Chapter 15 The First Appearance of Dharma Form!

The old man glanced at Li Guanyi, then lowered his head to chat and laugh with his granddaughter, his smile warm and gentle.

Li Guanyi let out a sigh of relief, his mind pondering.

The Divine General who secured the border with three arrows?

Then why doesn't the Xue Family enter the Court and allow their offspring to hold official positions?

There must be various reasons and hardships, probably another tale of gratitude and grudges.

Over there, Xue Shuangtao, holding onto the elder's arm, swung it back and forth while looking toward Li Guanyi, speaking many pleasant words, saying that she had never seen such an impressive young man with excellent skills; the old man with wrinkled palms gently patted his granddaughter's hand and revealed a look of amazement, laughing, "Is it so?"

"Amazing, truly amazing."

The old man's gaze shifted toward Li Guanyi, observing his plain clothes and bright eyes, and said with a smile:

"Young man, come forward for a look."

The coachman was astonished and suddenly felt a trace of unease—they always heeded the miss's words, but had never thought carefully about this matter. It wasn't like the fourteen-year-old young miss of the Xue Family to go out and bring back a young man of a similar age, was it?

Hiss—!!!

The old master doted on the young miss.

But he would definitely not ignore the fact that his fourteen-year-old granddaughter had brought home a thirteen-year-old boy.

In the past, when the old master's second daughter was young and foolish, she brought back a wastrel from the Capital City, who, riding a blood-sweat horse, ran wildly down the main road of Guan Yi City, knocking over many stalls, before riding into the Xue Family's property and stopping his horse in front of the Tea Listening Pavilion of the old master.

In the end, that wastrel was almost beaten by the old master to the point of breaking three legs.

At that time, the old master simply said with a smile, "Young man, come forward."

Others saw it as the old master amiably calling over, but the old hands of the Xue Family felt dread in their hearts.

But the scene that Li Guanyi viewed was different.

He saw the fierce tiger suddenly enlarge, its whiskers and hair wildly fluttering, taking large strides. The gigantic White Tiger's head neared, its pupils slowly contracting, fixing their gaze on this plainly dressed boy. Li Guanyi's body stiffened, his heartbeat quickened, and an inexplicable fear emerged from the bottom of his heart.

A pressure?

Then, relying on his will, he pulled himself out of this inexplicable fear and restored his calm.

As Li Guanyi calmed down,

the bronze tripod made a faint whistling sound.

The imprint of the Red Dragon seemed to light up slowly with the condensing of Li Guanyi's will.

The old master initially planned to test the young man to see if he was a fraudster and had a clear conscience, to observe his character as he applied a bit of pressure.

Seeing that he did not flinch, the old man's face showed a hint of a smile and he nodded.

A decent temperament.

The White Tiger wields weapons to drive away evil.

Lesser beings find it difficult to stand in front of the White Tiger Dharma Form.

He planned to withdraw.

The giant White Tiger circled around Li Guanyi, intending to leave.

But just at that moment, the bronze tripod inside Li Guanyi suddenly emitted a whistling sound, and the Red Dragon, which was only an imprint, finally lit up as if provoked. It struggled fiercely, and then its dragon head seemed to detach a portion from atop the tripod.

It showed its fangs and claws above the bronze tripod.

Scale armor rose, claws reached out.

It seemed ready to emerge from the tripod into this world, swirling around Li Guanyi like the Red Dragon behind Yue Qianfeng, protecting its host, spreading a pure aura.

But its foundation was insufficient, and in the end, it remained blurry.

No matter how it struggled, it could not break free and could only raise its head in angry howls.

Only the long cry of the Red Dragon burst forth in the depths of Li Guanyi's heart.

Like rolling spring thunder.

The young man regained his clarity.

The slight oppression from the White Tiger shattered in an instant.

Li Guanyi, facing down the fierce tiger, took a step forward, his figure sharp as a knife's edge, passing the unseen White Tiger, accelerated the accumulation of Jade Liquid within the bronze tripod, and with a cupped fist salute, straightened his back, and said softly:

"Li Guanyi, at your service, Senior Xue."

The old man was somewhat surprised.

He looked at the young man before him, then patted the hand of his granddaughter, who was holding onto his arm, with a smile, "Look, we also have such a young scholar proficient in both literature and martial arts in Guan Yi City."

"And such a scholarly and martially talented young man was found by my granddaughter."

Xue Shuangtao didn't know what her grandfather had just done, but seeing that the gentleman she approved of seemed to have also received her grandfather's recognition, she smiled. Her smile was different from the gentle breeze outside; her eyes curved up, looking spirited and lively.

