Greater Accomplishment and Beyond?

"I? Heh heh, I'm in the Tendon Changing Realm. I'm only one step away from the Bone Forging Realm."

Hong Zhengdao said proudly.

At his age, with no powerful backer or faction to rely on, having trained himself up step by step—across all of Jin City, it was something worth being proud of.

"Master, you're about to reach the Peak of Strength Refinement!"

Zhang Lingshan said in shock.

Hong Zhengdao smiled faintly and waved a hand. "The peak isn't so easy to stand upon. Eat. One should not speak while eating or talk while sleeping. Chew every bite thoroughly so it digests faster, eases the burden on the stomach and intestines, and benefits the body."

"Yes."

Zhang Lingshan immediately shut his mouth and focused wholeheartedly on eating.

Afterward.

He bade Hong Zhengdao farewell and returned to the Backyard of the Hong Clan Martial Hall, where he began lifting Stone Locks to refine his strength alongside Shi Lei and the other Senior Brothers.

Strength refinement required skill.

According to Hong Zhengdao, those skills were all contained within the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture and Red Thread Fist he had taught him, and Zhang Lingshan had to explore them himself.

A master led one through the door; cultivation depended on the individual.

The other party had already taught the techniques, instilled the crucial points and methods of learning into him. What came next was practice and tempering.

Stone Locks, Stone Balls, and Stone Slabs were all placed in the Backyard. As long as one was willing to study and delve into them, one would surely gain insight.

If one had no interest and refused to think, then even if someone fed it straight into one's mouth, it would still be something they had chewed over themselves, never something truly one's own.

Zhang Lingshan understood this well. He did not disturb anyone, merely quietly watched Shi Lei and the other Senior Brothers train.

First, he would observe how others trained, then draw inferences from one instance to another.

The reason the Hong Clan Martial Hall had them train together was so fellow disciples could learn from and verify one another. If one did not make use of that, one might as well train at home alone.

Very soon.

As the Senior Brothers demonstrated their techniques one by one, Zhang Lingshan spotted the trick.

He picked up a fifty-pound Stone Lock and began practicing the Heaven Supporting Posture from the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture. Once he could no longer support it, he switched to the Embracing Yang Posture.

He repeatedly alternated between them, ensuring he did not drop the Stone Lock to the ground while continuously exercising different muscle groups throughout his body.

Until he could no longer endure.

Even with a fifty-pound Stone Lock, I can't perform a complete set of the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture. When will I ever reach two hundred pounds?

Zhang Lingshan's heart grew heavy.

According to Hong Zhengdao, two hundred pounds was not actually Skin Grinding. It merely allowed one to try exchanging blows with a Skin Grinding Martial Practitioner.

To truly cultivate to the Skin Grinding Realm would take even longer.

Fortunately, after moving to Hongwu Street, he did not know whether it was truly because the yang energy here was abundant, or because Li Fu's family of three could no longer find him after he moved.

In short, the next month passed in exceptional peace and tranquility.

Even the red marks on his body became nearly imperceptible, while nighttime nightmares only came once in a while.

Everything was moving in a better direction.

The only problem was that he had no money on hand, and he was busy cultivating every day with no time to spare, leaving him unable to buy Spirit Root Grass and other medicinal ingredients from the apothecary.

Fortunately, the martial hall provided two meals a day, which increased his energy by 0.4.

And every four days, he received a bowl of Four Harmony Soup, which increased his energy by 1 point.

By the end of the month, his energy had climbed back up to 20 points.

Unfortunately, 20 points of energy had not caused any changes to the Panel.

Clearly, that tiny amount of energy was still not enough for the Red Thread Fist to break through.

"Brother."

That day, just as Zhang Lingshan was about to leave for the martial hall, his younger sister Zhang Lingyu suddenly called out to him. She stuffed a money pouch into his hand and said, "Hall Master Hong let us move into Hongwu Street and helped us so much. Mother says we can't let him help us for nothing. Take this and buy Hall Master Hong a gift."

Zhang Lingshan opened the pouch and said in surprise, "Six taels of silver? Where did you get this?"

"Mother and I earned it together!"

Zhang Lingyu lifted her chin proudly. "I'm very skilled at needlework. Everyone comes to me with work, and lots of Senior Brothers from your martial hall have personally come to our door looking for me."

"Uh..."

Zhang Lingshan was speechless. Looking at his sister's delicate and pretty face, as well as her body that had begun to develop slightly, he could not help shaking his head in warning. "I suspect they may not mean well. Don't let their honeyed words trick you."

"How could that happen? Do you really think I'm a three-year-old child?"

Zhang Lingyu gave a huff, then compared their heights and said smugly, "If you hadn't grown a little taller before, I'd be as tall as you by now. I'm not a child."

"Fine, fine, fine. Don't talk to me about height!"

Zhang Lingshan had been struck right in his sore spot. He did not want to speak to his sister and left her with a roll of his eyes.

Among all the formal disciples of the Hong Clan Martial Hall, no matter how hard he worked, he was still the shortest.

Moreover, ever since he had been unable to accumulate enough energy to break through his realm, his growth in height had become negligible as well.

All he wanted now was to raise his energy as quickly as possible, break through his realm, and experience another exciting growth spurt.

Perfect.

His sister had provided him with a source of funds.

What a good child she was.

Although his sister had given him money so he could buy Hong Master a gift, he felt that anything he could buy with six taels of silver would not even catch Hong Master's eye.

What sort of person was Hong Master?

A Tendon Changing expert who lacked nothing.

Rather than giving him a gift, it would be better to fulfill the agreement he had made with Hong Master earlier.

Hong Master had said that as long as Zhang Lingshan trained the red thread to his Upper Arm within three months, he would waive three months of rent.

Now, one month had already passed. The red thread had only reached his shoulder, advancing an utterly insignificant distance.

To train the red thread to his Upper Arm within the remaining two months, he certainly could not rely on himself alone.

He had to rely on the Panel.

Therefore, he would use these six taels of silver to buy the most cost-effective Spirit Root Grass.

Six taels of silver could buy six taels of Spirit Root Grass. It would take exactly thirty days to digest, allowing him to accumulate 12 points of energy.

Adding the energy he would gain at the martial hall over the next month.

At the end of that month.

Zhang Lingshan checked the Panel.

Name: Zhang Lingshan

Martial Arts: Red Thread Fist (Entry Level), Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture (Greater Accomplishment+)

Energy: 56.6

"Hm?!"

Zhang Lingshan froze abruptly.

By his calculations, the Red Thread Fist should have been ready to improve.

Why was there no plus sign after the Red Thread Fist, while the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture had one instead?

What realm came after Greater Accomplishment for the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture?

Zhang Lingshan's heart immediately surged like a tidal wave.

He remembered Hong Master saying that after martial arts were mastered, there was still an Unknowable Realm, also known as the Perfection Realm—the realm of "Momentum."

After Greater Accomplishment came Perfection!

According to Hong Master, this Unknowable Realm could Exorcise Evil and Suppress Calamities.

Though he had not been speaking of the Primal Chaos Righteous Yang Posture at the time, only saying it was possible and that he was not certain.

But since there was such a possibility, it was worth trying.

Break through for me!

Zhang Lingshan roared in his heart.