Tier 3

Silvery moonlight spilled across the earth.

A black carriage rolled slowly through the night.

Chen Mu leaned back inside the carriage, holding a Small Cloth Bag.

Every so often, he took out the silver inside to check whether it was real, beaming like someone who had never seen money before.

Across from him, Jie Jia still sat with his eyes half-closed and his face expressionless.

Yet the eyeballs beneath his lids kept shifting, repeatedly glancing at the bag in Chen Mu's hand without a trace.

"Quit sneaking looks." Chen Mu glared at the old man in disdain. "You're supposed to be some high-flying master assassin. Why are you so hopeless? Calm down!"

Jie Jia remained completely unmoved. "Twenty Percent."

Chen Mu immediately felt a breath lodge in his chest.

Together, they had sold seven copies of the Body Tempering Technique.

They had earned a total of seven hundred and thirty taels of silver.

Twenty percent came to one hundred and forty-six taels.

Just doing the math made Chen Mu's heart ache with sharp spasms.

"Fine, fine, fine..." Chen Mu counted out the silver and tossed it to Jie Jia irritably.

He had no choice but to pay. Without this old man, he would not have had a channel to sell so many copies of the Body Tempering Technique.

After putting away the money pouch, he casually took out a book.

It was a medical text he had just picked up from the black market, meant to raise his Medicine Crafting Proficiency.

He placed great importance on this skill he had unlocked by accident.

This old man, Jie Jia, was getting increasingly skilled at adulterating medicine.

If he did not raise his Medicine Crafting Proficiency quickly, this old man would probably cheat him to death.

Five days later, Ping'an Ward, the western residence of the Chen Family.

For safety's sake, he had rented three residences in a row, including his own original courtyard.

At the moment, he was digging a hole in a room of the second residence.

The spot where the bed had once stood had been cleared out.

A round hole one meter wide had appeared in the floor.

It was roughly four meters deep and connected to an underground space five meters long and wide.

Sulfur and lime had been scattered across the ground to repel insects and prevent dampness.

Prices in Qingshan County had soared, and he was preparing to stockpile a batch of medicinal herbs and grain.

He had spent the past few days digging this cellar precisely to store those supplies.

Over the following days, he went out repeatedly and visited several different shops.

In small batches over many trips, he gradually amassed a large quantity of firewood, rice, oil, salt, and other daily necessities.

He had even specifically asked Butcher Zheng to gather a batch of air-dried cured meat that could be stored easily.

Only after Jie Jia delivered the medicinal herbs he had ordered was this round of stockpiling complete.

After that, he stayed cooped up at home.

Every day, he practiced the Flying Locust Stone and the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique.

In between, he studied the newly purchased medical books to raise his Medicine Crafting Proficiency.

Life was monotonous, but not dull.

Watching his Proficiency steadily increase filled Chen Mu with motivation every day.

He did not stay home all the time either.

Every five days, he went out once. For one thing, he needed to see living people. Practice was practice, but he could not train himself into becoming a shut-in.

The other reason was to gather information.

Eight Directions Pavilion, Anle Ward, East Market.

This was the largest teahouse in Qingshan County's East Market.

It gathered a great many storytellers.

They brought news from all corners beyond Qingshan County.

As usual, Chen Mu found a corner, spent ten copper coins on a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds, then sat there listening to the storytellers and the gossiping patrons in the main hall.

"Did you hear? Shao Family Village, thirty li north of the city, is gone." Not far from Chen Mu, a short, fat patron whispered to his companion.

"What happened?" the other person at the table immediately asked curiously.

"The authorities said bandits raided it. I happened to return from that direction a few days ago. Corpses covered the ground. It was horrific." The short, fat patron shuddered as he spoke.

"A whole village slaughtered? What bandits are this brazen?!"

"They say they were Defeated Soldiers scattered after the northern rebellion was crushed. Without anyone to restrain them, they're even more vicious than ordinary bandits." The short, fat patron said resentfully, "They had peaceful lives, so why rebel? They should all be caught and beheaded!"

"Looks like we can't travel those northern trade routes anymore..."

