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Subduing Tiger Martial Hall.

Li Yun and Lu Kuan stood in confrontation.

In an instant.

Li Yun stomped his foot and twisted his waist, his right fist lashing out wrapped in wind, the tip of his fist whistling as it tore through the air.

Lu Kuan did not dodge, blocking horizontally with his left arm. His wrist bone emitted a faint click as the edge of his palm followed the momentum to strike at the opening in his opponent's fist path.

Li Yun spun and stepped back, his left fist hooking in reverse, the back of his fist slamming toward Lu Kuan's ribs.

Lu Kuan dropped his shoulder to dissipate the force, his right fist probing forward, his knuckles grazing Li Yun's jaw by a mere inch.

Fist winds tangled, and footsteps crisscrossed.

A short while later.

With a final exchange of blows, both men withdrew their stances simultaneously, panting as they stepped back half a pace.

"Tsk tsk, I haven't seen you for only two days, yet your fist technique is actually starting to show signs of surpassing mine."

Deep down, Lu Kuan really blamed the old man in his family.

To have such a good seedling and yet be unwilling to invest.

Saying things like, "Seventh-grade bone structure, so what if he has some comprehension?"

Poor bone structure meant wasting more resources.

With those resources, wouldn't it be better to invest in a genius like Zhu Daqi, whose talent was already evident?

The family wasn't under his control yet, so Lu Kuan had no choice:

"I'm truly sorry. Although my father manages the meat business, I can't ignore the opinions of my second and third uncles.

However, I've decided to personally sponsor you with two more portions of Blood Replenishing Powder.

At worst, I'll just go to Spring Breeze Pavilion one less time!

How about that?

Am I generous enough?"

"Oh?

You're actually willing to go once less every month to discuss philosophy with your Little Green.

Senior Brother, I'm afraid I won't be able to repay your kindness."

Hearing that the Lu Family was unwilling to invest, Li Yun felt no ripples in his heart.

After all, speculators naturally prioritize returns.

But hearing that Lu Kuan was willing to give up Little Green just to sponsor him, he felt a small touch of emotion.

"Who told you to be such a freak? If you grind for three to five years and somehow manage to condense Bright Force.

Combined with your minor-completion fist technique, you'll be considered quite a formidable hand among Bright Force martial artists."

Pausing for a moment, Lu Kuan held his head high and puffed out his chest:

"Just based on your 'Martial Fanatic' nature, constantly seeking people out for sparring, you might reach major completion in your fist technique soon.

By then, you'll be invincible among those at the Bright Force level.

Hehe, wouldn't I have gained a powerful friend by then?"

Looking at Lu Kuan's grinning face, Li Yun nodded.

Li Yun had decided to make this friend:

"Fine, then thank you, Senior Brother.

When I make it big, I'll redeem Little Green and send her to your house."

"Wow, wouldn't that be a huge profit? Little Green's redemption fee isn't low."

"..."

The two chatted for a while before Li Yun shifted the topic, asking about the scene he had witnessed yesterday.

He wanted to see if Lu Kuan had more detailed information.

"Senior Brother, when I was escorting the meat shipment yesterday, I saw..."

After listening, Lu Kuan's expression turned somewhat serious, and he lowered his voice:

"If you didn't see wrong, that group of people must be an organization called the Unity Society.

In the county town where I stayed before, the exact same thing happened.

On the surface, these people set up porridge stalls to provide relief to the poor, but behind the scenes, their hands are filthy, and they do all sorts of sordid things.

They were once dealt with by the county authorities.

But once the heat died down, within two months, a new leader popped up again."

Like weeds that could never be fully cleared, they just set up their porridge stalls in a new location.

"A bit sinister."

Looking at it this way, the escort job at the Bounty Pavilion, while a reliable side gig, actually carried some risks.

If he were to encounter something even stranger next time, even if Li Yun didn't want to get involved, who knew if the other party would come looking for him to silence him just to keep their secrets.

It seemed that he didn't need to wait for a ninety-nine percent safety rating to take on Bounty Pavilion missions.

Ninety percent was enough.

If he could earn more income, he wouldn't need to rely on escort work.

