After thoroughly disposing of the black cloak and ox-head mask, Lu Yuan quietly returned home.
He first counted all the broken silver and banknotes. Altogether, they amounted to over five hundred taels.
It seemed those two fellows had not only never failed before, but had also made quite a haul.
Unfortunately for them, it had all ended up in his hands.
Lu Yuan suddenly felt that whether he took a salaried post or accepted a wealthy household's patronage, neither seemed nearly as profitable as robbing robbers.
Still, unless absolutely necessary, it was better to avoid doing this sort of thing.
Windfall wealth was tempting, but it was also extremely dangerous.
The slightest misstep could bring utter ruin.
"Adding these five hundred-plus taels, my total assets have now broken a thousand. That should be enough to secure that special technique at the auction ten days from now."
Lu Yuan thought to himself, unable to help sighing.
A month ago, he had still been worrying about how to fill his stomach. Even after he had come into contact with martial arts, he had still needed to find ways to make money. He never would have expected to have a thousand taels of silver in hand now.
After putting away all the money, Lu Yuan took out the two booklets and placed them on the table.
The greatest gains from this trip were not the five hundred-plus taels of silver, but these two booklets—or, more precisely, the martial arts manuals.
"Gale Steps!"
Lu Yuan picked up one of the booklets and skimmed through it. His eyes lit up.
Gale Steps was a genuine movement technique. If he could master it, or even reach perfection, he would truly move as swiftly as the wind.
If those two fellows hadn't fallen short of mastery, and he hadn't used Flick Finger Technique at the perfected level, he might not have been able to deal with them so easily.
It was no exaggeration to say that with Gale Steps in hand, all Lu Yuan needed to do was master it as soon as possible, or even reach perfection.
By then, even against top experts in the Transformation Realm, he would have enough strength to protect himself.
From then on, whether pursuing enemies or escaping for his life, he would be able to handle himself with ease.
Next, he picked up the other booklet and began to leaf through it.
"It's actually Blazing Sun Sword Technique, one of the two great secret arts of Blazing Sun Martial Hall!"
Lu Yuan gently set down the booklet in his hand, his gaze turning intent.
Qinghe County had only two officially recognized martial arts halls: Sanhe Martial Hall and Blazing Sun Martial Hall.
Apart from these two, most were places like Song Academy.
They offered a cheaper way to learn martial arts, but their techniques and resources were in no way comparable to those of the two martial arts halls.
It was said that Blazing Sun Martial Hall had dozens of martial masters and over a thousand martial apprentices. Its strength was formidable; even ordinary gangs didn't dare provoke it lightly.
Most importantly, its two great secret arts, Blazing Sun Palm and Blazing Sun Sword Technique, were both Mystic Grade techniques, surpassing Yellow Grade, and possessed immense power.
The former master of Blazing Sun Martial Hall had once wielded Blazing Sun Palm in one hand and Blazing Sun Sword in the other. He had charged alone into the three-hundred-li marsh, swept away over a thousand river bandits, and made a name for himself throughout Qinghe County.
"I never expected that even though I couldn't enter Blazing Sun Martial Hall, I'd still obtained one of its two great secret arts: Blazing Sun Sword Technique."
A strange glint appeared in Lu Yuan's eyes.
He was genuinely curious about whom those two fellows had ambushed to get their hands on Blazing Sun Sword Technique.
Honestly, this Blazing Sun Sword Technique was a hot potato.
Not only was it a Mystic Grade technique, it was also the signature secret art of Blazing Sun Martial Hall. Even ordinary martial apprentices there probably weren't qualified to learn it.
If Blazing Sun Martial Hall found out that he had practiced Blazing Sun Sword Technique without permission, they certainly wouldn't let it go.
But if he didn't practice it, he was unwilling to give it up. This was a Mystic Grade technique, after all.
Practice it. He had to!
Without much hesitation, Lu Yuan firmly made up his mind.
At worst, once he had mastered it, he would try not to use it.
He would keep it as his last trump card and never reveal it unless absolutely necessary.
In any case, it was better not to use a technique than not to learn it at all.
Not using it and not having it were two entirely different things.
Early the next morning, Lu Yuan set off for Guangchun Hall as usual.
He noticed that the discussions in the streets and alleys had mostly stopped mentioning the Black Tiger Gang.
It seemed that the Black Tiger Gang's downfall wasn't considered much of an event in Qinghe County. At most, it would remain a hot topic for three to five days.
By contrast, most of the conversations revolved around the Iron Palm Gang.
That was not only because the Iron Palm Gang hadn't immediately started collecting protection money from the people after destroying the Black Tiger Gang, but also because it was growing far too quickly. In just one month, it had almost taken over the entire East District.
Before long, Qinghe County might well see the rise of a third major gang.
"Could it be that the Iron Palm Gang has already gotten what the Black Tiger Gang was searching for?"
As Lu Yuan wondered about this, he walked into the back courtyard of Guangchun Hall.
"Lu Yuan, you're in luck. You've only been at Guangchun Hall for a few days, but you've arrived at just the right time. Shopkeeper Yu just told us that the Zhou Family has decided to increase its support. From now on, everyone can have a free serving of meat every three days!"
As soon as Lu Yuan stepped into the courtyard, Zhang Feng said excitedly, "If we break through to the Hidden Energy Realm within a month, we'll not only get a serving of meat every day, but an extra bowl of medicinal soup every five days. And if we reach the Transformation Realm before the Martial Examination, we'll get three servings of meat every day and two bowls of medicinal soup every five days!"
With that extra serving of meat, he would surely break through his bottleneck sooner. He was completely confident he could reach the Hidden Energy Realm within a month.
"That really is good news!"
Lu Yuan's eyes brightened.
He was already in the Hidden Energy Realm, so he could have a free serving of meat every day and receive two bowls of medicinal soup every five days.
Although his assets had now surpassed a thousand taels, he still had to save the money for the auction ten days from now and couldn't spend it recklessly for the time being.
He had thought that his training efficiency might have to drop again, slowing his progress.
Unexpectedly, the Zhou Family had suddenly increased its support for them.
That meant he could still keep up his pace of training in Five Animals Fist three times a day. He could also use his rest time to practice Gale Steps and Blazing Sun Sword Technique, keeping his efficiency near its peak.
And if nothing unexpected happened, he would be able to attempt a breakthrough to the Transformation Realm in at most half a month. By then, he would get three servings of meat every day and three bowls of medicinal soup every five days—enough to sustain him as he trained at full capacity 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 have a serving of meat every day, and you'll also receive an extra bowl of medicinal soup every five days."
At that moment, Master Huang strode over with a smile and addressed the three young men.
"Thank you, Master Huang!"
Sun Hui, Li Ping, and Wu Hai were all delighted. They clasped their fists and bowed to Master Huang in unison.
"Master Huang, I also broke through to the Hidden Energy Realm a few days ago!"
Just then, a youth dressed in a white padded jacket, around seventeen or eighteen years old, suddenly walked over.
"Whoa... Wang Chao, you were hiding your strength well! You broke through to the Hidden Energy Realm days ago, and didn't say a word. Good thing I did too!"
Another youth, whose head seemed to be a size larger than everyone else's, walked over with a smile.
"Anyone else?"
Master Huang glanced at the two of them with a strange look, then asked the crowd.
Lu Yuan didn't hesitate either. He stepped forward at once.
"You?"
Everyone froze.
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