Chapter 157 - 151: Creating a Grandmaster with Ease

Chapter 157: Chapter 151: Creating a Grandmaster with Ease

Liu Hongshang was far too fragile. In Jiang Zuo’s hands, she was practically made of glass.

Aside from making her stronger, Jiang Zuo also wanted her to practice martial arts so she would have some way to protect herself after he left.

Besides, over more than a decade of studying medicine, Jiang Zuo had developed some new ideas about martial arts. This was a perfect opportunity for Liu Hongshang to test them.

The Cultivation Techniques Jiang Zuo possessed were all exceptional, but the most suitable one for Liu Hongshang was the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill.

Unlike the other techniques, one’s body wouldn’t change drastically after mastering the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill, making it the most suitable for a beautiful woman.

Jiang Zuo had no desire to see Liu Hongshang train herself into an Amazon Warrior.

Among the several Cultivation Techniques Jiang Zuo had learned, the Golden Qi Jade Body Skill was supposed to be the most difficult.

But with Jiang Zuo’s help, that was a different story.

Jiang Zuo planned to combine his medical knowledge with the Dual Cultivation Technique he had used in the past, transferring the Gold Qi and Jade Qi from his own body to Liu Hongshang for her to cultivate.

If this succeeded, Liu Hongshang could skip the step of absorbing Gold Qi and Jade Qi. Furthermore, the Gold Qi and Jade Qi transferred from Jiang Zuo would be of the highest quality and utmost purity.

Liu Hongshang’s Cultivation progress would be incredibly fast.

After having Liu Hongshang try it for a bit, Jiang Zuo confirmed his method was viable!

When Liu Hongshang first learned how they would be cultivating, she couldn’t help but blush. Feeling shy, she suspected Jiang Zuo was just using Cultivation as an excuse to be indecent.

But when she followed Jiang Zuo’s instructions and successfully completed Skin Refining in just six months, Liu Hongshang was utterly shocked.

She had a bit of a foundation in martial arts, which was precisely why she understood just how heaven-defying Jiang Zuo’s methods were.

"Don’t tell anyone about me teaching you martial arts. While I am still in the Imperial Palace, you cannot show your martial abilities to outsiders!"

Jiang Zuo solemnly warned Liu Hongshang.

Based on his covert surveillance of the Worldwide Bank, it seemed the Divine Wood Sect had likely learned of Wu Zhonghai’s death and given up their search for him in the Mortal Territory.

But just in case, the secret couldn’t get out.

"I understand, Imperial Physician Zhou!"

A chill went down Liu Hongshang’s spine, and she quickly gave her assurance.

She knew she had probably encountered an unprecedented great opportunity; if she missed it, she would surely regret it for the rest of her life.

She had originally felt a bit of regret about not being able to stay by Huangfu Xi’s side.

Now, however, that regret had transformed into immense excitement.

From that point on, Liu Hongshang became even more devoted to serving Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo, too, realized just how comfortable life could be with a handmaiden who served him with her entire being.

He had lived with Xu Xiuyun for a considerable time before, but it couldn’t compare to his current situation at all.

And compared to Xu Xiuyun, Liu Hongshang served Jiang Zuo without any complaints; Jiang Zuo could almost do whatever he wanted.

However, to outsiders, it looked as if Jiang Zuo doted on Liu Hongshang. Or perhaps, it seemed Jiang Zuo was lost to the temptations of women.

Seeing this, Huangfu Xi thought for a moment, then had two more beautiful women, not much inferior to Liu Hongshang, sent over.

But this time, Jiang Zuo politely refused.

’One female companion is enough. Any more would just be a burden and a hassle.’

But when Liu Hongshang saw Jiang Zuo refuse the other women sent by Huangfu Xi, she became even more proactive and passionate over the next few days, ensuring Jiang Zuo was perfectly comfortable.

With that, Jiang Zuo’s daily routine in the Imperial Palace was more or less established.

