The two individuals were Huang Yunchong and his son Huang Qianjun.
Su Yi was momentarily stunned but quickly understood the situation.
Sure enough, Huang Yunchong hurriedly approached, his expression filled with excitement as he said, "Yesterday, Huang received the profound and wonderful secret technique bestowed by Young Master Su. I am truly honored and grateful. Today, I have come specially to express my gratitude!"
As he spoke, he bowed deeply, showing his sincerity.
Su Yi accepted it calmly.
Although the breathing technique he spontaneously created yesterday was not particularly profound, for the Huang family, who practiced the Xingyi Fist, it was considered a great fortune!
Huang Yunchong clearly understood the significance of this breathing technique to the Huang family.
It would be abnormal if he didn't come to express his gratitude.
"It was just a small favor. If there's nothing else, Chief Huang, please go about your business," Su Yi said, already entering the grove of mulberry trees to practice the Songhe Body Tempering Technique.
Although this attitude seemed a little cold, Huang Yunchong didn't mind at all.
Yesterday, when he heard from his son, Huang Qianjun, about the breathing technique Su Yi had imparted, he couldn't contain his excitement and became extremely agitated.
After calming down, he came to a conclusion—
With this breathing technique, the Huang family would rise further and step onto a new level!
This was something Huang Yunchong would never have dared to imagine before.
Some things should not be easily shared, and some techniques should not be lightly taught.
In the Great Zhou Dynasty, a powerful breathing technique alone could change the fate of a clan!
"Son, remember my admonition from yesterday. Work hard and don't disappoint Young Master Su's guidance," Huang Yunchong took a deep breath and patted Huang Qianjun's shoulder.
Then, he respectfully clasped his hands towards Su Yi, who was practicing martial arts, and quietly departed.
"The admonition from yesterday..."
Huang Qianjun couldn't help but recall the solemn words his father had spoken yesterday in front of the ancestral tablets in their ancestral hall:
"Son, you are still young and don't understand the significance of this secret technique. I can tell you plainly that with this technique, our Huang family will forever be grateful to Young Master Su!"
It was the first time Huang Qianjun had seen his father so solemn.
Huang Qianjun realized for the first time that he was merely a subordinate following Su Yi, but inadvertently, he had brought an opportunity that could change the fate of their clan.
"So this is what they mean by 'when one person achieves the Dao, their poultry and dogs ascend to heaven'?" Huang Qianjun's gaze turned towards Su Yi, who was practicing martial arts in the distance, and he felt an unprecedented admiration and awe.
Su Ge truly is an extraordinary being!
When Su Yi finished his cultivation and approached, he saw that Huang Qianjun had already prepared a steaming breakfast and drinks.
"Oh, did you use spirit medicine in today's bone soup?" Su Yi's nose twitched, detecting a different scent.
"Su Ge, my father said that from now on, the clan's steward will prepare a medicinal plant for you every day," Huang Qianjun said, handing over a brocade pouch with both hands. "Inside here are fifty spirit stones, a small token of our appreciation from the Huang family. My father insists that you must accept it, otherwise, he won't allow me to set foot in the Huang family's gates again..."
One medicinal plant every day, which adds up to seven plants in a week.
In addition to the fifty spirit stones... the Huang family is really going all out!
Su Yi couldn't help but be surprised.
The rarity and high price of spirit medicine goes without saying.
As for spirit stones, they are even more rare and almost impossible to find on the market. They can't be bought with just any amount of money.
According to Su Yi's knowledge, even among the three major families in Guangling City, the number of spirit stones they stored would not exceed one hundred for each family.
But now, the Huang family had brought out fifty at once to give to him!
"Huang Yunchong is indeed clever. He knows the value of a breathing technique, which surpasses these treasures," Su Yi shook his head, no longer thinking too much about it. He sat down on the ground, drinking and eating.
Huang Qianjun went to the open space in the forest and practiced the Xingyi Fist.
After he finished practicing, Su Yi pointed out some areas where he was lacking and then left.
In the Apricot Yellow Residence.
"With these spirit stones, there's no need to plan for a trip to Yun Cang Mountain for the time being," Su Yi sat in his room and poured out the spirit stones from the brocade pouch onto the desk. Each one of them glistened with a translucent and pure radiance, exuding waves of spiritual energy.
Although they were all low-grade first-level spirit stones, they were already quite rare in the spiritually impoverished Great Zhou Dynasty.
"Not bad. With these spirit stones, it won't take me half a month to refine the Tendon Tempering Realm to perfection!"
Su Yi's lips curled up with a faint smile.
Days passed one after another.
Su Yi's life was calm and fulfilling, without any major setbacks.
In addition to his cultivation, he occasionally visited the Apricot Yellow Medical Hall to see patients, handle accounts, and collect payments.
He would also summon the ethereal and naive female ghost, Qinglian, during the quiet nights, giving her some guidance on her cultivation.
When he felt like it, he would even chat with her.
Unfortunately, the girl still couldn't overcome her timid and fearful demeanor when facing him.
This left Su Yi speechless.
If she was afraid of even speaking to him, who knows how scared she would be if he were to touch her.
With this situation, how could they cultivate together in the future?
After all, dual cultivation wasn't a game. There were many things to be done, inevitably involving physical and spiritual contact.
