Start with everyday skills and grind your way to immortality.

The next day, the mist had not yet dissipated, and a chill was in the air.

Chen Qian pulled Chen Ke out the door early in the morning.

To prepare for this trip to study, Chen Ke specially asked the grain store for half a day off and took out thirty coins from his newly saved wages to buy two decent-looking jars of liquor.

"Qian, when you see Uncle Wang later, listen more and talk less. Your brother will take care of everything," Chen Ke said to Chen Qian, carrying a wine jar.

Due to the journey, Chen Ke's forehead was beaded with sweat, and his eyes held a mixture of trepidation and anticipation.

Chen Qian took the jar of wine and looked at his brother's uneasy appearance. A pang of sadness swept through him, and he nodded obediently, "I'll listen to you, brother."

East of the city, Iron Fist Martial Arts School.

Even before getting close, one could hear muffled impacts and powerful shouts coming from inside the courtyard walls.

The martial arts school's main gate was gleaming vermilion, with two imposing stone lions standing guard. Several servants dressed in tight-fitting clothes were leaning on brooms, chatting and laughing in hushed tones.

Chen Ke stepped forward, lowered his waist, and explained his purpose to the gatekeeper.

The servant glanced sideways at the two men, noticing their coarse cloth clothes that had turned white from washing, and then glanced at the two jars of cheap liquor.

He snorted softly and pointed to the shadows below the stone steps.

"Looking for Instructor Wang? Just wait over there."

This wait lasted for a full hour.

The sun grew increasingly scorching, and Chen Ke wiped away sweat repeatedly, his body stiffening from standing for so long.

Chen Qian stood quietly behind his elder brother, his breathing always maintaining the rhythm of the [Health Preservation Technique].

His eyelids were slightly lowered, seemingly lost in thought, but in reality, his gaze was constantly sweeping over everyone entering and leaving the martial arts school.

[Experience points for reading between the lines +1...]

[Auditory recognition experience points +1...]

He heard the servants behind the gate mocking them as "poor relatives begging for money."

He saw the contemptuous look in the eyes of every martial arts student who passed by.

Finally, a series of noisy footsteps came from inside the courtyard.

"Hello, Instructor Wang!"

"Take care, instructor!"

The martial arts school doors were wide open, and a burly man with a fierce face strode out.

He was dressed in a dark blue training uniform, with a black python belt around his waist that signified his status as an instructor, and four or five apprentices following behind him, surrounded by admirers.

It was Wang Datou.

"Big Head!" Chen Ke's eyes lit up, and he quickly took two steps forward, a fawning and sincere smile plastered on his face. "Big Head, it's me, Chen Ke!"

Wang Datou paused in his steps.

His gaze lingered on Chen Ke's face for a moment, and the smile that had been beaming vanished visibly, turning into a chilling sense of unfamiliarity.

He nodded indifferently, as if he were looking at a complete stranger.

He then turned to the apprentice beside him and instructed, "No one is allowed to be late when we go to Ruyi Restaurant later."

"Big Head, I brought Ah Qian with me."

Chen Ke, oblivious to the awkward atmosphere, hurriedly pushed the wine jar forward, saying, "You said before that if A-Qian wanted to learn martial arts, he could..."

"This is a restricted area of ​​the martial arts school; outsiders are not allowed to make noise. If you wish to apply for odd jobs, please line up at the back door."

Wang Datou finally spoke, his tone slow and deliberate, carrying a coldness that kept people at a distance.

Chen Ke stood frozen in place, the wine jar in his hand suspended in mid-air, unsure whether to advance or retreat.

He looked stunned and stammered, "Big Head, you, you forgot? Three years ago, you fell ill at the grain store, and I carried you to the clinic. You even lent me two taels of silver to buy medicine."

"shut up!"

Wang Datou's face suddenly darkened.

He suddenly took half a step forward, and the brute's domineering aura rushed towards him.

Startled, Chen Ke staggered backward.

Just then, a hand firmly braced against Chen Ke's spine.

Chen Qian stood expressionless behind his elder brother, his five fingers supporting Chen Ke's trembling back like a rock.

"What two taels of silver? I, Wang, am now an instructor at the Iron Fist Martial Arts School. Why would I owe you a pittance?"

