Inform (Seeking Follow-ups)

"Three hundred taels?!" someone exclaimed, "That is a massive sum!"

"A massive sum is useless!" The apprentice glanced around cautiously, ensuring the senior brothers were not nearby.

"Senior Brother didn't concede; he stayed on the ring and eliminated that young master of the Zhao Family cleanly in just a few moves.

I heard that young master had a complete breakdown on the spot and lost all face."

"And then?" someone asked.

"Then the Zhao Family grew angry from shame and colluded with other noble families to rig the draw," the apprentice said indignantly. "In the next round, Senior Brother was matched against someone who had spent years honing their Iron Skin.

That person was even stronger than Senior Brother and fought with extreme cruelty. Even after the outcome was decided, they kept landing heavy blows.

They beat Senior Brother into a severe injury, and the referee acted as if they saw nothing, failing to intervene in time!"

"Hiss... that is just too bullying!"

"Exactly! A dignified noble family, actually resorting to such underhanded tactics!"

"Sigh, Senior Brother was also being irrational. That is the Zhao Family, after all..."

"Irrational? Should he just swallow such humiliation?"

The courtyard was suddenly filled with heated discussion; some stood up for the Senior Brother, while others felt he shouldn't have offended the noble families.

Li Yuan listened silently from the side, and realization dawned on him.

So that was it—he had offended the noble clans of the Inner City.

He recalled Zhou Wu, whom he had killed previously.

It seemed these noble scions were indeed not to be trifled with; provoking them meant nothing but trouble.

Everything still came down to strength. If he possessed the power of the Bone Forging Realm, who in Wuxi County could do anything to him?

"Alright, stop wagging your tongues," some disciples said, annoyed. "Instead of worrying about others, you should think about when you'll break through to the Skin Refining stage."

Li Yuan stopped paying attention to the surrounding chatter and refocused on his own cultivation.

Having just broken through to the Stone Skin Realm, he needed to stabilize his foundation as quickly as possible and familiarize himself with his newfound strength.

Although the courtyard gradually quieted down, a strange atmosphere began to spread.

One had to know that the Senior Brother was Yang Chong's closing disciple. Yang Chong had no children of his own; his closing disciple was like a son to him, someone expected to care for him in his old age and see him to his grave.

Sometimes, when other martial arts halls came to challenge them, the disciple had to step forward to take the blows.

Now that Cao Chuan was severely injured, it would be difficult to handle if someone came to challenge the hall during this time.

As a man aged, his vitality would inevitably decline. The more he fought, the worse his condition would become.

Martial arts halls were essentially competitors; if one fell, the others might find themselves collecting more tuition fees from new disciples.

Soon, another day passed. Li Yuan prepared to go to the study to read as usual, intending to leave once he finished.

However, he had to pass by the back courtyard rooms to reach the study, and just then, someone pushed the door open.

In the lead was Lin Mingsheng, followed by the Second Senior Sister, Liu Yan.

The Third Senior Brother, Zhao Qin, and Huang Ren were carrying a stretcher out.

Lying upon it was the Senior Brother, Cao Chuan, a man with ordinary features.

Cao Chuan's face was pale, his eyes tightly shut; he did not seem to have regained consciousness yet.

Yang Chong was at the very back. His usual calm expression was gone, replaced by a gloomy look.

The expressions of those present were far from pleasant.

Yang Chong did not even look at Li Yuan, intending to head straight out.

Seeing this, Li Yuan hesitated for a moment, but decided that now was the time to inform Yang Chong of his breakthrough.

Otherwise, without the proper cultivation methods, his progress would slow down.

Should he hide it and practice in secret? Everyone was training in the same courtyard; how could he hide his progress?

Losing a few days would only delay his own cultivation.

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

Yang Chong's brows were tightly locked, his mood clearly terrible, but he still stopped. "What is it?"

