Truth be told, Zou Feng never expected to be showered with attention by the Yang Family and hailed as some ultimate household servant just for revealing his "Talent."
āIt was completely unnecessary. After all, Iām going to slip away sooner or later.ā
āAll I have to do is establish that I have "strong Talent" ahead of time.ā
āOnce I reach Entering Grade, Iāll immediately be free of my Lowly Status and can swagger right out of the Yang Family.ā
āThen again, Yang Qianqian... Weāve barely gotten started and sheās already jealous?ā
āIf I have to reveal the true horror of my cheat-like abilities in the future, the girl might just shut down completely...ā
After Yang Qianqian left, Zhao Tianhu resumed his duties and once again began teaching the Household Servants Martial Arts.
In fact, he had been waiting nearby the whole time.
After all, everyone knew the Young Miss was just acting on a whim.
She could get tired of it at any moment and simply quit.
Thus, Zhao Tianhu had seen everything that had just occurred.
Now that he was back on duty, he paid special attention to Zou Feng.
Not only was his attitude much improved, but he also decided to give Zou Feng private instruction, immediately teaching him the Five Beasts Skill that accompanied the Five Beasts Pile Skill.
The status of a Hospital Martial Artist in the Yang Mansion was much higher than that of a Household Servant, but in the eyes of the Yang Familyās Direct Lineage, there was no fundamental difference; they were all just servants.
To put it bluntly, they were just low-level Martial Artists.
Therefore, Zhao Tianhuās perspective differed greatly from Yang Qianqianās.
Upon discovering Zou Fengās promising talent, his first instinct was to build a good relationship.
If Zou Feng were to reach Entering Grade in the future, the benefits from this connection would be immeasurable.
After quickly demonstrating the Five Beasts Skill, Zhao Tianhu said with considerable regret, "To grasp the Five Beasts Pile Skill so quickly... I dare say youāre a Martial Arts talent the likes of which is only seen once every twenty years."
"Itās just a shame you started your training so late..."
"Otherwise, you might have been even stronger than Qian... AHEM, stronger than many of the young prodigies in Yuan Guang County Town."
Zou Feng, however, appeared to take it in stride. "Youāre too kind, Master Zhao. You flatter me..."
"As a Household Slave, Iām already content just to have the opportunity to practice Martial Arts!"
Seeing Zou Fengās "nonchalant" attitude, Zhao Tianhu stopped being sentimental and laughed heartily. "Thatās true. If you work hard from now on, thereās still hope for you to reach Entering Grade."
With that said, Zhao Tianhu began making his own little calculations.
āSuch a promising talent. Once heās more or less mastered the Five Beasts Pile Skill, should I just teach him my own Cultivation Skill?ā
āThe problem is, Zou Feng has already taken Luo Yong as his master.ā
āEven if itās for cooking, a master is still a master...ā
In this world, the bond between master and disciple was comparable to that between father and son; one couldnāt just casually take on a master.
Taking on another master after already having one was tantamount to shamelessly acknowledging sworn fathers all over the place. One would be cursed with insults, called a turncoat slave who serves multiple houses.
āForget it. Iāll see what happens when the time comes.ā
āIf I havenāt misjudged Zou Fengās Talent, then Luo Yong probably wonāt hold back his future either.ā
Zou Feng was getting all the attention, and the other Household Servants were green with envy.
Especially when they heard Zhao Tianhu say that Zou Feng might reach Entering Grade in the future!?
Xu Haoran was stunned.
āEntering Grade... That was something I never even dared to dream about.ā
āBut when it comes to diligent training, Iām second to none here.ā
Xu Haoran was indeed the most diligent of them all, even waking up in the middle of the night for extra practice.
No one was more familiar with Yuan Guang County Town at 3:00 AM than he was.
"Master Zhao... then... what about me?"
Xu Haoran couldnāt hold back any longer and stepped forward to ask eagerly.
Zhao Tianhu glanced at him. "You?"
"Go cool off on the side!"
Xu Haoran instantly went limp, like a deflated ball.
