"Let's not talk about that. Your Senior Sister Xiao's temper is not the best. I want you to follow her, understand my meaning," Xiao Rong continued. "If she gets into trouble, do your best to stop it. If you can't stop it, report to me in time."
Zhang Rongfang's expression remained unchanged as he bowed.
"Disciple understands!"
"How many people are in your family?"
"Disciple is alone. I have an elder sister who has long been lost."
A hint of gentleness flashed in Xiao Rong's eyes.
"Then follow your Senior Sister Xiao well in the future and do your work properly."
"Yes."
Zhang Rongfang bowed once more.
"Now, Cong'Er." Xiao Rong suddenly turned his head.
"Disciple is here." A strong voice responded from outside the attic window. It was a woman's voice.
Soon, a short-haired woman with a robust build walked in through the main door, standing almost 1.8 meters tall.
She wore a blue and white Daoist robe, her sturdy figure filling it tightly.
"Master, anything I can help with?"
The woman clasped her hands in salute.
Xiao Rong smiled and pointed at Zhang Rongfang.
"You'll be the one to transmit skills to the new junior disciple. Start with the Void Observation Skill, then if his constitution allows, move to the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual."
"Yes," the woman replied promptly, then turned to Zhang Rongfang.
"Junior Brother, you can call me Zhao Dakong. Come to Shangde Garden tomorrow morning, and I'll first check your Qi and blood and bones."
"Zhang Rongfang greets Senior Sister. I look forward to your guidance in the future."
Zhang Rongfang bowed again.
Although he learned from Master Xiao Rong that martial arts in this world seemed weak, no different from the reality of his past life.
But at least he still had the attribute abilities, right?
Thinking of this, a sense of ambition arose within Zhang Rongfang.
Even ordinary martial arts, as long as he continuously enhanced his attributes, perhaps he could surpass the mundane.
"Alright, you go tidy up for now. Tonight, move to the rooms for disciple training. Cong'Er, you take your junior brother to change his identity badge." Xiao Rong waved his hand, signaling a dismissal.
Zhang Rongfang and Zhao Dakong took the cue and respectfully departed.
At this point, Zhang Rongfang understood that his fate was now intertwined with Xiao Qingying's.
*
*
*
In a pavilion within Shangde Garden of Qinghe Palace, surrounded by leather-bound Daoist paintings on all sides.
A handsome man with a high nose and slightly exotic features stood with his hands behind his back, admiring the hanging paintings.
"The previous matter got discovered and wasn't successful. What went wrong?" the man's voice was very low.
Beside him, a young Daoist with an ordinary appearance approached slowly.
"Someone tipped them off. Xiao Rong might have sensed it ahead of time," the Daoist replied in the same low voice.
"Have you found out who did it?"
"No, no clues. However, some days ago, Xiao Rong suddenly chose a regular servant, brought him into the sect, and promoted him to a disciple for training. It might be related to this matter," the Daoist answered.
"Forget it, plan it again and try once more," instructed the handsome man.
"But... will the opportunity still be there...?"
"No worries, I can easily fool Xiao Qingying over there. Xiao Rong is indecisive; even if he suspects me, without evidence, with my father around, he won't dare do anything to me," the handsome man said with a smile.
"Understood," the young Daoist nodded. "I'll make arrangements right away."
"Go ahead. As long as we forcibly take Xiao Qingying and make it a done deal, even if Xiao Rong doesn't want to join us, he won't have a choice."
The handsome man exuded confidence.
He had already made arrangements to invite Xiao Qingying out again and planned to have someone assault Xiao Qingying, where he would then appear as the savior, pretending to nobly accept her despite everything.
At that time, with Xiao Qingying's simplicity, won't she be totally devoted to him?
Of course, the one who assaults Xiao Qingying must be himself. Being someone with cleanliness habits, he only needed to wear a disguise and put that naive girl to sleep, making her believe it was someone else, and all would fall into place.
As for the young Daoist arranged to follow Xiao Qingying, just deal with him as an accident, like a fall down a cliff during an outing.
Just a fourth-tier Barbarian Race member without any relatives, no background at all. He wasn't worth mentioning for the personnel involved in this act.
*
*
*
The next morning at dawn.
In the rear part of Qinghe Palace, Shangde Garden.
The shadows of trees flickered in the garden, and the air was cool.
Many Daoists had arrived early to practice their morning exercises here.
In a corner of the open space, Zhao Dacong was tying her leg wraps, arms crossed, watching a thin, dark-skinned man running continuously around the small paths within Shangde Garden.
Round after round, he ran six complete laps until he was close to exhaustion and dehydration.
Only then did Zhao Dacong lift her hand to stop him.
"Alright, I've got a rough idea now."
The man gradually stopped, bent over, gasping for breath, drenched in sweat. It was none other than Zhang Rongfang, who had just been taken under Xiao Rong's wing.
"How is it, Senior Sister?"
"Not bad, your physical foundation is pretty good. You didn't lack for food and drink when you were young, right?" Zhao Dacong chuckled.
She had a broad face and looked a bit chubby, giving her a somewhat sincere appearance. Her accent was a bit different from the usual, likely from another region.
"Yes, back when my parents were still around, life was pretty good." Zhang Rongfang nodded, drawing from his predecessor's memories.
"That's great. Now I'll teach you the Void Observation Skill."
Zhao Dacong adopted a serious tone.
"I asked around, and since you can read, it saves a lot of trouble; no need to teach you literacy from scratch.
The Void Observation Skill is the foundational Daoist technique of our Great Dao Teaching. If practiced well, it can extend one's life, a proper longevity skill.
