Uncle Fu's words were like a massive boulder dropped into a placid lake, stirring towering waves in Li Bufan's heart. Twelfth month, year's end, Master Lin returning to the manor, the Guard Promotion Assessment... These words constantly collided and recombined in his mind, finally condensing into an incomparably clear and urgent goal—within one month, he had to achieve another qualitative leap in strength if he wanted to seize that slim chance of a carp leaping through the Dragon Gate amid the fierce competition!
He swiftly and calmly assessed his current condition and available resources. Grand Completion of Skin Refining was certainly cause for celebration, but the daily medicinal cuisine Lin Manor provided to newly recruited guards was already far less effective for him than before. It could only sustain his daily training expenditure and slowly nourish his body. Relying on it to make another enormous breakthrough within a month was no different from a fool dreaming.
The medicinal bath administered once every ten days had indeed been remarkably effective and helped him break through his barrier. But Li Bufan knew full well that its effect had been so good for two reasons. First, he had happened to be at the bottleneck of Minor Success in Skin Refining, with sufficient accumulation and only that final kick needed to cross the threshold. Second, he had never undergone the cleansing of a medicinal bath before, and his body's absorption of medicinal power had been at its most ravenous peak. Future medicinal baths would inevitably lose some of their effectiveness. Whether they could support him in charging toward Perfection of Skin Refining was still unknown.
Waiting was the worst option. Following the usual steps, he would never stand out from the crowd.
Then there was only one path left—he had to fight for it, gamble for it! He had to obtain more, and better, resources!
And for him, the fastest way to obtain resources was to enter the mountains once more! Though danger lurked within the mountains, so did opportunity: rare medicinal herbs, powerful beasts whose flesh, blood, hides, and fur could all be exchanged for resources from Lin Manor, and even the chance to squeeze out his own potential in battles of life and death!
Once that thought arose, he hesitated no longer. A trace of resolve flashed through his eyes as Li Bufan turned and strode straight toward Coach Qin Shi.
When he found Qin Shi, Qin Shi was berating several guards who had been slacking in training. Li Bufan stood quietly to one side. Only after Qin Shi had finished handling the matter did he step forward and cup his fists. "Coach, I have something to report."
Qin Shi turned around. Seeing that it was Li Bufan, his expression eased slightly. "Oh? Bufan, what is it?"
Li Bufan did not answer immediately. Instead, he drew a deep breath and lightly circulated the qi and blood within him. In an instant, a restrained yet deep bronze sheen surfaced across the skin of his entire body. An aura far steadier and heavier than before naturally radiated from him. Standing there, he was like a bronze stake driven into the earth—firm and powerful.
"Hmm?!" With Qin Shi's sharp eye, he instantly noticed the obvious change. His bell-sized eyes lit up, and delight appeared on his face. "Good lad! Grand Completion of Skin Refining already?! It's only been a few days! Good! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"
Unable to resist, he gave Li Bufan's shoulder a hard pat. Feeling the resilient strength contained beneath his skin, he laughed heartily in even greater satisfaction.
Li Bufan withdrew his qi and blood and returned to normal. With a solemn expression, he said, "It is all thanks to the manor's cultivation and your guidance, Coach. I came this time to ask you for leave."
"Leave? Going to accompany that younger brother of yours again?" Qin Shi asked with an offhand smile, clearly in a good mood.
"Not this time." Li Bufan shook his head. His gaze blazed, and his tone was incomparably firm. "I wish to apply to enter the mountains again!"
"Enter the mountains?" Qin Shi's smile faltered slightly, and his brows furrowed. "The Winter Hunt ended not long ago. The snow in the mountains has yet to melt, and the beasts are starving. This is their most dangerous season. You just broke through and ought to consolidate your realm. Isn't entering the mountains now too risky?"
"You see clearly, Coach!" Li Bufan said in a low voice. Though not loud, his voice carried an unquestionable determination. "It is precisely because ordinary medicinal cuisine can no longer bring much improvement after my breakthrough. The path of martial arts is like rowing a boat against the current—if one does not advance, one falls behind! The Guard Promotion Assessment is imminent. I do not wish to miss this opportunity. I can only take a risk and gamble, enter the mountains to seek opportunities, hunt fierce beasts for resources, or temper myself between life and death in pursuit of a faster breakthrough! I hope you will grant my request!"
His words rang with force, openly revealing his sense of urgency, ambition, and thirst for strength.
Qin Shi did not rebuke him at once. Instead, he fixed Li Bufan with a sharp gaze for a long while, as if reassessing the young man before him. The training ground fell silent, leaving only the howling winter wind.
After a long while, a complicated light flashed through Qin Shi's eyes—surprise, approval, and a faint, nearly imperceptible concern. He suddenly slapped his thigh heavily, his voice booming like a great bell. "Good! What a 'path of martial arts is like rowing a boat against the current'! What a 'take a risk and gamble'! Kid, you've got guts! I like that sharpness, that courage to break convention! Martial arts values struggle! Fight for resources, fight for opportunities, fight for that sliver of a chance to break through! If you cower and hesitate, you'll never become anything great in your life!"
Then his tone shifted, turning serious. "However, the manor's rules cannot be cast aside. Newly recruited guards may not be absent without cause. If you want an exception, you need a reason."
