Medicinal Soup

In the days that followed, relying on his past-life experience and his current state of vigorous blood and abundant energy, Xia Dong managed to complete the general draft of the "Strange Tales" section of the Pingyang County Annals in less than half a month.

The remaining work consisted merely of minor historical fact-checking and polishing the prose, requiring only a bit of patient, meticulous effort to finalize.

On the other hand, this revision of the county annals was a rare cultural event for Pingyang County, unseen in decades.

For Magistrate Yang, who governed the region, this was a tangible "achievement of edification," a heavy, ink-laden stroke on his year-end performance review.

Therefore, upon seeing the high-quality first draft submitted by Xia Dong, Magistrate Yang was in high spirits; he held this efficient and eloquent young scholar in high regard and greatly appreciated him.

With the favor of Magistrate Yang, coupled with the smooth maneuvering of Lord He on the sidelines, it wasn't long before a stroke of good fortune fell upon Xia Dong—he received a personal recommendation from Magistrate Yang to become Pingyang County's "Gongsheng" for the current year.

This Gongsheng status was no small matter; it represented the top-tier students among local scholars, also known as the "Annual Tribute."

Ordinary scholars, while exempt from kneeling before officials and possessing the privilege of being excused from certain corvée labor, were ultimately only at the foundation of the merit system and could not be considered true officials.

Once one became a Gongsheng, it not only meant qualifying to study at the Imperial Academy in the capital, but more importantly, it granted a semi-official status. Even if one did not go on to pass the provincial examinations, after selection by the Ministry of Personnel, one could be directly appointed as a subordinate official, such as an assistant magistrate or a registrar, in a remote region.

Furthermore, a Gongsheng not only received a generous monthly grain stipend from the Great You Dynasty Court but also enjoyed a significantly elevated social status locally.

Even the wealthy landowners of Pingyang County, upon meeting a Gongsheng, had to respectfully address him as "Old Master," never daring to treat him as an ordinary, down-and-out scholar again.

However, before the scholars of Pingyang County could recover from their envy of Xia Dong's promotion, Magistrate Yang swiftly threw out a bombshell: the implementation of the new imperial law, which mandated the vigorous promotion of a martial art called "Five Animals Health Fist" throughout the entire county!

Accompanying the promulgation of the new law was an imperial decree announcing the imminent reopening of the martial examinations.

It was not just the reopening of the martial arts track; the Great You Dynasty Court had granted the martial examinations astonishing privileges. The new law explicitly stated that in the future, the status derived from martial examinations would completely overshadow that of the civil examinations!

The most intuitive and heart-stirring of these was the land tax exemption: a civil scholar could exempt at most twenty mu of land from taxes, whereas a martial scholar could enjoy an exemption quota of a full one hundred mu!

Once this news broke, it caused a massive stir among the gentry circles of Pingyang County.

Any scholar with a modicum of insight could see that while the civil examinations were prestigious, the martial examinations were the true, heaven-reaching path to bringing glory to one's ancestors and protecting one's family and property!

Those traditional gentry landlords, for the sake of their family's continued interests, would henceforth have to grit their teeth and cut back on investments in their descendants' civil studies, turning instead to exhaust their wealth in order to increase their cultivation efforts for the martial examinations.

Furthermore, the new law was extremely strict: anyone wishing to practice this "Five Animals Health Fist" had to use a specific medicinal decoction. This formula could only be purchased at a high price from government-designated offices. If anyone dared to pass on the formula privately, once verified, they would be dealt with according to national law—no leniency would be shown!

Not only that, but all nourishing medicinal herbs related to martial arts training were subject to unified state purchase and distribution; they could only be bought and sold in government-designated pharmacies, and private trading was likewise a grave crime.

This was an overt conspiracy; the court sought to strengthen its military while simultaneously seizing the opportunity to plunder the wealth of local powerhouses, firmly grasping the lifeblood of the world's martial power and the ladder of advancement in its own hands.

However, as the saying goes, "the pavilion closest to the water enjoys the moonlight first."

Because the promulgation and specific implementation of the new law in the localities still required a period of coordination and preparation, there was a window of opportunity.

As a favorite of Magistrate Yang and having already seen the relevant confidential files, Xia Dong naturally received subtle hints from the Magistrate.

Before the news had fully spread among the populace and before the prices of medicinal herbs in Pingyang County had skyrocketed, Xia Dong did not hesitate to take all his accumulated savings and secretly hoard a large quantity of the necessary nourishing herbs in advance, while also using his convenience at the county office to be the first to obtain the extremely precious "Five Animals Health Fist" decoction formula.

As for the He Family, where Lord He resided, they were even better informed.

They had not only laid out their plans in this regard early on, but the herbs they hoarded far exceeded those of Xia Dong; by riding the wind of this new law, they were a full step ahead of the other gentry and powerhouses in Pingyang County right from the starting line.

One has to admit that with an agile helper in the house, Xia Dong indeed felt much more relaxed, which allowed him to pour more energy into his martial cultivation.

To completely win over her heart, Xia Dong took a moment to use the small amount of face he currently had before Magistrate Yang and Lord He to facilitate a minor matter—he had Xiao Hong's family register their few mu of poor-quality land under his name as a newly minted Gongsheng, under the guise of a "voluntary offering."

The taxes of the Great You Dynasty were complex, and the bottom-tier farmers suffered immensely.

Now, with Xia Dong, a Gongsheng with tax-exemption privileges, as their protector, Xiao Hong's family became tenants under Xia Dong, not only exempt from heavy and harsh taxes but also destined to live much better than ordinary farmers in the future.

