Lu Yuan had just returned home with his things. After setting down the Wasteland Fierce Tiger blood essence, he found Xiao Hua waiting at the door. The weather had warmed slightly, and although she was still wearing a cotton skirt, she had taken off her sheepskin vest.
She stood prettily in the courtyard. Without the bulky clothes, she looked even taller, and her figure was flawless.
"Brother Yuan, dinner's ready."
After putting his things away, Lu Yuan smiled. "All right, I'm coming."
Then he stepped out of his room and walked alongside Xiao Hua toward the house next door.
As soon as they entered, he saw the table laden with food—meat and vegetables.
There was also a pot of wine.
Xiao Hua's mother was seated at the table, too. When she saw Lu Yuan, she smiled warmly. "A-Yuan, come sit."
After spending these past days together,
the two families had grown closer. The old woman practically treated Lu Yuan like a nephew.
"All right."
Lu Yuan answered and sat down.
Then he took a medicine bottle from his robes. "Auntie, there are a few pills in here for your cough and wheezing. Please take them. They should work better than ordinary medicine."
He had picked them up while he was at the Armory. They had cost more than ten taels of silver.
Lu Yuan could afford that much.
If it had been something else, Xiao Hua's mother would certainly have refused. But she couldn't turn down medicine; no one but her could use it, and she wouldn't have known what to do with it otherwise.
She could only put it away and say, "You child, why go buying things you don't need? Save your silver and buy resources for your cultivation. Don't waste it on me."
Even as she said this, a trace of emotion showed in her eyes.
After all, she and her daughter depended on each other. Only she knew the hardships they had endured.
In all these years, apart from Xiao Hua, no one had ever cared about her health.
"What are you saying? I'm all alone, and you're the only elder I have. It's only right that I look after you."
After Lu Yuan said this, Xiao Hua's mother didn't pursue the subject.
She simply kept piling food onto his plate. "This Snow Rabbit meat was bought today. Hua'er just finished stewing it. A-Yuan, hurry and try some."
Lu Yuan nodded and ate heartily.
Xiao Hua poured wine for him.
The three of them enjoyed a rare moment of warmth, just like a real family.
Xiao Hua's mother even found herself lost in thought.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if things stayed like this.
But soon, reason overcame emotion.
Still, the look she gave Lu Yuan had changed. The wariness and scrutiny were gone, replaced by warmth and kindness.
After the meal, Xiao Hua cleared away the dishes.
Lu Yuan helped the old woman to bed to rest, then returned to his own home.
The Wasteland Fierce Tiger blood essence couldn't be wasted. He had to absorb it as soon as possible.
After buying the medicine, he had only a little over ten taels of silver left.
That was enough to cover his ordinary expenses for the next few days. But if he wanted cultivation resources to speed up his breakthroughs, he would need a large sum of silver.
So he didn't dare indulge himself at all.
Once inside, Lu Yuan spread the Wasteland Fierce Tiger blood essence evenly over his body and began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Stance.
He lay facedown on the ground, his whole body slick with blood. As his chest and abdomen rose and fell, muffled sounds pulsed from him, while the spine along his back undulated.
Lu Yuan could clearly feel stinging pains across his skin. The essence of the tiger's blood was evidently being absorbed.
Before he knew it, two hours had passed.
"Hum!"
The muscles throughout Lu Yuan's body trembled, and his bones and sinews rang out with soft, continuous murmurs.
The system's data abruptly appeared in his mind.
[Tiger-Subduing Stance Body-Tempering Realm (10928/10000 Grand Accomplishment, break through?)] [Golden Bell Cover (10271/10000 Grand Accomplishment, break through?)]
The change delighted Lu Yuan. He had thought he would need to use the Wasteland Fierce Tiger blood essence three times before he could break through.
He hadn't expected it to work so well after only one use.
"Break through."
In the next instant, Lu Yuan clearly felt his body undergo a tremendous transformation.
He hadn't yet reached Bone Forging, but as the Golden Bell Cover advanced, his bones and sinews had grown much stronger than before.
The change was most obvious in his skin and flesh. A metallic sheen flashed across his body.
When he tugged at his skin, it felt far tougher than cowhide.
With his Body-Tempering Realm cultivation complete and the Golden Bell Cover bolstering him, his strength had risen another level.
He felt that his bones and sinews were already as strong as those of an ordinary cultivator who had reached the minor-accomplishment stage.
In other words, although Lu Yuan hadn't broken through to Bone Forging, much less reached Tendon-Refining, his physical strength was already on par with theirs.
He couldn't compare himself to the geniuses in every realm, but he had no trouble matching ordinary experts. And with his blade techniques in the Force-Entry Realm,
he could fight an ordinary Tendon-Refining cultivator.
He might even defeat one.
As for opponents in the same realm, he was confident he could beat anyone. Even disciples raised by aristocratic clans and powerful families would be no match for him.
At that moment, Lu Yuan's confidence soared.
Over the next few days, he spent nearly all his time cultivating at home. Whenever he had free time, he went next door to repair the house. After a winter buried beneath snow and ice,
Xiao Hua's roof needed patching. If the snow and ice weren't cleared away soon, the warmer weather would cause the roof to leak. Naturally, the job fell to Lu Yuan.
In the blink of an eye, another rotation of duty ended, and six or seven days had passed.
Both Lu Yuan's house and Xiao Hua's had been put in order.
Early that morning, after finishing his cultivation,
Lu Yuan opened the system's data.
[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 16] [Techniques: Blade-Breaking Eight Styles (3416/50000 Force-Entry Realm)] [Tiger-Subduing Stance Body-Tempering Realm (12415/30000 Completion)] [Golden Bell Cover (13044/30000 Completion)] [Wolf-Chasing Archery (50123/10000 Grand Accomplishment)] [Arrowhead Formation (10983/10000 (Grand Accomplishment), break through?]
The Wasteland Fierce Tiger blood essence had been completely used up over the past few days. It had lived up to Lu Yuan's expectations: his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds.
This only made him more eager to obtain cultivation resources.
"Break through."
In the next moment, Lu Yuan's understanding of military formations advanced another level. A faint Soldier Mark even appeared on his body,
shaped like an arrowhead.
This was one sign that his mastery of the formation had reached perfection. When leading his men in battle, he could double their combat strength.
He could also coordinate his soldiers' strength, turn himself into the arrowhead, and charge at the front to smash through the enemy's defenses.
This greatly increased his own strength in battle.
[Arrowhead Formation (983/30000 (Perfection)]
The corners of Lu Yuan's mouth lifted. With his strength now, he should have no trouble going into the Wasteland to deal with a few Northern Barbarian scouts.
Even if the other side had more experts in the Entry Realm, it shouldn't be much of a problem with the formation at his command.
Then he got up and headed outside.
He planned to find Old Huang and have him tell everyone to get ready.
He would also visit the Merit Pavilion to see what suitable missions were available.
This time, his goal was to earn enough military merit as quickly as possible, then exchange it for resources.
If he could become a Centurion, he would have even more resources at his disposal.