"Did you hear? That brat Li Xuan killed an Ironhide Pig with one spear thrust in the Trial Forest yesterday!"
"Bullshit. Senior Brother Zhou killed it. At most, he just picked up the scraps."
"Picked up the scraps? Go pick one up yourself, then! An Ironhide Pig's hide is so tough that even blades can't cut through it!"
At dawn, the chatter in the woodshed courtyard drowned out the sound of chopping wood.
When Li Xuan entered the courtyard, more than a dozen eyes fell on him in unison. Some were envious, some jealous, but most were assessing him—what gave this newcomer, who had still looked deathly ill half a month ago, the right?
Liu San squatted beneath the eaves, sharpening an axe, but his eyes remained fixed on Li Xuan.
"Brother Liu," the thin man beside him muttered, "this brat's attracting too much attention. If we don't do something, we—"
"Do I need you to tell me?" Liu San slammed the axe onto the ground.
"Bang!"
The courtyard fell silent in an instant.
Li Xuan acted as though he had heard nothing. He walked to his pile of firewood and picked up the Mountain Breaker Axe.
"Li Xuan." Liu San rose, forcing a smile onto his face. "Congratulations. I heard you rendered great service yesterday?"
Li Xuan turned his head. "Brother Liu, you're joking. It was Senior Brother Zhou's achievement."
"Is that so?" Liu San walked over and patted him on the shoulder. "That's still quite impressive. But, brother, there's something I have to remind you of—the rafter that sticks out gets rotten first. In the martial arts hall, standing out too much... tends to invite trouble."
His voice was loud enough for everyone in the courtyard to hear.
The blatant threat was plain for all to see.
Li Xuan lowered his axe and looked Liu San straight in the eye. "What exactly do you mean, Brother Liu?"
"Nothing." Liu San bared his teeth. "I'm just reminding you that you need to understand the rules of conduct. What belongs to you is yours. What doesn't belong to you... forcing the issue will bring trouble."
The two stared at each other.
The air solidified.
Zhang He desperately tried to signal Li Xuan from the side, but Li Xuan acted as though he didn't see him.
"Thank you for the reminder, Brother Liu." Li Xuan nodded. "But I have something to say as well—what belongs to me, no one can take away. What doesn't belong to me, I won't accept even if it's handed to me."
Liu San's expression darkened.
But before he could speak, the old handyman's voice came from the courtyard entrance. "Li Xuan, Steward Zhao wants you to go to the Logistics Hall."
In the Logistics Hall, Steward Zhao pushed ten wooden Contribution Points tokens across the table.
"Five were requested by Zhou Peng, and five are an additional reward from the martial arts hall." Steward Zhao paused. "But Li Xuan, I have to warn you about Zhou Peng. His heart is narrower than a needle's tip. You made him lose face today, and he won't let it go just like that."
Li Xuan accepted the wooden tokens. "This disciple understands."
"Good that you understand." Steward Zhao gave him a meaningful look. "Go. Pick up your Body Tempering Powder this afternoon. This month... you have two portions."
Two portions.
An ordinary handyman only received one portion a month.
Li Xuan left the Logistics Hall, tightening his grip on the wooden tokens.
A tall tree attracts the wind.
But he had no choice.
A long line had formed outside the medicine room.
When it was Li Xuan's turn, the fat handyman dispensing the medicine narrowed his eyes. "Li Xuan?"
"That's me."
The fat man took two paper packets from beneath the counter. As he pushed them over, he lightly tapped one of them three times with his finger.
Li Xuan accepted them and discreetly felt them.
The two paper packets felt different. One was fine and even, while the other was coarse and gritty.
He looked up at the fat man.
The fat man gave him a meaningful glance and mouthed silently, "Be careful."
Careful of what?
Li Xuan did not ask. He took the medicine and left.
He had just walked out of the medicine room when he collided with someone at the corner.
"Ow!" The other person staggered back two steps. The paper packet in his hand fell to the ground, spilling powder everywhere.
