Martial arts mastery? But I'm just a spoiled brat!

"This is the first time I've heard of this either, but the man who killed the tiger is now under my command, so he shouldn't be lying. I had someone test it a couple of days ago, and it's not poisonous."

"And he said that the wine was actually just a medicinal ingredient, and it was only effective if it was made with the heart blood of a freshly killed tiger."

"So I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Gong for coming all this way!"

Yan Qing first offered an explanation, then raised his wine bowl to toast Gong Er and the old man, before raising his cup and drinking it down in a toast.

Yan Qing was not averse to this wine. On the contrary, as long as it was beneficial to martial arts practice, he could drink it no matter how unpleasant it tasted.

The Ming Jin (明劲) stage requires abstaining from smoking and drinking because these are detrimental to its cultivation. However, tomorrow we will be cultivating An Jin (暗劲), where the restrictions on smoking and drinking are relatively relaxed. Moreover, this is a medicinal wine, so as long as it is not an alcoholic drink, it will not have any effect.

However, once the wine entered the throat, the bloody taste disappeared, replaced by a strong aroma of wine mixed with a hint of medicinal herbs, which was not unpleasant to drink.

The wine didn't taste particularly special; it was no different from ordinary medicinal wine. Yan Qing didn't savor it and swallowed it all.

"Um?"

However, as soon as the wine entered his stomach, Yan Qing instantly felt his abdomen become incredibly hot, as if a fire had been ignited inside him. The fire not only burned in his abdomen but also began to burn upwards along his throat, surging through his entire oral cavity.

If it were an ordinary person, they would open their mouth and spit out the burning sensation to relieve it. But Yan Qing was a martial artist, and almost instinctively, he knew that he couldn't open his mouth because the burning sensation made his restrained blood and qi start to become restless.

Yan Qing kept his mouth tightly shut, his eyes slightly narrowed, and then let the burning sensation in his abdomen spread throughout his body.

The burning sensation came and went quickly, but throughout the process, Yan Qing could even feel a slight sweat on his forehead, and the blood and qi in his body seemed to have undergone subtle changes due to the burning sensation.

"Whew, this wine is strong. Mr. Gong, please drink it all in one go to get the full pot."

Only then did Yan Qing exhale a breath of stale air, a smile appearing on his face, and he gestured to the other party.

Gong Ruomei had just watched Yan Qing finish his drink first. Originally, she and the old man also wanted to finish their drinks, but when they saw the surprise on Yan Qing's face, they paused in their drinking.

After Yan Qing finished drinking and spoke, he seemed to have become much more energetic.

This made both of them more curious.

Gong Ruomei never felt that she was inferior to men because she was a woman. Moreover, she had watched her father compete in martial arts since she was a child, and she naturally had a heroic spirit. Since Yan Qing was so generous, she did not hesitate at all and drank the whole bowl of wine.

"Hmm~"

As soon as she drank the wine, Gong Ruomei's eyes widened. She was about to speak, but her perception of the qi and blood in her body was even more refined than Yan Qing's. She also knew that she couldn't let go of this breath in order to maximize the effects of the wine, so she kept her mouth tightly shut.

"Wow, this wine is excellent! It truly lives up to its reputation as a supremely yang substance, effectively purifying the body's qi and blood!"

Only after her internal energy and blood had calmed down did Gong Ruomei speak. Her perception was very strong; she could detect changes in the internal energy and blood that Yan Qing had not been able to perceive and accurately describe them.

As she spoke, a faint blush began to rise to her cheeks.

This made her less aloof and more radiant.

"This wine is indeed good, but it is not advisable to drink too much. A cup before practicing martial arts each day is just right. It can help to make the blood and qi more pure through cultivation, which can be considered as replenishing and strengthening the blood and qi."

The old man beside him finished his cup of wine without any change in expression, and simply pointed out the wine's greatest use.

"It seems I've struck gold. Lan Yue, exchange it for a batch of fine wine."

Yan Qing was quite happy, and at the same time, the wine made him realize the extraordinary nature of Gong Er and the old man in front of him.

Leaving aside the specific effects of this tiger blood wine, it was this wine that made the atmosphere at the table much more harmonious.

Then the hot dishes started to arrive, and although the wine had been changed, the slight awkwardness from before disappeared without anyone noticing.

Yan Qing was also very pleasant to talk to, and tried his best to avoid discussing martial arts, instead steer the conversation toward the martial arts world in the north and south.

Yan Qing had specialized channels for gathering intelligence. Although he was in Shanxi Province, he was well aware of all the major and minor events in Tianjin.

Gong Ruomei, on the other hand, came from the south and knew more about that area, so while the two chatted, they were also exchanging information, and the atmosphere became increasingly pleasant.

It wasn't until the wine was almost finished and the banquet was over that Yan Qing had Lan Yue lead the two of them to the courtyard in the Yan family's special reception area.

"Old Jiang, what do you think of Yan Qing?"

Upon entering the courtyard, Gong Ruomei did not immediately rest, but instead began to inquire about the old man beside her.

During the banquet, she had already realized that Yan Qing was not the spoiled brat she had imagined. In addition, it seemed that Elder Jiang had been intentionally reminding her earlier, which is why she asked the question immediately.

"This Yan Qing is quite extraordinary. His Xingyi Quan skills are not shallow. At such a young age, he can actually concentrate all his energy and spirit to the extreme. No wonder Miss couldn't see it."

Jiang Shi recalled Yan Qing's posture just now and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"Xingyiquan? That makes sense. Master Zou seems to practice Xingyiquan, but if that's the case... it's a pity."

Gong Ruomei hadn't expected Jiang Shi to have such a high opinion of Yan Qing, but she immediately thought of another problem.

Even a genius cannot break through to the Gang Jin realm with only three true disciples, but Yan Qing is now practicing all four true disciples at the same time. For a moment, Gong Ruomei was unsure whether Yan Qing was arrogant or ignorant.

"However, if he has truly mastered Ming Jin to its fullest extent, then I will teach him the true essence of Baguazhang as promised, and... I will apologize for my rudeness today."

Regardless of the outcome, Gong Ruomei still admires Yan Qing's courage and is willing to apologize for her poor judgment and rudeness today.

Gong Ruomei has her own pride. She can clearly distinguish right from wrong and doesn't have the kind of stubbornness that most women have when they know they're wrong.

……

In the courtyard where Yan Qing lived, Yan Qing did not go to sleep, but waited for Wan Xing.

"Young Master, this is a telegram that just came from Tianjin, as well as intelligence that I personally obtained from Steward Cao."

And Wanxing did not disappoint him, quickly bringing him the information he wanted.

Yan Qing carefully examined the intelligence, which included a description of how Master Zou from Tianjin persuaded Gong Ruomei.

As for the information obtained from Steward Cao, it detailed the difficulties Yan Qing would face in practicing the three martial arts techniques simultaneously, and he added at the end:

"If practicing all four skills simultaneously is not feasible, with your talent, you can abandon the old skills and start over, and you can still reach the Gang Jin level with Xingyi Quan."