I Can See Your Combat Power

15 Chapter Twelve: The Genius Who Fell to the Mundane World
Translator: 549690339
Tang Luo examined the person in front of him. The coarsely made hemp clothes couldn’t hide his robust stature. Even when he bent down to pay respects, he was not much shorter than himself. His hands were bulky and conspicuous, which indicated he must have worked out regularly. Although his face looked fierce, the youthful innocence between his brows and eyes had not faded completely, signifying this was also a young child.

“Let’s not bother about the subject of servitude for now, what is your name and how old are you?” With interest, Tang Luo asked this abrupt self-appointed servant.

Interestingly, he was one of only two people at the peak of the Mortal Realm in the training area, with the numbers on his head showing 999 (322).

Cultivation Ground No.7 served for training the Tang Family’s clan warriors. While many were training there, most of them were very young. They usually started their training, all expenses covered by the Martial Hall, since the foundation-building stage.

Dozens of kids were there between the ages of sixteen and seventeen and as young as eleven or twelve. Each year in September, the Tang Clan’s branches would come to select the martial artists from the Martial Hall. Those excellent Mortal Realm peak martial artists, like this individual, would be the sought-out talents that the branches would fight for. Judging by his proficient martial technique and successful body training, this boy didn’t have to rush in offering himself.

“My name is Fang Han, and I am fifteen years old,” Fang Han answered respectfully. His heart sank. He had not considered that the young lord of the main clan in front of him would not accept him immediately. It seemed that Tang Luo didn’t know him well. It was normal for the former top genius of Xiling City to be above others, so he added, “I’m at the peak of Mortal Realm and wish to become Lord Tang Luo’s servant.”

Um? So persistent? Tang Luo was curious. Although he indeed was in need of a trustworthy subordinate, having someone visit directly was somewhat unusual.

If one were to say he had some strong appeal that could make someone upon first meeting want to serve him, especially someone older than himself, that would be nonsense. At least he was an adult (in terms of mental age), he should have such discernment. So, he planned to investigate Fang Han’s background before deciding whether to accept him.

“I will need some time to consider the matter of servitude. In the meantime, you should also consider it carefully.” Tang Luo, not understanding why he was so persistent, did not plan to accept him before completing the investigation. But for the sake of wisdom, he had to clarify: “I’m just thirteen, so it may be seven or even ten years before I will set up my own family. You should think carefully about the risks of becoming my servant. Please leave now, other students need to ask about martial arts techniques.”

Fang Han really wanted to shout out that he had thought it through wholeheartedly, but seeing Tang Luo’s casual behavior, he felt his pride deeply wounded. He hurriedly bowed and backed off, but his heart was full of indignation: You young boy, dare to look down on me.

Although Cultivation Ground No.7 had dozens of students, with Tang Luo’s extreme teaching method, he subjugated all of them in just a few hours. Therefore, he had the entire afternoon to himself.

He planned to visit the steward’s office for some help.

“Uncle Fu, the new table looks so beautiful!” Tang Luo came to Chang Fu with a full smile, his hands caressing the new wooden table, his tone very relaxed.

Having lived so many years, Chang Fu certainly knew that Tang Luo had come for something, so he immediately asked, “Young master, do you have anything for this old servant to do?”

Reverent tone, modest attitude, Uncle Fu was still Uncle Fu.

“Uncle Fu, if you act like this, I will be hit. I just wanted to ask if you could help me find out some information about Fang Han from Cultivation Ground No.7.” Tang Luo came mainly for this matter – a man on the Wulin (Martial Arts World) road, undoubtedly needed several followers, but the roots must be clear.

Since Fang Han came to offer himself, Tang Luo didn’t need to fuss over it. The records of students from Training Ground 7 were available at the steward’s chamber, a brief look could tell him all he needed.

“I am quite familiar with this person’s information; there’s no need to look it up,” said Chang Fu as soon as he heard Tang Luo mention the name, “Young master, your vision is admirable. Although this person built his foundation late, he reached the peak of the Mortal Realm in just two years of practice. He is truly a rare talent.”

Chang Fu sighed with admiration. As one of the stewards of Martial Hall, he naturally knew about the agreement made by Tang Bin to promote Tang Luo as the martial technique instructor and select his own servants.

There are nine cultivation grounds in Martial Hall, and except for the First Cultivation Ground which only accepts the members of the clan, in the remaining eight cultivation grounds, there was only one person who reached the peak of Mortal Realm within two years. By admiring such talent, he couldn’t help but praise Tang Luo’s keen observation.

“Oh? Uncle Fu, tell me, with such good aptitude, why did this Fang Han start his foundation-building so late?” Tang Luo took a chair and placed it in front of the desk. He sat on it backwards, his hands resting on the backrest, ready to hear a story.

Chang Fu laughed. He quite enjoyed Tang Luo’s close and casual attitude and began to explain, “Fang Han was originally an abandoned child left under the Lingjiang Bridge. In his swaddling clothes, there was a jade pendant carved with the character ‘Han’.”

“The old beggar who found Fang Han was surnamed Fang. He took the jade pendant to a pawn shop and got a dead pawn. He named the abandoned child Fang Han.”

“The old beggar was a drinker, but he treated Fang Han fairly well. He barely raised Fang Han until he was four years old, then passed away.”

“Fang Han ended up on the streets begging and was tricked by some thugs into becoming a thief.”

“He was quick and nimble and became a well-known little thief on Linjiang Street when he was five or six years old.”

“He lived like this until he was twelve. Somehow he saved enough money to invest in one of our martial arts academies and became a close door disciple.”

