Why do I have so many masters?

After Wang Anfeng delivered the cooked meat stew to his neighbor next door, he ended up bringing back some fruit.

There was still a small half left in the pot, and the small beast nestled at his feet, its voice pleasingly soft. Wang Anfeng couldn't help but laugh, fetching a slightly smaller coarse pottery bowl, and filled it with some meat chunks and carrot pieces, putting them down for the little beast.

The latter sniffed slightly, showed no hesitation towards the heat, and began eating heartily.

Wang Anfeng reached out to stroke the little beast's head, feeling its softness to the touch, and said with a smile:

"You've eaten so much, yet you haven't grown at all?"

"A whole month, and you're still this small."

"Could it be that your belly is a bottomless pit, and you need to eat as much as a cow to grow a bit bigger? My third master said you were already five or six months old at the start, and in our Great Liang Village, cats this big would already be yowling in spring."

"And yet, you are still just this tiny."

The little beast let out a few dissatisfied cries, then made a gurgling noise.

Wang Anfeng laughed, no longer teasing it, and stood up, letting out a breath.

Now in the room, the stove was burning quite warmly, and he was still holding a bronze hollowed-out warmer, emitting waves of warmth.

Even though the Shaolin Golden Bell Shield's meridian paths were aligned with Shaoyang and not pure yang, it is a rare form of Pure Yang Martial Arts in the Jianghu, remarkably extraordinary.

Yet he was somewhat afraid of the cold now.

As for this little beast, whether it was a cat, he himself did not know, but since this creature was entrusted to him by his third master, he dared not slight it in the least. Seeing the creature eating happily, he sat back at the table, serving himself a bowl, eating slowly.

It was a very simple meal, consisting of large pieces of meat, a kind of root vegetable unique to the Western Regions, and carrots or the like. Common ingredients, mainly requiring a fair amount of effort, simmered over a low flame for two whole hours, making the meat tender and soft.

The meat broth, the large chunks of beef mixed with potatoes soaked full of the soup, tasted hearty.

Wang Anfeng comfortably squinted his eyes.

This was the first meal devoid of medicinal taste in over a month.

The medicinal meals from his second master, though delicious, were a bit much to endure every day. Moreover, now that his injuries had stabilized, only his vital energy had not restored, and it wasn't necessary to take elixirs daily.

This last reckless endeavor, rampaging through a military formation, nearly shattered the Golden Bell Shield.

In retrospect, he found it rather poignant.

If it weren't for his second master, even if his martial arts hadn't entirely dissipated, he would've been stuck hard, maybe even regressed to the Sixth Rank Realm, much like Fei Poyue in Fufeng County, who, despite his unrivaled fist and spear techniques, had been trapped at the Sixth Rank all his life, unable to advance further.

However, thanks to his second master's unparalleled medical skills throughout history, coupled with the Golden Bell Shield's inherent characteristics of rebirth, he experienced a blessing in disguise this time.

As his master said, Shaolin Zen's Inner Strength emphasizes sudden enlightenment, enlightenment on the spot. This time, with his mind and spirit united, he was already hopeful of reaching the Fourth Rank.

But due to his unhealed injuries, fearing he couldn't mobilize his Qi Mechanism for several months, and further attempts to break through could only rely on his External Cultivation and pure Inner Strength, limiting his strength to the Seventh Rank Realm.

"Seventh Rank huh..."

Wang Anfeng stirred the stew, lost in thought.

His left hand's five fingers slightly spread, and he had gradually been able to feel as though the Qi Mechanism, like an invisible vast ocean filling the world, had vanished, unable to be invoked, while his own Qi Mechanism seemed trapped by heavy chains, heavy as mercury, unable to be moved.

This was due to his second master, Wu Changqing, worrying he'd unconsciously activate his Qi Mechanism, temporarily putting him in a state where perceiving his Qi Mechanism was nearly impossible, akin to having his acupuncture points sealed. For a Martial Artist stepping into the Middle Third Rank, breathing techniques had become routine, now somewhat uncomfortable to be without.

This was originally a miraculous medicine specifically aimed at Middle Third Rank martial artists, a trump card among trump cards, once notorious in the Jianghu, now conveniently assisting his cultivation; saving or killing is but a matter of thought.

Medicine King Valley.

Wang Anfeng mused, his left hand flat on the table, then laughed at himself.

Unable to invoke the Qi Mechanism wasn't a big deal, he wasn't the kind of martial maniac who couldn't do anything without martial arts.

It's just a pity pursuing the White Tiger Hall's matter had to be put on hold for a bit.

Otherwise, had his martial arts not been diminished, he could've wielded his sword directly, been more decisive, and acted boldly, which isn't possible now. As they say, the more skilled, the bolder; now he felt as if his hands and feet were bound, unable to freely use martial arts, naturally requiring cautious action.

Furthermore, Wang Anfeng had ample reason to suspect that if he dared act recklessly, his masters might even directly appear in front of him, grab him back, and confine him in the Shaolin Temple, forcing him to practice breathing techniques every day.

They would force him to wait until his injuries were healed, his inner cultivation further advanced, surging into the Fourth Rank mid-level before allowing him out. However, a breakthrough in martial arts wasn't a spontaneous affair, involving numerous meridian cultivations, from sensing breakthrough opportunities to fully stabilizing cultivation, taking several months.

By that time, whatever plans the White Tiger Hall had might already be close to completion, and if luck were better, the plan could even have failed already; if unlucky, it'd be an irrevocable troublesome affair.

Can't afford another head-chopping, king-assassinating play then.

So, at present, he could only find other ways to probe the opponent's plans.

Wang Anfeng let his thoughts drift, his right hand fingers dipping in some water, scribbling aimlessly on the table, drawing two lines splitting from a point, one left, one right.

