Martial Artist

...

Over the next two days, Wang Er and Cai Cheng took Qin Ning around the major jade trading markets in the Magic City.

In those two days, Qin Ning selected over thirty pieces of jade. Added to his previous acquisitions, he now had more than forty pieces of jade on him that could be crafted into protective amulets.

Unfortunately, the only piece suitable for refining into a spirit stone was the very first raw stone he had found.

On the morning of the third day, the group boarded Wang Er's private jet and returned to the villa in Liu City by noon.

Cai Cheng and Su Xingwan tagged along as well.

Wang Yousheng and his group had already left. Qin Ning had taught them everything he could; what level they would ultimately reach depended entirely on their own fortune and effort.

In the afternoon.

Qin Fei took Su Xingwan to the company to help her get familiar with the place.

Xia Fei, Wang Er, and the others followed them.

Qin Ning was left all alone in the villa.

He watched a cultivation-themed movie playing on the television but found it so fake that he simply couldn't stomach it. He decided to head outside the villa to take a walk and clear his mind.

Qin Ning wandered into a garden within the residential compound.

It was the height of summer, and the scorching sun beat down fiercely. It was almost impossible for anyone to be out walking or moving around at this time of day.

But for Qin Ning, this naturally had no effect.

With his level of cultivation, even if he were thrown into a furnace, not a single hair on his body would be singed.

"Hoo..."

Around a corner, Qin Ning heard someone panting heavily.

He looked over and saw an old man in his sixties exercising on a nearby patch of grass. The man was shirtless, braving the scorching sun. He was drenched in sweat, his back baked entirely red.

"Interesting."

This scene made Qin Ning stop in his tracks.

Because he discovered that there was actually the presence of Qi on this old man.

However, this wasn't spiritual energy, but rather what was known as inner force.

Spiritual energy and inner force were completely different concepts; the former was much purer and vastly more powerful.

Nevertheless, even though inner force fell far short of spiritual energy, anyone capable of cultivating inner force in a place like Earth could be considered a rare anomaly among anomalies.

It seemed this old man was an expert.

He could probably take down six or seven burly men with ease.

It was Qin Ning's first time seeing a martial artist on Earth. Feeling quite intrigued, he sat down on a nearby stone bench, intending to observe for a moment.

Soon, however, Qin Ning couldn't help but shake his head.

He realized that the way these so-called martial artists trained was somewhat similar to the Body Refining realm cultivators in the cultivation world. Both relied on intense physical exertion to make the vitality and blood in their entire bodies boil.

The difference, however, lay in the fact that they lacked proper cultivation mantras. Or rather, because their cultivation mantras were different, they could only cultivate inner force instead of spiritual energy.

Inner force could strengthen the body, but it could not fortify the internal organs.

Spiritual energy, on the other hand, could do exactly that.

Therefore, many martial artists on Earth would appear healthy and robust on the outside as they aged, but their internal organs were actually failing. The stronger their inner force, the harder it was for their aging organs to withstand it. As a result, most elderly martial artists suffered from hidden internal injuries.

The old man before him was a prime example.

On the surface, his physique was no different from that of a young man, but his internal organs were actually damaged beyond repair.

"Young man, why are you shaking your head?"

Since Qin Ning had not deliberately concealed his aura, the old man had long noticed his presence.

Seeing Qin Ning shaking his head at him, he stopped his routine and walked over, also intending to sit down and rest for a bit.

The old man seemed quite amiable, speaking to Qin Ning with a chuckle. He wasn't annoyed at being "spied on" while practicing.

After all, he was practicing in a public place, so how could it be called spying or stealing techniques?

Qin Ning didn't reply immediately. Instead, he shifted to the side to make room.

Once the old man sat down, Qin Ning asked, "Old sir, you're not from this compound, are you? Did you just move here recently?"

Qin Ning had previously swept the area with his divine sense. Let alone this compound, he hadn't detected the aura of a single martial artist in all of Liu City.

This old man must have moved here during the few days Qin Ning was away in the Magic City.

"Indeed, I am not."

The old man smiled and nodded. After all, since Qin Ning was here, it meant he was likely an owner who lived in this area. Finding the old man unfamiliar, he naturally deduced that he wasn't from this community.

"I just moved in yesterday, but it's only temporary. I'll be heading back to the provincial capital in a couple of days."

Saying this, he looked at Qin Ning again. "Young man, you still haven't answered me. Why were you shaking your head just now? Do you think there is something wrong with my training method?"

Just as he asked the question, the old man secretly shook his head, thinking to himself, "He's just an ordinary youth, not a martial artist. How could he possibly know right from wrong in these matters?"

"There are indeed some problems."

But just as the old man was having these thoughts, Qin Ning nodded.

"Oh?"

Hearing this, the old man was a little surprised and asked curiously, "Could it be that you are also a member of the martial arts world, little friend?"

"Not exactly." Qin Ning chuckled.

A martial artist?

Too low-level.

"True. With the gap in martial arts heritage nowadays, there are very few martial artists left in the country. Those of your age can be counted on less than one hand," the old man sighed.

"Actually, practicing martial arts isn't necessarily a good thing. Take you, for example. In your twilight years, as your organs begin to fail, the presence of inner force won't bring you any benefits. Instead, it will only accelerate the collapse of your body," Qin Ning said.

"You actually know about this?"

Hearing this, the old man was surprised once again and stared at Qin Ning.

Someone outside the martial arts world couldn't possibly know these things.

But why did this young man understand it so well?

Could he be a descendant of some martial arts family?

But there didn't seem to be any martial arts families in Liu City, right?

"Actually, I can cure the hidden injuries inside your body," Qin Ning suddenly smiled.

The old man before him was probably the most talented person in cultivation he had seen on Earth so far, even significantly better than Wang Yousheng and the others.

This suddenly sparked a thought in his mind: he wanted to take him in as a disciple.

Although the other party was a bit old, for Qin Ning, that was just a matter of a single medicinal pill.

His main reason for wanting to take a disciple was simply to see if anyone in an environment like Earth could break past their limits and, through sheer effort, cross the Body Refining realm to reach the Meridian Condensation stage.

"Are you serious?!"

The old man shot up from his seat.

"Naturally."

Qin Ning smiled and nodded. "However, I have a condition."