Wang Datou looked down at Chen Ke, a hint of shame and annoyance flashing in his eyes, which quickly turned into deep disgust.

He sneered at the apprentice behind him: "Did you hear that? These days, any poor wretch can come knocking on your door claiming kinship and fabricating baseless old grievances."

The apprentices immediately burst into laughter, their words full of sarcasm.

"Look at this pathetic state, he probably can't even hold a proper horse stance, right? And he wants to join a martial arts school?"

"Hey instructor, should we guys help you get rid of these two lunatics?"

Chen Ke's face turned from white to green, and his body trembled slightly with anger.

This honest man never imagined that the kindness he had shown back then would become a stain he would try to avoid after the other party became successful.

Chen Qian's indifferent gaze swept across Wang Datou's face.

[Experience in reading between the lines +1]

[Reading between the lines (Proficient 105/300)]

In the field of vision after the breakthrough, Wang Datou's every tiny muscle twitch and rapid breathing rate were visible.

Even the violent emotions that were desperately trying to conceal his guilty conscience were clearly visible to Chen Qian.

He saw the vanity in the other person's eyes, and the eagerness to sever ties with their humble past.

"Instructor Wang."

Chen Qian spoke.

He stepped forward, blocking his brother's path.

He wasn't angry, or even frowned; he just looked at Wang Datou with a calm gaze, his tone as indifferent as if he were talking about something trivial.

"The wine is fine, but the man is not a good one."

He took the jar of wine from Chen Ke's hand with a steady hand, not letting a single drop of liquid spill.

"Brother, let's go."

"But Ah Qian, he, he clearly..." Chen Ke still wanted to argue, his eyes filled with grievance and resentment.

Chen Qian turned around, offering only a calm look and a smile.

The composure in his gaze, like a weight, instantly suppressed the turmoil in his brother's heart.

Looking at Chen Qian's calm and unhurried demeanor, as if he didn't exist, Wang Datou felt a surge of anger rising within him: "Stop!"

Chen Qian stopped, but didn't turn around. He merely turned his head slightly, a faint, mocking smile playing at the corners of his lips.

"Is there anything else, Instructor Wang? If you want to return those two taels of silver, I think you probably won't be willing to part with it."

"You're asking for it!"

An apprentice behind Wang Datou, trying to curry favor, suddenly stepped forward and grabbed Chen Qian's shoulder with his large hand, saying, "How dare you speak to your instructor like that!"

Chen Qian's eyes turned cold, and his movement technique moved at will.

To outsiders, it appeared as if he merely swayed his shoulder slightly, and his entire body brushed past the apprentice's palm at an extremely bizarre angle.

That was the "ugly step" he had practiced countless times in the yard.

The apprentice missed his grab, and due to excessive force, he stumbled a few steps and almost fell flat on his face.

Wang Datou's pupils suddenly contracted as he stared intently at Chen Qian's back.

"This is?"

Chen Qian didn't linger and strode away.

He glanced sideways at Wang Datou one last time, his dark pupils devoid of any emotion.

Pulling the somewhat dazed Chen Ke along, carrying two jars of wine, they disappeared around the street corner without looking back.

After walking a distance, Chen Ke's eyes reddened, and he sighed, "Qian, it's my fault for making you suffer."

"Wronged?"

Chen Qian stopped, deftly broke the seal on a jar of wine, and took a big gulp.

The spicy liquor went down his throat, causing a warm sensation in his chest.

He looked at Chen Ke, his expression carrying an unprecedented sense of pride.

Each word was spoken slowly and deliberately, with a voice as clear as metal and stone.

"The eagle soars over the haystack, ignoring the howling of wild dogs. In his eyes I am but a speck of dust, and in my eyes he is nothing more than a frog guarding a dry well."

He placed his hand on his elder brother's shoulder, his voice rising like the clear cry of a fledgling phoenix:

"He doesn't deserve to drink this wine; we brothers will drink it ourselves."

"If he won't let me through, I'll forge my own path!"

"Brother, don't worry. Everything in this world has a price. The gold and silver that someone like Wang Datou has to pay can be collected next time!"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, still carrying the effects of the alcohol, and the madness in his eyes was even more intense than the rising sun.

"The roc rises with the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles high."

The sound faded, the wind rose, and the clouds surged.