Breakthrough and Official Posting

Time flowed like water, and seven days soon passed.

The stir caused by Bai Yu becoming a direct disciple also subsided, but one thing was beyond doubt: good talent always earned special treatment.

Greenwood Martial Hall's second senior sister Leng Ni, third senior brother Li Buhui, and fourth senior brother Liu Yan were all children of prominent clans within the city.

They were usually lofty and aloof, cold even toward their fellow disciples.

Yet they treated Bai Yu differently, often offering him guidance and showing him great warmth.

Everyone knew that, first, they valued Bai Yu's talent and wanted to see whether they could recruit him into their own households.

Second, he had been accepted as their master's direct disciple as soon as he reached the Tempered Bone Realm, which was enough to show how highly their master regarded him.

But none of that mattered to Zhou Muyun.

Improving his strength was his only pursuit now.

Zhang Hu's money greatly improved the Zhou Household's meals.

To the point that Zhou Muyun had an extra meal every day when he returned home. Eating meat regularly truly had its benefits.

Even his martial arts progress improved considerably each day.

Xu Rou and Zhou Tong also delighted in it, tacitly choosing not to ask where the meat and money had come from.

Nor did they ever brag about it outside, which greatly reassured Zhou Muyun. As expected of family.

After all, disaster came from one's mouth. If the truth leaked out, the Savage Ox Gang could easily grow suspicious.

They still had not given up hunting for Zhang Hu's killer.

On the training ground, Zhou Muyun stood atop a wooden stake, still holding the Willow Stake stance.

[Heaven rewards diligence; there will surely be gains. Diligence Points are settled daily.]

[Willow Stake, Beginner (599/600)]

[Flurry Fist, Beginner (37/600)]

He was only one step away from reaching minor mastery in the Willow Stake.

Zhou Muyun shut out all distractions and immersed himself in the stance technique. Once, twice... When he performed the Willow Stake for the eighth time—

"Boom..."

An ethereal sound of surging blood and vitality exploded within his body, and a wisp of blood-force appeared out of nowhere.

Like a tiny swimming dragon, it began to course through Zhou Muyun's body.

His vision grew clearer and his senses sharper. He could even feel his powerful, beating heart.

The many questions that had troubled him before seemed to find their direction, as though fog had been swept away.

He had successfully broken through into the Tempered Bone Realm.

[Willow Stake, Minor Mastery (1/1200)]

"A beginner in the Tempered Bone Realm should possess the strength of one stone—that is, one hundred and twenty jin."

Zhou Muyun recalled what Mo Qi had previously taught him about the Tempered Bone Realm.

With one hand, he seized a stone lock weighing one hundred and twenty jin and effortlessly raised it over his head.

"Th-this... Zhou Muyun broke through too?"

"No way... Does studying diligently and training hard really work? I'm going to start training too."

"Just dumb luck! I don't believe he'll be able to break through the Organ Refinement Realm through hard training alone!"

There had already been many people on the training ground. Seeing Zhou Muyun's movement—

Everyone knew that he had broken through into the Tempered Bone Realm as well. Quite a few were envious, while others felt that his martial path had already reached its end.

"Junior Brother Zhou, congratulations. You've officially stepped onto the martial path and become a martial artist!" Mo Qi naturally noticed Zhou Muyun's change and came forward to congratulate him.

"I must thank Senior Brother for your guidance over these past days." Zhou Muyun cupped his hands slightly, neither servile nor overbearing.

"Not at all, not at all. Your hard work is plain for all to see. What does it have to do with me?"

Mo Qi patted Zhou Muyun on the shoulder and spoke brightly. He was genuinely happy for him.

He was a very pure sort of martial artist, but most of the martial hall's disciples did not train seriously day after day.

They only thought about currying favor with senior brothers who had strength and backing. The enormous martial hall was practically becoming a social club.

Unfortunately, their master turned a blind eye, so Mo Qi had given up trying to change it.

After Zhou Muyun arrived, however, that fierce dedication to training had truly infected quite a few disciples who had yet to reach the Tempered Bone Realm.

Mo Qi found this quite satisfying, and it was also the main reason he had been willing to guide Zhou Muyun.

"Now that you've entered the Tempered Bone Realm, Junior Brother, have you decided where to take an official posting?"

Mo Qi changed the subject and asked slowly.

It was here. He could finally take an official posting.

Zhou Muyun had asked around before. Once martial hall disciples reached the Tempered Bone Realm, they could obtain recommendations to take posts with the city's major powers or within the government.

Most importantly, an official posting paid money, and money was what Zhou Muyun needed most.

"Does Senior Brother have any advice?" Zhou Muyun asked humbly.

