9 Martial Art Pavilion

Li Jing inspected his body following his increase in power.

Only now did he notice that his whole body was covered by a thick black fluid and a nauseous smell emanated from it.

'This thing is probably the impurities of my body. I need a bath!' He thought.

Li Jing stood up and left his bedroom. He noticed that he was a lot faster since he entered the first level of the Qi Gathering realm.

Outside, Li Hua was guarding her young master's bedroom.

"Sister Hua, can you prepare a bath for me?" Asked Li Jing.

"Young master! Of course, please wait a moment." She answered, surprised to see him out of his room so soon.

Li Hua prepared the bath and called Li Jing once it was ready.

Inside the bathtub, Li Jing washed away the black liquid on his body and noticed that his skin was brighter and his muscles were more defined compared to before.

'This Body Strengthening Pill is really miraculous!'

While Li Jing was relaxing in his bath, he activated his status screen to see his progress.

[----------STATUS---------

Experience Points (XP): 320

XP / hour: 16

Strength: 300 Jin

Qi cultivation realm: Qi Gathering I (XP: 0/6000)

Body cultivation realm: Mortal (XP: 0/5000)

Talent: B-grade

Bloodlines: [Iron Boar]

Perks: [Appraisal], [Full Recovery]

Cultivation methods: [Li clan's method]

Martial techniques: [Elusive Smoke Steps]

--------------------------]

Once his body was clean, he dressed up in a grey robe and black boots and left the bathroom.

"Sister Hua, do I have any messages?" He asked.

"Yes. The clan patriarch wants Young Master to visit him once you reach the first level of the Qi Gathering realm." She answered.

Li Jing nodded and wondered what his grandfather wanted.

"Alright, let's go." He said.

"Yes Young Master!"

The clan patriarch's courtyard was not far from Li Jing's courtyard. Once they arrived, a servant asked them to follow him to meet the clan patriarch in his study room.

The clan patriarch's study room was large and filled with many bookshelves. In the middle of the room, Li Jing saw an old man sitting at a table drinking a cup of tea while reading a book.

"Grandfather." Li Jing bowed as he greeted the clan patriarch, LI Zhang.

"Jing'er, you're here! Hum, only one day and you've already reached the first level of the Qi Gathering realm! A true genius indeed. Sit, drink a cup of tea with me." LI Zhang said, signaling the servant next to him to pour a cup for Li Jing.

Li Zhang was very surprised to see that his grandson has reached the first level of the Qi Gathering realm in only one day. Even with a Body Strengthening Pill, it should have taken him two to three days. His other grandson, Li Zhiwang, also had a B-grade talent, but it took him three days to reach the first level!

"Thank you." Said Li Jing.

They sat in silence for a moment until a man suddenly entered the study room. After greeting the clan patriarch, he gave him a small box. Li Zhang took the box and dismissed the man.

He then opened the box and smiled at Li Jing.

Inside the box was a wooden token with the character "Two" carved on it.

"This token will grant you access to the Martial Art Pavilion of the clan up to the second floor." He explained, giving the token to his grandson.

Li Jing knew that the second floor of the Martial Art Pavilion was usually reserved for the veteran of the clan. But as the heir of the clan, it was natural that he could also access this floor.

Li Jing was very happy, he could finally learn Martial techniques!

"Thank you, grandfather." He said.

"I also asked you to come here because I want you to participate in the next month clan's tournament." Li Zhang said.

Although the Li clan was the richest, cultivation resources were still precious and not everyone in the clan could have them, especially the younger generation. Therefore, in the Li clan, a tournament was organized every two months between those of the younger generation. Those who did well received great rewards. This tournament was not only to reward the younger generation with precious resources but also to encourage them to become stronger.

As the heir of the Li clan, Li Jing didn't need to participate in these tournaments to get cultivation resources. If the clan patriarch wanted him to participate, it was because during this tournament Li Jing will be able to show to the younger generation that he was superior to them. It was a political decision because as heir to the clan, Li Jing needed to earn the respect of his peers by showing his prowess in battle.

Li Jing didn't mind participating in this tournament, he also wanted to see how strong he will become.

After agreeing, his grandfather asked a servant to guide him to the Martial Art Pavilion.

…

They arrived in front of a huge three-story pavilion. The words "Martial Art Pavilion" were carved on a plaque in an imposing manner.

Li Jing walked inside and saw an old man with grey hair and a short grey beard sitting behind a large wooden table in front of the entrance.

The old man glanced at Li Jing and smiled.

"Welcome Young Master Jing." He said.

Li Jing was already famous in the clan but only by name. Because he rarely left his courtyard, only a few people knew him. After his performance during the Awakening Ceremony, everyone was now respecting him even more and treating him as the genius of the clan.

Li Jing greeted the man then took out the wooden token he received from his grandfather and gave it to him.

The old man did something with the token and nodded. Li Jing was surprised, wasn't this token just a piece of wood?

Seeing the interrogation look on Li Jing face, the old man explained:

"This token is made from Spirit Wood, the clan patriarch personally imprinted his Qi inside it. This way I can check if this token is a fake or not."

Li Jing understood and nodded. When he first saw the token, he thought that anyone could easily replicate it, but it seemed he was wrong. The original Li Jing knew the use of the token but never saw one.

"Do you know the rules?" Asked the old man.

"I don't know them." Answered Li Jing.

"This token gives you access to the first two floors of the pavilion. You can at most choose four Martial techniques from the first floor and two Martial techniques from the second floor. You can only enter the Martial Art Pavilion once every two months or if you obtain a special authorization thanks to a reward, so you must choose well. Take your time." He explained.

"I understand, thank you." Said Li Jing.

'So, even as the heir of the clan, I can't just take all the techniques I want? Too bad…' He thought.

Li Jing walked through the different bookshelves and started to inspect the first floor.

On the bookshelves, there were only bamboo slips with the name, the grade, and the description of the Martial technique. The true techniques were kept by the old man inside jade slips.

On the first floor, there was only Yellow grade Martial techniques.

Seeing all these techniques, Li Jing was at first really excited. However, after carefully inspecting them, he only found two interesting Martial techniques.

The first one was a Middle-grade Yellow Martial Technique called Hammer Fist. This was not a flashy technique, the description said that the cultivator needed to infuse his Qi into his fist to deal a powerful blow. However, since his strength was slightly higher than the other cultivators of his level thanks to his Iron Boar bloodline, this technique could be useful to him.

The second technique was a High-grade Yellow Martial technique called Instant Flash Step. It was a movement-type technique that allowed its user to move very quickly in a small radius. This small radius was the main weakness of this technique as it could only be used in an offensive way or to dodge and not to retreat or chase after an enemy. But it was perfect for the upcoming clan's tournament since he didn't plan to show to everyone his technique Elusive Smoke Steps.

Before making his decision, Li Jing still wanted to inspect the second floor.