Bad News

The day's training ended quickly. Ling Yun packed up ten roast chickens, an entire roasted suckling pig, and a crystal pork knuckle half the height of a man... Then, amid everyone's strange looks, he returned to his room alone.

He casually set the food on the table, thought for a moment, then suddenly took something from his robes—the slip of paper Fang Yuan had given him during the day.

Who knew what was written on it for Fang Yuan to make such a mystery of it?

Ling Yun smoothed out the crumpled sheet a little, held it up to the faint firelight, and examined it closely.

Most of it was filled with incomprehensible drawings, along with annotations that had more typos than the actual text. It left him lost in the clouds and mist, as if he were reading a heavenly tome.

After half reading and half guessing for quite some time, he finally understood that it seemed to contain cultivation insights for the first level of the Tiger Blade Technique.

Having come to his senses, Ling Yun could not help but laugh.

He had never expected that Fang Yuan, who usually seemed so unreliable, had such a side to him in private.

After carefully reading the paper back and forth several times, Ling Yun shook his head helplessly.

With his current realm, these so-called insights were riddled with holes and utterly worthless.

After pondering for a moment, he immediately took out a brush and began revising it.

Before long, not only had the first level been completely perfected, but he had also written down detailed insights for the next two levels.

"I'll give it to that guy when he gets back." Ling Yun casually tossed aside the brush. As for whether this would expose his true strength, he did not care much.

He simply did not want to invite trouble, but that did not mean he was afraid of it.

After dealing with all this, Ling Yun stretched lazily and opened his panel again.

Name: Ling Yun

Martial Arts: Tiger Blade Technique—Third Level (Modifiable)

Modification Points: 1

After killing the strange creature and obtaining Modification Points, the Tiger Blade Technique had once again become modifiable.

Ling Yun stared at his panel, his gaze flickering slightly.

To be honest, he had not expected the Tiger Blade Technique, which clearly only had three levels at most, to be capable of further improvement!

It was like reaching the summit of a mountain, only for a ladder to suddenly appear out of nowhere.

As for what lay atop that ladder, he could only find out by climbing it.

Ling Yun glanced at the table piled high with food, then stopped hesitating and focused his mind as he tapped the panel.

Soon, as the system interface shook, the Tiger Blade Technique changed once more.

Tiger Blade Technique, Fourth Level!

Ling Yun felt his body grow hot as his internal force surged once again.

Very quickly, it went from the strength of one tiger to the strength of two tigers!

But the increase in raw strength was secondary. Like the third level, the fourth level of the Tiger Blade Technique had granted him another special ability.

Tiger's Might stimulated the flesh, allowing him to double his strength for a short period of time.

Combined with Burst Force, this meant that he could unleash twice his full power in an instant. Its might was simply beyond imagination.

At the very least, if he faced that strange creature from last night again, he would probably only need one strike to kill it!

Before he could rejoice for long, Ling Yun suddenly felt a familiar wave of hunger sweep over him.

He did not dare delay. Sitting before the wooden table, he transformed into a heartless eating machine.

Before long, the table that had been piled high with food was completely wiped clean.

Looking at the messy wooden table, helplessness flashed through Ling Yun's eyes.

It seemed he had to put finding a substitute for ordinary food into action as soon as possible. Otherwise, every breakthrough would leave him eating like a starving ghost, which would be far too troublesome.

He had heard of something called the Ten-Perfection Great Supplement Pill. Taking just one could keep an ordinary person from feeling hungry for several days. It should be helpful for his situation.

Ling Yun rubbed his chin thoughtfully, planning to buy a few when he had the time and give them a try.

After moving his body around a little and feeling that he had returned to normal, Ling Yun immediately pushed open his door and walked out.

It was already late at night, and outside was still the same as ever—not even a shadow of a person could be seen.

Ling Yun scanned his surroundings, casually picked a direction, and began wandering around the martial hall.

He had once been somewhat wary of the strange creatures lurking in the darkness, but now he wished a few more would jump out in front of him!

This was what it meant to acquire a taste for marrow and know no satisfaction.

Yet things often refused to go as one wished. The more desperately you wanted to find something, the less likely it was to appear.

Ling Yun wandered for most of the night, even combing through the streets and alleys around the martial hall, yet he did not encounter so much as a ghostly shadow!

