"Zhao Ge's spiritual tablet."
"Zhao Qian's spiritual tablet."
Li Yi followed Zhao Ge and his daughter to the main hall of this small courtyard, only to see that the hall was set up like a memorial hall, with the floor covered in white round paper money. In the center, there were two coffins with a spiritual tablet set up in front of each, and beside each tablet, there was an incense burner with a stick of incense inserted.
The incense stick was long, burning slowly and emitting a strange fragrance.
"We entered Ghost Street by pretending to be dead to deceive the ghost soldiers, hence this arrangement. Do you see those two sticks of incense in the middle? That's Soul Leaving Incense. Before those sticks burn out, we must return to this courtyard and lie in the coffins to safely return to the mortal world. If something goes wrong, we'd end up wandering Ghost Street as lonely spirits," Zhao Ge explained.
Although Li Yi did not understand fully, he grasped the gist and curiously asked, "Why would you enter such a perilous place as Ghost Street?"
"It was to purchase medicine," Zhao Qian replied, her eyes flickering as she sized up Li Yi.
Zhao Ge continued, "I was injured by a Yin God and my divine soul was damaged. I need Coffin Ganoderma as a medicine to heal, otherwise, I won't survive the season. This herb is only sold in Ghost Street, which is why my daughter and I risked coming here."
"I see," Li Yi suddenly understood.
However, Zhao Ge then added, "Observing the young man, I see disjointed steps and erratic breathing, which suggests you have not trained in martial arts, right?"
"Martial arts?" Li Yi immediately shook his head, "No, I have never practiced martial arts."
He was quick-witted and had adapted to their ways, even starting to imitate their style of speaking.
"That's curious; how could someone untrained have such a physique? When I pulled you earlier, your skin and muscles were tense, and you instinctively exerted strength, which was incredibly powerful," Zhao Ge remarked with a hint of surprise as he looked at Li Yi again.
"Perhaps I have innate divine strength," Li Yi replied, "My friends always praise me, saying, 'Li Yi's valor, unrivaled through the ages.'"
"Pfft~!"
Zhao Qian suddenly couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, "With that physique, I could knock you down with one hand, and you talk about innate divine strength? Stop boasting."
Li Yi also laughed.
"'Li Yi's valor, unrivaled through the ages'? Good writing, good review. Your friends must be extraordinary. However, I am intrigued and would like to gauge whether this young man truly lives up to such acclaim," Zhao Ge said, sensing something exceptional about Li Yi. He rolled up his sleeves and strode forward.
"Elder, what are you intending to do?" Li Yi felt inexplicably nervous under that 'adoring' gaze.
"Li Mengde, try to counterattack. I want to see your muscles and bones," Zhao Ge suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Yi's arm, his five fingers tightening like steel.
His fingers sank deep into the flesh and bone crevices, gripping his acupoints and tendons.
With such a grab, even the strongest young man would feel half of his body go numb and would cry out in pain and kneel.
"Then I must offend," Li Yi realized what the man intended—he wanted to test Li Yi's skills.
Though unsure of the reason, Li Yi didn't want to be underestimated. Despite feeling his arm numb and weak, it wasn't enough to prevent him from resisting.
With a powerful effort, he raised his arm high, lifting Zhao Ge's frail body along with it.
"Strength throughout the body? What a joke," Zhao Ge exclaimed in astonishment.
"Be careful." After lifting Zhao Ge, Li Yi forcefully smashed him towards the ground.
The body of a cultivator, transformed and evolved, was fiercely strong and quite unrestrictable.
But Zhao Ge agilely turned around, dodging Li Yi's heavy strike, then his rough palm went down his arm, accurately hitting his large acupoints, bone joints, and muscles at every touch.
"Aren't you going down yet?" he shouted, his voice booming like thunder.
"This little force, I can still withstand," Li Yi threw a punch at Zhao Ge with his other hand.
No technique, just pure speed and power.
Zhao Ge didn't dodge but caught the punch with one hand and then stamped a palm onto Li Yi's chest.
Li Yi only stepped back half a step, but quickly kicked out a foot.
"Hmm?" Zhao Ge grew even more suspicious. His palm should have been able to fracture Li Yi's ribs, yet it only made his body stagger?
What kind of physique was this, monstrous?
What's more incredible, he was still able to counterattack.
Although that kick was as unskilled as a child fighting, Zhao Ge still met leg with leg, taking it head-on.
"Bang!"
Zhao Ge felt some numbness in his right leg; now he started to believe Li Yi's claim—he really did have innate divine strength.
But his joy was growing, and then he reached out his hand again, this time with even more force.
