Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 8: The Proper Use of Fated Immortal Couple

[You have gained the favor of a noble lady from a great sect and completed the "Encounter" storyline.]

[Mission "Encounter" completed. Reward calculation in progress...]

[Mission rating: D.]

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[You have gained 10 Achievement Points!]

[Name: Li Rui]

[Age: 0]

[Talent: Martial Bones]

[Achievements: 60/100]

This works too?!

Li Rui was dumbfounded. He was merely standing in the stable, yet somehow, he inexplicably gained favor and earned "10" Achievement Points.

It was like wealth falling from the sky while he sat idly at home.

He had effortlessly gained "10" Achievement Points.

The "noble lady from a great sect" likely referred to the young girl who had accompanied Zhu family's eldest son earlier.

Yet he had no idea what he had done to earn her favor.

But a free reward was something he certainly wouldn’t reject.

Fated Immortal Couple

The corner of Li Rui's mouth twitched.

He was old enough to be that girl’s grandfather; their seniority gap was simply too vast.

Although people say that "men remain young at heart until death," his preference leaned toward mature women with long legs. While that girl had a delicate face, her legs weren’t long enough—nor slim enough.

She simply didn’t pique his interest.

In the next second, as if a thought suddenly struck him, his eyes lit up.

"Perhaps the 'Fated Immortal Couple' achievement doesn't actually require forming a real partnership. It might not even require genuine affection—maybe it doesn’t even have to be the same person!"

"As long as I gain goodwill, I can increase my Achievement Points. The only requirement might just be that the person must have a high enough status."

Goodwill had a broad definition.

It wasn’t limited to romantic affection, respect also counted as a form of goodwill.

At this moment, that Splendid Purity Sect girl appeared in Li Rui’s eyes as nothing more than a walking reservoir of Achievement Points!

However, he had no intention of proactively currying favor with her.

Being overly servile wouldn’t earn respect, it would only invite disdain.

Only true strength could command respect.

There were at least ten sects as powerful as Splendid Purity Sect in all of Yunzhou.

And the number of noble ladies from these sects easily exceeded a hundred.

Now that he possessed the Martial Bones talent, his strength would advance rapidly with each passing day. When he became powerful enough in the future, those noble ladies would naturally flock to him.

Why cling to just one girl from Splendid Purity Sect?

"Take it slow."

Li Rui had long passed the age of being hot-headed and naive. Staying steady and patient was the most practical approach.

Days passed one after another.

For some reason, Zhu family's eldest son was staying longer than usual this time. He frequently took the three disciples from Splendid Purity Sect in and out of the estate.

Over time, the servants of the Zhu Manor became well aware of their presence.

Since the Zhu household servants had little entertainment, they enjoyed gossiping about any news that came their way.

Three years ago, when the Zhu family’s master took in a concubine who was barely sixteen, the servants talked about it endlessly. Naturally, a visit from Splendid Purity Sect was an even bigger topic.

At the Zhu family's training ground, a group of household guards gathered in small clusters, chatting among themselves.

Li Rui was among them.

As expected, the conversation soon turned to the young master of the Zhu family and his sect brothers.

A younger guard raised the topic:

"What do you guys think? What cultivation level do the young master and his fellow sect members have?"

Yang Yong stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"The young master had already entered the grades a few years ago, but we haven’t heard news of him breaking through again. I’d say they're probably at Ninth Grade."

Hearing Yang Yong’s analysis, the other guards nodded in agreement.

Another guard chimed in:

"But… do you think there's a chance they could be Eight Grade?"

As soon as the words "Eight Grade" were spoken, the others grimaced.

That’s a bold claim...

In the city, even the masters of various martial academies were only at the Eight Grade. The three disciples from Splendid Purity Sect were about the same age as the eldest young master of the Zhu family, none of them likely over twenty.

An Eight Grade martial artist under the age of twenty?

Ridiculous.

They didn’t even dare imagine such a thing.

