Chapter 6: Stance Like a Tiger, Posture Like a Pine—Secure the Funding, Then Full Steam Ahead!

Stance like a tiger, posture like a pine.

Throughout the afternoon, Ning Wuque, having finished his static stance training, first performed over three hundred pull-ups. He climbed up the branches of a nearby tree using only his hands and feet, then, more than two meters above the ground, began his grueling training without any safety measures.

If it doesn't kill you, you train until you're half-dead. He even used the risk of falling to death to stimulate his body's infinite potential, forcing it to erupt with greater power under the threat of mortality. In any case, even if he suffered a head injury from such a height, it would be trivial within the sect; a quick visit to a sixth-ring healing-type Soul Emperor would fix him right up, guaranteed to be as good as new, just like factory-original!

After yet another round of exhaustion left him sprawled on the ground, he picked himself up, applied a quick self-healing treatment, and once his strength partially recovered, resumed his standing posture to further circulate the soul power within his body. He stood straight as a pine tree between two large trees, pretending to be a trunk, motionless for over an hour. Even when mosquitoes landed on his skin to drink his blood, he didn't so much as frown. Only an iron-clad will could carry him forward in this world, which felt as if it were cursed.

"Ding-a-ling—"

The school dismissal bell echoed in his ears.

Almost instantly, an old man wearing a simple black cloak appeared in Ning Wuque's field of vision. It was his grandfather, Zhang Can. As he walked over, his eyes held a mixture of relief, heartache, and profound regret. He regretted that such a clever and hardworking child as Ning Wuque had not been given a better starting point by fate, forcing him to endure such suffering for nothing.

"Wuque, let's go. Let's head home with Grandpa. That matter you mentioned to me last time—I've already inquired about it. Once we're home, I'll have a surprise for you."

Zhang Can reached Ning Wuque's side, extending his broad, calloused hand to stroke the boy's forehead. Feeling the sweat on his skin, a trace of resolve flashed in his eyes, as if he had made a certain decision in his heart. In about seven months, it would be Ning Wuque’s seventh birthday—April 7th of next year—a date that was... not particularly auspicious.

"Mm!"

Ending his stance, Ning Wuque exhaled before replying.

The two of them, grandfather and grandson, left the academy grounds hand-in-hand, walking toward Zhang Can’s elder residence. Along the way, Ning Wuque’s heart was filled with excitement and anticipation. There was no other reason; the matter he had asked Grandpa Zhang to help facilitate had finally borne fruit.

As everyone knows, physical cultivation is not a process that can be rushed. It requires proper nourishment and rest to climb ever higher without damaging the body’s foundation. But every bit of this costs money—a great deal of money. Ning Wuque had calculated that the assets left to him by his parents would only sustain him until he was thirteen or fourteen. This included the necessary high-quality daily diet and herbs, which increased exponentially with age and physical growth. There were also the twice-monthly (or more) medicinal baths, and a third of his funds set aside for purchasing physical training equipment. After all, brute force training would hit a wall eventually, and he had to plan for the future, such as more scientific and advanced soul-tool training devices.

It was fine before the age of thirteen or fourteen while he had money, but what about after that? If he had to work to earn a living, he likely wouldn't have enough time to maintain his extreme training regimen. As for asking Grandpa Zhang for help? That wasn't impossible, but what about further down the line? This was a bottomless pit with no end in sight. Grandpa Zhang could help him for a time, perhaps even a lifetime, but the education Ning Wuque had received prevented him from accepting such help with a clear conscience. He had been raised by Grandpa Zhang since he was small; he could not forget this kindness, nor could he exploit it further.

Therefore, Ning Wuque prepared to sell his techniques to secure investment. He had compiled the "Ring Detonation" secret method—from initial discovery to analysis, hypothesis, and finally, preliminary unlocking—along with the first stage of the "Nine-Fold Yama Pass" manual he had spent fifteen days writing, and handed it all to Zhang Can. He asked him to submit it to the sect for review, hoping to trade this mature but unverified theory and his self-created soul skill—still in development—for sect investment or a partial buyout.

This was a risky move, as unrefined products are always heavily discounted. Furthermore, neither the Ring Detonation nor his "Nine-Fold Yama Pass" could be practiced by many, making their value far lower than most general self-created soul skills, such as the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect’s "Distraction Control Method" or the various combat techniques of the Body Sect.

However! Zhang Can was an elder of the sect with a cultivation level of eighty-two. With him as a guarantor, it could prevent others from skimming off the top and ensure that the relevant personnel in the sect took the matter seriously. At the same time, while the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Sect lacked masters and rare treasures like soul bones, they were certainly not short on money for investment. Perhaps the good impression Ning Wuque had made on the sect's upper echelons during the Awakening Ceremony would work in his favor, right?

With this mindset, Ning Wuque had approached Zhang Can a short while ago, explained his thoughts, and asked for his help. Zhang Can had agreed, and now, after more than three months, he had returned with news—news that was clearly good, judging by his words earlier.

...

Back home, Zhang Can first had the butler assigned to him by the sect prepare dinner, then brought Ning Wuque into his study. Seated at his desk, Ning Wuque stood by his side, gazing at a storage soul tool and two contracts on the table.

Zhang Can spoke: "Wuque, the sect has already had a six-ring battle soul master conduct a successful Ring Detonation experiment. Just as your theory suggested, from the prerequisites to the logic, it was exactly as you described! The sect's intention is to buy out your theory entirely. From now on, apart from you, they do not wish to see a second copy of the original manuscript. You are a clever child; do you understand?"

"I understand, Grandpa Zhang!" Ning Wuque nodded. It was within his expectations. The value of the "Ring Detonation" self-created soul skill wasn't high enough to be irreplaceable; he had essentially guessed and pieced together about eighty percent of the Haotian Sect's secret technique, perhaps even making it easier to understand. He had even used that as a foundation to develop the "Nine-Fold Yama Pass," which had a higher ceiling and a lower barrier to entry. A manuscript that was at least eighty percent accurate was something the sect would naturally want to buy out.

"However," Zhang Can continued, "this soul skill is tailor-made for super-combat-oriented tool spirits and beast spirits. Other soul masters who practice it will only end up crippled; they wouldn't even be able to use it as a trump card."

These words were Zhang Can preparing Ning Wuque mentally. There was no help for it; the limitations of this soul skill meant the sect couldn't offer a price commensurate with its actual power. He had fought for a long time to increase the original offer by thirty percent, and he had also added an extra clause. He hoped Ning Wuque would accept it.