Chapter 1025: Chapter 1025: One Palm, Half a Wall

"Xiang Ming, your horse stance is really not up to standard. Don’t you want to avoid your aunt seeing it? Better practice for another three hours."

The speaker was Lin Tian, who was approaching with three glasses of orange juice. He had a mischievous smile on his face, which made Xiang Ming’s teeth clench in irritation.

"My aunt won’t come to see me; it’s my sister who supervises me in these matters." Xiang Ming snorted lightly, "What are you doing here?"

This little guy Xiang Ming was actually quite adorable, especially with those chubby cheeks.

Yet he was always bickering with Lin Tian; perhaps it’s more like — rivals seeing each other, escalating the tension.

"Master." The elder called out, then continued, "When I arrived earlier, I saw you using your energy to heal Xu Shaohui. How is he now?"

"He’s recovering quite well."

While speaking, Lin Tian handed the two glasses of orange juice in his left hand to the elder and Nanqiu. Xiang Ming was left swallowing his saliva.

"Why are you so rude, old man? I didn’t mind you calling me a little brat, but how can you address my uncle like that!" The little guy’s face was flushed red, not sure if it was from the sun or anger.

"Your uncle... who is he?" The elder looked a bit bewildered.

"My uncle is Xu Shaohui."

"Hey, that lad is two to three times younger than me; I could almost be his grandfather. What’s wrong with calling him a kid?"

"I’m training now, so I won’t argue with you. Once I’m done and I’ve had a full meal, I’ll come and teach you a lesson," Xiang Ming said earnestly.

"Pfft~"

The elder, who was sipping his orange juice, suddenly spluttered it out, spraying it all over Xiang Ming’s face.

"Enough is enough! Hey!" Xiang Ming shouted, suddenly straightened up, and swung his short little leg towards the elder.

The elder waved his hand.

Cloud-Calling Hand.

Before Nanqiu could fully grasp the movement, the little guy was like a spinning top, swirling five times on the spot before flopping down on his butt.

"Hahaha, your legs are too short to kick the old me, hahaha..." The elder laughed triumphantly.

"You, you bully children!"

"Yeah, I am bullying children. So what? You still can’t beat me. Hahaha."

"Hmph, I can’t now, but once I grow up, I will!" The little guy said defiantly.

"You sure you’ll beat me? Maybe in another eighty years. Little brat, don’t aim too high," the elder said with an air of superiority, one hand behind his back, but holding orange juice in the other in a rather comical manner.

The little guy snorted again, disdainfully, "At your age, you’re still calling him Master, how great can he be?"

The ’him’ Xiang Ming referred to was naturally Lin Tian.

"You little brat know nothing! The capable are the priority; advanced age isn’t embarrassing. Little brat, by the age of my Master, you probably couldn’t achieve even half of his accomplishments," the elder said seriously.

"Stop bragging, what’s so great about him? I’m also planning to compete with him for a wife!"

"What?"

The elder was taken aback, wondering if his ears were playing tricks or if the little brat was crazy. Compete for what wife?

"Compete! For a! Wife!" Xiang Ming enunciated each word, as if the elder were deaf.

"Compete for which wife?"

As he spoke, the elder glanced at Lin Tian. This guy had so many women; which one exactly was unclear.

"It’s my sister, Xu Miaoxiu!" the little guy declared.

"..." The elder was speechless for a moment before saying, "That’s your sister."

"A sister can also be a wife!"

"Alright, if that’s how you see it, I can’t convince you otherwise. But trying to compete with my Master for women—it’s probably impossible. No one can rival him." The elder suddenly felt a bit sorry for this little brat. Of all people to choose as a rival, why choose him?

"Why?"

"Because... you know you have Xu Shoujiang in your family, right?"

"I know, that’s my great-grandfather, though I rarely see him.."

"My Master is almost as formidable as your great-grandfather," the elder said.

Xiang Ming snorted, "Are you bluffing?"

"Why would an old man like me lie to a kid like you? That would be a disgrace. Believe it or not," the elder said.

Xiang Ming believed him, and his chubby little face suddenly fell.

In the Xu Family, Xu Shoujiang was legendary, a guardian so powerful he daunts all challengers.

"Boy, are you scared?" the elder said quietly, "Even the strongest enemy can be defeated; without hard work, talk is cheap. I do have a good method here..."

Xiang Ming’s eyes lit up, "What method?"

"I noticed although you tend to slack off, your roots are adequate. If you become my disciple, and I’ll teach you cultivation, there might be a chance," the elder said. For some reason, he felt a fondness for this cheeky kid and didn’t mind taking him as a disciple.

The elder was part of the Alliance of Noble Families, and accepting a disciple from an ancient martial family was no problem. Moreover, people of his caliber were hard to come by.

"Hmph, you want to be my Master? Sure, but only if you can chop down that big tree with one palm."

Everyone looked in the direction Xiang Ming pointed, recognizing the grand bodhi plum tree blooming in the courtyard. Several centuries old, it required at least Golden Core level skills to cut it down with one strike.

Lin Tian laughed, "Your disciple wants to test his Master?"

Xiang Ming glanced at the elder and whispered, "Sigh~ if you can’t do it, that’s fine. I won’t force you. Just don’t strut around in front of me, flaunting your age. It’s bothersome."

So young, yet already using reverse psychology.

"Kid, you know how to pick a target. That tree is...," The elder paused, then changed his tone, "All things have spirits, and so does the plum tree. Cutting down a tree isn’t meaningful. How about we change the test?"

"Change to what?" Xiang Ming asked, his eyes wide in curiosity.

"Push down the wall behind you with one palm. If I manage to knock over half of it, you have to bow three times in the main hall and accept me as your Master. How about that?" the elder proposed.

Xiang Ming quickly turned around. The wall behind him was the Xu Family’s courtyard wall, about fifty meters long, entirely made of bricks; even half would be twenty-five meters.

A single palm breaking through half the wall—an impossible feat!

"Haha... this is fun, this is fun." Xiang Ming asked again, "And what if you can’t?"

"What do you suggest?" the elder asked.

Xiang Ming lifted his chin, thought for a while, then grinned, "Then you’ll be my little brother from now on!"

"Deal!"

The elder agreed without hesitation, which left Xiang Ming a bit stunned and slightly panicked. He thought, "Could this old man really be that skilled? Otherwise, why agree so readily?"