Breakthrough to Stone Skin Realm (Seeking Follow-ups)

Soon, another month passed, and Li Yuan continued his routine of mountain trekking, consumption, and tempering his blood and energy.

Of course, he did not neglect his letter-delivery tasks, and the weather began to gradually warm up.

His Literacy and Bear Form Fist also successfully broke through to the Minor Accomplishment stage.

[Skill: Literacy (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Progress: 20/1000 points]

[Effect: Your comprehension is slightly increased]

[Skill: Five Animals Bear Form Fist (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Progress: 10/1000 points]

[Effect: Steady as a mountain, solid foundation]

The bear meat Li Yuan had obtained from hunting was also nearly finished.

His Five Animals Stance Technique was also ready to break through.

[Skill: Five Animals Stance Technique (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Progress: 980/1000 points]

[Effect: Condense blood and energy, gather strength at the extremities]

During this period, the death of Chen Xiao also sparked some discussion, as it was, after all, an Inner City disciple who had died outside.

However, it was said that Chen Xiao's relationships were mediocre, and few fellow disciples genuinely wanted to avenge him; they merely conducted a casual investigation nearby before letting the matter drop.

On this day, Li Yuan arrived at the Five Animals Academy as usual.

The courtyard was much quieter than usual, with only a few apprentices practicing on their own.

He then remembered that today was the day of the biannual martial arts competition in the Inner City, and Yang Chong had taken all the disciples who had reached the Stone Skin Realm to participate in the Inner City grand tournament.

The academy had simply given everyone the day off, and Li Yuan was happy for the peace and quiet, taking this opportunity to break through.

He walked to the corner of the courtyard, sank his waist, stood his ground, and set up the posture for the Five Animals Stance Technique.

His breathing gradually became long and rhythmic, and the blood and energy within his body accelerated, flowing along specific pathways.

He focused his mind, feeling the warmth and swelling sensation brought about by the surging blood and energy.

Soon, time passed bit by bit.

[Skill: Five Animals Stance Technique (Minor Accomplishment)]

[Progress: 998/1000 points]

[Progress: 999/1000 points]

Hum!

Li Yuan felt as if something inside his body had gently vibrated, and immediately, the blood and energy that had been circulating seemed to break through some kind of barrier.

A heat flow, stronger than at any time before, surged from the depths of his dantian and rapidly swept through his limbs.

His body rapidly expanded and flushed with blood, and tiny grayish-white spots appeared on his skin, resembling stone.

Before long, Li Yuan's physique had become significantly more robust than before.

[Skill: Five Animals Stance Technique (Major Accomplishment)]

[Progress: 1/2000 points]

[Effect: Blood and energy filled, Stone Skin initial formation]

He had broken through! The Stone Skin Realm!

Li Yuan exhaled a long breath of stale air.

He looked down at his hands, clenched his fists, and felt the power contained within them, which far exceeded what he had possessed before.

It was not just strength; the toughness of his body, the total volume of his blood and energy, and their vitality had all undergone a qualitative leap.

His clothes felt much tighter, and his entire physique seemed to have grown a size larger.

Li Yuan waved his hands, feeling the changes in his Stone Skin.

Every muscle seemed to contain power, with blood and energy flowing through his body.

So this is Stone Skin... Li Yuan thought in surprise; no wonder the status of martial artists was so high.

When Master Yang Chong returns tonight, I will inform him and seek the method for the next stage of skin tempering.

The subsequent training methods, especially how to further condense blood and energy, were different from those of the Ox Skin Realm.

Suppressing the joy of his recent breakthrough, Li Yuan continued to hone his Five Animals Fist.

Performing the fist techniques with his body after the breakthrough felt entirely different.

The steadiness of the Bear Form gained a few more layers of weight, and the Tiger Form gained a greater sense of power.

Li Yuan immersed himself in the intent of the fist techniques, carefully experiencing the subtle changes in his body with every move and stance.

