Chapter 39

Yang Ji did not disturb anyone and quickly retreated.

Back in the shed, Yang Ji lit an oil lamp and sat alone, deep in thought.

The Martial Path realm is the world of "Blood Qi," which is entirely different from the Breathing realm. The secret of "Blood Qi" is hidden in the mysterious scroll in the "True Martial Hall."

Yang Ji had already reached the peak of the Breathing realm. If he did not want to stop here for the rest of his life, he had to find a way to enter the "True Martial Hall." The importance of this was self-evident.

"The True Martial Hall" is a place of ancestral rules, and no one can interfere, even the matriarch, who is of the main lineage, is no exception. Although the matriarch controls the True Martial Hall, the name of the old ancestor still holds weight, and even the matriarch cannot resist it. This is a matter of righteousness, and even the elders of the clan have nothing to say.

Yang Ji thought to himself.

However, doing so was not without risk. Given the matriarch's character, even if she could not stop Yang Ji, she would try every possible way to delay. By the time three months had passed, even if Yang Ji entered the "True Martial Hall," it would be too late.

Moreover, doing so would alert the matriarch. Once she knew that Yang Ji had reached the tenth stage of the Breathing realm, she would become extremely cautious, and might even resort to desperate measures, leading to a lose-lose situation.

This was also the reason why Yang Ji had spied on the "True Martial Hall" at night.

The Yang clan, after all, is a century-old clan with a rich heritage. In a remote place like Pingxian County, no single martial artist can match the power of a large clan. Furthermore, large clans are protected by the imperial court and are the foundation of local stability. If a large clan were openly slaughtered, it would certainly attract the attention and pursuit of the court.

This was also why the matriarch could remain so calm even after "knowing" that there was a mysterious expert behind Yang Ji.

"If I can't enter the True Martial Hall, I must find other ways."

Yang Ji thought to himself.

Pingxian County is not the only place where the secret to the Martial Path realm is known, but each force guards its secrets jealously. Their defenses are even stricter than those of the Yang clan, making it no easier to break in directly into the True Martial Hall. After all, not every force has the heritage and confidence of the Yang clan to openly display a precious martial secret scroll.

Hiss!

As Yang Ji frowned, Xiao Ji, unnoticed, slithered out of his sleeve. It raised its head, its black eyes looking at Yang Ji, shining with intelligence and spirit.

"Xiao Ji? What are you doing?"

Yang Ji, sensing the unusual, came to his senses and saw Xiao Ji. After living together for a long time, they had developed a默契 (rapport). Yang Ji knew at a glance that Xiao Ji seemed to have something to say.

"Hiss!"

Xiao Ji circled the table a few times and then nodded happily. To Yang Ji's surprise, Xiao Ji suddenly shot into the inkwell, its body turning completely black.

"This is..."

Yang Ji was stunned, his face full of surprise.

Whoosh!

Xiao Ji did not answer, but its slender body sprang up and landed on a blank sheet of paper in front of Yang Ji. It moved, dotting, bouncing, scraping... like a brush dancing on the paper. In the blink of an eye, the character "I" appeared before Yang Ji.

"!!!"

Seeing the character on the paper, Yang Ji was so shocked that he almost knocked over his chair.

"Xiao Ji can actually write? When did this happen!..."

Yang Ji was completely stunned.

This bizarre event had overturned his understanding, as if it belonged to another world. Not afraid of the cold, not needing to hibernate, able to shrink its body... and now, it could even recognize characters!

Yang Ji's surprise grew. The things happening to Xiao Ji were unheard of and hard to explain with common sense.

"No wonder Xiao Ji likes reading so much. When I write, it always watches from the side. Could it have learned then? — I thought it was just playing."

Yang Ji never wrote, drew, or read without Xiao Ji around. Through constant exposure, Xiao Ji had somehow learned to write, something Yang Ji had not anticipated.

"Xiao Ji, you're amazing!"

Yang Ji, surprised and delighted, felt even more fond of Xiao Ji's intelligence.

Hiss, hiss!

Xiao Ji paused, hissing proudly, then continued writing. Yang Ji couldn't help but laugh.

In no time, Xiao Ji finished writing, sprang to the side, and looked at Yang Ji expectantly.

"Swish!"

Yang Ji lifted the paper from the table, shook it, and held it up. The writing was not elegant, even a bit clumsy, but considering it was written by a snake, it was quite impressive.

"I can help you get the painting!"

After reading the words, Yang Ji was astonished.

"Xiao Ji, do you mean you can help me get the painting from the True Martial Hall?"

Yang Ji asked, amazed.

Hiss!

Xiao Ji nodded seriously.

"How can you help?"

Yang Ji was even more surprised. The True Martial Hall was heavily guarded, even martial artists found it hard to enter.

Xiao Ji proudly slithered a few circles, then suddenly sprang up, drawing an arc in the air before disappearing into the ground. The hard ground was like tofu to Xiao Ji.

"!!!"

Yang Ji was stunned, his body trembling as he drew a deep breath.

"Underground, underground..."