He would go to the Imperial Hospital to look through the medical texts and case files in its archives, occasionally performing his duties as an Imperial Physician by treating people in the palace.

The rest of his time was spent practicing his Visualization Technique, raising fish, inscribing Beast Patterns, and helping Liu Hongshang with her Cultivation.

After raising the first batch of Venus Fish, Jiang Zuo calculated the time and found that the time he needed to stay in the Imperial Palace was much longer than he had expected.

Venus Fish are different from ordinary fish; the time required to raise them is much longer than for ordinary fish.

’To cultivate the transference ability, I’m afraid it will take twenty-five to thirty years.’

This had already exceeded Jiang Zuo’s original hundred-year plan.

However, the century was almost up, and there was still no news about the fruit on the Mysterious Island overseas, so Jiang Zuo had a good excuse to wait a few more years.

Otherwise, he would have to go over now and pick the fruit regardless of whether it was ripe.

’I hope the fruit there will be ripe in another twenty or thirty years,’ Jiang Zuo thought to himself, his hands clasped behind his back.

’Actually, at this point, I’m starting to feel that it’s not so important whether I have an item to awaken my Spirit Root. As long as I go through Reincarnation a few more times, I’m extremely confident I can awaken all my Spirit Roots, and their quality will not be low. However, I still need to obtain the advancement method for the Blood Sea Creation Skill. If the fruit isn’t ripe, I don’t know if I’ll be able to obtain the method for the Blood Sea Creation Skill to Promote to the Innate realm. After all, I’m not a real bird. I’m just borrowing an attribute from the Ten Thousand Beasts Armor.’

And so, the days passed.

Liu Hongshang’s Cultivation progressed at an astonishing speed.

After all, there was likely no one else in the world who was being personally taught—practically spoon-fed—by a man who could be called the strongest mortal alive.

Never mind that Liu Hongshang herself had some talent for Cultivation; even a clueless pig would have been able to achieve success under his tutelage.

Jiang Zuo’s requirements for Liu Hongshang were not high; he just wanted her to cultivate to the Grandmaster realm.

Cultivating to Grandmaster would increase one’s lifespan by fifty years, and the aging process would also slow down significantly.

If she couldn’t reach the Grandmaster realm soon, Jiang Zuo feared he would quickly be faced with a woman past her prime.

That was obviously something Jiang Zuo wished to avoid.

Under Jiang Zuo’s full-powered teaching, Liu Hongshang did not disappoint. From the start of her Cultivation, it only took her twelve years to advance to Grandmaster.

Liu Hongshang herself found this result hard to believe.

A mere weak woman like her had, without anyone’s knowledge, gone from an ordinary person to a rare martial arts Grandmaster in just twelve years!

One must know that in the entire Venus Kingdom, the only publicly known martial arts Grandmaster was the Grand General of the army.

In Liu Hongshang’s eyes, this was simply a miracle!

’Just how powerful is Imperial Physician Zhou, the man who created this miracle?’ Liu Hongshang, now a Grandmaster, couldn’t help but wonder.

And that night, Liu Hongshang found out.

She felt Jiang Zuo use slightly more force, no longer holding back as much as he had in the past.

She then realized that even though she was now a Grandmaster, she felt no different than before—or even from twelve years ago, before she had even started her training.

Recognizing the immense gap between them, Liu Hongshang showed no hint of arrogance despite having become a Grandmaster.

On the contrary, she became even more meticulous in her service to Jiang Zuo.

Jiang Zuo was very satisfied with this.

’These twelve years of effort weren’t for nothing. With Liu Hongshang now a Grandmaster, I can finally let loose a little.’

While Jiang Zuo spent those twelve years in what amounted to blissful indulgence, the emperor, Huangfu Xi, was exceptionally busy.

To govern the Venus Kingdom, which had been plagued by war for over a decade, Huangfu Xi had poured his heart and soul into it.