If something went wrong, it could become a disaster.
Of course, discussing dual cultivation now was still far off. For Su Yi, he had plenty of time to train Qinglian so that she would no longer fear him.
In the late hours of the night when no one was around, Qinglian would occasionally sit on the old locust tree and sing ancient ballads. Her voice was ethereal, enchanting, and beautiful.
It had to be said that Qinglian was indeed a talented female ghost.
During this period, Nie Teng had come twice to report some matters to Su Yi.
For example, all the places in Guangling City had been thoroughly searched, and a total of seven locations where ghost corpse insects were bred had been discovered and cleared, eliminating any hidden dangers.
Su Yi couldn't help but feel puzzled by this. Since Wu Ruoxiu was breeding ghost corpse insects on the orders of his sect, why didn't his sect send anyone to investigate after he and the ghost corpse insects were wiped out?
In the end, Su Yi speculated on two possibilities.
The first possibility was that the Yinsha Sect might have already learned about Wu Ruoxiu's mishap and was secretly investigating the situation.
The second possibility was that the Yinsha Sect was still unaware of these developments and had not yet reacted.
Regardless of which possibility it was, Su Yi was well aware that the evil cultivators in the Yinsha Sect would not simply let it go.
Of course, this potential danger had nothing to do with Su Yi.
A third-rate sect that used the blood of a female cultivator to refine a sword—what kind of future could they possibly have?
With the passage of time, the date of the Dragon Gate Banquet draws nearer and nearer.
On the Great Cang River, boats were densely packed, and skilled craftsmen from Guangling City and the neighboring city of Luoyun were busy setting up the banquet venue, racing against time.
Discussions about the upcoming Dragon Gate Banquet had become the hottest topic in both cities.
Even the ordinary people in the cities were filled with anticipation.
The Dragon Gate Banquet would begin at night, and by then, the lights on the Great Cang River would be like a string of falling flame stars in the mortal world.
At that time, the night would be as dark as ink, and the river would be sparkling like a painting, creating a breathtaking and magnificent scene.
In the early morning of that day, in the mulberry forest outside the city.
"Su Ge, I've started practicing tendon cultivation!" Huang Qianjun said excitedly, like a student waiting to be praised by his teacher.
Su Yi just nodded and casually said, "With my guidance and the spiritual medicines provided by the Huang family, if you still can't achieve this step, there's no point in continuing your cultivation."
Huang Qianjun immediately felt awkward, and his excitement faded away.
Su Yi thought for a moment and added, "However, with your current martial arts attainment, you're considered decent. Maybe you still won't be a match for Wen Jueyuan at the Dragon Gate Banquet, but at least you won't lose too embarrassingly."
Practicing martial arts is a process of gradually deepening one's understanding.
For any martial art, its proficiency can be divided into four levels: initial understanding, entry-level, mastery, and peak mastery.
The initial understanding is the ability to perform the complete set of martial arts techniques.
For ordinary martial practitioners, reaching this level is not difficult.
Entry-level means being able to comprehend the subtleties and fully exert the power of each technique in a meticulous manner.
Mastery goes even further, where one comprehends and thoroughly understands a martial art, allowing one's heart to move freely, and every strike can unleash immense power.
As for peak mastery, it involves reaching a level where one can draw connections and apply the principles of one martial art to others, incorporating personal insights and experiences, and enabling the martial art to unleash unprecedented power.
When a martial art reaches the level of "peak mastery," one will possess their own unique "martial momentum," such as sword momentum, knife momentum, fist momentum, and so on.
However, most lower-grade martial arts have very few inherent mysteries.
It's extremely difficult to even reach the level of mastery, let alone peak mastery.
For example, the original Huang family's Xingyi Fist was originally only capable of reaching the level of mastery.
But after Su Yi's guidance and supplementation, as well as teaching them the technique of breath control, it had undergone a qualitative transformation.
As long as Huang Qianjun continued to practice, there would be a time when he would reach the "peak mastery" level!
"Su Ge, the Dragon Gate Banquet is just three days away. Will you be attending?"
Huang Qianjun couldn't help but ask.
"We'll see how things go."
Su Yi casually replied.
In his previous life, he had participated in countless grand "Daoist Conferences" that were enough to shake the heavens. Those who were eligible to participate were all influential figures who dominated the world. Compared to events like the Dragon Gate Banquet, he had no interest in participating.
Huang Qianjun felt a bit disappointed. He had been hoping that if Su Yi attended, he would easily secure the first place!
Just thinking about such a scene made one's blood boil.
"Su Ge, I heard that Elder Zhou Huaiqiu from the Qinghe Sword Mansion will also be participating. Whoever performs well will be directly selected as a successor to the Qinghe Sword Mansion."
Suddenly, Huang Qianjun remembered something and exclaimed with anticipation, "So, this time I plan to show my best. Even if I can't become the first, if I catch the eye of Senior Zhou Huaiqiu, I can ascend to the top in one step!"
"Zhou Huaiqiu..."
Upon hearing the familiar name of an old acquaintance, Su Yi was momentarily stunned, and memories of the past resurfaced in his mind.
After a moment, he glanced at Huang Qianjun and shook his head with a wry smile, "Is that your only ambition? You're really lacking in aspirations."