Caught Flashing His Wealth

Lin Le was practicing his fist technique when Hou Guang came over carrying two wooden poles, one long and one short. Both ends of each pole were wrapped in white cloth.

Smack!

Hou Guang was also a first-limit Martial Master with Blood Qi Gauze. His ears and eyes were sharp, so naturally he had heard the bones cracking from Lin Le's body.

So fast? A trace of surprise appeared in Hou Guang's eyes. Good comprehension was one thing, but comprehension that surpassed ordinary people was another.

For ordinary people to produce one crack and gain entry into the White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist, it took at least ten or twenty days, and at most one or two months.

But Lin Le? It had not even taken him a full day. This level of comprehension could be called genius.

Ordinary good comprehension was not much use. If one spent twenty or thirty years fully comprehending the White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist and thereby changing one's Bone Structure, the day lilies would have gone cold by then.

But five or six years was different. Lin Le would only be twenty then, with another ten years remaining. With the superior Bone Structure altered by the White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist, he would have a fifty-percent chance of cultivating to the point of No Leakage and becoming a cultivator.

Looking at it this way, Lin Le's chances of becoming a cultivator were even higher than his own.

Hou Guang narrowed his eyes. This had value.

Lin Le also noticed someone watching him. He withdrew his stance and stopped punching, looking toward the observer. It was Hou Guang.

However, Hou Guang's gaze made him somewhat uncomfortable. Hou Guang was not looking at him as though he were a person, but as though he were merchandise.

Lin Le cupped his hands. "Good morning, Senior Brother Hou."

"Good morning." Hou Guang smiled and nodded, tossing the short pole to Lin Le. "Catch it. Today, we'll learn the White Ape Spear."

"Alright." Lin Le caught the short pole and nodded.

"This is the opening stance, White Ape Offers Fruit." Hou Guang held the pole in both hands and crouched slightly, the spear tip pointing upward, like an ape offering a peach. Then he began to wield the spear.

"This is White Ape Climbs the Branch, used to knock aside an enemy's weapon or attack their upper body."

"This is White Ape Flips Over, the spear turning with the body."

After finishing the entire set, Hou Guang was not even out of breath. He turned to Lin Le. "Junior Brother Lin, how much did you remember?"

"I remembered all of it," Lin Le said.

Hou Guang stood to one side. "Show me."

Lin Le wielded the spear according to his memory. Though he moved slowly, he performed the entire White Ape Spear set without missing a thing.

He truly had a photographic memory. Such astonishing comprehension!

Hou Guang clicked his tongue from the side. A month for the staff, a year for the saber, a lifetime for the spear. When he had first learned the White Ape Spear, it had taken him more than half a month before he could perform the complete sequence of moves. Yet Lin Le had learned it after seeing it once.

After practicing with Lin Le for half an hour, Hou Guang said, "Alright, Junior Brother Lin. You've already learned all the moves of the White Ape Spear. Just practice diligently from now on."

"Your White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist has already entered the beginner stage, hasn't it?" Hou Guang suddenly changed the subject.

"It has." Lin Le nodded.

Hou Guang patted Lin Le on the shoulder. "Senior Brother will give you a piece of advice. Cultivate the White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist to perfection as quickly as possible. It will bring you great benefits."

"Oh." Lin Le nodded as if he did not understand.

Seeing Lin Le's bewildered expression, Hou Guang could not help patiently explaining further. "Any martial art, when practiced to perfection, can change one's Bone Structure. Our White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist is one of the finest among them."

"The Bone Structure it changes one into is Ape Arms and Bee Waist, one of the better superior Bone Structures."

"Senior Brother has felt your Bone Structure before. It is only middling to low-grade. Without a great deal of resources to assist you, becoming a first-limit Martial Master would be your limit. If you want to become a cultivator, nothing short of a superior Bone Structure will do."

Hou Guang patted Lin Le's shoulder again. "So listen to Senior Brother's advice. Practice the White Ape Spear less and the White Ape Shoulder-Hunching Fist more. Changing your Bone Structure is what you should be doing. Don't waste your comprehension."

"Yes, thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother." Lin Le cupped his hands.

