Chapter Five: Luo Cheng

  After a long time, Luo Cheng found that what he thought in his heart was just a dream. If it were up to him, he would not have achieved anything throughout his life and would have been nothing more than a small beggar by the roadside. Even after death, he didn't know if anyone would bury him.

  "Sir, I don't know anything, I hope you can help me." Luo Cheng suddenly knelt down on the ground and said to Xu Hua.

  Xu Hua slowly walked over, preparing to help him up, saying: "Get up first, since you've met me, it's our fate, I'll naturally help you."

  "Thank you, young master. From now on, Little Chengzi's life belongs to you. I hope you won't despise me." Luo Cheng slowly stood up and looked at Xu Hua with great respect. Although he didn't know much, he understood the principle of repaying kindness. If he hadn't met Young Master Xu today, he might have starved to death. Moreover, Young Master Xu had even promised to help him. How could this not move him? However, amidst his excitement, he also deeply knew that all of this was given by Young Master Xu. From now on, he must work hard and not disappoint the young master's kindness.

  "Don't worry, Brother Hua is the best person in the world. You won't lose out if you follow him." Zhou Ying added with a smile.

  "Heh heh, Luo Cheng, come home with me today and from now on, just tell others you're my book boy!"

  Luo Cheng let out an "ah" and hastily shook his head, saying: "Young Master, I don't even recognize a single character that's as big as a fist, how can I be a book boy? This will make people laugh at you."

  "Why should I be afraid of others' ridicule? It's just the mediocre people who are worried, their thoughts have nothing to do with me, and why should I care about outsiders' opinions. Besides, since you're following me, I'll naturally teach you to read and write, otherwise, in the future, even if I give you a martial arts manual, you won't be able to understand it, how can you cultivate then?"

  Xu Hua has been concerned about others' opinions all these years, he would have been annoyed to death. In this Qing Shan Town, he stands out alone, doing good deeds and helping those in need, which makes many people uncomfortable. Xu Hua has never bothered to argue with them, which also led to him receiving more cold shoulders. Over the years, Xu Hua has learned to ignore this approach, not everything needs to be managed, he only takes care of what he thinks in his heart.

  "Learning martial arts... Young Master wants to teach me martial arts!!!" If he had been extremely excited upon learning that the Young Master would take him in, then now that he knew the Young Master wanted to teach him martial arts, he really felt like he was on cloud nine. If he could successfully learn martial arts, then he would be able to fulfill many of his dreams...

  "Prince......" Luo Cheng's eyes welled up with tears as his legs trembled and he knelt down again.

  "Get up, from now on you can't be like this anymore. From now on, you will be my book boy, representing the face of the Xu family, absolutely cannot be like this. Moreover, when you become my book boy, it's not necessarily a good thing for you either."

  Xu Hua thought for a moment and said with some hesitation, at this time Xiao Er knocked on the door and came in again.

  "Master, here's your white porridge and peanuts... The dishes are all gone, you can take your time eating, I'll leave first."

  "Go ahead and eat, it was meant for you to eat." Looking at Luo Cheng staring at the white porridge on the table like a wolf eyeing its prey, Zhou Ying let out a 'heh' and said.

  "Hmm...hmm" Upon hearing this, Luo Cheng immediately started drinking the white porridge in big gulps. As a beggar, he had never really had white porridge before, and smelling its fragrance, he drank it down without any hesitation.

  Rumbling...

  The only sound in the room was Luo Cheng's "gulp, gulp" as he drank his porridge. The two of them didn't mind and just watched him eat. The more they looked at Luo Cheng, the more pitiful he seemed, and the kind-hearted little girl almost burst into tears.

  "Slow down while eating, no one is competing with you. As my book boy, you won't go hungry in terms of food, but you must work hard to cultivate your martial arts skills. The young masters in the family don't have a good relationship with me, and if you're weak, they'll bully you."

  Xu Hua sat beside Luo Cheng, looking at him with one hand on his shoulder. Luo Cheng didn't feel a thing, he was too busy eating the porridge, he was really starving and the plain porridge tasted especially good to him. Before long, two bowls of porridge were gone.

  Lu Cheng had other plans, but over the years he had eaten less and his body was extremely weak. So Xu Hua secretly used "Sheng Gong" to transfer some of his life energy to Lu Cheng, who was enjoying his meal and didn't notice a thing.

  "The Devouring Life Skill" is a mysterious skill that not only allows one to absorb the life force of all living things, but also to transmit life force to them. Xu Hua has been practicing "The Devouring Life Skill" for two years now, and in these two years, he has never stopped cultivating it. By constantly absorbing the life force from plants and animals, the life force within Xu Hua's body has become incredibly dense, and without exaggeration, if one were to rank the density of life force within their bodies, Xu Hua would be second only to the entire Qing Shan Town.

