Mastered!

Zhang Lingshan had no idea that after he left, the young monk Hui Xiu had cursed under his breath and changed his expression.

By then, he had already returned to the Hong Clan Martial Hall.

He had arrived just in time for lunch.

After eating his fill, he headed straight to the apothecary to buy medicine.

Those twenty taels of silver had come at exactly the right time. He had nearly spent all the money he had on hand; this was truly charcoal sent in a snowstorm.

To hurry up and accumulate energy,

he spent a hefty sum buying a large quantity of Snow Silver Flowers.

One mace of Snow Silver Flower could accumulate 1 point of energy, but cost one tael of silver.

One mace of Spirit Root Grass could accumulate 0.2 points of energy, yet cost only one mace of silver.

In other words, one tael of silver could buy one tael of Spirit Root Grass and accumulate 2 points of energy.

Its cost-effectiveness was twice that of Snow Silver Flower.

But Spirit Root Grass was absorbed slowly. A whole tael of it took even longer to absorb, requiring five or six days.

Meanwhile, one mace of Snow Silver Flower only took four hours.

There were twelve hours in a day. If he ate it right on schedule, he could accumulate three points of energy.

That was no small amount.

It was far faster than slowly eating Spirit Root Grass.

Its only drawback was that it was too expensive.

Twenty taels of silver, plus what he had left, made twenty-seven taels in total. At most, it would last nine days and accumulate 27 points of energy.

Over those nine days, counting the martial hall's two meals each day, he could accumulate another 1.8 points of energy.

Then there was the dried meat still left at home.

Altogether, he could probably accumulate 35 points.

It was still somewhat lacking, and the speed was still slow, but this was already his limit.

I wonder how much energy the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture needs to break through to Greater Accomplishment. Will 35 points be enough?

Zhang Lingshan still had no certainty in his heart.

But he had no other way to make money. He could only hope to raise his experience through frenzied Standing Posture practice, thereby reducing the energy cost when breaking through.

Thus, over the following days, he scarcely had any free time.

He tempered himself day and night, never knowing fatigue.

Like Zhang Chaoyang, he slept only two hours each day.

The benefits were obvious. Zhang Lingshan could clearly feel his Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture becoming increasingly fluid. He was not far from forming his own routine.

The downside was that his body might grow too exhausted. Though the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture nurtured the body, practicing it this way day after day with insufficient rest, he feared he would not last long.

The truth was exactly as Zhang Lingshan had expected.

He only held on for five days before he could no longer endure it.

That night, he finally fell into a deep sleep.

In his dreams, he suddenly heard loud banging on the door. Someone outside was urging him to open it.

The knocking only grew louder, the urging more frantic, irritating him beyond measure.

Zhang Lingshan finally could not bear it any longer. He climbed out of bed and walked to the door, preparing to open it.

Just then,

a scream rang out. "Brother!"

Bzzzt!

Zhang Lingshan jolted awake. Seeing that he had nearly undone the door bolt, his expression instantly changed. Cold sweat streamed down his back, and lingering fear seized him to the extreme.

He hurriedly slid the bolt back into place, then turned to look at his younger sister.

In the darkness, a bean-sized candle flame flickered, casting her face alternately into shadow and light.

Her tender little face was filled with terror, and her tiny body trembled.

"Xiao Shan..."

Zhang Mother followed in a trembling voice.

"Mother, Xiao Yu, you haven't slept yet?"

Zhang Lingshan slowly calmed down and asked in surprise.

Zhang Mother said, "We saw how exhausted you've been these past few days, your face pale every day. We were worried something might happen to you, so we took turns keeping watch at night."

"Brother, they say abundant qi and blood keep Evil Spirits at bay, but you can't wear yourself out like this either. You're so dazed that you're sleepwalking at night. If you keep practicing this desperately, I'm afraid before Li Fu's family of three even comes, you'll already collapse on your own."

His younger sister urged him worriedly.

Zhang Lingshan nodded heavily. "Xiao Yu is right. I understand. Nothing will happen today. You should both get some rest too. I'll practice Standing Posture a little longer, then rest during the day tomorrow."

"Mhm, that would be best."

Zhang Lingyu was exhausted as well.

These days had not been much better for them than for Zhang Lingshan.

Everyone had been walking on eggshells.

They only hoped to get through this calamity as soon as possible.

Unlike Zhang Lingshan, Zhang Lingyu and Zhang Mother hoped for time to pass, for the resentment of Li Fu's family of three to gradually fade, so they could be freed.

As for how long that would take, who could possibly know?

They would endure one day at a time.

Morning came.

Only after the sun rose did Zhang Lingshan go to sleep. He did not head to the Hong Clan Martial Hall until noon.

At night, he practiced Standing Posture in his room.

With his days and nights reversed like this, another five days passed.

At noon on this day,

after eating lunch at the Hong Clan Martial Hall,

Zhang Lingshan sat on a stone stool, dozing.

In his haze, who knew how much time passed.

Then a line of text suddenly flashed through his mind.

[Energy +1.1]

[Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture can break through! Break through?]

Whoosh!

Zhang Lingshan snapped awake!

Of the 1.1 energy, 1 point had come from the Snow Silver Flower he bought after scraping together the last of his money.

The other 0.1 had come from lunch.

He checked the Panel.

Name: Zhang Lingshan

Martial Art: Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture (Minor Accomplishment +)

Energy: 39.8

"Stat Points! Break through!!"

Zhang Lingshan roared inwardly.

He had waited so long, and today had finally arrived.

Without the slightest hesitation, all his consciousness surged toward that yellow "+".

Boom!

At that instant, he felt as though the force of his consciousness had become a shockwave, blasting apart the words "Minor Accomplishment" and turning them into "Greater Accomplishment."

The blood throughout his body began to boil.

Rush, rush, rush!

A sound like a raging river echoed.

Everything around him seemed to fall silent.

Zhang Lingshan could hear only the sounds within his own body—the sounds of all things reviving, all things growing.

His bones seemed to turn into bamboo, shooting upward wildly like spring bamboo sprouts after rain.

The muscle cells within him seemed to transform at that moment into countless tiny people, racing excitedly through his body.

No, they were not racing about wildly. They were being directed by a conductor's baton.

They ran in orderly chaos, crashing through his limbs and bones, through the skin all over his body, through the soles of his feet, through his fingertips.

This wondrous state lasted for who knew how long.

It seemed eternal, yet also like a single instant.

When Zhang Lingshan came back to himself, he saw his exposed wrist.

Huff.

A cool breeze swept past his ankles.

His arms and legs had both grown longer, his calves alone growing a full five centimeters.

He rose to his feet.

His height had already surpassed 1.6 meters.

He was at least 1.62 meters tall.

At last, I've reached the height I had in my first year of middle school in my previous life...

After steadying his emotions,

Zhang Lingshan carefully sensed the changes in his body.

He discovered that the change in height was merely the most insignificant part of it all.

At that moment, he felt more spirited than ever. All the exhaustion of recent days had been swept away, and his entire body brimmed with power.

His heart surged, his strength overflowed!

If he encountered Li Hu and the other two who had come to borrow money again, he would not need to ambush them. In a single exchange, he could kill all three.

Even though he knew no Combat Technique, he had that confidence relying solely on the powerful physique and strength of his current body.

"Disciple Zhang Lingshan has mastered the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture. I request Hong Master's assessment!"

Facing the main hall,

Zhang Lingshan called out loudly.