However, he seemed to think of something, and his eyes quickly hardened with resolve...
Zou Feng paid no mind to this little episode at first.
But as he passed by Xu Haoran, he caught a faint, fragrant scent.
āThis guy can afford to use scented soap?ā
Xu Haoran had taken over Li Ruiās position in the Yang Mansion and also helped out in the kitchen, so he and Zou Feng were inevitably in close proximity.
Zou Feng was certain he had never smelled such a faint fragrance on Xu Haoran before.
āDonāt tell me this guy is also practicing a Poison Skill like the Five Poison Palm? Heh, is the Yang Mansion hiding Five Poison Palm manuals in every corner?ā
Although the idea was absurd, Zou Feng felt something was off. He decided to remain vigilant and test Xu Haoran when the opportunity arose.
If it turned out he was just overthinking things, all the better.
For now, he had to keep up the pretense of practicing the Five Beasts Pile Skill.
And continue his attempts to modify it into the Five Poison Pile Skill.
By this point, Zou Feng had started to make a name for himself among the servants of the Yang Mansion.
The young maidservants attending to the Yang Familyās Direct Lineage would occasionally shoot him flirtatious glances when they passed by.
In response, Zou Feng played the part of a clueless youth and ignored them.
He also remained humble, trying his best not to provoke more jealousy and hatred.
After all, the sudden rise of a nobody inevitably attracts envy.
Another half-month passed peacefully.
During this half-month, the Blood-handed Butcher remained completely off the radar, showing no sign of rushing back for revenge.
This was more or less what Zou Feng had expected.
The Blood-colored Butcher wasnāt stupid enough to walk right into a trap when security was at its tightest.
āSo Iām still relatively safe. I can leave the Yang Family when Iām ready.ā
āAnd the most important thing, Martial Arts Entry, should be just around the corner...ā
"Five Poison Palm (Entering the Hall and the Room), Progress: 75%"
"Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step (Slightly Accomplished), Progress: 83%"
"Chaos Finger (Slightly Accomplished), Progress: 96%"
Zou Feng was quite satisfied with the current progress of his three Evil Skills.
He felt that he could now take on three of his self from half a month ago.
āBut itās a bit strange. Iāve clearly spent more time practicing the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step, so why is my Chaos Finger progressing faster?ā
āAt this rate, Chaos Finger will advance to Entering the Hall and the Room in another day or two.ā
āThinking about it, it must be because I first mastered a Poison Skill like the Five Poison Palm.ā
āTo put it bluntly, with the Five Poison Palm as my foundation, Iāll have an advantage when cultivating any other Poison Skill in the future. I can draw parallels, so of course, the cultivation will be faster.ā
Once both the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step and Chaos Finger reached the Entering the Hall and the Room realm, he would be able to attempt Entering Grade.
āBut I canāt get too excited. The biggest problem right now is that Yang Ling, the one bearing all the burdens for me, is about to kick the bucket...ā
No matter how resilient his body was, it couldnāt withstand the torment of three Evil Skills at once.
Ever since Zou Feng knocked him out and made him drop his Gold Coins, Yang Ling had barely been conscious.
He spent every day in a stupor, as if completely drunk.
On top of that, his... urges... had been increasing unreasonably day by day, to the point where he tormented his wife so much she fled back to her familyās home in the middle of the night.
With no other options, Yang Ling had moved into a brothel and hadnāt been back for days.
The Patriarch, Yang Wu, was utterly disappointed in him and had stripped Yang Ling of his position as Steward.
It seemed the family intended to let him fend for himself and perish on the outside.
Right now, the only person in the entire Yang Mansion who still cared about Yang Lingās well-being was Zou Feng.
āMy Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step and Chaos Finger havenāt reached Entering the Hall and the Room yet. Brother Ling needs to hold on a while longer!ā
āIām worried that once he spends all his money at the brothel, heāll be thrown out and end up dead in the street.ā
āMaybe I should secretly give Brother Ling some silver so he can last a little longer at the brothel?ā
Just as the thought crossed Zou Fengās mind, he noticed a change on the panel in his head...