It was Zhang He.
"Li Xuan? Don't you watch where you're going—" Zhang He stopped halfway through his words. When he saw the powder on the ground, his expression changed dramatically. "My Body Tempering Powder!"
He crouched down, trying to salvage it, but the powder had already mixed into the dirt and was completely ruined.
"It's over... It's all over..." Zhang He collapsed onto the ground, his eyes reddening. "This was the only portion I had this month..."
Li Xuan frowned and pulled the coarse-feeling paper packet from his robes. "Take this one."
Zhang He abruptly raised his head. "This... How can I? Don't you have two portions? If you give me one, you..."
"Take it." Li Xuan shoved it into his hands. "Consider it compensation for yours."
"But..."
"Stop talking." Li Xuan turned and left.
Zhang He looked at the paper packet in his hands, then at Li Xuan's departing back. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
At dusk, in the woodshed.
Li Xuan sat cross-legged on the communal bed and opened the remaining portion of Body Tempering Powder.
The powder was brown, fine and even, with a pure medicinal fragrance.
He was just about to take it when footsteps sounded outside the door.
Liu San pushed the door open, followed by the thin man and another burly man.
"Li Xuan, you haven't taken it yet?" Liu San walked over with a smile, his eyes fixed on the paper packet in Li Xuan's hand.
"I was just about to."
"Let me have a look." Liu San reached out to take it. "Those bastards at the medicine room often pass off inferior goods as the real thing. Let me inspect it for you."
Li Xuan pulled his hand back and tucked the paper packet into his robes. "There's no need. Steward Zhao personally arranged it, so there shouldn't be a problem."
Liu San's hand froze in midair, and his expression grew unpleasant. "What? You don't trust me?"
"It's not that I don't trust you." Li Xuan looked at him. "It's just unnecessary."
The atmosphere instantly stiffened.
The thin man cut in, "Li Xuan, Brother Liu means well. Last month, a handyman received fake medicine, got diarrhea, and was bedridden for three days."
"Is that so?" Li Xuan rose and walked up to Liu San. "Then tell me, Brother Liu, what kind of medicine is fake?"
Liu San felt a chill creep through him under Li Xuan's gaze. He forced a smile. "Fake medicine... is whitish in color, coarse in texture, and smells of lime."
"I see." Li Xuan nodded. Then he suddenly pulled another paper packet from his robes—the very one with the coarse texture. "Then take a look, Brother Liu. Is this one fake medicine?"
When the paper packet was opened, it revealed grayish-white powder with a coarse texture and a pungent lime odor.
Liu San's expression changed.
How had this medicine ended up in Li Xuan's hands?
He had clearly told the fat man to give Li Xuan the fake medicine and switch the real medicine with a laxative. But now...
"Brother Liu, do you recognize this medicine?" Li Xuan asked.
"N-no... I don't." Liu San shook his head. "But this is definitely fake medicine. You can't take it."
"Of course I won't." Li Xuan rewrapped the paper packet. "But I'm curious where this fake medicine came from. The medicine room distributes only real medicine, so this fake medicine... could only have been switched in privately by someone."
He stared at Liu San. "Brother Liu, if someone switches out medicinal pills, how should they be punished according to the martial arts hall's rules?"
Sweat beaded on Liu San's forehead. "I... How would I know?"
"Expelled from the martial arts hall, with their martial arts crippled." Li Xuan enunciated every word. "That's what Steward Zhao told me personally today."
The room fell deathly silent.
The other handymen all looked over.
Liu San gritted his teeth. "Li Xuan, what do you mean? Are you suspecting that I switched your medicine?"
"I never said I suspected you." Li Xuan smiled faintly. "I'm merely curious. Since Brother Liu can identify fake medicine at a glance, you must know a great deal about medicinal pills. Then can you tell me... besides their color and texture, what other differences are there between real and fake medicine?"
