With a solemn expression, Qi Yuan watched Jiang Shu, who seemed deep in thought. He said no more. Picking up the wine jug, he cut off two pounds of meat, then left the hall and headed for the kitchen.
The little courtyard was where he practiced martial arts. For the sake of peace and quiet, he had only one old servant to take care of the daily chores.
When Qi Yuan came out, the old servant hurried after him. He waited until Qi Yuan had sliced the meat thin, then stepped forward with practiced ease and set the slices over the big pot in the kitchen. Bending down, he stoked the fire.
The hall.
Seeing Qi Yuan leave, Jiang Shu didn't linger either.
He practiced his stance and breathing in the courtyard, steadily improving himself.
A strange, rich aroma of meat drifted through the breeze from the kitchen and reached his nose.
Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.
"Little Junior Brother, still practicing your stance? Come over and try this Exotic Beast Meat. This piece is fox-bear meat. It's a little gamey, but for me, it can speed up my martial arts progress by fifty or sixty percent. Give it a try, then practice your stance and see how it feels."
Qi Yuan drank his wine without putting on airs. He sat down on the ground beside Jiang Shu. He'd bought plenty today, so sparing a little for Jiang Shu was no trouble.
He wanted Jiang Shu to experience Exotic Beast Meat ahead of time and feel the boost it gave to his qi and blood.
"Then I'll take advantage of Senior Brother Qi's generosity today."
Jiang Shu finished his stance and sat cross-legged. He picked up a slice of meat and popped it into his mouth.
At once, a heavy, gamey taste filled his mouth. He forced it down and circulated the Hungry Tiger Breathing Method...
"Tough to swallow, huh? Want some wine?"
Qi Yuan held out the jug.
But Jiang Shu didn't take it. "Senior Brother Qi, I saw some cured meat and dried meat at the Black Market too. Are those much less effective than the fresh meat you bought?"
"Of course. Who knows how long that cured and dried meat has been sitting around? It's long since lost who knows how much of the essence in the flesh. That's why martial cultivation gets harder and harder. It's not just the martial arts themselves—it's even harder because of the resources."
"Ordinary people need meat to practice martial arts. We martial artists need Exotic Beast Meat to make progress. When you're just starting out, a well-off family with some savings can support you. But once you become a martial artist, you need a merchant household's backing."
"And if you want to go from the Skin Grinding Realm to the Bone Forging Realm, it's absolutely impossible without the full support of a wealthy family! If you can't buy Exotic Beast Meat, then your martial path has already reached its end."
Qi Yuan sighed. He'd practiced martial arts for years before learning just how difficult the path was. In Pingling County, a person's background determined how far they could go in martial arts.
He was fairly lucky. Though he hadn't been born into a wealthy family, his parents ran a shop and had never lacked food or clothing. That was how he'd reached the Skin Grinding Realm before turning twenty.
But he feared that was as far as his martial arts would ever take him.
Thinking of this, Qi Yuan took another sip of wine.
"Exotic Beast Meat is hard to come by in the county. What if you went to the prefectural city?"
Jiang Shu asked quietly. He'd been in this world for half a year, but because certain knowledge was monopolized, he knew nothing about the areas around Pingling County.
"You can't get out."
At Jiang Shu's question, Qi Yuan shook his head.
"Jiang Shu, our Pingling County is in Yongning Prefecture. To get to the prefectural city, you'd first have to cross who knows how many mountains."
Qi Yuan rose to his feet and gazed into the distance.
"We martial artists eat Exotic Beast Meat to improve our martial arts. But in the mountains, martial artists like us in the Skin Grinding Realm are nothing more than food for those Mutated Fierce Beasts."
"Only martial artists in the Bone Forging Realm have a sliver of a chance of getting out."
"But becoming a Bone Forging Realm martial artist is easier said than done."
A vicious cycle.
The mountains formed a barrier, keeping martial artists in the Skin Grinding Realm from leaving.
