Add Points, Physique!

He pointed toward the east side of the city and gave them a ready-made example:

"Four Seas Chamber of Commerce's resident instructor, 'Iron Leg' Chen Feizhou—you've all heard of him.

"He injured his body in his youth and had no hope of ever reaching Bright Force. His realm had been locked firmly at the peak of the Late Force Refining Realm. Yet he had forcibly trained his Twelve-Road Tan Leg to the Limit Break level! With one sweeping kick, he could bend an iron pillar as thick as a bowl's mouth.

"Relying on that Limit Break killing move alone, he served as a resident instructor in that foreign concession packed with Westerners. The dividends he received were top-tier, and his status was not much lower than that of an ordinary Bright Force Martial Master!"

Yan Tieqiao looked over the disciples before him.

"Late Force Refining Realm, plus a Limit Break martial skill. With these two things, you can go to the Governor's Mansion and obtain a martial arts school license. Open a school and take disciples in this Ten-Mile Foreign Field, and you'll count as a major figure in your own right."

At this point, Yan Tieqiao raised his chin slightly.

"Of course, no matter how powerful the killing force of Limit Break may be, it is ultimately a clever shortcut—borrowed external strength. If you truly faced a Bright Force fighter like me, one who had genuinely tempered his internal organs, you would still be on the ground within three moves."

"But for you, this is the capital you need to settle down and survive—even to protect your lives against stronger opponents!"

His words set the hearts of the Inner Sect disciples ablaze.

"Train!"

Zhang Lei bellowed and was the first to step before an iron-bound Wooden Dummy. Built like an iron tower, he suddenly sank at the waist, his great tendons snapping taut.

Bang!

With a heavy, earth-shaking straight punch, the air seemed to explode with a string of crisp whip cracks.

Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!

Five crisp sounds in a row!

Five Resonance, complete!

Zhang Lei's blood and qi surged through his body, and the wind from his fist made the cheeks of several people nearby sting.

He slowly withdrew his fist and stood proudly, glancing at the others with eyes full of arrogance and defiance. Among all the disciples present, he alone had trained the Iron Wire Fist to such a level.

The other senior brothers scattered as well and began honing themselves.

Yet aside from Zhang Lei, most Inner Sect disciples could only produce a little over Triple Resonance. Those capable of Four Resonance were few and far between.

By the time the sun had risen high in the sky, it was time for the inner courtyard's meal.

Only after entering the inner courtyard did Lu Zhen understand the true meaning behind Gu Yanzhi's words: "A poor scholar, a wealthy martial artist."

The Inner Sect's meals were as different from the outer courtyard's cauldrons of coarse grain and boiled cabbage as heaven and earth.

On the long rosewood tables sat gleaming white rice, medicinal black-bone chicken stewed until tender, and thick slices of glossy braised beef. Every bit of it was the real deal—excellent for replenishing blood and essence.

As everyone feasted heartily, Gu Yanzhi carried his bowl over to Lu Zhen. He pulled an oil-paper packet from his sleeve and quietly pushed it over.

Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow.

"Brother Lu, take it." Gu Yanzhi lowered his voice, using his folding fan as cover. "Red Scale Fish die the moment they leave the water and are extremely difficult to preserve. This is dried fish made by my family's boatmen using a secret method.

"Though it has lost a little of its essence, its effects are still astonishing. Take it home, stew it into a rich soup with some old ginger and goji berries. It will greatly nourish your blood and qi."

Gu Yanzhi smiled. "Consider it an advance on your wages, to help Brother Lu stabilize your realm."

Lu Zhen squeezed the oil-paper packet. Even through the paper, he could smell a strange fishy sweetness. He did not stand on ceremony, instead solemnly tucking it into his clothes and clasping his fists. "Thank you, Brother Gu."

That evening, after finishing a day of training, Lu Zhen stopped by a medicine shop at the street corner to buy some cheap angelica root, old ginger, and astragalus. He then went to the butcher for half a pound of fatty meat before hurrying toward Pig Cage Alley through the cold wind.

The moment he pushed open the battered gate to his courtyard, the warmth of the stove washed over him.

