I know my limits

Xu Yuan had a dream in which a giant wild boar chased him all the way from the Hundred Herb Garden to the Three Flavors Study.

Then Sha Seng suddenly appeared and said, "Second Senior Brother, stop playing around! Master's been captured by Thanos..."

"What the fuck? Has my mental state already gotten this surreal?"

Shaking his head, Xu Yuan climbed out of bed. As he changed clothes, he glanced at the windowsill and saw a few dozen yuan lying quietly there.

"Found more money? Is Little Black really that lucky?" Xu Yuan muttered doubtfully.

Ever since discovering that he liked making money, Little Blackie had brought a few dozen yuan in his mouth and left it on the windowsill every day. When Xu Yuan asked, he said he had found it.

If he hadn't known Little Blackie couldn't possibly lie to him, Xu Yuan would have suspected the little guy was stealing chickens and pilfering dogs. After all, who found money every single day?

Putting the money in a drawer, Xu Yuan left the bedroom.

Zhang Yaying had breakfast ready as always. Seeing Xu Yuan, she smiled. "You're up, Yuanzi! Hurry and wash up, then have breakfast. I'm planning to take Kexin out for a stroll today. Anything you'd like to eat? Mom will bring it back for you!"

Xu Yuan paused. Mom sure is carefree. A Weird Beast only got into the city yesterday, and she already dares to take Xu Kexin out today.

What he didn't know, however, was that most residents of Yang City actually believed the coming stretch of time would be the safest.

Because this was bound to be when the Divine Guard Army was most vigilant, and they absolutely wouldn't let a Weird Beast enter the city.

"Buy me some spirit meat jerky," Xu Yuan said.

It wasn't that he wanted to eat it. He was thinking of Little Blackie.

Speaking of which, he wondered whether there was any way to make Little Blackie stronger.

After breakfast, Xu Yuan didn't head straight to the martial arts training base. Instead, he first went to the pedestrian street to buy a new phone.

He had decided the night before last to buy it for Luo Yaoxi.

Courtesy called for reciprocity, after all.

Besides, if Luo Yaoxi had had a phone, he wouldn't have had to wait several days to find out who that brute who had suddenly dropped dead was.

When he arrived at the martial arts training base, the hundred and fifty students gathered once again in the hall with the fighting ring.

Quite a few people were discussing yesterday's Weird Beast intrusion. Xu Yuan discovered that, besides him, several other students had actually gone to see the giant wild boar afterward. They were now describing it to the others, their words pouring out like a river.

"You guys didn't see it. That boar's eyes were as big as plates, and its tusks must've been two meters long. It was way scarier than in the pictures..."

Xu Yuan clicked his tongue. Sure enough, there was no shortage of bullshitters anywhere. The boar's eyes had only been palm-sized, and its tusks about a meter long. Here, they had doubled in size outright.

He was still marveling inwardly when he suddenly sensed something off about the atmosphere. Taking a look-well, here they went again. Over a hundred pairs of eyes were fixed on him.

"That's enough out of you lot. Keep staring at this handsome face, and I'll have to start charging."

Everyone: "..."

"Xu Yuan, you're still in the mood to crack jokes? Have you figured out how to deal with Jiang Yong?"

"Yeah, Jiang Yong's already at Skin Tempering Sixth Stage, and he's had several straight days of actual combat. I heard he can even hold his own against someone at Skin Grinding Seventh Stage."

Everyone chimed in at once. Even Zhang Juye came over to warn Xu Yuan. "Be careful. Teacher Lin isn't on duty today. It's Teacher Kong from No. 4 Middle School."

"Teacher Kong certainly won't let you get beaten to death, but he definitely won't pay you as much attention either. If you notice Jiang Yong going for the kill, remember to surrender in time!"

During this time, he had still been seeking Xu Yuan's guidance, trying to train his Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt to the Transformation Realm.

Xu Yuan had initially planned to brush him off, but Old Zhang really was a decent guy. He had voluntarily switched to the same arrangement as everyone else, paying each time he sought guidance.

