After coming into money, Li Beichen went straight to Jinglong District and bought a two-courtyard residence.
The residence had belonged to an entry-grade martial artist from the Cloud Crane Martial Hall.
The ground in the courtyard had been specially tamped down, and there were stone rollers and other equipment for training.
It cost Li Beichen a full hundred and twenty taels.
Still, it was well worth it.
Li Beichen spent another fifty taels on various high-quality furnishings. He also dug a Secret Chamber in the backyard with his own hands, specifically to store the Strange Pig meat he had.
It was the most precious asset he possessed, so he couldn't afford to be careless with it.
Once he had finished setting up the place, Li Beichen realized that the residence was huge and felt empty with only him living there.
It wasn't that he couldn't stand the quiet. He simply didn't have the time to take care of everything, so Li Beichen bought the contracts of several maids to handle the chores.
That put some life into the household, and he no longer had to worry about the odd jobs himself.
He signed the contracts at the Music Conservatory in Rouge House.
Among the women there were the disgraced officials' wives and daughters, some of whom were strikingly beautiful and voluptuous.
Every one of them had been thoroughly trained.
They were all courtesans who did not sell their bodies.
But Li Beichen didn't redeem a single one. The maids he chose were all plain-looking and capable.
Having lived two lives and suffered for half of one, Li Beichen wanted more than anything to grow strong.
He had no need for a soft bed and a gentle embrace.
Once everything had settled down, Li Beichen devoted nearly all his time to cultivation.
He trained by day and by night.
On the evening of the fourth day after moving into his new home,
Li Beichen slowly exhaled. Faintly, it seemed as though a long elephant's bellow sounded from his abdomen.
Several lines of small text appeared before his eyes.
[Technique: Giant Elephant Fist (Threshold of Mastery)] [Progress: (0/500)] [Traits: Bright Force, Elephant Breath] [Bright Force: Body and strength united, fists packing over a thousand jin] [Elephant Breath: Longer breath, increased stamina, increased explosive power]
A rush of heat surged out of nowhere through Li Beichen's body. His muscles grew again, strengthened evenly without a single spot overlooked.
At the same time, his lungs changed as well, able to hold more air.
Li Beichen gave it a quick try. He drew a deep breath and found he could hold it for a full quarter of an hour.
This greatly increased his stamina and explosive power.
Li Beichen's eyes narrowed like a falcon's as he threw six punches in quick succession.
Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!
Six punches, six cracks. Six sharp thunderclaps rang out across the courtyard.
When he had first entered the Ninth Grade, Li Beichen could gather all his strength and make just one punch crack.
Now he could throw six consecutive punches, each one cracking through the air. That meant he was already a skilled fighter even among Ninth Grade martial artists.
Hu San of Thunderbolt Martial Hall, whom Li Beichen had once tricked into a trap and killed, had only been able to produce three cracks in a row.
According to Meng Juxiang, once he could produce ten consecutive cracks, he could begin Tendon Tempering, the cultivation of the Eighth Rank.
Li Beichen still had some strength left, but he estimated he could manage at most one or two more cracks before he was spent.
The next day, Li Beichen walked through an alley. After only a couple hundred meters, he came to the sign for Like-Elephant Martial Hall.
Today, it was his turn to wash the elephant.
As Li Beichen passed through the Outer Courtyard, He Keji was pushing a stone roller to build his strength.
"Senior Brother Li!"
"Junior Brother He."
They greeted each other. Although Li Beichen had broken through to the Ninth Grade and become an Inner Courtyard disciple, He Keji hadn't grown distant out of awe.
Li Beichen could tell that He Keji believed he, too, would soon become an Inner Courtyard disciple and join Li Beichen as a fellow practitioner.
As for Zhang Yuan,
After Li Beichen broke through to the Ninth Grade, Zhang Yuan never returned to Like-Elephant Martial Hall.
Seeing this, Li Beichen naturally realized the boy was avoiding him.
He made a point of asking around and discovered that Zhang Yuan planned to flee to another region with his family's merchant caravan.
