Chapter 58 - 56: Presenting the Cultivation Technique
"I broke through to the Qi Sensing Realm a while ago and developed Inner Strength," Wei Tu stated honestly.
’Compared to the Immortal Skill Weii Fei is about to mention, there’s really no reason to hide my Martial Arts realm from Kou Liang and Fu Zhizhou,’ he thought.
"Inner Strength?" Upon hearing this, Kou Liang took a sharp breath, and the way he looked at Wei Tu instantly changed.
When the four of them became sworn brothers, he’d thought the key figure among them was Fu Zhizhou, who became a Martial Scholar at eighteen.
He, Wei Tu, and Weii Fei were just supporting characters for Fu Zhizhou. In the future, they would have to rely on their younger sworn brother’s support...
But now, that view had been completely overturned.
After all, a twenty-two-year-old Martial Artist who had cultivated from external to internal and developed Inner Strength was far more valuable than an eighteen-year-old Martial Scholar.
If Wei Tu wanted to, he could obtain the title of Martial Scholar in the provincial Military Examination with ease.
This was the gap between geniuses in Martial Arts.
Kou Liang wasn’t the only one shocked by Wei Tu’s words; Fu Zhizhou was as well.
Two years ago, in a rush of righteous bravado, he had stood with Wei Tu and the other two against Hex Prefecture in the Government Office, becoming sworn brothers in the Yee Society.
As time went on, even though he always honored their oath and supported his three sworn elder brothers, a part of him couldn’t help but feel some regret...
—The gap in their social standing was too large, and his three sworn elder brothers, including Wei Tu, had inevitably become something of a "burden" to him.
However, Fu Zhizhou no longer thought that way. He was grateful for the decision he had made back then to befriend Wei Tu and the others.
An External Martial Master in his twenties who had reached the Qi Sensing Realm had a high chance of becoming an Innate Martial Master before his Qi and Blood began to decline with age.
During the recent raid on Wuyun Tower’s headquarters, Fu Zhizhou, serving as one of Governor Wangg’s Imperial Guard, had witnessed the governor himself conversing cheerfully with the Innate Martial Masters from the Government Office, even treating them with the utmost respect...
From this small glimpse, he could infer the rest.
Fu Zhizhou could guess that the status of these Innate Martial Masters within the Zheng Country Court was certainly no lower than Governor Wangg’s.
Compared to Wei Tu’s prospects, his own current achievements were hardly worth mentioning.
"Based on my experience in the last provincial Military Examination, since Third Brother has reached the Qi Sensing Realm... it shouldn’t be difficult for you to place in the top ten this year..."
"At that point, the official position you’ll be granted will be Eighth Grade. Same as me."
Fu Zhizhou spoke up, congratulating Wei Tu while also offering him some advice about the provincial Military Examination based on his own experience.
For example, the contestants in the martial Competition were different from those in the previous Daoist Examination. These contestants were all Martial Artists who had already earned the title of Martial Scholar in past years. Most were in their prime, and their strength was not to be underestimated.
Some of the older Scholars, in particular, were so desperate for a title that they would resort to Horizontal Martial Arts Training, sacrificing their health in exchange for power...
"Thank you for the reminder, Fourth Brother. I’ll talk with you about this in more detail after the banquet."
Wei Tu nodded in thanks.
’With Fu Zhizhou, who had already passed the provincial Military Examination, to guide him, he could avoid some pitfalls in this year’s exam.’
’Among the candidates in the provincial Military Examination, his Martial Arts Realm was likely the highest, but that didn’t necessarily mean his actual combat strength was.’
’The Horizontal Martial Artists Fu Zhizhou mentioned—those who sacrificed their bodies for power—would be particularly tough opponents.’
Wei Tu had already witnessed the might of a giant, hammer-wielding man back in Siyang Town.
"After the banquet?" Fu Zhizhou paused, momentarily stunned. ’What could possibly be more important at this gathering than Wei Tu’s participation in the provincial Military Examination?’
’After all, with Wei Tu’s Martial Arts Realm, if he prepared properly, he had a high chance of taking the title of Martial Champion in the upcoming exam.’
