Completing His Apprenticeship

Three more days passed after Song Hezheng's breakthrough.

Ji Fei, who had been recovering from his injuries at the Medical Hall, returned.

He also brought back a decision.

"You're saying you want to leave?" Sun Chengshan frowned as he looked at the returned Ji Fei.

Ji Fei showed little emotion as he nodded. "Yes. Fortune Trading Company approached me before and asked me to work for them. I agreed."

Sun Chengshan's expression darkened slightly. "Why didn't you inform me beforehand about something this important?"

"You weren't at the martial arts hall then. I was afraid of keeping them waiting too long, so I agreed first." Ji Fei's expression remained calm as he looked at Sun Chengshan in the seat of honor and spoke slowly.

Sun Chengshan looked back at him, his expression shifting several times before he finally let out a long sigh. "With your talent, you could originally have taken Shadowless Fist a step further here with me. Leaving then would have been the better choice.

"By then, you would have bargaining chips in hand, enough to make them value you and secure more benefits for yourself."

Ji Fei said nothing.

He had not returned this time to discuss anything with Sun Chengshan, his Master. He had merely come to inform him.

"You're simply too impetuous. Forget it. I know you won't listen anyway, so go." Sun Chengshan shook his head.

"Fine. Thank you, Master, for your guidance during this time. I won't forget it," Ji Fei said flatly with a nod.

"Remember, the outside world is not like the martial arts hall. When dealing with people and matters, always keep an extra eye open." In the end, Sun Chengshan could not help adding one more reminder.

"I know." With that, Ji Fei knelt and kowtowed three times to Sun Chengshan.

When he rose again, he strode out of the inner room without the slightest attachment. Without saying goodbye to any of the martial arts hall disciples, he left the hall where he had lived day and night.

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

That day, Wang Yu went through his usual day-after-day routine of training methods.

"Hm?" Feeling the warmth within his body gradually fade, Wang Yu paused slightly.

"Why has the effect of this pork become shorter today?"

He frowned faintly but did not think much of it. From the small plate beside him, he picked out a large piece of steamed Blood Pig Meat and swallowed it in a few bites.

Blood Pig Meat had a rather tough texture, a mediocre taste, and a strong bloody stench.

Ordinary people would truly find it hard to swallow. Only because Wang Yu ate it every day had he grown accustomed to it.

After eating another piece of Blood Pig Meat, the scorching sensation quickly rose within him again, filling every corner of his body.

Feeling hot all over, Wang Yu simply took off his clothes.

Bare-chested, he stood tall as a pine, revealing a body of lean, powerful muscles.

Each muscle was sharply defined. They did not look exaggerated, yet they appeared incomparably solid, containing immense explosive force.

Compared to before he began practicing martial arts, it was as though he had changed into an entirely new body.

With the constant nourishment of Blood Pig Meat, even his height had shot up considerably over the past two months. He now looked long-limbed, nearly one meter ninety at a glance.

His temperament was no longer gloomy and cold either. Instead, he was as blazing as the morning sun. At eighteen, he looked to be in the full bloom of youth, every bit a handsome young man.

No wonder that recently, even if he wanted to keep a low profile while walking through the outer courtyard, he found it difficult.

The female disciples who had once never given him a second glance now frequently watched him. From time to time, they even came to him under the pretext of discussing fist techniques, asking him to clear up their doubts.

He found it troublesome, so he simply spent most of his time practicing in the inner courtyard and rarely went out.

As the Blood Pig Meat continued taking effect, Wang Yu continued his fist practice.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind. He set aside all the other Body Tempering Methods he had been practicing alongside it and focused wholeheartedly on Shadowless Fist.

Gradually, the sensation of clouds parting to reveal the sun grew ever stronger. His face flushed, and excitement appeared in his expression.

Brilliant light burst from his eyes.

It can still be faster! The power can still be greater!

This is far from my body's limit!

The effects of the Blood Pig Meat within him were squeezed out more and more thoroughly, while the scorching sensation intensified, repeatedly washing through his limbs and bones.

His muscles, tendons, bones, and meridians were all changing, and those changes accelerated further and further.

