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The old woman seated at the head of the table rolled her cloudy eyes.

She was an exceptionally shrewd old woman. No matter how respectable teaching or bookkeeping might be, meeting soldiers or thugs was like a scholar meeting a soldier—reason could not prevail. But an Inner Sect disciple of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall, an expert in the Mid Force Refining Realm, was a solid pillar to lean on! In these chaotic times, that was the equivalent of a living Bodhisattva guarding the household.

The old woman's formerly stern face instantly bloomed like a chrysanthemum.

Smiling warmly, she extended her chopsticks, picked out the largest, fattest slice of meat from the stir-fried pork and garlic shoots, reached across half the table, and steadily placed it into Lu Fang's bowl.

"Fang'er, you're too frail. Eat more meat and build yourself up."

The old woman's tone was so kind that it was as if she had become another person. "I always said Little Lu had promise from the time he was young, that he was destined for great things! Now this is truly sweetness after bitterness."

"We're family, our bones may break but our tendons remain connected. From now on, you should often come home and visit your brother. Keep in touch more, and have Little Lu come sit here whenever he has time. He can share a few drinks with your Wenjing. Relatives ought to stay close."

Lu Fang looked at the glistening slab of fatty meat in her bowl, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

She knew her mother-in-law's character all too well.

Back then, if she secretly took even a handful of cornmeal home to help her younger brother, she would have to endure her mother-in-law's cold face for days afterward and listen to endless mockery and sarcasm. If she went home a little too often, she would be scolded as "a prodigal woman carrying the family fortune outside."

Now that her brother had finally made something of himself, his fists had become hard, and people called him "Master Lu," her mother-in-law's attitude had immediately made a one-hundred-eighty-degree turn. Even an unwanted daughter-in-law like her got to benefit and eat meat along with him.

This was what it meant by: poor in a bustling market, no one asked after you; rich in the deep mountains, distant relatives came calling.

"Yes, I understand, Mother."

Lu Fang obediently agreed. Lowering her head, she took a small bite of meat, the corners of her lips unable to stop lifting. Her heart and eyes were filled with joy for her brother.

Widow Shen.

When her brother had been penniless, down and out, and despised for his lame leg, only Widow Shen had been willing to lend a hand and help him a couple of times. She had not despised his poverty or his disability. Lu Fang had always remembered that kindness.

Now that her brother had finally found success, having someone by his side who knew whether he was cold or warm, she not only did not mind, but instead felt reassured.

So what if she was a widow? In these troubled times, someone who sincerely treated her brother well was more precious than any reputation for chastity. As long as her brother was happy and lived comfortably, she did not care what gossip others spread.

But upon further thought, Lu Fang's heart tightened again, and she began to worry in secret.

What she cared about most in this life was the Lu Family bloodline. Her brother was the Lu Family's sole descendant; continuing the family line was the foremost priority.

Widow Shen was a widow. Who knew whether her body was healthy, whether she could bear children, or whether she had the fortune to give her brother a son or daughter and continue the Lu Family line?

If Widow Shen could bear children, that would naturally be best. Her brother would have a thoughtful companion, and the Lu Family would have descendants. But if she could not, her brother could not be wronged, and the Lu Family roots could not be severed.

When the time came, as his elder sister, she would have to have a proper talk with him. If there was truly no other way, she would let Widow Shen become a concubine and find her brother a proper wife as well. That would both keep the woman who truly cared for him and preserve the family line—killing two birds with one stone.

The next morning, Lu Zhen pushed open his door and walked bare-chested into the courtyard.

Looking down, he saw that the surface of his formerly bronze-colored skin faintly gleamed with a tough, bluish-black sheen, like cured cowhide.

This was the sign of Copper Skin Iron Bone reaching initial completion.

Though his realm had not directly broken through and remained at the Mid Force Refining Realm, Lu Zhen knew clearly that this body's talent and foundation had undergone an earth-shaking transformation.

His gaze swept over the courtyard and settled on the bluestone roller in the corner, usually used to press pickled vegetables. It was solid and heavy, weighing at least seven or eight hundred jin. In the past, even if he strained with both arms until they broke, he could not have budged it.

Lu Zhen strode over, bent his legs slightly, hooked one hand around the protruding stone ridge at the roller's edge, sank his qi into his dantian, and suddenly heaved upward.

"Up!"

With a low shout, the seven- or eight-hundred-jin bluestone roller was forcibly lifted from the ground by one arm and held suspended in the air, as steady as Mount Tai!

