Dian Jing's invitation

Guo Yun knew what Su Yan was capable of, and he also knew that Su Yan was probably more interested in the unusual insect.

Now that his arm was injured, all he could do to repay Su Yan was tell him as much as possible about it.

"Su Yan, that unusual insect should be worth some silver, but you must be careful."

He cautioned him earnestly, "I only reached out to pick the Cinnabar Lingzhi, but it suddenly poked out of the rock face and spat out a huge cloud of flame-like mist. It reached a meter or two. If we hadn't run fast enough, we would have died in there."

"Don't worry, Uncle Guo Yun. I understand."

Su Yan carefully examined the wounds on Guo Yun's arm. Although his skin was badly burned, the muscles and tendons were still reasonably intact, and the medicine had been applied in time.

Once the fire toxin was cleared, he should recover enough that it would not interfere with earning a living for his family.

Fortunately, the unusual insect might only have been trying to drive them away rather than kill them. Otherwise, they would likely have died there.

When Zheng Xiu and Zheng Peng returned with the Miasma-Clearing Powder, Su Yan helped them change Guo Yun's dressing and gradually draw out the fire toxin. Only then did he bid them farewell and return home.

"It breathed mist like fire and had a scorpion's shape. Could it have been a Velvetfire Scorpion?"

The Hundred Herbs Diagram also contained an entry on the Velvetfire Scorpion, though it appeared alongside another Treasure Plant.

Fireleaf Cornel could temper the skin and flesh and burned as fiercely as fire. Combined with powdered Velvetfire Scorpion and supplemented with dozens of medicinal ingredients, it could be made into the Body-Tempering Blaze Pill, one of the precious medicines used to temper the skin, tendons, and bones.

Although Su Yan knew a little about it, the Velvetfire Scorpion was merely a supporting medicinal ingredient, so its habits and toxicity had not been recorded in detail.

Unusual insects are hard to come by. I can't possibly let this one slip away. But its strength is difficult to gauge. I'll need to prepare a few things.

After some thought, Su Yan decided to make a trip into the city first.

The Martial Arts Hall would distribute its medicinal decoctions tomorrow. Although he could ask a senior brother from the Inner Gate to make up his share afterward.

Zhou Hui was currently on duty, however, and given Su Yan's mountain background, he would probably receive no friendly welcome from him.

Besides, now that he had silver, he ought to spend it and turn it into resources for cultivation.

On the day the medicinal decoctions were distributed, the Golden Ape Martial Hall was more crowded than it had been for several days.

Registered disciples packed the front courtyard, all lined up to receive their decoctions.

At a glance, there were three or four hundred of them, though not everyone had arrived yet.

Su Yan did not linger. He went straight to the Middle Courtyard, where there were far fewer people, though still close to a hundred.

Amusingly enough, the divisions among these hundred-odd people were even more sharply drawn than among the registered disciples in the Outer Courtyard.

The four factions formed four separate groups, each lining up on its own without exchanging words.

With the decoctions being distributed, no one wanted to cause trouble today, provoke everyone's anger, or offend the Inner Gate disciples.

Su Yan collected his decoction and drank it on the spot, then found a corner and began his Stance Training.

He had reached minor attainment in the Golden Ape Stance Art and made a little further progress, so the outward signs of his practice were subtler than those of ordinary disciples.

His skin warmed slightly, and blood and qi surged through his body, but his skin did not turn crimson, his veins did not bulge, and sweat did not pour from his head.

With his Stance Training at minor attainment, his body was like a machine running at high speed, rapidly digesting the medicinal power as it entered.

Blood and qi flowed into his skin, constantly tempering it.

About a quarter of an hour later, Su Yan exhaled a mist that gathered into the shape of an arrow, then ended his Stance Training.

Senior Brother Gao Zheng said it was no worse than the Hundred Herbs Hall's Blood and Qi Pills, but that was probably an exaggeration. Ordinary people can't fully digest its medicinal power. Even with Stance Training suited to it, absorbing seventy or eighty percent would be impressive. But I'm different.

Su Yan's gaze flickered as he recalled taking wild mountain ginseng, Earthblood Vine, and other medicinal ingredients.

