"The Tianhai Martial Alliance's main role is to manage the affairs of major families like ours. These families control most of the martial artist resources, which can easily lead to trouble. To prevent any negative repercussions, the Martial Federation often steps in to mediate their disputes."

Wong Qifu smiled. "Of course, it's normal that you haven't heard this name in the news. The Martial Alliance also has a more common name, the Martial Artists' Union. That's why we usually just call it the Martial Federation."

"I see," Xu Ke said with a nod. He did have a vague memory of hearing about the Martial Federation.

Wong Qifu continued, "As long as Grandpa Chen remains the president of the Martial Federation, the Chen Family will not lose its position among the six major families."

"Of course, this is also because Grandpa Chen is indifferent to fame and fortune. The Chen Family doesn't actively compete for territory, so the other families don't target them."

It all clicked for Xu Ke.

"Do you plan to keep Huang Qi here?" Wong Qifu asked.

Xu Ke glanced at Huang Qi, who was beginning to stir. "Let's leave him here. Just make sure he's well-guarded. We've been here for so long tonight without being found, so it shouldn't be a problem."

He was confident that no one had searched this place tonight, nor was anyone secretly observing from nearby. During that one year with his master, he had detected the man's hidden aura several times. Although he never managed to escape his master's grasp in the end, it was a testament to his keen perception. This was also how he had pinpointed Lin Qinghua's exact location. If even his master and Lin Qinghua couldn't evade his notice, others stood no chance.

"Okay." Wong Qifu nodded, looking at Xu Ke. "It's almost one o'clock. Are you going home or sleeping with me?"

Xu Ke was stunned by the abrupt change of subject. That came out of nowhere.

He hurriedly refused, "No, no, I'll go home."

"We'll be sleeping together sooner or later."

Wong Qifu's expression was calm, but her words were nothing short of shocking.

Xu Ke instinctively let his gaze drift over her delicate figure for a moment before looking away. "I'd better go back."

"As you wish." A faint smile touched Wong Qifu's lips as she turned toward the door. "We'll see what the Huang Family plans to do tomorrow."

"Okay," Xu Ke agreed.

As Wong Qifu reached the doorway, she paused. Without turning back, she said, "You should really reconsider the life-and-death battle."

Xu Ke smiled. "I can kill her."

No more words were needed.

Hearing this, Wong Qifu offered no further protest and walked out.

「Urban Village.」

After Wong Qifu left the villa, Wang Wu drove Xu Ke back to the urban village.

"Thank you for your hard work, Uncle Wu," Xu Ke said as he got out of the car.

"You're welcome." Wang Wu smiled and handed him a card. "Mister Xu, this is the highest-access black card from the Wang Family Corporation. From now on, you can just use this card whenever you come to our headquarters."

It was a gold and black card. It bore no superfluous markings, only a single character for "Two."

Anyone who knew what this black card represented would have been scared out of their wits by this scene.

Xu Ke took it without refusing. "Alright."

Now that his identity had been revealed to both the Huang and Wang Families, it was only a matter of time before he let the entire world know that he was Wong Qifu's man. This card was the beginning.

Back in his room, the clock on the wall pointed to two o'clock. The computer screen still displayed the job recruitment website he had left open that morning.

Xu Ke looked at the now-bare setting on his ring where the gem had shattered and sighed.

It had only been three hours. His life had been turned upside down.

Clutching the Black Card, Xu Ke hesitated before tucking it behind his phone case. He imagined pulling this card out from behind his phone case at the Wang Family Corporation. The image was rather comical. A bit too down-to-earth. But there was nothing to be done. He was just a pauper right now, without even a decent wallet to his name.

After a quick bite to eat, Xu Ke didn't rest. Instead, he sat cross-legged on his bed and began to recall the cultivation technique his master had taught him.

The realms of the Martial Path were divided into the Postnatal Realm and the Innate Realm. Each of these was further divided into four stages: Initial, Middle, Late, and Great Perfection. As for any higher realms, his master had never mentioned them, and Xu Ke had yet to encounter them.

The Postnatal Initial Stage was the beginner's level, while the Innate Great Perfection was the highest level within these two realms.

The Postnatal Realm was a process of tempering the body and accumulating True Qi. It primarily emphasized internal cultivation. When a Martial Artist reached the Innate Realm, their True Qi would become much denser, granting them far more stamina in battle than Postnatal martial artists. The higher quality of their True Qi also made their attacks more lethal.

Another important characteristic of Innate Martial Artists was their progression from internal to external power. For instance, there was Protective True Qi. If someone like Song Zhong cultivated this technique and combined it with his brute-force training, his defense could become monstrously strong.

Then there was Vitality Essence Release. At its greatest range, Vitality Essence Release could injure someone from afar. However, this consumed a tremendous amount of True Qi and was not used lightly. Most Martial Artists used Vitality Essence Release for close-quarters techniques, such as finger strikes, punches, and palm strikes. By channeling their physical strength and coating their attacks with attached True Qi, they could multiply their lethality without the massive energy drain of a ranged attack.

Wang Wu's ability to effortlessly shatter Song Zhong's defense and force Ouyang Shuang into a constant retreat was thanks to Vitality Essence Release.

These abilities were the hallmark of an Innate Maestro.

In reality, for Xu Ke to kill Ouyang Shuang was an incredibly challenging task. Based on his assessment, her strength was likely at the Innate Initial Stage. For someone with his own cultivation at the Postnatal Middle Stage to challenge Ouyang Shuang—who possessed Protective True Qi—to a life-and-death battle was tantamount to suicide.

If he were the same Xu Ke from before the Oath of the Medical Path's backlash, killing Ouyang Shuang would have been as easy as flipping his hand. But he couldn't do that now.

He needed to improve his cultivation!

Yet, despite his cultivation being a massive disadvantage, Xu Ke was still full of confidence because his former power had gifted him formidable insight and experience. That was the real reason he dared to challenge Ouyang Shuang to a duel to the death.

Beyond his insight, there was another reason he sought this fight.

He needed pressure. Immense pressure.

Besides the slow accumulation over time, the easiest way for a Martial Artist to achieve a breakthrough was in a moment of life and death. Xu Ke knew that to restore his cultivation to its previous peak of the Innate Great Perfection would take at least a year of accumulation.

But for him, that was far too slow.

If other Martial Artists knew that Xu Ke considered one year to be too slow for an achievement that took them decades, they would probably want to kill him on the spot.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.