Master Yuan

"Haah... haah..."

In the secret chamber, Lin Yi panted heavily, his chest heaving. He took off his outer robe, revealing an undershirt already soaked through with sweat. He looked as though he had just been fished out of water.

Utterly spent!

Completely and utterly spent!

Lin Yi felt sore all over. He didn't even want to lift his arms.

He raised his eyes to the Destiny [Know Heavenly Fate].

[Destiny: Know Heavenly Fate, Empathic Corpse Dissection]

[Technique: Long Rainbow Technique (Fourth Stage)]

[Proficiency: 1275/1500]

[Technique: Corpse Kui Rebirth Method (First Layer)]

[Proficiency: 918/1000]

[Qi Refining Path: Corpse Puppet Path, Martial Way]

[Realm: Corpse Puppet Path, Ninth Grade; Martial Way, Not Yet Ranked]

[Martial Arts: Reckless Blade (Mastered)]

[Proficiency: 462/500]

[Corpse Puppet Path Arts: Yin Coffin Crafting (Mastered), Puppet Control Art (Mastered), Corpse Obstruction Eye (Mastered)...]

He had reaped quite a harvest. He hadn't expected his martial skill proficiency to rise so much after fighting that martial master all night.

After eating some dried meat and pills to replenish his qi and blood, Lin Yi had mostly recovered. He began inspecting what he had gained from killing the martial master.

It had been pitch-black that night, and Lin Yi hadn't stopped to examine anything. He had simply searched the man's corpse and taken everything he could carry.

Now that he looked through it, Lin Yi couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath.

"No wonder he was a Martial Artist. He was loaded..."

Lin Yi stared at his spoils, unable to help exclaiming.

Three banknotes worth one hundred taels each, for a total of three hundred taels.

A dagger that looked quite valuable. He could sell it, since it was stolen money anyway.

Three bottles of unknown pills. He would have to study them before using them.

There was also a movement technique called Vast Step.

He had read this martial skill from the man through [Empathic Corpse Dissection].

Besides that, there was a fist technique called Mountain Opening Fist.

Lin Yi was delighted.

He had planned to acquire a movement technique as soon as possible after becoming a Martial Artist.

After all, survival came first. If he couldn't win a fight, he at least had to be able to run away.

He hadn't expected someone to deliver a pillow just as he'd grown sleepy.

There was no time to lose.

Lin Yi didn't overthink it. He used the experience gained through empathic perception to practice the technique a little, and its data appeared on his status panel.

[Martial Skill: Vast Step (Beginner)]

[Proficiency: 5/100]

Having finished all that, Lin Yi finally went to sleep, thoroughly satisfied.

Early the next morning, Lin Yi returned to the martial hall.

The danger at home had passed, but Lin Yi wasn't in a hurry to go back. Instead, he trained even harder at the martial hall.

He had killed men from the Black Wind Gang.

They would likely be wary and leave the Lin Clan alone for a few days.

Lin Yi could use that opportunity to break through the Martial Pass and become a Martial Artist as soon as possible.

Once he became a disciple of the martial hall, he could act under its name.

Even if the Black Wind Gang wanted to target his family after that, they would have to think twice.

Near noon.

"Brother Yi! The hall master's coming back!" Xiao Dong rushed excitedly into the room and called out to Lin Yi.

Lin Yi stopped practicing, a pleased look appearing on his face.

When the hall master returned, he would teach everyone martial arts. It was a great opportunity to improve his Long Rainbow Technique proficiency.

After tidying up, Lin Yi led Xiao Dong to the martial training grounds.

By then, the grounds were already packed.

Whether they were usually lax or diligent, registered apprentices or disciples, everyone had returned.

A glance showed there were around five or six hundred people.

The area nearest the Martial Practice Platform was already crammed with people.

Lin Yi frowned and sighed. "I'm a little late today..."

"Junior Brother Lin!"

Lin Yi looked toward the middle of the crowd. Liu Lie was raising a hand and waving at him.

