Chapter 32

Slowly, more than half a month passed. Wei He calculated the time and realized he had been stuck at the checkpoint for two months. It was about time to secretly inform Old Zheng.

He started practicing the Back Mountain Fist and, in five months, broke through to the Leather Skin level. It took him about eight more months to break through to the Stone Skin level.

Compared to Xiao Ran, who broke through in just three months, he was much slower, but he was still faster than the other disciples.

He heard that Jiang Su initially took over a year to break through to the Stone Skin level, which was just right.

If he could break through to the Stone Skin level within a year, he should be more valued than Jiang Su.

Finally, he chose a day at noon when he was resting alone and walked toward the room where Old Zheng was resting.

Then, while Old Zheng was away, he slipped a letter he had written into the window seam, letting it fall onto the desk below the windowsill.

Since he wanted to be discreet, he didn't say it in person. Old Zheng would understand his meaning when he saw the letter.

After doing this, Wei He quietly left, returned to rest, and waited for good news.

Next, it would depend on Old Zheng's reaction. If he cared, he would naturally call him alone and teach him the subsequent practice methods. If he didn't care, it would mean he was unremarkable and wouldn't have to worry about drawing attention like Xiao Ran.

Old Zheng's full name was Zheng Fugui. Although his name sounded unpleasant, he had worked hard all his life and achieved his current status, which was quite impressive.

He originally thought he could properly train a few good disciples to support him in his old age, but he never expected that Xiao Ran, whom he had placed great hopes on, would have such an incident during the fist competition.

Zheng Fugui felt a deep sense of frustration that he couldn't resolve. He hadn't been able to rest well for a long time, and his mental state had deteriorated significantly.

He was already old, and he had suffered many injuries in his youth. Now, with the added mental strain, his energy and spirit were not as good as before.

It was noon, and the sunlight outside the window was bright, but Zheng Fugui's heart felt cold.

He estimated that in the courtyard, there was no one who could inherit the Back Mountain Fist Academy and maintain the current situation to support him in his old age.

The eldest, Zhao Hong, was still stuck at the Stone Skin level, with no hope of further breakthrough. His potential had reached its limit. At 24, he had no chance of breaking through in the future.

Without reaching the Iron Skin level, it was impossible to secure a position at the Back Mountain Fist Academy.

The second, Xiao Ran, had shown promise and had the potential to break through to the Iron Skin level in the future.

But now... this severe injury not only affected his body but also his time and constitution. The person who did this was ruthless!

Thinking about this, Zheng Fugui felt a deep pain in his heart.

What could he do? He couldn't even find out who did it. Even if it was the Tian family, did he have any evidence? Even if he did, could he fight against such a powerful family?

The seven families were united, and moving against one was like moving against all. They had ruled Feiye City for so many years, with deep roots. How could he, an old man, move against them?

The third, Cheng Shaojiu, had good potential and a wide network of connections, but lacked perseverance, wasting his family background and potential. Otherwise, he might have had some hope.

Then there was Jiang Yan and Jiang Su.

These two, Jiang Yan, had only come to play a role. He came from the Jiang family in the inner city and had chosen the Back Mountain Fist Academy on a whim.

Even Zheng Fugui himself didn't dare to speak harshly to him, let alone others. And someone from the Jiang family would never stay to support him in his old age.

As for Jiang Su... he had no hope.

Jiang Su was a woman, destined to marry, and her potential was on par with Jiang Yan. Although she had reached the Stone Skin level, breaking through to the Iron Skin level was extremely difficult.

From her progress, it took Jiang Su over a year to break through to the Stone Skin level.

Compared to Xiao Ran, she was far behind.

After teaching for many years, Zheng Fugui could roughly evaluate which disciples had potential and which did not.

To outsiders, these top-ranked disciples were still considered his core disciples.

But in his eyes, all of them combined were not as valuable as a single Xiao Ran with the potential to break through to the Iron Skin level.

"Ai..." He was already 54, with a multitude of injuries. In a few years, he might not even be able to teach anymore.

At that time, what would he use to protect the property he had built? His head?

Zheng Fugui sighed in his heart.

Xiao Ran's injury had almost completely shattered his spirit.

To break through to the Iron Skin level, one must break through to the Stone Skin level within a year.

So far, only Xiao Ran had met this requirement.

But now, he was helpless.

His daughter's situation was even worse, completely relying on him for support.

