Battle Intent

The sun climbed higher, nearing noon.

Ma Jun came to the backyard to call Chen Yue for a meal, and only then did Chen Yue emerge from that immersive state of cultivation. He felt refreshed, without a trace of fatigue; instead, his blood and qi were active, his energy abundant.

He leaped down from the plum blossom stakes and followed Ma Jun to the dining hall in the front courtyard.

On an eight-immortal table, four dishes and a soup had already been laid out: a plate of glistening red-braised pork, a bowl of steamed fish, a dish of greens, a plate of bone-in meat, and in the center, a large bowl of egg drop soup sprinkled with scallions. The rice steamed with fragrant aroma, wafting through the air.

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This level of fare had rarely been seen in all his years at Pearl Village.

Father Chen and Mother Chen had already been invited to sit at the table, but both only perched on the edges of their stools.

When the meal began, Father and Mother Chen's chopsticks only reached for the dish of greens, occasionally picking a bit and chewing slowly. The glossy red-braised pork and the bone-in meat they didn't glance at even once.

"Uncle, Auntie, don't just eat the greens—the meat and fish are best while hot," Ma Jun said, quickly smiling and urging them. He stood up, picked up the plate of generous red-braised pork, and set it directly in front of Father and Mother Chen.

"Here, treat this like your own home, no need to be polite. Junior apprentice brother is one of us, so you two are our elders. How could we let elders only eat greens? If Master found out, he'd definitely scold us."

Yu Kan also spoke warmly: "Ma Jun is right. Uncle, Auntie, while little junior apprentice brother trains in martial arts, you need to eat well and keep your health up. Only then can little junior apprentice brother have no worries and focus on his training.

If you two don't touch your chopsticks, and this meat dish is left over, we won't be able to finish it."

Hearing the sincere words of Yu Kan and Ma Jun, and seeing the meat dish pushed before them, and her son giving a slight nod, the layer of unease and awkwardness in Father and Mother Chen's eyes finally began to dissipate.

A smile appeared on Father Chen's face, and he said repeatedly: "Good, good, thank you, thank you..."

He picked up his chopsticks, first placing a piece of tender braised pork into Mother Chen's bowl beside him, then taking one for himself, and said softly: "Eat, don't waste Master Zhou and the two young men's kindness."

Mother Chen's eyes reddened slightly. She nodded and began to eat in small bites, the long-missed aroma of meat gradually melting in her mouth.

Ma Jun smiled, then turned to look at Chen Yue. Seeing that his bowl had more rice than vegetables, he directly picked up the spoon and, without argument, poured the remaining half-plate of red-braised pork, sauce and all, into Chen Yue's bowl, piling it high.

"Junior apprentice brother, you need to eat even more! Eat your fill to have strength for training! Senior apprentice brother Yu, let's split this fish too!"

Yu Kan smiled and placed the best middle section of the steamed fish onto Chen Yue's bowl, then gave some to Father and Mother Chen as well.

Chen Yue looked at the mountain of meat and vegetables in his bowl, feeling the unfeigned care from his two senior apprentice brothers, and a warm current surged in his heart. He knew this wasn't mere politeness—they truly saw him as one of their own.

He lifted his bowl and said solemnly to Yu Kan and Ma Jun: "Thank you, Senior Apprentice Brother Yu, thank you, Senior Apprentice Brother Ma! Junior apprentice brother will surely work hard!"

With that, Chen Yue stopped being polite, wolfed down his rice, and sent the fresh fish and fragrant red-braised pork into his mouth, eating with hearty abandon.

"Fellow apprentice brothers, saying things like that makes it distant," Yu Kan said with a smile, waving his hand to signal Chen Yue not to thank him further.

After lunch, Chen Yue rested briefly before throwing himself back into training. The courtyard, the plum blossom stakes, the quiet room—all became his training grounds.

Chen Yue alternated between cultivating Treading Mountains and Rivers and Mountain-Crushing Art, repeatedly tempering the agile, elusive footwork with the fierce, explosive fist techniques, striving to unleash them freely in combat.

Whenever he felt his stamina and inner breath were overly depleted, Chen Yue would find a secluded corner, sit cross-legged, and silently circulate the inner breath method of Mountain-Crushing Art.