The County Office and wealthy families monopolized the Exotic Beast Meat, releasing only a little through the Black Market.
Even if a martial artist in the Skin Grinding Realm managed to reach the Bone Forging Realm...
Then what?
On one side, the wealthy families would recruit him, and he could spend the rest of his life enjoying himself in Pingling County.
On the other, he could leave Pingling County, brave life and death, and have only a slim chance of reaching the prefectural city.
Which would he choose?
Jiang Shu said nothing. He'd thought that once he reached the Skin Grinding Realm, he wouldn't face any major difficulties in Pingling County.
Now it seemed he'd been too naïve.
To be in Pingling County was to be trapped in a giant cage!
The wind swept through the courtyard.
Qi Yuan was already a little drunk. The slices of meat on the plate were long gone. He shook the now-empty wine jug, suddenly sprang to his feet, and shouted at Jiang Shu, "Let's fight!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their bodies whirled, their fists cracking through the air.
A quarter of an hour later.
Jiang Shu was aching all over, his arms and legs mottled with bruises.
Drunk as he was, Qi Yuan had been too slow to pull his punches several times. His fists landed heavily, hammering Jiang Shu's limbs again and again. Of course, Qi Yuan hadn't had an easy time either, even without using Inner Strength. Jiang Shu's Tiger Form Three Styles were already nearing perfection.
His punches were also concentrating more and more force into a single point.
Actual combat was the fastest way to improve!
If only the Hungry Tiger Sitting Cave Stance and Hungry Tiger Breathing Method could be practiced in real combat, just like the Tiger Form Three Styles!
The thought flashed through Jiang Shu's mind as he threw a punch.
Bang!
He staggered back, his fist already swollen red.
"Want to keep going?"
Qi Yuan stood in place, swaying but refusing to fall.
"Fight!"
Jiang Shu roared in reply. The fox-bear meat was already taking effect inside him. Warmth spread through his body, as if energy were gathering in his limbs and bones.
The Tiger Form Three Styles.
Pounce!
Sweep!
Scissor!
A gentle breeze blew.
The moon shone bright, and the stars were few.
Jiang Shu and Qi Yuan were sweating buckets. Their short jackets had long since been soaked through.
"Now that was satisfying!"
After draining another jug of wine, Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Shu and said, "Little Junior Brother, you're good in every way except one: you don't like wine! You've got to fix that. Here, drink!"
"Senior Brother Qi, wine is poison that eats through the guts, and lust is a steel blade that scrapes the bones. We're at a crucial time in our martial cultivation. How can we let wine and lust hold us back?"
Jiang Shu could barely stand.
His legs trembled, but he still held himself straight. With his fists clenched, he cried out.
He had always repaid kindness with kindness, and grudges with grudges.
Qi Yuan had been willing to share the fox-bear meat and hold back his Inner Strength, using only physical strength to trade punches with him and teach him through sparring.
That was no small kindness!
So what if resources were monopolized?
Once he entered the academy, he'd have all the Exotic Beast Meat he could eat!
The Skin Grinding Realm? Within easy reach!
The Bone Forging Realm? Just around the corner!
And when the day came to escape the cage...
Why couldn't he take Qi Yuan with him?
"Damn it, Jiang Shu, I think you're the one who's drunk! Wine is poison that eats through the guts? That's something a Viscera Refining Realm expert needs to worry about. I'm only in the Skin Grinding Realm. Why should I care?"
"Managing to avoid lust, that steel blade that scrapes the bones, is already good enough! Reaching the Bone Forging Realm is the limit for a whole lifetime. You avoid wine and women, Jiang Shu. Are you hoping to become a Viscera Refining Realm expert?"
Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes. Jiang Shu's words had made him laugh, and he couldn't help but fire back.
He'd thought Jiang Shu would reply with something like, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare."
After all, today he'd shown him so much.
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