A flash of brilliance burst from Lu Zhen's eyes. He casually set the roller down, and with a muffled thud, it struck the ground hard enough to make the earth tremble faintly.

"Seven hundred jin with one arm!"

He clenched his fist, feeling the vast strength within him surging like a river.

For an ordinary Mid Force Refining Realm martial artist, five hundred jin with one arm was already the limit. Yet merely raising his Physique by one level had added more than two hundred jin of punching force out of thin air! What terrifying bodily talent!

His strength had increased, but what about the hardness of his muscles, bones, and skin?

Lu Zhen casually grabbed a thick jujube-wood club used for chopping firewood from the corner, swung it behind him in a full arc, and viciously smashed it down onto his left forearm.

Bang!

With a dull crack, the jujube-wood club snapped in two, wood chips flying everywhere.

Lu Zhen looked down. The arm that had taken such a heavy blow did not even bear a red mark. Stimulated by the external force, his skin instantly tightened like iron and dispersed every bit of the impact.

"What a fine pair of Copper Skin Iron Bones." Satisfied, Lu Zhen tossed away the broken half of the club.

This ability to withstand blows had likely reached seventy or eighty percent of the level of those late Force Refining Realm experts in the martial arts hall who had trained for more than a decade. If he faced the guard Zhao Si again now, even if he stood still and let him throw a punch, Zhao Si would never injure his muscles or bones.

The rise in his constitution brought a complete rebirth in his control over martial skills.

Lu Zhen stood in the courtyard and planted his feet firmly on the ground.

Coiling Dragon Stake, opening stance!

This time, there was none of the awkwardness of forcibly twisting himself into position. His spinal dragon seemed alive, subtly rising and falling with his breathing. As his great tendons snapped and sprang, his qi and blood circulated without the slightest obstruction. His roots sank deep, while his waist turned with exceptional agility.

Following that exhilarating sense of clarity, Lu Zhen smoothly launched into the Iron Wire Fist.

"Whoosh—"

His fist wind tore through the cold air with a piercing howl.

Crack! Crack!

There was no stagnation whatsoever; everything came naturally to hand. Power flowed through his limbs and bones with unbelievable smoothness.

Once martial skills were trained to this point, breaking through was merely a matter of water flowing into a channel.

Over the next three days,

Lu Zhen unusually did not go to the rickshaw depot to collect a rickshaw.

The Gu Family Chamber of Commerce's shipping job was right around the corner, so he threw all his thoughts and energy into tempering his qi and blood and honing his martial skills.

During the day, he stood in the inner courtyard of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall, tirelessly throwing punches at the iron-bound Wooden Dummy wrapped in cured cowhide.

At night, he returned to the narrow courtyard in Pig Cage Alley, closed his eyes, and stood in the Coiling Dragon Stake.

His ears heard nothing beyond the window; his heart focused solely on training killing techniques.

With his relentless day-and-night training, the invisible threshold between the middle and late stages of the Force Refining Realm became thinner and thinner in his perception.

The warm, tingling sensations that occasionally rose from deep within his marrow all reminded him—he was already faintly within reach of the late Force Refining Realm.

Late on the third night,

Lu Zhen slowly finished his practice in the courtyard and exhaled a long breath of Turbid Qi. His muscles and bones crackled as they stretched.

Wiping the hot sweat from his forehead, he returned to his room, sat cross-legged, and stirred his thoughts.

[Daily Settlement Panel activated]

[Today's settlement: Three hours of martial training at the hall, four hours of extra training at home...]

[Base rewards: Silver dollars +0, profession experience +0, martial skill experience +15, Physique experience +20, general experience +15]

[Level bonus triggered: Daily Settlement level Lv.3 (daily rewards increased by an additional X3)]

[Final rewards: Silver dollars +0, profession experience +0, martial skill experience +45, Physique experience +60, general experience +45!]

As the settlement concluded, three streams of abundant warmth flowed into his limbs and bones, rapidly replenishing the depletion caused by days of hard training.

Lu Zhen focused his gaze on the newly refreshed attribute panel:

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

Wealth: 46 silver dollars

Current profession: Rickshaw Puller

Level: Daily Settlement Lv.3 (155/800)

Skills:

Rickshaw Pulling Lv.3 (50/800)

Coiling Dragon Stake Lv.3 (770/800)

Iron Wire Fist Lv.3 (760/800)

Physique: Copper Skin Iron Bone Lv.4 (180/3000)

General experience: 175 points]

"Soon."

