Continuous Assaults on the Pass!

Three days later, at the Lingyun Martial Arts School.

"Zhang Da Niu broke through!"

"Zhang Da Niu? You mean Junior Brother Da Niu?"

"What junior brother, you should call him senior brother now!"

"He broke through! Senior Brother Da Niu broke through to Ming Jin, and it seems he advanced in both his stance and palm techniques!"

As soon as these words spread, the entire Lingyun Martial Arts School erupted. Younger disciples scrambled into the Inner Court, as if all wanted to catch a glimpse of Zhang Da Niu's bearing.

In a corner of the martial arts school.

Lin Yin pressed his hands downward, suppressing the surging, pounding Qi and Blood within him. He let out a long, turbid breath, a faint golden light flickering in his eyes.

[Heaven rewards diligence, one will achieve something]

[Cloud Settling Stake Technique: Beginner (98/100)]

[Cloud Palm: Beginner (98/100)]

His second set of stance techniques and the corresponding palm art had now advanced in perfect lockstep.

Sensing the commotion in the martial arts school, Lin Yin blended into the crowd and followed along.

Over these three days, it wasn't just Zhang Da Niu who had broken through. From what he'd heard, aside from Senior Brother Shi Yan, four other senior brothers had attempted to breach the gate, with only one succeeding.

Now, counting Zhang Da Niu, that made two.

Unlike the former, who had only achieved Minor Accomplishment in his stance technique, Zhang Da Niu's simultaneous progress in both stance and palm arts was far more eye-catching.

Along the way, Lin Yin also spotted several Ming Jin disciples.

Arriving at the Inner Court, he immediately saw a burly man sitting cross-legged atop a tall wooden stake. Beside the man stood a middle-aged figure with an upright posture.

It was none other than Yun Tian Qing, the School Master of Lingyun Martial Arts School, whom he hadn't seen in days.

At this moment, the School Master waited quietly by the side, occasionally tapping at Zhang Da Niu's joints. With each gentle tap, Lin Yin could sense a strange Qi Mechanism stirring.

Beyond that, Zhang Da Niu's bare upper body was coated in a layer of pale green, slightly translucent liquid, glistening with an odd sheen under the morning sun.

"That's medicine... Master clearly values Junior Brother Da Niu a great deal. He even applied medicine for this junior brother just for breaching the first gate."

Murmurs from the surrounding crowd provided indirect answers to his questions.

"I heard Master returned three days ago and has been preparing for Junior Brother Da Niu's gate breach the whole time. Looks like Junior Brother Da Niu truly lived up to expectations."

Listening to the chatter around him, Lin Yin's expression was unreadable. Just from watching Yun Tian Qing's behavior, he could sense how much importance the man placed on this.

He hadn't even caught a glimpse of the man during these days, and though there had been rumors of other senior brothers attempting the gate breach, he'd never heard of the School Master making any special moves.

Yet now, for Zhang Da Niu's breakthrough, this man had gone out of his way to prepare. That alone showed how much he valued this!

"Haah—"

Zhang Da Niu, who had been sitting with his eyes closed in concentration, suddenly snapped them open. A light shout rang out, loud and piercing.

Lin Yin's gaze flickered. Watching the burly figure rise from the stake, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Such powerful Qi and Blood!

The steam rising from his body condensed into a mist in the air, lingering without dispersing. The sudden burst of sound was so penetrating that it made all the disciples below change expression.

Some Ming Jin disciples wore solemn looks, while others gasped in shock.

Clearly, such an aura was far from ordinary.

Feeling the gazes from below, Zhang Da Niu first bowed deeply to Yun Tian Qing, who wore an expression of praise, then leaped down from the stake.

For someone of such bulk, jumping from a wooden stake over three meters high, he landed as lightly as a feather, his breath steady.

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Drawing closer, the surrounding disciples could feel a noticeable wave of heat rushing toward them.

"Junior Brother, impressive Qi and Blood!"

A light shout came from the crowd. Lin Yin's expression shifted slightly, and he narrowed his eyes. A figure stepped out from the crowd and walked straight up to Zhang Da Niu.

