Official Martial Artist! Draw Sword for Longevity!

Lin Guanhuo's heavy slap left Huang Dazui completely dazed, inflicting severe psychological trauma upon him.

Huang Dazui clutched his face. "You... you motherfucker, you dare hit me?!"

He leaped up from the ground. He was used to bullying others in the Miscellaneous Room courtyard; even Foreman Zhao gave him face.

Now that he had been slapped, how could he possibly endure it?

The next second, Huang Dazui charged over in a blind rage. "I'm going to kill you!"

However...

"Slap!"

Another, even louder, slap rang out.

This time, Lin Guanhuo used a bit more force.

Huang Dazui's hundred-plus-pound frame was sent flying as if he had been rammed by an ox. With a loud thud, he slammed into the dirt in the center of the courtyard, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Ouch~~!"

Huang Dazui opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of blood. Now, his remaining front teeth were loose as well.

He looked just like a dead dog.

"Fine! Fine! You've got guts!"

Huang Dazui scrambled up from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "You just wait!! You just wait for me!!"

After saying that, he clutched his face and, just like last time, shoved his way viciously through the crowd, stumbling as he ran toward the main gate.

Everyone present knew clearly that this guy was going to fetch his daddy.

Seeing this scene, many of the Laborers in the canteen couldn't help but feel a secret sense of satisfaction.

Relying on his cousin's connections, this Huang Dazui usually ran rampant in the Miscellaneous Room, and everyone had long been sick of him.

However, these people didn't dare to resist themselves and could only hope for someone else to stand up for them, gathering around to watch the spectacle once it was over.

After all, Wang Tiedan had offended Huang Dazui not long ago and was crippled by his cousin, Huang Bao, eventually ending up with his corpse exposed in the street.

That incident had happened only a few days ago, so the crowd was curious: what would be Lin Guanhuo's fate?

"Heh, now we're in for a show!"

"This Lin Guanhuo is done for... Huang Bao won't let him off when he gets here."

The crowd whispered among themselves. Meanwhile.

"Brother Lin, you're being too impulsive!"

Xu Dadao, standing to the side, hurriedly urged, "Have you forgotten about Wang Tiedan from a few days ago?"

"That's right, while they haven't arrived yet, you should run!" Li Hu also advised, "A wise man doesn't fight when the odds are against him!"

Hearing this, Lin Guanhuo merely offered a faint smile and picked up his bowl to take a sip of porridge. "Run? Why? I haven't finished my porridge yet."

Seeing his calm demeanor, Xu Dadao and Li Hu wanted to offer a few more words of persuasion, but after taking one more look at Lin Guanhuo, they saw he was completely indifferent. In the end, the two could only sigh helplessly and step back a few paces to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

After all, they were only slightly acquainted with Lin Guanhuo; it wasn't worth bringing trouble upon themselves for his sake.

Time ticked by, second by second.

A quarter of an hour.

Half an hour.

"Huang Dazui is back!"

Someone in the crowd, eager to see the spectacle, shouted out.

Upon hearing this, every gaze turned toward the entrance.

Huang Dazui had returned.

However, this time, Huang Dazui no longer possessed the arrogance he had shown during his confrontation with Wang Tiedan, and his martial artist cousin was not by his side.

He had returned alone.

Huang Dazui kept his head hung low, his complexion looking terrible, even tinged with a sense of bewilderment and terror.

Because, just moments ago...

He had learned from the Mad Saber Martial Arts School that his cousin, Huang Bao, had been brutally murdered a few days prior!

Decapitated, his death had been gruesome!

Huang Dazui was completely stunned; his gait was unsteady, and he had stumbled his way back the entire journey.

It could be said that the only reason he had been able to throw his weight around in the Miscellaneous Room courtyard was entirely due to the intimidation of his cousin.

And now, his cousin had died without rhyme or reason.

At this very moment, Huang Dazui had only one thought, and that was...

He was finished!

After all, paper cannot wrap up fire; sooner or later, the people in the Miscellaneous Room courtyard would learn of this news.

Those who had been bullied by him before and looked upon him with displeasure—would they spare him?

Pack up, leave tonight! It's a fight to the death!

This place can no longer be stayed in...

