Skill Elephant Driving

With money in hand, Li Beichen directly purchased a two-courtyard compound in Jinglong District.

It had previously belonged to a ranked martial artist from the Cloud Crane Martial Hall.

The ground in the courtyard had been specially rammed and hardened, and it was equipped with various stone rollers and tools for cultivation.

It cost Li Beichen a full one hundred and twenty taels.

However, it was well worth it.

Li Beichen spent another fifty taels to furnish it with high-quality furniture, and he personally dug a secret chamber in the backyard to store the Strange Pig meat he possessed.

This was the most precious wealth in Li Beichen's hands, and he could not afford to be careless with it.

Once these inanimate tasks were finished, Li Beichen realized the courtyard was quite large, and it felt empty with only him living there.

It wasn't that he couldn't stand the solitude, but he truly had no time to tidy up, so Li Beichen bought the indentures of several maidservants to handle the chores.

In this way, the house gained some life, and he no longer had to worry about menial tasks himself.

These indentures were signed at the Music Conservatory within the Rouge House.

Inside were the wives and daughters of disgraced officials, some of whom were stunningly beautiful and possessed alluring figures.

Each one had been very well trained.

They were considered courtesans of the pure variety.

However, Li Beichen did not redeem a single one of them; the maidservants he chose were all of average appearance and the capable, hardworking type.

Having lived two lifetimes and endured half a life of suffering, Li Beichen desired strength above all else.

He had no need for a bed of comfort.

After everything was settled, Li Beichen spent almost all his time on cultivation.

He trained by day and practiced by night.

On the evening of the fourth day after moving into his new home, Li Beichen exhaled slowly, and faintly, the long trumpeting of an elephant seemed to echo from his abdomen.

A few lines of small text appeared before his eyes.

[Technique: Giant Elephant Fist (Just Entered the Threshold)]
[Progress: (0/500)]
[Traits: Bright Force, Elephant Breath]
[Bright Force: Body and strength unite, fist exceeds a thousand catties]
[Elephant Breath: Breath is long and steady, stamina increased, explosive power increased]

A surge of heat poured into Li Beichen's body out of thin air, and his muscles grew once more—strengthening every single muscle in his body without leaving a single dead zone.

At the same time, his lungs underwent a change, allowing them to store more breath.

Li Beichen tested it slightly; he took a long breath and found he could actually hold it for a quarter of an hour.

This significantly boosted his stamina and explosive power.

Li Beichen's gaze sharpened like a falcon's, and he threw six punches in succession.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Six punches, six cracks; six thunderous sounds exploded crisply in the courtyard.

When he first entered the Ninth Rank, Li Beichen could only gather his entire body's strength to produce a single sound.

Now, he could produce a sound with all six consecutive punches, which meant that Li Beichen was considered a capable hand even among the Ninth Rank.

Hu San of the Thunderbolt Martial Hall, whom he had tricked and killed, could only produce three sounds in one breath.

According to Meng Juxiang, once one could produce ten consecutive sounds, they could begin the Eighth Rank training of tempering the tendons.

Li Beichen still had some strength left, but he estimated that he could throw at most one or two more punches before exhausting himself.

The next day, Li Beichen walked through the alley, and after strolling no more than two hundred meters, he saw the sign for the Like-Elephant Martial Hall.

Today was the day he was to wash the elephants.

As Li Beichen passed through the outer courtyard, He Keji was pushing stone rollers to temper his strength.

"Senior Brother Li!"

"Junior Brother He."

The two exchanged greetings. Although Li Beichen had broken through to the Ninth Rank and become an inner-courtyard disciple, He Keji did not distance himself out of fear or reverence.

Li Beichen could see that He Keji believed he would soon become an inner-courtyard disciple himself and would be a peer to Li Beichen.

As for Zhang Yuan, who had been there before—

Ever since Li Beichen broke through to the Ninth Rank, he had not returned to the Like-Elephant Martial Hall.

Seeing this, Li Beichen naturally knew the brat was avoiding him.

He had made some inquiries and discovered that Zhang Yuan was actually planning to flee to another region with a family caravan.

