The Hardworking 2

Li Qiang's parents had originally wanted Li Qiang to continue the family business and become a treasurer for the Rice mill. However, seeing Li Qiang's ardent devotion towards the martial way, they instead chose to take out all their savings for Li Qiang to purchase healing herbs.

Since then, Li Qiang's family savings had decreased bit by bit. But Li Qiang on the other hand had remained at the initial stage of Physical Training also know as Tempering body.

The Tempering body Stage is the first realm for those who pursue the martial way. It involves the primal tempering of their bodies and is separated into six stages. The first stage is Strength Training, second is Flesh Training, third is Vital Training, fourth is Muscle building , fifth is Bone Forging and sixth is Energy gathering. After that, one would be able to step into the qi condensing Stage.

After applying the Anethum Grass juice onto his wounds, Li Qiang rested for half a long hour (1 hour) to allow his wounds to absorb the medicinal properties of the herb. He then straightened himself and was about to continue training his blade skill when a fat youngster walked into view. This fat youngster was carrying a long sword with him. Seeing Li Qiang, he grinned and spoke. "Brother Li, today is the registration day for the entrance assessment of the Coiling dragon sect. Could it be that you have forgotten about it? Why are you still practicing your blade skills here?"

This youngster's name is Li dong, he is slightly younger than Li Qiang. Growing up together, the two of them have a very strong bond of brotherhood.

Li dong is a direct descendant of the Li Family. However, even for direct descendants, there exists a form of ranking. As it happens, Li dong is part of the lowest ranked ones. As for Li dong's parents, they too were engaged in business and have a close relationship with Lin Qiang's parents.

After seeing Li dong, Lin Qiang turned his attention back to the tree trunk and said. "The beginning part of the registration will have too many people. The queue would take up to one or two long hours. Going there now would be a waste of time."

"Damn it, you won't even let go of this small amount of time. Do you really have to go that far?" Li dong spoke out in exaggeration and walked up to the tree trunk. Observing the indentations caused by the plam and the traces of blood, he turned to see Li Qiang's bandaged plam. He then let out a sigh of disappointment. "You really are crazy, to be able to damage black Wood to such an extent. However, with your current training methods, Anethum Grass alone won't be enough. If you keep this up, your hands would become crippled!"

Li Qiang did not say anything. The martial way is a constant struggle against Heaven. Considering his black Grade intermediate Martial Talent, attaining the Fifth Stage of qi Condensation was incredibly hard. If he does not give it his all while he was still young, then he would have no hope at achieving his goal. Once he had given his all, there would certainly be the possibility of him becoming a cripple due to the accumulation of internal injuries. However, there was also the possibility of him attaining success before that happens. And once he could successfully enter the qi Condensation Stage, he could attain Mortal flesh of the body and the internal injuries would vanish.

For Li Qiang, this was a battle with his back against the raging river. This was also a gamble with his life on the line.

Li dong gave a sigh and pulled out a bundle from his bosom. He unfurled the bundle layer by layer and said. "Brother Qiang, take this."

Li Qiang turned around and was shocked to find a red coloured ginseng lying upon the cloth bundle. Judging from its appearance, this strain of blood ginseng is at least a hundred years old. It is a high-grade medicine used for mending wounds and nourishing blood. A thin slice is enough for each use. In addition, the powerful healing properties of this blood ginseng are very gentle. This blood ginseng should be worth at least a hundred and fifty gold liangs, the equivalent of Li Qiang's family's annual income.

Li Qiang's body paused, and he shook his head. "I cannot accept this Blood Ginseng."

Even though they are close brothers, this Blood Ginseng is simply too expensive. Li dong's position within the Li Family is very low. Even though his family situation is much better when compared to Li Qiang's it would still be far from comfortable if their income were used to supplement Li dong's martial training.

Li dong forcibly pushed the Blood Ginseng onto Li Qiang and said. "I bought this Blood Ginseng for you. You know how I train, I fish every three days and dry the fishing nets every two days. My body's injuries are no more than a fart's worth. Using this would be a waste. If you refuse then I would have bought this for nothing. I do not have much ambitions in life. I just want to continue holding on to my position as a direct descendant of the Li Family. As long as I do not end up losing this position and my next generation could also successfully maintain their place in the Li Family, that is enough for me."

Li Qiang stayed silent for a moment before keeping the Blood Ginseng. He then spoke out. "Very well, I will accept this Blood Ginseng. For the sake of this ginseng, I must break through to the qi Condensation Stage."

"Haha, now that is more like it. Not only should you break through into the Pulse Condensation Stage, you must also turn that son of a bitch, Mo fan upside down. That bastard has been an eyesore for a long time!"

Mo fan huh… Li Qiang sighed lightly. Mo fan had already been admitted into the Coiling dragon sect. In addition, Mo fan is currently one of the high ranked disciples within the inner courtyard, his strength having reached the pinnacle of the Third Stage of Physical Training. Even so, Li Qiang had set defeating Mo fan as his objective. This decision was not due to Lin ruxi but rather due to his pursuit of the martial way. This path required him breaking through one threshold after another; conquering one mountain after another. As for Mo fan, he has the honourable spot of being the number one to be conquered.

At the foot of the Great Mountain feng lied a stretch of buildings extending up to twenty li (10km) in length. This is the area of operations for the Coiling dragon sect and the xuanwu sect and today is the day of registration for those who wishes to take the Coiling dragon sect's entrance assessment. A crowd was gathered on the field before the Coiling dragon sect.

Even though Li Qiang and Li dong had deliberately chosen to arrive late, they came to realize that they had underestimated the number of applicants. The applicants were all lined up in three lines, with each line extending up to several meters in length. Judging by the current queue, half a long hour (1 hour) would be needed before registration could be completed.

"We will have to wait," Li dong gave a sigh and stood helplessly in line.

"En," Li Qiang nodded his head.

"Hey, there are very few people there," Li dong pointed towards a small gate nearby. There were only a few people there. Furthermore, the ground was also paved with red carpet.

"That place is reserved for nobles…" Li Qiang noticed the writings on the sign.

Since the Coiling dragon sect was built upon the grounds, buildings and resources of Ashar Kingdom, it was only natural for them to give some face to the elite classes of the kingdom. In fact, many of the martial sect's affairs would be handed over to the elites to manage. One such example would be today's registration for entrance assessment.

"Damn it," Li dong muttered in discontent. Nobility was something that only the Imperial Family could grant and could be inherited. Even though the Li Family is a wealthy family, it is not a noble family.

Li dong was cursing off at the nobles while consoling himself when the doors of the gate opened. Two young males strode out from the gate; one of them was wearing grey clothes with a long sword attached to his waist. His hair was tied up into a gold coloured headgear and had a handsome appearance.

Seeing the appearance of this man caused Li Qiang to frown. This was none other than Mo fan.

The Mo Family's daughter had married into the Imperial Family and had become the Eldest Prince's favoured concubine. With the Eldest Prince's position in the royal family, the Mo Family soared to become the number one family within Mapple leaf City. Moreover, they were also granted the rank of nobility, thus allowing Mo fan to ensure Lin ruxi's admittance into the Coiling dragon sect.

"Damn, we end up meeting a detestable person," Li dong muttered unhappily.

Mo fan was walking side by side with the other young man. A few other nobles waiting outside then chose to follow the two of them. It would appear that Mo fan was bringing the other young man to register. The two of them continued walking forward. At this rate, it was inevitable that Li Qiang and Mo fan bump into one another.

With his current position and strength, it was possible that he would end up suffering badly if they were to bump into one another. But, Li Qiang chose not to run and instead looked forward in a calm manner as Mo fan approached.