Choosing a Spouse (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Yang Family Martial Arts Hall.

Yang Qingfeng sat in the main hall, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest as his gaze drifted out the window.

Second-stage skin tempering, Mountain Splitting Fist, at least ten years of immersion.

Within the martial arts hall, only Wang Qing and Fang Lie truly met these two criteria.

Wang Qing had gone to the prefectural city last month and would not return before the new year. As for Fang Lie... based on his understanding of the man, if he wanted to kill that Zhao Kui, he would not have waited until the dead of night.

If it wasn't either of them, then who could it be?

The faces of his disciples surfaced in Yang Qingfeng's mind, only to be dismissed one by one. When the final young face appeared, Yang Qingfeng found himself chuckling.

How could it possibly be Lin Yan?

The only reason he had thought of Lin Yan was because the address Lin Yan had written on his supplementary apprenticeship application was in Yuliu Alley, the very place controlled by the Three Heroes Gang, making a potential grudge possible.

But Lin Yan came from an ordinary background, yet he had managed to reach the first stage of skin tempering within two months. Clearly, he practiced the Mountain Splitting Fist with great proficiency, allowing his blood and qi to nourish faster during training, but no matter what, it was impossible for him to have reached a ten-year level of mastery.

"Disciple Lin Yan requests an audience with Master."

Just as Yang Qingfeng was pondering, a voice came from outside the door. Yang Qingfeng was startled; speak of the devil.

"Come in."

The moment Lin Yan's figure appeared inside the door, a sharp glint flashed through Yang Qingfeng's eyes.

"Second-stage skin tempering?"

"Yesterday, while practicing martial arts in Qingtian Town, this disciple was fortunate enough to step into the second stage of skin tempering."

Lin Yan bowed respectfully. He was not at all surprised that his master could discern his progress; even Captain Ji had been able to tell, let alone his master.

After the salute, he continued, "I came today not only to share the good news with Master but also to confess something."

"What is it?"

"Last night, I killed a vice leader of the Three Heroes Gang."

Confessing this to his master was a decision Lin Yan had reached after deep deliberation following the killing the night before.

To ordinary folk, the Three Heroes Gang was powerful, but to his master and the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, they were nothing. Any of the senior disciples who had reached the second stage of skin tempering could easily flatten the Three Heroes Gang.

He had killed a gang martial artist, and there was a valid reason for it; there was no need to hide it from his master.

"I killed that Zhao Kui because he was utterly devoid of humanity, attempting to lay hands on a pregnant woman. A teacher who once taught me how to read happens to have a daughter-in-law who is six months pregnant..."

After recounting the events in full detail, Lin Yan stood quietly, waiting for his master's reaction.

"Perform a set of Mountain Splitting Fist for me. Do not hold anything back."

After waiting for a long while, Lin Yan did not expect this to be his master's response. However, he did not hesitate, taking his stance right there in the main hall.

Yang Qingfeng's expression shifted from initial indifference to a look of genuine astonishment by the end.

"That is enough."

Lin Yan had only thrown three punches before Yang Qingfeng called a halt. The proficiency Lin Yan displayed in his strikes had indeed reached a level of nearly ten years of mastery.

"No wonder you reached the second stage of skin tempering in such a short time. To have attained such mastery in the Mountain Splitting Fist so quickly... you are almost catching up to me."

A smile appeared on Yang Qingfeng's face. Compared to the insignificant Zhao Kui, he cared far more about the fact that his martial arts hall had produced such an outstanding disciple.

"I am still far behind Master," Lin Yan said modestly.

"No need for excessive humility. I will only be happy if you catch up to me. Tell me, how do you practice the Mountain Splitting Fist?"

"Disciple... I just practice normally, day and night."

Lin Yan scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed; the secret of the Martial Dao Tree naturally could not be exposed.

In truth, the reason he had deliberated for so long the previous night was precisely because he was considering whether he might expose the fact that he possessed a strange treasure.

Reaching the second stage of skin tempering within a year was, as he had asked Zheng Xun, merely upper-middle tier in the county; many disciples from the great families in the county could achieve it.

The difficulty lay in the subsequent third and fourth stages of skin tempering...

Some people reached the second stage within a year, only to be stuck at the third stage for several years, or even over a decade.

The only thing hard to explain was his level of mastery in the Mountain Splitting Fist.

But Lin Yan had come to terms with it—could he not simply be allowed to be a genius?

Yang Qingfeng was not surprised by Lin Yan's answer. Lin Yan's background meant he had little exposure to martial arts; it was likely that his temperament simply happened to align perfectly with the Mountain Splitting Fist, allowing him to reach this level in such a short time.

