Revelation

The next day, as dawn broke, Lin Sheng walked out of his room.

He had not continued cultivating last night. Instead, he had focused on reading the Compendium of Herbs in his room, only going to sleep deep into the night. He could now basically recognize quite a few common plants.

Perhaps because he had lived two lives, he found that his memory was rather good. Though he could not remember everything at a glance, it was far stronger than in his previous life.

After stretching his limbs in the courtyard, he remembered there was still a fellow in the yard.

He swept his gaze around the courtyard but did not see the wild dog. However, he had shut the courtyard gate yesterday, so the dog absolutely could not have gotten out.

He searched more carefully and, sure enough, found the wild dog in the firewood pile, with only its tail sticking out.

He grabbed one of its hind legs and yanked it out. Amid a string of shrill screams, Lin Sheng felt a wave of warmth on his hand.

Lin Sheng frowned, already sensing something bad. When he pulled the wild dog from the firewood pile, there was indeed a long trail of water on the ground—or rather, a trail of urine.

"This beast actually pissed itself!!"

Lin Sheng's brows nearly knitted into a single line. Looking at the yellowish stain on his palm, he did not hesitate in the slightest before tossing the wild dog to the ground.

A rank, fishy stench spread through the air.

The wild dog curled up on the ground, trembling nonstop as it shrank into a ball. It continued to let out miserable cries, as though it had suffered some unbearable torment.

Its pitiful appearance left Lin Sheng speechless. If someone did not know better, just hearing those cries, they would think the wild dog had been put through something terrible.

Was this wild dog's courage really that small??

Ignoring the wild dog's constant wailing, Lin Sheng walked to the water basin and carefully washed the dog urine from his hand.

Yet the wild dog's cries only grew louder, irritating Lin Sheng. He immediately frowned and snapped at it.

"Keep barking, and I'll stew you!"

The moment the words fell, the wild dog shuddered, and its cries stopped.

Lin Sheng raised his brows, somewhat surprised, but he did not pay it much mind. He walked over, gave the wild dog a kick, and lifted it up.

Sss... Sss...

The instant he lifted it, another stream of water shot out from beneath the wild dog. Fortunately, Lin Sheng had been prepared this time and was gripping its neck. Otherwise, he might have been hit again.

This dog was even more cowardly than the pet puppies from his previous life that had never seen strangers.

Once the wild dog had nearly finished urinating, Lin Sheng held it before his eyes and inspected it from every angle.

"Mm, it doesn't seem abnormal. It's much livelier than yesterday. Looks like that Blood Cultivating Pill should be fine."

With that thought, he casually tossed the wild dog aside.

Since the Blood Cultivating Pill was not abnormal, he could take it normally.

Before that, though, he still needed to make a trip to the Beast Hunter Hall.

Thinking about it, he had been at the Beast Hunter Hall for some time now. It was about time to reveal a bit more of his talent.

Ninth Squad's base.

"What? You've cultivated the Raging Bull Fist to minor mastery??"

Wang Sanyang's eyes widened as he stared at Lin Sheng in astonishment.

"That's right. Thanks to that Blood Nourishing Pill, I was fortunate enough to break through last night."

Lin Sheng nodded, answering neither humbly nor arrogantly.

Wang Sanyang said nothing. He simply raised his hand and struck at Lin Sheng with his palm, moving quite quickly as it brought a whistling wind with it.

Lin Sheng reacted swiftly, raising a fist to meet it.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, Lin Sheng staggered back several steps before steadying himself.

"It really has reached minor mastery. How long has it been, and you've already entered Body Tempering?"

Wang Sanyang did not attack again. He muttered to himself, but a smile soon appeared on his face.

"Lin Sheng, wait here for a moment."

After speaking, Wang Sanyang quickly headed out.

In less than a quarter of an hour, he returned with Tian Hu.

The moment Tian Hu entered, his gaze fell on Lin Sheng. He sized him up and then, like Wang Sanyang, threw a punch at him.

Lin Sheng raised his fist again to block. After one exchange, Tian Hu's eyes lit up.

"I never expected it. Lin Sheng, your talent is far higher than I imagined. It has not even been a month since I taught you the Yak Stance, yet you have already broken through into the Body Tempering realm."

"Mainly because that Blood Nourishing Pill helped this disciple greatly. Otherwise, this disciple naturally could not have broken through so quickly."

Lin Sheng said seriously.

Wanting to raise his status in Town Mountain Tower was simple: raise his strength.

This mission had rewarded him with a Blood Nourishing Pill, which was perfect for using the pill to display his progress in reaching minor mastery of the Raging Bull Fist.

Even so, his cultivation speed was still somewhat too fast. However, revealing some cultivation talent was not a problem.