Li Yi continued to counterattack, but every time Zhao Ge made a move, Li Yi felt a tingling sensation throughout his body and temporarily lost his strength; it was quite uncomfortable. Yet, as a Cultivator who has undergone Evolution, his body adapted and recovered quickly, and after a few seconds, he was throwing punches and kicks again.
One was holding back to probe, while the other was furiously counterattacking.
As time passed gradually, Zhao Qian, who was initially just watching the excitement, became surprised too. At first, she thought Li Yi was just a pretty face, tall and fair but useless, only good for bragging. However, watching her father probe and feel the muscles and bones, she realized that wasn't the case.
"My father is seriously using strength now. In the past, those young fellows who came to seek mentorship would have been lying down after one or two moves. Just what kind of bones does this Li Yi have, and what kind of muscles? Where does he get such endurance? Ghost Street really is a mysterious place; you encounter all sorts of unimaginable events here." Zhao Qian abandoned her casual spectating attitude and began to observe seriously.
Li Yi was spirited and young, inevitably feeling a bit stifled by the constant pressure. Despite Zhao Ge having saved him, he still wanted to give something back and not be looked down upon.
But no matter how he counterattacked, his moves were blocked.
His movements became increasingly faster, and his angles trickier; his body was rapidly mastering some fighting techniques.
Even so, Li Yi still couldn't gain the upper hand.
Every time he improved a bit, the old man would get stronger, always staying one step ahead.
What Li Yi didn't know was that Zhao Ge was not a simple martial artist; in his world, he had tempered his muscles, bones, and skin, condensed his Qi-blood, mastered Jin Qi in his acupoints, and could even spar with a Yin God.
"I can't just improve a little; that's useless. I need to use a special move."
His mind raced with thoughts.
But Li Yi hadn't learned any martial arts nor had any self-defense techniques; he merely followed the Cultivation practices of his own world, continuously evolving.
No.
He did have one move, and that was "Eye witness."
Now that he had activated his Spirit Medium, in theory, he should be able to use "Eye witness."
A phrase from Liu Yan suddenly came to his mind: "When the divine gathers in the eyes, the sight can kill."
At this moment.
Li Yi was inspired, and something instinctual was triggered; his gaze focused, his spirit concentrated.
"Dad, his eyes..." Suddenly, at that moment, Zhao Qian noticed, within the dim hall, Li Yi's eyes were unexpectedly shining.
It wasn't an illusion.
His eyes were truly glowing brightly, and at that moment, Zhao Qian sensed an unusual danger, so she instinctively voiced a warning.
But at that moment, Li Yi's gaze was already locked on Zhao Ge.
Eye witness!
However, the next moment, Zhao Ge swung a punch, the Qi-blood visible on it surging forth, and with a smash, it hit that glowing gaze.
Instantly, the abruptly ignited light was extinguished in a blink.
Li Yi's "Eye witness" was forcefully shattered.
Zhao Ge did not strike again but stepped back several paces and started laughing loudly, "Hahaha, excellent, excellent, excellent! Such Dragon Veins and Tiger Bones, such Innate Divine Strength, such innate divine abilities... I, Zhao Ge, have lived for half a lifetime, running a martial arts school and teaching countless students, yet I've never seen such a unique talent as you."
"Heaven has truly blessed you immensely, it's as if it crammed the best foundations of all the Martial Heroes in the world into you."
Laughing, laughing, tears started streaming from his old eyes again.
These were tears of excitement and joy.
"Has your dad gone mad?" Li Yi asked in confusion at this moment.
Zhao Qian gave him a look and said nothing.
She understood her father's emotions at that moment—he had found a once-in-a-lifetime gem, yet Li Yi, the blustering fool, seemed unaware of how special he was.
After laughing excitedly for a while, Zhao Ge calmed down, composed himself, and stood with his hands behind his back, trying to straighten his slightly hunched back as much as possible, then spoke seriously and earnestly, "Li Yi, Li Mengde, become my disciple. I take you as an in-house student, and if you follow me in martial arts for three years, I guarantee you will be unmatched in Xingzhou. In twenty years, no, just ten years, you will indeed dominate the world, perhaps even rule over the Eight Provinces, sit on the golden throne, and be worshipped by ghosts and gods."
"Become a master? Unmatched in Xingzhou? Where is Xingzhou? Dominate the world? What does this mean... Are my dying delusions getting more severe? Isn't this martial arts dream a bit too outrageous? I usually don't even like reading martial arts novels." Li Yi blinked, full of bewilderment.
He felt things were getting stranger.
Also, was he no longer on Earth? Could he even return?