Fang Steward's Scheme

As Lin Fan's breathing rose and fell, the Azure Cloud Method within him circulated at high speed.

And under the system's 2,000-fold super cultivation effect boost, Lin Fan's body, inside and out, every single part of it, was steadily improving and strengthening at every moment.

Since Lin Fan devoted a great deal of time to cultivation every day, aside from sleeping and eating, he cultivated for at least twelve hours daily. Three days later, his entire body suddenly trembled. Unlike the slow improvements before, his strength instantly surged by an entire level.

Lin Fan knew that he had reached the Late Muscle Refinement Realm. Beyond that lay the Bone Tempering Realm.

A Bone Tempering Realm expert possessed strength exceeding 3,000 jin, and it was a comprehensive improvement to every aspect of a martial artist's body. Not only strength, but defense, physical toughness, and even the sharpness of the five senses would undergo a leap forward. Otherwise, if only strength were increased, then when a punch unleashed 3,000 jin of force, force acted both ways. The first thing to snap in an instant would be one's own arm. That would truly become a laughingstock.

The strength of 3,000 jin granted Bone Tempering Realm experts unparalleled defense. Unless one used a martial weapon with an extremely high forging grade, it was nearly impossible to cut their flesh. With a single punch, they could easily break a tree that took two people to embrace cleanly across the middle. Back on Blue Star in his previous life, steel mechs before a Bone Tempering Realm expert were no more than children facing an adult. After all, a Bone Tempering Realm expert's body was far harder than ordinary steel.

Lin Fan estimated that, at his cultivation speed with a 2,000-fold boost to cultivation results, barring any accidents, he should be able to enter the Bone Tempering Realm steadily within seven or eight days.

Then, after retrieving the forging grade 25 spear from the Su Family Shop, he could enter some of the nearby deep mountains to capture Ferocious Beasts.

Ordinary martial artists usually hunted Ferocious Beasts in groups. Beasts were already far stronger than normal humans, and after becoming Ferocious Beasts, their strength grew even greater. In terms of strength alone, some Skin Tempering Realm Ferocious Beasts could rival human Muscle Refinement Realm martial artists.

Moreover, Ferocious Beasts had dwelled year-round in forests, dangerous lands, or deep within caves since childhood. Naturally, they were incomparably familiar with their surroundings and held the advantage of terrain. If they realized they could not defeat human martial artists and were determined to flee, then unless their strength could firmly suppress the Ferocious Beast, it would still be difficult to stop one from escaping.

In fact, deep within certain dangerous lands, one might even fall for a Ferocious Beast's dirty tricks through a moment of carelessness.

But Lin Fan's skill gave him courage. With Bone Tempering Realm cultivation and a martial weapon, there was little danger if he was only capturing Skin Tempering Realm Ferocious Beasts. At worst, he would be more careful; if the situation looked wrong, he would immediately withdraw.

It was rather difficult for a Ferocious Beast to break through into the Skin Tempering Realm. Lin Fan did not believe he would strike it lucky and encounter Muscle Refinement Realm or Bone Tempering Realm Ferocious Beasts in the nearby mountains and forests. Ferocious Beasts of that level were basically found in dangerous places such as uninhabited mountain ranges and sea regions stretching for thousands or tens of thousands of li.

He was merely taking a swing at the date tree, whether there were dates or not. Perhaps he would not even find a Skin Tempering Realm Ferocious Beast.

Having made up his mind, Lin Fan continued cultivating.

Within the small town.

After listening to the reports from the men below, Fang Steward's brows knitted deeply. Based on their description of Lin Fan shattering the huge boulder, Fang Steward deduced that Lin Fan's cultivation had at least entered the Muscle Refinement Realm.

"The Muscle Refinement Realm... this is troublesome!" Fang Steward muttered. He himself was only in the Late Skin Tempering Realm, still a long way from the Muscle Refinement Realm, yet that young man had reached the Muscle Refinement Realm at such a tender age.

And he had appeared rather suspiciously in this Small Mountain Village outside the town. Fang Steward had searched through the rosters of personnel from nearby martial forces, yet found no one matching that youth. That meant he could only be someone from outside.

Or perhaps he had obtained some fortuitous opportunity and suddenly risen like an army from nowhere into a martial expert.

This world also held certain fortuitous opportunities. Just as some martial pills could increase cultivation speed, certain wondrous heavenly materials and earthly treasures had similar effects. It was even said that some could improve a person's martial roots.

The places and times when such opportunities appeared were random. For instance, some places might be thoroughly searched one day and prove utterly ordinary, yet when visited again the next day, all kinds of martial opportunities could appear there.

"If he is from outside, then to have cultivated to the Muscle Refinement Realm at such a young age, his martial roots must be extraordinary. His status must surely be low, and he must be someone whom many outside martial forces are competing to nurture." Fang Steward stroked his half-white beard.

"Then what would such an outstanding young genius from outside be doing in a Small Mountain Village beyond our little town? Could it be... that he fled here seeking refuge?"

After a round of deduction, Fang Steward felt that Lin Fan had either fled into Small Mountain Village to escape disaster, with no backing outside, or that he had simply been lucky enough to obtain some fortuitous opportunity.

As for entering Small Mountain Village to earn silver or search for medicinal herbs, Fang Steward dismissed that outright. A Late Skin Tempering Realm martial artist like himself could become a steward in the White Ram Gang and receive a considerable amount of silver every day simply by sitting and cultivating. Was that not far better than scurrying all over the mountains like a wild man and crawling on the ground to dig up herbs? Besides, how many days could one keep digging herbs? Once today's herbs were dug up, there would only be fewer tomorrow.

No matter which possibility it was, the other party likely had no backing outside. In other words, he was alone. That would make him easier to deal with, Fang Steward secretly pondered.

"The other party already knows I sent people to follow him. If he joins the White Ram Gang, then with his Muscle Refinement Realm cultivation, his status may very well surpass mine. If he remembers today's grievance and starts putting shoes on my feet, what then? Wouldn't I be finished?"

Fang Steward rose and paced back and forth through the hall. Several men stood nearby, scarcely daring to breathe. Had Lin Fan been here, he would have recognized them. They were precisely the men who had followed him last time.

These men had originally worked under Fang Steward. Coupled with the oppressive aura of Fang Steward's Late Skin Tempering Realm, they had more or less confessed everything that had happened that day.

What Fang Steward did not know was that he had truly measured a gentleman's heart with the heart of a petty man. Lin Fan had long since forgotten about being followed that day, and he certainly held no grudge against this so-called Fang Steward.

"In any case, he cannot be allowed to join the White Ram Gang. Better yet, make him kill a few brothers from the gang. Then I can make an issue of it and have the gang's experts strike him down." Although the Muscle Refinement Realm was powerful, the White Ram Gang still had nearly ten Muscle Refinement Realm experts when its powerful stewards and deputy gang leader were included. Not to mention that the gang leader was in the Bone Tempering Realm.

When martial experts fought and killed one another, so long as it was not to hunt people like Ferocious Beasts for use, but merely vengeance killings and the like, the authorities turned a blind eye. After all, if the former sort of demonic conduct went unchecked, it truly could hunt every low-level martial artist in the entire town to extinction. Far fewer martial artists died in the latter kind of vendetta killings.