Chapter 10

Hong Yu sat in the armory, facing a long desk made of gold and silver, on which lay the scroll of the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture*.

According to Hong Yu's plan, he originally intended to read through all the basic martial arts classics in the three libraries before entering the armory again.

However, due to the incident with his elder brother, Hong Yu slightly altered his plan and entered the armory once more to study the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture*.

Although he had read all the basic classics in the first library, the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture* was still too advanced, and Hong Yu could only understand it superficially. Fortunately, he already had the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem in his body, and combining the two deepened his understanding.

Hong Yu knew he still needed the help of "Instant Comprehension," but this skill seemed to activate randomly, and he had no control over what it revealed.

Hong Yu could only make a wish to the Sāmī Dharma Image in his mind, hoping to activate "Instant Comprehension."

After wishing for the duration of a stick of incense, the Sāmī Dharma Image finally seemed to sense his sincerity, slowly raising its head and opening its eyes.

Instant Comprehension!

The *Northern Wasteland True Scripture* unfolded, and large, luminous characters floated up from it, flowing past Hong Yu in an orderly sequence, like a golden river.

So far, the content revealed by "Instant Comprehension" was still random. For example, if used to examine a martial artist, it might first show their level, then their cultivation method, and then their combat strength.

This time, under "Instant Comprehension," Hong Yu's understanding of the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture* gained a mysterious and profound aspect. He couldn't explain it himself, as his foundation was still lacking. However, the feeling was deeply ingrained in his mind, and it was indeed very different from before.

When the effect of "Instant Comprehension" faded, the golden characters slowly sank back into the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture*. Hong Yu closed his eyes, sat quietly in front of the long desk, and meditated for a long time.

Finally, after reinforcing those feelings and understandings in his mind, Hong Yu opened his eyes, bowed slightly to the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture*, and the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem in his Heavenly Spring Acupoint roared to the sky, its aura surging, as if it could challenge the entire universe!

Hong Yu shook out his sleeves and left the armory. Hong Shen was already waiting outside, as if he had never left.

He still carefully inspected the armory to ensure that Young Master Yu had not taken any books before letting him leave.

That day, Hong Yu spent the time in the armory without realizing it.

He always carried the wooden fish and brick with him, tucked in his chest. When he left the armory, he subconsciously touched the brick, feeling reassured that it was still there.

After returning, Hong Yu had Hong Xi go to the kitchen to get some food. After a simple meal, he locked himself in his room to study, trying to find a way to improve Hong Lie's realm.

After several deductions, he finally had a plan. After further consideration, he felt it had a high chance of success and finally relaxed, putting the matter aside to focus on cultivation.

Both the *Secret Research Sutra* and the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture* had their own cultivation methods and specialized martial techniques.

However, Hong Yu's body was too weak, so he wanted to cultivate internally first, then strengthen his body, and finally cultivate martial techniques.

This process was the opposite of what most martial artists did. They had to cultivate martial techniques to generate martial qi before they could cultivate their mind. Hong Yu was unique, as both the Sāmī Dharma Image and the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem had already brought their respective attributes of martial qi.

The Sāmī Dharma Image slowly recited the sutra, and the golden mist flowed quietly through Hong Yu's meridians, like a vast underground river, powerful yet inconspicuous.

The Ancient Demon Elephant Totem, on the other hand, was much more spectacular.

The ancient beast roared and stomped in his Heavenly Spring Acupoint, causing the heavens and earth to tremble. The Heavenly Spring Acupoint became a small world for the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem.

Lightning flashed, volcanoes erupted!

Destructive, chaotic, and chaotic auras continuously emanated, and dark golden martial qi rapidly circulated through Hong Yu's left arm, surging like a breached dam.

When the golden mist from the Sāmī Dharma Image reached the left arm's meridians, the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem became even more furious, its four pillar-like legs deeply sinking into the ground, its eyes spewing nine streams of crimson flames, its ears flapping with a deafening sound, and its trunk continuously striking the ground, creating massive cracks that spewed lava.

However, it could only do so much; its dark golden martial qi had to give way to the golden mist, no matter how resentful the Ancient Demon Elephant Totem was.

Thus, the two cultivation methods ran simultaneously without any issues, and Hong Yu's progress was extremely fast that night.

Hong Shen was still outside, sitting among the bamboo grove. The stars were bright that night, and Hong Lie had not yet arrived. Hong Shen seized the opportunity to cultivate by the light.

The previous two nights, Hong Yu had not actively cultivated; the Sāmī Dharma Image had automatically released martial qi at the designated time.

However, that night, Hong Yu actively circulated his martial qi, and the effect was even better than the previous night.

In just half a night, Hong Shen felt that the cultivation effect was comparable to the previous night. He was even more reluctant to leave Hong Yu's side. Checking the time, he realized that Hong Lie should be arriving soon. He put away the cultivation method of the *Starfire Divine Furnace* and opened his eyes.