Through this operation, Xia Dong took the opportunity to thoroughly investigate Xiao Hong's background, confirming that her family history was indeed clean. And this move of land offering was a combination of kindness and authority, firmly binding Xiao Hong's family to his chariot.

Cultivation is a long road destined to be filled with hardship and loneliness, and Xia Dong knew well that he could not be in two places at once.

He needed to cultivate "his own people" to handle these mundane matters of food, clothing, housing, travel, and social interactions for him.

As for the Qin Family, since they currently showed only goodwill and had even generously sent a maid and resources, Xia Dong naturally had no reason to drive Xiao Hong away.

As for whether there were any ulterior motives or designs on his descendants hidden behind this goodwill, that was not among Xia Dong's primary considerations for the time being.

In short, all conspiracies and schemes are illusory in the face of absolute strength. What he needed most urgently now was to improve his strength at all costs.

On the other hand, recalling the confidential materials he had perused in the archives, Xia Dong remained deeply vigilant about the court's grand push for the new law.

All sorts of clues pointed to a cruel truth: secular martial arts experts were very likely "provisions" used by those high-and-mighty immortal cultivators to assist in their own cultivation!

If that were the case, why would the court still open the martial examinations so widely, and even go so far as to induce the world to practice martial arts with such massive benefits?

Was this a game of chess between imperial power and immortal sects, or some deeper harvesting conspiracy?

Xia Dong could not guess.

But he was very clear about his own situation—he had no spiritual roots and could not step onto the path of immortality.

The martial path was his only choice for transformation and transcendence at present.

Regardless of whether there is a mountain of blades or a sea of fire ahead, since there is no other choice, I can only keep walking down this path, Xia Dong calculated inwardly. Future matters can be dealt with in the future.

Moreover, he was not without support now.

With his civil Gongsheng status, he was effectively "walking on two legs."

Even if there were truly immortal cultivators hunting martial artists in the dark to nourish themselves, they would usually pick those grassroots martial artists who had no background and were of no consequence first.

He possessed the official status of the Great You Dynasty Court as a talisman, which in itself served as an excellent layer of protection.

Of course, his original intention was to avoid revealing profound martial arts in front of others as much as possible, secretly raising his cultivation realm.

Having cleared his thoughts, Xia Dong completely settled his mind.

Regarding the "Five Animals Health Fist" promoted by the new law, Xia Dong had carefully studied the secret manual from the government.

It was indeed an extremely solid foundational martial art, aimed at regulating the five internal organs and stimulating qi and blood. Because Xia Dong already had the foundation of the "Crane Stance," he was able to master the "Crane Play" section at a single glance, picking it up with great speed.

However, he was in no rush to practice the Five Animals Health Fist concurrently.

Greed leads to poor digestion; his primary goal now was to use the abundant medicinal materials to push the "Crane Shadow Step" to the "Consummation" realm in one go!

Moreover, in the face of danger, the Crane Shadow Step was absolutely his most important life-saving means at present.

With Xiao Hong in the courtyard to take care of his daily life, Xia Dong no longer had to spend his days covered in soot, guarding the clay stove to decoct medicine.

Xiao Hong was extremely meticulous; every day, she would decoct the well-proportioned "Solidify Foundation and Cultivate Origin Soup" to a rich and mellow consistency on time and in the correct dosage, bringing it to Xia Dong's door.

This Solidify Foundation and Cultivate Origin Soup was truly worthy of being an official secret medicine, its medicinal power both potent and gentle.

As a bowl of warm medicinal soup went down, Xia Dong felt as if a small, inextinguishable furnace had been born in his belly, with a continuous stream of heat spreading through his meridians to his limbs and bones.

Borrowing this surging medicinal power, Xia Dong practiced the Crane Shadow Step day after day in this cramped little courtyard.

At first, although his footwork was nimble, it still left traces; his feet inevitably stirred up a breeze and crushed fallen leaves when they touched the ground.

Ten days later, as the medicinal power and his qi and blood completely merged, his movements began to become effortless.

With every step he took, the contraction of his leg muscles and the slight vibration of his bones formed a strange resonance.

By the twentieth night.

Moonlight, like water, spilled onto the bluestone slabs.

Xia Dong stood in the courtyard with his eyes closed, the medicinal power that had accumulated for many days in his belly seemingly reaching a critical point.

Accompanied by a distant bell tolling in his sea of consciousness.

He opened his eyes abruptly, and under the agitation of his qi and blood, his feet exerted force suddenly.

Swish!

There was no heavy thud against the ground, only the faint, sharp whistle of his robes rubbing against the air.

Xia Dong's figure vanished from the spot instantly, like a cold crane skimming across the water in the night.

His toes tapped lightly on a falling withered leaf; the leaf showed no sign of breaking or falling, instead supporting his body as he glided forward.

He leaped lightly across the stone table, the edge of the water vat, and even the slender bamboo clothesline in the courtyard. His speed reached the extreme, and his figure even left two or three faint afterimages in the moonlight.

Moving like a ghost, still as a maiden.

When he stopped and landed steadily in the center of the courtyard, he did not even let out a hurried breath; his qi and blood were restrained to the extreme, as if the intense exercise just now had never existed.

"This is the Consummation realm of the Crane Shadow Step..."

Xia Dong felt the astonishing leaping power and explosive force seemingly contained within his legs, and he was filled with joy.

"The effect of the Crane Shadow Step now is probably comparable to the light-body techniques in the novels of my past life."

But Xia Dong's mindset did not inflate; there were cultivators high above, not to mention he still did not know how many trump cards the Great You Dynasty Court held, or how deep the water truly was.

Hard training—he still needed to continue his hard training!