Dead already?

The group of influential families left, and the Martial Academy returned to its usual training.

Many disciples were spurred on, striking the Wooden Dummies with explosive force, making them clang and bang.

Wang Sheng, however, was somewhat dazed, his mind not fully focused.

He was thinking about how to solve his financial problems.

He needed at least a hundred taels of silver.

"Junior Brother, are you feeling down?"

Luo Wenzheng suddenly spoke.

"Not everyone is as talented as Junior Brother Lin Shu."

"How about this, I think highly of you, Junior Brother. My Luo family is willing to offer ten taels of silver per month to invite you to a nominal position. What do you say?"

"However, the offer is only for six months. After that, it's gone."

Luo Wenzheng had always been fond of books detailing strange and unusual stories. He had read about many people who were ordinary in their youth but achieved great success later in life.

Therefore, after Wang Sheng mastered the Great Tablet Shattering Hand and the Stone Stance Technique, and defeated the senior disciple Meng Xu, Luo Wenzheng wanted to invest in him early, hoping to witness Wang Sheng's eventual great success.

Upon hearing this, Wang Sheng's eyes lit up. He turned his head, looking at Luo Wenzheng with a hint of joy.

"What are you looking at? I'm not into that!"

Luo Wenzheng felt a bit unnerved by Wang Sheng's direct gaze and quickly took a step back.

"Senior Brother, how about this: give me sixty taels of silver upfront. I guarantee I'll develop internal energy within half a year."

Wang Sheng said.

"You rascal!"

Luo Wenzheng was speechless.

This kid was really seizing the opportunity!

Luo Wenzheng fell silent for a while. Seeing that Wang Sheng was serious and not joking, he hesitated for a moment before finally sighing and saying, "I'll give you forty taels first."

"Thank you, Senior Brother!"

Wang Sheng nodded.

Luo Wenzheng was not related to him by blood or friendship; they had only been fellow disciples for a few months. Giving him forty taels upfront was already a considerable risk.

After all, forty taels was equivalent to the living expenses of an ordinary family for four years.

Afterward, Wang Sheng left the Martial Academy early that day. Using the deed to the old house on Loach Street, he mortgaged it at the pawnshop for twenty taels of silver.

Then, Wang Sheng borrowed ten taels of silver from the master of the Li Family.

He borrowed twenty taels of silver from the Fourth Madam.

Finally, Wang Sheng took out a high-interest loan of thirty taels from a gang called the White Tiger Gang. He had to repay fifty taels in two months.

With all these arrangements, Wang Sheng had raised a total of one hundred and twenty taels of silver.

The reason he had far exceeded the hundred taels was that after leaving, Wang Sheng had been looking around and realized the current situation was dire.

He had been solely focused on practicing martial arts before, never expecting that the outside world would undergo such drastic changes in just a month.

The rebellion tide caused by the severe drought in Southern Ridge Prefecture could no longer be contained. The prefectural governor had been killed, and the rebel army had begun attacking other prefectures.

To the north, the Han Kingdom was invading the border. It was rumored that Great Jing had suffered several defeats in battles, and the border was becoming unstable.

Caught in the middle, Jiangling Prefecture, where Ershui City was located, had begun full-scale military preparations. Food prices were steadily rising, and more beggars were dying on the roadside.

Wang Sheng worried that disaster would strike before he could even reach Bright Energy.

Therefore, when he saw Premium Blood Replenishing Pills at the pharmacy and learned that they were more effective than ordinary Blood Replenishing Pills, he decided to spend more money to purchase them.

Ershui City, Baolai Pharmacy.

"Twelve Premium Blood Replenishing Pills, totaling one hundred and twenty taels of silver. We'll also give you one ordinary Blood Replenishing Pill as a gift. Here you go!"

"Great!"

After receiving the pills, Wang Sheng hurried away.

After he left the pharmacy, A middle-aged man with a indifferent expression walked out from the back room of the pharmacy. "How was it? A fat sheep?"

Although this was within the city, due to the chaos in Southern Ridge Prefecture, many people had flocked to Jiangling Prefecture. Some martial artists had also come to Ershui City, leading to a decline in public security and an increase in deaths.

Some people began to take advantage of the situation, and robberies occurred frequently.

The smile on the young servant's face, who had been bowing and scraping to Wang Sheng just moments before, vanished. He shook his head slightly. "Looking at the marks on his hands, he's likely a disciple of Iron Hand Zhao. I heard Iron Hand Zhao recently took in a very talented young disciple; perhaps it's him."

"It's not worth offending a Transforming Energy master for this little bit of silver."

The middle-aged man nodded and withdrew.

They were only at the Dark Energy level and didn't dare to easily offend a Transforming Energy master.

Loach Street.

