Plans for the Future

Seeing the bow and arrows laid out on the table in the courtyard, Wang Meng realized that even this late, Luo Yi was still practicing his martial arts.

His opinion of Luo Yi rose a few more notches.

He was so young and had already entered the Skin Refining Realm, yet he worked so hard. His future was bound to be limitless.

The three of them sat at the stone table in the courtyard. Luo Yi went into the kitchen and brought out some tea.

He looked at the two visitors who had arrived in the middle of the night, his face full of confusion.

Seeing Luo Yi's expression, Wang Meng took the initiative and asked, "Xiao Yi, what are your plans for the future?"

Hearing Wang Meng's question, Luo Yi shook his head.

"Uncle Wang, do you have any good advice?"

"Throughout Yunlu County, aside from 'enlisting in the army,' 'joining the Demon Suppression Department,' and 'marrying into one of the Four Great Clans,'"

"there's no other path that can get you the best Cultivation Techniques. The highest you could reach would be the Bone Forging Realm."

"You're so young, and you're already a Skin Refining Martial Artist. You must want to go much further on the path of martial arts."

"I came tonight because I was worried you might choose the wrong path and waste your precious time and talent."

Listening to Wang Meng, Luo Yi seriously considered which path he should take in the future:

With the Panel to help him, as long as he worked hard, he could master any martial art.

Marrying into one of the Four Great Clans in Yunlu County was the first option Luo Yi ruled out. With the Panel, he couldn't stand spending his days worrying about what other people thought. Besides, he'd worked like an ox in his previous life and died suddenly from overwork. If he married into a family and became someone's punching bag after transmigrating, wouldn't that make his transmigration pointless?

"Enlisting in the army" was easy enough to understand: he would join Great Qi's army and serve the country.

This was the first time Luo Yi had heard of the Demon Suppression Department. He didn't know exactly what it did. Looking at the words "Demon Suppression" in its name, he guessed that it was a special department in Great Qi tasked with dealing with demons and Evil Spirits.

Seeing Luo Yi lost in thought, Wang Meng and Chen Liu didn't rush him.

"Uncle Wang, marrying into one of the Four Great Clans is out of the question. I was born with a good set of teeth; I don't like living off someone else."

"I don't know much about enlisting in the army or the Demon Suppression Department. Could you explain them to me in more detail?"

Wang Meng wasn't surprised by Luo Yi's answer.

"Enlisting means joining Great Qi's army. Once you join, you'll receive an inner training method for the Skin Refining Realm and a set of martial arts techniques. As for the Cultivation Techniques for the later realms, as long as you earn military merit and report it to your superiors, you'll be rewarded with them."

"In recent years, Great Qi has been plagued by constant internal strife. As long as you're strong enough and have enough talent, it'll be easy to rise through the ranks."

"The Demon Suppression Department is a special department under Great Qi's rule, mainly responsible for dealing with demons and Evil Spirits. Its members fight demons and Evil Spirits all year round. All the Cultivation Techniques used by the Demon Suppression Department are extremely powerful and have an effect that counters demons and Evil Spirits. In battles against opponents of the same level, the department's techniques also give you a certain advantage."

"Once you join the Demon Suppression Department, you can earn Contribution Points by hunting demons and Evil Spirits."

"All the Cultivation Techniques and resources in the Demon Suppression Department can be exchanged for with Contribution Points."

"However, the Demon Suppression Department fights demons and Evil Spirits all year round, so its death rate is extremely high."

After hearing Wang Meng's explanation, Luo Yi felt that both "enlisting in the army" and "joining the Demon Suppression Department" seemed like decent options.

He was caught between two choices!

Considering that his Basic Archery and Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique still had a ways to go before reaching perfection, there was no need to rush into a decision.

"Uncle Wang, this is too important a matter. Would you mind giving me some time to think it over before I decide?"

Seeing how serious Luo Yi looked, Wang Meng nodded.

"Xiao Yi, there's no rush. Give it some thought, and make your decision once you've figured things out."

"All right, Xiao Yi, get some rest. Your sixth brother and I won't disturb you any longer." Since it was getting late, Wang Meng and Chen Liu stood up to take their leave.

After seeing the two of them out of the courtyard, Luo Yi hurried into the kitchen.

The fire beneath the stove had gone out. He carefully lifted the lid and looked at the blackened Tonic Medicine in the pot, then scooped it into a small bowl.

He walked into the courtyard and downed the Tonic Medicine in one gulp.

Feeling a warm current spread through his lower abdomen, he began practicing the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique over and over.

"The Time of the Ox has arrived. The air is dry and things are tinder-dry; beware of fire."

"The Time of the Ox has arrived. The air is dry and things are tinder-dry; beware of fire."

As Luo Yi practiced in the courtyard, he heard the night watchman's time call from outside.

He had practiced for nearly three hours when sleepiness began to wash over him.

The Panel showed: Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Beginner 192/200). He was still eight points short, and it would take at least an hour to level up. Luo Yi turned and went inside to sleep.

Because he had gone to bed late the previous night, Luo Yi didn't get up until very late the next day.

After eating the breakfast his younger sister had cooked and drinking the Chinese medicine that had been prepared in advance,

he returned to his room and began practicing the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique.

Training was all about perseverance—sticking with it through wind and rain.

After every three sets, the Panel would pop up with a notice: Experience +1.

An hour later, Luo Yi once again felt a pinprick pain spread across his skin, as though countless ants were gnawing at it.

This time, it lasted only a few seconds before all the pain disappeared.

Host: Luo Yi

Age: 16

Realm: Skin Refining (Minor Accomplishment)

Skills: Basic Archery (Greater Accomplishment 95/400)

Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique (Minor Accomplishment 1/300)

Traits: None

Seeing that the Panel showed Minor Accomplishment, Luo Yi smiled.

Looking at the surface of his skin, he saw that roughly a third of it had turned bronze-red. Worried someone might notice,

he put on the new cloth clothes he had bought in the county seat. Aside from a faint bronze-red tinge on the backs of his hands, the clothes completely concealed the color on the rest of his body.

Curious whether his face had changed color too, Luo Yi went over to the well in the courtyard.

He looked at his reflection in the water. His face was still fair and clean, and he was still as handsome and charming as ever.

After getting a feel for his improvement, Luo Yi realized that leveling up the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique to Minor Accomplishment hadn't increased his strength by much—perhaps by a fifth or so.

Considering the Tonic Medicine he'd drunk was still taking effect, Luo Yi continued practicing.

After completing three sets of the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique, the Panel didn't show a progress +1 notice.

He had expected this, so he didn't stop. Only after completing five sets did the Panel display a progress +1 notice.

Since it took five sets to gain one point of progress, he could increase his progress by fewer than five points at most in an hour of practice.

If he stopped hunting and practiced at home for six hours a day, it would still take nearly ten days to break through.

That was a rather slow pace!

After practicing for so many days, Luo Yi had already memorized the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique by heart.

He planned to try speeding up the movements and see whether that would change how many repetitions it took to gain a point of progress.

As soon as the thought came to him, he acted on it. He shortened the time it took to complete one cycle of the Fierce Tiger Skin Refining Technique from five minutes to less than two.

Ten minutes later, he looked at the progress +1 notice that appeared on the Panel.

Although he'd increased his speed, the number of times he practiced each day hadn't gone up. He could still only gain about thirty points of progress a day.

Since there was only one dose of Tonic Medicine left at home, Luo Yi planned to go to the medicine shop to buy more and ask whether they had any more effective Tonic Medicine.