Informing Him (Please Keep Reading)

"Three hundred taels?!" someone cried. "That's incredibly generous!"

"Generous or not, it won't help!" The apprentice glanced cautiously around again to make sure the senior brothers weren't there.

"The First Senior Brother never admitted defeat. He was still on the ring, and he cleanly knocked that young master from the Zhao Family out in just a few moves.

"I heard the young master completely lost it on the spot and made a fool of himself."

"What happened next?" someone asked.

"Then the Zhao Family flew into a rage and joined forces with the other influential families to rig the draw." The apprentice fumed. "In the next round, the First Senior Brother was matched against someone who'd spent years tempering his Iron Skin.

"That man was a little stronger than the First Senior Brother, and he fought viciously. Even after the outcome was already decided, he kept chasing him down and landing heavy blows.

"He beat the First Senior Brother so badly he was left gravely wounded. The referee acted as if he hadn't seen a thing and didn't stop it in time!"

"Hiss... That's too much!"

"Exactly! How could a distinguished family stoop to such underhanded tactics?"

"Ah, the First Senior Brother wasn't being sensible, either. That was the Zhao Family..."

"Sensible? Was he just supposed to swallow that humiliation?"

The courtyard immediately erupted in discussion. Some felt the First Senior Brother had been wronged; others thought he shouldn't have offended the influential families.

Li Yuan listened silently from the side, and everything suddenly made sense.

So he'd offended one of the powerful families in the Inner City.

He thought of Zhou Wu, whom he'd killed earlier.

It seemed that these scions of influential families really weren't to be trifled with. Cross one, and you were asking for trouble.

In the end, everything came down to strength. If he had the strength of the Bone Forging Realm, who in Wuxi County could do anything to him?

"Enough. Stop gossiping." Some of the disciples were getting annoyed. "Instead of worrying about other people, think about when you'll break through to Skin Tempering."

Li Yuan paid no more attention to the discussion around him and continued focusing on his cultivation.

He'd just broken through to the Stone Skin Realm and needed to stabilize his realm as quickly as possible and get used to his new strength.

Though the courtyard gradually quieted down, an uneasy atmosphere began to spread.

After all, the First Senior Brother was Yang Chong's final disciple. Yang Chong had no children of his own, so his final disciple was practically like a son, someone who would care for him in his old age and see him off at the end.

Sometimes, when another martial arts school came to challenge them, he even had to step up and accept the fight.

Now that Cao Chuan was seriously injured, it would be troublesome if anyone came to challenge the school in the meantime.

As people grew old, their vitality declined. The more they fought, the worse their bodies became.

Martial arts schools were rivals at their core. If one of them fell, the money he made from taking on disciples might well increase.

Soon, another day passed. As usual, Li Yuan planned to read in the study, then leave once he was done.

But the study could only be reached by passing the rooms in the rear courtyard, and just then, someone pushed open a door and came out.

Lin Mingsheng was at the front, followed by Second Senior Sister Liu Yan.

Third Senior Brother Zhao Qin and Huang Ren carried out a stretcher.

The person lying on it was none other than First Senior Brother Cao Chuan, a man of ordinary appearance.

Cao Chuan's face was pale, and his eyes were tightly shut. It seemed he still hadn't woken up.

Yang Chong was at the back. The usually composed expression on his face had vanished, replaced by a somber look.

None of them looked particularly happy.

Yang Chong didn't even glance at Li Yuan and was about to head straight out.

Seeing this, Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell Yang Chong that he'd broken through.

Otherwise, without a cultivation method, his progress would slow down.

Or should he keep it from everyone and tell only Yang Chong? They all cultivated in the same courtyard. How could he hide his cultivation from them?

Every day he waited would set his progress back by a day.

He drew a deep breath, stepped forward, and bowed. "Master, this disciple has something to report."

Yang Chong's brows were knitted together. He was clearly in a terrible mood, but he still stopped. "What is it?"

"Disciple... has just broken through to the Stone Skin Realm," Li Yuan said calmly.