Outstanding cultivation talent would undoubtedly earn him more preferential treatment in the Beast Hunter Hall.

The higher the talent he displayed, the higher his status in the Beast Hunter Hall would rise. That way, even if Ma Long wanted to do something to him, it would not be so easy.

In truth, even without Ma Long's threat, he had planned to reveal part of his talent after some time. After all, he could not keep suppressing his strength forever.

Rather than constantly suppressing it and always guarding against the risk of exposure, he might as well reveal his talent. That would let him obtain resources while establishing himself as a Martial Way genius.

Ma Long's threat had merely accelerated this plan, forcing him to take some risks. Still, it was better than being completely exposed under Ma Long's targeting.

As the captain of the Beast Hunter Hall's Third Squad, Ma Long was even stronger than Wang Sanyang. It would be no difficulty at all for him to do something to Lin Sheng.

"Even with the effect of a Blood Nourishing Pill, it would be impossible to cultivate so quickly."

Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Tian Hu shook his head slightly. He looked at Lin Sheng, falling into thought, and then seemed to think of something. His eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Though the Blood Nourishing Pill can accelerate Body Tempering cultivation, it cannot do so to this extent. The greater reason you entered the Body Tempering realm so quickly lies in yourself."

"It seems your talent is exceptional. The reason it did not show before was likely because your body had been too weak. Going hungry one meal and full the next, you could not meet your body's needs. No matter how good your talent was, it would be buried. This Blood Nourishing Pill just happened to nourish your depleted body, which is why you were able to enter Body Tempering so smoothly."

Before Lin Sheng could say anything else, Tian Hu had already reached his own conclusion.

Wang Sanyang, standing beside them, clicked his tongue in wonder and nodded.

"There truly are many examples like this. Quite a few commoners born into poverty see their aptitude improve somewhat after entering the Martial Way and no longer having to worry about food and clothing.

"I remember a particularly typical case at the county yamen a few years ago. He had originally been nothing more than a temporary constable's runner. Later, he rendered some merit and received a few rewards, and his talent emerged. Afterward, a constable from Prefecture City took a liking to him and brought him to Prefecture City."

Listening to the two of them, Lin Sheng felt rather strange. He had originally wanted to explain further, but it seemed there was no need to make things so troublesome now.

With such an example already there, nothing could have been better.

"Old Wang, you mean Liu Tianci, right? Speaking of which, Liu Tianci is something of a legendary figure in our Lin'an County. Before the age of seventeen, he was utterly ordinary and good for nothing. After seventeen, though, he suddenly awakened, and his strength advanced by leaps and bounds."

Tian Hu continued, a trace of emotion appearing on his face as he spoke.

"After Liu Tianci's talent was awakened, he entered the Body Tempering realm in five days and Muscle Forging in one month. His cultivation speed was simply unimaginable. Two years ago, he had already achieved great completion in the Blood Circulation realm. By now, his strength has likely reached an extremely terrifying level."

"Body Tempering in five days, Muscle Forging in one month?"

Lin Sheng was somewhat surprised as well.

Such cultivation speed absolutely qualified as that of a peerless genius.

After all, once he had integrated the Iron Yak, his aptitude for cultivating the Raging Bull Fist had become incomparably compatible. Yet his cultivation speed was not much faster than Liu Tianci's, which was enough to show just how terrifying Liu Tianci's talent truly was.

"That's right. Scared, aren't you?"

Tian Hu shook his head with a smile.

"I heard that after Liu Tianci awakened, strange phenomena appeared from his body. He is no longer one of the ordinary mortal crowd."

"Still, such cases are rare. There are only a few in an entire prefecture."

Tian Hu did not continue speaking. His gaze returned to Lin Sheng.

"You are now a Body Tempering martial artist, so your treatment will naturally improve. You needn't worry about that."

"The Ninth Squad suffered severe losses this time. Among squad captains like Zhang Ding, several were badly injured and stepped down. You can rise up and take Zhang Ding's position. If you need anything else, just find Wang Sanyang."

"Thank you, Hall Master."

Hearing this, Lin Sheng cupped his hands and answered.

By the time he emerged from the base, he had an extra booklet in his hands.

It was nothing else but the complete follow-up cultivation method for the Raging Bull Fist.

Moreover, his salary in the Beast Hunter Hall had risen to ten taels of silver, somewhat higher than Zhang Ding's had been. Not only that, Tian Hu had thoroughly explained all of his insights into cultivating the Raging Bull Fist.

He had also promised that if Lin Sheng encountered any problems in cultivation later on, he could seek guidance from Tian Hu or Wang Sanyang at any time.