Whether it was the Coiling Dragon Stake or the Iron Wire Fist, both needed only a final few dozen points of experience to enter the great threshold of Lv.4.

Inside the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall's inner courtyard, several iron-bound Wooden Dummies were already ringing with bang bang impacts.

Lu Zhen had just finished a set of punches when Gu Yanzhi approached briskly, waving a folding fan.

"Brother Lu." Gu Yanzhi closed his fan and lowered his voice. "The Chamber of Commerce has readied the ships. This trip is by water to neighboring Jiang City, transporting a shipment of scarce goods.

"If the waterways remain smooth, the round trip will take three days at most. We set sail from Shiliupu Pier early tomorrow morning. Have you made your arrangements?"

Lu Zhen took the sweat towel hanging on the wooden rack and wiped his face. He nodded. "Three days is not long. I only need to report it to Master, then I can set out."

A moment later, in the main hall,

Yan Tieqiao reclined in a grand armchair, holding the purple clay teapot polished smooth and glossy by use. He took occasional sips of hot tea.

After hearing Lu Zhen's request, Yan Tieqiao did not even raise his eyelids much, merely giving a faint "Mm."

"Go. The winds and waves on the river are fierce. Keep your eyes open."

He neither stopped him nor showed the slightest displeasure.

This was an unspoken rule among Ocean City martial arts halls.

Martial arts halls opened their doors to teach disciples. Inner Sect disciples did not need to pay the tuition required of outer courtyard disciples, and they even received a monthly allowance of several silver dollars. But martial artists consumed immense qi and blood. How could that small amount of fixed money possibly fill the bottomless pit of meat and medicinal herbs?

Once Inner Sect disciples had stabilized their realms, every one of them had to go out and find work, seeking a livelihood.

Some lent their names to gambling houses; others escorted caravans and guarded shipments. Each lived by his own skills. A martial arts hall was not a charity house. Even if Yan Tieqiao possessed a mountain of gold, he could not afford to feed so many Gold Devouring Beasts meat and medicine at every meal.

Only one person was an exception.

Yan Tieqiao swallowed a mouthful of slightly bitter tea. His gaze crossed the half-open hall doors and landed on the towering, iron-pagoda-like man in the center of the inner courtyard.

Zhang Lei.

At that moment, Zhang Lei was bare-chested, the muscles across his body knotted like the roots of ancient trees. His heavy fists struck the Wooden Dummy like cannonballs, producing five crisp explosions in succession.

Five echoes, great completion.

A rare gleam flashed through Yan Tieqiao's cloudy old eyes.

Among the dozen or so disciples in the inner courtyard, Zhang Lei was the only one Yan Tieqiao considered truly "one of his own."

When Zhang Lei was twenty-two, his great tendons sprang and snapped as he stepped into the Mid Force Refining Realm. At twenty-five, his bones had hardened and his blood had flourished, and he had forcibly endured his way into the late Force Refining Realm. Now, at twenty-seven, he was in the golden prime of a martial artist's most vigorous and ferocious qi and blood. His Iron Wire Fist had reached the level of five echoes, fierce and unmatched.

For this sole seedling, Yan Tieqiao had poured out his every effort.

The martial arts hall's most precious Secret Medicinal Baths, its most nourishing Blood Qi Soup, whole sides of pork, beef, and mutton—none of it was ever rationed for Zhang Lei. Everything was supplied without restraint.

Yan Tieqiao was old. He urgently needed a successor capable of supporting the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall's golden signboard and inheriting his mantle.

He had placed every wager on Zhang Lei.

He did not ask for Zhang Lei to soar into the heavens in a single bound. He only hoped this fierce tiger could use all the martial arts hall's resources to train his martial skills to the seven-echo realm of Limit Break. If the ancestral masters showed their blessing and he could cross that threshold like a heavenly chasm to break through into Bright Force, that would be better still.

As for everyone else?

Yan Tieqiao withdrew his gaze and gently shook his head.

Gu Yanzhi possessed high comprehension, but he was ultimately the son of a merchant, with a vast family business. He could not truly take over the martial arts hall. Lu Zhen had only entered the middle stage at thirty; his potential was exhausted, and he was no more than a usable thug or guard.

Even his own biological daughter, Yan Shanshan, lacked in her bones the ruthlessness to lick blood from a blade's edge and the exceptional natural frame for martial training. She would be unable to achieve anything great.

In the end, the hope of inheriting his mantle could only rest upon Zhang Lei's shoulders.