"This time, the haul was pretty good. I earned a full 125 merit points. The armor, horses, weapons, and reward came to a total of 3,213 taels of silver."
After the quartermaster had finished tallying everything, he recorded Lu Yuan's military merits and then brought over the silver.
Three of the notes were worth a thousand taels each, while the remaining two hundred or so taels were in silver ingots, packed in a bag.
Lu Yuan took the things and said with a smile, "Thank you."
Then he headed for the armory.
He planned to exchange his merit points for Dragon Scale Grass today and break through.
Once his cultivation reached Bone Forging, his combat strength would rise another step.
Looking over the supplies arranged inside the storeroom,
Lu Yuan went straight to where the Dragon Scale Grass was kept and took it out.
He handed over two thousand taels in silver notes, and the item was his.
After completing the transaction, he headed home.
Along the way, many people turned to look at him. Lu Yuan had now become thoroughly famous.
It hadn't been long since he'd killed the Iron Sparrowhawks, and he'd just spent another month fighting outside the city, claiming the heads of over a hundred Northern Barbarians.
He had given Ice Plain City a much-needed boost.
"See him? That's Lu Yuan. He's the one who wiped out the Iron Sparrowhawks. I heard he went out of the city again recently and fought for over a month. He killed more than a hundred Northern Barbarian scouts all by himself."
"Good heavens, Ice Plain City hasn't seen a powerhouse like him in years."
The people around him kept talking.
Many eyes were fixed on Lu Yuan.
He simply kept walking, paying no attention to any of it.
Improving his own strength was what mattered most.
Lu Yuan didn't let the praise around him go to his head.
After returning home, he first lit the stove, then took off his armor and removed his padded coat.
Then he sat cross-legged on the kang and opened the box containing the Dragon Scale Grass.
Inside lay a single medicinal herb, so lush and green it seemed to drip with color.
It was green all over, covered in layers of green membranes that looked just like dragon scales. They said the herb grew in Flood Dragon lairs.
It took many years to grow.
Lu Yuan picked up the spirit herb and swallowed it without hesitation.
A moment later, a surge of violent energy spread through his body, coursing along his meridians.
His skin began to turn faintly red, as if it were being tempered.
He began circulating Tiger-Subduing Stance, and a series of humming sounds came from within him.
Every part of his skin underwent another transformation.
The divine substance grew more active, spreading across every inch of his skin.
His strength surged.
Golden Bell Cover was empowered as well, and a faint golden bell shimmered outside his body.
It revolved around him.
Lu Yuan could feel how powerful he had become. This was an enhancement that reached from the inside out.
Even his bones were growing tougher and tougher.
Although he hadn't officially entered Bone Forging Realm yet, an ordinary Bone Forging expert's bones might not be as strong as his.
Time passed. He had no idea how long.
When Lu Yuan opened his eyes again,
"Bzzz!"
A series of humming sounds erupted within his body.
His skin, muscles, and bones all trembled at once.
He knew he had broken through.
Then he opened the data panel.
[Name: Lu Yuan] [Age: 16] [Technique: Blade-Breaking Eight Styles (61209/50000 Force-Entry Realm, spend 10,000 proficiency to derive the technique?)] [Tiger-Subduing Stance Body-Tempering Realm (50192/50000 Spirit-Nurturing Realm, break through?)] [Golden Bell Cover (67190/50000 Force-Entry Realm, spend 10,000 proficiency to derive the technique?)] [Wolf-Chasing Archery (30910/30000 Perfection, break through?)] [Arrowhead Formation (68101/50000 Force-Entry Realm, spend 10,000 proficiency to derive the formation?)]
Looking at the data, Lu Yuan's lips curled upward.
He could finally break through, and he could also continue deriving his techniques.
That meant his strength would surge once again.
There was no doubt he'd reach another level.
But just then, hunger gnawed at his stomach.
He knew this was an aftereffect of the breakthrough. He was about to eat something first and break through later when—
"Bang, bang, bang!"
A series of hurried knocks sounded outside.
"Brother Yuan, are you there?" It was Xiao Hua.
Lu Yuan closed the panel, got up, and walked out into the courtyard.
"Squeak!"
When he opened the door, he saw her standing outside, her face pale and her hands twisting the hem of her clothes. She looked nervous.
"Did something happen?" Lu Yuan asked quickly.
Xiao Hua nodded but said nothing.
"There's nothing you can't tell me. Did something happen to your mother?" Lu Yuan asked again.
"Half a month ago, my mother's illness had finally started to improve, but then it suddenly got worse, and she started coughing up blood. The medicine we bought before isn't helping at all.
"But we don't have the money to hire a doctor." Her voice choked as she spoke.
She knew she shouldn't trouble Lu Yuan, but there was no one else she could turn to.
"I'll go have a look." As he spoke, Lu Yuan headed next door.
As soon as he entered, he caught the faint smell of blood. Xiao Hua's mother lay on the kang, her face sallow, looking completely different from the last time he'd seen her.
A basin sat by the edge of the kang, filled with blood.
"A-Yuan, you're back. Come, sit." Madam Xiao said, forcing herself to sit up.
"Auntie, please rest. I'll go get a doctor." With that, Lu Yuan left.
In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, he returned with an old man. The man was a physician with the City Defense Battalion and the finest doctor in all of Ice Plain City.
The fee for a house call was steep, and ordinary people couldn't have gotten him to come at all. Lu Yuan had connections in the army and was willing to pay, so he'd agreed to make the trip.
As soon as he entered and saw Madam Xiao's condition, his brows furrowed. He stepped forward and began taking her pulse.
Xiao Hua stood anxiously to one side, not daring to make a sound. Madam Xiao just kept coughing, each breath coming with difficulty.
"This injury has been left untreated for quite a while. Good thing I came today. Otherwise, she might have died, or at least been left with a serious ailment. I'll write a prescription. Get the medicine and have her take it for half a month, then come find me for a different prescription. After three months, she should be out of danger."
After speaking, the physician sat to one side, took out a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone from his medicine box, and wrote out a prescription.
After handing it to Lu Yuan, he urged him, "Get the medicine right away. She needs to take it today. We can't let her illness go untreated any longer."
Hearing this, Xiao Hua's heart tightened.
Lu Yuan agreed repeatedly, then took out two silver ingots, worth about twenty taels, and pressed them into the physician's hand. "Thank you, Master Tian. Sorry for the trouble."
"Heh, I'll take it, then. We're brothers in arms, so there's no need to talk about trouble. Remember to come see me in half a month."
Then he packed up his things and left.
Lu Yuan turned to Xiao Hua. "Take this silver and get the medicine first. If it isn't enough, tell me. Now isn't the time to be polite, understood?"
As he spoke, he handed Xiao Hua a money pouch and the prescription.
She pressed her lips together, nodded, then took the silver and went out to buy the medicine.
About half an hour later, after Xiao Hua returned, Lu Yuan finally went back to his own home.
Then, after roasting and eating some dry rations by the stove, he opened the system panel again and chose to break through.