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

"What?" Yang Chong was stunned. A look of astonishment appeared on his previously impatient face. "I recall you only broke through to the Ox Skin Realm a month ago. How could you reach Stone Skin so quickly?"

Lin Mingsheng, Liu Yan, and the others also stopped in their tracks, 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 four whole years to break through."

Breaking through from Ox Skin to Stone Skin in a month—Huang Ren didn't know about the martial artists in the Inner City, but among those in the Outer City, he had never even heard of such a thing.

If such a genius truly existed, they would have been heavily cultivated long ago.

Liu Yan also frowned. "Li Yuan, one must not speak recklessly regarding cultivation. Do you know the consequences of deceiving your Master?"

Lin Mingsheng stood to the side, eyeing Li Yuan with a furrowed brow, remaining silent.

Yang Chong strode up to Li Yuan and said in a deep voice, "Extend your arm."

Li Yuan complied and held out his right arm.

Yang Chong reached out and gripped his forearm.

As the examination deepened, the look of astonishment on Yang Chong's face grew more intense.

"It is indeed the toughness of the Stone Skin Realm..." Yang Chong muttered, then pointed to a stone padlock in the courtyard. "Go, try that two-hundred-jin stone padlock."

Li Yuan walked to the stone padlock, took a deep breath, gripped the handle with one hand, and engaged his waist, effortlessly hoisting the padlock above his head, his arm steady and unmoving.

The courtyard fell into a dead silence; everyone saw it clearly, and this was certainly not something someone in the Ox Skin Realm could achieve.

"It's actually true..." Liu Yan said in surprise.

Zhao Qin's eyes widened. "How is this possible? This, this, this—how long has it even been?"

All of them had passed through this stage themselves, so they naturally understood the hardships involved.

Lin Mingsheng still did not speak, continuing to size Li Yuan up.

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

But it was fine; if someone went from Stone Skin to Iron Skin in just over a month, he would truly be driven mad.

Yang Chong's expression, which had been grim due to his eldest disciple's severe injuries, finally softened a little.

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

"Good, very good." Yang Chong patted Li Yuan on the shoulder. "From this day forward, you are my sixth personal disciple."

Only those who reached the Stone Skin Realm could become personal disciples.

The first five were the eldest senior brother Cao Chuan, the second senior sister Liu Yan, the third senior brother Zhao Qin, the fourth senior brother Huang Ren, and the fifth senior brother Lin Mingsheng.

Li Yuan felt a sense of relief and quickly bowed. "Thank you, Master!"

Yang Chong nodded. "Come to my room early tomorrow morning. I will pass on the subsequent skin-tempering methods to you, and give you the Blood Nourishing Powder and the monthly stipend for personal disciples."

Indeed, as a personal disciple, not only was he exempt from paying tuition, but he would also receive a monthly stipend.

Just as he was about to turn and leave, he remembered something, turned back, and said to Li Yuan, "Do not tell anyone else about your breakthrough for now, aside from those present."

Li Yuan acknowledged, "This disciple understands."

Yang Chong glanced at Li Yuan once more and patted his shoulder.

He then led the others to carry Cao Chuan away, clearly in a hurry to find a physician.

After they left, Li Yuan stood where he was, calculating his next plans in his heart.

After becoming a personal disciple, the resources he could obtain would increase significantly, which was extremely beneficial for his cultivation.

Li Yuan suddenly felt a headache; judging by their reactions, breaking through to the Stone Skin Realm within a month seemed to be an incredible feat.

Could he really be a genius?

It seems I must be more careful, Li Yuan thought to himself.

A tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind; he understood this principle well.

Especially in this world, having no background and being too eye-catching was not necessarily a good thing.

Even the eldest senior brother, who was at the Iron Skin Realm, had been severely injured and left bedridden.

Someone like him, who broke through from Ox Skin to Stone Skin in just a month, was indeed extremely rare.

"Sigh, I was truly reckless this time. I didn't ask clearly enough. Next time, I'll break through a bit slower."

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