By then,
Wei Tu could be appointed a Seventh-Grade Official.
Eighth Grade and Seventh Grade. It might seem like a difference of only one grade, but in Officialdom, the gap between them was like a Celestial Chasm.
One could get promoted from a Miscellaneous Grade Official to an Eighth-Grade Official simply by accumulating seniority over time.
But to be promoted from Eighth Grade to Seventh Grade? Without a special Opportunity, you could wait your entire life and never make the jump.
A Seventh-Grade Military Officer, if assigned to a regional post, would be qualified to command an army.
Among civil officials, a County Magistrate was also a Seventh-Grade position.
Wei Tu remained silent, his gaze shifting to Weii Fei, who was seated beside him. He waited for him to speak.
’He didn’t want to steal Weii Fei’s thunder at this gathering in Xuanhe Tower.’
"Weii Fei?" Kou Liang and Fu Zhizhou looked at Weii Fei in surprise when Wei Tu’s gaze shifted to him. ’This gathering... Don’t tell me Weii Fei has also had some kind of breakthrough and a major increase in strength...’
Although Weii Fei was the second eldest of the four brothers, junior only to Kou Liang, both Kou Liang and Fu Zhizhou couldn’t help but look down on him slightly.
For one, when the four of them had stood against Hex Prefecture in the Government Office, Weii Fei had been the last to speak up, thus bearing the least amount of pressure exerted by Hex Prefecture.
For another, after the results of the Daoist Examination were announced, Weii Fei had only placed as a third-class Martial Scholar, the lowest rank among the four of them.
...
A brief silence fell over the room.
All eyes were on Weii Fei, waiting for him to speak.
Weii Fei didn’t speak right away. He picked up the wine jug, poured himself a cup, and downed it in one go. Only then did he say, "When Third Brother and I went to Siyang Town to eliminate the Wuyun Tower branch, we found a Cultivation Technique on the body of one of their Martial Artists."
"According to Third Brother’s assessment, this Cultivation Technique is very likely... a legendary Immortal Skill..."
As his words fell, Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang’s eyes widened. They stared blankly at Weii Fei, their breathing quickening.
"An Immortal Skill?"
The two men muttered to themselves. They were both Martial Artists with sharp senses; they knew they hadn’t misheard.
The last two words Weii Fei had spoken were, indeed, "Immortal Skill."
"And confirmed by Third Brother..."
Fu Zhizhou and Kou Liang exchanged a look. They were eighty percent convinced of Weii Fei’s claim.
Wei Tu had reached the Qi Sensing Realm and was already on the cusp of becoming an Innate Martial Master.
If the manual were a Martial Arts Technique, Wei Tu would have recognized it at a glance. He wouldn’t have been so certain it was a legendary Immortal Skill.
A few moments later, Fu Zhizhou spoke, his expression complex. "An Immortal Skill... If it’s real, then it seems what my uncle told me all those years ago wasn’t false..."
As a Military Officer from a Military General Family, he had heard legends about the Immortal Families before—in fact, he knew far more about them than Wei Tu or Weii Fei did.
When he was just a child, he had overheard his uncle recounting some of these legends. The descriptions were so vivid, painted like real scenes and objects, that at the time he had mistakenly believed... that Immortals truly existed in the world...
Now, hearing that Weii Fei had obtained an Immortal Skill—and that Wei Tu had confirmed it—Fu Zhizhou found the existence of Immortals more believable than ever.
"After we found this Immortal Skill, Third Brother and I discussed it. We want the four of us brothers to study it together..."
"If one of us succeeds, he can then help the other three,"
Weii Fei added.
"Second Brother, are you serious?"
Even before, when Weii Fei first mentioned the Immortal Skill, Kou Liang had suspected he would offer to share it.
But a suspicion was one thing. To hear Weii Fei actually offer to share the Immortal Skill and state his intention for all of them to study it together still shocked him and moved him deeply.
This was an Immortal Skill!
Even if it was incredibly difficult to master, its precious nature—the very fact that it bore the two words "Immortal Family"—was enough to make it priceless.