Hard Training

7:00 PM to 9:00 PM.

After finishing dinner, Li Yun found the auntie who cooked for the Martial Hall in the back kitchen.

"Auntie, could you do me a favor?"

As he spoke, Li Yun handed over a few dozen copper coins and pressed them into her hand.

"It's like this..."

Seeing that the auntie agreed, Li Yun pretended to take the venison from his Dormitory and handed it to her.

The Dormitory was a four-person room, but currently, only Li Yun lived there, so he wasn't afraid of being exposed.

Those without money were unwilling to spend ten taels of silver.

Those who could afford it didn't need to live here.

[Tiger-Subduing Stance (Not Yet Initiated): 8/1000]

He had practiced all afternoon, and with the help of the Muscle and Bone Soup, he had only gained eight points in total.

Li Yun estimated that without the Muscle and Bone Soup, his physical strength would increase by roughly this amount in a day.

His physique would certainly improve gradually over time.

This meant that in about three to four months, he would be able to initiate the Tiger Subduing Fist and reach the Body Tempering Realm.

According to what Xiao Shun said, this timeframe was considered average.

Of course, if he could be faster, that would be even better.

That was why Li Yun had sought out the auntie to help him prepare the venison.

Only by eating well and being full would he have the stamina to practice martial arts.

At the foot of Crow Mountain, Mountain-Back Village.

He Xiuyong frowned as he walked out of the Qian family's house.

Yesterday, he had sent the Qian Brothers to cause trouble for Li Yun.

As a result, there had been no news all day today.

He had come specifically to ask, but his parents-in-law said that the three brothers had gone out early in the morning.

He Xiuyong knew they must have gone to teach Li Yun a lesson, just as he had instructed.

Three strong men, going with a premeditated plan to teach an ordinary hunter a lesson—could something really go wrong?

He stopped by Li Yun's house on the way, but the house was empty, and the stove was cold.

He Xiuyong's heart sank, and a bad premonition arose:

Three strong, healthy men, going with a premeditated plan to teach an ordinary hunter a lesson—could something really go wrong?

Combining this with the information that Li Yun had taken game to the county to sell, a thought suddenly popped into his mind:

Had his three brothers-in-law been silenced by him?

Regardless, as long as he found them, the truth would naturally come to light.

If his guess proved true, he would certainly not let Li Yun off.

He Xiuyong also had his own connections, so he decided to use them tomorrow to find someone to help look for them.

The next day.

At the first light of dawn, Li Yun began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Stance in the Outer Courtyard.

His entire body's muscles felt as if they were being pulled, squeezed, and tightened in turns. A dense, tingling numbness surged from his limbs and bones, spreading along the muscle fibers until even his fingertips and toes were filled with a numb, aching soreness.

Xiao Shun had said:

Soreness and numbness mean you are doing it right; it proves the practice is hitting the mark, every inch of muscle is being activated, and your blood and qi are striking your muscles and bones.

By channeling force throughout your entire body, your muscles and bones will become increasingly sturdy, and your blood and qi will become more abundant, naturally leading you to the Body Tempering Realm.

[Tiger-Subduing Stance: +1]
[Tiger-Subduing Stance (Not Yet Initiated): 9/1000]

The other disciples arrived at the Martial Hall one after another, all looking somewhat surprised.

"This guy came quite early."

"Hmph, he was just putting on an act yesterday, and he's at it again today. I just wonder how long he can keep it up."

A few people whispered among themselves.

Li Yun turned a deaf ear to them and buried himself in hard practice.

This drew the side-glances of many.

Some were envious, some jealous, and some indifferent...

As time passed, these voices naturally faded away.

One day, two days, it was easy to put on an act.

But when it continued for an entire month, those people slowly shut their mouths.

A month later, in the morning light of the Martial Hall Outer Courtyard, Li Yun's posture while practicing martial arts was completely different.

His frame was more upright and compact than when he first entered the hall, his muscle definition sharp; there was not a hint of stiffness in his movements, only a refined, resilient strength.