"I... How would I know!" Liu San took a step back.
"You don't know?" Li Xuan pressed forward step by step. "Then didn't you just say fake medicine has a lime odor? How do you know it smells like lime? Have you tasted it?"
"I..." Liu San was rendered speechless.
Li Xuan stopped pressing him and turned to the other handymen. "Everyone, when the medicine was distributed today, did anyone receive a portion that seemed off?"
No one spoke.
But several handymen's eyes flickered.
Li Xuan pulled out the ten wooden Contribution Points tokens and slapped them onto the table. "Whoever tells me the truth gets these ten Contribution Points."
Under the lure of a heavy reward, someone finally spoke.
"I... The medicine I received was a little pale," a young handyman said quietly.
"Mine too," another chimed in.
"Mine had a strange smell..."
Li Xuan turned to Liu San. "Brother Liu, did you hear that? I'm not the only one who received fake medicine. Tell me... what's going on?"
Liu San's face was deathly pale. "I... I don't know."
"You don't know?" Li Xuan sneered. "Then I'll go ask Steward Zhao and see whether he knows."
With that, he picked up the packet of fake medicine and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Liu San abruptly blocked his path. "Li Xuan, let's talk this out!"
"There's nothing to talk about." Li Xuan shoved him aside. "The martial arts hall's rules are the rules. Switching medicinal pills and selling off privately hoarded supplies is a capital offense."
"You..." Liu San's eyes reddened. "Li Xuan, don't push me!"
"Push you?" Li Xuan stopped and looked back at him. "You were the one who pushed me first."
The two stared at each other, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder.
The thin man and the burly man moved in.
Seeing this, Zhang He hurriedly tried to smooth things over. "We're all brothers. Don't ruin the harmony between us. Brother Liu, why don't you apologize to Li Xuan? Then we can let this matter go..."
"Apologize?" Liu San spat. "Apologize to him? What is he supposed to be?"
Li Xuan's gaze turned cold.
He stopped wasting words and walked straight outside.
"Stop him!" Liu San roared.
The thin man and the burly man lunged at him from either side.
Li Xuan did not slow his steps. He clenched his right fist and twisted his waist—
Iron Fist Three Forms: Straight Punch!
Bang! Bang!
Two muffled thuds rang out.
The thin man and the burly man were sent flying. They slammed into the wall and slid to the ground, unable to get up for quite some time.
One punch each.
The entire room erupted in an uproar.
Liu San's pupils contracted.
He knew Li Xuan was no simple man, but he had not expected him to be this strong. The thin man and the burly man were both old handymen. Though their aptitudes were poor, they had at least reached the foundation of the first Body Tempering layer. Yet they could not even withstand a single punch.
"Still planning to stop me?" Li Xuan asked.
Liu San gritted his teeth and drew a short club from behind his waist. "Li Xuan, you forced me into this!"
He charged forward, sweeping the short club horizontally straight at Li Xuan's temple.
It was a killing move.
Li Xuan's gaze turned icy.
He sidestepped the blow, seized Liu San's wrist with his left hand, and struck him in the chest with his right palm.
He drove force through the heel of his palm, sending hidden strength through Liu San's body.
Liu San grunted and flew backward, overturning two beds. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips.
Li Xuan walked over and planted a foot on his chest. "Tell me. Who ordered you?"
"N-no one ordered me..." Liu San stubbornly refused to yield.
"Is that so?" Li Xuan increased the pressure of his foot.
Crack.
The sound of breaking ribs rang out.
Liu San let out a shriek.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" His face was covered in cold sweat from the pain. "It... It was Zhou Peng! Senior Brother Zhou told me to cause trouble for you! He said... said he'd give me fifty Contribution Points as long as something happened to you!"
Zhou Peng.
Just as he had expected.
Li Xuan lifted his foot and looked at the other handymen. "You all heard that, didn't you?"
The handymen looked at one another, but no one dared to speak.
"I heard it." A voice came from the doorway.
