Revenge (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Early the next morning, just as the sky began to brighten, Li Yuan arrived at the backyard.

He discovered that his master, Yang Chong, was already in the courtyard, slowly practicing the Five Animals Fist.

This surprised Li Yuan somewhat; since he had become a disciple, he rarely saw Yang Chong practice in person, as the master usually sat in a chair to supervise and instruct his students.

He did not make a sound to disturb him, instead walking silently to the side to begin his own conditioning while keeping a portion of his attention on Yang Chong's movements.

Yang Chong's fist technique appeared slow, yet every move and stance carried a unique rhythm, as if he had truly transformed into a tiger, deer, bear, ape, or crane.

His breathing was long and steady, his gaze focused, and his entire presence seemed to subtly merge with the surrounding environment.

After nearly an hour, Yang Chong slowly finished his set, sweating slightly, and exhaled a long breath of stale air.

With Li Yuan's two fist techniques now at minor completion and his comprehension improved, he felt a profound resonance watching Yang Chong's technique once more.

Turning his head, Yang Chong saw Li Yuan waiting to the side and nodded, his expression calm.

"Follow me." Yang Chong said, his voice slightly hoarse.

Li Yuan acknowledged him and followed Yang Chong into his room.

The room was simply furnished: a bed, a wardrobe, a table, and a few chairs.

Yang Chong gestured for Li Yuan to sit, then took a small cloth bag and an oil-paper parcel from a wooden chest at the head of his bed.

"This is your monthly allowance, twenty taels of silver." Yang Chong pushed the bag toward Li Yuan, then pointed to the oil-paper parcel. "This is Blood Nourishing Powder, an essential medicine for those in our courtyard at the Stone Skin Realm."

"Conditioning the body consumes blood and qi; relying solely on food is far from enough. This Blood Nourishing Powder accelerates the recovery of blood and qi and nourishes the skin and membranes, allowing you to achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Remember, after each session of conditioning, take an amount the size of a fingernail with warm water. Do not take too much."

To put it bluntly, this silver was earned from the apprentices and then invested into them, the direct disciples.

As the strength of direct disciples increased, it bolstered the reputation of the martial arts school, thereby attracting more people to sign up.

Only through such a cycle could the school endure.

"Thank you, Master." Li Yuan accepted the silver and the medicinal powder, expressing his gratitude.

Stepping into the Stone Skin Realm truly was a different world; his treatment had risen to another level.

Feeling these tangible benefits, Li Yuan's motivation for cultivation grew even stronger.

Twenty taels of silver was a significant fortune for him, not to mention the precious Blood Nourishing Powder.

Yang Chong looked at Li Yuan, his expression turning serious. "Since you have broken through to the Stone Skin Realm, your previous conditioning methods will no longer be very effective. The key to skin refining in the Stone Skin Realm lies in vibration and penetration."

He explained in detail: "First, channel your blood and qi to your palms, making them feel slightly hot and swollen, then strike your entire body with a rhythm of three light taps followed by one heavy strike."

"When striking, coordinate with the Five Animals method: store power while inhaling, and release power while exhaling. The force must penetrate the skin to vibrate the fascia beneath, yet it must not be so violent that it causes injury."

"This process will be more painful than in the Ox Skin Realm, but it will better stimulate your potential, making your skin and membranes tougher and denser."

Li Yuan carefully memorized every point.

Next, Yang Chong took a yellowed booklet from the bottom of the chest, with "True Meaning of the Five Animals" written on the cover.

"This is one of the foundations of my Five Animals Fist." Yang Chong stroked the booklet gently. "The fist techniques I taught you before are the form, the framework. But this True Meaning of the Five Animals is the spirit, the artistic conception."

"Whether it is refining the skin or practicing the fist, both serve to strengthen the flesh and blood, but this True Meaning is for cultivating the spirit."

"Cultivating the spirit?" Li Yuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"That's right." Yang Chong nodded. "The human body is a whole; the spirit and the flesh influence each other."

"A strong spirit allows for better control of the body and perception of blood and qi flow. If you are lucky, you can enter a deeper state during cultivation, increasing your efficiency."

"The ultimate goal for us martial artists in the Three Stages of Skin Refining is to strike at the Bone Forging Realm."