Yang Ji muttered, his heart racing.

At that moment, he finally understood Xiao Ji's meaning. Yang Ji had only seen the strict guards around the True Martial Hall, not even a mosquito could get in. But he had never thought of the huge loophole — the underground!

No matter how strict the guards, they could not guard the underground. Due to a psychological blind spot, this aspect was not defended.

Ordinary people could not exploit this loophole, but Xiao Ji was different. As the king of snakes, it could easily dig a tunnel underground and enter the True Martial Hall, something no one could have imagined.

"Xiao Ji, I understand your meaning."

Yang Ji muttered.

Xiao Ji quickly emerged from the ground, slowly slithering to Yang Ji's feet, looking familiar.

"Xiao Ji, thank you."

Yang Ji squatted down and gently patted Xiao Ji's head.

A difficult problem was solved. With Xiao Ji's help, he could enter the True Martial Hall and get the painting without alerting anyone. After the initial surprise and excitement, Yang Ji gradually fell silent, no longer as excited as before.

"Xiao Ji, I'm glad you have this intention. However, we probably can't do this."

Yang Ji's eyes flickered, and after a long pause, he sighed.

"!!!"

Xiao Ji's body stiffened, staring at Yang Ji in confusion, not understanding what was happening. Clearly, it was not the answer it expected.

"I know that if I say a word, you will definitely help me. But a gentleman loves wealth, but he must obtain it in a righteous way. If we really do this, it would be stealing, and the nature of the act would change. 'One day a thief, always a thief.' I know you might not understand now, but I hope you will realize that I saved you not to help me with these things. Your intelligence should not be tainted by such actions."

Yang Ji said solemnly.

"I do indeed want the painting in the True Martial Hall. But if we want it, we must do so openly, not by stealing. You will understand in the future."

Xiao Ji was stunned. Although it did not understand why Yang Ji refused, it knew that Yang Ji was doing it for its own good and nodded, its eyes filled with gratitude.

Making this decision was not easy, but Yang Ji knew he absolutely could not do it. The longer he spent with Xiao Ji, the more he felt its precious intelligence, especially its sincere desire to help him.

Yang Ji had few close relatives. The longer he spent with "Xiao Ji," the more he treated it like a person, not a snake. In his heart, Yang Ji already considered it a family member, and naming it "Xiao Ji" was a sign of this.

"One day a thief, always a thief" is a saying from poetry and books. In the "Training Ground," Yang Ji had not "secretly learned" martial arts.

But Yang Ji had relied on his wisdom and the essence he had learned from Xiao Ji, applying it to his studies and mastering the "Grass on the Fly" technique, surpassing the Yang clan's young disciples in terms of skill.

Not everyone could do this.

If he sent Xiao Ji to steal, even if it could do so without being noticed, the nature of the act would be completely different, and he could not pass this moral test.

"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, I know... sigh!"

Yang Ji sighed and fell silent.

Yang Ji picked up the brush, intending to write and practice the "Cloud Hands" technique, but feeling troubled, he unconsciously fell asleep.

"Master, Master..."

A faint voice woke Yang Ji. He moved, opened his eyes, and saw a familiar face.

"Master, why are you sleeping at the table?"

Liang Bo, holding a food box, asked with concern.

Yang Ji was stunned, looked up, and saw that it was already bright outside, and the oil lamp on the table had long gone out.

"I slept for so long!"

Yang Ji was surprised, remembering that he had been writing and had fallen asleep at the desk.

"Master, wash your face and have some breakfast."

Liang Bo said with concern.

"Okay."

Yang Ji nodded. While washing, he heard Liang Bo's voice.

"True Martial Hall? Master, are you about to enter the True Martial Hall?"

Liang Bo's voice was full of surprise.

"Ah? Liang Bo, how do you know?"

Yang Ji turned around, surprised.

Liang Bo knew nothing about martial arts. Even if Yang Ji stood in front of him, he wouldn't know if he was at the first, second, third, or fourth stage of the Breathing realm, or the seventh or eighth stage.

Yang Ji was surprised. He had never mentioned it. How did Liang Bo know he was at the age to enter the True Martial Hall?

"Master, isn't it written on the paper?"

Liang Bo pointed to the table. Although he didn't know martial arts, he could read.

Yang Ji put down the towel, walked over, and saw that the paper was covered with the words "True Martial Hall, True Martial Hall..." But Yang Ji remembered that he had been studying the "Cloud Hands" technique last night, not writing "True Martial Hall."

"This must be what they call 'what you think about during the day, you dream about at night.'"

Yang Ji couldn't help but smile.

Liang Bo was not an outsider, so Yang Ji told him about reaching the tenth stage of the Breathing realm and the matriarch's封锁 (lockdown) of the True Martial Hall.

"Master."

Liang Bo hesitated for a moment and then said, "Actually, our Yang clan might have more than one such scroll..."

"What!"

Yang Ji was shocked and looked up sharply.

A single stone had stirred a thousand waves, and Yang Ji's heart was suddenly filled with turmoil!...