Sure enough, Hong Lie was already standing silently in the courtyard, looking around. Hong Shen had been in a state that Hong Lie could not detect. Only now did Hong Lie see Hong Shen in the bamboo grove and hurried over. "Uncle Shen."

Hong Shen smiled and nodded. "Young Master Lie, do you remember what I told you today?"

Hong Lie nodded. "I remember."

"Good, cultivate according to that method, and I will protect you. If you have any questions, ask me at any time."

"Okay, thank you, Uncle Shen."

Hong Lie sat cross-legged, palms facing the sky, and began to circulate the *Northern Wasteland True Scripture*, slowly expanding his spiritual senses. Hong Shen frowned slightly; Hong Lie was only at the initial stage of Body Gangue, and his spiritual sense range did not exceed one meter. He pushed his hands in the air, and Hong Lie's body floated up and landed outside Hong Yu's window.

Hong Lie followed what Hong Shen had said during the day, trying to connect his spiritual sense with Hong Yu's. However, he could not find that vast and bright feeling!

"Uncle Shen, why can't I find that feeling?"

"Hmm?" Hong Shen was puzzled and gave Hong Lie some more guidance. Hong Lie followed the instructions, corrected some details, but still could not connect with that vast and bright feeling.

After several more attempts, he still failed. On the last attempt, Hong Shen asked Hong Lie to describe his feeling, and he was very sure that Hong Lie had done nothing wrong. At this level, he should have been able to connect with that feeling.

Hong Shen tried it himself and easily connected.

He sighed helplessly; there was only one explanation: Hong Yu's effect was only effective for himself!

This discovery made him a little excited, but it was bad news for the entire Hong family.

Hong Lie was extremely disappointed. His situation at Liling Academy was very dire, and he desperately wanted to break through his realm to improve his status, to make Liling Academy look at him differently, and to feel proud in front of Song Youran.

He bid farewell to Hong Shen and left dejectedly. Hong Shen watched his clearly dispirited back and sighed softly.

In the small building, Hong Yu was already sound asleep.

Hong Shen thought for a moment, then disappeared into the night.

...

Hong Shengri had not slept; he was waiting for news from Hong Shen and Hong Lie.

Hearing only one set of footsteps outside, disappointment was evident on Hong Shengri's face. If it had been successful, Hong Lie would have come with Hong Shen to report the good news.

"Failed?"

Hong Shen reported truthfully, "For some reason, Young Master Lie could not connect with that feeling."

Hong Shengri had no heart to ask further, sighed deeply, and waved his hand. "Forget it, you may go."

Hong Shen bowed and left.

In the study, Hong Shengri was left alone, his tiger-like eyes flickering with a mysterious light, lost in thought.

Even if Hong Yu had returned to the right path, his character was not suitable to lead the Hong family, which Hong Shengri knew very well. Moreover, Hong Yu was the second son, and passing the leadership to a younger son was not in line with tradition.

Hong Lie's character was steady and reliable. If he could transform from an ordinary person into a genius, he would be the best candidate to lead the Hong family.

The result of this night, to a certain extent, would determine the future of the Hong family!

Grandfather Hong had high hopes, but for some reason, it seemed that fate had been against him for years, and almost everything he hoped for had fallen through.

After Hong Shen left, Hong Shengri sat alone for a while, and the energy that had been supporting him seemed to suddenly drain away, making him look much older.

He blew out the lamp but did not leave, sitting in the darkness for a while, feeling that the vast Hong family, like himself, was surrounded by darkness, with no direction.

"Ah..." He sighed and instructed, "Hong An, take my name card tomorrow and invite Du Jincheng to a banquet at the Spring Light Tower. Tell him that I am inviting him to grace the occasion."

"Master!" Hong An was surprised. "With your status..."

Hong Shengri waved his hand, despondently. "I have no status; I am just Lie's grandfather now."

"Yes."

...

Hong Yu arrived early at the family dining room, deeply moved by what Hong Lie had said the previous day. Today, he wanted to have breakfast with his grandfather.

However, after waiting for a while, his younger sister Hong Yilan arrived, but there was no sign of his grandfather, and Hong An, who usually accompanied him, was also absent.

Strangely, Hong Lie did not come either.

"What's going on?" Hong Yu asked, but received a glare from his younger sister, making him feel very awkward.

Hong Yilan ate slowly and, after a while, replied, "Grandfather went to the morning court early and left a long time ago."

Hong Yu felt disappointed and picked up his chopsticks. His appetite was huge, and even for breakfast, he ate twenty buns and drank three bowls of porridge.

After eating, he wiped his mouth and went to find Hong Lie.

He thought his elder brother might have had another argument with his wife, so he didn't come for breakfast. However, when he asked at Hong Lie's courtyard, he learned that his wife had gone back to her parents' house after the argument yesterday, and only his elder brother was there last night.

As soon as he approached, a strong smell of alcohol came from the room. He frowned and knocked on the door. "Brother?"

Hong Lie's hoarse voice came from inside. "Little brother, come in."