Chapter 50

"Are you going to take me as your disciple?" The old man's eyes flashed with a keen light, and the playful look in his eyes disappeared. His gaze made one feel a sense of pressure!

Yi Yun's breathing slightly paused. After a moment of staring at the old man, he slowly shook his head and said, "Asking me if I want to become your disciple is meaningless, because the decision is not in my hands. My wishes don't matter. If you want to take on disciples, there are many talented people who would come to you, and you can choose from them. If you don't want to take on disciples, even if I beg on my knees, it won't work."

"Hmm?" The old man was once again surprised by Yi Yun's words. This kid, while greedy, also knew when to back off!

This was extremely rare!

Some people don't know how to strive for the greatest benefit, are lazy about everything, and live a muddled life, easily ending up achieving nothing. This is not advisable.

Others are overly greedy, always taking without recognizing their own worth, being self-important, and ultimately possibly leading to their own destruction. This is the principle that people die for wealth and birds die for food, which is even less advisable.

But this child, at just twelve years old, had such a mindset, striving to be the best while knowing when to back off and having a sense of proportion. It was truly not easy.

The child had seen that the old man didn't want to take him as a disciple, so he didn't beg.

"Kid, I really admire you. You guessed right; I can't take you as my disciple. I am indeed very interested in your unique cooking techniques, but cooking is just cooking, a matter of taste. Taking on a disciple is a serious matter. To be honest with you, these past years, I have indeed been looking for a suitable successor. However, you... I have seen your bone structure, and it is not good enough to qualify. What I say may sound harsh, but it is the truth..."

Yi Yun was not bothered by this. He said calmly, "I know."

"Hmm... It's good that you understand. Your mindset far surpasses that of children your age. Perhaps you can try the imperial examinations and become a minor official in a local area, which would ensure a comfortable life."

In the Taiyi Divine Kingdom, all true high-ranking officials were powerful. The Taiyi Divine Kingdom was governed by martial prowess, and whether a general or a governor, they must first be skilled in martial arts! Those who were only literate but not martial could only serve as secretaries or clerks.

Seeing that Yi Yun clearly wasn't listening, the old man continued, "In terms of cultivation, mindset is not useless, but the key is talent."

"In this world, resources are very precious. The resources of martial artists are various heavenly materials, earth treasures, and wild bone relics! In large families, wild bone relics are extremely limited and are only given to the most talented family members."

"Those with good talent can absorb a wild bone relic and increase their strength by ten points. Those with poor talent, absorbing the same wild bone relic, only increase their strength by one point, and the more advanced they become, the harder it is to increase their strength. Even the largest families can't afford it!"

Hearing the old man's words, Yi Yun deeply agreed. He had previously asked Jiang Xiaorou about cultivation, but the old man's explanation was much clearer.

In a situation with limited resources, talent is indeed important.

Lian Chengyu could ambitiously strive for the Purple Blood Realm, naturally because of his good talent.

If not for his talent, with just a barren Lian family medicinal mountain and a toxic wild bone, Lian Chengyu would have no chance of reaching the Purple Blood Realm.

Yi Yun understood his situation. He was an ordinary young man, a completely ordinary boy, with no connection to martial arts families. How could he have martial talent?

But thinking about the past few days, he had relied on the purple crystal to absorb the energy of medicinal herbs and wild bones, and his cultivation speed was not slow. This was clearly the merit of the purple crystal.

The purple crystal had penetrated deep into his heart, and with each heartbeat, the energy of the purple crystal flowed throughout his body, improving his constitution. This method of absorption was much more effective than other martial artists using their intestines to absorb energy.

Understanding this, Yi Yun's thoughts became clearer. He looked up at the old man and said, "I don't need you to take me as your disciple."

The old man had already made his stance clear, so Yi Yun naturally wouldn't force anything. Even if the old man really wanted to take him as a disciple, Yi Yun would have to carefully consider it, as the secrets he carried were significant. If he didn't carefully consider the characteristics of the original purple crystal, rashly becoming a disciple might lead to the discovery of his secrets, with unimaginable consequences.

"I want to ask you, Senior, for a treasure herb! Whether it's the essence of a fierce beast, wild beast meat, medicinal herbs, or wild bones!"

Hearing Yi Yun's words, the old man laughed, "You really are pushing your luck. You think a few dishes, with ingredients provided by me, can exchange for a wild bone relic?"

