Cultivating for Immorality: I Evolved Martial Arts into the Immortal Path – Chapter 66

Chapter 66: Rejected

Teahouse, tea fragrance curls.

Wu Neng and the middle-aged man sat facing each other by the window.

“Rustle… rustle…”

Beside the tea table, a blue-robed servant was grinding ink for the middle-aged man.

Paper and brush were placed in front of the middle-aged man.

When the ink was ready, he lifted the brush, dipped it, and then wrote on the paper with flowing and unrestrained strokes, composing a letter.

In the letter, he described in detail how Chu Liang had stolen the credit for killing the tiger, criticizing Chu Liang as worthless, using many negative words, as if Chu Liang were the most despicable person in the world.

“Go, deliver this letter to the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall, and give it to Young Miss Qi Yue, who is in charge of the hall.” He handed the letter to the servant beside him and gave a few simple instructions.

“Yes.”

The servant looked respectful and carefully took the letter.

Opposite him, Wu Neng expressed his gratitude: “This matter is originally my personal affair. I was just upset and came to Brother Qi to vent. I didn’t expect to trouble you.”

“What trouble is this?” The middle-aged man smiled. “You and I are old friends who have fought side by side in the deep mountains. This little thing is not worth mentioning.”

“Thank you!”

“No need for that. I also dislike that Chu Liang. It’s just a small effort on my part.”

The middle-aged man’s surname was Qi, and his given name was Qi Hai. He was one of the earliest disciples of the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

He had recently condensed his fourth strand of Qi and blood, possessing considerable strength, and had been hired as a Master by the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall, wielding great influence within the hall.

His letter was like a high wall, blocking Chu Liang from the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

On the beam of the teahouse, a small, nondescript gray mouse quietly perched, its small eyes like black pearls, having seen the entire content of the letter.

It was Rat Two, the thinner of the two little mice.

Beside Chu Liang was the chubby Rat One.

The two mice shared what they saw and heard through their innate ability, and then Rat One relayed the message to Chu Liang.

“Master, that Qi Hai is too much!” Rat One said indignantly. “He doesn’t even know what kind of person you are. He just listened to Wu Neng’s one-sided story and wrote such terrible things about you, practically describing you as worse than Wu Neng!”

Chu Liang just smiled and didn’t comment.

They were on different sides, so there was nothing to say.

The enemy in his eyes might be a sworn brother to others.

However, with that letter, the possibility of Chu Liang entering the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall was greatly reduced.

Even if he eventually entered the hall, he would probably be targeted by that Qi Hai.

“Let’s go to the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall and see what the person in charge will say.”

Chu Liang was in a good mood, looking calm, and led the little donkey towards the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

The closer he got, the clearer the sounds of martial arts practice from the hall became.

He arrived at the hall and gently knocked on the gate.

Knock, knock, knock!

Soon, the gate opened.

A burly man appeared, his eyes wide like copper bells. He sized up Chu Liang and asked in a booming voice, “What do you want?”

“Please inform them that I want to join the hall to learn martial arts,” Chu Liang replied.

“The minimum fee is twenty-five taels of silver a month. Do you have it? If not, don’t waste our time.”

“I do.”

Chu Liang directly took out a one-hundred-tael silver note.

Seeing the amount on the note, the burly man immediately gestured for him to enter. “Come in. Follow me to the side courtyard and wait for a while.”

“Alright.”

Chu Liang stepped into the hall, entering the front courtyard.

The courtyard was large, with wooden dummies, stone locks, bronze figures, and weapon racks on the left side, and some straw mats for resting on the right.

There were many people practicing, about twenty.

They were all physically strong, with bulging muscles and a powerful aura, like a group of humanoid beasts.

Passing through the front courtyard, Chu Liang arrived at an even larger courtyard.

There were even more people practicing in this courtyard.

However, some were strong, some were thin, and most of their stances were not standard. They looked like newcomers who had only been practicing for a short time, not much stronger than ordinary people.

“Follow me this way.” The burly man led the way to a side door on the left side of the courtyard, passing through it into a side courtyard.

Chu Liang followed him silently.

The side courtyard was empty, with no one practicing, only a few stone tables and stools randomly placed.

“Wait here for a while. Young Miss Qi, who is in charge, is currently dealing with a fight between two groups of apprentices. She will come over later,” the burly man said.

“A fight?”

“Yes, a group of apprentices from the county town looked down on another group from the mountain villages, calling them ‘mud legs’ and ‘mountain savages,’ and bullying them constantly. They started fighting earlier.”

“I see.”

Chu Liang wasn’t in a hurry and casually chose a stone stool to sit on, waiting patiently.

Time passed, and it was already ten o’clock in the morning.

During this time, two more people who wanted to become apprentices came to the side courtyard and sat on the stone stools next to Chu Liang, waiting with him.

They were not as calm as Chu Liang, looking anxious, sometimes excited, sometimes nervous.

They waited for a long time.

Footsteps sounded.

The Young Miss in charge finally arrived.

A few breaths later, a black figure entered their sight.

The newcomer was very young, with a somewhat cold and arrogant look in her eyes, thin lips, a slender figure, and a black long sword at her waist. She wore a dark black training uniform, and her whole demeanor was cold and sharp, like an unsheathed sword.

Her gaze was cold as she scanned the three people in the courtyard, her eyes lingering on Chu Liang for a moment.

“You two, follow me,” she pointed at the other two, her voice cold, and then looked at Chu Liang.