The old handyman was standing there. No one knew when he had arrived. He held an oil lamp, its light illuminating his deeply wrinkled face.
"Liu San colluded with an outer-court disciple, framed a fellow disciple, and switched medicinal pills." The old handyman walked inside. "According to the rules, he should be expelled from the martial arts hall."
Liu San panicked. "No... You can't! I've worked at the martial arts hall for five years. Even if I have no great merit, I've certainly put in hard work..."
"Merit?" The old handyman sneered. "When you hoarded medicine and sold Contribution Points, why didn't you think about the rules?"
He looked at Li Xuan. "How do you want to handle this?"
Li Xuan was silent for a moment. "Handle it according to the rules."
"Good." The old handyman nodded. "Someone come drag Liu San to the punishment hall. As for the rest—anyone who dares spread word of tonight's events will be punished as an accomplice."
Two handymen stepped forward and dragged Liu San up.
Liu San struggled, glaring venomously at Li Xuan. "Li Xuan! Just wait! Senior Brother Zhou won't let you off! You'll regret this!"
The voice gradually faded into the distance.
The room fell silent.
The old handyman walked up to Li Xuan and said in a low voice, "I'll speak to Steward Zhao about Zhou Peng. But this grudge has been formed. From now on... be careful."
"Understood, Master." Li Xuan nodded.
The old handyman sighed, turned around, and left.
Li Xuan returned to his bunk, took the genuine medicine from his robes, mixed it with water, and drank it.
The medicinal power dissolved, and a hot current surged through his entire body.
He closed his eyes and circulated his cultivation method.
One cycle, two cycles, three cycles...
His muscles bulged, and his bones gave faint cracks.
[Strength: 0.97→1.05]
[Physique: 1.55→1.58]
His strength had finally broken through 1.0, while his physique had also neared 1.6.
It still wasn't enough.
Far from enough.
Zhou Peng was at the third layer of Body Tempering, with at least 1.5 strength and a physique above 1.3. Moreover, he had practiced martial arts for many years.
In a direct clash, Li Xuan's odds of winning were slim.
He had to grow stronger faster.
Li Xuan opened his eyes, a cold glint flickering within them.
Tomorrow, he would go to the Trial Forest.
He would hunt Demonic Beasts and obtain potential.
He had to become stronger—strong enough that no one would dare scheme against him.
On this road, he could only move forward, never retreat.
Outside the window, the moonlight was icy cold.
Deep within the martial arts school, in a quiet chamber.
After hearing the skinny man's report, Zhou Peng's expression darkened.
"Useless." He spat out the two words.
The skinny man knelt on the ground, trembling like a leaf. "Senior Brother Zhou, that Li Xuan... is too strong. Liu San couldn't even withstand one move from him."
"Strong?" Zhou Peng sneered. "He's just a handyman. No matter how strong he is, how strong can he possibly be?"
"But..."
"There is no 'but.'" Zhou Peng cut him off. "Go tell the medicine room that, starting today, Li Xuan's cultivation resources... are to be reduced by half."
"Yes... yes."
After the skinny man withdrew, Zhou Peng walked to the window and gazed at the moonlight outside.
Li Xuan.
A handyman had actually dared to make him lose face.
Very well.
He would make this handyman understand that in the martial arts school, there were some people he could never afford to provoke.
In the woodshed, Li Xuan sat cross-legged in the darkness.
Inside his robes, the heart meat of the Ironhide Pig radiated a faint heat.
He took it out and bit into it.
It was gamey, tough, and hard to swallow.
But he forced himself to gulp it down.
Once the meat entered his stomach, it transformed into a scorching current, ten times more intense than Body Tempering Powder.
His qi and blood roiled, and his cultivation method began circulating on its own.
Li Xuan clenched his teeth and guided the hot current as it scoured his limbs and bones.
It was as if a fire were burning inside him.
But he did not stop.
To become stronger, one had to pay the price.
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