He could now hold the Tiger-Subduing Stance for half an hour.

Most of his time was now spent practicing the introductory fist and leg techniques.

The wind whipped up by his arms was several times sharper than before, and as the muscles in his shoulders and back rolled, there was no wasted motion, his power precisely channeled to his fingertips.

His spine twisted with clean efficiency, and the moment his shoulder struck out, his stance remained as steady as a rock without a hint of stumbling, only the hem of his clothes snapping loudly in the gale.

The entire sequence repeated in a cycle, his breathing steady and long, no longer the panting mess he had been when he first started.

[Tiger-Subduing Stance: +1]
[Tiger-Subduing Stance (Uninitiated): 401/1000]

At this rate, he estimated he would reach the Body Tempering Realm in another month or so.

Unfortunately, the four-hundred-pound Red Deer had already been eaten.

Accustomed to his previous rapid progress, Li Yun felt a bit uneasy about the sudden slowdown.

He wanted to return to Crow Mountain to hunt and boost his cultivation speed, but the Qian Brothers were still lying in his storage space.

Heih Xiuyong, the Body Tempering martial artist from the Mountain Gang, weighed heavily on his mind.

Shaking off these distracting thoughts, Li Yun continued his training.

Nearby, Wang Xiaofei, who had just finished lifting the Stone Lock, watched Li Yun—who had pulled so far ahead of him in just over a month—and felt a sense of frustration rise in his heart.

He had been working hard too; why was he not even half as good as the other?

Gritting his teeth, he went back to his training.

After lunch.

"The senior brothers and sisters who went to escort the caravan from the Inner Courtyard are back!"

"Senior Sister Liu is back?"

"..."

A commotion at the entrance of the Martial Hall caught Li Yun's attention.

The apprentices in the Outer Courtyard stopped what they were doing and looked toward the gate.

A group of people filed in, but the woman in the center was particularly eye-catching.

She was tall, dressed in white martial attire, with cold, refined features.

Her brows carried a faint air of detachment, and as her gaze swept over the onlookers in the Outer Courtyard, it remained calm and ripple-free, yet it made people subconsciously hold their breath, causing the noise to die down.

"It really is Senior Sister Liu. I heard this escort mission was extremely dangerous."

"Senior Sister Liu is the most formidable female disciple in our Martial Hall; she stepped into the Dark Force some time ago!"

After the Inner Courtyard disciples had all left, Li Yun did not join the discussion, choosing instead to continue practicing the Tiger-Subduing Stance.

Such dazzling female disciples were always "trouble magnets."

The surrounding Flower Protector types would indiscriminately view all males as enemies.

This did not align with Li Yun's philosophy of seeking stability.

It was incompatible.

[Tiger-Subduing Stance (Uninitiated): 800/1000]

Glancing at the progress on his panel, Li Yun threw himself back into his fist training.

As Li Yun held his stance, the chatter of the apprentices in the courtyard drifted over to him.

"Truly amazing, reaching the Body Tempering Realm in just a month."

"Who?"

"You don't know? It's the personal disciple the Hall Master took in recently, Zhu Daqi."

"Tsk tsk, such talent, I'm so envious."

Zhu Daqi?

It seemed that innate bone structure truly had a significant impact on a martial artist's cultivation.

Despite his own tireless efforts, his progress was only forty percent of Zhu Daqi's.

However, Li Yun quickly cast these thoughts aside.

No matter how good others were, it had nothing to do with him.

Time to train.

Days passed, one after another.

Li Yun was obsessed with the Tiger Subduing Fist; this visible progress made him unable to extricate himself.

He was hooked.

People came and went in the Martial Hall.

There were new apprentices, as well as those who had scrubbed their blood and qi, opened the surface channels of their bodies, stepped into the Body Tempering Realm, and entered the Inner Courtyard.

Of course, the majority were those who had failed to break through.

Those with the means stayed to continue their martial arts training, while those without packed their bags and left.

The new generation replaced the old.

The only thing that remained unchanged was Li Yun, practicing alone in the corner.