“As for you, please leave the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.”

“Alright.”

Chu Liang remained calm, didn’t say much, and immediately got up.

The burly man came over and gestured for him to follow.

“This way, please.”

◈◈◈

He led the way, guiding Chu Liang out of the hall.

The other two looked delighted, glad that they could stay.

Although the county town had three major martial arts halls, many people knew that the martial arts techniques of the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall were stronger than the other two.

It was naturally best to learn martial arts at the Black Sword Martial Arts Hall.

Chu Liang followed the burly man back to the entrance of the hall.

The burly man said to him, “I see that you are full of energy and have a steady aura. You are a good candidate for martial arts, much better than those other two. I don’t know why, but the Young Miss actually turned you away. This… I can only say that you are unlucky.”

He didn’t know the reason and felt it was a pity.

Chu Liang’s expression was indifferent. He nodded slightly, took the donkey, and was about to leave.

But just then, a familiar voice sounded.

“Master Chu?”

It was Qi Xiuliang.

Chu Liang looked in the direction of the voice.

Qi Xiuliang was walking towards the gate of the martial arts hall, accompanied by the injured Qi Lin. Both were carrying medicine bags, obviously having just returned from the pharmacy.

Seeing Chu Liang, they looked delighted and hurriedly called out to him.

They quickened their pace and hurried over.

Qi Xiuliang asked, “Master, why have you come to our martial arts hall?”

“To learn martial arts, of course. What else would I be doing here?”

“Learn martial arts?”

Both were stunned.

They had always regarded Chu Liang as a highly skilled expert and thought he no longer needed to learn martial arts from a master.

Chu Liang smiled casually and said, “I’m not much stronger than you. I just know a little bit of archery.”

“Master, are you planning to learn the 《Sinking Water Sword》 technique?” Qi Xiuliang hurriedly asked.

“Yes.”

“That’s great! We are also learning this technique. We can…”

As he was speaking, Qi Xiuliang noticed that the burly man’s expression was a bit off.

Suppressing his excitement, he took a closer look and realized that Chu Liang seemed to have been asked to leave the hall.

“Brother Wang, what’s going on?” He looked at the burly man.

“Xiao Qi, you know him?” The burly man was also a little confused.

“He’s Chu Liang.”

“Which Chu Liang?”

“The one who killed the tiger.”

“Oh… no wonder. So he’s already a martial artist.”

The burly man surnamed Wang suddenly understood. He had felt that Chu Liang’s aura was extraordinary, not like someone who had never practiced martial arts.

He looked at Chu Liang, cupped his hands, and smiled apologetically. “My apologies, my apologies! Brother Chu, I didn’t know your identity before.”

“It’s fine. I didn’t say anything myself.”

Chu Liang didn’t mind much. Killing a tiger demon was not a big deal.

Many people in the county town knew that someone named Chu Liang had killed a tiger demon, but they didn’t know what he looked like. It was normal not to recognize him.

“Brother Chu, my surname is Wang, and my given name is Wang Luo. I am one of the managers of this martial arts hall,” the burly man introduced himself.

“Brother Wang.”

Chu Liang also cupped his hands.

Qi Xiuliang continued to ask, “Brother Wang, what’s going on? Why did you ask Master Chu to leave?”

“I don’t have the authority to ask people to leave. It was the Young Miss’s order,” the burly man smiled wryly and pointed towards the inside of the hall.

“Young Miss Qi?”

Qi Xiuliang was stunned for a moment, then turned to ask Chu Liang, “Master, do you know Young Miss Qi Yue of our martial arts hall? Have you met before?”

“No, we have no connection.”

“That’s strange!”

Qi Xiuliang and Wang Luo looked at each other, both with puzzled expressions.

It was impossible for the martial arts hall to turn people away for no reason.

There must be a reason behind this.

Chu Liang knew the reason, which was related to the letter, but he didn’t say it. After all, this was something the little mouse had seen, and he couldn’t expose its existence.

“Brother Chu, wait here for a moment!” Wang Luo suddenly spoke and beckoned to Qi Xiuliang. “Xiao Qi, come with me. Let’s go find Young Miss Qi Yue together.”

“Alright!”

Qi Xiuliang immediately agreed.

He turned to Chu Liang and said, “Master, please wait a moment.”

“No rush.”

Chu Liang looked calm. He didn’t say much, but he guessed that the two would probably come out disappointed.

After saying goodbye, the two entered the martial arts hall together to find Young Miss Qi Yue, who was truly in charge.

Qi Lin stayed beside Chu Liang.

He explained, “Master, Young Miss Qi Yue is the hall master’s daughter. She has exceptional martial arts talent. She has already condensed her first strand of Qi and blood, and it is said that she has already condensed half of her second strand. She will likely break through to the Skin Tempering Realm in the future. But… the hall master said that her temperament is average, so he let her take over the management to temper her character.”

“Your talent is also good,” Chu Liang smiled. “You are young and have also condensed a strand of Qi and blood.”

“No, no, no, I’m far inferior.”

Qi Lin hurriedly shook his head, indicating that he was no match for the Young Miss.

He had only condensed one strand of Qi and blood, and not even a tenth of his second strand.

But Chu Liang knew very well that Qi Lin was from a mountain village. In terms of martial arts resources, he was far inferior to the hall master’s daughter.

If the two had the same resources, Qi Lin’s achievements might be even higher.