And he paid twenty thousand each time, leaving Xu Yuan so embarrassed that he taught him a little of the real thing.

Though it was only a tiny bit, it had let Zhang Juye glimpse hope of reaching the Transformation Realm, so he looked out for Xu Yuan even more.

What he didn't know was that Xu Yuan's strength had already surpassed his own, despite his being at Skin Grinding Seventh Stage.

After his Heaven-Shaking Art reached Skin Tempering Fourth Stage, Xu Yuan's standard punching force had reached 2,000 jin, comparable to an ordinary person at Skin Tempering Ninth Stage.

Together with the formidable defense from his body's qualitative transformation and his Transformation Realm martial techniques, the only martial arts students in this intake Xu Yuan wasn't confident he could handle were probably Lin Xiao and Qiao Xueyan, both at Skin Tempering Ninth Stage.

"Don't worry, Old Zhang. I know my limits," Xu Yuan said with a smile.

Yes, he knew his limits. He guaranteed he wouldn't beat Jiang Yong to death.

"As long as you know your limits. I'm just worried you'll stubbornly endure it to save face."

While the two were talking, the teacher surnamed Kong from No. 4 Middle School arrived.

His balding genes were rather powerful. Even as a Bone Forging expert, he had a bald patch on top of his head. Coupled with his fondness for carrying a thermos tucked under his arm, he had the full bearing of a veteran official.

"Is everyone here?"

Teacher Kong stepped into the ring. Though he had asked a question, he gave no one any time to answer, continuing on his own, "Good, everyone's here. Then let's first announce everyone's cultivation progress over these past two weeks."

As he spoke, he took a sheet of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and read aloud:

"From Skin Tempering Second Tier to Skin Grinding Third Stage, one student: Xu Yuan from No. 3 Middle School!"

"From fourth stage to fifth stage, thirty-seven students: Zhang Chao from No. 3 Middle School, Yang Xiaoyu from No. 3 Middle School..."

"From fifth stage to sixth stage, thirteen students: Jiang Yong from No. 1 Middle School, Li Hao from No. 4 Middle School..."

"From sixth stage to seventh stage, five students: Huang Yun from No. 3 Middle School, Sun Xiaomin from No. 5 Middle School..."

"From seventh stage to eighth stage, two students: Wang Fengtang from No. 1 Middle School, Zhou Ling from No. 3 Middle School!"

"Every student whose name was read out will receive a cash reward of two thousand yuan. Those who haven't broken through yet, learn from their example!"

With that, Teacher Kong led the applause.

This list had been compiled on Thursday afternoon.

At the time, they had told anyone who had broken through to report it, with a reward after verification. So Xu Yuan had reported his breakthrough and undergone a simple punching-force test.

Naturally, he had passed with ease.

"All right, you've already been through one challenge tournament, so I won't explain the rules. Follow last week's procedure. Let's begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, the students from the E-grade cultivation rooms stepped forward without prompting.

Unlike last week, however, when whoever went up first got first pick of an opponent, and no one else would contest it even if they wanted to challenge that same person, things were different now.

Influenced by what Xu Yuan had said in the [Leeks] group, everyone had started competing over their choices this week.

Whenever two or more people picked the same person, the person being challenged got to decide whose challenge to accept.

Xu Yuan was a little surprised. This feeling of steering the rules with a single remark was rather exhilarating.

As he secretly enjoyed himself, a familiar, clean scent of laundry detergent drifted to his nose. He turned and, sure enough, Luo Yaoxi had arrived.

She wore a slightly faded purple sweatshirt that set off her fair, luminous skin, her long, slender legs wrapped in jeans as she walked straight toward Xu Yuan.

"Are you fighting again today? Teacher Niu told me to learn from you. He said you have a real talent for combat!"

Stopping beside Xu Yuan, the girl tilted her head and asked.

"Yeah. I've taken money for it this time too."

Xu Yuan answered casually, then took out the phone he had bought on his way over and handed it to her, saying quietly, "Congratulations on your awakening!"