Chapter 32

**Bang!**

Jiang Yi's body crashed heavily to the ground, his head making intimate contact with the floor. However, he clearly felt that Leng Qianqian had held back some of her strength; otherwise, his ribs might have shattered.

"Ha ha! Sister's Dragon Elephant Fist is finally perfected. This hundred taels of purple gold was worth it, Cang Lang, you're too amazing..."

Jiang Yi had just stood up when Leng Qianqian shot over again, delivering another punch to his chest. With a loud thud, Jiang Yi's body flew out like a kite.

"Hisss!"

Jiang Yi's mouth twitched in pain. Just as he was about to get up and see Leng Qianqian charging at him again, he quickly shouted, "Since I helped you perfect your martial arts, why are you still hitting me?"

"Ha ha, Cang Lang, sorry about that!"

Leng Qianqian laughed, her fist flying like a meteor. Her voice, loud as a bell, rang out again, "When I'm angry, I like to hit people, and when I'm happy... I also like to hit people! Just bear with it for now!"

"Crazy woman!"

Jiang Yi cursed under his breath. Seeing Leng Qianqian's fist coming again, he hastily shouted, "Wait, Miss Leng, I've only been practicing for a few days. If you wait a few more days, we'll see who beats whom!"

"Just a few days? Are you sure you can beat me?" Leng Qianqian's fist paused in mid-air. Seeing Jiang Yi's不服气 (unyielding) gaze, she retracted her fist and said, "Alright, I'll wait a few days! If you can't beat me then, I'll beat you so badly your mother won't recognize you."

Jiang Yi stood up and rubbed his aching chest, nodding. "Deal, but you must suppress your strength as you do now. Your realm is much higher than mine..."

"Alright!"

Leng Qianqian grinned, her carefree demeanor showing. She suddenly reached out, grabbed Jiang Yi's robe, and pulled him out, laughing as she walked, "Come on, kid, I'm in a good mood today, I'll treat you to some drinks. We won't stop until we're drunk. Hehe, this time, the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy's recruitment, I want to see how Tingyu that fox can beat me."

"This Miss Leng is no wonder she can be mentioned alongside Ji Tingyu; her personality is too fierce!" Jiang Yi sighed inwardly but could only refuse, "I still need to continue practicing. Do you think I'm like you? You're a noble lady, but I'm just a lowly practice partner."

"Alright, then I'll find you later."

Leng Qianqian nodded, not forcing the issue. She picked up her robe and walked out briskly. As she walked out, she patted the shoulder of the manager Yang, who was waiting at the door, and laughed, "Old Yang, this practice partner is good. The hundred taels of purple gold was worth it."

Leng Qianqian's words immediately excited the waiting young masters and misses. She indirectly confirmed that Jiang Yi indeed had the ability to help martial artists perfect their skills, leading to even more people signing up.

Jiang Yi only rested and treated his injuries for an hour before going back on the field. Fortunately, the next two opponents weren't as fierce as Leng Qianqian, and he could handle them easily.

After three matches, Manager Yang, citing that Jiang Yi needed rest, refused the requests of the subsequent martial artists to continue. He let Jiang Yi return to his room to rest and cultivate. Manager Yang understood the principle of not overworking a fish, knowing that if Jiang Yi got injured or exhausted, it would be counterproductive. Moreover, having three matches a day made the young masters and misses even more eager.

Jiang Yi was relieved. With three matches a day, he had ample time to cultivate and rest. If he had to fight ten or more matches every day like before, he would have been exhausted to death.

Over the next few days, Jiang Yi fought three matches in the morning and spent the afternoon and evening cultivating without a break. His life was quite comfortable. He no longer used the Jiang family's martial arts, relying instead on the Extreme Spirit Step and the Kala Hand. None of the ten geniuses appeared, and Jiang Yi could handle them easily with his current strength.

What made Jiang Yi somewhat depressed was that among the practice partners were also the Ma family and Jiang family's descendants. After learning that a remarkable person had appeared in the martial hall who could help martial artists quickly perfect their skills, each family sent several outstanding descendants to the martial hall. Jiang Yi felt very uneasy when fighting against the Ma family and Jiang family's descendants, always worrying about being recognized.

However, Jiang Yi's worries were clearly unnecessary. In the Jiang family, apart from the collateral descendants, none of the outstanding descendants had ever given him a second glance. Now, with a mask on and using the martial hall's techniques, how could they recognize him? As for the Ma family, unless Ma Fei came, the others wouldn't recognize Jiang Yi. Ma Fei's dantian was already ruined, so he couldn't come to the martial hall.

A few days passed, and the fierce Miss Leng Qianqian didn't appear again, possibly in seclusion. Jiang Yi was glad for the break, but even if Leng Qianqian came, he wouldn't be afraid because... his Extreme Spirit Step and Kala Hand were already perfected.

"Could it really be because of the black essence energy?"

Jiang Yi was also very puzzled. He had always been remarkably perceptive, but it was impossible to perfect two high-level human-grade martial arts in just a few days and a dozen matches. Could he really be a terrestrial spirit body? But if he were a terrestrial spirit body, why didn't he understand martial arts so quickly before?