The change in the two men's attitude toward him showed that, after displaying his value, Tian Hu had already regarded him as one of his own.

During his time in the Beast Hunter Hall, he had also come to understand that it was not a solid block. There were factions within it as well.

And behind the Ninth Squad stood Deputy Hall Master Tian Hu.

In truth, he did not care much about any of this. As long as he had cultivation methods and time, his Martial Way cultivation would steadily advance.

Now that he had revealed he had entered Body Tempering, with Tian Hu and Wang Sanyang there, even if Ma Long truly wanted to do something to him, he would have some reservations.

"There should not be any trouble for a while. I'll use this time to cultivate the White Ape Leg Technique to great mastery and enter the Muscle Forging realm. Better yet, I should raise the Raging Bull Fist along with it."

Lin Sheng had long since planned out his next steps.

For now, he was still only in the Body Tempering realm. Although the Tusk Mountain Boar's integration enhancement meant he did not fear ordinary early Muscle Forging martial artists, he was not a true Muscle Forging martial artist after all. If he fought a genuine Muscle Forging martial artist, he did not have much confidence.

What was more, Ma Long's strength should rank among the stronger ones in early Muscle Forging. Aside from cultivating the Raging Bull Fist to great mastery, Ma Long also possessed a second-rate martial art.

Wanting to deal with him, Lin Sheng's current strength was naturally not enough.

However, once he entered the Muscle Forging realm, coupled with the integration enhancement, it should be enough.

The moment he returned to the courtyard and entered, he saw the rescued wild dog dart into the firewood pile in a flash.

Lin Sheng could not be bothered with it and simply began cultivating on his own.

In the blink of an eye, another two days passed.

"You said that brat broke through into Body Tempering?"

At the Third Squad's base, Ma Long frowned as he looked at the subordinate beside him.

"That's right. That brat stepped in dog shit and, with the help of a Blood Nourishing Pill, successfully entered the Body Tempering realm two days ago."

One of the Third Squad's squad captains spoke respectfully.

"And I heard that Deputy Hall Master Tian personally appointed that brat as a squad captain of the Ninth Squad. Deputy Hall Master Tian thinks highly of him."

"Hmph."

At this, Ma Long snorted coldly, his brows knitting tighter.

If he remembered correctly, that brat had not been in contact with martial arts cultivation for very long.

It should have been less than a month, yet he had already broken through into Body Tempering.

Even with the help of a Blood Nourishing Pill, such progress was a little too fast.

"It seems that brat's talent is even better than I imagined."

Ma Long's expression darkened.

Several days had passed, yet there was still no news of Ma Qiang. He had completely given up hope.

He had originally planned to find an opportunity to deal with Lin Sheng in a few more days.

He had not expected this sudden development.

"Then what should we do next, Captain? Now that that brat is a Body Tempering martial artist and a squad captain of the Ninth Squad, with Deputy Hall Master Tian valuing him, it will probably not be so easy to make a move."

The squad captain spoke up to ask.

"Not so easy?"

Ma Long sneered.

Given his nature, he would naturally not allow such a threat to remain.

Originally, he had not cared much about a mere little hunter. But the talent the other party had now displayed had made him feel threatened.

With such talent, reaching late Muscle Forging would absolutely not be a problem. He might even have a great chance of reaching the Blood Circulation realm.

Since he had already made an enemy of him, he had to pull up the weeds by the roots and eliminate him before he could grow.

Having reached his current position, Ma Long was naturally no kind soul. If the lives on his hands did not number in the hundreds, they numbered at least several dozen.

How could one Tian Hu make him back down?

"Don't rush the matter of this brat for now. Send someone into the city to buy me two more Blood Cultivating Pills. Also, send a few skilled men into the city to keep an eye on that brat's parents for me."

"Yes, Captain."

The squad captain immediately nodded in acknowledgment and hurried away.

Watching his subordinate leave, Ma Long's expression returned to calm.

A genius who had not grown up was no genius at all.

He had decided to devote himself to cultivation for the coming period and strive to break through as soon as possible.

Once he broke through into late Muscle Forging, the first thing he would do would be to get rid of Lin Sheng.

By then, even if Tian Hu intervened, he would not fear him in the slightest. Even if that brat had some precautions in place, with his parents as leverage, Ma Long did not fear that he could stir up any tricks.

He had actually considered finding a chance over the past two days to act personally and quickly eliminate Lin Sheng.

But considering the current situation, and with Tian Hu constantly in town as well, if Tian Hu used that brat to set him up, the loss would outweigh the gain. After all, nothing was more important than his breakthrough.

Having thought it through, he put away his thoughts, closed his eyes, and once more sank into cultivation.