In the days that followed, Lu Yuan kept up his pace of practicing the Five Animals Fist three times a day.
The blood qi within him grew more abundant by the day, and the moment he could break through to the Transformation Realm drew ever closer.
Besides that, his Gale Steps had smoothly reached the great mastery stage.
When pushed to the limit, they consumed a considerable amount of blood qi, but could boost his speed at least two or three times in an instant.
Whether he was pursuing an enemy or fleeing to save his life, he could handle it with ease.
As for the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, though he had focused on practicing it these past few days, he had only just reached the entry level.
[Gale Steps, Great Mastery (123/10000)] [Blazing Sun Sword Technique, Entry Level (321/1000)]
"Practicing Gale Steps once now raises its proficiency by more than three hundred. At this rate, it'll take no more than three to five days to reach perfection."
Lu Yuan pondered silently.
The Blazing Sun Sword Technique also gained more than three hundred proficiency from a single practice session. But even if he could train five or six times a day, he estimated it would take at least another month to reach perfection.
There were still nearly two months until the Martial Examination. As long as he kept pushing his training efficiency to the limit, he should still have enough time.
If he could perfect the Blazing Sun Sword Technique before the Martial Examination and successfully condense Sword Qi, which was even mightier than sword light, he might have a good chance of winning the title of Martial Champion.
Still, he couldn't be sure whether he would run into true geniuses from the great families at the Martial Examination.
According to Master Huang, those family geniuses not only had exceptional natural talent but were also backed by their Lineages and piled high with abundant resources. Reaching the Transformation Realm would be nothing to them; even advancing to a graded rank might pose no difficulty.
On top of that, the techniques they practiced were bound to be impressive. How could their true strength be anything but formidable?
"Without a graded rank, my strength is still lacking!"
Determination showed in Lu Yuan's eyes. He needed to work even harder.
Even if he passed the Martial Examination—or even won the title of Martial Champion—that would only be the beginning.
If he went to the Martial Academy in the prefectural city afterward, he would surely encounter even more geniuses.
Graded martial artists might not be as common as dogs, but they would certainly be everywhere.
"In ten days, I should be able to undergo my third Blood Qi Tempering and break through to the Transformation Realm!"
For Lu Yuan, the Transformation Realm was already within reach.
But if he wanted to break through again and become a graded martial artist, he would need to seek out a follow-up inner cultivation technique.
The Five Animals Fist was only a Yellow Grade technique, after all. Even if he mastered it completely, it could at most support his breakthrough to the Transformation Realm.
Perhaps he could advance to a true graded rank after breaking its limits, but for now, he still hadn't met the necessary conditions or found the right opportunity.
So the best course was to find a better inner cultivation technique.
But inner cultivation techniques were more precious than combat techniques. Those above Yellow Grade were especially difficult to obtain.
Even if he joined Sanhe Martial Hall or Blazing Sun Martial Hall, he might not get the chance to access one anytime soon.
Perhaps he would have to try his luck at the Black Market Auction a few days from now.
Morning came quickly.
As usual, Lu Yuan went to the back courtyard of Guangchun Hall.
With the Zhou Family's increased support, everyone trained harder, and their progress had quickened accordingly.
Over the past few days, three more people had successfully broken through to the Hidden Energy Realm.
What's more, Lu Yuan spotted a new face among the crowd.
"Brother Lu Yuan, see that man? He's Cao Yang, a true genius whom the Zhou Family recruited for a hefty sum. Master Huang has already examined his bones. He's an exceptionally gifted first-rate talent. He's only just turned eighteen, yet he's already at the Hidden Energy Realm."
Zhang Feng leaned close to Lu Yuan's ear and whispered, "I hear he gets three portions of meat every day. He can even go straight to Shopkeeper Yu for a serving of Qi-Replenishing Soup and Essence-Replenishing Soup each day. Tsk, tsk, tsk... They're going to pile enough resources on him to push him to the Transformation Realm in no time!"
The sourness and envy in his words were hard to miss.
Lu Yuan, however, remained calm. The support he received was already enough to keep his training progress at its maximum.
Besides, he was about to break through to the Transformation Realm. When he did, he too would be able to eat three portions of meat every day, and he could probably have a serving of Qi-Replenishing Soup and Essence-Replenishing Soup daily as well.
"I thought the first person to reach the Transformation Realm would come from among the three of us. I never expected an exceptionally gifted first-rate talent to show up. Looks like he'll be the first to reach it after all."
Wang Chao sighed, his expression grave.
Clearly, Cao Yang's arrival had put him under considerable pressure.
"Can't be helped. We can't match his natural talent or his resources. No matter how hard we work, we'll never catch up to him!"
Chen Zheng smiled carefree and said, "But there's no need to compare ourselves to him. As long as we reach the Transformation Realm before the Martial Examination, we'll have a chance to compete for the title of Martial Scholar."
The three older youths at the Hidden Energy Realm were also standing nearby with smiles on their faces.
They were nearly thirty. Though the blood qi in their bodies had yet to decline, they were more or less at the limit of their prime. Their training progress could hardly compare with that of young geniuses like Cao Yang, so there was no need to make him their target and burden themselves with needless pressure.
Besides, rather than envy others, they would do better to work harder at improving themselves.
"Everyone, gather over here!"
Just then, Master Huang strode over, his expression grave.
Behind him followed Zhou Wen, whose face looked rather grim.
"Has something happened?"
The group exchanged glances, then hurried over and turned their eyes toward Master Huang and Zhou Wen.
"Everyone, the Zhou Family supported us to forge good relations, not to seek anything in return. But now the Zhou Family has run into trouble. How could we stand by and do nothing?"
Master Huang swept his gaze over the group and spoke in a deep voice.
Everyone nodded. They clearly agreed.
As the saying went, taking something from someone made it hard to refuse them; eating their food made it hard to turn them down.
They had to do nothing but enjoy the meat and medicinal soups the Zhou Family provided for free while improving their strength.
Now that the Zhou Family was in trouble and needed their help, they naturally wouldn't hesitate to lend a hand.
But for Master Huang and Zhou Wen to take this so seriously, it couldn't be a minor problem. With their level of strength, they might not be able to help much.
"Yesterday afternoon, three carts of medicinal herbs belonging to the Zhou Family were seized by bandits from Black Cloud Stronghold. Second Master Zhou Wu was kidnapped as well. Our task is to rescue him and bring back all three carts of herbs!"
Master Huang looked over the group and continued, "I'll lead the team this time, and any of you may come along. But Black Cloud Stronghold is a den of tigers and wolves. If you haven't reached the Hidden Energy Realm, you may not make it back alive. Don't come along just to make up the numbers."
His words stirred an uproar.
In Qinghe County, gangs preyed on people within the city, while bandits robbed them outside it.
The two gangs and one stronghold were like three mountains pressing down on the common people.
The gangs were the Axe Gang and the Jukun Gang, and the stronghold was Black Cloud Stronghold.
As far as they knew, Black Cloud Stronghold had more than a thousand bandits, and no one knew how many of them were at the Bright Energy Realm or Hidden Energy Realm.
Its three chiefs were all formidable masters at the Transformation Realm.
Even though they weren't going to wipe out Black Cloud Stronghold, but only to rescue Second Master Zhou Wu and bring back the three carts of herbs, the mission was still extremely dangerous—perhaps even a near-certain death.
Blades and swords had no eyes. No one knew whether they would return unscathed.
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