Stillshade's gates were already closed. There was no getting into the city now. Fortunately, some merchants from elsewhere had also been shut out and were camping nearby.
Lu Zhiyuan found a place beside a fire. Listening to the quiet conversations around him, he slowly began to relax.
A great deal had happened today. Had he not made that breakthrough, he would now be lying dead on Mount Stillshade.
He looked at his panel.
[Name: Lu Zhiyuan]
[Occupation: Martial Artist]
[Techniques: Highpeak Fist (Proficient 307/1000), Highpeak Breathing Method (Perfected)]
[Realm: Skin Tempering (2/1000)]
His proficiency in Highpeak Fist had reached Proficient, and insights into the fist art still echoed through his mind. The simplification function really was powerful.
"My progress in the Skin Tempering stage hasn't changed at all."
He frowned slightly at his cultivation stage. Before his breakthrough, Highpeak Breathing Method at Mastered proficiency could give him around ten points of realm progress. Yet in the half day since his breakthrough, he had gained only one.
"Has my cultivation advanced too far for Highpeak Breathing Method to keep up?"
The thought occurred to him. A little reflection suggested that it was quite possible. This breathing method was so basic, after all, that Highpeak Martial School taught it openly to its students.
If it were advanced, how could such a small tuition fee have bought access to it?
"A few days of observation should tell me how much realm progress Highpeak Breathing Method can give me."
He looked away from the panel but did not sleep. Having only just encountered an uncanny entity, he dared not sleep even at the foot of Stillshade's walls. Instead of wasting time, he sat by the fire and gently began swinging his arms.
Insights into Highpeak Fist slowly appeared in his mind with each swing. The feeling of being rewarded for his efforts drew him in until he lost himself in it.
Those nearby gave him strange looks. They could not understand why this young man kept swinging his arms. Was something wrong with him?
At the thought, some edged a little farther away.
Time always passed quickly when a person was absorbed in something. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the sky brightened and Stillshade's gates opened.
Lu Zhiyuan entered with the crowd and immediately hurried to Clearwell Clinic.
"So you were the only one who survived last night? Everyone else died?" He Bingchuan looked at him with an unpleasant expression.
Menials were cheap, but they were still the clinic's property. Ten-odd had now died, and worse, no medicinal herbs had been gathered. This was a serious inconvenience.
If the employing clan demanded an explanation, he would probably have to bear some responsibility.
"I don't know whether the others are alive or dead, sir. But I didn't see any of them at the gates last night," Lu Zhiyuan said quietly.
"Everyone else died. Why should you be alive and well?" A hoarse voice rose in accusation.
Lu Zhiyuan looked up. The speaker was Du Zheng, one of the clinic's household guards. He cupped his hands. "I broke through to the Skin Tempering stage. That's how I escaped."
He threw a punch, producing a dull thump in the air.
The expressions of those around him shifted. An ordinary person could never produce such fist force. What surprised them was that a menial had managed to advance his cultivation to the Skin Tempering stage.
That stage might be unimpressive, but it still placed someone beyond ordinary people. Reaching it required some martial aptitude.
And with enough caution, someone at the Skin Tempering stage could indeed evade certain uncanny entities.
"Good."
He Bingchuan nodded, his expression easing. One menial reaching the Skin Tempering stage partly offset the loss of the others. Menials were easy to replace; recruiting a martial artist at that stage was much harder. Their values were different.
"I'll report this to the employing clan. As for you, you'll serve as a household guard at the clinic from now on."
He turned to Du Zheng. "Since he's no longer a menial, he's entitled to learn some of Clearwell Clinic's inherited teachings. Du Zheng, teach him our breathing method and a few combat techniques."
"All right." Du Zheng nodded, glanced at Lu Zhiyuan, and said nothing more.
A smile appeared on Lu Zhiyuan's face. Before returning, he had considered whether to stay at Clearwell Clinic or go to Highpeak Martial School.
Having reached the Skin Tempering stage, he now had a choice.
He simply had to weigh their respective advantages and disadvantages.
Staying at Clearwell Clinic would allow him to study some of its inherited teachings. They certainly would not be advanced, but they would still be better than Highpeak Breathing Method.
However, he would remain a servant, with limits on his freedom.
At Highpeak Martial School, he would be much freer. The school functioned somewhat like a sect, and its inherited teachings should be no worse than the clinic's. But leaving the clinic required a hefty contract termination fee.
It had taken nearly four months to reach the Skin Tempering stage. By Highpeak Martial School's standards, that aptitude was only mediocre. The school would not pay to free him from his contract, and he had no money himself.
More importantly, the clinic offered him a chance to learn medicine and alchemy. That mattered more to him and was the main reason he had decided to stay.
He Bingchuan and the others asked a few more questions, then left one by one.
"I'm busy these days. Come back in a few days, and I'll teach you the techniques."
Du Zheng came up to Lu Zhiyuan, spoke flatly, then turned and left.
Once everyone was gone, Lu Zhiyuan let out a small breath of relief. He had cleared this hurdle. Without his cultivation at the Skin Tempering stage, a beating and a torrent of abuse would have been unavoidable.
Now that he had some value, he had been spared both.
The clinic assigned him a room of his own. It was small, but a great improvement over his former accommodations. He was very satisfied. Now he could cultivate without worrying about exposing anything.
Three days passed in a flash.
Apart from standing guard in the clinic's main hall to prevent trouble, he spent most of his time cultivating in his room.
Three days was not long, but it was enough for him to practice Highpeak Fist to Perfected proficiency.
With his cultivation at the Skin Tempering stage and Highpeak Fist at Perfected proficiency, his combat strength had increased by more than half. Even among martial artists at the Skin Tempering stage, he was now quite capable.
After all, not everyone at that stage could practice a basic fist art to Perfected proficiency.
His only dissatisfaction was with his cultivation progress. Over those three days, his progress in the Skin Tempering stage had risen by just three points.
At one point per day, with a thousand points needed to complete the progress bar, it would take three years to reach the next cultivation stage if he relied solely on Highpeak Breathing Method.