The medicinal power of the Tendon-Strengthening and Bone-Forging Powder from the morning hadn't fully dissipated; some pure energy still settled in his limbs and bones. Now, as he focused on his practice, these residual medicinal forces were drawn out and refined again, turning into strands of pure blood and qi that merged into his meridians, nourishing his physique.

Chen Yue could clearly feel that the same circulation of inner breath through his meridians now brought noticeably greater gains in blood and qi growth and physical strengthening than his usual solitary cultivation.

Throughout the entire afternoon until the sun sank in the west, Chen Yue remained immersed in a state of cultivation where he forgot both himself and the world.

Unlike the constant vigilance and furtive oppression of Pearl Village, within Iron Mountain Hall, Chen Yue felt an unprecedented sense of peace and relaxation.

Here, he had his master's protection, his senior apprentice brothers' care, and ample food. He could devote all his energy and all his time single-mindedly to the pursuit of martial arts.

In this environment, his cultivation efficiency reached an astonishing level.

When daylight completely faded and lamps were lit within the martial hall, Chen Yue awoke from a deep breathing exercise. His mind swept over the panel, and his eyes lit up slightly.

code
[Treading Mountains and Rivers (Perfection 11181/20000)]
[Mountain-Crushing Art (Perfection 11161/20000)]

Roughly calculating, in just a few hours, the proficiency of both Treading Mountains and Rivers and Mountain-Crushing Art had each surged by nearly 1,600 points!

Such a cultivation speed was nothing short of terrifying.

Chen Yue's gaze shifted to the [Realm] column.

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[Realm: Skin Refining Realm (191/300)]

"191 points... it was 181 when the medicinal bath ended this morning. With daytime self-cultivation and residual medicinal power, it grew by another 10 points," Chen Yue calculated in his mind.

This meant that a single dose of Tendon-Strengthening and Bone-Forging Powder had directly brought a total of 30 points of cultivation progress—almost equivalent to the sum of four or five days of his usual hard training.

"With the aid of pills, the effect is so remarkable..." Chen Yue once again deeply understood the importance of resources.

The night was deep, and the martial hall was utterly silent, but Chen Yue didn't stop. Instead, under the cold moonlight, he sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused, continuing to circulate the inner breath of Mountain-Crushing Art, guiding the remaining medicinal power in his body to wash over his skin membrane, solidifying every bit of increased blood and qi.

For the Life-Death Arena in a few days, Chen Yue felt no fear, only a surging battle intent and confidence.

With his current perfection-level Mountain-Crushing Art and Treading Mountains and Rivers, combined with the limit-breaking Iron Mountain Saber, he was confident that in a fight with that Xiong Wu, he could win.

But confidence was confidence; he never underestimated any opponent, nor did he underestimate the malice of human hearts.

Chen Yue's understanding of this world was still too shallow, and his knowledge of the Sea Shark Gang, a local power entrenched for years, was limited. Who knew what underhanded tricks they might employ to win this life-or-death battle for face?

Only absolute power could handle all variables!

Unable to predict all of his opponent's trump cards, the only thing he could do was, within the limited time, hone himself strong enough—strong enough to crush any tricks and break any schemes!

Therefore, Chen Yue dared not slack off in the slightest. He had to seize these few days to push his strength to an even higher level.

In the following days, Chen Yue's daily life became extremely routine.

A medicinal bath every four days, training in Treading Mountains and Rivers and the Mountain-Crushing Art during the day, and sitting in meditation to regulate his breath at night, digesting the gains of the day—time flew by in focused, bitter cultivation.

The town of Hepu County was small, and news of the Life-Death Arena between the Sea Shark Gang and Iron Mountain Hall had already spread to every corner of the county over the past few days.

At the docks, taverns, teahouses, shops... wherever news traveled, people were whispering and discussing.

"Did you hear? Xiong Wu of the Sea Shark Gang is going to the Life-Death Arena with that new disciple Iron Mountain Hall took in!"

"New disciple of Iron Mountain Hall? Who? I haven't heard of Hall Master Zhou taking on a new apprentice recently?"

"Heh, this'll shock you! It's a Pearl Diver from a Pearl Village! Named Chen Yue!"

"What? A Pearl Diver? Fighting the Sea Shark Gang in the Life-Death Arena? Is he crazy? Isn't that just asking to die?"

"Who knows!"

"Tsk tsk, now that's something to watch! A Pearl Diver... and the Life-Death Arena—haven't seen this kind of novelty in years!"