After a rest, Li Yun suggested continuing their sparring, but Lu Kuan wasn't having it:

"Forget it, go find someone else."

Before Li Yun could say anything, Lu Kuan slipped away.

Most likely, he was off to find Little Green.

Li Yun scanned the surrounding fellow disciples, quickly picked a target, and walked up to her.

"Senior Sister Yu, shall we spar?"

"You're looking for me?"

"That's right!"

"Come on then."

As Li Yun's fist technique reached minor completion, he discovered that sparring with those whose skills were weaker than his own yielded significantly diminishing returns.

After a serious bout, he would only gain two or three points at most.

Sometimes even less, just a single base point.

His progress had suddenly slowed down.

From then on, Li Yun tried his best to spar with those who had reached minor completion in their fist techniques or higher.

The two exchanged blows.

Yu Qingqing had much more martial integrity than the other senior brothers.

She genuinely restrained her blood energy, suppressing it to a level comparable to Li Yun's.

Furthermore, during their sparring, she did her best to explain her own insights into the Tiger Subduing Fist.

Li Yun was completely immersed in it.

The collision of muscle against muscle.

Until they were both exhausted.

Finally, the two withdrew their stances and walked to a corner to rest.

"Junior Brother Li, your progress with the Tiger Subduing Fist is truly fast; it won't be long before you surpass me."

Yu Qingqing wasn't just saying empty words.

Every day, besides practicing her stance work, she had to spend time maintaining her social circle.

The time she had for practicing fist techniques had become very limited.

She had reached minor completion in the Tiger Subduing Fist a long time ago, and she felt as though she hadn't made any growth since.

"Senior Sister overestimates me.

I go on escort missions at dawn, practice my stance work when I return, and then have nothing to do all afternoon, so I can only practice my fist techniques.

With so many senior brothers willing to spar with me, it's only natural that I've made some progress."

Because Li Yun "approached" Yu Qingqing every day, he was using his status as a Flower Protector to train his fist techniques.

She didn't show any resentment; on the contrary, she would sometimes even cooperate with him.

He felt a certain degree of fondness for her.

Yu Qingqing didn't have any romantic feelings for this junior brother; she just found him interesting.

She had never seen a man approach a woman and say so many pleasant things just to spar with her.

She admired this passion Li Yun had for the martial path.

"Actually, if you have nothing to do, you could also take on a side gig in the afternoon.

That way, you can earn more silver, fill your blood energy sooner, break through the barrier, and attempt to condense your force.

There is no comparison between the minor completion of a Body Tempering Realm fist technique and the entry-level of Bright Force.

You should have felt it when sparring with other junior brothers on normal days.

That is, as long as the opponent doesn't play by the rules with you, fighting steadily and using their force to face you head-on."

"You simply cannot withstand it; in the end, you will still be the one who loses."

Li Yun naturally knew this.

Whenever he sparred with his senior brother, he often felt that force striking his body.

It was far more fierce and overbearing than the Body Tempering Realm.

"Cough, cough. Senior Sister, I saw someone at the Bounty Pavilion this morning recruiting guides for a hunt at Crow Mountain. Is it..."

"It is."

At the mention of this, Yu Qingqing beamed with joy.

Without a care in the world, she laughed until she trembled:

"That little hussy Lin Biling was so furious after losing to me last time. I really have to thank you for helping me find that old hunter in the village."

After laughing for a while, Yu Qingqing realized something:

"Why do you bring this up? Are you thinking of going?"

Since it was truly just for hunting and nothing had gone wrong last time, there shouldn't be any risk.

Li Yun decided to make the trip.

He could earn the commission while seeing if he could bag some rare game to sell for money.

He needed to buy more Blood Replenishing Powder.

"That's right. I wonder if Senior Sister would be willing to hire me?"

"Are you even capable? This is very important to me. If I lose, won't I be mocked by that woman for ages?"

Yu Qingqing sized Li Yun up, looking as if she still held a grudge over his previous refusal.

Li Yun grumbled inwardly.

This woman is truly petty.

"Senior Sister, rest assured, I am definitely capable."