreme opportunities?

Using Western vengeful spirits to assist in his training was akin to having a Divine Power Realm expert personally initiating him, so it would be odd if his power hadn't advanced dramatically.

"However... the deeper the connection, the greater the disaster… I can feel that with each 'use,' the Headless Earl inside me is gradually 'awakening,' and I fear that next time it flares up, it will need to consume even more…"

Zhong Shenxiu sighed, stepped out of his room, and with a glance, he quietly exerted force with both hands, pushing away two dog heads that had come too close: "Huang Jun, Er Ha?"

Waiting outside his door were indeed Huang Xie and Er Ha.

The two Quanrong people wore ingratiating smiles, "Mr. Su, good morning, are you going to have breakfast? We've brought it for you."

They handed over a paper package containing three steaming meat buns.

'I remember my quota should be four...'

Zhong Shenxiu glanced sideways at Er Ha, who hastily covered his mouth, leaving him even more speechless.

He didn't care about that and smiled, "I was just getting hungry. What brings you here?"

Now that he was transferred to the Xuanjia Iron Cavalry, he wasn't even considered a part of Black Mountain Castle anymore and didn't live with them.

"Nothing much, just came to pay our respects."

Huang Xie glanced at his nephew, then hesitated to speak.

Zhong Shenxiu quickly ate the buns without much conversation.

He knew well that, although the Quanrong folks had some traditions, these two were not capable of competing for them.

Huang Xie had joined the military for money, and possibly also to seek some martial arts techniques.

But the Fufeng Protectorate, despite its close relations with the Quanrong Clan, didn't want to foster a too-powerful ally.

This manifested itself at the lower levels, as the Quanrong people in the military faced discrimination, only fit to be grouped with criminals, with promotion being extremely difficult.

Huang Xie had muddled through for several years and was just a low-ranking soldier, unable to even get close to the Four Phases Battle Technique.

As for the Innate Qi Refining techniques? He shouldn't even think about it.

Acquired Techniques might still be privately taught within the military, but Innate Qi Refining techniques were strictly forbidden from being passed on, as even Sparrow had warned Zhong Shenxiu before.

Violating this could lead to serious military punishment.

Zhong Shenxiu thought for a moment, looked at these two dogheads, and said, "I'm preparing for my morning training, care to join?"

After speaking, he didn't wait for the grateful Huang Xie but went to a clearing and began practicing the Azure Dragon Cloud-Exploring Hand, move by move.

As for how much that simpleton Er Ha could understand, that was up to his fate.

In reality, it was Huang Xie who truly had ties with Su Daoshi, so Zhong Shenxiu didn't prohibit the two from watching and learning by themselves.

He performed the Azure Dragon Cloud-Exploring Hand over and over again, and with his Spirit Turtle True Qi at the Great Success stage, he gained many more insights.

"That's right… The Ten Directions Beast Skill complements it, to reach the pinnacle of this capturing technique one must still combine it with Innate True Qi…"

True Qi could be used externally, every move apparently extended by a cubit.

With master fighters, sometimes the victory or defeat is decided by a hair's breadth, and suddenly adding several feet to the lethal range naturally offers many advantages.

Thinking of this, Zhong Shenxiu no longer held back, pouring his Innate True Qi into his fingertips.

This time, he truly transformed into an Azure Dragon, his hands becoming dragon claws, each strike breaking the wind with force, unpredictable in their extension and retraction.

At this moment, he was still somewhat concealing his skill, not fully transforming the three feet of Innate True Qi, otherwise, the power would have increased dramatically.

As for those two fools, they had been stunned long ago.

"Is this... releasing True Qi externally?"

Huang Xie finally showed more insight than Er Ha, glancing at his nephew beside him, suddenly feeling an urge to cry.

The two of them had joined the military to achieve merits but could only learn some superficial martial arts, not even able to touch upon the Four Phases Battle Technique.

Zhong Shenxiu, however, had already been taught the method of Innate Qi Refining and even made some achievements, his future prospects boundless.

How could they not feel utterly disheartened in comparison?

"Excellent!"

Just then, a light shout came.

Zhong Shenxiu stopped and bowed, saying, "I've seen the Colonel."

It turned out that at some unknown point, Feng Xixi had arrived with Sparrow, watching with a smiling demeanor.

"Truly a scion of a noble house, perhaps even soaked in medicinal broth as a child to lay some foundation… Your True Qi, has the Spirit Turtle Breathing Skill broken through ten acupoints?"

She still hadn't noticed that Zhong Shenxiu had concealed a bit of his skill.

[Heavenly Show Points +20%]

Zhong Shenxiu glanced at the Heavenly Show System and couldn't be bothered with it anymore.

This silly system seemed to become more active in this world, with Heavenly Show Points rising rapidly.

At this moment, he simply said, "I must thank the Colonel for the transmission of the method!"

Scions of great houses, nourished by Spiritual Medicine from the womb, bathed in various medicinal broths upon birth, crafting bodies as tough as copper-skinned steel-boned iron heads, and once they began martial arts, they advanced a thousand miles a day.

If there were also Qi-refining Spirit Pills and miraculous medicines, achieving Innate Great Success in the blink of an eye was not a farfetched possibility.

However, Su Daoshi was just a collateral branch member who, in reality, had nothing.

His only reliance was on Zhong Shenxiu's knowledge and struggle.

As for this silly Heavenly Show System, he had pushed it aside, not giving it another thought.

He did not even know if the system, had it possessed a sentience, would have made a sarcastic comment.

"Um, you work hard, and if you achieve merits this time, I can decide for myself to transmit the Ten Directions Beast Skill to you entirely," Feng Xixi said with a smile.

Although both were Innate, practicing one or two versus all ten of the Ten Directions Beast Skill made a vast difference.

Zhong Shenxiu estimated that the latter could probably defeat ten of the former!

Although even if all ten cultivation techniques were gathered, there was no breaking through Innate, he still had to show gratitude on the surface.

Internally, however, he was pondering deeply:

'This little vixen, truly a powerhouse with unfathomable strength, maybe she has already broken through Innate, cultivating spiritual evil auras?'

'But I also don't know if it was using the Ten Directions Beast Skill as a foundation to break through... But whatever the method, it's impossible for her to teach me, this is already the True Inheritance of some minor sects.'

'Even in the Second Yan Han Empire, the follow-ups to the Ten Directions Beast Skill, like how to slaughter Demon Beasts, extract their souls, and cultivate the Ten Thousand Beasts True Body, are extremely precious legacies... I, a criminal, probably won't be taught. Even if I achieve merits and cleanse my background, I won't pass the review... because I might harbor resentment, considered an unteachable element, a potential risk!'

Thinking this, Zhong Shenxiu looked again at the two fools outside the arena and suddenly felt a sense of empathy.