Following this, everyone saw Huang Dazui with an expression as if his entire family had died. Gone was his usual arrogance; he returned to his room, wilted and dejected.

"This..."

"What's going on??"

The Miscellaneous Room courtyard fell into a brief silence.

Everyone looked at each other, somewhat bewildered.

What was happening?

Huang Dazui had been beaten up by Lin Guanhuo, and in the end, he didn't even let out a fart—was it just over like that?

Seeing that there was no more spectacle to watch, the crowd dispersed after a short while, each going about their own business.

"Lin Guanhuo!"

At this moment, Zhao Sihai, the deputy foreman of the Miscellaneous Room, walked over and waved at Lin Guanhuo. "There's a residence at the Government Office undergoing renovations today; go over there and help out. If you do a good job, you might even get a few coins as a reward."

Afterward, Zhao Sihai randomly selected a few others. "Be sharp when you get to the Government Office. Don't go looking for trouble for me!"

Lin Guanhuo then stood up. "Understood, Chief Zhao."

A busy day came to an end. Many people came and went in the Miscellaneous Room courtyard every day.

However, within a month or two, Lin Guanhuo noticed that many of the faces in the courtyard were strangers, while the familiar faces from before were becoming fewer and fewer.

There were two reasons for this. One was that there were too many people starving these days, all trying to squeeze in just to earn a bite to eat.

The other reason was that the lives of Laborers were worthless; if they died in some muddled way, no one would care.

Deep in the quiet of the night, inside Lin Guanhuo's small room.

He sat naked in a large vat, the scalding medicinal liquid submerged up to his chest.

After these days of body tempering and preparation.

The time had finally come.

Tonight, he would charge toward the Body Tempering Realm and become a true martial artist!

It was a step that countless people in this chaotic world dreamed of reaching.

"Gulp... gulp..."

Lin Guanhuo's heartbeat was heavy and powerful, sounding like a beating drum.

As time passed, the color of the medicinal liquid in the vat faded rapidly, while the bronze luster on the surface of his skin underwent a qualitative change.

It was no longer the impure shade from before; in its place was a pure, bronze hue!

This was the manifestation of Body Tempering reaching its limit.

One hour!

Two hours!

Three hours!

"Break!"

At that very instant!

The aura within Lin Guanhuo's body completed a qualitative leap.

Creak, creak!

His entire skeleton rattled, and a sense of unprecedented lightness spread throughout his body, as if a great mountain that had been pressing down on him had been lifted away.

"I've broken through!"

Lin Guanhuo snapped his eyes open and slowly extended his arm. It was clear that his arm now possessed a bronze color, resembling a statue cast from bronze.

Even without exerting any force, a light flick of his finger against his skin produced the clanging sound of metal striking metal.

Copper Skin emerges, Body Tempering is complete!

First Rank Body Tempering Realm, achieved!

This meant that he had officially stepped into the first realm of the martial path and become a formal martial artist!

"Finally, I've entered the ranks..."

Lin Guanhuo clenched his fist, feeling the surging blood and qi within his body.

In this chaotic world, ordinary people are like blades of grass; only by becoming a martial artist can one earn the right to plant their roots in the soil.

The threshold that others might fail to cross even after decades of bitter training in the heat and cold, he had cleared in just two months!

Such speed was simply shocking.

But Lin Guanhuo was not overly excited; his state of mind had grown increasingly steady alongside the rise in his strength.

This was only the first step; there was a much longer road ahead.

"Let's check the system."

With a thought, the system panel immediately materialized:

[Name: Lin Guanhuo]

[Realm: First Rank Body Tempering]

[Martial Arts: Second Level Precept Breaking Saber Art]

[Current Lifespan: 22 years]

Lin Guanhuo's gaze locked onto that line regarding his lifespan.

Twenty-two years!

Previously, he had only two years of life remaining.

But now, with the breakthrough in his realm, his lifespan had surged by twenty years in one go!

"So that's how it is..."

A flash of realization crossed Lin Guanhuo's eyes, which then transformed into fervor.

"Martial evolution—the higher the realm, the longer one lives!"

"Burn life to train in martial arts, break through realms, and increase lifespan..."

"I might even be able to... achieve immortality!"