89: Chapter 89 The Fifth Life. The Blazing Sun Illuminates the Martial Path (Thirty-Seven)

Chu Shi nodded again to express his thanks.

After the disciple withdrew, he took a deep breath and straightened his robes, which had become slightly disheveled during his journey.

He then stepped forward and bowed toward the main hall.

At the same time, his clear, resonant voice, imbued with a faint trace of blood energy, carried into the hall:

"Disciple Chu Shi requests an audience with Master."

As his voice faded, the hall fell silent for a moment. Then, a voice as deep and resonant as a great bell emerged, carrying a hint of warmth:

"Come in."

Hearing this, Chu Shi stood up, pushed open the door, and walked in slowly.

The hall was extremely spacious and devoid of excessive furnishings, with only a golden statue of a Great Sun enshrined in the center.

Three sticks of spirit incense burned before the golden statue, sending curls of blue smoke wafting through the air, mixed with pure fire-attribute metal energy that greeted him.

The ceiling of the hall was carved with a map of the celestial stars, with a massive gilded Great Sun in the center. Sunlight streamed in through the surrounding glazed windows, landing on the prayer mat at the head of the hall.

Peak Master Lieyang was dressed in a crimson-gold Daoist robe and sat on a chair, with a scroll on the table before him.

Seeing Chu Shi enter, he looked up with a gentle smile on his face:

"You rascal, you haven't come to see me even once in the three-plus months since you joined the peak. Why the sudden visit today? Have you hit a bottleneck in your cultivation, or are you facing some difficulty? Just tell your master…"

Before he could finish, Peak Master Lieyang's brow suddenly furrowed, and his voice came to an abrupt halt.

Chu Shi felt his vision blur, and a vast yet gentle wave of heat instantly washed over him.

When he focused his eyes again, Peak Master Lieyang, who had been sitting several yards away, was already standing right in front of him.

"This aura…" Peak Master Lieyang's voice held unconcealable astonishment.

His gaze fell upon Chu Shi, as if he were trying to see right through him from head to toe.

"Iron Skin Realm? How long has it been!"

Without waiting for Chu Shi's reply, Peak Master Lieyang raised his hand, his fingertips resting lightly on Chu Shi's Jianjing acupoint.

A stream of crimson-gold metal energy, gentle yet extremely domineering, instantly surged into Chu Shi's body, quickly coursing through his meridians.

Wherever it passed, Chu Shi felt his whole body warming up, and the blood energy within him vibrated in unison with that metal energy involuntarily, yet he felt not the slightest discomfort.

Peak Master Lieyang's expression was one of shock at first, then it shifted slightly, as if he had thought of some unfavorable possibility.

His brow furrowed tightly as the metal energy he had inserted became increasingly meticulous, sweeping over Chu Shi's meridians, dantian, skin, membranes, tendons, and bones time and again.

Only when he confirmed that Chu Shi's meridians were wide and resilient, his blood energy in his dantian was refined, and his foundation was solid—completely devoid of any instability from a forced breakthrough—did he stop.

His life force field in the Iron Skin Realm was even far more refined than that of other cultivators at the same level. Only then did he suddenly withdraw his hand and let out a long sigh of relief.

The next second, a burst of laughter rang out, loud enough to make the hall tremble slightly.

He reached out and patted Chu Shi's shoulder heavily, his eyes full of delight:

"Good! Good lad! You really are excellent! I had thought that even with your talent, it would take at least half a year for you to break through to the Iron Skin Realm. I didn't expect this—I really didn't expect that I still underestimated you!"

He turned around with a smile and returned to the chair at the head of the hall to sit down, then pointed to the chair beside him:

"Sit, don't just stand there. There's freshly brewed spirit tea on the table, pour yourself some."

"Thank you, Master." Chu Shi bowed in acknowledgment but did not sit down immediately.

Instead, he first picked up the purple clay teapot on the table and poured a cup of tea into the empty cup before Peak Master Lieyang.

Then, he poured a cup for himself and sat in the chair to the side.

