Apprenticeship and Tuition! Selling Meat for Money!

With An Yanbing and the others gone, Shuanglin Village returned to peace.

However, the fact that Su Mo had become a Martial Artist caused a huge stir, not just in Shuanglin Village but even in several surrounding villages. It turned out that someone could actually become a Martial Artist without leaving their remote and impoverished mountain village.

For the experienced old hunters, it was simply unbelievable.

Let alone them, even Li Xian back then, and later his senior brother Xiao Yingkai and senior sister An Yanbing, were extremely surprised when they learned about Su Mo's situation. To be able to cultivate and break through to the Body Tempering Realm without relying on Body Tempering Cultivation Techniques was simply incredible.

An Yanbing, as the proud daughter of the Black Eagle Sect, had heard of and even seen such people before. But the biggest difference between them and Su Mo was not just that they were under eighteen years old and had broken through to the Body Tempering Realm without Body Tempering Cultivation Techniques.

It was because these people possessed special physiques and bloodlines that could unleash countless miraculous powers and phenomena. They were also known as those with gifted physiques and bloodlines, which was the reason they didn't need Body Tempering Cultivation Techniques to break through to the Body Tempering Realm.

But An Yanbing had examined Su Mo's body. Not only did he not possess any special bloodline or physique, but his own roots and aptitude had also become blocked and solidified due to starting his cultivation too late, almost sealing off his path to becoming a top Martial Artist.

This caused Su Mo to be seen as a mediocre talent in the eyes of the proud daughter An Yanbing. Their Black Eagle Sect was a place for geniuses, not for mediocre individuals.

Although Su Mo did not join the Black Eagle Sect, as a genuine Martial Artist, and with his identity exposed by An Yanbing, the villagers faced him with immense reverence.

Previously, some ill-intentioned ruffians in the village had even thought of robbing Su Mo's prey. After all, he was so skilled at hunting, being able to catch prey as soon as he entered the mountains, which naturally made people envious.

However, with Su Mo's subsequent confrontation with the Black Wind Stockade thugs serving as a deterrent, and now with his Martial Artist identity completely exposed and publicized, these ill-intentioned individuals have retreated, thoroughly intimidated.

If they had tried to rob Su Mo's prey out of envy, they would have been utterly ruined.

While some villagers revered Su Mo, others watched coldly. For example, Li Goudan's family felt that Su Mo was not as promising as their Li Goudan. Although Su Mo was a Martial Artist.

But so what?

Li Goudan's mother would tell everyone she met that her son had entered a major sect in Anyuan County Town, the Black Eagle Sect, and would surely become an incredibly powerful Martial Artist in the future, someone Su Mo could never compare to.

Chen Mazi's parents felt the same way.

After all, with their son entering the Black Eagle Sect, their status in the village had naturally risen, and no one dared to look down on them.

In contrast, Zhang Tieshan and Liu Guihua were very low-key. Although Zhang Hai and Zhang Qian had both become disciples of the Black Eagle Sect, the elderly couple had become calm and low-key after the initial excitement, without making a big fuss.

There was no need for them to say anything; the villagers knew that Zhang Tieshan's family had produced two true golden children. Zhang Hai and Zhang Qian were destined to become Martial Artists, especially since An Yanbing had predicted at the Black Eagle Sect's disciple recruitment assembly that Zhang Qian's talent was the best among all the martial arts prospects.

Not only did she have the best innate talent and roots, but Zhang Qian was also the youngest, not yet sixteen years old.

This made An Yanbing value Zhang Qian greatly.

As for Zhang Hai, although his roots and talent were not as good as his sister Zhang Qian's, he was not bad among the eight martial arts prospects, ranking in the middle.

Therefore, even without Zhang Tieshan and Liu Guihua saying anything, Shuanglin Village and several surrounding villages knew that Zhang Tieshan's family was extraordinary and would produce two Martial Artists.

Some people even actively brought meat and prey to Zhang Tieshan's family to curry favor.

Su Mo was unconcerned about the changes in the village. He still got up early every day to temper his body and hone his martial arts techniques. Currently, apart from the Basic Saber Technique, he had no other martial arts.

But Su Mo discovered that although the Basic Saber Technique had long been cultivated to perfection by him, as time went on, every time he performed it, a faint golden stream of light would appear on the blade of his ancestral hunting knife.

This golden stream of light had caused the Ancient Profound Pearl within his body to vibrate and rotate slightly when Su Mo had perfected the Basic Saber Technique, but this golden stream of light seemed to have no effect on the attack power of the saber technique.

It was as if it was just to make the surface of the blade look better?

Su Mo didn't delve into it. His immediate priority was to obtain a Body Tempering Cultivation Technique. He had a premonition that as long as he obtained a relevant Body Tempering Cultivation Technique, he would definitely be able to break through to the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm, instead of being stuck at the peak of the early stage.

"According to the time Li Xian mentioned, that old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm should have returned to Qingshan Town to retire."

Su Mo estimated the time. He had been waiting for that old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm to return to Qingshan Town to open a martial arts school and retire. Martial Artists in the Tendon Changing Realm were even stronger than those in the Meridian Opening Realm. Those in the Meridian Opening Realm had to open the twelve meridians in their bodies and connect them to break through to the Tendon Changing Realm.

Experts in the Tendon Changing Realm condensed the major tendons in their bodies, and their internal energy would condense to form true energy, which had exceptional lethality. Internal energy could be projected out of the body to injure enemies, while true energy could reach three feet away from the body to kill enemies invisibly.

Martial Artists in the Meridian Opening Realm cultivated internal energy, while those in the Tendon Changing Realm cultivated true energy.

Therefore, the power of a Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm was evident!

The reason this old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm was willing to return to Qingshan Town to retire was that he was too old, and he had suffered serious injuries in his early years, leading to severe decline in his vitality. Qingshan Town was his hometown.

Perhaps in his later years, this old Martial Artist had come to some realization, which led him to want to return to Qingshan Town to open a martial arts school and benefit the local descendants.

Moreover, the qualification requirements for accepting disciples at the martial arts school were not as strict as those of the sects in Anyuan County Town.

This was also why Su Mo had always held out hope for this matter.

As long as he could obtain a Body Tempering Cultivation Technique, his strength would soar again.

Furthermore, the news of this old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm returning to Qingshan Town had now spread throughout Qingshan Town, and even several large towns and villages adjacent to Qingshan Town had received the news.

Many prominent families in the towns were interested, hoping their descendants could be accepted as disciples by this old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm.

This had also made Qingshan Town extremely lively recently.

Many people were bringing their sons and daughters to the martial arts school opened by this old Martial Artist to seek apprenticeship, bringing with them a considerable amount of money.

This was the apprenticeship fee, and also a gift upon meeting.

Only then would the old Martial Artist look favorably upon them and accept them as apprentices at the martial arts school.

However, the apprenticeship fee for this old Martial Artist's martial arts school seemed to be quite high, unlike the major sects in Anyuan County Town, which were based on innate talent and roots. As long as the talent was good enough, one could become a disciple of the sect.

But this old Martial Artist in the Tendon Changing Realm seemed to value the apprenticeship fee more, with innate talent and roots being secondary.

"Is this Qingshan Town? It's indeed much larger than Shuanglin Village, and there seem to be quite a few prominent families in the town. I hope I can get a good price for the meat."

"I heard that the martial arts school requires a substantial apprenticeship fee to become a disciple."

Su Mo pulled an ox cart to Qingshan Town. On the back of the cart were five Green Wolves and over a dozen wild rabbits, all of which he had brought to Qingshan Town to exchange for money.