The Wang Family Ancestral Home.

After taking a Premium Blood Replenishing Pill, Wang Sheng immediately felt a powerful medicinal effect surge through him, transforming into streams of heat that flowed into his meridians, stimulating them throughout his body.

Wang Sheng's face turned red. He immediately sank his stance, sat into a horse stance, and began practicing the Stone Stance Technique and the Great Tablet Shattering Hand, venting and digesting the medicinal energy.

Thanks to his newfound wealth, Wang Sheng's dietary supplements were also very effective. Unlike before he joined the academy, when he was hungry three meals a day and practiced with no energy, wasting a lot of time.

So, supported by meat and Premium Blood Replenishing Pills.

Wang Sheng's progress with the Great Tablet Shattering Hand, which was previously four points a day, skyrocketed to ten points a day.

In less than twenty days, after consuming ten Premium Blood Replenishing Pills, Wang Sheng's Great Tablet Shattering Hand successfully entered the Minor Accomplishment stage. He generated internal energy, officially becoming a Bright Energy Martial Artist.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence: Learning will yield results.]

[Cultivation: Early Bright Energy]

[Stone Stance Technique: Minor Accomplishment (1/1000)]

[Great Tablet Shattering Hand: Minor Accomplishment (1/1000)]

Bright Energy Martial Artists not only possess strength far exceeding ordinary people, but their senses and reaction times are also incomparable to those of normal individuals, allowing them to easily crush ordinary people.

Inside the ancestral home, Wang Sheng clenched his fist, feeling the surge of power in his hands, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

By circulating his internal energy, his strength increased by at least three to four times.

Before, his strongest punch could kill a wolf.

Now, his punch could kill an ox.

"That's enough. It's time to settle things with Lin Shu."

Wang Sheng muttered to himself.

Internal energy erupted from within and was contained within his body.

Therefore, as long as he didn't actively use his internal energy or get close enough to feel his pulse, no one could tell that Wang Sheng had already become a Bright Energy Martial Artist.

That day.

The sky was dim.

Lin Shu left the Martial Academy and was on his way to the Liu Family.

"Miss Liu is fond of me, and she's quite attractive. But my future is to become a Transforming Energy master, someone comparable to Master. She'd be lucky to be my concubine, and she wants to be my main wife! Hmph!"

"However, I have to temporarily agree for the Liu Family's support. Once I become a Transforming Energy master..."

Lin Shu walked along, contemplating his bright future.

Suddenly.

At a corner.

Just as Lin Shu was about to turn.

A cloud of white lime powder flew towards him.

"Not good!"

Distracted, Lin Shu, who could have dodged most of the lime powder, was hit directly.

Three daggers shot out, striking Lin Shu's cheek, chest, and flailing arm respectively.

"Ah!"

Lin Shu cried out in pain and fell straight to the ground.

"Damn, is he dead already?"

Wang Sheng, with a black cloth covering his face, was somewhat surprised.

He had only just started; there was a whole set of fist techniques waiting, and he wanted to test his strength after reaching Bright Energy.

But Wang Sheng didn't know that his reaction time and the power of his dagger throws had already been enhanced by the transformation of his internal energy, far surpassing ordinary people.

Moreover, Lin Shu was lost in his daydreams and distracted.

This was how a genius died so easily.

"He's really dead?"

Wang Sheng cautiously approached Lin Shu, his internal energy flowing, ready to strike.

Crack!

Wang Sheng stepped on Lin Shu's arm, snapping it.

Lin Shu didn't react at all.

"Damn it, letting him die this easily."

"He doesn't even know who killed him!"

"Dying so miserably!"

Wang Sheng cursed under his breath, then stomped on Lin Shu's neck, completely cutting off any chance of survival.

"Shameless!"

A voice from the roof called out, and someone lunged at Wang Sheng.

Wang Sheng's heart tightened, his scalp tingling. He turned and threw a punch without hesitation, scattering the bag of stone powder he held in his other hand.

"Cough, cough!"

The attacker hadn't expected Wang Sheng to react so fiercely at such close range, and both were doused in lime powder.

Furthermore, the attacker was airborne, unable to gain much leverage.

Wang Sheng, however, had rooted himself with his Stone Stance Technique, which was at minor success. His stance on the ground allowed him to unleash a powerful punch that the attacker dared not underestimate.

With two unexpected mistakes, the attacker didn't dare linger. He cursed, "Damn it, this guy's tough!"

He then leaped onto the roof and quickly disappeared among the densely packed houses.

Wang Sheng's expression grew serious. He quickly searched Lin Shu's body, finding a silver hairpin, three Blood Replenishing Pills, five taels of silver, and a booklet titled Blood Stacking Technique, before also departing swiftly.