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."
'It was completely unnecessary. After all, I'm going to slip away sooner or later.'
'All I have to do is establish that I have "strong Talent" ahead of time.'
'Once I reach Entering Grade, I'll immediately be free of my Lowly Status and can swagger right out of the Yang Family.'
'Then again, Yang Qianqian... We've barely gotten started and she's already jealous?'
'If I have to reveal the true horror of my cheat-like abilities in the future, the girl might just shut down completely...'
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 Family's 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 Tianhu's perspective differed greatly from Yang Qianqian's.
Upon discovering Zou Feng's 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 you're a Martial Arts talent the likes of which is only seen once every twenty years."
"It's 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. "You're too kind, Master Zhao. You flatter me..."
"As a Household Slave, I'm already content just to have the opportunity to practice Martial Arts!"
Seeing Zou Feng's "nonchalant" attitude, Zhao Tianhu stopped being sentimental and laughed heartily. "That's true. If you work hard from now on, there's still hope for you to reach Entering Grade."
With that said, Zhao Tianhu began making his own little calculations.
'Such a promising talent. Once he's more or less mastered the Five Beasts Pile Skill, should I just teach him my own Cultivation Skill?'
'The problem is, Zou Feng has already taken Luo Yong as his master.'
'Even if it's for cooking, a master is still a master...'
In this world, the bond between master and disciple was comparable to that between father and son; one couldn't 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.
'Forget it. I'll see what happens when the time comes.'
'If I haven't misjudged Zou Feng's Talent, then Luo Yong probably won't hold back his future either.'
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.
'Entering Grade... That was something I never even dared to dream about.'
'But when it comes to diligent training, I'm second to none here.'
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 couldn't 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.
'This guy can afford to use scented soap?'
Xu Haoran had taken over Li Rui's 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.
'Don't 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?'
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 Family's 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 wasn't stupid enough to walk right into a trap when security was at its tightest.
'So I'm still relatively safe. I can leave the Yang Family when I'm ready.'
'And the most important thing, Martial Arts Entry, should be just around the corner...'
"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.
'But it's a bit strange. I've clearly spent more time practicing the Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step, so why is my Chaos Finger progressing faster?'
'At this rate, Chaos Finger will advance to Entering the Hall and the Room in another day or two.'
'Thinking about it, it must be because I first mastered a Poison Skill like the Five Poison Palm.'
'To put it bluntly, with the Five Poison Palm as my foundation, I'll have an advantage when cultivating any other Poison Skill in the future. I can draw parallels, so of course, the cultivation will be faster.'
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.
'But I can't 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...'
No matter how resilient his body was, it couldn't 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 family's home in the middle of the night.
With no other options, Yang Ling had moved into a brothel and hadn't 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 Ling's well-being was Zou Feng.
'My Drunken Immortal Moon Gazing Step and Chaos Finger haven't reached Entering the Hall and the Room yet. Brother Ling needs to hold on a while longer!'
'I'm worried that once he spends all his money at the brothel, he'll be thrown out and end up dead in the street.'
'Maybe I should secretly give Brother Ling some silver so he can last a little longer at the brothel?'
Just as the thought crossed Zou Feng's mind, he noticed a change on the panel in his head...