Chapter 117: Chapter 94: Secret Cultivation (Part 2)
Luo Qianshan gave a final instruction before turning to leave.
Lu Chao nodded. He then watched as Zheng Wu took out a large bag of grayish-white medicinal powder, poured it into the wooden tub, and began stirring it vigorously with a new wooden stick.
"Junior Brother Lu, just endure it a little longer."
"An opportunity for a medicinal bath like this is rare. While it won’t directly increase your Life Energy, it will still benefit you greatly."
He said with a smile, gesturing for Lu Chao to strip to the waist and get in to soak.
Lu Chao gritted his teeth, stepped forward, and endured the pain as he climbed into the tub and sat down.
"Senior Brother Zheng, am I really training for the Iron Bone?"
For more than half a month, he had endured this same process almost every single day.
If he hadn’t genuinely felt the subtle changes in his body, the gradual strengthening of his muscles and bones, he probably would have given up long ago.
"Heh heh."
Zheng Wu chuckled. He knew Lu Chao had probably noticed something was different.
He didn’t say more, only offering a tactful reminder. "Master... he has much greater expectations for you than for the rest of us."
"There are some things, Junior Brother Lu... that you will come to understand in time."
’Is that so.’ Lu Chao fell silent and didn’t press the matter.
More suspicions formed in his mind. He soaked quietly in the medicinal bath while Zheng Wu waited patiently by his side, occasionally adding more hot water to maintain the temperature.
Finally, the sound of an alarm clock rang out. Another training session was over, and Lu Chao slowly rose to his feet.
...
「That evening, at dusk.」
Lu Chao, his body exhausted, changed into a clean gray sweatshirt and slowly walked down from the second floor.
"This medicinal bath really does work."
Although his muscles were still a bit sore, Lu Chao could tell that most of the pain in his bones and tendons had faded.
This wasn’t just due to [Primary Resilience]; it was also the effect of the medicinal bath from earlier.
The training over the past half-month had been exceptionally arduous, far more so than ever before.
He could vaguely feel that his body seemed to be undergoing some kind of subtle change.
It wasn’t that he felt much stronger. Instead, it was more like he was in the middle of a process, which made him look forward to what he would be like when that day finally came.
THUMP! THUMP!
Without stopping, Lu Chao arrived on the first floor, where the training hall was.
Even now, many disciples were still training, gritting their teeth and persevering.
Sandbags and iron posts were being struck with resounding THUDS, but at the same time, another commotion could be heard from the entrance.
"Don’t get in my way!"
An angry, impatient shout rang out.
Many people followed the sound with their eyes and saw a young man in a white and gray Martial Arts uniform, leaning on a metal crutch. He was limping and hobbling toward them from the concrete plaza outside.
His once-handsome face was now covered in stubble, his eyes were shot with blood, and his long, unkempt hair looked like it hadn’t been washed in days.
Shoving aside the junior brothers who tried to help him, he walked toward the training hall, his face pale.
The concrete step at the entrance was a little high. He staggered, failing to clear it, and nearly fell.
"Senior Brother Shen..."
"I told you to get lost!"
Shoving the junior brother away again, Shen Tianchen erupted in fury, veins bulging on his forehead. "Stop pitying me!"
"I’m a professional-grade fighter! A piece of trash like you could never catch up to me in a million years!"
As his furious voice echoed, the atmosphere in the training hall fell silent.
All the junior brothers, whether they were training or resting, stopped what they were doing and frowned in his direction.
Lu Chao’s gaze also hardened.
’A nearly fatal injury, yet he’s already partially healed in less than a month and is gradually regaining the mobility of a normal person.’
He knew very well what a great price Master Luo had paid for this.
’And yet... his Life Energy has dropped below twenty. Strictly speaking, he’s no longer a fighter.’
In the silence, the junior brother who had been pushed away had a shifting expression on his face, a sense of humiliation rising within him.
He opened his mouth, wanting to retort.
But unexpectedly...
"What, you want to fight?!"
"Do you dare?!"
Shen Tianchen stared him down and snarled. Seeing the humiliated look on the other’s face, he sneered before struggling into the training hall on his metal crutch.
As if sensing something, he turned his head slightly and happened to see Lu Chao coming down from the second floor.
His eyes flickered with a mix of resentment, jealousy, and bitterness...
’He was supposed to be the genius of the dojo, so why had this guy surpassed him now?’
He wanted to scream, to vent all his pain.
THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP!