"What?" Yang Chong stared at him. A trace of astonishment appeared on his previously impatient face. "I remember you only broke through to the Ox Skin Realm a month ago. How could you have reached the Stone Skin Realm so quickly?"

Lin Mingsheng, Liu Yan, and the others stopped as well, looking at Li Yuan in surprise.

"From Ox Skin to Stone Skin in a month? That's impossible!" Huang Ren blurted out. "It took me a full four years to break through."

He'd never heard of anyone breaking through from Ox Skin to Stone Skin in just one month. He didn't know much about martial masters in the Inner City, but he hadn't heard of anyone in the Outer City managing it.

If such a genius existed, he would have been given special training long ago.

Liu Yan frowned too. "Li Yuan, you mustn't make false claims about cultivation. Do you know what will happen if you deceive Master?"

Lin Mingsheng stood to the side, frowning as he studied Li Yuan without saying a word.

Yang Chong strode over to Li Yuan and said gravely, "Hold out your arm."

Li Yuan did as he was told and extended his right arm.

Yang Chong reached out and gripped it.

As his examination went deeper, the astonishment on his face grew.

"It really is the toughness of the Stone Skin Realm..." Yang Chong murmured, then pointed to the stone lock in the courtyard. "Go on. Try that two-hundred-pound stone lock."

Li Yuan walked over to it and drew a deep breath. Gripping the handle with one hand, he drove his strength from his waist and easily raised the stone lock over his head. His arm remained perfectly steady.

The courtyard fell silent. Everyone could see clearly that this was absolutely beyond the abilities of someone in the Ox Skin Realm.

"So it's really true..." Liu Yan said in surprise.

Zhao Qin's eyes widened. "How is this possible? H-how long has it even been?"

They had all gone through this stage themselves, so they knew how difficult it was.

Lin Mingsheng still said nothing, continuing to study Li Yuan.

He himself had spent nearly a year tempering his body at this stage before breaking through.

But at least Li Yuan hadn't advanced from Stone Skin to Iron Skin in a little over a month. That would have driven him mad.

Yang Chong's face, which had been clouded by his eldest disciple's serious injury, finally softened a little.

He looked at Li Yuan, a thoughtful glint in his eyes.

"Good. Very good." Yang Chong patted Li Yuan on the shoulder. "Starting today, you're my sixth direct disciple."

Only someone in the Stone Skin Realm could become a direct disciple.

The first five were First Senior Brother Cao Chuan, Second Senior Sister Liu Yan, Third Senior Brother Zhao Qin, Fourth Senior Brother Huang Ren, and Fifth Senior Brother Lin Mingsheng.

Li Yuan felt reassured and quickly bowed. "Thank you, Master!"

Yang Chong nodded. "Come to my room first thing tomorrow morning. I'll teach you the next skin-tempering method and give you Blood Nourishing Powder and the monthly allowance for a direct disciple."

That's right. Once he became a direct disciple, he wouldn't have to pay tuition anymore. He'd also receive a monthly allowance.

He was just about to turn and leave when he remembered something. Looking back at Li Yuan, he said, "For now, don't tell anyone else about your breakthrough besides the people here."

Li Yuan agreed. "Understood, Master."

Yang Chong looked at Li Yuan and patted him on the shoulder.

Only then did he leave with the others, carrying Cao Chuan away. They were clearly in a hurry to find a physician.

After they left, Li Yuan stood where he was, thinking over his plans.

As a direct disciple, he would receive far more resources, which would greatly benefit his cultivation.

Li Yuan suddenly felt a little troubled. From the way they'd reacted, breaking through to Stone Skin within a month seemed to be something unheard of.

Was he really a genius?

It seems I'll have to be careful.

A tree that stood above the forest would be battered by the wind. He understood that.

Especially in this world, where he had no backing, drawing too much attention wasn't necessarily a good thing.

Even the First Senior Brother, who had reached Iron Skin, had still been seriously injured and left incapacitated.

Someone like him, who'd broken through from Ox Skin to Stone Skin in just a month, really was extremely rare.

Ah, I was too rash this time. I should've asked first. Next time, I'll break through more slowly.

Li Yuan shook his head, then stopped dwelling on it and headed for the study.