The master and his disciple began to search the battlefield.
They found over five hundred taels of silver, as well as some goods the bandits hadn’t had time to sell.
The goods would, of course, be returned to the merchant company. All they had to do was go back and notify them to send people to the valley for pickup.
The silver, however, belonged to Zhang Desheng. He was extremely generous, giving Lu Changfeng two hundred taels.
Lu Changfeng didn’t refuse and accepted the money.
The weapons of the routed soldiers were also collected. They naturally belonged to Zhang Desheng, and he could have the merchant company take them to be sold for silver as well.
In addition, Zhang Desheng found two Cultivation Technique manuals on the bandit leader’s body.
One was a Cultivation Technique for the Blood Forging Realm, and the other was for the Tendon Transformation Realm. Both were techniques from a Sect called the Thousand Saber Sect.
It turned out the bandit leader had been a member of the Thousand Saber Sect.
The Thousand Saber Sect had staged a rebellion in Cyan Mountain Prefecture, and he had naturally become a Small Leader in their army.
After they failed to capture a city, the Thousand Saber Sect’s main force was annihilated, and their army scattered.
This bandit leader had then fled with the remnants of his troops to the area near Feng City.
Ultimately, after he plundered a merchant caravan, the merchant companies pooled their funds and hired Zhang Desheng to eliminate him.
...
Autumn.
A gust of autumn wind blew, sending the withered yellow leaves on the training grounds swirling into the air.
More than four months had passed since Lu Changfeng had first drawn blood.
"HAH! HAH!"
On the training grounds, the shouts of the Changle Martial Arts Hall Disciples rose and fell in waves.
It was plain to see that the number of disciples at the Martial Arts Hall had dwindled.
There were reasons for this.
One was pressure from the other three great martial arts halls, and the other was that as times grew harder, more and more disciples could no longer afford the semi-annual tuition.
Among the disciples who left was Li Youtian, from whom Lu Changfeng had copied the [Swordsmanship] Talent.
At Lu Changfeng’s encouragement, Li Youtian had managed to hold on for a few more months.
Unfortunately, he still couldn’t achieve a breakthrough to the Blood Forging First Layer and ultimately chose to leave without a word.
Li Youtian’s family hadn’t been wealthy to begin with, and they simply couldn’t scrape together the tuition money anymore.
After leaving the Martial Arts Hall, he found a job. Rumor had it he was now driving a carriage for an Escort Agency.
A gloomy atmosphere had settled over the entire Changle Martial Arts Hall.
But in a corner of the training grounds, a tall figure stood in stark contrast to the hall’s atmosphere, brimming with vigor!
The young man was bare-chested, practicing a Blood Forging Technique, his breaths as powerful as a great beast on the attack.
It was none other than the Hall Master’s Closed-door Disciple, Lu Changfeng!
Suddenly, Lu Changfeng’s breathing intensified, roaring like thunder! Muscles rippled and bulged across his body, instantly drawing the attention of every disciple on the training grounds!
Lu Changfeng’s movements grew faster and faster.
"HAAH!!"
With one final, explosive shout, a feeling of release washed over Lu Changfeng as his body broke through a barrier!
Blood Forging Third Layer, complete!
He had joined the hall in the third month of spring. In the eight months since, he had broken through to the Blood Forging Third Layer at a terrifying pace.
The disciples on the training grounds looked on with envy and reverence.
Zhou Feng, who was in charge of instructing the disciples that day, knew even more about Lu Changfeng’s circumstances. His eyes filled with amazement. ’This junior brother’s Root Bone Talent is simply terrifying.’
’Perhaps in another year or two, his cultivation will catch up to mine.’
Lu Changfeng was already used to his own rate of progress.
’With a Middle A Class Root Bone and a steady supply of Exotic Beast Meat from Master, it would be inexcusable if I couldn’t break through quickly.’
Lu Changfeng threw on an outer robe, planning to rest for a few days. Once he had stabilized his new Realm, he would take on a Martial Arts Hall mission to unwind.
Ever since that first taste of battle, Lu Changfeng had been taking on missions from the Martial Arts Hall every ten to fifteen days.
One reason was to stay sharp and accustomed to real combat. The other was to lighten his master’s burden.
His master had been taking on missions with great frequency lately, even accepting jobs the other hall masters were too proud to take.
His purpose, naturally, was to provide Lu Changfeng with the Exotic Beast Meat he needed for his cultivation. He knew that as Lu Changfeng’s cultivation advanced, his need for the meat would only increase.