Obviously, she felt a small sense of pride and joy that her keen eye had recognized talent, as she swayed her grandfather's arm and said, "Grandfather also thinks the gentleman is impressive?"

"Then Grandpa, shouldn't you give a meeting gift?"

The White Tiger Dharma Form was already quietly lying behind the old man, yawning. The old man looked at Li Guanyi and asked with a smile, "Child, have you learned martial arts?"

Li Guanyi regretted that the speed at which the bronze tripod accumulated Jade Liquid had returned to normal and replied:

"I practiced some saber techniques with an uncle for a few years in the past."

The old man nodded, sounding quite impressed, "Hmm, it looks like the way of the Breaking Army Eight Sabers."

"To reach the level of Divine Charm within oneself, sharp like a saber's edge, at the age of thirteen with five years of practice is diligent indeed."

"Your cultivation of inner strength is also not bad, but your body is frail. It must be from hardships and you haven't had enough meat and grain."

The old man said kindly, "Since you were hired by Shuangtao, feel free to come to the house every day to join the martial artists here for three meals."

"I tested you just now but that was merely out of concern for my granddaughter, which is only human."

Xue Shuangtao asked, "Grandpa?"

The old man resigned, "Never mind, take this Body Nourishing Pill, Young Mister."

The old man seemed to appreciate the youth's character and, urged by his most doted-on granddaughter, he produced a small porcelain bottle and tossed it to Li Guanyi, saying with a chuckle, "The arts of my granddaughter and grandson are now in your hands, Young Mister."

"Let's go, Shuangtao."

Li Guanyi caught it with his hand, and even through the porcelain bottle, a rich medicinal fragrance could be felt.

Xue Shuangtao turned back and gave Li Guanyi a slight nod as a salutation, her eyes curving like crescent moons. Then she left with her grandfather, and the White Tiger Dharma Form lowered its gaze and strolled away. The speed at which the Jade Liquid accumulated within Li Guanyi's bronze tripod inside his body became slower and slower until it finally came to a halt.

In just a short time, the bronze tripod had already accumulated to one-fifth of its capacity.

Indeed, one needs to be within a certain range of the old Family Head to draw from the aura emitted by the White Tiger.

Li Guanyi felt the bottle.

Hmm, it was made of jade.

Again, it would be worth three or four taels of silver each.

The youth watched the old and the young duo, feeling as if they were emanating golden light in his eyes.

Miss Xue Shuangtao, truly too charming!

The coachman wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Phew, I was overthinking it. The old Family Head has an imposing presence, and everyone is somewhat afraid of him. But now that the old Family Head has acknowledged you, Young Mister, you shouldn't have any problems here in the Xue Family."

"Come, I'll take care of the rest for you."

The coachman parked the carriage on a road flanked by high walls.

Then, leading Li Guanyi through the residence of the Xue Family, he introduced the layout of the mansion, indicating where he could go and where he absolutely should not set foot, "The inner grounds are where the Xue Family and the ladies reside; we males usually cannot enter."

"This area, however, is where the Guest Elders reside."

The coachman pointed to a group of small courtyards in the distance, his tone filled with envy, "The treatment of Guest Elders is completely different from ours."

"Each Guest Elder has a private courtyard and also receives some elixir pills and medicinal materials from the family each month. In addition, they can exchange for some martial arts, and even the old Family Head occasionally comes to see the Xue Family disciples and Guest Elders practice and offers a few pointers."

Guest Elder?

A private courtyard?

Li Guanyi thought if he could become a Guest Elder, perhaps he could often see the old gentleman, and the bronze tripod could be filled as well. His aunt could also be brought to live inside the Xue Family, which would certainly be safer than renting an outside courtyard, so he asked:

"May I ask, elder brother, how can I become a Guest Elder?"

The coachman laughed knowingly, "Does Young Mister also wish to become a Guest Elder?"

"Nowadays, with martial arts being the foundation, becoming a Guest Elder of our Xue Family requires at least an Entering Realm cultivation."

"Entering Realm…"

The coachman comforted Li Guanyi, "You're young with martial arts already under your belt."

"Although Entering Realm is difficult, I believe that you can make it in at most a dozen years."

Li Guanyi nodded.

He raised his hand to his chest.

Li Guanyi, thirteen years old, had reached Great Success in the Break Formation Song.

Entering Realm.

Was just a step away.

Li Guanyi's movements froze momentarily.

He felt something special—

He looked down slowly, and a tiny Red Dragon head burrowed out from his chest, lifelike as it raised its head and locked gazes with Li Guanyi.

Li Guanyi: "???"