My Stance Training has reached minor attainment, and Insect Essence nourishes my body, so naturally I absorb medicinal power more effectively. A full dose can only yield its full effect, though. No matter how well it suits the art, it can't exceed that limit. If I want to progress further, I'll need more body-tempering tonics.

He walked outside as he thought.

"Junior Brother Su, wait."

He had only just stepped through the Golden Ape Martial Arts Hall's gates when someone beside him called out.

His gaze shifted. He recognized Dian Jing, the leading figure among the mountain folk, and Li Shun, the leader of the lake folk from White Reed Lake.

"Senior Brother Dian, Senior Brother Li."

Su Yan stopped and greeted the two men.

"What can I do for you, senior brothers?"

They had come together and stopped him, and their manner made it clear that they wanted something.

Sure enough, seeing disciples still passing nearby, Dian Jing said, "We'd like to invite you to a tavern for a chat."

Su Yan did not refuse. He nodded. "Please lead the way, senior brothers."

Dian Jing and Li Shun led Su Yan down the long street and around several turns before arriving at a small, relatively quiet tavern.

Unlike the Pan family restaurant, the tavern had only one floor, with seven or eight square tables, each furnished with four benches and a tub of chopsticks.

Dian Jing ordered several braised dishes and a few measures of liquor before settling into his seat.

"Sorry to take up your time, junior brother. Let me offer you a toast first."

Once all three were seated, Dian Jing raised his cup.

Su Yan did not refuse. He smiled and said, "You're too kind, senior brother. A toast to you as well."

All three raised their cups and drained them. Under the pretense of swallowing, Su Yan transferred the food and drink into the Insect World space.

After a couple of rounds, Li Shun loosened up a little. "I heard several days ago about your feat of killing a vicious tiger with three punches. Even among the outer disciples, few could manage something like that."

Su Yan: ?

Three punches?

"Where did three punches come from? Don't listen to people's wild stories, senior brother. I only managed to kill it by sheer luck, and I nearly lost my life."

Li Shun felt a little awkward. That was the story circulating all over White Reed Lake. It had caused such a stir that it had even eclipsed his own feat of catching a two-catty horned pomfret.

"Leaving that aside, we came to ask for your help during the assessment in half a month."

Su Yan had not asked why they had come, keeping the initiative in his hands. Dian Jing, however, had no patience for beating around the bush and made his request bluntly in his deep voice.

Su Yan's gaze flickered, but his expression remained unchanged. "Senior brother, Master Bai will be assessing our martial skills. How could we help one another? Whether we're good or bad is for him to judge. Besides, Master Bai offers guidance once a month. There are plenty of opportunities. Why is this one so important?"

According to Gao Zheng, the hall master, Bai Changlin, offered guidance once a month. Even if other matters kept him away sometimes, there would still be at least four or five opportunities a year.

Su Yan did not believe they would fight tooth and nail to display their abilities every single time.

Li Shun took over. "You've only just joined, junior brother. Naturally, there are things you don't know."

"Please explain, senior brother."

"Let's start with the assessment."

Li Shun said seriously, "Judging by past assessments, Master Bai uses two methods. First, he examines progress in Fist Technique and Stance Training. Second, he has us spar."

"Normally, whether Master Bai accepts someone into the sect depends entirely on whether that person catches his eye. Even sparring doesn't necessarily mean he'll take anyone in. But it's different after the summer and winter taxes. This assessment will most likely be for recruiting Inner Gate disciples."

"It happens twice a year. Even if you're in a hurry, surely waiting half a year wouldn't matter."

Su Yan's question struck straight to the heart of the matter. They had already endured a year or so of hard training as outer disciples, so why did they have to seek help from a newcomer like him?

Even if he had reached minor attainment, there were plenty of outer disciples who had reached minor attainment in skin tempering.

Dian Jing and Li Shun exchanged a glance. "Becoming an Inner Gate disciple half a year earlier or later naturally makes a difference in Master Bai's eyes. Besides, not long after this summer's taxes, several great Wild Mountains in the Cloudridge Mountains will hold their once-every-three-years hunt. Inner Gate disciples can take part."

Su Yan's eyes brightened. So that's where the real benefit lies.