It involves refining essence into Qi, circulating through the smaller and larger Zhou Tian, the Twelve Meridians, condensing Inner Core, and so on."
"Senior Sister, compared to the Void Observation Skill, I'm more interested in the Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual...." Zhang Rongfang raised his hand. "Can you tell me what level martial arts experts are at? Just how strong are they?"
It wasn't that he was reluctant; it's just that after decades of practicing the Void Observation Skill, at best, he'd end up like the old men who still struggled with self-preservation. In this situation, martial skills naturally became his first choice.
Zhao Dacong understood and smiled knowingly.
"I asked Master the same question back then. Let me put it this way. Generally speaking, unless the gap is substantial, an unarmed person can't beat someone with a weapon, and someone wearing clothes can't beat someone in armor."
She paused for a moment.
"Martial arts fall into two paths: hard and soft. But regardless of the path, it takes over a decade to achieve Minor Achievement.
Afterwards, when traveling, you can easily take on three, four normal people at once. If you encounter someone strong but untrained in martial arts, it's still manageable. But if you face three armed soldiers, you won't last more than two rounds."
"This...." This level of strength was entirely different from what Zhang Rongfang had imagined.
"Moreover, martial arts are skills for fighting and killing. Even if you practice, so what? In today's world, the martial arts of the Great Spirit are the strongest they've ever been, dominating all around. Other nations are in fear.
Therefore, the strongest martial arts experts mostly gather in the military. There, after countless battles, their real combat skills are the strongest, much more so than those of the martial world masters, who seem like mere monsters in comparison."
Zhao Dacong sighed, "That's why we practice martial arts mainly for self-defense and protection. In today's age, who still thinks about fighting and killing?"
"....." Zhang Rongfang had no words to reply.
"Haven't you noticed how few martial cultivators we have in Qinghe Palace? That's the reason. Why has our Great Dao Teaching flourished? For health and longevity!" Zhao Dacong pointed out.
"Then... in Qinghe Palace, who is the strongest? Can you tell me, Senior Sister?" Zhang Rongfang asked.
"The Palace Master is the strongest. According to the imperial court's classification, he's a sixth-rank expert. But if it comes to a real fight, he's unlikely to withstand the front line against a team of ten soldiers; he'd have to run. After all, in a ten-man team, at least three are archers or crossbowmen, and they could easily block him completely."
Realizing her tone seemed a bit disrespectful, Zhao Dacong quickly added, "Of course, our strength lies in longevity skills. The Palace Master has exceptional skills, and now he's a Nascent Soul adept, easily living past a hundred, far beyond any ordinary soldier."
Zhang Rongfang gained some clarity in his mind.
"Senior Sister, what does this sixth rank in the imperial court mean?"
"It's the ranking for the salary grades that the Great Spirit Court assigns to generals and experts. Generally, the stronger your abilities, the higher your rank, and the better your salary and benefits.
The martial world also roughly follows this classification to distinguish between levels. However, this is just something to hear about; if you're not entering officialdom, it doesn't really concern us. In the martial world, what matters most are the Black List and the Red List."
"Black List and Red List?"
"The Black List refers to those incredibly powerful individuals with criminal records and warrants out for their arrest by the Great Spirit. Eventually, it became a list. People memorize it before traveling to avoid not recognizing a notorious figure and inadvertently risking their lives."
"And the Red List?"
"It's a smaller list, created separately from the Black List. Those who make it are extremely dangerous individuals. If the Black List includes many who have committed crimes but still have limits, the Red List includes those who are utterly inhumane and extremely brutal. Encountering them is exceptionally perilous."
Zhao Dacong provided a detailed explanation.
"Alright, enough chatter. Let me demonstrate the Void Observation Skill for you now."
She cleared her throat and straightened her posture.
"This Void Observation Skill focuses on mentally observing the void, emptying your thoughts, breathing naturally, with a rhythm of one inhalation to nine exhalations. At the same time, imagine your entire being melting and merging into the world around you...."
Zhang Rongfang immediately calmed his mind and listened intently as she taught.
Freed from the status of a menial disciple, he now had much more free time each day.
As long as he completed the morning and evening lessons, presented himself to Master for greetings and check-ins, and occasionally took progress tests, he had very little else to do.
Of course, he also had a task now, which was to follow Xiao Qingying and keep an eye on her, ensuring her safety at all times.
Zhang Rongfang understood clearly that he was specifically promoted by Master Xiao Rong for better care of his daughter.
So, before showcasing his potential, he needed to do his primary duty well.
Soon, he practiced the entire set of Void Observation Skill once, with Zhao Dacong correcting and pointing out critical points.
It took over an hour to complete.
And only at the very end, did Zhang Rongfang see Zhao Dacong's attributes clearly.
Or rather, it was after prolonged close contact that he fully gathered her attributes.
'Zhao Dacong—Life 15-19. Skills: Rejuvenation Purification Talisman Manual's Third One Element Talisman, Fifth Primordial Talisman. Void Observation Skill.'
Her life was actually double his....
"One last question, Senior Sister Zhao, if your martial arts were classified, what grade would they be?" Zhang Rongfang asked, as a final question.
"Me?" Zhao Dacong thought for a moment, "I'm probably around second grade, but obviously, I can't compare to the experts in the imperial court. Also, combat isn't just about grades. If a person is hit in a vital spot by an ordinary person, even a sixth-grade expert would die. So grading is just a rough comparison.
The strength or weakness of martial skills is just part of it. Often, winning and losing still depends on the person. Because people, when struck in vital areas, die."