Root Bone Enhancement

[Martial Dao Longevity Points: 39]

At the fifth watch, Xu Yang woke up. The first thing he did upon opening his eyes was to check his Status Panel. Yesterday, the panel had awarded him thirty points.

This was because he had mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and learned the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

[Root Bone: 30]

Without any hesitation, Xu Yang poured all thirty points into his Root Bone rather than using them to advance his Turtle-Snake Great Stance or Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

He had mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance only one day after Lu Ren, yet no one believed he could become a martial artist. Aside from the issue of resources, the main reason was that his Root Bone was inferior to Lu Ren's.

In other words, at this current stage, Root Bone was more important than comprehension.

Comprehension was tied to the speed of cultivation, so using points to boost technique progress wouldn't provide much benefit for breaking through bottlenecks.

In an instant, Xu Yang felt his entire body heat up, a tingling sensation spreading through his muscles and bones.

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

He had experienced this sensation three times before.

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

And this time, his Root Bone had reached 30.

"My Root Bone should be at the Upper-C grade now, the same as Zhang Yong's."

After a while, his body gradually returned to normal. He was already soaked in sticky, foul-smelling, blackish sweat.

He felt his muscles and bones become more robust, his strength had undergone a subtle change, and his entire body felt much lighter.

Xu Yang decided not to touch the remaining points for now. Even if he wanted to improve his fist technique, he had to take it slow.

He had only learned the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist yesterday; he should wait a couple of days before upgrading it. It was best to add one point a day so as not to appear too abrupt.

Stepping out of his room, Xu Yang splashed several basins of water over himself to wash away the sweat. His stomach was already growling with unbearable hunger.

He had actually been woken up by hunger. The food he had eaten at Wei Yuan Hall last night had been completely digested. Now that he had mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, a little meat and rice were no longer enough to sustain his cultivation.

Returning to his room, Xu Yang ate two large bowls of coarse rice with the chicken Xu Qing had stewed the night before, still feeling like he could eat more.

If he were to eat his fill, he could finish the entire chicken, but he had to save some for Xu Qing.

The little girl was at an age where she was growing, and she needed the nutrition just as much.

Xu Yang began to practice the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. With his Root Bone at the Upper-C grade, the effects of his practice had improved significantly.

By the time dawn broke and the food he had eaten was mostly digested, he immediately hurried to Wei Yuan Hall.

He hadn't just been trying to scare Xu Laoer last night. Along the way, he told everyone he met that he and his sister had severed ties with Xu Laoer.

Xu Laoer had been acting insane over money lately. His biggest fear was that if he didn't comply, Li Hu would go after Xu Laoer.

Given Xu Laoer's character, he might truly sell Xu Qing to Yang Jun for martial arts training. Yesterday's events had provided the perfect opportunity to sever the father-son relationship.

Before long, everyone in the White Stone Ward knew about the matter.

"The little brat is surprisingly clever!" Li Hu's expression shifted.

He had come to the White Stone Ward today intending to buy Xu Qing through Xu Laoer, but he hadn't expected to hear that the ties were already severed. He assumed Xu Yang had anticipated his scheme in advance.

"Master Hu, what should we do? Now that they've severed ties, Xu Laoer no longer has the right to sell her," a subordinate asked.

A sharp glint flashed in Li Hu's eyes: "If he doesn't want to show respect, then so be it. If he wants to die, I'll grant his wish. Isn't the brat working at the mine? Arrange for a few men to go into the mine and finish him off. I wanted to do things by the book, but since he's forcing my hand to kill, he has no one but himself to blame."

Wei Yuan Hall!

Zhang Yong still wouldn't speak to Xu Yang, but the hatred in his eyes was not as obvious as it had been yesterday.

"Do you know why Liu Guangfa doesn't eat with us anymore?" Qian Jiaxing snuck over, acting furtive.

Xu Yang asked, "Why?"

Both of them lived outside the city and walked home together every day. Qian Jiaxing would take these opportunities to ask Xu Yang for advice on the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

Xu Yang was never stingy and would offer guidance on whatever he understood.

Everyone was struggling in the same mire, and he didn't mind doing a small favor. Over time, if one were to ask who had the best relationship with Xu Yang among the ten, it was undoubtedly Qian Jiaxing.

However, when they were at Wei Yuan Hall, both had a tacit understanding not to let others notice.

Qian Jiaxing whispered, "He sold his meat rations to Zhou Yang, so he's too ashamed to eat with us."

Xu Yang was stunned, then shook his head: "It seems he's given up."

He wasn't particularly surprised. Liu Guangfa had been out of the running for a long time. Although he had eventually memorized the Turtle-Snake Great Stance with Lu Ren's help, his Dao heart had already shattered. This choice wasn't unexpected.

Qian Jiaxing glanced around, and after confirming no one was watching, he lowered his voice: "It's not just him; your stunt yesterday has shaken others, too. He asked me to pass a message to you: he also wants to sell his meat rations for money, but he doesn't want to sell them to those dogs in Zhou Yang's group. If you're willing, he'll sell the meat to you."

Xu Yang felt a spark of interest: "Who is it?"

At three hundred wen a month, it only cost ten wen a day to get three extra bowls of beef. This was definitely a cost-effective deal; otherwise, the brothers Zhou Yang and Zhou Yuan wouldn't have been eyeing their rations every single day.