He truly did not know whether this counted as bad luck or good fortune.

Ling Yun was full of frustration, but in the end, he could only helplessly return to his room and bury his head in sleep.

...Who knew how much time passed...

Just as Ling Yun was dreaming of punching one strange creature after another, with Modification Points soaring sky-high, a violent tolling of bells suddenly jolted him awake.

"Something happened!" Still somewhat dazed, Ling Yun immediately snapped awake when he heard the noisy shouts outside.

Without time to think further, he hurriedly threw open the door and rushed out.

Dawn had only just broken. Following the chaotic crowd, Ling Yun soon arrived at the training grounds.

Nearly all the martial hall disciples had gathered here. Everywhere he looked, heads swayed in the crowd, while several formal disciples struggled to maintain order. The scene was utterly chaotic.

Seeing this disorderly scene, Ling Yun frowned slightly, a bad premonition rising in his heart.

At that moment, the discussion of several disciples nearby reached his ears.

"Hey, did you hear? Those unlucky guys who went to the Deng Family to keep vigil over the coffin ran into an Evil Spirit!"

"Really? What happened afterward?"

"What else could have happened? They all died! They say flesh and blood flew everywhere at the scene—it was horrifying!"

"Really? What about the Deng Family?"

"The Deng Family was fine. It seems the Demon Suppression Division happened to pass by nearby, otherwise, I'm afraid..."

"Alas, what a pity. If only the Demon Suppression Division had arrived a little earlier."

"Tsk tsk, what's there to pity? If you ask me, they had it coming. Did they really think this money was so..."

"Enough! We're all brothers from the same school. Stop spouting cold-blooded nonsense." Someone nearby could no longer bear to listen and rebuked them.

Those disciples had still looked unconvinced, but the moment they saw the formal disciple's attire on the other man, they immediately shrank their necks and dared not say another word.

Meanwhile, Ling Yun stood frozen in the crowd.

"My name is Fang Yuan. Are you still eating that steamed bun?"

"Brother Ling, can you take me with you when you go to the county seat?"

"Brother Ling, what do you want to do after you make money someday? Me? I'd definitely marry a beautiful wife first, then build my mother a big house!"

"..."

Scene after scene from the past surfaced in his mind. Though they were merely memories he had inherited after coming to this world, they felt so real, as if he had experienced them himself.

He unconsciously touched his chest. There was still a sheet of cultivation insights there, meant to be handed to Fang Yuan.

But people and things had changed, and he would never have that chance again.

At that moment, Ma Ruhu slowly approached from afar.

Behind him followed a middle-aged man dressed in luxurious clothes, with two thin goat-like tufts of beard.

The middle-aged man wore a flattering smile as he kept talking to Ma Ruhu.

But Ma Ruhu's face was dark, and he did not even spare the man a glance.

This time, the Black Tiger Martial Hall had suffered grievous losses. The ordinary disciples were one thing, but those three formal disciples had been the backbone of the martial hall.

Yet they had been buried for nothing just like that.

If not for the man's unusual background, Ma Ruhu would have dearly loved to slap him to death on the spot!

He could not be bothered to deal with him and simply strode forward.

When he reached the crowd, Ma Ruhu finally lifted his eyelids and calmly announced what had happened.

Though there were some slight discrepancies, it was more or less the same as what those disciples had said.

After Ma Ruhu finished speaking, he prepared to turn and leave.

This made the middle-aged man behind him grow anxious. He hurriedly stepped forward and called out, "Wait! Everyone, I am the steward of the Deng Family. You may call me Steward Deng."

"None of us wished for something like this to happen. Please accept my condolences."

After speaking, he bowed deeply to everyone. Then he straightened up, his tone shifting. "However, now that the Evil Spirit has been eliminated, the agreement my Deng Family previously made with your martial hall remains valid!"

"So, is anyone still willing to go to the Deng Family and keep vigil for our old master?"

"Go again?!"

The disciples below looked at one another, then glanced at Ma Ruhu's blackened face. Not a single person dared step forward.

After all, the warning from those before them was right in front of their eyes. Even if the Evil Spirit had been driven away, who could guarantee that it would not return?

Though wealth stirred the heart, one had to live long enough to spend it.