Deep in the mountains, Lin Yan sat by a fire, devouring bear meat.
After killing Bai Qingrang and the other four, Lin Yan had scattered their bodies in separate places. Here on White Cloud Mountain, it wouldn't take even one night for wild beasts to gnaw the five corpses clean.
The bonfire flickered, casting half of Lin Yan's body in shifting light and shadow.
After five pounds of bear meat, the heat in his belly grew stronger and stronger, as if he had swallowed not meat, but a ball of fire.
Tiger, bear, deer, snake, and fish—no wonder bear meat ranked second among the rare delicacies.
Lin Yan got to his feet and walked to the clearing beside the bonfire.
He assumed the starting stance for Mountain Splitting Fist.
His first punch landed with an explosive crack. The force of the wind pressed the bonfire low, and the heat inside his body trembled, transforming into a stream of warmth that coursed throughout him and was quickly absorbed.
Again.
The second punch, the third...
His fists moved faster and faster, the wind howling around him. Fallen leaves swirled into the air, spinning in the gusts. With every punch, the heat inside Lin Yan churned and transformed into vital energy that surged into his limbs and bones.
Sweat rolled down his forehead, slid along his cheeks, and dripped to the ground. It wasn't from exhaustion, but from the heat.
The bear meat was so rich in vital energy that every pore in his body seemed to be venting heat.
After finishing a set, Lin Yan stopped and panted heavily.
He lowered his gaze to his hands. His skin was flushed, and his veins stood out faintly.
Returning to the bonfire, Lin Yan cut off several more pieces of roasted bear meat, a good five or six pounds' worth.
Fat dripped into the fire with a sizzling sound, and its fragrance filled the air.
As Lin Yan chewed, that burning heat rose in his belly again.
He kept eating.
Only when the heat grew stronger and stronger did Lin Yan stop. He stood up and began another set of punches.
He repeated the cycle several times, completely polishing off a whole bear leg before finally stopping.
He looked within his mind. The Martial Dao Tree had grown by almost half an inch.
Before today, he had been at the third Skin Polishing stage for half a month. In all that time, the Martial Dao Tree hadn't grown even half an inch. But after eating five pounds of bear meat, it had grown noticeably.
Glancing at the amount of bear meat left, Lin Yan made a rough estimate. Once he finished it, together with the Bone-Tempering Pills, it should bring his Martial Dao Tree to three feet and two inches.
Since he couldn't make a rapid breakthrough in cultivation in the short term, he would improve his swordsmanship first.
When facing Bai Qingrang and the other four, he had been able to finish them off so quickly thanks to his swordsmanship.
There were six Martial Fruits on his Martial Dao Tree now, adding up to eighteen years and three months of cultivation.
"Refine!"
At Lin Yan's thought, all six Martial Fruits poured into the arduous cultivation of the Startling Swan Sword Technique.
The space around him shifted once more. He saw a figure practicing swordplay.
That figure was himself.
This time, he appeared from the perspective of an onlooker, watching the path the tip of his sword traced through the air as he swung it.
The Startling Swan Sword Technique emphasized a sword that moved like a swimming dragon, with startled swans entwining around it.
The sword momentum he had developed emerged from within the forms. As he watched himself practice, Lin Yan gradually came to understand what sword momentum was.
Sword momentum was the encompassing force of sword forms. What seemed like a single strike was, in truth, a continuous sequence of techniques.
But this time, from a third-person perspective, he noticed a flaw in the sword momentum. Its encompassing force struck fear into an opponent and made it difficult to defend against, but the many sword techniques also meant greater resistance.
A true sword master wasted no strength on every strike.
Watching the trails his sword left behind in the air, Lin Yan gradually came to an understanding and began to trace them.
The trails were like silk, like threads...
He didn't know how much time passed before Lin Yan suddenly murmured, "Silk-Entwining Sword Intent?"
The next moment, Lin Yan opened his eyes.
He looked down at the sword in his hand, its blade drawn from the scabbard. Moonlight fell across it, reflecting a cold gleam.
Lin Yan raised his sword and gave a gentle swing toward a tree with a trunk as thick as a bowl, one zhang away.
The blade never touched the trunk.
Yet wherever the sword wind passed, fine cracks appeared across the tree.
Lin Yan walked up to the tree and gave it a gentle push.
Crack.
The trunk broke into several pieces, each cross-section smooth as a mirror.
It was like winding a sharp fishing line around tofu, splitting it effortlessly into pieces.
After fifty-six years of arduous cultivation, he had finally comprehended Silk-Entwining Sword Intent.
Lin Yan looked within his mind again. The leaf that represented the Startling Swan Sword Technique had turned completely purple. A thin white vein now ran across its surface.