Peak Master Lieyang took note of this, and the satisfaction in his eyes deepened.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the spirit tea, and then asked slowly:

"Have you suffered a lot during these three months of closed-door cultivation? Is there anything unsatisfactory about your practice? Or if the resources allocated by the sect are not enough, tell your master."

Chu Shi hurriedly put down his teacup and bowed to reply:

"Reporting to Master, everything has gone very smoothly. That I could break through so quickly is entirely due to your care and the sect's grace, which allowed me to focus on honing my blood energy without distraction. It was merely a matter of enduring with patience and putting in a little extra hard work, combined with a meager amount of talent. It was just a lucky breakthrough; I dare not call it suffering."

"Lucky?" Peak Master Lieyang waved his hand, shaking his head with a laugh.

"Breaking through from a mere mortal to the Iron Skin Realm in over three months, and with such a solid foundation? If this is lucky, wouldn't all the other disciples in the Holy Land have to find a piece of tofu to dash their heads against?"

He put down his teacup, his tone gradually becoming more solemn:

"However, your ability to calm your heart and endure the loneliness of closed-door cultivation is a rare temperament. You must remember, the path of martial arts is like rowing a boat against the current; if you do not advance, you will fall back. The resources provided by the sect will always be maintained at a level sufficient for your basic cultivation. If you want to go far and climb high, you must ultimately strive and venture out yourself. In the future, if you find your resources insufficient, you can go to the Mission Hall to take on sect tasks and earn contribution points to exchange for resources. You can also make friends with fellow disciples and temper your state of mind. Of course, as my disciple, I will naturally not neglect you. I will prepare some critical cultivation resources and trump cards for self-preservation for you. But beyond that, I will not give you too much; flowers in a greenhouse cannot withstand the wind and rain."

Peak Master Lieyang's gaze fell upon Chu Shi, carrying a hint of sternness:

"Without experiencing combat, without being stained by the blood of the mortal world, and without experiencing the epiphany between life and death, even with the highest talent, you will ultimately be building castles in the air. You will never touch the threshold of the Silver Marrow Realm in this lifetime. Do you understand?"

Chu Shi stood up and bowed deeply to Peak Master Lieyang, his tone extremely solemn:

"Disciple understands! I will take Master's teachings to heart. The path of martial arts cannot be reached without hard cultivation and combat; I will certainly proceed steadily and surely, and I will not fail Master's expectations and cultivation."

"Good, it is good that you have this mindset." Peak Master Lieyang laughed heartily, his face full of gratification.

Then, he raised his hand to signal him to sit down, saying there was no need to be reserved.

"Since you have officially broken through to the Iron Skin Realm and stepped into the realm of the extraordinary, the title of 'named disciple' should be removed. I am going to hold a formal apprenticeship ceremony for you and announce it to the entire Great Sun Holy Land. From today on, you, Chu Shi, are my, Peak Master Lieyang's, fifth personal disciple!"

The more he spoke, the more pleased he became, his eyes flashing with a cunning smile:

"When the time comes, I will invite the other Peak Masters, as well as my old friends from other Holy Lands, and show you off to them properly. A genius who breaks through to the extraordinary in three months is hard to find in the entire Tianwu Dynasty, and yet you landed in my Lieyang Peak! Come to think of it, it's a good thing I listened to Old Zhang and secured you immediately. If I had been even one step later, and that old geezer, the Sect Master, had caught the scent and come to snatch you away, I would have had nowhere to cry."

Upon hearing this, Chu Shi stood up and bowed again, his tone full of sincerity:

"To be able to apprentice under Master is my greatest honor in three lifetimes. In this life, I will serve by Master's side, strictly observe the sect rules, and never fail Master's grace."

"Get up, there is no need for such formalities." Peak Master Lieyang waved his hand, signaling him to sit down and not keep standing up.

After pondering for a moment, he continued:

"Let's set the apprenticeship ceremony for one month from now. Some of my old friends are tens of thousands of miles away, and it will take them some time to get here. You can also notify your family and friends in advance so they can come to observe the ceremony and witness you joining my school."

Chu Shi nodded in agreement, his heart stirring slightly, and he took the opportunity to ask about the other matter of his visit: