Martial Dao Supreme Skill!

"Understood, many thanks for your guidance, benefactor."

The two exchanged words as they spoke, and the guards passing through the courtyard cast several glances at Chen Han, who was quite close to the young mistress of the house, before revealing looks of disdain.

"Just a mud-legged bumpkin from the outer city, I don't know why the young mistress wastes so much breath on him."

"Can't you tell? This dashing young lad is much better looking than us greasy, rough men."

"You stinking pock-faced fool, that's just you..."

As the sun set behind the mountains, Chen Han departed. Before leaving, he instructed Li Mubai to practice martial arts until the Hour of the Rat before sleeping.

Though the latter felt the agony, he agreed wholeheartedly. Naturally, he did not slack off; he practiced his horse stance after eating, and when he truly couldn't hold on any longer, he would simply lie down on the spot to rest for a while.

It was only when the Hour of the Rat arrived, as Chen Han had specified, that he dragged his exhausted body to wash up briefly and return to his room, sighing that practicing martial arts was truly the most tiring thing he had ever done in his life.

At this very moment, Chen Han, carrying the silver notes exchanged for one hundred and fifty taels of silver, arrived at Black Marsh Lake, beneath that large locust tree.

It was the same small boat, the same short man with black hair, and a few scattered individuals nearby whose faces were obscured.

Chen Han naturally kept his face covered as he walked. After showing his token for inspection, he calmly produced the ten-tael silver entrance fee.

The short man looked at Chen Han with interest, clearly recognizing his identity, but he did not utter a single word.

Once the time arrived, he tapped the boat, and the few who had verified their identities stepped aboard.

The journey was silent; upon disembarking, everyone went their separate ways without a word.

Chen Han arrived once again at the small shop that sold exotic beast meat.

"Shopkeeper, this is my first time here, how is the meat sold?"

It was the same alluring, charming woman. She raised an eyebrow and cast a flirtatious glance at Chen Han without a care. "What? Are you trying to pull your tricks on your Aunt Xue'er?"

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from Aunt Xue'er."

Chen Han removed his black gauze hat, revealing a rather handsome face. "Things haven't been going well inside or outside the city lately; I wonder if the price of the meat has changed."

He spoke, his voice devoid of joy or sorrow.

"Naturally, there has been a change. It has dropped quite a bit. Sigh, it's a bitter life for a woman like me."

Aunt Xue'er wore a look of deep distress.

"If you want it... I'll sell it to you for twenty taels of silver per jin."

"Twenty taels?"

Chen Han was somewhat hesitant, worried that there might be something wrong with the meat at such a low price. Damn it, he had bought it for twenty-five taels per jin back then, and he had bought three jin at that. Calculating the current price, he had lost a full fifteen taels of silver.

Just thinking about it made Chen Han's heart ache.

"In just a few days, why has it become so cheap?"

The beautiful woman blinked and complained, "Because we're going out of business. Black Lion City is finished, and we have to run. We can't take all this meat with us, so if we don't lower the price, it'll just rot here. Speaking of which, you really got a bargain, kid. Both times you bought meat, it was so cheap. Auntie is truly jealous."

She felt it was a pity she hadn't earned more silver from Chen Han, and she idly picked at some beast blood stuck to her foot. "Tell me, how many jin of meat do you want this time?"

"Seven jin."

Upon hearing this, the woman picked up a cleaver and took a beast leg as tall as an adult from the chopping block. It was entirely blood-red; judging by its appearance, it was likely the leg of that Red Spider that had become a disaster.

"You've recovered well, kid. Any interest in taking a job?"

Chen Han packed the meat he had processed without even twitching an eyelid. "Let me hear it."

"Simple. Kill a few people. Many have already accepted; just help out where you can. It's distributed based on labor, with a minimum guarantee of three hundred taels."

Chen Han's heart skipped a beat, but after feeling tempted, he suppressed the thought.

"I'm not interested."

Returning home, Chen Han washed up briefly and lay down on the bed.

"You're back."

Shen Wan'er never concerned herself with his affairs outside. Aside from trusting Chen Han's character, she also knew that she could not involve herself in many of the things Chen Han did in the shadows.

