A lucky cat fell from the sky.

Chapter 61 Bet and Becoming an Apprentice

Seeing the old man shouting and yelling, Wu Cheng couldn't just abandon him. Just as he was feeling a bit lost, his second brother hurriedly came over.

Upon seeing the old man lying on the ground, the second brother laughed in exasperation: "Master, that's enough, stop acting here. This is my dorm leader."

"Oh, so it's one of us." The old man jumped up. "You made me laugh."

Wu Cheng thought to himself that this old man was interesting; he even emphasized the word "cheap" in the last sentence, clearly mocking him.

This is the second brother's master. No wonder I felt a sense of déjà vu when I heard him bragging like that. It's true what they say, the old cat sleeps on the roof, and the tradition is passed down from generation to generation.

The second brother learned his boasting skills from this old man.

The old man patted his buttocks, came over and looked Wu Cheng up and down a few times, saying, "Young man, not bad. You have a foundation in martial arts, and you haven't been practicing for very long. You can learn martial arts from me."

"Me, learn martial arts from you?" Wu Cheng was taken aback.

Does this old man really have some special skills?

I reckon if I try to learn from him, I won't learn anything else but how to talk nonsense.

The old man looked at Wu Cheng and said, "Young man, don't be skeptical. I really have the ability. If you don't believe me, ask Liu Mang."

Wu Cheng shook his head and said against his will, "Alright, I believe you have the ability."

"So, would you be willing to learn from me?"

“I don’t want to. I already have a teacher. A great martial arts master once said he wanted to take me as his disciple, but I didn’t agree.”

"A Grand Martial Master?" the old man snorted. "A Grand Martial Master is indeed not qualified to teach you. How can someone who hasn't even cultivated his Qi be qualified to take on disciples? These new martial artists these days are really arrogant."

"You know what anger is?"

"Of course, kid, do you think I've been bragging all along?"

Wu Cheng did not answer, which was taken as tacit agreement.

The old man pointed to a tree in the distance, on which hung several fruits, though he didn't know what variety they were; they were a beautiful, bright red.

"Do you believe that I can point at that fruit and it will fall from my hand?"

"Do not believe."

The old man blew on his beard a couple of times, pointed casually, and the tree branch twitched twice, causing a fruit to fall down.

Wu Cheng was dumbfounded.

The old man's move was really impressive. Could this be the legendary release of true energy?

During this time, Jin Wanliang explained some martial arts knowledge to Wu Cheng. It is said that new martial artists start from the apprentice level, then the martial artist changes strength, the martial artist develops visible strength, the martial master develops hidden strength, the grand martial master develops transformative strength, and only when they reach the grandmaster level can they cultivate true qi.

Even after true qi is cultivated, it cannot be separated from the body very far. Things like the Hundred-Step Divine Fist and Shadowless Hand can only be achieved by those at the Grandmaster level or above.

Could it be that we really met a master in the deep mountains?

My childhood dream was to meet some reclusive master in the deep mountains, but this old man doesn't look like a reclusive master at all; on the contrary, he looks like a charlatan.

Especially that staged accident just now, he did it so skillfully, it was clearly not the first time. That's why the second brother ran out worriedly to check, otherwise, the old man might have really managed to extort him.

Wu Cheng still doesn't quite believe the old man.

He stared intently ahead and saw a thin, transparent line on the branch. He immediately understood what was going on; the old man had simply used a magic trick.

He couldn't help but laugh and said, "Second brother, is your master a magician?"

The second brother was a little embarrassed when Wu Cheng exposed him: "Big brother, look at him, he's just an old man, his mental state isn't very good, sometimes he's lucid and sometimes he's confused, so don't take it to heart."

"What are you saying?" The old man was displeased. "You're the ones who's not quite right in the head. How could I, Guo Sidi, be not right in the head?"

"Little Liu, don't think that just because the few kung fu moves I taught you don't work in the martial arts world, it's because I taught you badly. It's because you lack understanding, okay?"

The second son replied dejectedly, "Yes, yes, I'm not good at understanding."

As he spoke, he pulled Wu Cheng toward home, while Guo Sidi followed behind, saying, "Don't rush off, let me tell you something."

Seeing that the old man was quite persistent, Wu Cheng stopped and said, "Alright, what do you want to say?"

“Let me tell you about traditional martial arts and modern martial arts,” Guo Sidi said. “Actually, what you see is what I made you see. I deliberately made you think I’m a charlatan.”

"The purpose of doing this is to test you."

Wu Cheng chuckled. "A test? You really want to take me as your apprentice, don't you?"

He doesn't want to be taught by a teacher like that.

Besides, with so much gold and silver at my disposal, why would I need to seek out another teacher? That would be as ridiculous as picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon.

"Don't you believe me? How about we make a bet?"

"How to bet?"

"I'll tell you something about you. If I'm right, you'll become my disciple. If I'm wrong, I'll give you something good."

As he spoke, he pulled a piece of dark, unremarkable jade from his pocket.

The jade was tied with a red string, which had long since turned black and was shiny with oil.

What is this thing?

Wu Cheng frowned, wondering to himself if this thing was valuable.

Unexpectedly, Jin Wanliang gasped upon seeing the jade: "Holy crap, how is this possible?"

Wu Cheng rarely heard Jin Wanliang swear, and he was also surprised: "What is this?"

"If I'm not mistaken, this is a Spirit Jade. Wu Cheng, you must get your hands on it no matter what."

"What exactly is the Spirit Jade?"

“A Spirit Jade is a piece of jade imbued with spiritual energy. It can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and store it for its own use.”

"What is spiritual energy? I've only heard about it, but I don't think I've ever actually seen it."

"Those at this level still want to see spiritual energy? They must be out of their minds," Jin Wanliang said disdainfully. "Let me tell you this: true qi is a lower form of spiritual energy. According to your new way of distinguishing martial artists, those above the Grandmaster level should be Qi Refiners."

"Only those above the Qi Refining level can transform true Qi into spiritual Qi. I estimate that those who can transform true Qi into spiritual Qi in this era are probably the most powerful among you humans, and I'm not even sure if there are any."

After Jin Wanliang finished speaking, Wu Cheng immediately asked, "Then how many gold ingots is this spirit jade worth?"

“Over 500 million,” Jin Wanliang said. “If you can really get this Spirit Jade for me, I can cancel your four-month level-up restriction and let you level up a few more times.”

Wu Cheng sensed Jin Wanliang's urgency and was also very interested in the Spirit Jade.

"Okay, let's make the bet now, but you can't go back on your word."