"Since you have such talent for the Mountain Splitting Fist, continue to practice diligently. While it may not cause your cultivation realm to skyrocket, if one day you manage to manifest 'momentum,' martial artists of the same realm won't even be able to take a single punch from you."

Having said this, Yang Qingfeng chuckled at himself; it was too early to talk about such things.

He had been shocked by how quickly Lin Yan had brought his Mountain Splitting Fist to such proficiency. How difficult it was to manifest fist momentum! Even with his own talent, it had taken him ten years to achieve it.

The further one went, the harder it was to refine one's martial arts.

Fist momentum?

A sharp glint appeared in Lin Yan's eyes. He looked at the silver-veined leaf in his mind and secretly pondered: when this leaf turned completely golden, that should be what his master called manifesting fist momentum.

As for the rate of blood-qi growth, he had noticed during this period that the appearance of those golden threads did not lead to an acceleration in subsequent blood-qi accumulation.

The blood-qi bonus provided by the proficiency of the Mountain Splitting Fist reached its upper limit once it hit the silver stage.

"Master, does the proficiency of this fist technique have different tiers?"

"There are stages of minor success and major success, but minor success has no distinct characteristics; you are already at the minor success stage now. Once you practice until you develop 'fist momentum,' that is major success, and also the peak of the technique."

Yang Qingfeng stroked his beard and explained, "Different tiers of techniques have different limits. Low-grade techniques reach the 'form' stage, mid-grade reach the 'momentum' stage, and high-grade reach the 'intent' stage. The Mountain Splitting Fist I teach you is a mid-grade technique; practicing it to major success to develop momentum is the limit. High-grade techniques can be practiced to perfection to develop 'intent,' and in the entire Guangping County, only the Tang Family possesses one such high-grade technique."

Lin Yan had actually been wanting to ask this very question, so he was surprised his master brought it up himself. He gave a shy, embarrassed smile, "I am already deeply grateful to be taught the Mountain Splitting Fist by you, Master."

"There is no need for such pleasantries. Since you have now reached the second stage of skin-polishing, I shall proceed to teach you the method for the third stage."

Yang Qingfeng changed the subject and got straight to the point: "The first stage is skin-polishing, the second is muscle-forging, and the third is tendon-washing. As the saying goes, 'half an inch of tendon width, double the strength.' This third barrier, tendon-washing, is vastly different from the previous two. Even without secret medicines, one could slowly cultivate through the first two stages relying on the growth of blood-qi, but for tendon-washing... without secret medicine, you cannot advance even a single step."

"Blood-qi must enter the tendons to expand them; this is not only excruciatingly painful but also causes damage to the tendons. You must have secret medicine to repair them. Different cultivation techniques require different secret medicines. The ones I provide you are for external application; apply them while practicing to prevent the tendons from tearing."

Yang Qingfeng spent an hour explaining and teaching Lin Yan some techniques for the third stage of skin-polishing.

"Have you ever thought about choosing a marriage partner?"

After the lesson, Yang Qingfeng suddenly said something that caught Lin Yan off guard.

Seeing the confused expression on his disciple's face, Yang Qingfeng did not beat around the bush and said directly, "You have good talent in the Martial Dao, but the four stages of skin-polishing are heavily dependent on financial resources. You must have felt it yourself—the further you go, the greater the expenses. If you don't want to waste your talent, you must have sufficient wealth to support it."

At nineteen years old, with the strength of the second stage of skin-polishing, the top noble families in the city would not marry off their legitimate daughters, but lesser families would certainly be interested.

Furthermore, Lin Yan had another selling point: his parents were both deceased.

Although his master did not say it explicitly, Lin Yan understood the underlying meaning: marry a girl from a wealthy family and use their financial resources to practice martial arts.

"This disciple will leave the decision to you, Master."

Without much hesitation, Lin Yan agreed.

Yang Qingfeng was very satisfied with Lin Yan's answer; he had been worried that Lin Yan, having reached the second stage of skin-polishing within a year, might be too proud to accept such an arrangement.

If he were to run out of money for martial arts later, he would waste his prime years, and it would be too late for regrets.

"Rest assured, Master will find you a good match."

The more Yang Qingfeng looked at Lin Yan, the more he appreciated him, but he had already made an agreement with the Zhao family to cultivate Zhao Linyuan with all his might, so he could not spare many resources for Lin Yan.

This was also because he didn't make much money selling various decoctions and secret medicines to his disciples; in terms of income, his hall was perhaps not even as profitable as those second-rate martial arts halls.