To know the White Tiger Hall's strategies, there were now only two choices.

Or perhaps we should say two people.

Wang Anfeng recalled those two people in his mind, one was a charming young woman with a beauty mark at the corner of her mouth, and the other was a tall, sturdy, white-haired elder with pale gray pupils, exuding authority and coldness.

Hu Xuan'er, Lü Taian.

The former was covered in poison and was highly likely a secret agent of White Tiger Hall, while the latter was the Great Elder of Myriad Beast Valley, the largest sect in the Parthian Empire, and senior brother to Lv Guanhong.

Now, he knew that in relation to White Tiger Hall, there were only these two people. If he wanted to stop White Tiger Hall's plans before they succeeded, he could only start with them.

Wang Anfeng slightly furrowed his brows, wrote the character 'Purple' on the left side and the character 'Beast' on the right side.

He had previously exchanged blows with both of them.

When he was escorting Lv Guanhong to the Balman Royal City, these two came to test him at night. They had a brief confrontation, and though the event hadn't happened long ago, his memories were still quite clear.

The martial arts of the woman in purple were around the Fifth Rank, but from that night's confrontation, Wang Anfeng vaguely sensed that although her internal strength was at the Fifth Rank, her martial arts path seemed completely different from his own.

The Shaolin Golden Bell Shield cultivates both internally and externally, with a solid foundation in external cultivation, and a steady buildup of inner strength. Although this path of cultivation is initially slow—it may take years of cultivation to surpass others in a mere one or two years—the resultant inner strength is immense, steady, and rock solid, and the practitioner is unlikely to deviate.

But the woman in purple was different. Her inner strength was frail, and her Qi mechanism was also thin. Ignoring her poison skills, purely comparing Qi mechanisms and inner strength, even at the Sixth Rank Realm, he could hold his own.

The opponent seemed aware of this and opted for a sneak attack from behind, relying on her poison skills.

However, although Wang Anfeng couldn't actively use his Qi mechanism now, his Mixed Yuan Body didn't require deliberate activation. Over years of medicinal baths while cultivating in the Shaolin Temple, he had reached a state of free flow, mindless and thoughtless.

But, since the other person had once exchanged blows with him, if things came to a point where they had to engage closely, they could easily deduce his identity.

Moreover, according to what he heard from the Ancient Taoist senior, the opponent also had a Master.

Even though they followed a non-conventional path, they had reached the Fourth Rank in martial arts cultivation. Their inner strength was robust and comparable to the Fifth Rank of the Mysterious Sect orthodox, and their poison skills presumably had further improved.

Ordinary martial artists who reach the Fourth Rank, but cannot break through the Heavenly Gate, often focus hard on what they excel at.

Some concentrate on swordsmanship and Sword Intent, others cultivate internal strength. Although Wang Anfeng was not familiar with this master-disciple pair, he knew that given their martial arts paths, they would inevitably dedicate substantial effort to the word "poison" when facing the barrier of the Heavenly Gate.

Their poison skills now were likely worlds apart from those of the woman in purple he encountered that night. When she consolidated her strength into one palm, and Wang Anfeng's Mixed Yuan Body barely managed to hold, he was left dizzy and dazed for a long while.

Her Master's palm, with such poisonous power, even if he had the protection of the Mixed Yuan Body from Medicine King Valley, would probably hit him. Although he wouldn't perish, he'd be unable to retaliate for a time.

Wang Anfeng frowned, pondered for a while, then turned his attention back to the character 'Beast'.

Myriad Beast Valley.

The largest sect in the Parthian Empire, but unfortunately, the sect's mainstay, Great Elder Lü Taian, was a secret agent whom White Tiger Hall had painstakingly placed in their ranks, and even after over sixty years, he showed no intentions of betraying White Tiger Hall.

His martial arts had reached the Fourth Rank.

Wang Anfeng was confident enough to assume that he had means similar to a Divine Weapon which could temporarily reach the Third Rank realm, but even such devices in Great Qin formed the foundation of a sect, and even a Great Elder wouldn't use them lightly.

Also, since he was an agent for White Tiger Hall, he shouldn't be considered merely a normal martial artist of Myriad Beast Valley. Beyond the exotic beasts he had spent decades raising and that could nearly communicate with him telepathically, Lü Taian surely knew at least one top-tier martial art unique to White Tiger Hall.

Perhaps even an entire set.

On the night of testing, there were other sects present, so Lü Taian refrained from using martial arts other than those of Myriad Beast Valley. But if they truly tore faces, his strength would probably surge severalfold compared to that night.

Upon thinking this way, Wang Anfeng suddenly felt a headache. The situations surrounding these two were far more complex than he had anticipated. Had he not gotten close to them during the battle array and taken the chance to place substances detectable only by Medicine King Valley disciples on them, things would be even more troublesome now.

Wang Anfeng looked left and right, tapped his brow with his right hand, and finally sighed, casually wiping away the writing on one side, stood up, and murmured:

"Forget it, better start with this person."

At that moment, noises arose from the courtyard outside, and Wang Anfeng smelled an intense, bloody scent at the tip of his nose, along with the clear and killing sounds of weapons clashing.

The small beast, preoccupied with eating meat under the hall, lifted its head.

Its slit eyes slightly glowed red.

Wang Anfeng rose, nudging the small beast with his toe, making it roll on the ground and exposing its snow-white belly, chuckling:

"Keep eating."

The small beast made a few dissatisfied growls.

Wang Anfeng already tidied up his clothes, still holding a bronze beast-headed brazier, slowly pacing over.

On the table in the room, the word 'Beast' had been erased, leaving only 'Purple'.

PS: The first update for today...

Three thousand four hundred words, hoping to gradually adjust the update schedule ah_(:з」∠)_