  As for the first one, it's about his father Xu Lin. As the third young master of the Xu family, he has seen many powerful warriors in Qing Shan Town, such as the masters of the Qian and Zhou families, and even his own father. These three people are the strongest warriors in Qing Shan Town, all of whom are strong martial artists. However, Xu Hua is somewhat uncertain about this. His cultivation of the "Devouring Life Technique" makes him extremely sensitive to the life energy of living things. After seeing the masters of the Zhou and Qian families, he realized that their life energy was not as strong as his own. If the life energy in their bodies was like a firefly, then Xu Hua's life energy was like a candle flame. But his father's life energy was hundreds of times stronger than his! What concept is this? It must be known that Xu Hua had cultivated the "Devouring Life Technique" for two years, absorbing the life energy from plants and animals, accumulating a large amount of life energy. Even his physical body became incredibly strong under the influence of this powerful life energy, and his strength exceeded 1,000 kilograms.

  Xu Hua absolutely did not believe that, as the father of the Martial King, his life energy could surpass his own. So there was only one explanation: his father's true strength was absolutely not limited to being a Martial King, at least he was a strong martial artist in the late stages of the Martial Emperor realm. As for the Martial Ancestor, he didn't dare think about it. After all, there were very few strong Martial Ancestors in the entire country, and such strong individuals would cause a stir wherever they went. If the Xu family had a Martial Ancestor, why would they still be living in this small town of Qing Shan? However, even if he was a Martial Emperor, he could dominate Luo City, as the city lord of Luo City was only at the early stages of the Martial Emperor realm. Did the Xu family have other enemies that he didn't know about? Xu Hua had always kept quiet about this, and even his father didn't know about his special circumstances.

  He transferred half a moment of his life's vital energy to Luo Cheng, equivalent to the vital energy in an ordinary person's body. It won't take long for Luo Cheng to become like a normal person, and then he can start practicing martial arts. Moreover, with Xu Hua around, as long as he occasionally transfers some vital energy to him, Luo Cheng's body will become stronger and stronger, and his martial arts practice will also become smoother and more successful. Xu Hua's life's vital energy is incredibly powerful, so he doesn't mind consuming a bit of it.

  They finished their meal in less than an hour, and Xu Hua and Zhou Ying both ate very little. Basically, Luo Cheng solved the problem. Xu Hua also saw Luo Cheng's appetite, which was absolutely comparable to that of two or three adult men! However, being able to eat is a blessing, isn't it?

  "Hmm..."

  After finishing his meal, Luo Cheng leaned back in his chair and let out a satisfied belch. This was the best meal he had ever eaten, and also the most filling one. It was truly unforgettable! All of this was thanks to Master Hua's generosity, and from now on, Luo Cheng made up his mind to work hard for Master Hua.

  "Have you eaten enough? Then come back to the Xu's with me!" Xu Hua put down his chopsticks and stood up, "Xiao Ying, are you coming out again tomorrow?"

  "I'm going to practice hard tomorrow, and in less than a year, it'll be the Three Families' Martial Arts Gathering again. My dad wants me to work hard and strive for the late stage of martial arts. You'd better work harder too, Brother Hua! Now, even I've already reached the middle stage of martial arts, which is one small level higher than you!" Zhou Ying licked her lips and proudly showed off in front of Xu Hua.

  "Haha, our Xiaoying is the most powerful, but brother I will catch up with you soon, you also need to work hard. These two days I won't go out either, I have to make arrangements for Luo Cheng, you know, those people in the clan have been looking at me with disdain for a long time, I'm afraid that if I'm not around, Luo Cheng will be their scapegoat."

  Xu Hua and the other two were chatting as they pushed open the door of the restaurant, stepped out into the hallway, and went downstairs. After paying for their meal, they were about to part ways when suddenly two young men with extraordinary bearing walked into the entrance of the restaurant.

  "Xu Hua, you actually brought a beggar here to eat, do you think the Xu family's money is free? Don't think that just because you're the son of the head of the household, you can do whatever you want. The Xu family is known for its martial prowess, don't spout that nonsense about all lives being equal. At this year's family competition, I'll make sure to teach you a lesson, so you can see your own place and stop wasting the family's resources."

  The speaker was Xu Ming, the grandson of the second elder of the Xu family. Beside him stood Xu Fan, the son of the Xu family's chief steward.

  "Whoa..."

  Many people in the wine house began to whisper to each other, but they didn't think much of it. This kind of thing had happened more than once or twice before, and they all just watched with interest.

  "Hehe, then don't bother, as for the family martial arts competition, I didn't plan on participating, I'll just read my saintly books." Xu Hua glanced at Xu Ming with a faint gaze and said indifferently.

  "You..." Xu Ming's seven orifices were smoking with anger, just about to make a move, when Xu Fan pulled him back and said: "You're not unaware of his nature, why bother getting angry with him?"

  "Xu Hua, there are only two months left until the Luocheng public exam. You must prepare well for it. It's better to stay indoors and study during this period."

  Xu Hua smiled faintly and said: "Thank you for reminding me, Xu Fan brother. I was thinking of doing just that."

  After finishing, the three of them left the Da Yi wine house. Zhou Ying headed south back to the Zhou residence, while Luo Cheng followed Xu Hua east back to the Xu residence. As the three parted ways, the sky was no longer early, gradually darkening, and lanterns were lit in front of each household in Qing Shan town.

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