This training session lasted until the evening.

The setting sun stretched Li Yuan's shadow long across the ground.

At this moment, the sound of noisy footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard gate.

Li Yuan retracted his fists and stood still, turning his head to look.

He saw Yang Chong walk in, his usual calm expression gone, replaced by a gloomy face.

Following behind him were the second senior sister Liu Yan and Huang Ren.

Further back, Zhao Qin and Lin Mingsheng were carrying someone on a stretcher.

Li Yuan looked over, his pupils constricting; the person on the stretcher was unconscious, wrapped in thick bandages with blood seeping through.

This person was actually the eldest senior brother Cao Chuan, whom Li Yuan had only seen once or twice in the two months since he entered the academy.

Cao Chuan was Yang Chong's closing disciple, possessing the best talent and the only one among the disciples to have reached the Iron Skin Realm.

His strength was unfathomable; it was said that even Yang Chong might not be his match anymore.

Because he felt training his skin in the academy was too slow, he had always been outside, though Li Yuan did not know what he was doing.

Yang Chong's gaze swept across the courtyard, pausing briefly on Li Yuan.

But the man said nothing, his eyes merely darkening a fraction more, and he walked straight toward the backyard without a word.

Senior sister Liu Yan looked pale; she shook her head slightly at Li Yuan before hurrying to catch up with Yang Chong.

Huang Ren sighed and walked away with his head bowed.

Zhao Qin and Lin Mingsheng carefully carried the eldest senior brother toward the backyard.

The entire courtyard was permeated with a heavy, oppressive atmosphere.

Li Yuan stood where he was, thoughts racing through his mind.

He had originally intended to find an opportunity today to tell Yang Chong about his breakthrough to the Stone Skin Realm.

But given the current situation, it was clearly not a good time.

With the eldest senior brother severely injured, the master's mood must be terrible; to bring it up now would be far too tactless.

He sighed softly, calmed his emotions, and silently left the courtyard.

It seemed the matter of his breakthrough would have to wait for another opportunity.

The next day, Li Yuan arrived at the Five Animals Academy as usual.

The courtyard was the same as always, with apprentices sweating profusely under instruction, as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Yet, Li Yuan still felt the atmosphere was different from usual.

There was much more chatter than normal, and the topics all revolved around the severely injured eldest senior brother.

"Have you heard? They say the eldest senior brother is hurt very badly; his internal organs were shaken, and it's hard to say if he can fully recover."

"Who did it? The eldest senior brother is at the Iron Skin Realm! In this competition, there can't be many who could hurt him to this extent, right?"

"Heh, you guys don't know the details, do you?" an apprentice who seemed better informed lowered his voice.

His face carried a hint of indignation, "I heard from a servant who came back from the Inner City that the eldest senior brother was ambushed!"

These words immediately attracted the attention of many, even Li Yuan, who was practicing silently not far away, took note.

Seeing everyone looking over, the apprentice became even more animated.

He glanced at the senior brothers of the Stone Skin Realm and noticed they were all absent.

"I heard that during the Inner City Grand Competition, the eldest senior brother faced that young master of the Zhao Family.

That young master had only just entered the Stone Skin Realm not long ago. Usually, in such competitions, when they encounter experts, the Zhao Family will privately approach the opponent and offer some money to make them see reason and concede."

Someone nearby nodded: "That's true, the scions of noble families care about their reputation; spending a little silver to buy a smooth advancement is not uncommon."

The higher the ranking, the more generous the rewards, especially since these rewards were provided jointly by the major noble families and the government.

The apprentice's voice carried a hint of admiration: "It's said that the Zhao Family sent someone to offer him three hundred taels of silver to concede, but the eldest senior brother refused them directly."

Being given three hundred taels of silver to exchange for other resources wouldn't have been a loss.

"The eldest senior brother said he could accept being defeated fair and square, but he would never concede just like that."