Breakthrough!

Inside the courtyard paved with blue bricks, Lin Yin stood bare-chested, his expression solemn.

Suddenly, he let out a soft shout, and his torso, stained with beast blood, burst into a faint red mist under the morning light, as if the blood clinging to his skin was shaken off by an invisible and overbearing force.

At the same time, Lin Yin's joints and sinews seemed to tremble faintly with each breath. The inner force within him was pushed to its limit, and his Qi and blood appeared to rise to a certain bottleneck. The next moment, he exhaled a long breath, the air twisting like an arrow, dispersing the blood mist before him.

[Heaven rewards diligence, will achieve something]

[Golden Bell Shield Minor Accomplishment (1/100)]

The Golden Bell Shield had officially reached Minor Accomplishment!

A glint of gold seemed to flash in Lin Yin's eyes, and a faint, barely perceptible bronze sheen flickered across his seemingly pale skin.

His feet rooted to the ground, his horse stance as steady as a mountain, he twisted his right fist from his waist, tearing through the air with a sharp whistle as he suddenly slammed it into the wooden stake before him.

With a "bang," wood chips flew from the stake's surface. Lin Yin's form remained steady, his knuckles whitening from the strain. The next moment, he struck again, and the wooden stake let out a groaning protest, a vicious, visible gash appearing at the point of impact.

It was as if a burly man were swinging a sledgehammer at the stake.

With the third punch, the thick stake, as wide as half a man's waist, completely split apart. Lin Yin's knuckles were only slightly pale.

With every movement, sweat beads seeped from his pores—not sticky and wet, but like steam rising from a hot spring, condensing into fine droplets on his skin.

It was sweat vapor mixed with inner force, churning to form an almost imperceptible wave of air around Lin Yin, even causing the bamboo shadows in the corner of the courtyard to sway slightly.

This was the result of a Minor Accomplishment in a Hardening Technique—the boost to Qi and blood far beyond ordinary imagination.

The strangest part was that when Lin Yin exerted his full strength, his face showed no sign of strain, only his eyes, like a cold pool reflecting the sun, blazed with startling brightness.

It seemed that once the Golden Bell Shield was perfected, hardness and softness would merge, inner force would surge like rivers and seas, and the outward appearance would instead become serene and calm.

Morning light leaked in from the eastern wall, slanting across Lin Yin's shoulder and back, making the layer of Qi film clinging to his skin appear translucent.

Lin Yin concluded his practice, but his figure began to move through the courtyard, shifting his stance. It was no longer a heavy, forceful style, but a light, agile palm technique!

As his palm swept past, the accumulated dust on the wooden steps in the courtyard flew up in a flurry, then settled back down as he withdrew his stance, returning to stillness.

It wasn't just the Golden Bell Shield—Lin Yin's Cloud Palm and Cloud Stance were also growing more refined!

"Huh?"

In the wider, brighter courtyard, a middle-aged man paced out from the side room, his brow slightly furrowed in thought as he gazed at the tall courtyard wall beside him.

"That aura just now..."

He vaguely sensed some disturbance beyond the wall, his brow creasing slightly.

At his level, even the slightest breeze or rustling grass could reveal information beyond the perception of ordinary people.

Just now, he had felt an unusual burst of Qi, not the typical sign of a successful Inner Strength cultivation, nor something strong enough to startle someone like him.

It was just that the change in the person from the neighboring courtyard was so significant that it left him deeply surprised.

"Father?"

Creak...

The door to the side room on the other side of the courtyard opened, and a girl with delicate features looked at her father in equal surprise.

"You heard it too?" the man asked curiously.

"Mm, that guy gets up before dawn every day to practice his fists. He's pretty diligent."

Clearly, the girl hadn't grasped what her father meant.

He listened carefully for a while longer, pondering the sound of fists and feet cutting through the air, and began to wonder if he had been mistaken.

'It doesn't sound like the burst of Qi and blood from before...'

His thoughts settling slightly, the man turned and disappeared back into the side room.

As the bright morning light fell into the cramped little courtyard.

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Lin Yin had just finished washing up when "bang bang bang" knocks echoed through the quiet, peaceful little courtyard.

Lin Yin's mother warmly led Xu Chang, who was standing at the door, into the house. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she left the two of them alone in the room to talk.

"Junior Brother, how's it going today?"

Xu Chang, chewing on a large steamed bun in his hand, praised Lin Yin's mother's cooking as he asked.

"A lot of disciples have already made their moves. I picked a house right next to mine for you. Trust me, with our location, it's rock solid."

Saying this, Xu Chang couldn't help but show a hint of pride on his face.

Thanks to his good reputation at the Martial Arts School and Lin Yin's earlier request, he had managed to snag the rental first, beating everyone else. Otherwise, there was no way he'd have gotten a spot so close to the school.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I'm all set."

"Got enough silver? If not, I've got some to spare."

Just as Xu Chang was rambling on, Lin Yin pulled out gleaming silver coins, making Xu Chang, who had been joking, widen his eyes in shock.

"Heavens, that much!"

A rough glance showed about twenty or thirty taels, and this was only part of it.

Twenty or thirty taels... what did that mean? In Langshi Town right now, it was a considerable sum of money.

Lin Yin's expression turned serious as he took out three taels and handed them to Xu Chang.

"What's this for?"

Xu Chang put away his surprise and looked at Lin Yin.

"If not for Senior Disciple Brother's care, how could this junior have come this far? Finding a place to live wasn't easy, and it relied on you, so these three taels of silver..."

"Take those three taels back!" Xu Chang said firmly.

"This..."

"If you really give me this money, are you trying to draw a line between us?"

Xu Chang's expression was unusually stern.

Seeing this, Lin Yin dared not insist.

"In that case, thank you, Senior Disciple Brother."

He said nothing more, stood up, and was about to bow deeply to Xu Chang, but Xu Chang rose from the table and steadied Lin Yin.

"There's no need for formality between us. I only hope you can achieve success in your Stance Skill soon. If you don't mind, join my team..."

"Minor Accomplishment in Stance Skill? Your team?"

Seeing Lin Yin's slightly puzzled expression, Xu Chang let out a long sigh.

"In this world, wherever there are people, there are disputes. Outside the Martial Arts School, it's like this; inside the school, even more so."

"Once your Stance Skill reaches Minor Accomplishment, a little silver won't matter. By then, our goal will be Great Medicine."

"Great Medicine?"

"That's right, Great Medicine. Every Martial Arts School has quotas for competing for Great Medicine. Behind me stands Senior Disciple Brother..."

At this point, Xu Chang's face carried a hint of worry.

"Recently, Second Senior Disciple Brother's side has gained the support of many new disciples. They're riding high inside the school, and their growing numbers have won them quite a bit of outside sponsorship..."

"Outside sponsorship?"

Lin Yin was still confused.

Seeing this, Xu Chang wasn't surprised. He knew the youth before him was something of a martial arts fanatic, unaware of certain matters inside the school, so he took the time to explain.

"So-called sponsorship is more like a bounty, for example, Escorting."

"Escorting is when wealthy merchants and escort agencies recruit masters to transport goods. The disciples of our various Martial Arts Schools are the top targets for those escort agencies and merchants."

However, only those with Minor Accomplishment in Stance Skill, reaching Bright Strength, are qualified...

These are things we must compete for in the future. The rewards from these tasks often include medicines that are greatly beneficial to our cultivation!"

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