"You're back?"

Shen Yun was wearing a rough cloth apron and carrying a wooden basin as she emerged from the kitchen. Seeing Lu Zhen enter, she naturally stepped forward and reached out to take the oil-paper packet and meat from his hands.

But the moment the words left her mouth, her hand froze in midair.

That "You're back," coupled with how naturally she reached for his things, had been far too familiar. She looked exactly like a young wife tending the stove, waiting for her husband to return home.

Shen Yun's face flushed to the roots of her neck with a whoosh, as though it had been set ablaze.

In a fluster, she lowered her head and snatched the things from Lu Zhen's hands. Not daring to meet his eyes, she turned and darted into the kitchen like a frightened rabbit, her voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz. "I... I'll go stir-fry the meat."

Watching her fleeing back, Lu Zhen could not help but laugh. The nerves he had kept taut for days relaxed considerably.

Before long, the food was on the table.

Lu Zhen deliberately stewed that dried Red Scale Fish with medicinal herbs into a pot of rich soup. The broth was an eerie dark red, giving off an intense, domineering fishy fragrance.

He gave his younger sister and Shen Yun each a small bowl of clear broth, warning them not to drink too much lest their bodies prove too weak for such nourishment. He then devoured the remaining fish and rich soup like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

At first, the fish soup merely felt warm as it entered his stomach.

But before half the time it took to drink a cup of tea had passed, that warmth transformed into a blazing fire!

Boom!

Lu Zhen felt as if he had swallowed a glowing-hot charcoal ember. Scalding blood and qi surged wildly from his stomach and intestines into all four limbs and every bone. The slight soreness caused by his daytime training was instantly washed away by the violent medicinal power.

"What domineering blood and qi!"

Lu Zhen did not dare delay. He shoved the door open and strode into the courtyard, where the cold wind cut like a knife.

He stamped both feet down and immediately assumed the Coiling Dragon Stake. His great tendons snapped taut, and his bones crackled. Then, borrowing the wild blood and qi within him, he unleashed a set of Iron Wire Fist with the force of a tiger and the roar of the wind.

Pa! Pa! Pa!

The crisp sounds came without end. Under the cold moonlight, Lu Zhen's entire body resembled a steaming basket, wisps of white vapor actually rising from his head.

The instant sweat seeped from his skin, it was evaporated by his blazing body heat. The medicinal potency of this Mutated Treasure Fish was several times greater than the martial arts school's Blood Qi Soup, which was served only once every ten days!

He trained for more than half an hour, only slowly withdrawing his stance once the blazing fire within had been thoroughly absorbed and digested by his tendons and bones. He exhaled a long breath of Turbid Qi. In the night wind, it condensed into a straight white line that lingered for a long while without dispersing.

Returning to the room, Lu Zhen sat cross-legged on the hard plank bed and willed it open.

[Daily Settlement Panel activated]

[Today's settlement: trained at the martial arts school for three hours, consumed Mutated Treasure Fish (Red Scale)...]

[Base rewards: Silver dollars +0, profession experience +10, Physique experience +60, General Experience +15]

[Level bonus triggered: Daily Settlement Level Lv.3 (daily rewards additionally x3)]

[Final rewards: Silver dollars +0, profession experience +30, Physique experience +180, General Experience +45!]

Lu Zhen's eyes lit up. Just one dried treasure fish, combined with hard training, had provided a full 60 points of base Physique experience. Tripled, it had directly soared by 180 points!

His gaze immediately shifted downward to his attribute panel.

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

Level: Daily Settlement Lv.3 (20/800)

Physique: Tendon Stretching and Bone Strengthening Lv.3 (725/800)

General Experience: 115 points

Looking at the data on the Panel, Lu Zhen calculated rapidly in his mind.

Originally, he had been more than two hundred experience points away from raising his Physique to Lv.4. But tonight's great nourishment from the treasure fish had pushed the progress bar straight to 725 points. With 800 being full, only a final gap of 75 points remained!

And in his hand, he happened to have 115 points of General Experience saved up from this period.

It was enough.

"Add points, Physique!"