Chapter 767

Chapter 767: Can’t Hide It Any Longer

When Shao Hongcheng hurriedly returned to the Hongyi Martial Arts School with the two martial masters, he was met not with the gloomy scene he had imagined, but with laughter and joy!

The head of the school quickly understood what had happened and let out a long sigh of relief.

He sincerely said to Wang Chen, "Junior brother, we owe you a lot this time."

Although the Hongyi Martial Arts School was not a well-known big martial arts school in Chibi City, if they had been publicly humiliated, Shao Hongcheng would have lost face, damaging their reputation.

Others wouldn’t care about the reasons; all they would know is that the Hongyi Martial Arts School was trampled upon.

"Senior brother, I find this matter a bit suspicious," Wang Chen said in a deep voice. "It’s too coincidental."

"Exactly."

Shao Hongcheng’s expression darkened as he said, "If the other party was simply targeting the Hongyi Martial Arts School, it would be fine. What worries me is that your incident has spread. Those people’s target is you!"

In just two months, the annual martial arts competition in Chibi City would take place.

If the Hongyi Martial Arts School remained in its previous weak state, others would probably not even bother to notice them.

But now that a young genius had appeared in the school, some people would surely feel uneasy!

For example, rivals with lower rankings than the Hongyi Martial Arts School, or enemies of Shao Hongcheng and the Hongyi Martial Arts School, and so forth.

Those who didn’t want to see the Hongyi Martial Arts School rise again would likely adopt proactive measures.

Shao Hongcheng was caught off guard and fell into a trap; even now, he still felt some lingering fear!

He couldn’t help but ask, "Junior brother, how are you now?"

Ever since Wang Chen officially joined the Hongyi Martial Arts School, Shao Hongcheng had mostly limited his involvement in Wang Chen’s daily martial arts training to providing guidance on techniques and ensuring the supply of cultivation resources.

He was afraid of putting too much pressure on Wang Chen and affecting the latter’s talent.

Moreover, since Wang Chen had not practiced the Wujixuan Skill for long, he hadn’t anticipated that Wang Chen’s strength had made such rapid progress.

Now that Wang Chen had single-handedly taken down three powerful challengers, Shao Hongcheng suddenly realized that his judgment of Wang Chen was likely very inaccurate.

He was eager to know the true strength of Wang Chen at this moment!

Wang Chen did not directly answer Shao Hongcheng’s question; instead, he raised his fists and tightened his body suddenly.

A fierce and intense aura burst forth from him!

Shao Hongcheng was instantly stunned, hardly able to believe his eyes: "Marrow Refinement!"

So shocked, his voice came out in a strained manner, sounding quite funny.

This head of the Hongyi Martial Arts School grabbed hold of Wang Chen’s arm tightly, applying force with all five fingers.

But the next moment, his fingers were forced away by the power emanating from within Wang Chen’s body.

"Peak of Marrow Refinement!"

Shao Hongcheng himself was at the peak of Marrow Refinement and had immersed himself in the Wujixuan Skill for many years, so he precisely assessed Wang Chen’s cultivation level.

"Good, that’s wonderful!"

He became so excited that he spoke incoherently: "Yes, yes, it’s right that I took you as a disciple, and it’s right that you practice the Wujixuan Skill…"

Don’t mention the Hongyi Martial Arts School; even the former Wujimen has never produced such an outstanding genius!

Shao Hongcheng spent forty years tirelessly honing his skills to achieve his current strength.

Wang Chen had only invested a short amount of time.

He even felt a sense of fear—could such a genius really be kept?

Wang Chen smiled and said, “I have to thank you, Senior Brother, for your help.”

Wang Chen spoke from the heart.

His rapid progress was truly supported and assisted by Shao Hongcheng.

Wang Chen would always remember this kindness.

“Rest assured, Senior Brother, I will definitely win honor for our Hongyi in the martial arts competition!”

Shao Hongcheng calmed his excited and chaotic emotions and took out a sandalwood box to hand to Wang Chen: “Take this.”

When he opened the box, it revealed a plain jade bottle inside.

“I went out earlier to retrieve this blood marrow pill.”

Shao Hongcheng said in a deep voice, “Since you have reached the Peak of Marrow Refinement, this blood marrow pill is for you. I wish you success in breaking through to the acquired level!”

The blood marrow pill was an extremely precious elixir made from seventeen rare herbs and the essence of blood marrow from a fifth-level fierce beast. It strengthened the Qi and blood of Marrow Refinement martial artists and enhanced their potential.

Moreover, the blood marrow pill was the best auxiliary elixir for breaking through to the acquired level.

Additionally, if consumed during the breakthrough, even if one failed, the loss of Qi and blood would not be too great.

Shao Hongcheng had sold off more than half of his treasures in the secret vault, along with a substantial amount of savings, just to acquire these five blood marrow pills.

Wang Chen was taken aback: “Senior Brother, aren’t you going to break through to the acquired level?”

The blood marrow pill was so valuable, and Shao Hongcheng had been stuck at the Peak of Marrow Refinement for many years. Anyone else in his position would hesitate to give away such an important item.

To be frank, Wang Chen had no blood relations with Shao Hongcheng and no deep feelings toward him.

Shao Hongcheng’s actions were indeed quite unbelievable.

Shao Hongcheng forced a smile and said, “I don’t have confidence.”

He had originally planned to use the blood marrow pill for himself.

But now he changed his mind.

He wanted to push Wang Chen to the acquired level first!

The seven realms of martial artists—Skin Refinement, Flesh Refinement, Bone Refinement, Blood Refinement, Marrow Refinement, Acquired, and Innate—were well known to all.

But these seven realms could actually be divided into three major realms: body cultivation, acquired, and innate!

The leap from Marrow Refinement to acquired was not just a simple upgrade in rank, but a breakthrough in major realms!

The difficulty was hard to imagine.

Shao Hongcheng had long passed the peak of his martial arts years, and his Qi and blood were diminishing year by year. If it were ten years earlier, he would never have given away the blood marrow pill.

Now, even with the blood marrow pill, Shao Hongcheng felt his chance of success in breaking through was no more than thirty percent.

He had originally intended to take a gamble.

But now he had a better option: “As long as you secure a top three position in the martial arts competition, you will receive the blood marrow pill as a reward. You can return it to me later.”

Wang Chen understood—this made perfect sense.

But he still needed to express his gratitude to Shao Hongcheng: “Senior Brother, please rest assured. I will definitely achieve a top three finish!”

“Reaching the top three is not guaranteed even at the Peak of Marrow Refinement,” Shao Hongcheng said in a deep voice. “I hope you can break through to the acquired level within two months. Then joining the martial arts competition would be very certain, and no one would have a higher cultivation level than you.”

It was known that there was only one innate martial artist in all of Chibi City, while acquired-level martial artists were already at the top tier.

Failing to achieve a top three finish in the martial arts competition would indeed be a joke!

“Unfortunately, your situation can’t be kept secret…”

Shao Hongcheng said with frustration. “I’m afraid some people might use underhanded tactics; it’s easy to dodge a direct attack but hard to guard against a hidden arrow!”

“No worries.”

Wang Chen smiled slightly. “Meet force with force. No matter what kind of schemes others employ, as long as we have enough strength, we will naturally overcome them!”

Shao Hongcheng was stunned.

Somehow, Wang Chen before him seemed to overlap with his memories of his master.

That confident and calm demeanor of a Strongest was a memory that Shao Hongcheng could never forget!