"And Bone Forging requires not only a strong skin and membrane as a foundation but also abundant blood and qi and a harmonious spirit to break through the barrier."

"Only by combining the form and spirit of the Five Animals Fist can you truly step into a higher level and unleash the true power of the technique."

Li Yuan opened the booklet to find vivid, lifelike illustrations depicting the various postures of the five animals—pouncing, leaping, gazing, resting, and so on—with extensive annotations beside them.

"By the way, are you literate?" Yang Chong recalled Li Yuan's background as a hunter.

Very few of the disciples he taught were literate.

Seeing Li Yuan nod, Yang Chong felt relieved. "In any case, if there is anything you don't understand, you can ask me or Zhao Qin."

"Every day after you finish conditioning your body, you must calm your mind and contemplate this True Meaning."

"When you can cultivate three of the fist techniques within it to the stage of great completion and integrate them, that will be the moment you step into the Iron Skin Realm."

Li Yuan took the booklet and said solemnly, "This disciple understands. I will certainly practice diligently and not fail your expectations, Master."

Yang Chong looked at Li Yuan as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he simply waved his hand. "Go, cultivate well."

"Remember, do not spread the news of your breakthrough to the outside world for now."

"Yes."

Li Yuan bowed and exited the room.

He knew his teacher was heavy-hearted over the matter of the Eldest Senior Brother, so he found it inappropriate to say more.

Just as Li Yuan was receiving the inheritance at the Martial Arts Hall and beginning his new cultivation, the other personal disciples of the hall were each facing their own predicaments.

Third Senior Brother Zhao Qin's family ran a silk shop and dealt in ready-to-wear garments; life had originally been quite comfortable.

But when he returned home this day, he found the atmosphere amiss.

Zhao Qin's father, Zhao Shouren, and several old shop hands were sitting in the main hall, their brows furrowed in worry.

Seeing this, Zhao Qin immediately asked, "Father, what is wrong?"

Father Zhao sighed and pushed a document in front of him: "Qin'er, take a look. This is the new price list just sent over by the Inner City merchant guild."

"The price of the raw silk fabric we purchase has risen by more than thirty percent."

"Furthermore, they demand that all garments we produce from now on must be sold through shops they designate, and their commission has increased by ten percent compared to before."

An old shop hand beside them said indignantly, "This is clearly intentional harassment! With prices hiked so high and commissions so steep, where is the profit left for us? After all our hard work, I fear we'll be working for them for nothing!"

Another hand lamented, "Sigh, what are we to do? Our small business cannot withstand such turmoil."

Zhao Qin picked up the document and stared at the numbers, his brows knitting tightly together.

His father did not know the reason, but Zhao Qin had his own suspicions.

The Eldest Senior Brother had offended a noble family; they were not satisfied with just severely wounding him, so they had begun to implicate those around him as well.

The noble families were starting to exert their influence.

For a moment, Zhao Qin felt stifled and incredibly frustrated, yet he was utterly helpless.

Facing a behemoth like the Zhao Family of the Inner City, they seemed to have no choice but to swallow their pride and endure.

The family discussed it back and forth, but they could only temporarily accept the terms and take things one step at a time, hoping to weather this period.

As for Huang Ren, his encounter was far more direct; while he was on his way home from the Martial Arts Hall, he was suddenly blocked by several masked men as he passed through a small alley.

The men didn't say a word, simply swinging their fists and feet to attack.

Although Huang Ren possessed the cultivation of the Stone Skin Realm, he was outnumbered, and the attackers were clearly trained fighters who struck with ruthless precision.

In the chaos, he heard a crisp snap, followed by a piercing, agonizing pain in his left leg, and he was immediately beaten to the ground.

After giving him a brutal thrashing, the men scattered quickly, leaving him lying in the alley.

In the end, it was a passerby who discovered him and helped carry him home.

The diagnosis revealed that the bone in his lower left leg was fractured; even if it healed, it would likely leave him with a permanent limp, making his future path in martial arts uncertain.

When the news reached the Martial Arts Hall, the hearts of the disciples were suddenly filled with panic.

The attack had been too vicious; it was clearly a case of killing the chicken to scare the monkey—a targeted act of retaliation against them.

Huang Ren was merely the weakest among the personal disciples and the one with the shallowest background, so he had borne the brunt of the assault.