After pondering briefly, Qin Shi's eyes flashed. "How about this? I'll assign you a task: enter the mountains and hunt Snow Foxes for Lin Manor! The year's end is approaching, and the manor has a great need for Snow Fox pelts. The requirements aren't high, but when you return, you must hand over at least three intact Snow Fox pelts! That way, this trip will count as official duty, proper and justified!"
Li Bufan understood at once that the coach was finding him an excuse and opening a convenient door for him. To break the rules, one had to do extraordinary things and shoulder extraordinary responsibility. Three Snow Fox pelts would be no easy task, but their value would be enough to offset the cost of making this exception for him.
Without any hesitation, he answered in a deep voice, "This subordinate accepts the order! I will not fail your trust, Coach!"
"Good!" Seeing him agree so decisively, Qin Shi's approval deepened. "Since that is so, I'll lend you another helping hand. You may choose a suitable Standard Longbow from the archery range and take it with you! I'll also give you twenty Armor-Piercing Arrows! Make good use of them, and return safely!"
The Standard Longbow and Armor-Piercing Arrows were far superior to the old hunting bow his father had left behind and those few arrows that had been reused who knew how many times! This was undoubtedly charcoal delivered in snowy weather!
"Furthermore, I'll grant you one month of leave! Remember, you must return after one month! Otherwise..." Qin Shi's tone grew heavier as he gave him a meaningful look. "If you miss the promotion assessment, then this trip will lose its meaning. Also, remember this well: there is no promotion assessment and no improving your strength. I merely sent you into the mountains to hunt foxes and obtain their pelts for Lin Manor because of your good performance in the last Winter Hunt."
Li Bufan caught his meaning. Presumably, what Coach Qin had hesitated to mention during the last Winter Hunt had been this opportunity for guard promotion. He gave a deep bow. "Thank you for granting me this chance, Coach! I will remember your guidance. I will forever keep your grace of cultivation in my heart!"
Qin Shi waved his hand. "Go on, go on. Be careful in all things! Coming back alive is more important than anything!"
Li Bufan said no more. After bowing once again, he turned and headed straight for the archery range. After collecting a weighty, powerful Hardwood Longbow and twenty coldly gleaming Armor-Piercing Arrows, he did not pause for even a moment. He did not even return to the dormitory. With bow and arrows on his back, he strode toward home.
Pushing open the door, he found his younger brother, Li Ping'an, sitting on a small stool and reading by the daylight streaming through the window. When the little fellow saw his elder brother return fully armed, with a brand-new powerful bow and arrows on his back, the smile on his face froze instantly, replaced by unmistakable worry and unease.
"Big Brother... y-you're entering the mountains again?" Li Ping'an put down his book and stood up, his small hand unconsciously clutching the hem of his clothes.
Seeing the worry-filled eyes of his younger brother, Li Bufan's heart tightened slightly. Yet he wore an easy smile as he walked over and rubbed his head. "Yes. Big Brother accepted a task from the manor and needs to go into the mountains. I'll be back soon."
"But... the mountains are dangerous..." Li Ping'an's voice caught slightly. The shadow cast by his father and elder brother's last trip into the mountains still hung over his heart. "Father, he..."
"Don't worry, little brother." Li Bufan crouched down until he was level with Li Ping'an, his voice incomparably earnest and firm. "Big Brother is much stronger than before! Look at this new bow—how sturdy it is! Big Brother is only going to complete a task. I'll hunt a few foxes and come back. I won't go anywhere too dangerous. Besides, Big Brother promises you that I'll be very, very careful. I'll return safely for the New Year and bring you something tasty!" As he spoke, Li Bufan picked up the not particularly sharp hunting knife his father had left behind and tucked it into his belt.
Li Ping'an raised his little face and looked at his elder brother's determined eyes and lean, capable bearing. He knew he could not stop him, and he knew what his elder brother was working so desperately for. He sniffed hard, forcing back the moisture in his eyes. Looking at Li Bufan with utmost seriousness, he said word by word, "Big Brother, be careful. Ping'an... what Ping'an wants most is Big Brother. The tasty food, the new clothes—they don't matter. Really. Big Brother, you must be well."
Those childish words carried the most sincere and weighty concern.
Li Bufan only felt as though something had tightly blocked his throat, and his nose stung. He nodded heavily and pulled his younger brother's thin shoulders into a tight embrace, his voice slightly hoarse. "Mm! Big Brother promises you! I'll definitely be well!"
He did not dare look any longer at his younger brother's eyes, which were struggling to hold back worry, afraid that his heart would soften. He abruptly rose to his feet, slung his bow and arrows over his back, turned resolutely, pushed open the door, and strode outside.
Behind him came his younger brother's cry, thick with tears. "Big Brother! Come back early!"
Li Bufan did not turn around. He merely raised an arm high and waved it, showing that he had heard. He feared that if he turned back, he would see his younger brother's pitiful figure standing in the doorway watching him leave, and the resolve he had so painstakingly gathered would waver.
The cold wind swept snowflakes against his face, icy enough to pierce his bones, yet it made him even clearer-headed. He gripped the powerful bow in his hand tightly, his knuckles whitening from the force. His gaze remained fixed on the distant, rolling mountain range, vast and covered in snow. There was danger there, but there was hope as well.
For his younger brother, for the future, he had to fight for it and gamble for it!
His footsteps crunched over the snow, steady and powerful as he walked step by step toward the Official Road leading into the mountains, toward the deep mountains where unknown peril and opportunity existed side by side, never looking back.
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