Passing the Test

Pingyin County's city gates had already closed; there was no way they could enter the city at this hour. Fortunately, a number of merchants from other places were also stranded outside the city and had set up camp to rest.

Chen Fei shared a campfire with them. Listening to the hushed conversations around him, his taut nerves gradually eased.

Too much had happened today. If his strength had not broken through, Chen Fei would already have been lying stiff as a board on Pingyin Mountain.

Thinking of this, Chen Fei could not help looking at his panel.

Name: Chen Fei

Occupation: Martial Artist

Techniques: Extreme Mountain Fist (Mastery 307/1000), Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique (Great Perfection)

Realm: Skin Tempering (2/1000)

Extreme Mountain Fist had already reached the Mastery level, and insights into the fist technique still echoed through Chen Fei's mind. All he could say was that this simplification feature was truly powerful.

"The progress in the Skin Tempering Realm hasn't changed?"

Seeing his Cultivation Realm, Chen Fei's brow furrowed slightly. Before his breakthrough, the perfected Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique could grant roughly 10 points of cultivation progress. Yet half a day had passed since Chen Fei's breakthrough, and it had only risen by 1 point.

"As my Cultivation Realm rises, has the Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique begun to fall behind?"

This thought surfaced in Chen Fei's mind. On further reflection, it really did seem possible. After all, this breathing technique was truly too basic—so basic that the Extreme Mountain Boxing Gym could teach it openly to its students.

If it were some profound breathing technique, how could such a small tuition fee possibly buy it?

"After observing for a few days, I'll know how much cultivation the Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique can raise."

Chen Fei shifted his gaze away. He did not sleep; having just run into a ghostly being, he did not dare fall asleep even now that he had reached the foot of Pingyin County. Nor did he waste time. Sitting by the bonfire, he slowly began moving his hands.

Strands of insight into the Extreme Mountain Fist gradually emerged in Chen Fei's mind along with his hand movements. The feeling that effort brought rewards made him immerse himself in it without realizing.

The people around him looked at Chen Fei strangely. They could not understand why this young man kept waving his hands. Was he having a fit?

At that thought, some of them quietly edged farther away from Chen Fei.

When someone immersed themselves in something, time always passed extremely quickly. It seemed that in the blink of an eye, dawn had begun to break, and Pingyin County's gates opened.

Chen Fei entered Pingyin County with the crowd, then immediately rushed to Qingzheng Medical Hall.

"So you were the only one who survived last night, while everyone else died?" Cui Sanjie looked at Chen Fei with an ugly expression.

Though servants were not worth much, they were still assets of the Medical Hall. More than a dozen had now died, and the crucial thing was that they had not even gathered the medicinal herbs. This made matters exceptionally troublesome for the Medical Hall.

When the main family questioned him afterward, he would likely have to shoulder some responsibility.

"This lowly one does not know whether the others lived or died, but at the city gate last night, I truly did not see any of them again," Chen Fei said quietly.

"Everyone else died, so why did you get to survive unharmed?" A hoarse voice rang out, carrying a note of accusation.

Chen Fei looked up. It was Pu Liao, one of the Medical Hall's guards. Chen Fei clasped his hands and said, "This lowly one broke through to the Skin Tempering Realm, and thus escaped this calamity."

As Chen Fei spoke, he threw a punch, producing a dull boom in the air.

The expressions of the people around him shifted slightly. Ordinary people could never produce such force with a punch. What surprised them was that among the servants, someone had actually raised his martial cultivation to the Skin Tempering Realm.

Though the Skin Tempering Realm was hardly worth mentioning, it had still surpassed ordinary people. Without a certain degree of talent for martial arts, one truly could not reach it.

And with the Skin Tempering Realm, so long as one was careful, it was indeed possible to evade some strange entities.

"Not bad."

Cui Sanjie nodded, his expression easing somewhat. A Skin Tempering Realm martial artist appearing among the servants slightly offset the loss of the servants. After all, servants could always be recruited again, while recruiting a Skin Tempering Realm martial artist was far more difficult. Their values were different.

"I will report this matter to the main family. As for you, from now on, you will serve as a guard at the Medical Hall."

As Cui Sanjie spoke, he turned to Pu Liao. "Now that he has shed his servant status, he qualifies to come into contact with some of Qingzheng Medical Hall's inheritance. Pu Liao, teach him a few moves from our Qingzheng Breathing Technique and fighting techniques."

"Alright!" Pu Liao nodded, glanced at Chen Fei, and said nothing more.

A smile could not help appearing on Chen Fei's face. Before returning, he had considered whether he should remain at Qingzheng Medical Hall or go to the Extreme Mountain Boxing Gym.

Having reached the Skin Tempering Realm, Chen Fei now had the right to choose.

The only thing to consider was the pros and cons of each.

If he stayed at Qingzheng Medical Hall, he could access part of the Medical Hall's inheritance. Though it certainly would not be profound, it would still be better than the Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique and the like.

But if he stayed at Qingzheng Medical Hall, he would still be a servant in status, and his freedom would be somewhat restricted.

At the Extreme Mountain Boxing Gym, he would have enough freedom. It was practically a half-sect relationship, and its inheritance should not be inferior to the Medical Hall's. But if he left the Medical Hall, Chen Fei would have to pay an exorbitant contract termination fee.

It had taken Chen Fei nearly four months to reach the Skin Tempering Realm. Such talent was merely mediocre at the Extreme Mountain Boxing Gym. The Extreme Mountain Boxing Gym would not pay that termination fee for Chen Fei, and Chen Fei himself had no money.

But the main reason Chen Fei decided to remain at the Medical Hall was that he could learn some medical skills and alchemy there. That was what Chen Fei valued more.

After Cui Sanjie and the others asked Chen Fei several more questions, they gradually left.

"I haven't had much time lately. Come find me again in a few days, and I'll teach you the techniques then."

Pu Liao walked up to Chen Fei, said this flatly, then turned and left.

Once everyone had gone, Chen Fei let out a faint sigh of relief. He had passed this hurdle. Without the cultivation of the Skin Tempering Realm, he would never have escaped a round of beatings, scoldings, and humiliation.

Because he now had some value, all of that had been spared.

The Medical Hall arranged a separate room for Chen Fei. Though it was still very small, compared with his previous treatment, it was the difference between heaven and earth. Chen Fei was quite satisfied, because this meant he would not need to worry about exposing anything while cultivating.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

Other than standing guard in the Medical Hall's main hall as usual to prevent anyone from causing trouble, Chen Fei spent most of his time cultivating in his room.

Three days was not long, but it was enough for Chen Fei to cultivate the Extreme Mountain Fist to the level of Great Perfection.

With Skin Tempering Realm cultivation paired with the Extreme Mountain Fist at Great Perfection, Chen Fei's combat power had risen by more than half compared to before. Even among Skin Tempering Realm martial artists, his current strength was not considered poor.

After all, not every Skin Tempering Realm martial artist could cultivate a basic fist technique to Great Perfection.

The only thing that left Chen Fei somewhat dissatisfied was the growth of his cultivation. In three days, the Skin Tempering Realm experience value had increased by only 3 points.

One point a day. With the Skin Tempering Realm's 1,000-point experience bar, if he relied only on the Extreme Mountain Breathing Technique, Chen Fei would need three years to advance to the next realm.