Chapter 174 - 124: Demon Sect Demoness

Cao Shu did not go back on his word.

After being accepted as his disciple, Li Chang’an received the method for guiding Inner Qi into his body the very next day.

It turned out that this so-called process of guiding Inner Qi into the body required finding a Martial Artist who already possessed Inner Qi. Then, using that Martial Artist’s own Inner Qi as a catalyst, one could finally sense the latent Inner Qi within oneself.

Under Cao Shu’s guiding hand, Li Chang’an quickly got the hang of it and successfully broke through to the First-Layer of Internal Qi. His progress was so smooth that it far exceeded Cao Shu’s expectations.

When he saw Li Chang’an break through, Cao Shu was stunned for a long moment before bursting into laughter. "I never thought that at my age, I, Cao Shu, would find such a piece of uncut jade! Good, very good!"

He gazed at Li Chang’an, feeling more and more pleased.

Li Chang’an, however, didn’t think much of it. After all, with the foundation he had built over his past several lives, reaching this stage was child’s play.

...

Time passed on schedule.

Soon, two months went by in the blink of an eye.

After entering the Qi Cultivation stage under Cao Shu’s guidance, Li Chang’an’s progress didn’t slow down. On the contrary, his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.

But just as Li Chang’an was proceeding with his cultivation as usual,

four young men, around fifteen or sixteen years old, arrived at the Martial Champion Scholar’s residence.

Each of the young men was dressed in fine clothes, their skin fair.

They carried the noble air of young masters from wealthy families.

They were all disciples taken in by Cao Shu, hailing from prominent families in the nearby county towns. Many were descendants of Martial Artists, though their parents weren’t of a particularly high level and were often busy with their own affairs.

After exploring various avenues, they had eventually become Cao Shu’s disciples.

When they saw Li Chang’an, the young men were all clearly taken aback. They had just completed a period of study with Cao Shu a few months prior and were now only returning home together to continue their cultivation for a while.

’They never imagined there would be another person in the courtyard... and a five or six-year-old child at that?’

The young men found Cao Shu in the rear courtyard and pointed at Li Chang’an. "Master," one asked, "is this our new junior brother?"

Cao Shu’s gaze swept over them, and he shook his head. "No, not at all. Chang’an is your Senior Brother. He is my Chief Disciple!"

Upon hearing this, the young men were all clearly dumbfounded.

’But we joined the sect first.’

’We’re older.’

’Why would Master say that a child of only a few years, who had just joined, is our Senior Brother?’

The disciples turned their gazes to their leader, Sun Zhaorui. As the second son of the Mountain City Sun Family’s Escort Agency, Sun Zhaorui was not only the oldest among them but also had the most prominent family background.

Most importantly,

Sun Zhaorui had been Cao Shu’s senior disciple.

And Sun Zhaorui was clearly seeing red. He demanded, "Master, what is the meaning of this? If he’s the senior disciple, then what am I?"

Cao Shu gave him a strange look and said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "You’re number two. What, you have a problem with that?"

Sensing the chiding in Cao Shu’s tone,

Sun Zhaorui’s face went from red to pale. He didn’t lower his head, however, and said through gritted teeth, "This disciple would naturally not dare to question Master’s decision. But... we are so much older, and our cultivation is passable. For Master to give the position of senior disciple to a child of only a few years... isn’t that a bit ill-considered?"

Obviously, despite what he said,

he was not convinced at all.

He wasn’t just unconvinced; he was so indignant he could have ground his teeth to dust.

Cao Shu stared at him for a moment before suddenly smiling. "Since you feel your master has been ill-considered, how about we do this..."

He stood up, went to the front courtyard to fetch Li Chang’an, and then continued, "Don’t Martial Artists settle things with their fists? If you’re not convinced, fine. Have a real fight. Whoever wins gets the title of Chief Disciple!"

The disciples glanced at Li Chang’an, who wasn’t even four feet tall, then back at the grinning Cao Shu, assuming he had to be joking.

Sun Zhaorui felt even more humiliated. "Master, if you think this disciple has brought you shame, you could have just said so. Why must you insult me like this?"

The thought of a group of seventeen and eighteen-year-olds fighting a child who looked no older than five or six was too shameless for them to consider.

’Besides, what would we gain even if we won?’

’Would we really have to become Chief Disciple by stepping over a child?’

’If word of this got out, we would become a laughingstock.’

Li Chang’an’s reaction was even simpler. He just said, "I concede. Whichever of you senior brothers wants the title can have it. It makes no difference to me!"

’I only sought out a master so I could continue to advance my cultivation.’

’I couldn’t care less about being the ’senior disciple’.’

Seeing Li Chang’an turn to leave, Cao Shu didn’t stop him.

He continued to smile at his richly-dressed disciples, saying unhurriedly, "I’ve given you the opportunity. Whoever dares to challenge him can have the title. If you think it’s dishonorable to win by bullying someone smaller and weaker, then let me tell you one more thing... my most prized Ultimate Technique, the ’Twelve Profound Guns,’ is only taught to the senior disciple!"

At the mention of the Twelve Profound Guns,

the expressions of all the young, wealthy disciples changed.

The "Twelve Profound Guns" was the Martial Champion Scholar’s signature technique. It was a superb Spear Technique from the Innate Realm. The Martial Champion Scholar had once used it to kill several enemies of a higher Realm, earning him a measure of fame in the Jianghu.

And the main reason they had traveled a thousand li to study under him...

was precisely for his "Twelve Profound Guns" Technique.

After all, if they could master this Spear Technique, they could bring it back to their families, where it would become a treasured heirloom and part of their legacy.