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

"You mean... Shanxi Province is more fun than that damn Pucheng?"

As he spoke, Cao Shaolin gently patted his thigh with his hand or the golden short spear in his hand.

"..."

Major Zhang remained silent, only lowering his head and frowning.

"You said Jincheng is currently undefended. If I go there, what will they do to me? And what can they possibly do to me?"

Cao Shaolin asked again, his eyes filled with excitement as he did so.

The mere thought of the conflicted expressions on the faces of the people of Jincheng—wanting to kill him but also fearing his father's 200,000-strong army and his uncle's 400,000-strong army—made him tremble with excitement.

"Interesting, hahaha~~ This is so interesting."

Before Major Zhang could even answer, he burst out laughing.

"The general only sent us to gather information..."

Major Zhang was now filled with regret. He had only intended to convey the general's orders, but he hadn't expected that this mad young marshal would actually try to enter Shanxi Province.

Before he could finish speaking, Cao Shaolin had already aimed the golden pistol in his hand at his head.

"Yan Fengqi has only two sons. One is incompetent, and the other is rumored to be a lecherous, sickly playboy. With the young marshal in charge, they shouldn't dare to do anything to him!"

Although he knew that Cao Shaolin's golden pistol was out of bullets, Major Zhang still bowed his head and submitted.

He did not succumb to Cao Shaolin's gun, but rather to the power of the Cao family.

"Alright! In that case, let's go to Shanxi Province. I'm... getting quite impatient!"

Cao Shaolin was satisfied with Major Zhang's answer. He tucked the golden pistol into his waistband, then flicked his whip, spurring his horse into a gallop. The man and his horse had already gone far away, but their voices still carried on:

"Go and tell my father to send a large army to Pucheng. Let's see how I take down those two good-for-nothings from the Yan family."

Clearly, although Cao Shaolin was insane and cruel, he was not stupid and knew what his most important lifeline was.

……

This time, Gong Ruomei stood in the training room and watched Yan Qing slap his palm onto the cowhide covering the iron man. Several layers of cowhide were slapped into a palm print, and when his palm was removed, those layers of cowhide had already shattered and fallen off.

"Has he already achieved minor mastery of internal energy cultivation so quickly?"

Although Gong Ruomei was prepared, her eyes still twitched when she actually saw the palm print.

"How long was it again? Ten days? Half a month? In less than half a month, you went from developing Ming Jin to the minor mastery of An Jin..."

Gong Ruomei didn't even dare to think about how long it would take her if she were in that situation.

Although she practiced both Ming Jin (manifest strength) and An Jin (hidden strength) simultaneously, the entire process from when her father taught her the true techniques to when she achieved a minor level of An Jin took years to complete.

She was in a situation where she had no shortage of resources and was exceptionally talented.

Looking at Yan Qing, Gong Ruomei could already foresee that this might be the most worthwhile investment their Gong family had ever made.

"Cough cough~"

Old Jiang covered his mouth and coughed softly. He was reminding Gong Ruomei, and of course... also hiding his own shock.

He could actually sense Yan Qing's diligent cultivation in the training room every night, but in his opinion, it wasn't anything special.

There are many hardworking people, and many warlord sons or true disciples of martial arts schools who have no shortage of martial arts resources, but it is rare to see someone who can make such rapid progress.

Yes, there are such people, but they emerged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their progress achieved through countless battles.

There has never been anyone like Yan Qing who could improve so quickly simply by practicing hard at home.

"Yan Qing, let me teach you one last thing."

Upon hearing Elder Jiang's cough, Gong Ruomei immediately regained her composure. After calming herself down, Gong Ruomei decided to teach Yan Qing the final essence of Baguazhang.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, sir!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Qing's eyes lit up. Although Gong Ruomei asked him to address her by her name, he still addressed her as "sir".

"I've already said everything I need to say about Baguazhang, and it seems you've fully understood it, so there's no point in saying anything more. All that's left is the final experience stage."

Gong Ruomei didn't correct the way she was addressed; it didn't matter anymore. She simply squatted down, took a step, and made palms with both hands, one hand outstretched and the other guarding her chest, assuming the most classic starting stance of Baguazhang.

"Kung Fu isn't something you can just talk about, and martial arts can't be mastered in seclusion. You always have to put it to the test. Next, I will spar with you using Baguazhang at the Dark Force stage. Try to feel it with your heart!"

As she spoke, Gong Ruomei looked at Yan Qing, waiting for him to make the first move.

"good!"

Yan Qing didn't stand on ceremony and adopted the same Baguazhang starting stance.

With his hands in the starting stance, Yan Qing did not hesitate at all. He immediately stepped forward with the Bagua Palm and the Mud-Walking Step, followed by the move "Asking the Way While Leaning on a Horse," his palms thrusting straight at Gong Ruomei's throat.

"Phew~"

Yan Qing moved quickly, but his rapid movements and techniques did not cause much of a commotion. Like a gentle breeze, his fingers were already at Gong Ruomei's throat.

Gong Ruomei turned her body and took the same mud-walking step with her left foot. At the same time, she missed Yan Qing's palm that was aimed straight at her throat. Her right palm brushed past Yan Qing's eyes, while her left palm brushed towards Yan Qing's chest.

This move is a hidden flower in the leaves of Baguazhang. The right hand brushes against the face like a leaf, but what is hidden is the left palm that strikes Yan Qing's chest.

Of course, if Yan Qing does not dodge or avoid, then his right hand sweeping across the face will turn into gouging out the eyes, and his left palm will lengthen to defend against Yan Qing's palm or foot attacks.

This is the combination of emptiness and fullness in Baguazhang.

Yan Qing, of course, would not stand idly by. He hooked his left palm, turning the throat-stabbing attack into a blow to the back of Gong Ruomei's head, while simultaneously sweeping away Gong Ruomei's hand that was brushing her face.

His right hand was pressed down, defending against the opponent's palm strike to the chest.

This move is also a technique from Baguazhang called "removing the helmet from behind the head".

The moves sound impressive, like a general removing his armor and helmet, but if they actually land, what he removes isn't a helmet, but the enemy's skull.

Yan Qing and Gong Ruomei fought back and forth, but their bodies did not touch each other at all. Even the wind generated by their moves was very slight, as if they were not fighting, but dancing.

However, Lan Yue, who was watching from the side, had a twitching brow and wide eyes, not daring to miss a single detail.

Wanxing felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her temple, but she dared not wipe it away.

Both women were at the Dark Force stage, and as they watched their fight, they subconsciously put themselves into the situation.

That's why they reacted this way; only by putting themselves in the shoes of others could they understand the danger and murderous intent involved.

Yan Qing and Gong Ruomei's seemingly peaceful exchange was actually a deadly display of skill.