Martial Saint with Passives

”I see your Qi Blood is impure. You must have practiced many other Martial Arts, haven’t you?” Xu Qingshan said with a frown.

”Yes.” Jiang Che knew this was impossible to hide, so he admitted it.

”Never mind. Perform the Cloud-Stacking Fist for me.” Xu Qingshan said.

Jiang Che cupped his fist in a salute and then executed the Perfection Level Cloud-Stacking Fist.

Seeing Jiang Che’s exquisite Fist Technique, Xu Qingshan’s expression softened slightly.

”How long have you been practicing this fist?”

”Less than two years, Dean,” Jiang Che said.

”To reach the Late Iron Skin Realm in less than two years... that’s not bad.” Xu Qingshan nodded slightly.

He walked closer and pinched one of Jiang Che’s ribs.

”Middle-Lower Root Bone...” A flicker of disappointment instantly crossed his eyes.

Jiang Che knew his Root Bone was average, but he hadn’t expected it to be Middle-Lower. ’No wonder my Qi Blood accumulates so slowly.’

”What about your family background?” Xu Qingshan asked, his brow furrowed.

”I come from a carpenter’s family. My parents are missing, and I now take care of my younger sister.”

’Poor Root Bone, poor background... but he managed to break through from nothing to the Late Iron Skin Realm in less than two years and even master the Cloud-Stacking Fist to the Perfection Level. This proves his Temperament and Comprehension are top-notch. He must have had some fortuitous encounters as well...’

Xu Qingshan pondered.

In the past, when he recruited disciples, the four aspects—Root Bone, Comprehension, background, and Temperament—didn’t need to be exceptional, but the worst they could be was ’Middle’.

Especially Root Bone. ’Middle’ was already a bit low; it had to be at least ’Middle-Upper’.

Someone like Jiang Che, with a Middle-Lower Root Bone and a ’Lower’ background, would normally be out of the question, no matter how strong his other two aspects were.

As for fortuitous encounters... ’One can happen once or twice, but can he really keep having them?’

’But he is also the only disciple Senior Brother Luo has sent me in fifty years...’

Xu Qingshan recalled the care his senior brother had shown him in their younger days, feeling a wave of nostalgia and emotion.

Seeing Xu Qingshan’s frowning face, Jiang Che didn’t dare say more, his heart filled with unease.

After a long moment, Xu Qingshan let out a long sigh and said:

”Fine. Go and begin your Cultivation in the Outer Courtyard for now. If you can break through to Force Integration within a year, I will accept you into the Yunhai Courtyard. If you cannot break through by then... you can try the other branch courtyards. If no other courtyard is willing to take you, you may leave on your own!”

With Jiang Che’s Root Bone, breaking through to Force Integration in a year was impossible unless a miracle occurred.

As for the other courtyards, regardless of their specializations, Force Integration was a mandatory requirement.

Xu Qingshan’s meaning was self-evident.

But Jiang Che wasn’t disappointed. In fact, this outcome was even a little better than he had expected. He hurriedly said, ”Thank you, Dean!”

Afterward, Xu Qingshan called over a disciple, arranged for Jiang Che to handle the Outer Courtyard registration procedures, and then left.

This disciple had an honest, good-natured face and didn’t seem very old, looking to be in his early thirties.

However, standing before him, Jiang Che felt an even more suffocating pressure than he had from Zhao Kang, Li Hanchuan, and Tuoba Lie combined!

’Even a random senior brother assigned to reception is this powerful...’ A chill ran through Jiang Che’s heart.

The pride he’d felt from killing a few Force Integration Martial Artists vanished in an instant, realizing he had been nothing more than a frog in a well.

The senior brother then led Jiang Che to a small building.

After filling out some information and paying fifty taels of Gold, Jiang Che received an Identity Token.

”Junior Brother Jiang, with this token, you can enter and exit the Cangyun Sect, use the dining hall, and rent housing. The dining hall provides basic meals for free, but if you want nutritious food or medicinal supplements, you’ll have to pay for them yourself. As for housing, it depends on your means. There are detached houses with courtyards, but they are more expensive. You can also share a place with others. If you’re tight on funds, you can also come to this building to accept missions and earn Silver Coins and Cultivation Resources.”

The senior brother in charge of receiving Jiang Che added.

”Thank you for the information, Senior Brother! May I ask your name?” Jiang Che said, cupping his hands.

”Just call me Senior Brother Xiao,” he said with a smile.

”Senior Brother Xiao, I will be in your care then.”

Senior Brother Xiao waved his hand. ”Don’t mention it. Feel free to find me anytime if you need anything!”

Afterward, Jiang Che went to rent a detached house with a courtyard.

The lease was for one year and cost fifty taels of Gold.

Although sharing would have been cheaper, it was inconvenient since he had Jiang Ling with him.

Besides, he had many secrets that couldn’t be exposed.

Furthermore, having a courtyard would make it convenient to practice his Martial Arts.

’The cost of living here is really high...’ Jiang Che thought, sighing inwardly as he touched his money pouch.

He’d had one thousand taels of Gold, and in the blink of an eye, only nine hundred remained.

But he also knew that this was housing within the Cangyun Sect; it couldn’t be compared to the property prices in Lin Yuan City.

Not to mention he could continue his Cultivation here.

The security alone was worth a great deal of money.

After all, he was still being hunted by the Wuxiang Alliance.

But as long as he holed up here and didn’t go out, the people from the Wuxiang Alliance wouldn’t dare to come in and look for him.

Jiang Che decided that he wouldn’t leave the sect until he became an Inner Courtyard Disciple.

After bringing Jiang Ling into his new home, Jiang Che prepared to enter secluded Cultivation.

He had one year to break through to Force Integration.

This was an extremely arduous task even for most people with good Root Bone.

Let alone someone like him.

However, Jiang Che had his Skill Proficiency Panel, and the Fundamental Diagram was practically Imprinted in his mind, ready to be called upon at any time.

Therefore, he was confident he could succeed before the one-year deadline.

But he still didn’t dare to slack off.

After all, no one knew if some unforeseen difficulty or bottleneck would appear.

Jiang Che took stock of the Cultivation Resources he had with him and found that they would only support his Cultivation for a month at most.

’Looks like I’ll have to procure some more...’

He then went to find Cheng Yuzhi to ask where he could buy Black Crystals, Exotic Beast Meat, and Elixir Pills that replenish Qi Blood.