Fourth Rank Martial Artist!

Lin Guanhuo walked out of the alley without so much as a glance back.

To Lin Guanhuo now, those few people weren't even worth ants.

Since they hadn't chased after him, Lin Guanhuo couldn't be bothered to make a move.

But still...

What Lin Guanhuo found himself sighing about was this.

"My saber technique... is growing more refined by the day..."

Now, all eight basic forms of his Precept Breaking Saber Art were maxed out.

He had also comprehended a brand new killing move, 'River Breaking Style'.

Against ordinary Martial Artists, even without drawing his blade, he could injure them from a distance with nothing but Blade Wind.

That night, back in his dormitory, he closed the door.

Lin Guanhuo sat cross-legged on the bed.

With a wave of his hand, he pulled a small porcelain bottle from his Brocade Bag.

He uncorked the stopper.

A medicinal fragrance rushed to his nose, and faintly, he could even detect a trace of blood and qi force within it.

This was Qi Boosting Powder, a First Rank pill.

One tiny pill cost forty Silver Ingots.

Converted into wages from the Miscellaneous Room Courtyard, that was a fortune an ordinary White Servant couldn't save up in a lifetime of working without eating or drinking...

"I wonder how effective this forty-tael pill really is..."

Lin Guanhuo murmured to himself. This was his first time taking a pill.

The next second.

"Gulp."

Lin Guanhuo tilted his head back and swallowed the Qi Boosting Powder.

The pill entered his stomach, and after just two breaths.

An explosive torrent of heat detonated within his gut.

Scalding!

The feeling was like swallowing a red-hot charcoal briquette.

Lin Guanhuo's normal skin tone instantly flushed crimson.

And hidden beneath that skin was the surging blood and qi provided by this single Qi Boosting Powder!!

He didn't dare slack off and began to refine the pure medicinal power bit by bit, channeling it into himself.

The night passed without incident.

The Next Day, early morning.

"Boom boom boom boom~~"

Until the assembly drum sounded from the Martial Arts Arena.

Lin Guanhuo slowly opened his eyes and let out a light breath.

'Phew...'

He clenched his fist.

Crack!!

A sharp sound rang out in the air.

The feeling of power surging through him was far stronger than when he had eaten those dozens of catties of beef.

"Such a fierce medicinal force."

Lin Guanhuo felt the heat flow still not fully digested within his body, secretly startled.

The potency of this single Qi Augmenting Pill far exceeded his expectations!!

Even at his current absorption rate, one pill was enough to sustain three to five days of full-force cultivation.

"Ten bottles of pills..."

"That's enough to charge straight to Body Tempering fifth-grade."

Having finished a night of cultivation, Lin Guanhuo arrived at the Martial Arts Arena.

At this moment, a crowd of Apprentices had gathered on the arena, including the outstanding ones among this batch—Shen Yifan, Zhao Ming, and Li Miaomiao.

Instructor Zhou Cang stood with his hands behind his back on the Stone Platform of the arena, looking down at the crowd below: "Those of you still here can be considered to have at least some talent."

"In the days ahead, there's nothing new to teach. What you need to do is keep drilling and comprehending the basic forms I've taught you before, along with the Demon Suppressing Breathing Technique!"

"Don't think it's boring. The Martial Path is inherently monotonous."

"Yes!" the crowd answered in unison.

After they dispersed.

The Martial Arts Arena once again rang with the rising and falling sounds of shouts and exertion.

Shen Yifan, the genius among this batch of apprentices, stood in one corner of the arena, his white robe soaked through with sweat.

He trained with desperate intensity.

Clearly, he had been provoked by the talent Lin Guanhuo had displayed earlier.

The Shen Family, a prominent local merchant clan, had yet to produce a single powerful Martial Artist.

As the third young master of the Shen Family, Shen Yifan bore the weight of his clan's expectations.

His current cultivation was stuck at the peak of Body Tempering second-grade, just a hair's breadth away from third-grade.

"Before the end of the month, I will break through to third-grade!"

Shen Yifan gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with fervor. "When that time comes, I'll be the undisputed Number One Person of this batch! I'll make everyone see who the real genius is!"

Not far away.

In a corner.

Lin Guanhuo, as usual, drew his blade again and again!

Draw!

But no one knew that with every draw of his sword.

The blood and qi within his body, catalyzed by the lingering medicinal power, underwent a subtle transformation.

The days that followed were plain and routine.

Cultivation, eating, cultivation.

Time passed day by day.

Five days.

Ten days.

Half a month.

Only one week remained until the upcoming Monthly Exam.

Late that night, inside the apprentice dormitory, in Lin Guanhuo's room.

He sat cross-legged on the bed, heat steaming from his entire body.

Visible white vapor rose from the top of his head.

Though it looked somewhat comical, it was a sign that his blood and qi had been pushed to their absolute limit.

After half a month of arduous training, he had consumed four Qi Augmenting Pills.

Refining them continuously, refining without stop.

Then, at a certain moment...

When the accumulated blood and qi within Lin Guanhuo's body reached its peak—

"Break!"

With a silent shout in Lin Guanhuo's heart.

His entire aura underwent a transformation!

Breakthrough, Body Tempering fourth-grade!

"Finally made it."

Only then did Lin Guanhuo slowly open his eyes.

He clenched his fist, feeling the surging, torrential power of blood and qi within him...

Yet his expression was utterly calm, as if this had all come naturally, following its course.

He focused his mind and opened the System interface. A translucent information panel immediately appeared before him.

Code
[Name: Lin Guanhuo]
[Current Lifespan: Eighty-two years]
[Martial Art: Precept Breaking Saber Art Killing Move (7%)]
[Draw Sword count: 800]

"Eighty-two years, huh..."

Lin Guanhuo stared at the number and murmured to himself.

From the time when demonic energy had polluted him, leaving only two years of life left...

To now, with a lifespan of over eighty years, it had only been two or three months.

In this light, the end of the Martial Dao was immortality.

"Eight thousand Draw Sword strikes, if all poured into the Precept Breaking Saber Art, might be enough to break through to the second layer of the killing move..."

"But..."

Lin Guanhuo pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "No rush."

His saber art had already reached the killing move level—grand and sweeping, with killing power—but he had no defensive means.

If ambushed by a Martial Artist or demon of the same rank, he could very well be taken out instantly.

"Attack without defense is walking a tightrope."

Lin Guanhuo touched his Brocade Bag, thoughtful. "I need to buy a martial art for nurturing the body and self-defense, to patch this weak spot."

With that thought, Lin Guanhuo pushed open the door and stepped out.

Just as he reached the street outside the Apprentice Plaza, he ran straight into a group of people.

Leading them was the Demon Suppressing Division's Bronze Badge Walker, Chen Jianxing.

He was dressed in black, sword in hand.

As a Badge Walker of the Demon Suppressing Division, he carried an aura of authority.

Behind him followed several Ordinary Servants.

"Official Chen." Lin Guanhuo stopped and clasped his fists.

Chen Jianxing looked up at the sound, saw it was Lin Guanhuo, and waved his hand to dismiss his subordinates.

Then he said, "Brother Lin, it's been a few days. Getting used to the Apprentice Camp?"

"It's fine." Lin Guanhuo replied.

Chen Jianxing nodded, but what he didn't know was...

Lin Guanhuo was more than fine—he was being treated like an ancestor by Instructor Zhou Cang.

Chen Jianxing was about to say something when his gaze suddenly sharpened.

As an old-school Martial Artist, his sensitivity to blood and qi was extremely keen.

He could sense that Lin Guanhuo's aura was far stronger than the last time they met!

"Brother Lin, you... broke through?"