But it was all worth it. The faster Lu Changfeng could complete his cultivation in the Blood Forging Realm, the farther he would be able to go in the future.
Every time Zhang Desheng assessed Lu Changfeng’s rapid progress, he felt that every sacrifice was worth it.
"Junior Brother, you broke through again. Congratulations."
Zhou Feng approached and offered his congratulations.
Lu Changfeng smiled. "It’s all thanks to Master’s guidance. Breaking through to the Blood Forging Fourth Layer won’t be as quick, though."
Zhou Feng replied, "With your Talent, Junior Brother, I’m sure it won’t be long before you break through to the Blood Forging Fourth Layer and catch up to my Realm."
"Then I’ll take that as a good omen, Senior Brother!"
That evening, when Zhang Desheng returned, he heard that Lu Changfeng had advanced again and immediately summoned him.
Seeing that Lu Changfeng had truly broken through, he was overjoyed and had an extra cup of wine after dinner.
Of course, Zhang Desheng also quietly increased Lu Changfeng’s monthly supply of Exotic Beast Meat to two hundred and forty strips.
Lu Changfeng opened his mouth to protest but ended up accepting the Exotic Beast Meat his master handed him.
Back in his bedroom, hot water had been prepared for him to wash his feet.
Lu Changfeng’s thoughts turned to his copy interface.
Name: Lu Changfeng
Root Bone: Middle A Class, Lower A Class x5
Talent: Middle Grade Talent [Swordsmanship]
Realm: Blood Forging Third Layer
Blood Forging Technique: [Le Mountain Angry Vajra] Minor Achievement
Martial Arts: [Gale Swordsmanship] Perfection
Copy Interval: Twenty days.
In the past four-odd months, not only had Lu Changfeng advanced to the Blood Forging Third Layer, but his [Gale Swordsmanship] had also reached the Perfection Realm.
With his Swordsmanship at the Perfection Realm, fighting opponents above his level was no longer impossible.
Moreover, in another twenty days, Lu Changfeng would be able to perform his next copy. This would allow him to acquire another Lower A Class Root Bone, which he could then fuse to upgrade his Middle A Class Root Bone to Upper A Class.
At that time, with the enhancement of his Root Bone, his resource consumption would inevitably increase again.
’The amount of Exotic Beast Meat Master provides would probably have to at least double to be enough.’
’At my current Realm, it’s impossible for me to take on missions that pay hundreds of taels of silver like Master does. The rewards for the missions I can accept are a few dozen taels at most.’
’Do I have to trouble Master again?’
’Won’t this bankrupt the Martial Arts Hall?’
While Lu Changfeng was lost in thought, Chunzhu finished washing his feet. With a faint blush, she murmured a word to him and carried the basin out.
Lu Changfeng looked up and noticed that Chunzhu’s figure, perhaps due to her martial arts training, was becoming more and more shapely...
Shaking his head, Lu Changfeng closed his eyes, sat cross-legged, and began to regulate his breathing.
「Ten days later.」
With the help of the Exotic Beast Meat and by eating large quantities of food, Lu Changfeng quickly stabilized his Realm at the Blood Forging Third Layer.
His strength, speed, and reflexes had far surpassed those of an ordinary person.
A casual punch from him could now be lethal to an ordinary person.
Such was the power of the Blood Forging Third Layer.
Out in the world, he could already become the leader of a small gang.
In terms of Realm alone, he had already surpassed his Uncle Liu Jinwen, the Chief Constable.
In the Jianghu of Song Country, the Blood Forging Third Layer was considered the level of a second-rate Martial Artist.
Blood Forging First and Second Layers made one a third-rate Martial Artist; the Third and Fourth Layers, a second-rate Martial Artist; and the Fifth and Sixth Layers, a first-rate Martial Artist.
Those in the Tendon Transformation Realm could be called Martial Masters.
Within the Tendon Transformation Realm, depending on the depth of their Inner Strength, Martial Masters were further divided into three grades—Upper, Middle, and Lower—as well as Grand Martial Artists.
The top experts in the Outer City were essentially all Martial Masters.
The masters of the Four Great Martial Arts Halls were all in the Martial Master Realm, though Lu Changfeng was unsure of their specific grades.
However, Lu Changfeng had once heard Zhang Desheng mention that the leader of the Mang Gang, the largest gang in the Outer City, was a Grand Martial Artist—the most powerful expert in the entire Outer City.