Chapter 62 - 63: Martial Arts Halls Gather, 2 Major Events

Chapter 62: Chapter 63: Martial Arts Halls Gather, 2 Major Events

A gentle breeze brushed against the three men’s dumbfounded faces. Dead leaves on the ground swayed with the wind, producing a soft RUSTLE that perfectly mirrored their current state of mind.

Bewildered, at a loss, and utterly astonished!

In the next instant, Hong Ming sprang up. Like a sudden gust of wind, he closed the distance in the blink of an eye, grabbed Su Chen’s arm, and said with a trembling voice, "Let me see."

Su Chen had come prepared, so he readily revealed the deep crimson iron line on his skin.

Upon seeing this vibrant mark, Su Chen could feel Hong Ming’s arm shaking.

Taking a deep breath, an ecstatic look suddenly washed over Hong Ming’s face. "Excellent, excellent, excellent!" he exclaimed. "You’ve really broken through!"

As this conclusive verdict rang out, the slightly nervous Qin Hao’s expression instantly froze. The joy he had felt earlier from reveling in the spotlight suddenly soured into a knot of frustration, as if something incredibly important was slowly slipping away from him.

Li Mo stopped dead in his tracks, rooted to the spot. He had been stunned ever since Su Chen first spoke, and it wasn’t until Hong Ming confirmed the breakthrough that he finally snapped back to reality. A bitter smile crept onto his face. He opened his mouth, but couldn’t figure out what to say.

After a long while, the trio finally calmed down. Hong Ming looked at Su Chen with uncontained delight and chuckled. "You brat, how could you not tell me about something this huge beforehand!"

With his sharp eyes, he could tell that Su Chen had broken through quite some time ago, yet there wasn’t the slightest hint of blame in his words.

Su Chen smiled. "I only broke through by a stroke of luck. I’ve been spending this time adjusting, which is why I didn’t attend the Martial Arts Hall’s exchange meeting. Please forgive me, Master."

"Oh?" Hong Ming raised an eyebrow, then waved a hand dismissively. "Forget it, let bygones be bygones."

Qin Hao, who had just been the center of attention, was rendered entirely speechless.

Su Chen nodded without saying anything more.

"Perfect. Since you’ve broken through, I plan to gather all your senior brothers and sisters tomorrow for a get-together," Hong Ming said, returning to his usual composed demeanor.

"Eldest Senior Brother and the others are back?" Su Chen asked.

Hong Ming nodded. "Yes. Not only is your Eldest Senior Brother back, but your Third Senior Sister has returned as well. Take this opportunity to meet each other, lest you bump into one another in the future without even recognizing your own peers."

"I’ll follow your arrangements, Master." Naturally, Su Chen didn’t refuse.

Afterward, Hong Ming pulled Su Chen aside to ask him a few questions, mainly inquiring if he had encountered any issues during his cultivation.

Su Chen’s answer, of course, was no.

However, to give Hong Ming a sense of involvement, he purposely asked a few harmless questions, allowing his teacher to fully play the role of a wise master.

The two chatted for about an hour before Su Chen made an excuse to leave. Hong Ming didn’t try to keep him, only reminding him not to forget tomorrow’s gathering.

Qin Hao watched Su Chen’s retreating figure, traces of bewilderment still lingering on his face.

At that moment, Hong Ming’s voice spoke up. "Don’t be anxious. When the time is right, you’ll naturally break through. Your talent is no worse than Chen’s."

"Yes, Master!"

This time, without needing Hong Ming to prompt him, Qin Hao immediately began to train, his attitude more serious than ever before.

Walking out of the Martial Arts Hall alongside Li Mo, Su Chen glanced at his melancholy, uncharacteristically quiet companion and smiled. "Senior Brother Li Mo, care for a few drinks?"

"Ah, sure." The previously silent Li Mo immediately broke into a wide smile upon hearing this. "Then I’m definitely going to feast at your expense!"

Su Chen chuckled and shrugged, completely unfazed. He led Li Mo to their usual tavern, where they chatted over their meal.

Because he had matters to attend to in the afternoon, Li Mo didn’t drink much. After just a few sips and a hearty meal, they finished their lunch.

After parting ways with Li Mo, Su Chen visited the medical clinics. After asking around at several places and receiving the same answer from each, he headed straight home and dove headfirst into the ocean of medical texts, completely engrossing himself in his studies.

