Improving Bone Root

[Martial Dao Longevity Points: 39]

At the fifth watch, Xu Yang woke up. The first thing he did when he opened his eyes was check the Status Panel. The points it had rewarded him with yesterday totaled thirty.

That was because yesterday he had reached the entry level in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and learned the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

[Bone Root: 30]

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Yang spent all thirty points on improving his Bone Root. He didn't use them to improve the Turtle-Snake Great Stance or the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

He had reached the entry level in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance only one day after Lu Ren, yet nobody thought he could become a martial artist. Besides the lack of resources, the main reason was that his Bone Root was inferior to Lu Ren's.

In other words, at this stage, Bone Root mattered more than Comprehension.

Comprehension also affected how quickly he could cultivate techniques, so using points to improve his progress in them wouldn't do much to help him break through.

In an instant, Xu Yang felt heat spread through his body, followed by a prickling numbness in his muscles and bones.

His body grew hotter and hotter until he began to sweat.

He had been through this three times before.

The first time was when his Bone Root rose to 5, the second when it rose to 10, and the third when it rose to 20.

This time, his Bone Root rose to 30.

My Bone Root should be Grade B Superior now, the same as Zhang Yong's.

After a while, his body gradually returned to normal. By then, he was drenched in sticky sweat that smelled sour and looked black.

His muscles and bones felt stronger, and even his strength seemed to have changed. His whole body felt much lighter.

Xu Yang left the remaining points untouched for now. Even if he decided to improve his fist technique, he would have to take it slowly.

He had only just learned the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist yesterday. He could wait a couple of days before improving it, ideally adding one point a day so it wouldn't seem too abrupt.

After leaving his room, Xu Yang fetched several basins of water to wash off the sweat. He was already starving.

He had actually woken up because of hunger. The food he had eaten at Wei Yuan Hall the previous night had already been completely digested. Now that he had reached the entry level in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, a little meat and rice could no longer sustain his training.

Back in his room, Xu Yang ate two large bowls of coarse rice with the chicken Xu Qing had stewed the night before, yet he still wanted more.

If he let himself eat his fill, he could have polished off the whole chicken. But he had to save some for Xu Qing.

The little girl was still growing and needed nourishment too.

Xu Yang began practicing the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. With his Bone Root at Grade B Superior, his training was much more effective.

By the time dawn broke, he had nearly digested all the food he'd eaten. He immediately hurried to Wei Yuan Hall.

He hadn't just been trying to scare Xu Laoer the previous night. On his way home, he had told everyone he met that he and his sister had cut ties with Xu Laoer.

Xu Laoer had lately gone mad with greed. What Xu Yang feared most was that if he refused to give in, Li Hu would go to Xu Laoer.

Given Xu Laoer's character, he might really sell Xu Qing to Yang Jun for martial training. What had happened the day before had given Xu Yang the perfect chance to sever their father-son relationship.

Before long, everyone in White Stone Ward knew about it.

"That brat's quite the clever one!" Li Hu said, an odd look in his eyes.

He had come to White Stone Ward today hoping to buy Xu Qing through Xu Laoer. Instead, he heard they had already cut ties. He figured Xu Yang had seen through his plan in advance.

"Master Hu, what do we do? Now that they've cut ties, Xu Laoer has no right to sell her," one of his underlings asked.

A sharp glint flashed in Li Hu's eyes. "He doesn't know what's good for him. If he wants to die, then I'll grant his wish. The brat works at the Mine, doesn't he? Arrange for a few men to get in there and take him out.

"I wanted to handle things properly, but he's forcing me to kill. He can't blame me for what happens next."

Wei Yuan Hall!

Zhang Yong still wouldn't speak to Xu Yang, but the hatred in his eyes wasn't as obvious as it had been the day before.

"Do you know why Liu Guangfa doesn't eat with us either?" Qian Jiaxing sidled over, looking furtive.

Xu Yang asked, "Why?"

The two of them lived outside the city, and they went home together every day. Qian Jiaxing would use that time to ask Xu Yang about the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

Xu Yang didn't hold back. He taught him whatever he knew.

They were all struggling in the mud together, so Xu Yang didn't mind offering a hand. Over time, of the ten of them, Qian Jiaxing had undoubtedly become the person closest to him.

Still, when they were at Wei Yuan Hall, they both tacitly kept their closeness hidden from the others.

Qian Jiaxing lowered his voice. "He sold his meat rations to Zhou Yang, so he doesn't dare eat with us."

Xu Yang was taken aback, then shook his head. "Looks like he's given up."

He wasn't all that surprised. Liu Guangfa had been out of the running for a while. Though Lu Ren had helped him memorize the Turtle-Snake Great Stance later, his Dao heart was already shattered. It wasn't surprising that he'd made this choice.

Qian Jiaxing glanced around. Once he was sure nobody was listening, he leaned closer and whispered, "It's because of what you did yesterday. He isn't the only one who's been shaken.

"He asked me to pass along a message. He wants to sell his meat rations for money too, but he doesn't want to sell them to those dogs Zhou Yang hangs around with. If you're willing, he'll sell them to you."

Xu Yang was tempted. "Who is it?"

Three hundred copper coins a month for just ten a day—that would buy him three extra bowls of beef. It was a bargain, or the Zhou brothers wouldn't have their eyes on them every day.