The wild bone relics in the old man's ring were all of the highest quality. If a few dishes could exchange for one, it would be too ridiculous.

"It seems you still don't understand what I'm saying." The old man shook his head, looking like he was dealing with an unteachable student. "Do you really want to walk the path of martial arts? You've reached the peak of physical cultivation through luck, which is already not easy. Although your constitution is good now, you haven't undergone systematic martial arts training. Do you know any cultivation techniques? Martial skills? Spirit cultivation techniques? You don't have a master or any manuals. Are you planning to become a self-taught Purple Blood Realm warrior?"

The old man's series of rhetorical questions made Yi Yun think. Cultivation techniques! Martial skills! Spirit cultivation techniques!

Although there were still some unclear points, this was not important. Undoubtedly, he would need to obtain these in the future!

As for the Purple Blood Realm... This was not Yi Yun's goal. Yi Yun knew that above the Purple Blood Realm, there were even higher realms.

Since he had obtained this mysterious purple crystal card, how could he be content with just becoming a Purple Blood Realm warrior, living a meager life in a resource-poor small tribe in Yunhuang?

Of course, he couldn't reveal his true goal, or people would think he was crazy.

Yi Yun said, "I have indeed not come into contact with martial skills or spirit cultivation techniques, but I have practiced a physical cultivation technique called 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist'!"

"Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist!" A look of surprise flashed across the old man's face. "You actually know this fist technique? The 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' is considered one of the top physical cultivation techniques in the Taiyi Divine Kingdom. Even from my perspective, this fist technique has many merits and is a classic work! So, you have a master who taught you?"

Although the 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' was publicly known in the Taiyi Divine Kingdom, a poor boy from a small tribe in Yunhuang would have little chance to learn it.

Yi Yun knowing a bit of the 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' surprised the old man.

"I don't have a master. I learned it by watching others practice in my tribe."

"Learned by watching?" The old man immediately shook his head.

The 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' may be basic, but it is not simple. With this boy's martial arts foundation, even if he studied it properly, he might not achieve much. What could he learn by watching?

Watching is just mimicking the form, and the key points are hard to understand.

Moreover, in a poor area like Yunhuang, how could there be any good martial arts masters?

The master who taught this boy was probably just a half-trained martial artist. Could his 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' be any good?

A mediocre master, and this boy learned by watching, probably just picked up some superficial techniques and thought he was doing well.

The old man wasn't looking down on the people of Yunhuang, but he felt that they, limited by their knowledge, had no idea how vast the outside world was or how many experts there were.

"Can the 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' be learned by watching? Do you know what it means for tendons to be like strings? Do you know what it means to store thunder in your bones? Can you generate a wind with your punches?" The old man asked, knowing that even those with some martial arts foundation could perform the 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' well, but it was just a show. They didn't understand the essence of the technique.

Yi Yun clasped his hands and said, "I may not be very talented, but I do know a bit about tendons being like strings and storing thunder in bones!"

Thunder rumbles in the nine heavens, startling the flying geese. How could Yi Yun not know the signs of mastering the 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist'? He had already startled the birds in the forest with the sound of his tendons before reaching the meridian realm.

Now, with his meridians fully developed and his physical cultivation complete, Yi Yun felt his strength like a surging sea. If it weren't for the sudden appearance of the old man and the white-robed girl, Yi Yun would have long wanted to perform a set of 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' to see the results of his cultivation.

"Ha ha! Good, you know a bit about it!" The old man clearly didn't believe Yi Yun could achieve much. "Since you say that, I want to see how well you've learned the tendons like strings and storing thunder in bones!"

The old man chuckled, suddenly getting the idea to give Yi Yun a lesson. He turned to Lin Xintong and said, "Xintong, didn't I give you a 'Dragon Sinew Tiger Bone Fist' manual to look at before we came to the Taiyi Divine Kingdom? You practiced it casually for ten to fifteen days, didn't you? Even though you didn't put much effort into it, you made some progress, right?"

"Why don't you spar with this boy and give him some pointers?"

"Right, suppress your cultivation. Use only the third level of the Thunder Sound Realm in the Bloodline Realm. Don't hurt him."

Thank you, mixter_u, for becoming the leader of the True Martial World. Thank you to all the readers who have supported me with donations, votes, and reviews. Your support means a lot to me.

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