Chapter 50: Qiao Baishi Acknowledges a Master
Qiao Baishi was aghast and hurriedly stood up. “Young duke, has someone from the Hall of Healing given offense? I will immediately go back and investigate. Whoever has offended the young duke, I will throw them out on the streets immediately!”
Jiang Chen spread his hands downward and smiled, “Don’t be agitated, I was just saying. I’ve asked you to come today because I wish to speak a few words from my heart.”
“Baishi listens most devoutly and respectfully to any instructions that the young duke will give.” Qiao Baishi had humbled himself greatly in front of Jiang Chen. He knew, better than anyone, that the glories and honor of the Hall of Healing which belonged to him today, were all courtesy of Jiang Chen.
It was just as Jiang Chen had said: What he could give the Hall of Healing today, he could take back tenfold tomorrow.
Jiang Chen nodded. “I’ll speak frankly. I have no time to visit your Hall of Healing once, twice, or even thrice a month. I need a confidante, a follower. Or to put it in better sounding terms, a disciple-in-name who will listen to what I say.”
Qiao Baishi’s thoughts raced. How could he be an idiot if he was a Hallmaster? He naturally understood the meaning behind Jiang Chen’s words.
This was a desire for Qiao Baishi to prove his loyalty and announce his allegiance!
“Third Hallmaster, you’re a smart man. I’ll only say this: If there comes a day when someone who’s a hundred times greater than you kneels in front of me and licks my toes, I might not even accept him as a disciple then. What I can give you is ten times, a hundred times beyond the limits of your imagination!”
Qiao Baishi’s breathing become rushed. How would he not believe him? Jiang Chen had changed the entire landscape of the Eastern Kingdom’s spirit medicine market with just three random pill recipes.
Given enough time, the pill medicines of the Hall of Healing making their way to the neighboring sixteen countries and making staggering profits was absolutely not out of the question.
And all of this had been bestowed by Jiang Chen.
When his thoughts traveled here, how could Qiao Baishi hesitate? His two knees immediately hit the floor, “Honored master, Baishi kowtows in greeting. Baishi is willing to spend his life following master, and learn of the boundless dao of alchemy.”
Following his words, he kowtowed as respectfully as possible, and fully fulfilled the courtesies of formally becoming a disciple. (1)
Jiang Chen didn’t put on any airs, and fully accepted Qiao Baishi’s ritual.
“Baishi, there will come a day in which you discover that you made a wise and brilliant decision today. If you had hesitated a moment longer just now, you would’ve lost my trust. The aid I’ve rendered you would’ve also halted today.”
Qiao Baishi was exceedingly fearful.
“Since you’ve acknowledged me as your master, I will thus pass to you the core secrets of the three pill recipes. This way, it saves me the trouble of visiting your Hall of Healing every month.”
What?
Qiao Baishi was utterly dumfounded. He hadn’t thought that such amazing benefits would befall him after acknowledging a master. He was directly receiving the core techniques of these three types of pill recipes!
This was an extravagant hope that he hadn’t even dared dream of!
“Don’t be astonished. These three pill recipes are strokes of great fortune in your eyes. In my eyes though, they’re not much better than trash.”
Jiang Chen wasn’t blustering. With his attainments in the dao of alchemy in his past life, these pill recipes were street vendor goods that were ordinary beyond belief.
These words weren’t meant as an empty bluster, but to take Qiao Baishi down a notch and prevent him from overweening pride after receiving the core secrets of these three pill recipes.
Qiao Baishi was even more fearful. “Master, your disciple is afraid that he is unlikely to master these three pill recipes. In the Hall of Healing…”
“Since I am passing them onto you, then I am unafraid of you being unable to master them. Remember, you’re different from before. You have me as your backer. If anyone dares raise a hue and cry at you in the world of spirit medicine, then you have the right to pulverize them to dust. If you are unable to do so, then you have no qualifications towards being my disciple.
You must be quite aware that if I was willing, the line of those who would beg on both knees to be my disciple would stretch from my Jiang Han territory all the way to the capital.”
Qiao Baishi hurriedly said, “Your disciple is a believer. Master possesses marvelous resources, and must be the reincarnation of a great and ancient alchemy master. How could your disciple not believe? Being able to attract the favorable attention of my master is the result of the karma from my hundreds of years of training.”
Jiang Chen laughed lightly. Reincarnation of a great, ancient alchemy master? Qiao Baishi had guessed quite daringly! But he had been too conservative even with such a daring guess!
Of course, Jiang Chen would naturally not reveal his own secrets and only smiled mysteriously. “Great and ancient alchemy master? Baishi, if you have enough good fortune, the longer you follow me, the more you will learn about how high the heavens are, and how big the world is.”
For Qiao Baishi, this was destined to be a sleepless night.
This evening, he had made a decision that would change the trajectory of his life.
Jiang Chen bore no suspicions about his people, and had fully passed on the mysteries and secrets of the three pill recipes to Qiao Baishi. This made Qiao Baishi commit himself even more fully to Jiang Chen.
After sending off Qiao Baishi, Jiang Chen entered the Jiang Han secret training room, and continued training.
Although Jiang Chen had been quite busy during this time, he had never neglected his nightly homework of training.
After these last few days of familiar practice, he had fully entered the training state of the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”. Under the aid of this strong method, his vast waves true qi had improved with marvelous speed.
His six meridians true qi were like six hungry tigers – full of hunger towards the next acupoint. They itched for action, and wished to attempt to fight towards seven meridians true qi.