The next day, Su Chen changed into slightly more formal clothes. After eating breakfast at a street stall, he headed to the Martial Arts Hall.

As soon as he arrived, the Outer Courtyard disciples greeted him enthusiastically. They had already heard about his breakthrough, and every one of them looked at him with undisguised envy.

Upon spotting him, Li Mo waved Su Chen straight into the Inner Courtyard.

"Junior Brother Su!"

There weren’t many people in the Inner Courtyard at the moment. Fang Rou’s eyes lit up when she saw him, and she called out a greeting. Su Chen replied with a warm smile.

However, Su Chen’s attention was quickly drawn to an unfamiliar man. The stranger had average looks, but he carried a unique aura. Moving with majestic, commanding strides, he exuded the refined demeanor of a scholar-swordsman.

"Su Chen, this is our Eldest Senior Brother, Wei Ping!" Li Mo took the initiative to introduce him as Wei Ping walked toward them.

"Eldest Senior Brother," Su Chen said, clasping his hands in a respectful salute.

"So you’re the little junior brother Master’s been talking about!" Wei Ping grinned broadly. "Not bad at all. Your looks are even better than mine back in the day!"

"Haha, Eldest Senior Brother, your looks are average at best. One look at our little junior brother and you can tell he’s the kind of top scholar wealthy families would fight over to make their son-in-law." A dashing, spirited woman walked over and laughed. "Little junior brother, I’m your Third Senior Sister, Liu Fang."

She introduced herself frankly, openly sizing Su Chen up without the slightest hesitation. Clicking her tongue a few times, she added, "I know plenty of girls from wealthy families. If you ever need an introduction, just come find your senior sister."

"Hahaha!"

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter, instantly livening up the atmosphere—except for Su Chen, who broke out in an awkward sweat.

Just then, Hong Ming walked out. He had changed into fresh clothes and wore a bright smile. Seeing him, everyone immediately stepped forward. "Master."

"Good!" Hong Ming nodded. Scanning the courtyard and noticing someone was still missing, he waved Eldest Senior Brother over.

After chatting with Su Chen for a bit, Liu Fang turned to Fang Rou and struck up a conversation. Since they were both women and Liu Fang had such an open, straightforward personality, the two quickly hit it off.

"Junior Brother Su, you really should consider what Third Senior Sister said," Li Mo teased, winking playfully as he saw Su Chen standing there dumbly.

Su Chen shook his head, ignoring Li Mo’s teasing. He wasn’t that kind of person at all, thank you very much.

Li Mo let out a mock sigh of helplessness, then proceeded to tell Su Chen more about their Eldest Senior Brother and the others.

Hong Ming had no wife or children, so he had adopted Wei Ping. Their relationship was exactly like that of a father and son. Originally, Hong Ming intended to hand the Martial Arts Hall over to Wei Ping, but Wei Ping had refused.

Knowing his own limited talent, Wei Ping feared he would never master inner force in his lifetime and wouldn’t be able to fulfill Hong Ming’s greatest wish. Therefore, he urged Hong Ming to choose someone else.

Left with no other choice, Hong Ming opened his doors to recruit other disciples. Wei Ping, meanwhile, used this opportunity to co-found the Weiyuan Escort Agency with some partners. Leveraging the reputation of the Martial Arts Hall, he successfully made a name for himself in White Stone City.

Fourth Senior Brother Wu Hai had a similar background to Wei Ping; both were orphans. However, Wu Hai hadn’t been directly recruited by Hong Ming. Instead, Wei Ping had brought him back and entrusted him to Hong Ming’s care. After teaching him for a while and finding his talent passable, Hong Ming officially accepted Wu Hai as his disciple.

Because of this, Wu Hai was very close to Wei Ping. After spending some time at the Martial Arts Hall, he joined the escort agency and began escorting goods alongside him.

Third Senior Sister Liu Fang’s family ran a tea business. Her family’s financial situation was a tier higher than Zhou Tao’s, roughly on par with the Fang Family.

While Li Mo was filling Su Chen in on everyone’s backgrounds, Zhou Tao, Qin Hao, and the others arrived one by one. Seeing that everyone was finally present, Hong Ming stood up and addressed the courtyard.

"I’ve called you all here today to announce two things."