Starting with Proficiency Panel-Chapter 608: Change after 20 minutes,

Duan Nantian, while walking, glanced at Xiao Qiang behind him and thought to himself, "This kid has a good temperament. I came out today on a whim and didn't expect to encounter this situation. When we go back and apply some medicine, I'll check if his bones are suited for our sect's martial arts. After all, the sect must continue!"

Meanwhile, Xiao Qiang looked at Duan Nantian in front of him and thought, "Martial arts? Could it be training just to scam people? Even if it's useful, I wouldn't use it until I'm seventy or eighty years old!"

Both engrossed in their thoughts, they walked a short distance when Duan Nantian stopped in front of a brown door with an ancient charm (referencing a Republic-era martial arts gym) and said, "Little Qiang, come on in!"

Xiao Qiang was looking at the entrance with amazement, thinking to himself, "Wow, I rarely came here before. I didn't notice this place had such a courtyard." Above the gate, a plaque in traditional Chinese characters said "Martial Arts Gym." As he was looking, he heard Duan Nantian's words and couldn't help but retort, "Uncle Duan, my name is Xiao Qiang, not Little Qiang. Is this martial arts gym yours?" "Xiao Qiang" and "Little Qiang" sound the same, so he had been called Little Qiang all the way from primary school to university.

As Duan Nantian opened the door, he said, "What's the big deal, Little Qiang, Little Qiang, the indestructible Little Qiang, the unkillable cockroach. It shows you're well suited for our sect's martial arts!"

Duan Nantian opened the door and entered, with Xiao Qiang following closely. Inside the martial arts gym was a large courtyard. It was so big that calling it a small playground wouldn't be an exaggeration, with various martial arts apparatus arranged inside.

Xiao Qiang looked around in awe and said, "Wow, Uncle, you've got some neat stuff here!"

Duan Nantian grumpily replied, "What do you mean neat stuff? These are just set up to furnish the environment." Then, with a sly expression, Duan Nantian said, "Little Qiang, the truth is, I've been secretly following you for a week now."

Upon hearing Duan Nantian's words, Xiao Qiang immediately felt a chill and quickly took a few steps back, saying cautiously, "Uncle, why are you following me? I'm quite normal, I like women. Even if I liked men, I wouldn't choose an old man with a face full of wrinkles like you. You should just give up!"

Duan Nantian said, annoyed, "What are you thinking? I'm assessing if you meet the true intent of our sect." Duan Nantian paused, then continued before Xiao Qiang could speak, "Our sect has been passed down from the Hundred Schools of Thought in the Qin Dynasty to the present. Although it's not a major sect, the fact that it has survived till now speaks of its own way of survival."

Then, Duan Nantian looked at Xiao Qiang with a serious face and said, "Xiao Qiang, are you willing to join our sect and become the thirteenth generation heir?"

After hearing Duan Nantian's words, Xiao Qiang couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Old man, it's the twenty-first century now. No matter how high your martial arts are, they can't beat guns and cannons. Let's just forget it!" Xiao Qiang said this after seeing the full courtyard with weapon racks and various martial arts training equipment like stone locks. After all, what if he's really one of those legendary masters?

Upon hearing this, Duan Nantian snorted coldly, "Kid, a true martial arts master can catch bullets with bare hands and withstand missile blasts!" Saying this, he lightly tapped his right foot on the nearby flagstone. A crisp cracking sound followed, and the flagstone shattered into pieces!

Xiao Qiang was dumbfounded, staring at the flagstone, stuttering, "I... wow... Old man, you're that powerful?" Saying this, he bent down and touched the flagstone—it's real!

After a while, Xiao Qiang came to his senses, looked at Duan Nantian with stars in his eyes, and leapt forward, hugging Duan Nantian's leg while wailing, "Uncle, please take me as your disciple!"

Duan Nantian, looking disgusted, pushed Xiao Qiang away, "Get away from me!" Then, after coughing twice, he said, "Alright, seeing that you're sincerely begging me, I will graciously accept you."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qiang said excitedly, "Wow, old man, no, Master, you're so great."

After Duan Nantian brought Xiao Qiang inside, Xiao Qiang immediately saw a wooden plaque with the words "Body Sect" written in traditional Chinese. Duan Nantian silently looked at the plaque, and after a long silence, he sighed slightly, "Kid, our Body Sect has been passed down from ancient times to now, having gone through countless hardships. In today's society, martial arts have declined; do you know why?"

Before Xiao Qiang could answer, Duan Nantian continued, "Is it because of modern guns and cannons? No, it's because there is no longer a martial artist's heart. People today are too restless and unwilling to study the things passed down by their ancestors. Another reason is that there was once a saying about Primordial Qi on Earth, but during the Ming Dynasty, Liu Bowen severed the source of the Earth's dragon vein, separating heaven and earth ever since, making Celestial Being forever unreachable."

Listening to this, Xiao Qiang felt refreshed: "Then why choose me? If there's a legend about Liu Bowen severing the dragon vein, is immortality really true?"

Duan Nantian, annoyed, said, "You think ancient stories are false?" Pausing for a moment, he continued, "During the Pre-Qin period, the Hundred Schools of Thought vied for the opportunity to attain the Tao, causing significant losses to Huaxia's families, and yet to recover to this day. And until now, the opportunity to attain the Tao has not manifested. Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi dissipated, so how could one achieve transcendence?" At this point, Duan Nantian looked desolate, "We have a Dragon Slaying Skill but no dragons to slay."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Qiang's initial excitement vanished, and he said with a dejected face, "Ah, if I can't achieve immortality, what's the point of practicing martial arts?" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Duan Nantian glared and said, "Practicing martial arts can still allow you to live a few hundred more years, don't you want to live longer?"

Hearing this, Xiao Qiang couldn't help nodding, "That's true, who wouldn't want to live a few more years."

Duan Nantian said this with a straight face, but poor Xiao Qiang still didn't know that to live a few hundred more years required reaching the peak of Martial Path, only then would it be possible to extend one's lifespan. Otherwise, no matter how well one trained, at most, they would live a few decades longer.

Then, Duan Nantian said to Xiao Qiang with satisfaction, "Alright, that's it for today. Tomorrow morning at 5 o'clock, come over, and I will teach you our sect's martial arts."

,

After leaving the courtyard, Xiao Qiang was still in a daze. Whoever encounters such events wouldn't believe in meeting a legendary martial arts master, and this martial arts master even says to you, "Kid, I see your bones are unusual, and there's a spiritual light bursting forth from your Celestial Spirit. In time, you will achieve greatness."

Speaking of which, I must introduce Xiao Qiang himself. Xiao Qiang's parents were ruined due to being framed by the father's own brother, unable to bear the blow, they committed suicide by taking drugs, leaving behind only ten-year-old Xiao Qiang. Fortunately, Xiao Qiang was helped through the hardest times by his neighbor Old Wang. However, because Xiao Qiang witnessed his parents being carried out from the room with his own eyes, lying there motionless, even a child as young as Xiao Qiang knew his parents had left him forever.