Back in his bedroom, Zheng Fugui, with his hands behind his back, looked at the empty room and thought of Xiao Ran, who was lying in the hospital bed, feeling even more lost and sad.

He walked to the bed, sat down, and reached for the pipe on the bedside table.

But after thinking for a moment, he pulled his hand back.

He remembered the little black dog he had raised in his youth, named Tiegun.

Whenever he was sad, Tiegun would sense it, run to his side, and comfort him by rubbing his head against his leg.

But unfortunately, Tiegun had long since passed away.

Dogs have a lifespan of only about ten years, even with proper care.

Zheng Fugui sighed, stood up, and slowly walked to the table to start his daily accounting.

Yes, every day he had to calculate all the income and expenses of his properties to ensure no one was cheating or taking advantage of him.

This was his future pension, and he couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

So he did the accounting twice a day, morning and evening.

Those who thought he went to the courtyard so late every day to sleep in were mistaken.

He was doing the accounting!

A bunch of kids knew nothing.

Zheng Fugui pulled out a chair and was about to sit down when he noticed a piece of paper on the table, which had appeared under the window seam at some point.

"Hmm? This... did I take out paper yesterday?" He couldn't quite remember and decided to pick it up and unfold it to see.

Knock, knock, knock.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, rather urgently.

"Old Zheng! Xiao Ran is convulsing all over, it seems his injuries have flared up again! Please come quickly!"

"Alright!" Zheng Fugui's expression turned serious, and he quickly got up to open the door.

Outside was a housekeeper from the inner courtyard.

"Clean the room and change the sheets and blankets! I'll be back to rest later!"

"Yes." The housekeeper nodded.

Zheng Fugui nodded and quickly left.

The housekeeper then entered and began to clean the room.

She immediately noticed the messy desk.

"This table is so messy, I need to clean it up." She swept the desk with her hand, grabbing all the scattered papers and debris.

Turning around, she suddenly saw Zheng Fugui, who had just left, return.

"Old Zheng, you?"

"I forgot something." Zheng Fugui had come back to retrieve something and suddenly pulled the letter from Wei He out of the housekeeper's hand.

"I don't have this kind of paper. What is it?" He vaguely saw some writing through the crumpled seams of the paper.

Zheng Fugui frowned and quickly unfolded it.

The neat and clear handwriting was unmistakably Wei He's, requesting the subsequent practice methods after breaking through to the Stone Skin level.

Zheng Fugui's eyes widened as he read.

He remembered Wei He, who had broken through to the Leather Skin level just two days before the deadline.

Calculating the time, he realized how long it had taken Wei He to break through from Leather Skin to Stone Skin.

Less than a year!

"Really, less than a year!" Zheng Fugui was both surprised and delighted.

He was surprised that he had a talented disciple under his nose that he hadn't noticed.

He was delighted that this disciple knew how to hide his abilities and secretly write to him.

After the Xiao Ran incident, he had become cautious, fearing another similar event that could be even more devastating.

"Fortunately... fortunately." Zheng Fugui compared the time it took for Wei He to break through to the Stone Skin level, which was far less impressive than Xiao Ran's, making him much less noticeable.

In the past, he might not have felt such relief. But after the Xiao Ran incident, he realized that someone like Wei He might be the truly steady type.

With the potential to break through to the Iron Skin level but not too noticeable.

"Good, good, good!" Thinking about this, Zheng Fugui's mind was set, and his previous confusion vanished.

Recalling the content of the letter, he couldn't help but shake his head.

Wei He thought Jiang Su had broken through to the Stone Skin level within a year, with similar potential to his own.

But he didn't know that Jiang Su had taken over a year to break through, after accumulating sufficient qi and blood.

Just the breakthrough itself!

In reality, including the time to accumulate qi and blood, Jiang Su had taken at least a year and a half.

Thinking about this, Zheng Fugui suppressed his excitement, put away the letter, and walked out without a word to the housekeeper.

He needed to deal with Xiao Ran first, then go see Wei He.

He suddenly felt that he had overlooked Wei He too much.

Could this young man be a late bloomer?

When Wei He received the message that Old Zheng wanted to see him, it was already the next day.

The next morning, he respectfully came to Zheng Fugui's bedroom door, stood still, and waited quietly.

The sky was just beginning to brighten.

Old Zheng was already up, and a lamp was lit on the table by the window.

Through the window, he could see someone writing under the lamp, and occasionally the sound of abacus beads could be heard.

Wei He waited patiently. Except for greeting when he first arrived, he remained still and silent.

After about half