The group worriedly discussed their declining business.

Chen Mu absentmindedly cracked melon seeds as he thought about those Defeated Soldiers.

This was not the first time he had heard of Defeated Soldiers causing trouble.

He could clearly feel that the area plagued by bandits was expanding, drawing ever closer to Qingshan County.

"Could bandits possibly be bold enough to attack Qingshan County itself?" Chen Mu was startled by the thought that suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"No, no, surely not..." Chen Mu hurriedly shook the thought away.

But... what if Qingshan County really fell?

Where would I go?

Even after reaching Muscle Strengthening, he could easily take down more than ten people.

But what if he were surrounded by hundreds, or thousands?

Chen Mu no longer had any interest in listening to the storytellers. He concentrated on eavesdropping on conversations throughout the hall.

Five out of ten people were talking about the chaos outside.

Chen Mu's mood could not help growing heavy.

After staying at the teahouse for only an hour, he prepared to head home.

Rather than sit here listening to news that troubled his mind, he might as well go home and grind Proficiency.

As he walked out the door, he happened to spot a familiar figure.

It was actually Eldest Young Master Zuo, Zuo Sheng.

The other man seemed to sense someone looking at him and immediately turned his head.

Upon seeing Chen Mu, he paused slightly, then smiled and nodded in greeting.

Chen Mu froze for a moment before instinctively nodding in return, then quickly left.

Why did this Eldest Young Master know him?

Inside the Eight Directions Teahouse, Zuo Sheng watched the unremarkable scholar with amused interest.

"An interesting fellow."

Inside the Chen Family Residence in Ping'an Ward.

Chen Mu held an Iron Lotus Seed between his fingers and examined it.

It was the size of a peanut and oval in shape, covered in sand-sized pits and dents—a crudely cast Iron Lotus Seed.

He had specially polished it already. Otherwise, it would have been even rougher.

Beyond those marks, it also bore nine spiral grooves. He had carved them one by one, putting in no small amount of effort.

These were special patterns he had comprehended through Proficiency.

Carved into the Iron Lotus Seeds, they resembled the rifling inside a gun barrel, causing the seeds to spin after being thrown and increasing their power.

He flicked his wrist.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Bang!

A palm-thick chopping block atop the wall ten meters away was instantly pierced through.

"Now it can really rival a handgun bullet."

Chen Mu carried a bag of Iron Lotus Seeds and threw them in rapid succession.

Before long, the locust-wood chopping block on the wall had been blasted full of holes.

Previously, to hide the fact that he knew martial arts, he had not dared to practice without restraint.

Now that Boss Zhen was gone and the Wonderful Painting Workshop was half-closed, Chen Mu's portrait business had come to a complete stop. From a certain day onward, Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan had never come again.

Chen Mu was instead delighted by the freedom.

He finally practiced openly at home.

Whoosh!

Bang!

The last Iron Lotus Seed shot forth.

The chopping block instantly exploded into splinters.

At that moment, a current of heat suddenly surged from all over his body.

His arms, chest, back, waist, abdomen, thighs—muscles throughout his body abruptly rippled and throbbed, swelling and bulging at a visible rate.

Chen Mu hurriedly summoned the Gray Wall.

Writing: 1445/10000/Second Tier;

Drawing: 1353/10000/Second Tier;

Throwing: 3/10000/Tier 3;

Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique: 2769/10000/Second Tier;

Culinary: 3016/10000/Tier 1;

Medicine Crafting: 1143/10000/Tier 1;

Breaking through to Tier 3 in Throwing could also enhance his physique?

This feeling was almost identical to when the Red Falcon Body Tempering Technique had strengthened his muscles!

Previously, as he practiced the Flying Locust Stone, his body had been steadily strengthened without him noticing.

Now, with his breakthrough to Tier 3, quantitative change had triggered qualitative change. His strength, speed, and every other aspect had surged once more.

He lifted his shirt and looked at his sharply defined eight-pack abs, unable to stop himself from grinning.

This was the physique he had dreamed of in his previous life. Now, it had come naturally, all at once!