Li Beichen's way of thinking was simple: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
Zhang Yuan had gotten someone to set a hunting trap for him, so Li Beichen was going to return the favor.
Li Beichen immediately chased him out of the city. He ran for dozens of li and finally caught up with the boy.
When Zhang Yuan saw Li Beichen, he was so frightened he nearly fell off his horse.
Li Beichen merely tossed a hunting trap toward him, but in the end, Zhang Yuan sobbed as he put his own lower leg into it.
After a wail of agony,
their grudge was settled, and Li Beichen let Zhang Yuan go.
After entering the Inner Courtyard, Li Beichen turned and headed for the Elephant Shed.
The Elephant Shed stood beside the Inner Courtyard. When Li Beichen opened its door, a massive elephant appeared before him, a full zhang tall and more than two zhang long.
Seeing Li Beichen come in, the elephant affectionately reached out its trunk to rub against him.
Li Beichen petted the giant elephant for a while.
"Elephant Eighteen, I'll be taking you to wash today."
He focused his mind and opened the panel.
[Skill: Elephant Driving (Novice Practice)] [Progress: (82/100)] [Traits: None]
Ever since Senior Brother Zhang Meng had introduced him to Elephant Eighteen, he had unlocked the Elephant Driving skill.
Li Beichen figured that if he took Elephant Eighteen to Elephant Washing Pool for another bath today, the skill would reach its next level.
"Come on, Elephant Eighteen!"
Bellow!
When Elephant Eighteen was being washed, it liked to play around with people. Inner Courtyard disciples usually went to wash the elephant bare-chested.
Li Beichen was no exception. He took off his shirt, revealing his solid, powerful muscles.
His muscles weren't as enormous as those of his senior brothers, but they were more defined.
They carried a powerful, lean menace.
The man and elephant left through the side of the Elephant Shed.
They crossed the stone path and soon reached Elephant Washing Pool.
Li Beichen scooped up water with a gourd dipper and poured a few dippers over Elephant Eighteen, then let it play on its own.
As for Li Beichen, he settled into the rhythm of the Giant Elephant Fist Breathing Method.
But he hadn't practiced for long before Elephant Eighteen sucked up water with its trunk and sprayed it all over him.
Helpless, Li Beichen could only play along with the enormous beast.
He took out a brush and scrubbed the dust from the elephant's skin.
Elephant Eighteen closed its eyes in comfort, a rumbling sound like a snore coming from its body.
"This rhythm..."
Li Beichen couldn't help comparing it to the cadence of the Giant Elephant Fist Breathing Method.
He found that three-tenths of it was similar, while the remaining seven-tenths had been adapted to match a human's breathing rhythm.
"The Giant Elephant Fist really did evolve from the body of a giant elephant."
Half an hour later, several lines of small text appeared before Li Beichen.
[Skill: Elephant Driving (First Glimpse of the Way)] [Progress: (0/200)] [Traits: Giant Elephant Affinity] [Giant Elephant Affinity: Increases giant elephants' favor toward you and makes them easier to communicate with]
At once, Li Beichen felt a deeper bond with Elephant Eighteen. Elephant Eighteen, too, suddenly found the little man before it more pleasant-smelling and grew three-tenths more affectionate toward him.
"Elephant Eighteen, lift me up."
Li Beichen focused his mind and tentatively spoke.
The giant elephant understood what he meant. It tilted its head and thought for a moment, then lowered its trunk and gently placed it at Li Beichen's feet, inviting him to climb aboard.
"Good elephant!"
Li Beichen smiled and climbed on. Elephant Eighteen lifted him over its head and settled him on its broad back.
"Elephant Eighteen, come on. Let's go home."
Bellow!
The ground trembled slightly, and passersby turned to look.
They kept their distance, but hardly anyone was afraid.
Elephant Eighteen had a good reputation throughout Jinglong District. It had never deliberately hurt anyone.
The man and elephant returned to the Elephant Shed together.
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