The following days were peaceful. Jiang Yi fought three matches a day, and the rest of the time he spent breaking the seal and cultivating. The speed of breaking the seal increased, and his cultivation speed soared.

"Half a month, just give me half a month more, and I can break through to the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm. Then... I can finally go home."

Thinking of Jiang Xiaonu at home, Jiang Yi became increasingly anxious. He extended his cultivation time, sleeping only for two hours each day.

He had been in the martial hall for two months, and there was no news from home. Although he knew that Jiang Ruhu and the others wouldn't cause trouble for Jiang Xiaonu, he was still worried about the unexpected.

Ten days later, two pieces of news spread in the martial hall, causing a stir throughout Tianyu City.

On the same day, two of the ten geniuses emerged from seclusion, both breaking through. Jiang Henshui and Ji Tingyu simultaneously broke through to the ninth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm. Ji Tingyu, who was five months younger than Jiang Henshui, became the undisputed first among the young generation, while Jiang Henshui ranked second, surpassing Leng Qianqian.

The Ji and Jiang families were overjoyed and ordered all their descendants to return to celebrate the breakthroughs. Breaking through to the ninth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm at such a young age left no doubt that they would be admitted to the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy.

As one of the three major academies on the continent, the Spirit Beast Mountain Academy did not belong to any feudal state, but any martial artist who could enter the academy and successfully graduate would be highly valued by all feudal states, with a bright future ahead.

For the other genius descendants, this was the worst news possible. The Spirit Beast Mountain Academy only admitted five people, and now two of the five spots were taken. With Leng Qianqian's fierce combat power, she was likely to take another spot, meaning they would have to fight for the remaining two spots...

Jiang Henshui and Jiang Rulong, along with all the Jiang family's descendants, returned to the Jiang family compound, which relieved Jiang Yi a lot. He was most afraid of facing Jiang Henshui, as they had spent a few years together as children and had met once in the alchemy room. If they fought, Jiang Henshui might recognize him.

During this time, Jiang Yi tried to understand the Explosive Essence Palm, but due to the missing two and a half pages, the key technique for compressing essence energy was lost. Even with his abnormal speed in understanding martial arts, he was at a loss. He was also focused on breaking through to the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm and didn't have much time to ponder, so he decided to let it go.

Five days later, Jiang Yi walked out of his small room. Outside, three descendants from various families were waiting to practice with him. Manager Yang saw Jiang Yi come out and smiled, as Jiang Yi had helped the martial hall earn a lot of money, making him increasingly favorable in Manager Yang's eyes...

Unexpectedly, Jiang Yi did not enter the training room to practice with anyone today. Instead, he approached Manager Yang and whispered, "Manager, I want to take two days off. I want to go home and see my family."

"Hmm?" Manager Yang raised an eyebrow, quickly scanning Jiang Yi. His eyes soon lit up, and he whispered, "Cang Lang, you've broken through to the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm?"

Behind the mask, Jiang Yi's eyes were filled with excitement and joy. Continuous hard cultivation, combined with the unlimited supply of Spirit Essence Pills from Manager Yang and the enhancement of the black essence energy, allowed him to break through from the second level to the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm in just a few months. He finally had some self-preservation ability and could go home.

"Alright then!"

Although extremely reluctant, Manager Yang nodded. "Resting for two days is good, but since you've reached the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm, the martial hall can no longer provide you with pills. It's also extremely difficult to break through with low-level pills. Of course... you can use the money you've earned in the martial hall to buy higher-grade pills to assist your cultivation. I'll have someone give you a discount."

Jiang Yi didn't think too far ahead. As a sealed waste, he had reached the fourth level of the Cauldron Formation Realm in just a few months, and with the black essence energy, his current overall combat power could barely match the top ten geniuses in the city. What more could he want?

Ignoring the waiting young masters and misses, Jiang Yi bid farewell to Manager Yang and quickly walked out of the martial hall. As he stepped out, breathing the fresh air outside, Jiang Yi felt incredibly refreshed, almost wanting to let out a long cry to release the pressure of the past few days.

"Whoosh!"

He activated the blue essence energy, and his body shot forward like an arrow. Due to the Cang Lang mask, many people on the square looked at him curiously.

He quickly turned into a deserted alley, took off the mask, and put on the original black robe and cloak. He ran through the alley and, after a short while, finally arrived at the gate of the Jiang family's western courtyard.

"Finally home, Xiaonu, your young master is back!"

Jiang Yi's body flashed, and before the gatekeeper could react, he shot into the Jiang family's western courtyard. The closer he got to his own courtyard, the more urgent his steps became, his delicate face filled with excitement.

"Bang!"

The courtyard gate was closed, and Jiang Yi pushed it open with force, walking in quickly and shouting, "Xiaonu, Xiaonu, your young master is back."

The courtyard was silent, not a sound. Jiang Yi's face changed instantly. He quickly rushed into the inner room and searched the courtyard, but found no one.

"Xiaonu, Xiaonu, where are you?"

He shouted urgently, a sense of foreboding filling his heart. His face twisted in fear, as fierce as his Cang Lang mask.