Chapter 765

Chapter 765: Passing on Skills and Granting Weapons

Shi Yan returned home.

This former traveling merchant was overjoyed, coming back fully loaded.

Not only did he bring gifts that Wang Chen had purchased for the villagers of Little Stone Village, but he also carried a promise from Shao Hongcheng, the headmaster of the Hongyi Martial Arts School.

Starting next year, Little Stone Village could send three youths annually to the Hongyi Martial Arts School to practice martial arts.

This promise would remain valid for ten years.

In other words, the Hongyi Martial Arts School would train thirty martial artists for free from Little Stone Village!

This was a reward for Little Stone Village for sending Wang Chen to the school.

Two days later, the Hongyi Martial Arts School closed its doors for one day.

On the training ground, all members of the martial arts school, including over a hundred disciples, gathered to witness the ceremony where Shao Hongcheng would take on disciples on behalf of his master.

Normally, for an event of this significance, the Hongyi Martial Arts School would hold a grand celebration and invite friends and acquaintances from all over to attend.

However, Shao Hongcheng kept it very low-key, only allowing family members to attend.

The martial arts disciples mostly wore strange expressions.

They suddenly had a new Little Master Uncle!

Wang Chen was far too young; at just over ten years old, he had become an elder, which truly made people uncomfortable.

Some even maliciously speculated that Wang Chen must be the illegitimate son of Shao Hongcheng’s father!

Otherwise, it didn’t make sense!

Only a few disciples who knew the truth remained silent due to warnings.

However, this matter would definitely be hard to keep hidden.

The disciple-taking ceremony was simple yet solemn, and Wang Chen officially became a member of the Hongyi Martial Arts School.

Afterwards, Shao Hongcheng took him to a hidden chamber.

The room was small, furnished with three spiritual tablets and a portrait.

Shao Hongcheng spoke in a deep voice, “This is my master, Zhao Wuji, of the Wujimen!”

Under his guidance, Wang Chen offered incense and prayed to the master, performing a deep bow and finally reciting the sect rules.

According to Shao Hongcheng, the Wujimen had been established for a thousand years and at its peak had controlled seven cities; now, only he remained as a true disciple, just one step away from total extinction.

In fact, the Wujimen could be considered fortunate, as it at least had a legacy; many martial arts sects had long since vanished.

“Junior brother…”

Shao Hongcheng said sincerely, “My talent is limited, and I am destined to never reach the innate level. The future revival of the Wujimen depends entirely on you!”

After saying this, he appeared as if he had released a heavy burden, like he had shed a weight of ten thousand pounds.

Wang Chen, however, could only smile wryly.

As a dignified Half-step Golden Core practitioner, he found himself shouldering the responsibility of reviving a nearly mundane martial arts sect.

It was quite amusing.

Wang Chen even suspected that Shao Hongcheng took him as a disciple just to take the blame for him!

Of course, on the surface, he still had to say, “I will work hard!”

Shao Hongcheng was very satisfied and then took out a booklet, handing it to him: “This is the true discipleship technique of my Wujimen…”

The booklet Shao Hongcheng brought out was called "Wujixuan Skill,” a fundamental technique that directly pointed to the realm beyond innate!

Wang Chen received the first volume and curiously asked, “Brother, are there stronger beings beyond innate?”

“Of course!”

Shao Hongcheng answered without hesitation: “Innate is merely the peak for us martial artists; above innate are the extraordinary state and entry into the path. Such beings are called cultivators!”

Cultivators!

Wang Chen’s heart trembled.

He quickly asked, “Have you ever seen a cultivator?”

“No.”

Shao Hongcheng shook his head with a bitter smile: “As a mere Marrow Refinement martial artist, I have no qualification or opportunity to meet a cultivator.”

After a pause, he added, “But I witnessed the methods of a cultivator ten years ago.”

Fear showed in the eyes of the headmaster of the Hongyi Martial Arts School, and he didn’t elaborate but solemnly told Wang Chen: “As long as you advance to the innate level, you will have the chance to meet extraordinary cultivators and even become one of them.”

He smiled: “At that time, I will have to rely on you to support me!”

Wang Chen humbly replied, “Brother, you flatter me.”

Yet, he was indeed deeply interested in the extraordinary state and entry into the path that lay beyond innate.

This world clearly held great secrets.

However, Wang Chen also understood that haste would not yield hot tofu, and he needed to prioritize properly without scattering his focus.

Shao Hongcheng pointed at the secret book in Wang Chen’s hand, saying, “Take your time to comprehend this ‘Wujixuan Skill.’ If you have anything unclear, feel free to ask me, but be sure not to lose it.”

Then he placed his hand on the wall beside them, and with rumbling sounds, the stone wall slid open, revealing a new hidden chamber.

Inside the hidden chamber stood dozens of weapons, armor, shields, and other martial arts equipment, along with several large boxes.

“This is all that remains of our Wujimen’s assets.”

Shao Hongcheng said with a bitter smile, “Junior brother, you can choose two items for your protection.”

He explained to Wang Chen that the weapons used by martial artists were categorized by levels: ordinary weapons, superior weapons, profound weapons, and divine weapons.

Among them, divine weapons are crafted by cultivators and possess incredible destructive power.

At its peak, the Wujimen once owned two divine weapons, but unfortunately, they could not save the sect from decline.

Now, of the remaining assets, the best item was only a profound weapon.

Of course, this profound weapon was currently the school’s treasure and would not be used unless in life-or-death situations, so Wang Chen could only choose among the superior weapons.

But superior weapons were still quite impressive, far better than ordinary weapons, capable of lasting until before the innate level!

Since it was offered for free, Wang Chen certainly did not refuse his brother’s goodwill and chose a long knife and a set of arrows from the secret vault.

“Junior brother has a good eye.”

Shao Hongcheng was surprised because the two weapons Wang Chen chose were excellent pieces among the superior weapons.

Wang Chen smiled without saying a word.

He was a master in weapon refining, and even if he currently lacked magical power, his eye for quality remained sharp.

After selecting the weapons, Shao Hongcheng gave Wang Chen a bag of jade coins.

Jade coins are higher-grade currency than bone coins, with an exchange rate of ten to one. This bag containing a hundred coins would be sufficient for Wang Chen’s daily expenses.

However, the greatest benefit of becoming Shao Hongcheng’s junior brother was not just these two items; the most important thing was that Wang Chen would receive the same resource allocations as Shao Hongcheng for his training.

High-quality beast meat, medicinal baths to assist in cultivation, and more.

Yet, these benefits were not free; Wang Chen needed to participate in the Hundred Schools Battle in Chibi City at the end of the year on behalf of the Hongyi Martial Arts School and secure at least three victories!

Chibi City held a martial arts competition every year, and all martial arts schools had to send representatives to compete, with rankings determined by the number of wins and losses.

The bottom three ranked schools would be completely eliminated and would not be allowed to operate again.

Due to the recent years of Hongyi Martial Arts School’s disciples being out of sorts, and Shao Hongcheng, as the headmaster, could not personally participate, their results had been quite dismal, and there was a significant risk of falling to the bottom.

Thus, he placed his hopes on Wang Chen!