“The academy is called the Huo Family Martial Arts Academy, precisely one of our Third Family’s businesses. The headmaster, Huo Zhuang, is a clan warrior. He saw that although Fang Han was older, he completed his foundation-building in just one year. This made the Clan thoroughly investigate his background, to see if he could be brought to the Martial Hall for our use.”

“His past was clean, despite having been a professional thief, he had not committed any major crime. Therefore, the Martial Hall accepted him. Bo Shan was on good terms with Huo Zhuang, so this child was arranged to go to Cultivation Ground No.7.”

Tang Luo was more and more impressed the more he listened. This guy was indeed the standard of a protagonist – an extraordinary birth and a life of self-strengthening. It was hard to believe that a petty thief could save enough money in a few years to invest in a martial arts academy. There must be some designed plot.

Moreover, being so young but mature enough to understand that learning martial arts was the only way out. Many small-time gangsters, after having money, would go clubbing and drinking. At their old age, they could only face a miserable end. Compared with them, he simply couldn’t be more outstanding.

“Uncle Fu, can we retrieve that jade pendant?” Tang Luo asked out of curiosity. There were many sad things in life, and not knowing where one came from was one of them. Fang Han might have thought his family name was Fang, that he was the grandson of that old beggar.

Tang Luo had initially thought of taking Fang Han as a family servant, but after hearing his story, he was moved with compassion. He wanted to do something for him, like recovering his jade pendant.

“Certainly, young master. You can leave this matter to me,” Chang Fu replied cheerfully. Who wouldn’t want a future head of the family who takes care of them? Having a good person like young master Tang Luo, Chang Fu felt that Fang Han’s youthful suffering was not in vain.

“Ah haha, thank you, Uncle Fu.”Tang Luo scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

After returning to Cultivation Ground No.7 and scolding a few particularly slow students, Tang Luo successfully finished a day’s teaching work.

……

Night fell, in his room

It had been two months since he lost his cultivation. The sudden appearance of this Star Core was still baffling, but Tang Luo had no more guesses to make. It just had to be tested.

He held the Star Core in his hand, myriad thoughts swirling in his eyes until finally they condensed into determination. “Damn it, even if it kills me, I want to see what this is all about.”

He ultimately decided to research the Star Core while his younger brother hadn’t come back yet. That way, even if there was a danger, Tang Xing, who would rush back soon, could help call someone.

Tang Luo’s method of testing the Star Core was straightforward – he gripped it and circulated Spiritual Energy.

After deep contemplation over many days, he had some speculation about the Star Core. First, it looked exactly like the Star Core in his Dantian. If the Dantian’s Star Core could transform one element of Spiritual Energy into three, this real-world Star Core should be able to do the same.

If his first guess was correct, then the potential of this Star Core was unlimited. Tang Luo was no more than a common cultivator; after speeding up his cultivation threefold, he gained a reputation as a prodigy. If he gave the Star Core to his father, the real martial arts genius Tang Sen, one normal day of accumulation would triple to 15.6. Wouldn’t that be sky-shattering?

Having an unbeatable father wouldn’t be a bad thing. At least he could experience what it felt like to be a second-generation power player. The Tang Family would no longer need to share rule with the Mi Family over Xiling, and perhaps overthrowing Martial Saint Mountain is within reach.

Of course, Tang Luo also had some small ambitions in his heart. If the real-world Star Core did not conflict with the Dantian’s Star Core, then the two paths of Spiritual Energy in his real-world Star Core could be transformed into six, and the Dantian’s Star Core could then transform the six paths into eighteen.

Eighteen paths of Spiritual Energy in a day meant transcending the Mortal Realm in twenty days and reaching the Fierce Realm in five years. All I can say is, you all are trash!

With immense anticipation in his heart, Tang Luo held the Star Core and began to circulate his Spiritual Energy.

As he circulated his Spiritual Energy, the Star Core in his hand slowly brightened. The strange ancient inscriptions that looked like carvings kept flowing, emitting a light that fluctuated between bright and dim.

Tang Luo controlled his Spiritual Energy, not letting it flow into his Dantian, but infused it into the Star Core.action

In the world within, a marvelous sight appeared.

In his Inner Vision, the meridians appeared as blue lines that spread throughout his body. The Spiritual Energy that was absorbed through the cultivation technique entered his body like a mist and flowed through his meridians.

In his vision now, along with the countless blue lines, he saw a blue vortex forming in the center of his palm, and the tiny Star Core in his Dantian was spinning crazily in response.

There seemed to be a substantial connection between the two.

Tang Luo steadied his mind and gradually infused the absorbed Spiritual Energy into the vortex in his hand.

Three circulations, twelve circulations, thirty-six circulations.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Boom! Tang Luo’s Sea of Consciousness trembled. He suddenly felt a new sensation, as if he could control the tiny Star Core in his Dantian.

No, not as if. He could control it.

The Spiritual Energy in the Star Core in his hand was transformed into trails of mist, and was slowly absorbed by Tang Luo. When he opened his eyes, he was full of excitement. He looked at the Star Core in his hand with uncontainable joy.

Although the division ability of the real-world Star Core and the Dantian’s Star Core couldn’t overlap, Tang Luo, through the connection between his Sea of Consciousness and the Star Core, had clearly understood the function of the Star Core.

Even for him, this real-world Star Core could be his chance to reach a saintly level and establish a lineage.

“Finally, finally…” Tang Luo mumbled to himself, slightly dazed.

Over these days, although it seemed like he didn’t show any signs of depression, as if he hadn’t lost his cultivation overnight, there had been a huge rock in his heart that couldn’t settle. If every time he reached the threshold of transcending the Mortal Realm his cultivation would be drained and his body would degenerate, how could he reach the pinnacle of the martial path?

But now, he finally saw a glimmer of hope. How could he not be excited?