In Li Beichen's view, the only way was to return tooth for tooth and eye for eye.

Since Zhang Yuan had hired men to set a bear trap for him, he would return the favor in kind.

Li Beichen immediately chased him out of the city, running for dozens of miles before finally intercepting the brat.

Upon seeing Li Beichen, Zhang Yuan was so terrified he nearly fell off his horse.

Li Beichen simply tossed a bear trap over, and in the end, Zhang Yuan tearfully placed his own lower leg into it.

Following a miserable howl.

The grudge was settled, and Li Beichen let Zhang Yuan go.

Entering the inner courtyard, Li Beichen turned and headed toward the Elephant Shed.

The Elephant Shed was built beside the inner courtyard. Li Beichen opened the stall to reveal a massive giant elephant, standing a full ten feet tall and over twenty feet long.

Seeing Li Beichen enter, the elephant reached out its trunk with great affection to nuzzle him.

Li Beichen stroked the giant elephant for a moment.

"Elephant Eighteen, I'll be the one to take you for a wash today."

With a thought, he opened his status panel.

Skill: Elephant Driving (Beginner)
Progress: (82/100)
Trait: None

Ever since Senior Brother Zhang Meng had introduced him to Elephant Eighteen, this [Elephant Driving] skill had been unlocked.

Li Beichen estimated that if he took Elephant Eighteen to the Elephant Washing Pool for a scrub today, this skill would reach the next realm.

"Let's go, Elephant Eighteen!"

Trumpet!!

Elephant Eighteen liked to play around during its wash; usually, when inner courtyard disciples took the elephants out to bathe, they would go shirtless.

Li Beichen was no exception; he took off his upper garment, revealing his solid, powerful muscles.

Though Li Beichen's muscles lacked the explosive bulk of the other senior brothers, they possessed a more refined texture.

They carried an aura of powerful, lean strength.

Man and elephant exited from the side of the Elephant Shed.

Crossing the stone path, they soon arrived at the Elephant Washing Pool.

Li Beichen used a gourd ladle to scoop water for Elephant Eighteen, pouring a few ladles over it before letting it play on its own.

As for himself, he settled into the rhythm of the Giant Elephant Fist breathing technique.

But before he could practice for long, Elephant Eighteen sucked up pool water with its long trunk and sprayed it all over Li Beichen.

Li Beichen sighed helplessly and had no choice but to play along with the massive beast.

He took out a brush and began scrubbing the dust from the giant elephant's skin.

Elephant Eighteen squinted its eyes in comfort, a sound like snoring rumbling from within its body.

This rhythm...

Li Beichen couldn't help but compare it to the cadence of the Giant Elephant Fist breathing technique.

He realized that three parts were similar, while the remaining seven parts had been adapted to fit the rhythm of human breath.

"The Giant Elephant Fist, it seems, really was derived from the body of a giant elephant."

Half an hour later, a few lines of small text appeared before Li Beichen's eyes.

Skill: Elephant Driving (Elementary)
Progress: (0/200)
Trait: Giant Elephant Affinity
Giant Elephant Affinity: Increases favorability with giant elephants and makes communication easier.

Instantly, Li Beichen felt a deeper bond with Elephant Eighteen, while Elephant Eighteen suddenly felt that the little human before it smelled much better, becoming three parts more affectionate toward Li Beichen.

"Elephant Eighteen, lift me up."

With a thought, Li Beichen tentatively gave the command.

The giant elephant understood Li Beichen's intent; it tilted its head to think for a moment, then lowered its trunk and placed it gently at Li Beichen's feet, signaling him to step on.

"Good elephant!"

Li Beichen smiled and stepped on. Elephant Eighteen then hoisted him over its head and placed him onto its broad back.

"Elephant Eighteen, let's go home."

ROAR!

The ground trembled slightly, causing passersby to glance over.

Although they kept their distance, there was not much fear to be found.

Elephant Eighteen had a stellar reputation in Jinglong District, with no record of ever intentionally harming anyone.

With that, the man and the elephant returned to the Elephant Shed.