“Who would’ve thought that the power of the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” would be this much greater than I’d imagined. I thought ascending to seven meridians true qi wouldn’t be that easy. Yet, the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans” has enabled the quality of my vast waves true qi to greatly increase. With such a supreme method, breaking through to seven meridians true qi can be a matter achieved without any extra effort or the need for additional buildup.”
Jiang Chen discovered that he had underestimated the quality of the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”. In the days that he’d practiced the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”, his vast waves true qi had noticeably improved by quite a bit.
“Alright, since this vast waves true qi is so hungry, it indicates that there’s no need for me to linger in the intermediate realm of true qi. Let’s give it a go!”
Jiang Chen was a man of action, and immediately manipulated his six meridians true qi. His six currents of concentrated vast waves true qi were like six rivers converging into the great seas.
It was easier than Jiang Chen had imagined. When the six hungry wolves of vast waves true qi rushed towards the seventh acupoint, a warm current circled the acupoint.
True qi surged forward like electricity in an unstoppable onslaught at that moment, instantaneously clearing the seventh meridian without a hint of hesitation, or the slightest feeling of an obstacle.
“Hoo!”
Jiang Chen slowly exhaled a breath of murky air. Who would’ve thought that breaking through to seven meridians true qi was so much easier than he’d imagined.
“It looks like it’s not that the practitioners of this common world possess inferior potential, but that they truly lack decent training methods. With this Jiang Chen as an example, if he’d been willing to train studiously, then he would’ve been at least at six meridians true qi. Even seven meridians true qi wouldn’t have been a farfetched thought!”
Jiang Chen knew that he had broken through so easily and had entered the advanced realm of true qi at least partially because the potential of this body was quite good, but that the main reason was because of an advanced training method.
If one looked throughout the entire Eastern Kingdom, it would be impossible to find another method superior to the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”.
Even the royal family’s entire founding method of “Eastern Amethyst Qi” would still pale far in comparison to the “Secret of the Nine Laughing Oceans”.
A breakthrough in the area of true qi greatly increased Jiang Chen’s confidence.
With the aid of his vast waves of true qi, Jiang Chen began to combine his martial art technique training. With his current true qi foundation, Jiang Chen didn’t choose the techniques that were overly deep.
The set of “Vast Ocean Current Splitter” was the upgraded version of “Wave Breaker”.
And the set of “Divine Aeons Fist” was the upgraded version of “Sea God Fist”.
The original owner of Jiang Chen’s body had previously practiced “Wave Breaker” and “Sea God Fist”. But he’d counted as someone who’d just set foot in the halls of training, and hadn’t fully gotten a handle on the core components.
Therefore, Jiang Chen was basically starting from the beginning, now that he was practicing these two upgraded versions of the martial arts techniques.
There were seven forms in total to the “Vast Ocean Current Splitter”. Once the seven forms had all been successfully practiced, the sword form would be like the currents of the vast ocean, and fully display the true colors of a hero.
It was said that once the seven forms had been successfully practiced and were well versed through a comprehensive study of the subject, that one in the true qi realm would have a fighting chance with an ordinary spirit dao practitioner.
The true qi realm being able to counter the legendary spirit dao… it could be seen from such rumors what a dominant technique the “Vast Ocean Current Splitter” was.
Within the Jiang Han manor training field, Jiang Chen used his hand as a blade beneath the moonlight. His steps were as if stepping upon the backs of waves. Each motion encompassed the concept of roaring waves.
One had to say, equipped with the memories of his past life, Jiang Chen possessed an extremely strong grasp and understanding of martial arts techniques.
At this moment, his palm became a blade, and it was as if there truly was a blade in his hand with each step he took. The concepts layered upon each other, causing his entire body to be filled with the light of brilliant dominance.
“First form of ‘Vast Ocean Current Splitter’ — Wave Slash!”
Jiang Chen stepped out and his arm slashed downwards. It was a clean and neat cut without any embellishments, utterly lacking extraneous movements. Simple and fast, charging towards the main subject!
True qi like frost filled the air with frigid light.
Accompanied by a strong metallic sense, true qi flowed straight through where the hand-blade pointed and landed on a stone lock.
After the crisp sound of rock shattering, the stone lock broke neatly down the center. The two sides were as smooth and shiny as a mirror – as if a knife had cut through it like tofu.
It was as if a real blade had cut through it with this move.
Jiang Chen’s interest was greatly piqued as he repeatedly moved his feet. His arm continued to slash downwards, like layers upon layers of waves.
Klang, klang…
Jiang Chen slashed downwards nine times in one go.
Nine neat currents of true qi flowed through him, as the row of stone locks successively broke apart down the middle, following a neat rhythm. The sides of each broken stone lock were as neat as mirrors.
“‘Vast Ocean Current Splitter really is something alright!” Jiang Chen retracted his steps and gazed upon the row of neatly split stone locks. He was very satisfied as he gazed at the surface of the stone locks broken.
“Such power in the first form, and this is still only the first form. If I were to slash seven times in one go, it’s unlikely that there would be many who could take my seven slashes within the realm of advanced true qi.”
Jiang Chen was quite satisfied as he looked upon the amazing destruction brought upon by the first form of the “Vast Ocean Current Splitter”.
“An upgraded method accompanied by upgraded martial arts techniques. In such a small kingdom of a common status, one would definitely have the basis to look upon peers on the same level with disdain!”
“The final exams of the Hidden Dragon Trials are about to arrive. The easy and comfortable days of the capital are likely to be gone without a trace.” Jiang Chen very calmly perceived that, along with the start of the final exams of the Hidden Dragon Trials, great upheaval was sure to occur for the bigger picture of the capital.
The situation of a raging storm had already been formed, and Jiang Chen didn’t dare slacken the slightest bit!