And during this period, urged by his ministers, Huangfu Xi also got married and had a son.

Because of this, Huangfu Xi was so busy he had no time at all to visit Jiang Zuo.

However, as an Imperial Physician, Jiang Zuo still saw Huangfu Xi periodically to check on and regulate his health.

After twelve years of effort, the Venus Kingdom rose from its ruins and gradually began to show signs of prosperity.

「Another three years passed.」

Huangfu Xi’s decade-plus of effort finally bore fruit.

The Venus Kingdom entered an era of peace and prosperity. The nation was tranquil, its people content, and they praised Huangfu Xi for his grand strategy and divine martial brilliance.

They stopped just short of calling him the greatest emperor in history.

He had taken a nation on the brink of collapse and, in less than twenty years, revived it and brought peace to the land.

Extremely satisfied with his accomplishments, Huangfu Xi took the rare step of setting aside his court duties to visit Jiang Zuo for a drink.

Now, at the height of his imperial majesty, Jiang Zuo was the only one in the entire palace who could still treat him casually.

Entering Jiang Zuo’s residence, Huangfu Xi was stunned when he saw Liu Hongshang bringing tea.

Since he had people send her to Jiang Zuo, Huangfu Xi had not seen her again.

On one hand, Huangfu Xi was very busy.

On the other hand, Liu Hongshang also basically never showed her face in the Imperial Palace.

She spent most of her time practicing her Cultivation Technique.

If not for this, even with Jiang Zuo transferring his power, she couldn’t have become a Grandmaster in just twelve years.

And after seeing Liu Hongshang, when Huangfu Xi was drinking with Jiang Zuo, he was a bit absent-minded.

Jiang Zuo vaguely sensed that Huangfu Xi had probably noticed something.

’He can notice if he wants. She’s only a Grandmaster, after all. If Huangfu Xi wants to cultivate, I could just give him a technique. But it’s impossible to expect me to teach him personally, step-by-step.’

But what Jiang Zuo didn’t expect was that not long after returning, Huangfu Xi grandly announced that he knew Immortals existed in the world, and he wanted to pursue Cultivation!

’What kind of plot twist is this?’ Jiang Zuo was speechless. ’Could it be that Huangfu Xi thinks I’m an Immortal? I haven’t even been able to start Cultivation myself, so how could I possibly help him do it? It’s not just that I don’t have a method. At Huangfu Xi’s age, I’m afraid only a true deity could help him awaken a Spirit Root and set foot on the path of Cultivation.’

Unwilling to see Huangfu Xi go astray, Jiang Zuo advised him several times, stating clearly that no one in this land could achieve Cultivation.

But Huangfu Xi wouldn’t listen at all, and began to offer large rewards among the populace for a Cultivation Technique.

The Venus Kingdom, which had just begun to prosper, started showing faint signs of instability again because of Huangfu Xi’s actions.

Jiang Zuo had said all he could say. Seeing Huangfu Xi’s obstinacy, he didn’t say anything more.

"Imperial Physician Zhou, can’t you try to persuade His Majesty more? If this goes on, I’m afraid the Venus Kingdom will fall into chaos again."

Liu Hongshang was someone who had lived through chaotic times; she had been sold to the Baihua Building by her parents during the turmoil.

If she hadn’t happened to be born with a pretty face, her fate would have been completely different.

Those chaotic days were something Liu Hongshang did not want to remember, let alone experience again.

And in the entire Venus Kingdom, the only one who could persuade the emperor was Jiang Zuo, the emperor’s former respected teacher.

"I’ve said all I can. If I say any more, I’m afraid I won’t be able to stay here any longer."

Jiang Zuo shook his head.

’What could I even do if I went to see him? Teach him martial arts? But Huangfu Xi is almost forty. He’s too old to start practicing martial arts. Even I can’t do anything about that. And if he can’t cultivate to the level of a Grandmaster, what’s the point of the ruler of a nation practicing martial arts anyway?’