"Senior Brother Yun Hai!"

Seeing the young man in white, Zhang Da Niu didn't dare act presumptuously. He quickly cupped his hands and bowed.

Yun Hai's face beamed with a bright smile. He reached out and lightly patted Zhang Da Niu's shoulder, then cupped his hands toward Yun Tian Qing, who had just leaped down from the other side of the stake.

Yun Tian Qing nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then spoke in a clear, resonant voice.

"From this day forward, Zhang Da Niu is a personal disciple of this school!"

As the words fell, the surrounding disciples erupted in uproar. Yun Hai's seemingly radiant smile stiffened almost imperceptibly for a moment.

Having said his piece, Yun Tian Qing didn't spare another glance at the gathered disciples. He turned and drifted away.

The disciples, who had seemed restrained just moments before, instantly burst into clamor. Lin Yin felt the crowd around him, who had been watching the spectacle, surge forward like a dark tide, all pressing in.

Flattery and even gift-giving—the displays varied, leaving Lin Yin wide-eyed and speechless.

"So stepping into Bright Strength truly brings all kinds of benefits knocking at your door, just as Senior Disciple Brother said!"

"Ah, Junior Brother Zhang Da Niu is truly blessed, being taken directly as a Personal Disciple. Not long ago, when Junior Brother Li Shi stepped into Bright Strength, Master only offered a token word of encouragement. The treatment couldn't be more different!"

"How can Junior Brother Li Shi be compared to Junior Brother Da Niu?"

The words drifting over from nearby made Lin Yin immediately overturn the conclusion in his mind.

"Personal Disciple?"

Lin Yin's expression was unreadable. He watched from the sidelines a while longer, witnessing Li Da Niu being surrounded and unable to break free from that enthusiastic crowd of junior and senior brothers, then chose to silently leave.

Compared to these people's shift in attitude toward Zhang Da Niu, or their fawning over the so-called Personal Disciple, Lin Yin had no particular thoughts.

He had no interest in such status or fame. Instead, his curiosity about the technique Zhang Da Niu practiced grew stronger.

Brute Ox Strength?

Such Qi and Blood—though not matching my Dual Techniques cultivation—was still truly astonishing. He wondered what mysteries lay within that technique.

Lin Yin pondered to himself, his heart burning with curiosity.

It was a pity that Brute Ox Strength seemed to be Zhang Da Niu's Family Heirloom martial art, not taught at the Martial Arts School.

Shaking his head, Lin Yin left.

In the following days, Lin Yin often heard news of senior brothers failing their breakthroughs.

Gradually, Lin Yin began to sense something off. The entire Martial Arts School's fellow disciples seemed to have tightened into a single rope, desperately pushing forward.

Finally, on the fifth day, Lin Yin caught wind of something.

"The Lieyang Escort Agency and Haifu Trading Company are about to arrive in Langshi Town. They'll be recruiting a number of capable fighters above Bright Strength. It's said the rewards are astonishing—there's even talk of a Blood Augmentation Pill that can help one break through the Third Layer!"

"Blood Augmentation Pill? Breaking through the Third Layer? There's a pill like that?"

Having gathered this information, Lin Yin suddenly understood. Connecting it to Xu Chang's recent changes, he realized this senior brother likely didn't want to burden him, which was why he hadn't explained the reason.

A Great Medicine to break through the Third Layer... This must be the main prize Senior Disciple Brother and Second Senior Disciple Brother are competing for.

Aside from this Great Medicine, the other rewards must be considerable as well.

A medicine concerning the Third Layer realm was no ordinary thing, and the number of spots allocated to each disciple under them was also of utmost importance.

"No wonder..."

Knowing Xu Chang as he did, Lin Yin was sure the man would give his all to break through as quickly as possible, since Xu Chang was tightly bound to Senior Disciple Brother.

Lin Yin waited silently, anticipating how things would unfold. But before Xu Chang could break through, he himself unexpectedly took the lead and advanced first...

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