That white vein was Silk-Entwining Sword Intent.
"Comprehending sword intent doesn't mean you've reached the peak. Silk-Entwining Sword Intent can still grow stronger."
The next morning, at daybreak.
Lin Yan didn't intend to stay in the mountains any longer. He feared the Green Pine Martial Hall's master would notice his disciples had gone missing and lead people into the mountains to search for them. The martial hall couldn't be allowed to find him.
Before heading down the mountain, he went to the ravine where he had dumped the bodies. As he'd expected, after one night, the corpses of Bai Qingrang and the other four had been gnawed clean. Wild beasts had even carried off much of their bones, leaving nowhere near enough to piece together a complete body.
He gathered the remaining scraps and tossed them into the woods where the black bear had knocked down trees, creating the impression that the group had been wiped out by a ferocious beast. Only then did he head down the mountain.
"Running into a black bear on my first trip into the mountains was already far beyond what I expected. Once I've eaten all this bear meat, I'll come back after things have died down."
Lin Yan was very satisfied with what he had gained on this trip, but he wouldn't let it inflate his expectations. Finding a black bear this time didn't mean he would find one on his next trip.
There weren't many beasts in a mountain forest, especially territorial ones like tigers and bears.
This was White Cloud Mountain, not Tiger Head Mountain. It wasn't a place where one hunter could go in and bring back a thousand pounds of prey, or where a thousand hunters could bring back a million pounds. Prey didn't respawn every day.
From the time he went up the mountain yesterday to his return today, Lin Yan hadn't attracted anyone's attention. He stored the bear meat in the cellar in his courtyard.
Cellars at the foot of the mountain stayed cool. The meat could be kept for ten days or half a month without any trouble.
Once he had everything settled, Lin Yan deliberately stepped out of his courtyard and showed himself in public several times. If the Green Pine Martial Hall investigated, these people could all testify that he had been in his courtyard.
Yet even after he had eaten all the bear meat, no one from the Green Pine Martial Hall came by.
"Has the Green Pine Martial Hall simply not searched this far yet, or did its master believe that his disciples were killed by wild beasts and decide against investigating?"
Lin Yan furrowed his brow. But whatever the reason, caution dictated that he stay out of the mountains for now and wait a little longer.
Ten days passed, and the Martial Dao Tree had grown to an inch and a half.
That day, as usual, he was practicing martial arts in the courtyard when a voice came from the gate.
"Is Young Master Lin here?"
The visitor was Xia Mingtang, a top martial artist at the second Skin Polishing stage, assigned to the Tang Family here.
Xia Mingtang pushed open the door and entered. As the second-ranked top martial artist at the second Skin Polishing stage under the Tang Family's local branch, after Lin Yan, he was the one who actually managed its day-to-day affairs. He looked anxious now. "Young Master Lin, a batch of our medicinal herbs was seized yesterday."
"Seized? By bandits?"
Lin Yan frowned. The Tang Family had operated in Sanshan County for so many years without incident, but bandits had shown up as soon as he arrived?
"No, not bandits."
Knowing Lin Yan had misunderstood, Xia Mingtang explained, "Young Master Lin, it's my fault for not explaining clearly. A batch of herbs that the Tang Family Pharmacy was supposed to buy locally yesterday was intercepted by another family."
After Xia Mingtang explained, Lin Yan finally understood what had happened.
Besides the mountains where the Tang Family grew its own medicinal herbs, it also bought herbs locally in Sanshan County. Some itinerant merchants collected herbs from the various villages and then delivered them to the Tang Family's local pharmacy.
According to the usual schedule, yesterday was the day the itinerant merchants delivered herbs, as they did once a month. But Xia Mingtang had waited in the storehouse for half the day and not a single merchant showed up.
Only after making inquiries today did he learn that the merchants had been intercepted on the way by people from the Wei Family. The Wei Family's martial artists had forcibly taken them away and made them sell all their herbs to the Wei Family.
Like the Tang Family, the Wei Family dealt in medicinal herbs, but its business was limited to Sanshan County.
Lin Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. The Wei Family was a local medicinal herb merchant in Sanshan County, but the Tang Family had moved in on its territory. They must have resented the Tang Family, yet they had made no move all these years. Why strike only after Zhang Xin left? Did they think Lin Yan was easy prey?
"How strong is the Wei Family?"
"Both father and son are at the third Skin Polishing stage. The Wei Family head has been at that stage for eight years. Two years ago, Lord Zhang sparred with him and had the upper hand."
Hearing Xia Mingtang's answer, Lin Yan recalled how he had brushed against Zhang Xin when the latter had welcomed him. The Martial Dao Tree's height had appeared then: three feet and four inches.
