Harvest, Good News

After disposing of the black cloak and the bull-headed mask, Lu Yuan quietly returned home.

He first counted all the loose silver and banknotes, which totaled over five hundred taels.

It seemed those two fellows had not only never failed a job but had also reaped quite a harvest.

Unfortunately, it had all become his wedding dress.

This made Lu Yuan suddenly feel that whether he was taking on odd jobs for money or accepting support from wealthy families, nothing was as lucrative as this kind of black-on-black robbery.

However, unless absolutely necessary, it was better to do this kind of thing sparingly.

While ill-gotten wealth was tempting, it was also extremely dangerous.

The slightest carelessness could lead to a total catastrophe.

"With these five hundred-plus taels, my net worth has directly broken the thousand mark. It should be enough to secure that special cultivation technique at the auction in ten days."

Lu Yuan muttered to himself, unable to help but sigh.

A month ago, he was still worrying about how to fill his stomach. Even after coming into contact with the martial path, he still had to rack his brains to make money. He never expected that he would now have a thousand taels of silver in his hands.

After putting away all the money, Lu Yuan took out the two booklets and placed them on the table.

It could be said that his greatest gain this time was not the five hundred-plus taels of silver, but these two booklets—or rather, the martial arts manuals.

"Gale Steps!"

Lu Yuan picked up one of the booklets and flipped through it briefly, his eyes lighting up.

This Gale Steps was not only a genuine movement technique, but if one could cultivate it to Great Success or even Perfection, it would be no exaggeration to say one could move as swiftly as the wind.

If those two fellows hadn't failed to reach Great Success, and if he hadn't directly utilized his Flick Finger Technique at the Perfection realm, he might not have been able to resolve the situation so easily.

It is no exaggeration to say that with these Gale Steps, Lu Yuan only needed to cultivate them to Great Success or Perfection as soon as possible.

By then, even when facing top-tier Transformation Realm experts, he would have sufficient power to protect himself.

Whether chasing enemies or fleeing for his life in the future, he would be able to handle it with ease.

Next, he picked up the other booklet and began to flip through it.

"It's actually the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, one of the two supreme arts of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall!"

Gently setting the booklet down, Lu Yuan's gaze tightened.

There were only two official martial halls in Qinghe County: the Sanhe Martial Hall and the Blazing Sun Martial Hall.

Beyond these two, most others were like the Song Academy.

Although one could access the martial path there for less money, they could hardly compare to these two halls in terms of techniques or resources.

It is said that the Blazing Sun Martial Hall not only had dozens of martial masters but over a thousand disciples, possessing immense strength. Even ordinary gangs dared not provoke them lightly.

Most importantly, the two supreme arts of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, the Blazing Sun Palm and the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, were both Profound-grade techniques that surpassed the Yellow-grade, possessing terrifying power.

In the past, the master of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall had used the Blazing Sun Palm in one hand and the Blazing Sun Sword in the other to charge into a three-hundred-mile marshland alone, sweeping away thousands of water bandits and making a name for himself throughout Qinghe County.

"I never expected that although I failed to enter the Blazing Sun Martial Hall, I would still obtain one of its two supreme arts, the Blazing Sun Sword Technique."

A strange glint appeared in Lu Yuan's eyes.

He was truly curious: who exactly had those two fellows intercepted to get their hands on the Blazing Sun Sword Technique?

To be honest, this Blazing Sun Sword Technique was a hot potato.

It was not only a Profound-grade technique but also the signature art of the Blazing Sun Martial Hall; it was estimated that even ordinary disciples of the hall might not be qualified to practice it.

Once the Blazing Sun Martial Hall discovered he was practicing this technique in private, they would likely not let the matter rest.

Yet, if he didn't practice it, he wouldn't be reconciled—this was a Profound-grade technique, after all.

Practice it—he must practice it!

Without too much hesitation, Lu Yuan firmly made up his mind.

At worst, once he mastered it, he would simply try his best not to use it.

As a final trump card, he would never expose it unless absolutely forced.

In any case, he would rather not use it than not have it.

"Not using it" and "not having it" were two completely different concepts.

Early the next morning, Lu Yuan continued on his way to Guangchun Hall as he had before.

He noticed that in the discussions on the streets and alleys, there was basically no more talk regarding the Black Tiger Gang.

It seemed the collapse of the Black Tiger Gang was not considered a major event in Qinghe County; at most, it could only maintain its heat for three to five days.

Instead, most of the chatter was related to the Iron Palm Gang.

This was not only because the Iron Palm Gang had not immediately begun collecting protection money from the commoners after destroying the Black Tiger Gang, but also because the speed of the Iron Palm Gang's expansion was simply too fast. In just one month, they had almost occupied the entire East District.

It was likely that before long, a third major gang might truly be born in Qinghe County.

"Could it be that the item the Black Tiger Gang has been searching for all this time has already been obtained by the Iron Palm Gang?"

Lu Yuan thought to himself as he walked into the backyard of Guangchun Hall.

"Lu Yuan, you're in luck! Even though you've only been at Guangchun Hall for a few days, you've arrived at a good time. Shopkeeper Yu just came by to say that the Zhou Family has decided to increase their funding for us; everyone gets to eat a free portion of meat every three days!"

As soon as Lu Yuan stepped into the backyard, Zhang Feng said with a joyful expression, "If you can break into the Hidden Energy Realm within a month, not only will you get a portion of meat every day, but you'll also get an extra portion of medicinal soup every five days. If you can break through to the Transformation Realm before the Martial Examination, you'll get three portions of meat every day and two extra portions of medicinal soup every five days!"

With the assistance of this meat, he would surely be able to break through his bottleneck faster, and he was fully confident in reaching the Hidden Energy Realm within a month.

"That really is good news!"

Lu Yuan's eyes brightened slightly.

He was already in the Hidden Energy Realm, so not only could he eat a free portion of meat every day, but he could also receive two portions of medicinal soup every five days.

Although his personal savings had already exceeded a thousand taels, he still needed to keep them for the auction ten days away and could not spend them recklessly for the time being.

He had assumed that his subsequent cultivation might have to decrease in efficiency, slowing down his progress.

Yet, he hadn't expected the Zhou Family to suddenly increase their funding.

In this way, not only could he maintain his progress of practicing the Five Animals Fist three times a day, but he could also use his rest time to practice the Gale Steps and the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, essentially maximizing his efficiency.

Furthermore, if nothing went wrong, he would be able to attempt the Transformation Realm in half a month at most. By then, he would not only be able to eat three portions of meat every day, but he would also be able to collect three portions of medicinal soup every five days, which would be enough to support him in continuing his cultivation at peak efficiency until the Martial Examination.

"Sun Hui, Li Ping, Wu Hai, the three of you are already in the Hidden Energy Realm. Starting today, you can each eat a portion of meat every day and receive an extra portion of medicinal soup every five days."

At this moment, Master Huang strode over, a smile on his face as he spoke to the three young men.

"Many thanks, Master Huang!"

Sun Hui, Li Ping, and Wu Hai all looked delighted, then bowed in unison toward Master Huang.

"Master Huang, I also successfully broke through to the Hidden Energy Realm a few days ago!"

Just then, a youth of about seventeen or eighteen, dressed in a white padded jacket, suddenly walked over.

"Damn... Wang Chao, you hid that well. You actually broke through to the Hidden Energy Realm days ago? Well, luckily, I did too!"

Another youth, whose head seemed a size larger than the others, also walked over with a smile.

"Is there anyone else?"

Master Huang looked at the two with a surprised expression before asking the crowd.

Lu Yuan did not hesitate and stepped forward directly.

"You?"

Everyone was stunned.