If she asked too much, it would only bring him trouble.

Chen Han hugged Shen Wan'er's soft, tender body from behind, pressing his entire face against her neck. A rich, feminine scent wafted over him.

This stirred a wave of heat in Chen Han's heart.

Wasting his primordial essence was detrimental to martial arts, but he didn't have to waste it, did he?

He was a hot-blooded young man, after all; how could he remain as calm as still water when facing such a womanly wife? That would make him nothing more than a block of wood.

Indulging in a little physical affection now and then was quite beneficial for both body and mind.

"Stop it, Yue'er and the others are right next door."

Shen Wan'er laughed and scolded.

"Just stay quiet and it'll be fine, it'll only take a moment, just a moment..."

Chen Han caressed his wife's small face with his left hand. Seeing that she didn't resist but instead let out a soft whimper, he boldly extended a finger toward her small mouth, while his warm right hand gradually slid upward over her lower abdomen.

"Brother-in-law! What... what are you two doing!"

At that moment, Shen Yue's voice suddenly rang out, startling Chen Han so much that he jolted upright.

Shen Yue stood at the doorway, looking graceful in her nightgown, clutching a large pillow to her chest. Her face was as red as a ripe apple; clearly, she had seen their actions just now and was incredibly embarrassed.

"Why aren't you sleeping in the middle of the night?"

Chen Han asked, his face full of despair.

"Mother's snoring is so loud, I can't sleep."

The new house only had two inner rooms and two beds; Shen Wan'er slept with him, while Shen Yue slept with Lu.

"I see. Well, come over here, you can sleep with your sister."

Shen Wan'er's hair was disheveled, her face flushed with panic and deep embarrassment as she forced a smile.

"No way!"

Chen Han refused without mercy. "How old are you now? In two years you'll be of marrying age. Don't you know that a grown woman should avoid such impropriety?"

"Hmph!"

Shen Yue huffed in annoyance, shot Chen Han a resentful look, and then puffed out her cheeks, stomping back to her room.

Everything returned to silence, and Chen Han smiled with relief. "Let's continue..."

In the blink of an eye, four months passed.

The situation on the front lines grew increasingly critical, showing signs of a total collapse, though fortunately, the Xu Kingdom sent several more martial artists to provide support, barely stabilizing the situation.

But outside the walls of Black Lion City... it was no exaggeration to call it a living hell.

In the Li Mansion, Chen Han stood in the courtyard, practicing the Taiji Health Cultivation Technique.

Taiji Health Cultivation Technique (Proficient): 289/500

Over these days, as his proficiency gradually increased, he could clearly feel his body being reshaped at a nearly monstrous speed.

Back when he was in the outer city, a punching force of 150 jin had been his limit, but now...

Chen Han slowly finished his practice, stood before the wooden post used for martial arts training, and took a deep breath. He stepped forward, centered his gravity at his dantian, and raised his fist to gather strength...

"Hah!"

With a sharp shout, he twisted his waist, and the force of his right fist erupted.

Bang!

Crack!

The wooden post let out a crisp sound and actually snapped in half.

But now, it was a full 400 jin!

An increase of more than double!

"This Taiji Health Cultivation Technique is truly a peerless martial art!"

An ordinary martial artist eating the meat of a strange beast would need two full days just to digest a small piece.

Yet Chen Han, at this moment, felt that even eating two pieces morning and night wasn't enough. The reason for this was the reshaping of his muscles and bones!

As his muscles and bones were reshaped, even after consuming the meat of strange beasts, the qi and blood in his body were consumed at an incredibly fast rate—several times more than that of normal martial arts training.

At the same time, he clearly felt that his body had undergone some kind of change; his senses were sharp, far exceeding those of an ordinary person. Every time he focused his mind to feel it, one word came to mind—powerful!

Therefore, he regarded this Taiji Health Cultivation Technique as a peerless art that ordinary people could hardly cultivate!

Only he, burdened with the proficiency panel, could cultivate it to a profound level, and perhaps even reach the pinnacle!