Just as Wang Yu was reaching the height of his excitement, the Blood Pig Meat he had eaten not long ago was drained dry of its effects.

"Still not enough!" Wang Yu moved like the wind to the side and devoured all three remaining pieces of Blood Pig Meat on the plate.

In the past, one piece of Blood Pig Meat could maintain its effects for at least most of a day before they faded, but now they vanished in the blink of an eye.

Clearly, today was extraordinarily different!

Again and again, he repeated the Shadowless Fist forms. His punches became increasingly swift and fierce, striking each iron post without pause. The dull thuds grew louder and louder.

All at once, Wang Yu felt a blessing descend upon his heart. After throwing a punch, his mind went blank for an instant.

The next moment, threads of coolness seeped from his spine and spread throughout his entire body.

Like a basin of ice water poured over him amid August's blistering heat.

Only then did his overheated body temperature ease. Then, waves of soreness, swelling, numbness, and itching spread through his body as if he had been shocked by lightning.

The process lasted for around ten minutes before slowly subsiding.

"This feeling!" Wang Yu withdrew his fist, his eyes shining as he looked at his hands.

On the iron post before him was a clear fist mark, the indentation at least a centimeter deep.

Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm!

That was the only thought in Wang Yu's mind.

"Although I felt that the day of breakthrough was drawing near, I never expected it to be today. It's quite a bit earlier than expected."

He thought to himself, but the smile on his face was impossible to hide.

He went to the bathhouse and washed away the grime his body had secreted. When he emerged, Wang Yu felt refreshed and invigorated.

His body had become stronger from the inside out.

The difficulty of cultivation between the Body Tempering Third Layer and Fourth Layer increased severalfold. Correspondingly, the changes to one's body after breaking through could be called earth-shattering.

His physique was tough as iron, his Qi and Blood vigorous as fire. Ordinary chills, colds, minor disasters, and small illnesses could no longer appear on his body.

This feeling of being reborn was beyond Wang Yu's ability to describe.

No wonder reaching the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm meant one could rightfully complete one's apprenticeship.

The first three layers of the Body Tempering Realm still made one a disciple.

The gap between before and after was simply too vast. No matter how quick-witted a disciple was or how skilled their martial arts,

their physique and physical qualities were completely crushed by those of an old master. They likely could not even withstand a single slap from one—how could they possibly be compared...

"If there were concrete attribute values, then after advancing to the Body Tempering Fourth Layer Realm, my strength, agility, defense, mental attributes, and everything else have probably all doubled."

After sensing his own condition, Wang Yu muttered to himself.

That night, it was time for dividends again.

The three gathered once more in Sun Chengshan's inner room.

Over the past two months, Meng Lao Er had seemed like an old tree coming back to life in spring.

Since moving into town, the family of three had lived quite comfortably. They had even accumulated a considerable sum of savings and could begin planning for the future.

Unlike Wang Yu and Sun Chengshan, who spent their mining dividends clean in the blink of an eye.

"The Purple Coal Ore extracted in the second round was likewise sold to the Garrison Commander. This time, production was much higher than in the early stage, and the total revenue came to roughly three hundred thousand..."

As usual, Sun Chengshan reported the results. This time, Wang Yu received around forty-five thousand Crystal Coins.

Meng Lao Er received around sixty thousand Crystal Coins, while the largest share still went to Sun Chengshan.

All three were thoroughly satisfied.

Meng Lao Er did not even know how to spend such an enormous sum.

Wang Yu only told him to beware of thieves setting their sights on him and not to be too ostentatious in daily life. After all, the current environment was far from peaceful.

After Meng Lao Er left, Wang Yu remained in Sun Chengshan's inner room.

"Master, I've trained Shadowless Fist to the fourth level," Wang Yu suddenly said.

Sun Chengshan's eyes widened after taking a sip of tea, and he nearly spat it out.

"..."

Instinctively, he thought Wang Yu was joking again. But on second thought, when had Wang Yu ever joked with him about cultivation?

"Is that true?!"

"Mm."

"..."

The atmosphere fell into another strange silence.

Sun Chengshan felt a faint bitterness in his heart. Back then, it had taken him a full six years to break through to the fourth level of Shadowless Fist.

But Wang Yu, this little bastard...