If he could have three extra bowls of meat every day, the speed at which he cultivated his qi and blood would increase by a notch.

Qian Jiaxing shook his head. "He actually approached me first, but I couldn't come up with that much money. He wanted one tael of silver upfront for the whole lot, so I told him I'd ask you. I only told him his name after I promised him you were willing to buy."

Xu Yang pondered this seriously for a moment before shaking his head. "I don't dare take it."

He could afford one tael of silver, and it would be a very good deal.

However, a matter like this was equivalent to stealing from the Huang Family, and the chances of getting caught were high.

Whenever he or Lu Ren made a breakthrough, the Huang Family received the news immediately; it was clear that besides them, there were others here working for the Huang Family.

If he paid the money and the Huang Family discovered the illicit meat sales, they would kick the seller out of the martial arts hall. His money would go down the drain, and he might even offend the Huang Family, making the loss outweigh the gain.

Yesterday's events showed that the Huang Family only wanted to cultivate Lu Ren and had long wanted to get rid of the rest of them, only holding back for the sake of their reputation.

If he were caught, the Huang Family might use it as an excuse to stop his training; the risks and rewards were not proportional.

"Go ask him if he can wait a few days. If Liu Guangfa is still in the clear, we can discuss it then," Xu Yang added as a final thought.

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

Huang Jin arrived in person, dragged Liu Guangfa out of the dining hall, announced the termination of his funding, and expelled him from Wei Yuan Hall.

Huang Jin did not dig deeper into Liu Guangfa, but Zhou Yang, who had bought beef from him, was out of luck.

Zhou Yang had paid Liu Guangfa one tael of silver in a single lump sum, and since Liu Guangfa vanished the moment he was kicked out of Wei Yuan Hall, there was no way for him to get his money back.

"Damn it!"

Zhou Yang's face turned green. He had finally managed to convince someone, only to lose a tael of silver for nothing.

"Brainless idiot!"

Xu Yang and the others watched with delight. There wasn't a single person in their group who didn't despise the two brothers, and seeing them suffer made everyone applaud.

"Before, they were talking big and bossing everyone around. I thought they were smart, but I never expected them to overlook the fact that the Huang Family would find out," Zhang Hong laughed until he doubled over.

"Just an idiot. If it were really that easy to take advantage, they wouldn't be the only two brothers trying to get in on it. They really thought they were the only smart ones."

Even Zhang Yong, who rarely spoke, chimed in because of this.

In truth, those few with Grade B Superior Bone Structures had all toyed with the idea of selling off their resources for cash, but they were held back by the fear of being discovered by the Huang Family and facing the consequences. They never imagined the Zhou brothers would be so reckless as to disregard such risks entirely.

"Do any of you know where Liu Guangfa lives?" the Zhou brothers walked over aggressively.

Having suffered such a heavy loss for no reason, they naturally wouldn't let it go and wanted to find Liu Guangfa to get their money back.

No one spoke. At a time like this, unless one was willing to reveal Liu Guangfa's address, answering was just inviting Zhou Yang's wrath.

Zhou Yang's gaze swept over Lu Ren, whom he knew he couldn't afford to provoke, and then landed on Xu Yang, who was standing next to Lu Ren. He pointed a finger and said, "You! Tell me!"

Xu Yang frowned, his eyes turning cold. "Who do you think you are? Just because you tell me to speak, I have to?"

With that kind of arrogant, bossy attitude, even if he did know where Liu Guangfa lived, he wouldn't say a word.

"Are you trying to shield him? Or are you in on it together? Did you mud-legged peasants team up to scam my money?"

Hearing Xu Yang's words, Zhou Yang immediately assumed Xu Yang was refusing to talk, completely oblivious to the fact that it was his own overbearing attitude that had angered Xu Yang.

"Zhou Yang, you've crossed the line!"

At the mention of "mud-legged peasants," even Lu Ren couldn't hold back.

"Aren't you a mud-legged peasant too, trying to take such small advantages?"

"Screw you, say that again if you have the guts."

It wasn't just Lu Ren; everyone was furious. If it weren't for the fact that private fights between fellow disciples were forbidden in Wei Yuan Hall, they would have already attacked.

"Fine, fine, fine. You mud-legged peasants think you're actually people just because you've practiced stake training for a few days? Scamming my money—just you wait." Zhou Yang threatened.

"Zhou Yang, you're quite imposing, aren't you? Bullying junior brothers who entered the hall after you!"

Suddenly, Sun Tao's voice rang out.

Zhou Yang's expression changed. Seeing that Sun Tao had appeared behind him at some point, he hurriedly cupped his hands. "Sun... Senior Brother Sun..."

"You have no brains and you blame others? Get over to the Plum Blossom Stakes and stand for an hour. You aren't allowed to come down until the time is up. If you dare to pester anyone about this matter again, I will expel you from the sect," Sun Tao snorted coldly.

"Yes!" Zhou Yang hurriedly cupped his hands.

He could act tough 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 ran toward the Plum Blossom Stakes.

Zhou Yuan kept his head down, feeling lucky that he hadn't spoken just now.

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

Sun Tao didn't let him off either. After saying "Yes," he also hurriedly left.

"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 and quickly followed. Upon entering the Inner Courtyard, they saw Huang Jin sitting in a pavilion, sipping tea.