"Come find me if you have any questions. I'm going to teach the others." Hou Guang said.

"I will, Senior Brother Hou." Lin Le nodded.

Lin Le watched Hou Guang's retreating back, narrowing his eyes slightly. A broker?

He had heard that every martial arts school had several middlemen. They gathered information on the school's apprentices, then passed it on to wealthy and powerful households. Those great households would give them a little tea money and have them act as persuaders, convincing outstanding apprentices to become their servants and retainers.

Lin Le guessed that because his talent was good, Hou Guang had treated him as merchandise being polished up, hoping he could sell for a good price. Hou Guang himself would then receive a substantial sum in tea money.

In this era, such a transaction was considered a three-way win. The great household gained a capable enforcer, the middleman gained money, and the apprentice gained a job with decent treatment.

Unfortunately, I have no intention of being anyone's dog.

Lin Le stopped looking at Hou Guang and focused on practicing the White Ape Spear instead.

At noon, the White Ape Martial Arts School provided meals. Though it was plain rice with cabbage and tofu, plus a little minced meat, at least there was no limit on how much one could eat.

Lin Le ate until he was stuffed. Blood Essence Treasure Liquid was formed from dissipated vital essence, and food that could not be absorbed also counted as part of that dissipated vital essence.

Lin Le found a corner, leaned against the wall, counted his breaths, and fell asleep.

After the noon break, Lin Le did not continue practicing martial arts. Instead, he left the martial arts school.

He needed to find a place to live.

Three hundred copper coins a night at an inn was far too expensive for him now. With that money, he might as well buy Wild Ginseng to eat.

Ordinary Wild Ginseng now cost only one tael of silver per jin, while one tael of silver was one thousand copper coins.

But Lin Le did not go to the broker's office first. He went to the County Office instead, since he had to apply for a Travel Permit.

If he became a cultivator, he could go wherever he pleased. Unfortunately, he was not one, so he could only honestly get his Travel Permit processed.

At the Baishan County Office, in the household registration room, the petty official seated behind the desk glanced at Lin Le. "One tael of silver."

Expressionless, Lin Le handed the petty official one tael of silver.

The petty official processed it quickly, then tossed a wooden plaque to Lin Le. "You may only travel within Anzhu Prefecture. Don't wander around."

"Alright." Lin Le took the wooden plaque and left.

The petty official watched Lin Le depart, stroked the little mustache above his lip, then glanced at the newly written copy of the Travel Permit. He took out a bamboo slip and tossed it outside.

Smack! The bamboo slip knocked down a lantern.

In a building nearby, a burly man saw the lantern fall and turned his head. "Heh, goods have arrived!"

As soon as he said this, several malicious gazes turned toward the short figure walking out through the doorway.

They knew that a fat sheep had arrived.

Lin Le's steps paused, but only for a moment. He quickly returned to normal, though faint bloodshot veins crept across the whites of his eyes.

When he reached the broker's office, Lin Le made his choice after the agent's introduction and selected a small courtyard for two taels a month.

After spending a little more money, Lin Le furnished the place, checked out of the inn, then hurried to the pharmacy before it closed and spent fifteen taels on a five-year-old Blood Ginseng.

The firewood blazed as the meat broth boiled furiously. Lin Le tossed in the entire Blood Ginseng, covered the pot, and waited for the firewood to burn out.

Once the braised pork was ready, Lin Le not only ate all the meat, but also ate the Blood Ginseng bite by bite and drank every last drop of the soup.

Blood Ginseng was even more beneficial for replenishing Blood Qi than ordinary mountain ginseng. A whole five-year-old Blood Ginseng would probably give even a first-limit Martial Master a nosebleed.

Yet Lin Le's complexion was merely a little flushed, with nothing unusual about him. The Lotus Incarnation had already absorbed all the medicinal power that Lin Le could not digest.

Within the inner landscape of the Inner Vision Divine Ability, a red dewdrop was forming upon a lotus leaf.

Without hesitation, Lin Le used the dewdrop directly, then began practicing his fist technique in the courtyard.

Smack! Smack! The sounds rang out endlessly through the courtyard.