If he could get three more bowls of meat each day, he would build up his qi and blood that much faster.

Qian Jiaxing shook his head. "He came to me first, but I couldn't afford that much. He wants one silver tael up front, all at once. I told him I'd ask you. I promised I'd only tell you his name if you agreed to buy."

Xu Yang thought it over carefully, then shook his head. "I don't dare."

He could afford one silver tael, and it was a good deal.

But this was basically stealing from the Huang Family, and there was a good chance they'd find out.

As soon as he and Lu Ren broke through, the Huang Family had received the news. Clearly, they had people here besides the two of them.

If Xu Yang paid and the Huang Family found out about the meat being sold on the sly, they would kick the seller out of the martial arts school. His money would be gone, and he might even incur the Huang Family's displeasure. It simply wasn't worth it.

Yesterday's incident made it clear that the Huang Family only wanted to train Lu Ren. They had long wanted to kick the rest of them out, but were held back by concern for their reputation.

If the sale were discovered, the Huang Family could use it as an excuse to stop training him. The risk outweighed the reward.

"Ask him if he can wait a few days. If nothing happens to Liu Guangfa, we can talk about it," Xu Yang added at last.

But before Qian Jiaxing could find a chance to speak with the man, Liu Guangfa's situation was discovered during lunch.

Huang Jin came in person, took Liu Guangfa away from the dining hall, announced that his support was being cut off, and expelled him from Wei Yuan Hall.

Huang Jin didn't investigate Liu Guangfa any further, but Zhou Yang, who had bought his beef, was out of luck.

Zhou Yang had paid Liu Guangfa one silver tael up front. Once Liu Guangfa was expelled from Wei Yuan Hall, he disappeared, and Zhou Yang couldn't find him to get his money back.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Yang's face turned green. He'd finally talked one person into selling, only to lose a whole silver tael for nothing.

"Idiot!"

Xu Yang and the others watched, cheering with satisfaction. Not one of them liked the Zhou brothers, so they clapped and applauded when the brothers got their comeuppance.

"They were so full of themselves before, acting like they were better than everyone. I thought they were clever. I didn't think they'd fail to realize the Huang Family would find out," Zhang Hong said, laughing so hard he doubled over.

"They're just idiots. If it were that easy to grab a bargain, those two wouldn't be the only ones who tried. They really thought they were the only clever ones."

Even Zhang Yong, who hardly ever spoke, chimed in over this.

In truth, those with Grade B Superior Bone Structure had all thought about selling their resources for money. They were just worried the Huang Family would find out and punish them. They hadn't expected the Zhou brothers not to consider that at all.

"Do any of you know where Liu Guangfa lives?" The Zhou brothers strode over, bristling with anger.

After taking such a loss, they naturally weren't going to let it go. They wanted to find Liu Guangfa and get their money back.

Nobody said a word. Unless they were willing to reveal where Liu Guangfa lived, answering would only draw Zhou Yang's anger.

Zhou Yang's gaze swept over Lu Ren. Knowing he couldn't afford to provoke him, he turned to Xu Yang, who was standing beside Lu Ren, and pointed at him. "You. Tell me!"

Xu Yang frowned, his gaze turning cold. "Who do you think you are? You think I'll talk just because you tell me to?"

With that imperious attitude, even if Xu Yang had known where Liu Guangfa lived, he wouldn't have said.

"You're covering for him? Or are you in on it with him? You country bumpkins joined forces to cheat me out of my money?"

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Zhou Yang immediately assumed he was refusing to speak because he was in on it. It never occurred to him that his own imperious attitude had angered Xu Yang.

"Zhou Yang, that's enough!" Even Lu Ren couldn't take being called a country bumpkin.

"You're not a country bumpkin? Then why are you grabbing at such a petty bargain?"

"Fuck your mother! Say that again if you've got the guts!"

It wasn't just Lu Ren. Everyone was furious. If Wei Yuan Hall hadn't forbidden disciples from fighting among themselves, they would already have attacked.

"Fine, fine, fine! You country bumpkins practice a few days of stance work and think you're people now. You cheated me out of my money. Just you wait!" Zhou Yang threatened.

"Zhou Yang, you're really something, picking on junior brothers who joined later than you!"

Suddenly, Sun Tao's voice rang out.

Zhou Yang's expression changed. Sun Tao had appeared behind him without him noticing. He hurriedly clasped his hands. "Senior Brother Sun..."

"You're a fool and you blame everyone else? Go stand on the Plum Blossom Stakes for an hour. You're not coming down until the time's up. If you keep harassing them about this, I'll throw you out of the sect," Sun Tao said with a cold snort.

"Yes!" Zhou Yang hurriedly cupped his hands.

He'd swaggered around in front of Xu Yang and the others, but in front of Sun Tao, who was in charge of Outer Courtyard affairs, he was more obedient than a grandson. He immediately hurried to the Plum Blossom Stakes.

Zhou Yuan lowered his head, relieved that he hadn't said anything.

"You go stand there for an hour too, and clear your head."

Sun Tao didn't let him off either. Zhou Yuan said, "Yes," then hurried away.

"Xu Yang, Lu Ren, come with me."

With that, Sun Tao turned and headed toward the Inner Courtyard.

Lu Ren and Xu Yang exchanged a glance, then quickly followed him inside. There, they saw Huang Jin sitting in a pavilion, sipping tea.