Martial Hall Tournament

The next day, early morning.

In the courtyard, Zhou Muyun slowly withdrew from his stance training, picked up a towel from the side, and wiped away his sweat, a hint of delight on his face.

After a night of hard training, both the Willow Stake and the Seven-Colored Glazed Body had gained a great deal of proficiency.

[Willow Stake Mastery (30/2400)]

[Seven-Colored Glazed Body: Copper Skin (200/600)]

All four bottles of Body-Tempering Liquid had been used up. His progress had reached one-third, and he was quite satisfied.

With added points included, the Willow Stake's progress was also advancing steadily.

During the day at the martial hall, he could continue practicing stance training and Flurry Fist.

As for the feeling of exhaustion, one packet of Qi-Blood Powder was enough to sweep it clean away, leaving him brimming with energy once more.

"Training through the night with medicinal support really is effective, but..."

Zhou Muyun did the calculations. Four bottles of Body-Tempering Liquid and three packets of Qi-Blood Powder per night came to five taels of silver at current prices.

He only had around one hundred and fifty taels left. If he trained like this every day, he would be broke within a month.

The thirty taels sponsored by the Leng Household had all been handed to Xu Rou for daily expenses. At most, half of it could be used.

For a moment, Zhou Muyun found himself caught between rapidly improving his strength and preserving his wealth.

"Right, the jade pendant!"

He went into his room, took out a bundle from beneath the bed, opened it, and removed a jade pendant. It was the one he had obtained from Wu Biao, the Wild Bull Gang's leader, that night. He had never found the chance to sell it.

"I'll see how much this jade pendant can fetch before making any plans."

Looking at the jade pendant engraved with exquisite patterns in his hand, Zhou Muyun made up his mind.

After washing up and tidying himself, he tucked the jade pendant away on his person, stepped out the door, and headed toward the martial hall.

When he arrived at Greenwood Martial Hall, the enormous training ground was empty.

Zhou Muyun had long since grown used to it and was not the least bit surprised. He went straight onto the training ground and began practicing.

His fists sliced through the air, sweat scattered, and every move of Flurry Fist looked incomparably practiced in his hands.

The drifting, elusive intent of willow catkins between each stance and strike was displayed to perfection.

Just as Zhou Muyun immersed himself in training, the other martial hall disciples began arriving one after another.

Seeing Zhou Muyun already drenched in sweat, they were all accustomed to it.

No one was surprised. Zhou Muyun was always the first to arrive; that had become common knowledge among them.

The effects of the Cloud Forest Tournament continued to ferment, and everyone trained far more diligently than before.

They also arrived much earlier. In the past, Zhou Muyun would have trained for an hour before anyone else came.

Now, in less than half an hour, more than half the martial hall's disciples had arrived.

For a time, all manner of training sounds rang across the grounds, and the martial hall thrived with vigor.

Just then, Li Qingliang sent someone to the front courtyard to summon all the personal disciples, Zhou Muyun included, to the rear courtyard.

Everyone took their places in the rear courtyard and waited for Li Qingliang to arrive.

At that moment, Li Buhui noticed Zhou Muyun standing at the far left and asked with some doubt, "Master summoned the personal disciples. Junior Brother Zhou, why did you come in as well?"

No one had paid attention before, but at his words, they all turned their gazes toward Zhou Muyun.

Senior Brother Yan Qing glanced over as if he had noticed something, then withdrew his gaze.

Bai Yu and Liu Yan both wore expressions of eager spectators, while Leng Ni and Mo Qi looked puzzled.

"I entered the Organ Refinement Realm the day before yesterday. Naturally, I count as a personal disciple as well. Why can't I come in?"

Zhou Muyun looked calmly at Li Buhui, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Oh? If I remember correctly, Junior Brother Zhou, you've been at the martial hall for less than four months, and you already broke through to Organ Refinement?"

"The result of hard training, nothing worth mentioning."

"Words alone prove nothing. Since you say you've reached Organ Refinement, why not take one of my punches?" Li Buhui said lightly, a mocking look on his face.

"Senior Brother Li, we're all disciples of the same martial hall. It wouldn't be good for us to come to blows." Mo Qi stepped forward at that moment, acting as peacemaker.

As he spoke, he kept giving Zhou Muyun meaningful looks.