Hurried footsteps came from the backyard. Zheng Wu, Lin Qingxue, and the others had noticed the commotion and rushed over one after another.
"This..."
His expression changing slightly, Zheng Wu hurried over to console the berated junior brother.
Lin Qingxue, however, had a complicated look in her eyes as she walked quickly to Shen Tianchen’s side.
"Junior Brother Shen..."
"Senior Sister!"
Shen Tianchen’s eyes were bloodshot, his attitude unyielding.
In the end, he ignored everyone’s attempts to dissuade him and insisted on going into the backyard, finally getting his wish to see Luo Qianshan.
"Tianchen..."
"Master!"
Shen Tianchen responded in a low voice, looking his master directly in the eye without flinching.
Standing under a verdant tree, hands clasped behind his back, the old man wore a brown robe. Shen Tianchen precisely caught the look of guilt on his aged face.
"I came here today to ask just one thing!"
"Please tell me, can I ever continue my training or not!"
His voice carried a hint of resentment and indignation, but it was also tinged with a sliver of hope.
But alas...
The air fell silent, with only a gentle breeze rustling through the backyard.
The flowers and plants that had survived the cold winter had sprouted new buds at some point, and the vines on the wooden trellis were beginning to bloom.
The branches of the thick tree by the concrete hut were a lush green, growing more abundant.
Zheng Wu and Lin Qingxue had complicated expressions. Luo Qianshan remained silent for several breaths before finally speaking.
"In Martial Arts, as long as a single breath remains, there is always hope."
"I will search for more secret remedies for you, to see if we can mend your muscles and bones."
"How much longer?" Shen Tianchen demanded, staring intently at him. His expression was so intense that Zheng Wu found him strangely unfamiliar.
"It’s hard to say..."
Luo Qianshan’s voice was low, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "Perhaps half a year, perhaps..."
"Perhaps there’s no hope at all, is that it?!"
Shen Tianchen suddenly exploded, demanding through gritted teeth.
Veins throbbed on his face. The respect he once held was completely gone, replaced by pure resentment. "You’ve been lying to me from the very beginning! This so-called hope doesn’t exist!"
"If you hadn’t insisted on joining that stupid hunting party, how could I have ended up like this?!"
"Junior Brother Shen!"
Zheng Wu’s expression changed. He frowned, and Lin Qingxue also opened her mouth to intervene, feeling this was inappropriate.
But before they could say more, Luo Qianshan raised a hand to stop them.
"What, feeling guilty? Regretful?!"
As if seeing his master’s weakness, Shen Tianchen didn’t back down. Instead, leaning on his crutch with veins popping on his forehead, he demanded coldly, "You think I don’t know? You think I’m useless now, a cripple, and that damn Lu Chao is the one you care about?"
"In your eyes, I’m just a burden now! You can’t wait to pay me off and tell me to get lost, right?!"
His repeated accusations echoed through the backyard.
Luo Qianshan’s expression shifted. Though it was the same wrinkled face, he somehow seemed to have aged considerably in that moment.
His stooped body appeared even more desolate. He said nothing, merely staring at the Shen Tianchen before him.
Never before had he felt that this disciple was such a stranger.
At the side, Zheng Wu’s face was grim. He knew better than anyone how much effort his master had poured into keeping Shen Tianchen alive, helping him stand again, and restoring him to the so-called strength of an ordinary person.
’Even...’
"I hate you!"
Shen Tianchen roared and turned to leave.
His limping figure radiated intense resentment. Lin Qingxue bit her lip and hurried after him.
"Master?"
Zheng Wu asked in a low voice, a complex mix of emotions flashing in his eyes.
He had no idea how to handle this situation.
The atmosphere was silent. Only the resentful shouts grew more distant. Just as when he had arrived, he ignored all pleas and good intentions, cursing left and right as if trying to vent all his anger and bitterness.
Luo Qianshan stood rooted to the spot, watching this scene unfold. His gaze grew increasingly complex as a multitude of emotions flickered within it.
Self-blame, guilt, pity, doubt, anger...
’Was he really wrong?’
Numerous thoughts surfaced as his hanging Palm Seal slowly clenched tight.
In the end, he watched as the young man pushed everyone aside, limped out the main gate, and left behind nothing but a miserable, departing silhouette.
With a silent sigh, his salt-and-pepper hair seemed to turn completely white in that instant.
"Let him go."
His desolate voice blended with the spring breeze.
Finally, he shook his head, retracted the Palm Seal, and with a complex gaze, let him go.