"Thank you, Master. This disciple will take his leave now."

"Go. Do not disclose the matter regarding the Three Heroes Gang to outsiders; I have my own judgment."

Leaving the main hall, Lin Yan went to the General Affairs Room to collect his new disciple robes, but instead of changing into them, he prepared to take them home.

"Junior Brother Lin?"

Passing by the training grounds, a voice came from the side.

Lin Yan turned his head and saw Senior Brother Hao standing at the edge of the grounds, while Junior Brother Zhao Linyuan was sparring with another senior brother.

"Senior Brother Hao." Lin Yan nodded slightly and stopped.

Hao Jingnian's gaze swept over the disciple robes in Lin Yan's hands, a flash of brilliance appearing in his eyes: "Congratulations, Junior Brother Lin, on stepping into the second stage of skin-polishing. Our Yang Family Martial Arts Hall has gained another second-stage practitioner."

Lin Yan said modestly, "I was just lucky to break through."

Patting Lin Yan on the shoulder, Hao Jingnian laughed, "Going from the first stage to the second in less than five months cannot be called luck. Junior Brother Lin, your talent is remarkable; you will surely achieve great things in the future."

In his mind, Lin Yan looked at the three-foot-eight-inch height of this Senior Brother Hao's Martial Dao Tree and couldn't help but click his tongue.

Senior Brother Hao had been in the third stage of skin-polishing for seven years; at this rate, if he didn't fail his next breakthrough, he would have a chance to reach the fourth stage within three years.

Thinking that Senior Brother Hao was a deputy official at the Patrol Bureau, and having never dealt with him before, he couldn't miss this opportunity now that they had met.

"Senior Brother Hao, my uncle went off to perform corvée labor seven years ago and there has been no news since. I wonder if I could trouble you to help me investigate."

Lin Yan looked sincere. Although his aunt had never mentioned his uncle's disappearance in front of him or his younger brother, he knew she was always worried about him.

"Corvée labor seven years ago? What is your uncle's name?"

"Lin Yan."

"Once I return to the Patrol Bureau, I will arrange for someone to investigate. But since there has been no news for so many years, Junior Brother Lin, you should prepare yourself for the worst."

Hao Jingnian reminded him; generally, short-term corvée labor lasted between six months and three years. If seven years had passed without news, it was highly probable that he was gone.

"Whether my uncle is dead or alive, having definitive news will at least give my family some closure."

"Very well. Since you have asked, Junior Brother, I will certainly do my best to help investigate."

Hao Jingnian nodded. At that moment, on the training ground, Zhao Linyuan's opponent stumbled back several steps and cupped his fists, "Junior Brother Zhao is impressive; I am no match for you."

The fight ended, and the group on the field walked toward them.

"You juniors have come at the right time. I have good news: our hall has gained another disciple at the second stage of skin-polishing."

Hearing this from Hao Jingnian, the disciples who walked over turned their gazes toward Lin Yan and offered their congratulations, "Congratulations, Junior Brother Lin."

Zhao Linyuan also sized up Lin Yan; he still had some impression of this Senior Brother Lin.

Back when he had just developed strength and entered the middle courtyard, this Senior Brother Lin had just reached the first stage of skin-polishing.

Counting the time, it had been less than half a year. To achieve a second skin-refining within six months was already quite impressive.

After exchanging a few more humble words with the group, Lin Yan took his leave.

"Junior Brother Lin is a True Person who hides his light; I fear we all misjudged him."

Watching Lin Yan's departing figure, one disciple sighed. Back when there were so many disciples in the backyard at the first stage of skin-refining, no one had believed Lin Yan could reach the second stage, at least not in such a short time.

"Junior Brother Lin holds a position at the Tang Family; he must have received their support to break through so quickly."

A disciple still at the first stage of skin-refining spoke with a mix of envy and bitterness.

"Regardless of whether the Tang Family provided support, even if they did, one must possess the talent to catch their eye in the first place."

Zhao Linyuan glanced at the man who had spoken. Lin Yan's rapid breakthrough had indeed surprised him, but he would not be jealous, nor would he belittle the other party.

The man's expression turned awkward, but facing Zhao Linyuan, he dared not retort, his face flushing a mottled mix of green and white.

"Junior Brother Zhao is right. There are many martial artists holding positions at the Tang Family, but few can advance from the first to the second stage of skin-refining within half a year. Junior Brother Lin's talent is beyond doubt."

Hao Jingnian also cast a faint glance at the first-stage disciple; with such a narrow mind, his martial path would likely hit a ceiling at the second stage of skin-refining at best.