Just thinking about how they had spent their entire lives practicing martial arts, only to never even reach the threshold of becoming a martial master, while these youngsters might already be Eight Grade, it made them feel that the gap between people was even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

Li Rui, standing nearby, merely nodded along in agreement from time to time.

A memory resurfaced in his mind, the words spoken by a Martial Master forty years ago:

"First, you temper the skin, then the bones, and finally the tendons. Small training, medium training, and great training, only then can one truly step onto the path of martial arts."

Back when he was still Little Li and not Old Li, he had once fantasized about being a martial arts prodigy. He had saved up for years before happily enrolling in a martial academy.

Reality, however, had slapped him hard in the face.

Not only did he fail to achieve anything in martial arts, but he also got scammed out of five taels of silver by the academy, an amount that had pained him for a long time.

Still, it wasn’t a complete loss. At least he had learned about the realm classifications of this world’s cultivation system.

"When heaven and earth were first divided, the Human Sovereign established the Nine Grades. The world's experts are categorized into these nine grades, with each grade divided into Small Training, Medium Training, and Great Training."

"The first three grades are Stone Skin, Bronze Bones, and Willow Tendons—collectively known as the Three Stages of Mortal Shedding."

"Those who reach Willow Tendons have bones as strong as iron and immense strength. A single punch just grazing someone could injure them, a direct hit would be death."

Beyond that lay the Innate Realm, but that was far beyond Li Rui’s reach. In Qinghe County, there wasn’t a single expert beyond the Willow Tendons Stage. Perhaps only in Anning Prefecture could such people be found.

Stepping into the Stone Skin Stage was the threshold of entry into the martial world.

Once someone entered this stage, they could rightfully be called a Martial Master.

With this title, they could secure a position as an instructor in a martial academy within the city, earning respect from others.

In the Zhu family, those who had not yet reached the threshold were merely called guards, while those who had entered the ranks would be officially recognized as household Martial Masters, gaining freedom from their servant status.

But training in martial arts was unbelievably difficult.

In all his years in the Zhu family, Li Rui had never seen a single guard successfully break through and gain their freedom. He hadn’t even heard of such a case in all of Qinghe County.

Time flowed on.

A heavy snowstorm raged for three days and three nights, blanketing the world in white.

Inside his room-

Huff… huff… huff…

Li Rui practiced his punches, his upper body bare. His robust vitality surged through his veins, keeping him completely unfazed by the bitter cold of midwinter.

His arms moved like windmills, slicing through the air with an audible whoosh, a clear sign of his growing power.

Fist Wind!

In his past life, some short video clips had featured so-called "masters" claiming to generate wind with their punches. But those were merely tricks, just sleeves flapping in the air.

What Li Rui was doing now was completely different.

He had secretly tested himself, he could lift a 400-catty stone block with ease.

Unbelievable strength.

To think that he had reached this level simply by practicing the Eight Pieces of Brocade!

This level of mastery was incredibly rare in all of Qinghe County.

There are no trash techniques, only trash people.

Now, with just his Eight Pieces of Brocade, he could kill a man with his bare hands.

And it was all thanks to his Martial Bones talent.

Ever since he awakened his Martial Bones, his progress in training had been like a galloping horse—covering the distance in a day that others needed years for. What took others years to achieve, he accomplished in just a month.

Each day, he could tangibly feel himself growing stronger.

Suddenly!

A surge of boiling heat erupted in his body. His heart pounded like a war drum, the rhythm loud and powerful, he could even hear the thudding pulse inside his chest.

He clenched his fists.

Li Rui stared at his own hands in disbelief.

In an instant, his strength had doubled!

Not only that, but a thin, crystalline layer of skin had appeared on his hands—flexible, yet incredibly resilient.

His pupils widened, then filled with ecstatic joy.

In his mind, he recalled the words of a martial instructor from years ago:

"When qi surges through the heavens, when skin glows like jade—this marks the entry into the Stone Skin Stage!"

He had broken through!