"I wouldn't dare call it advice, merely the benefit of experience. Junior Brother Zhou, take whatever may be useful," Mo Qi said slowly.

"Drunken Red Pavilion, the Forging Workshop, Hundred Herbs Pharmacy, and the major escort agencies in the Inner City all have openings. Generally, you can receive anywhere from one thousand to three thousand coins each month."

Three thousand coins? Wouldn't that be thirty taels a month?

The earning power of martial artists gave Zhou Muyun a small shock.

Seeing Zhou Muyun's astonished expression, Mo Qi smiled. "Otherwise, where do you think those fellow disciples in the Tempered Bone Realm get the money to live so freely every day?"

Then he added, "But such forces often have missions. Not only do they come with great risk, but they often take two or three days at a time, consuming quite a bit of time.

"So there is a second option: take a posting at the County Magistrate's Office as a street-patrolling constable. You only need to spend an hour or so each day, but the earnings are much lower—roughly one thousand coins, perhaps even less."

After hearing Mo Qi's words, Zhou Muyun swiftly analyzed the matter in his heart.

Choosing a major force meant generous rewards, but also risk and lost time. Not only would it delay his training, it could even cost him his life.

Choosing the government was safer and would not delay his training much, but the pay was far lower.

For a moment, Zhou Muyun found himself caught between a rock and a hard place.

Then he thought of Bai Yu. What choice had that favored child of heaven made?

"Senior Brother, I have a question. Has Bai Yu taken an official posting? And if so, what did he choose?"

When Zhou Muyun asked about Bai Yu, Mo Qi fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"He has not taken a posting anywhere. The Leng Household and Li Household are willing to provide him with thirty taels of silver and twenty jin of highly nourishing meat every month.

"As long as he trains properly, he only needs to act on behalf of the two households when the time comes in the future."

"This..." Zhou Muyun was briefly stunned. Without doing anything, someone sent him money and food? Was this the treatment a genius received?

"Junior Brother, Bai Yu is gifted and intelligent; he has his own fortunes. There is no need for us to compare ourselves to him.

"As for taking a posting, first, it can improve your family's circumstances. Second, beginning from the Tempered Bone Realm, martial artists consume a great deal of blood and vitality every day.

"If you lack money to buy meat and medicinal supplements, you will only grow worse the more you train, perhaps even leaving behind hidden injuries.

"So you should consider it carefully. Once you have made up your mind, I will take you to Master and ask him to write you a letter of recommendation."

Afraid that Zhou Muyun had been discouraged, Mo Qi hurriedly comforted him.

Zhou Muyun understood Mo Qi's goodwill and could not help feeling a little closer to him.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. Once I've made up my mind, I'll certainly inform you at once!" Zhou Muyun said, cupping his fists in thanks.

"Alright. Since you've reached the Tempered Bone Realm, let's continue practicing fist techniques. Let me see how much you've improved!"

"Yes, Senior Brother."

The two senior and junior brothers immediately began sparring.

Once Mo Qi finished feeding him moves, Zhou Muyun practiced the Willow Stake once more.

With one hand grasping fist techniques and the other holding onto the foundational stake work of martial arts, the day swiftly passed.

That evening, when Zhou Muyun returned home, he immediately told Xu Rou that he had become a martial artist.

Xu Rou wept with joy, repeatedly declaring that her son had become successful.

When Zhou Tong learned of it, she cried out in pure delight.

The family sank into a brief spell of happiness.

Late at night, after the bustle faded, silence arrived.

Zhou Muyun lay in bed and looked at his panel.

[Heaven rewards diligence; there will surely be gains. Diligence Points are settled daily.]

[Bone Aptitude: Ding Zhong (1/500)]

[Comprehension: Ding Upper (1/1000)]

[Willow Stake, Minor Mastery (3/1200)]

[Flurry Fist, Beginner (52/600)]

[Diligence Points: 0]

His stake technique was improving steadily, but compared with before his breakthrough, his fist technique proficiency had made a tremendous leap. That should be one of the benefits of breaking through!

The Diligence Points had not been settled yet, but he would still focus on the Willow Stake first! As for his bone aptitude, that could wait until later.

With that thought, Zhou Muyun made his decision. Tomorrow, he would ask Senior Brother Mo Qi to take him to seek an audience with their master.

In the rear courtyard of Greenwood Martial Hall, Li Qingliang sat in a stone chair. After taking a sip of tea, he looked at Mo Qi and Zhou Muyun before him.

"What business brings you two here?"

Zhou Muyun stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said slowly.

"This disciple has broken through into the Tempered Bone Realm and wishes to take an official posting at the County Magistrate's Office. I respectfully ask Master to recommend me!"