Breaking the Limit, Little Golden Man

As Lu Yuan continued to flip through the incomplete manual of the Vajra Technique, he suddenly discovered that the Ancient Scroll within his mind had begun to bloom with a brilliant golden light.

The golden light grew increasingly radiant, eventually weaving and condensing into a Golden Little Man that leaped to life upon the surface of the scroll.

Immediately following this, the Golden Little Man seemed to begin practicing the Vajra Technique of its own accord.

More accurately, it was practicing the Five Animals Fist while simultaneously practicing the Vajra Technique.

Yet, its movements appeared quite stiff, even bordering on the comical.

One could even see red lines beginning to spread and twist within the body of the Golden Little Man.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, the Golden Little Man completely exploded into a burst of golden light.

But soon, it wove itself back together and condensed once more, continuing to practice the Five Animals Fist and the Vajra Technique.

This time, the red lines within its body underwent new changes.

However, after only a short while, it burst apart again, transforming into a cluster of golden light.

Without exception, the Golden Little Man quickly condensed upon the scroll once more.

Just like a stubborn child, the Golden Little Man continued to explode and reform time after time, persisting in the dual practice of the Five Animals Fist and the Vajra Technique.

Lu Yuan also saw that the progress bar following the Five Animals Fist had finally begun to change.

[Five Animals Fist: Perfection (Limit Not Broken: 2%)]

Moreover, as the Golden Little Man on the golden scroll continued its attempts over and over again, the progress continued to climb.

[Five Animals Fist: Perfection (Limit Not Broken: 5%)]

[Five Animals Fist: Perfection (Limit Not Broken: 10%)]

It seems the reason I was unable to trigger the limit-breaking condition before was because I had never come into contact with a superior internal cultivation method.

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered with a strange light as he pondered silently to himself.

If this were truly the case, then perhaps the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and the Gale Steps could also be broken through with the aid of corresponding Profound-grade techniques.

However, he would likely be unable to find Profound-grade blade techniques or movement arts in the short term.

He would probably have to wait until he reached the martial academy in the commandery city before he could come into contact with Profound-grade or even higher-tier techniques.

Fortunately, he already possessed the Profound-grade Blazing Sun Sword Technique, which would be sufficient for the time being.

As for internal energy, he should also be welcoming a pleasant surprise very soon.

The next day, after Lu Yuan woke up, he found that the Golden Little Man on the scroll was still making diligent attempts.

[Five Animals Fist: Perfection (Limit Not Broken: 37%)]

The progress toward breaking the limit of the Five Animals Fist was already nearly halfway complete.

If nothing went wrong, he should be able to successfully break the limit by tomorrow at the latest.

Lu Yuan was in no rush. After arriving at Guangchun Hall as usual, he first went to the canteen to eat a portion of meat, then continued to practice the Five Animals Fist to nourish and temper his blood and qi.

After finishing a round of the Five Animals Fist, he could clearly feel that although the blood and qi within his body had increased significantly again, the margin was much smaller than it had been over the past two days.

This meant that even if he continued to practice the Five Animals Fist, the amount of blood and qi he could nourish would likely become less and less.

The reason for this was likely that the human body ultimately had a limit and could not accommodate an infinite amount of blood and qi.

It was like a sealed bottle that could only hold a fixed amount of water; once it reached its limit, it could hold no more. If one were to force more in, it would likely cause the bottle to burst.

To hold more water, one would have to change to a larger bottle.

Lu Yuan naturally could not change his body, so he had to break through the limits of his own physique.

As for how to break the physical limit, it was actually to advance to a higher level—or in other words, to reach beyond the realm of Force-Refining and enter the ranks of the Ranked Martial Artists!

Once the Five Animals Fist successfully breaks its limit, I can begin preparing to enter the ranks.

Lu Yuan thought to himself, a look of anticipation appearing in his eyes.

Although he could start practicing the Vajra Technique directly, he still wanted to wait for the Five Animals Fist to break its limit first.

"Have you heard? Wang Qing, the Young Master of the Iron Palm Gang, was apparently killed!"

"No way! Who would have the guts? The Iron Palm Gang is about to become the third-largest gang in our Qinghe County!"

"It is said that the leader of the Iron Palm Gang has already spoken: whoever can provide clues about the killer will receive a bounty of three hundred taels. If someone can capture the killer and deliver them to the Iron Palm Gang, they will receive a bounty of a thousand taels!"

At this moment, Wang Chao, Chen Zheng, and the others gathered together to chat after finishing their training.

Wang Qing is dead?

Lu Yuan's gaze tightened. Could it be that Wang Qing was killed shortly after leaving the black market last night?

No wonder he hadn't been intercepted by the other party after leaving the auction.

It turned out it wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they no longer had the chance.

This is a cautionary tale; in this world, being steady and low-key is the only way to live a longer life.

So what if Wang Qing was the young master of the Iron Palm Gang? He exposed his identity in the black market, and he was finished off the moment he stepped outside.

However, come to think of it, if one were to look for the culprit, the Goat-Headed Man who competed with Wang Qing for the incomplete manual of the Vajra Technique would likely be the prime suspect.

It was fortunate that he hadn't revealed his identity that day, otherwise, he would have been forced to take the blame once again.

"I did it! I am now a true master of Dark Energy!"

At this moment, Zhang Feng walked over with a face full of joy.

"Brother Zhang Feng, congratulations!"

"Oh... not bad at all, congratulations, congratulations!"

The crowd immediately stood up, each offering their smiles and well-wishes.

"Brother Lu Yuan, I have finally managed to catch up to your pace. Although I still cannot eat three portions of meat every day like you, I will definitely work hard and strive to break through to the Transformation Energy realm as soon as possible!"

After basking in the attention of the crowd, Zhang Feng ran over to Lu Yuan and said with a smug grin.

"Then I wish for you to achieve your goal soon!"

Lu Yuan smiled and replied.

Since bringing Zhou Wu back from the Black Cloud Stronghold, he had not only received a five-hundred-tael bounty and a Century-Old Blood Ginseng, but the Zhou Family's sponsorship for him had also been elevated to the same level as Cao Yang's, granting him three portions of meat daily, along with one dose of Qi-Replenishing Soup and Essence-Replenishing Soup.

Therefore, he had never revealed his Transformation Energy cultivation; in everyone's eyes, he was still merely at the Dark Energy level, someone who had at most relied on hidden weapons and movement techniques to luckily defeat a Transformation Energy master.

"Brother Lu Yuan, we can go participate in the Martial Examination together when the time comes!"

Zhang Feng nodded with a smile, his eyes filled with hope.

Although he had only just entered the Dark Energy realm, there was still over a month until the Martial Examination. Even if he couldn't break through to Transformation Energy before then, he would certainly be able to significantly improve his strength, and it was not impossible for him to pass the Martial Examination.

"It is merely Dark Energy; without reaching Transformation Energy, it is absolutely impossible to pass this year's Martial Examination!"

At this moment, Cao Yang suddenly cast a look of disdain before turning to Lu Yuan and saying in a deep voice, "Lu Yuan, it is not too late to agree to what I proposed last time!"

"I already gave you my answer last time!"

Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he spoke indifferently.

"You will regret this!"

Cao Yang let out a cold snort and walked straight out.

"Brother Lu Yuan, he is not only at the Transformation Energy realm but also a first-class genius with exceptional talent. It is said that the Zhou Family is sparing no cost to pile resources onto him, striving to help him reach the Ranked realm before the Martial Examination. If it is not necessary, you had better avoid his edge!"

Zhang Feng whispered with a look of concern.

"Avoid his edge?"

Lu Yuan merely gave a light smile and said nothing more.