Li Hu's Reminder

"Excellent. You deserve a grand courtyard as well. I'll teach you the method for striking the stone tablets shortly."

After Lu Ming demonstrated the Three Breaths Nine Breaks, Wei Jinlin spoke while taking out a brass key and handing it to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming accepted the key and said, "Thank you, Master Wei."

The small key in his hand felt somewhat weighty, and his spirits lifted—finally, it was his turn!

After Wei Jinlin left, he was immediately surrounded by many disciples. Their gazes toward him carried a respect he had never known before, and they offered congratulations one after another:

"In just over a month, Brother Lu has already become a Skin-Tempering martial artist! Three Breaths Nine Breaks—how impressive. Your junior admires you."

"Brother Lu, my name is Guo Yuan, from the Wei Yuan Escort Agency. I'd like to visit your residence this afternoon, if I may?"

"Brother Lu..."

Listening to their flattery, each calling him "Brother Lu" or "Senior Brother Lu," Lu Ming felt a secret thrill.

So this was what it meant to be a martial artist.

With his current strength, he was at least a solid martial man. If he could gain someone's support, becoming a promising martial arts seedling was highly likely.

Naturally, many would come to court him.

He responded to each in turn, handling them with polite courtesy.

Not far away, Shen Jue and Chen Jinyang exchanged a glance. Shen Jue frowned and said, "I didn't expect him to break through again in just half a month."

Behind the two stood Wu San and Zhu Ming, the respective beneficiaries of their patronage.

Chen Jinyang glanced at Lu Ming, a faint sneer curling at the corner of his mouth. He said, "Zhu Ming can already shatter nine stone tablets, but he's just a bit over the time limit. With a few more days of practice, he'll break nine tablets within one breath and step into Greater Success in Skin Tempering. Compared to Zhu Ming, Lu Ming is nothing."

Shen Jue nodded in agreement: "He's certainly no match for Zhu Ming. I used to think he had talent in lightness skills, but now it seems he's probably quite average. In the short term, he definitely can't pass the Stone Tablet Nine Palaces Stakes, so he won't even leave the Military Service Bureau. Li Youning's choice to invest in him has already failed. They're making moves outside—within five days, the Li Family Bank will be erased from Red Cloud County, never to recover."

After lunch, Lu Ming returned to his small courtyard to tidy up a bit, then left the small courtyard area and headed to the grand courtyard district, which sat on higher ground.

Following the number seventy-four on his brass key, he arrived at his own grand courtyard.

"Seventy-four... That means I'm the seventy-fourth disciple in this batch to become a Skin-Tempering martial artist!" Lu Ming thought to himself. He was now among the top hundred of the four hundred disciples.

But that didn't mean he'd rank in the top hundred at the major exam three months later and earn the status of a martial arts seedling.

Martial arts training was a long race; leading temporarily didn't mean leading forever.

His rapid breakthrough was thanks to the Qi-Nurturing Powder. Now, he had only one packet left. If he couldn't get more, he'd struggle to keep up with the other disciples' training speed.

Lost in thought, Lu Ming pushed open the courtyard gate, and the view before him opened up.

The front yard of the grand courtyard was quite spacious, with a Stone Tablet Nine Palaces Stakes set up in the center. Stone tablets hung beneath various parts of the puppet stakes, not swaying like wooden plaques but hanging heavily, motionless, looking extremely weighty.

In a corner of the yard were six stone locks, ranging from five hundred jin to a thousand jin.

Inside, there was a main hall, bedrooms, and even a kitchen.

A big house—it felt great just to look at!

Gazing at the courtyard he had earned through his own effort, Lu Ming was in high spirits and couldn't help humming a tune.

He paced it out; the main hall alone was about thirty-two square meters—not bad! He nodded to himself.

Moreover, the grand courtyards were spaced apart, so sounds from other yards reached him only faintly, making it much quieter.

That pleased him even more—no more being woken at night by those who trained like they feared death.

Some people had said they'd visit after lunch, so he didn't start training right away. After tidying up the courtyard a bit, he went to the corner and curiously picked up a five-hundred-jin stone lock.

It was cold and heavy in his hand. He strained to lift it, his skin tightening and blood surging, and managed to raise it.

Setting it down, he tried the six-hundred-jin lock, barely lifting it a fraction before he couldn't move it anymore.

"Whew~" Lu Ming put down the stone lock, his face slightly flushed. He thought to himself that the strength of the Skin Tempering realm was around five hundred jin.

He then entered the main hall, waited and waited, but no one came.

He was just feeling puzzled when he heard a knocking sound at the door. He quickly got up and opened the courtyard gate, and when he saw the person standing outside, he was momentarily stunned.

"Li Hu?" he blurted out. Standing outside the gate was Li Hu, the man he had saved in the woods half a month ago and who had repaid him with the Bone-Unraveling Technique.

Half a month had passed since then, and whenever he saw Li Hu in the Martial Arts Arena, he would greet him.

But whether because Li Hu hadn't taken his words to heart or because his suggestion to treat the Nine Palaces Stakes as a maze wasn't working, Li Hu was still wearing his gray training uniform and hadn't reached the Integrated Force level of Three Breaths Nine Echoes.

Now, seeing him, Li Hu quickly said:

"Senior Brother Lu, I didn't originally want to bother you.

"But I heard that Senior Brother Lu once received support from Senior Sister Li. When Guo Yuan and the others from the Wei Yuan Escort Agency heard about this, they turned back halfway and won't be coming to visit you.

"I was worried you might not know, so I came to remind you."

Lu Ming understood immediately upon hearing this. So that was why no one had come—because he had received support from Li Youning, they decided not to visit him.

He thought to himself that this was probably Shen Jue and the others stirring things up. It seemed the Li Family Bank was indeed about to face disaster, and everyone else was trying to distance themselves.

He shook his head. If that was the case, so be it. These weren't people worth associating with anyway.

"Wait a moment." Seeing that Li Hu was about to turn and leave after delivering the news, Lu Ming called him back.

Li Hu stopped and turned around: "Senior Brother Lu, what is it?"

Lu Ming frowned as he looked at his leg. He had noticed Li Hu limping slightly when he walked and immediately asked:

"Are you injured?"

Li Hu gave an awkward smile: "I tripped while training."

Lu Ming asked: "Do you have any medicine for it?"

Li Hu shook his head.

Lu Ming immediately took out a bottle of medicine and pressed it into his hands.

He only had a little over five bottles left now, and he needed them for his own training, so he could only spare one—as thanks for Li Hu making this trip.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Lu." Li Hu tried to refuse but eventually accepted it with some embarrassment.

After Li Hu left, Lu Ming closed the courtyard gate and walked over to the stone tablet Nine Palaces Stakes. He thought for a moment, then bypassed it.

Wei Jinlin had said he would come to teach him the method for striking the stone tablets, so he could train that later. For now, he could practice Grass Gliding.

[Leg Dao Divine Ability evolving (83/100)...]

[Leg Dao Divine Ability evolving (84/100)...]

[Evolving...]

As he trained, his leg dao experience grew bit by bit, gradually approaching 100, making him more and more enthusiastic the longer he practiced.

This feeling of gaining something from training was starting to captivate him. Even when he trained until his whole body was exhausted, he still found it enjoyable.

As for the Li Family Bank matter, to be honest, conflicts between major families were not something he could meddle in at his current level.

Once he finished training, he would go and inquire about it. If there was nothing he could do to help, then he would simply have to stand by.