As the hall master's third direct disciple, Liu Lie had the highest status among those present.

When the crowd saw him wave, they all turned to look at Lin Yi.

"Who's that? Why is Senior Brother Liu greeting him?"

"You don't know? He's that lunatic who can practice on the Martial Practice Platform all day."

"Senior Brother Liu seems to think highly of him."

"Come on, Senior Brother Liu's always been like that. He values disciples from ordinary backgrounds who work exceptionally hard. Plenty of people have gotten close to him that way."

"So this guy's trying to curry favor, too..."

"I couldn't tell you."

"..."

The crowd's chatter grew noisy.

Liu Lie ignored it and waved Lin Yi over. "Junior Brother Lin, come sit here."

After a moment's thought, Lin Yi decided not to refuse and went over to Liu Lie.

Four or five young men had gathered around Liu Lie as well. They had all reached the Martial Artist realm.

Liu Lie introduced each of them to Lin Yi.

After they exchanged greetings, they asked Lin Yi what grade his bone roots were.

When Lin Yi answered that they were Grade B, their manner grew noticeably warmer.

They drew him into conversation.

But their warmth only extended to a few polite words.

They weren't Liu Lie. Since Lin Yi hadn't yet become a Martial Artist, they had little desire to talk with him. They were only making small talk out of respect for Liu Lie.

Liu Lie realized what was going on and gave an awkward smile. He pulled Lin Yi aside and asked, "How far have you gotten? Which Pass are you on now?"

"The fourth. I broke through Bone Pass not long ago," Lin Yi replied.

Liu Lie was stunned. "The fourth!"

"You're progressing even faster than someone with Grade A bone roots!"

Liu Lie even began to doubt himself. "Could they have measured your bone roots wrong?"

Lin Yi shook his head helplessly. "They were definitely Grade B. Maybe I'm just a little more perceptive than most."

Liu Lie nodded, as if he had convinced himself. "That must be the only explanation."

Clip-clop, clip-clop!

A sudden burst of hurried hoofbeats rang out.

Liu Lie reacted at once and quietly told Lin Yi, "Junior Brother, wait here for now."

With that, Liu Lie hurried to the entrance, bowed, and dropped to one knee. "Welcome back, Master!"

In an instant, everyone at the martial hall dropped to one knee as well.

"Welcome back, Master Yuan!"

"Whoa!"

The horse let out a long, ringing whinny.

A tall, powerful steed, its mane blazing red like fire, came to a sudden halt at the entrance.

On its back sat a middle-aged man, imposing and magnificent, his presence as vast as a rainbow!

He was the master of Rainbow Martial Hall.

One of the strongest Martial Way experts in all of Jiaqing County.

A seventh-grade grandmaster of the Martial Way—Yuan Fubai.

Lin Yi lowered his head, cautiously watching the majestic figure on horseback. His blood surged with excitement.

Soon!

Sooner or later, he would reach the same realm!

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop.

Three crisp sets of hoofbeats followed in quick succession.

Three young people, all seemingly around twenty years old, rode behind him.

Two men and one woman.

They were Yuan Fubai's other three direct disciples, besides Liu Lie.

"Everyone, get up," Yuan Fubai said.

"Yes, Master Yuan!"

Everyone rose in unison.

Yuan Fubai's gaze swept over the crowd, sharp as a torch. Then he said:

"Good. Very good."

He turned to Liu Lie. "Lie'er, you've worked hard."

Then he flicked a bottle of pills from his sleeve. It flew into Liu Lie's hands.

"You've been at the Xiantian realm for quite some time. It's about time you broke through, isn't it? I give you this Force Transformation Pill. Break through soon."

Liu Lie was overjoyed. "Thank you, Master!"

Force Transformation Pill?

Lin Yi didn't know what it was, but from Liu Lie's excitement, he could tell it wasn't cheap.

Yuan Fubai glanced over everyone and announced loudly, "Rest for a while. I'll teach martial arts shortly."