Two years ago, the Wei Family head had been weaker than Zhang Xin. Now, at most, he would be on par with him, at three feet and four inches.
That was two and a half inches above Lin Yan.
He should be able to win, but he didn't know whether his Sword Intent and Stone Waist Savage Spine would be enough. If he couldn't kill his opponent in one strike, it would be too risky. Better not.
"Young Master Lin, what should we do now? Should we go negotiate with the Wei Family?" Xia Mingtang asked from the side when he saw Lin Yan fall silent.
Lin Yan shook his head. "Forget it. If the Wei Family wants to intercept our supplies, we'll just raise our purchase price."
A trace of disappointment flashed in Xia Mingtang's eyes at Lin Yan's answer, but he wasn't surprised.
Lord Zhang was a veteran at the third Skin Polishing stage, so the Wei Family wouldn't dare try anything. But Young Master Lin had only recently reached that stage, and the Wei Family had two martial artists at the third stage. It was only natural that Young Master Lin would back down.
Regardless, the Wei Family wouldn't dare offend their employer completely. At most, they would intercept a batch or two of herbs. And raising the purchase price was within Young Master Lin's authority.
Lin Yan truly didn't want trouble. Besides, raising the purchase price would benefit the herb gatherers who climbed the mountains. It was a way of looking after the common folk at the bottom, too.
After sending Xia Mingtang away, Lin Yan continued practicing.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The long sword in his hand was like a carving knife. Each swing through the air left delicate perforations in the yellow flowers growing at the corner of the courtyard wall.
While sorting the herbs he had gathered and selling them to the Tang Family Pharmacy, he continued studying Silk-Entwining Sword Intent.
Silk-Entwining Sword Intent was about wielding great force with ease, hearing thunder in the tiniest details.
What surprised Lin Yan was that, as he studied Silk-Entwining Sword Intent, the vital energy circulating in his body also became more refined. His force was no longer just broad and sweeping; now it held a thread of subtle finesse.
"Comprehending an intent can actually help control vital energy. By using Martial Fruits to comprehend 'intent,' then drawing on its subtlety to refine my control over the force of my vital energy, I'm getting twice the result with half the effort."
Lin Yan was captivated by this precise control over his vital energy. By comparison, fighting the Wei Family held little appeal.
The Wei Family.
"Father, Lin Yan doesn't dare come after our Wei Family. He's only had his people raise the purchase price for medicinal herbs."
Hearing his son's report, Wei Li sneered. "I investigated Lin Yan, the man the Tang Family sent over. He was just an ordinary commoner in Guangping County. If he managed to reach the third Skin Polishing stage, he can thank his ancestors for their blessings. Even if he's a martial artist at the third stage, he's still the timid sort who's afraid of trouble."
"Father, you really know how to read people."
"He can raise the purchase price all he likes. Let's see if those itinerant merchants dare sell to him." A ruthless glint shone in Wei Li's eyes. "Shaoyou, give the order. Any herb merchant who dares sell to the Tang Family Pharmacy will have both hands and both feet broken by our Wei Family."
Wei Shaoyou froze. "Father, won't that anger the Tang Family?"
The Tang Family had martial artists at the fourth Skin Polishing stage!
"This is Sanshan County. Even if the Tang Family's fourth-stage martial artists came here, the county's own fourth-stage experts wouldn't stand idly by." Wei Li lowered his voice and continued, "Besides, the Tang Family has its hands full already. They don't have the time to worry about this place."
"Father, did you hear some kind of rumor?"
"A new gang called the Four Seas Gang has appeared in Guangping County. They're fighting the Patrol Bureau. The Tang Family chose to remain neutral, and now they've earned the enmity of both sides. Both are suppressing the Tang Family. They'd be lucky just to hold on to their business in Guangping County, so they have no time to concern themselves with Sanshan County."
"Honestly, if I were the Tang Family, I'd choose either the Four Seas Gang or the Patrol Bureau. By joining one side, they could crush the other and reap even greater rewards. But it's better for us that the Tang Family is foolish. We'll be the ones to benefit."
"I see."
Wei Shaoyou finally understood why his father dared intercept the Tang Family's herbs now.
As the biggest pharmacy in Sanshan County, the Wei Family could have bought herbs at lower prices.
But because the Tang Family was here, whenever they lowered their prices, the herb gatherers sold their goods to the Tang Family instead. Wei Li and his son had long held a grudge against them.
They had been resentful for years, but feared the Tang Family's power and could only endure it. Now, with this opportunity, if they drove the Tang Family away, the Wei Family could set whatever prices it wanted. If the herb gatherers refused to sell, they could only watch their herbs rot.