Life-and-Death Tempering Had Fallen Out of the Meta

In truth, Ye Qing'er's matter had not affected Xu Yuan too much. After all, the two of them were still in that vague, ambiguous stage.

Having never given much, there was naturally nothing to lose.

If he had to name one change, it was that he had become even more diligent in his cultivation.

After this incident, Xu Yuan deeply realized that strength was the foundation of everything. He was only in the Second Meridian Realm now, not yet qualified to indulge in romantic thoughts.

Thus, he practiced his stance exercises bitterly during the day, striving to break through in cultivation. At night, he set aside time to study martial techniques and the Tai Chi Exercise.

Though the days were somewhat monotonous, their day-after-day persistence made them incomparably fulfilling.

Xu Yuan trained so diligently that, aside from the time he spent teaching students during the day, he was basically nowhere to be seen.

The other martial instructors noticed this as well. Amid their sighs of admiration, they often used him as an example to educate the younger generation.

Time flashed by.

In the blink of an eye, it was early February.

That day, after Xu Yuan finished a set of stance exercises and his qi and blood gradually settled, he walked out of the quiet chamber. With a thought, he opened the System Panel in his mind.

[Skills: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 46%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Major Accomplishment 63%) Thunderclap Fist (Minor Accomplishment 21%)]

[Potential: 11 (Exceptional Bones)]

"Not bad. At this rate, I'll break through by the middle of this month. I should also strive to cultivate the Tai Chi Exercise to perfection within the month."

Over the past half month, Xu Yuan had spent most of his time in the quiet chamber, still following his plan of focusing solely on cultivation and filling in his skills.

Looking at it now, the progress on the System Panel was quite gratifying.

As for his assignment, it was somewhat unsatisfactory.

Of the more than twenty Martial Students in the front courtyard, only three had ultimately become formal martial artists. The Laborers in the rear courtyard, meanwhile, had two months of practice time because they needed to do odd jobs.

This result for the Martial Students was actually fairly good for Xu Yuan. At the very least, it passed the guaranteed minimum, so his pay would not be docked. He could even receive an additional reward of one tael and five qian of silver.

In fact, Xu Yuan had already been lucky. Had things gone any worse, there were even cases where not a single martial artist could be scraped together.

That afternoon counted as a holiday for all martial artists. They could go home and rest for half a day, then choose assignments again the next morning. They could also return to the residence to resupply.

Yes, the Shangyang Family basically operated on a monthly cycle. If one still had time for self-selected assignments, one could switch posts in the second month.

However, Xu Yuan found this assignment rather good and had no plans to change it for now.

When he arrived at the Pill Hall, Xu Yuan had intended to go in and buy more precious medicine, only to encounter an old acquaintance.

"Xu Yuan, I've already broken through to the Second Meridian Realm. I've even gotten started with Thunderclap Fist, so the Lineage specially approved two months of self-selected assignments for me." Wang Huan looked at Xu Yuan with a face full of pride, seeming thoroughly elated and vindicated.

During this month, he had gone to a Level Four area, where two forces' troops converged. The environment was harsh and dangerous, yet he had not slackened in the slightest. Whenever he had the chance, he trained with every ounce of strength.

After several perilous battles and tempering at the edge of life and death, he had finally improved both his fist technique and cultivation. Once those above learned of it, they immediately rewarded him with two months of self-selected assignments.

After all, the first waves of conflict certainly consumed the martial artists with the worst potential. People like Wang Huan could naturally be given time to grow and be cultivated.

After returning to the Shangyang Residence, Wang Huan learned that Xu Yuan often came to the Pill Hall. Thus, he had waited here all along, wanting to personally say these words and see whether Xu Yuan could still keep acting so arrogant.

Wang Huan stared at Xu Yuan with amusement, seemingly wanting to see surprise, unease, disappointment, or jealousy on his face.

Unfortunately, the scene he had imagined did not happen. Xu Yuan merely nodded lightly. "Is that so? Then congratulations."

His tone was as calm as if he had just finished eating in the dining hall and complimented the cook's skills. Everything was utterly ordinary.

In fact, it was.

To Xu Yuan, if Wang Huan had improved both of them last month, Xu Yuan might have regarded him more highly.

But a month had passed. The old version had already ended, and now Wang Huan was saying he had finally found a new strategy?

Besides, with Xu Yuan's current accumulation, he would break through to the Third Meridian this month. This news had no impact on him at all.

I hope that when he comes back next month, he can still keep this confidence. Xu Yuan thought, his expression calm as drifting clouds and gentle winds.

"Y-You..."

There was no need to wait until next month. Wang Huan had already had his defenses shattered. Why did this guy always look so indifferent?

Among the martial artists of his generation, he alone had broken through to the Second Meridian Realm. Such dazzling results, yet Xu Yuan could not even be bothered to show the slightest reaction!

That arrogance beneath his calmness, that lofty, condescending attitude, made Wang Huan hate him. He had always been the one to treat others that way!

The veins on Wang Huan's forehead twitched. His fists loosened and clenched again, as if he were about to erupt completely the next moment. Yet in the end, as though recalling something, his anger abruptly drained away. He sneered instead.

"Xu Yuan, I overestimated you. It must be comfortable, hiding in the Shangyang Residence every day, isn't it?"

"But do you know what I've experienced? I fought the Bai Family's people one-on-one. I've seen plenty of corpses and cruel battlefields!"

As he spoke, the look in his eyes became increasingly disdainful, even carrying faint pity from above.

"You're too pitiful. You'll never understand the feeling of blood splashing across your face. You've never tasted what it feels like to kill someone... Idling away your days in comfort, you're destined never to achieve anything great!"

Xu Yuan's expression turned strange. Did this man have some kind of illness?

What era was this? Why was he still doing this life-and-death tempering routine?

As long as my cultivation stays higher than yours, can't I crush you with absolute strength? Why would I need to suffer through challenges above my level?

The true Martial Path was about using the higher to crush the lower, using strength to bully weakness!

After all, so what if your combat experience is rich?

I'm a whole realm above you. My strength, reaction speed, and movement speed are all greater than yours. I can make it so you cannot hit me even if you try. Even if you land a lucky strike, I can use stronger force to cancel out your force.

But if I launch an attack, wouldn't you just explode?

Still, Xu Yuan held back and did not provoke Wang Huan. He merely replied blandly, "I don't know."

The expression on his face seemed to say: I understand. Are you satisfied now? Can you leave?

Seeing his reaction, Wang Huan once again felt as though his punch had landed on cotton. But he quickly made peace with himself. "Time will prove everything. Xu Yuan, just wait until I break through to the Third Meridian Realm..."

Before he could finish, Xu Yuan had already turned and entered the Pill Hall.

"This guy..." Wang Huan gave him a deep look before leaving unwillingly.

After seeing him walk away, Xu Yuan withdrew his gaze. He understood that, because of what had happened before, Wang Huan wanted to regain his lost face through him.

However, Wang Huan had probably picked the wrong person.

With Xu Yuan's current progress, not only were his martial techniques and cultivation improving, but even his fundamental potential was slowly rising—and the farther he went, the faster it became.

Those people he had surpassed would ultimately not even have the chance to see his back.

But wasn't he the one who came looking for me?

Xu Yuan shook his head, not taking the matter to heart, and continued purchasing precious medicine.

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