In his view, unless one possessed extraordinary talent like Bai Yu, how could an ordinary person possibly reach Organ Refinement in less than four months?

If Zhou Muyun truly had such talent, Bai Yu would have long since been out of the picture, and it would not have been Mo Qi's turn to guide him.

"Mo Qi, put away that holier-than-thou act. I've been sick of the sight of him for a long time. Training hard all day long—who's he trying to impress?

Fine, he doesn't have to fight. He can apologize to me, then get the hell out of the rear courtyard."

As Li Buhui spoke, he rolled up his sleeves, looking as though he would not rest until he got his way.

Just as Mo Qi was about to speak, Zhou Muyun's light voice drifted over. "Senior Brother Li, please instruct me."

Hearing that, Li Buhui looked at Zhou Muyun's calm face, and an inexplicable fury surged up within him.

"You said it." Then, amid everyone's astonished gazes, he suddenly lunged forward and sent a heavy punch howling toward Zhou Muyun.

Zhou Muyun remained where he was without panic. He also wanted to test just how strong he had become.

Watching the fist draw ever closer, he did not dodge. Instead, he silently circulated the Seven-Colored Glazed Body.

His right fist took on a faint bronze hue, then he threw out a punch of his own, intending to meet it head-on.

Seeing Zhou Muyun's actions, Li Buhui sneered inwardly. Not even defending himself—what an idiot.

Bai Yu, Liu Yan, and even Leng Ni shook their heads. Mo Qi cried out, "You mustn't, Junior Brother Zhou!"

Amid his shout, the two fists collided.

Bang!

There was no scene of flesh and blood flying everywhere, nor any sound of bones breaking. Zhou Muyun staggered back three steps before steadying himself.

The entire courtyard erupted in an uproar. Yan Qing's gaze flickered, while everyone else wore shocked expressions.

Li Buhui, meanwhile, was utterly incredulous.

How was that possible? Even if he had broken through to the Organ Refinement Realm, Li Buhui himself was at the Viscera Refinement Peak. Zhou Muyun had taken his punch head-on without a scratch—what kind of monster was he?

Just then, Li Qingliang stepped out from the room. His gaze swept over everyone as he said calmly, "I only learned yesterday that Zhou Muyun had broken through. I was in too much of a hurry today to announce it. Since you all already know, he will be a personal disciple of the martial hall from now on."

Li Qingliang could have come out earlier, but he had also been curious to see what Zhou Muyun was capable of.

He had not expected such a tremendous surprise, and he could not help but regard Zhou Muyun even more highly.

Hearing Li Qingliang's words and recalling Zhou Muyun's performance just now, everyone accepted the fact.

Seeing that Li Qingliang had come out, Li Buhui naturally could not continue making trouble. With a dark expression, he returned to his place.

Zhou Muyun gave Li Qingliang a slight bow before returning to his own position as well.

As expected, body-tempering techniques provided an enormous boost in strength!

When he had exchanged punches with Li Buhui just now, with Copper Skin reinforcing him, his right arm had only gone slightly numb.

Zhou Muyun was already looking forward to seeing what it would be like once Copper Skin reached perfection.

Seeing that all his disciples had returned to their places, Li Qingliang slowly said with a calm expression, "Yesterday, I visited some old friends. After our discussion, we decided to move the Martial Hall Tournament forward. It will be held three months from now."

At those words, everyone besides Senior Brother Yan Qing revealed surprised expressions.

The Martial Hall Tournament was an opportunity for the ten martial halls within the city to exchange pointers and compete.

The tournament used a king-of-the-hill format. Whichever martial hall's representative remained standing to the end would become that year's champion martial hall, retaining the title until the next tournament began.

Li Qingliang continued, "Because the Cloud Forest Tournament will be held during the New Year, the Martial Hall Tournament has naturally been moved forward. Furthermore, first place in this tournament will receive a five-year-old precious medicine."

When they heard that the reward was actually a five-year-old precious medicine, everyone present, Zhou Muyun included, revealed longing in their eyes.

So-called precious medicines were heavenly treasures. Unlike ordinary medicinal herbs, they provided enormous help in increasing a martial artist's strength.

Usually, even a one-year-old precious medicine cost a full hundred taels. A five-year-old one could likely only be bought with gold.