Before long, Ouyang Peng emerged carrying a gleaming ring.
“Sir, the herbs you requested are all inside this ring.”
He presented the ring respectfully to Feng Hao.
“Please accept this ring as a gift from Yage.”
A spatial ring — even the cheapest kind cost ten thousand gold and was hard to come by.
Yet Ouyang Peng was giving one away without a second thought.
“Oh.”
Feng Hao had already guessed, from the change in how he was addressed, that Ouyang Peng had figured out he was a medicine refiner.
Why refuse a free gift?
Besides, he would need Yage to provide herbs in the future.
He took the ring.
“Excellent.”
The hoarse voice came from beneath the cloak.
Ouyang Peng’s heart swelled with joy.
This sir seemed easy to get along with.
And accepting the ring meant the Xuan-level mid-tier medicine refiner had accepted Yage’s friendship.
“Then I’ll take my leave.”
Feng Hao stood up.
“Of course.
Please remember the auction is in three days, sir.”
“I’ll come if I have time.”
Feng Hao acknowledged.
Under the astonished gazes of the onlookers, Ouyang Peng, the head of Yulan’s Yage Auction House, personally escorted the mysterious cloaked figure all the way out the door.
After he left, Ouyang Peng immediately did two things: first, arrange the publicity; second, write down everything he knew and send it by special courier straight to Yage headquarters.
Weaving through several alleys and confirming no one was tailing him, Feng Hao tossed the black cloak into a drainage ditch and strolled unhurriedly back toward the Feng estate.
Within half an hour, news spread from the Yage Auction House: a Xuan-level martial skill would be auctioned in three days.
Every faction in Yulan City mobilized — all doing the same thing: raising funds.
Of course, none of this affected Feng Hao’s training.
Back in his room, he took out stalk after stalk of spiritual herbs, closed his eyes, and stuffed them into his mouth.
The Divine Farmer’s Canon inside him slowly opened.
Bitter, spicy, sour, sweet.
In a single day, Feng Hao tasted all four flavors.
All he got for it was a small, dense ball of medicinal mist above the canon.
After swallowing the last herb, he opened his eyes, jumped off the bed, went to the yard, and began training.
He understood the benefits of Tiger Movement more and more.
Just like earlier in the market, he had concentrated all his power into a single explosive strike and defeated Yang Kui, a fourth-stage Martial Apprentice.
“Could this be a martial skill?”
Feng Hao began to wonder.
He decided to ask Burning Elder about it tonight.
He spent the entire afternoon practicing.
Qiong Su watched him with growing concern, but seeing how energetic and relaxed he looked, she didn’t intervene.
Nightfall came quickly.
Feng Hao slipped out and returned to the rosewood tree.
“So you noticed.”
Burning Elder stroked his beard.
“You’re right.
This is actually a Xuan-level body skill.
It tempers the body and teaches technique at the same time.
Once you merge the four diagrams, you’ll understand its wonders.”
“Merge the four diagrams?”
Feng Hao frowned.
The four images of Tiger Movement flashed through his mind.
*Swish!*
He threw a punch straight ahead.
*Crack!*
He moved like a hidden beast suddenly lunging at its prey.
But halfway through, his motion came to an abrupt halt, as if forcibly interrupted.
He fell to the ground, his body convulsing.
*Hisss…*
His limbs, chest — practically every muscle — was strained to varying degrees.
The pain made his face turn pale.
He quickly drew on the medicinal properties in the Divine Farmer’s Canon to slowly recover.
“Heh heh.”
Burning Elder watched the boy slowly get up with an amused expression.
“Why did that happen?”
Feng Hao felt he had glimpsed the combat technique hidden within Tiger Movement, but when he threw the punch, he found there was no way to follow through.
“Tch.
Use your head.
A Xuan-level martial skill — do you think your frail body can withstand it?”
Burning Elder rolled his eyes at him.
The kid had sharp instincts but was too eager for results.
“So that’s it.”
Feng Hao had tried practicing the second diagram before but could never get past the halfway point.
Without a strong enough body, everything was useless.
So he obediently crawled back to the ground and continued training.
Three days passed in a flash — not long, but for Feng Hao they felt like six.
He spent more time training now, no longer needing long recovery breaks.
And just yesterday, he had barely managed to start practicing the second posture.
A breakthrough was imminent!
Feng Hao could feel he was on the verge of breaking through at any moment, so he didn’t let up.
At the first light of dawn, Feng Hao stood in the courtyard, his body slightly arched like a waking beast ready to pounce.
*Whoosh…
whoosh…*
The slightest movement brought him endless pain.
Every muscle felt like it was being torn apart, every bone creaked in protest.
But the boy gritted his teeth and pushed on, driven by his oath.
On the path of body tempering, there were no shortcuts.
To improve faster, one had to endure the pain of acceleration.
And that kind of pain was not something ordinary people could bear.
Feng Chen tidied himself up, stepped outside, and saw Feng Hao in that strange posture.
“Changed.”
After observing for just a moment, Feng Chen’s heart jolted.
He felt that this posture seemed to have an inexplicable connection to the previous one.
*Crackle…
pop!*
Just as he was thinking, a series of crisp sounds reached his ears.
Then he saw Feng Hao’s body tremble rhythmically.
“He broke through?”
Feng Chen’s jaw dropped.
He stared at his arched son in utter disbelief.
Three days ago, he had just broken through to third-stage peak.
And now, in just three days, he had risen another full level!
Feng Chen didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence was right before his eyes.
*Whoosh.*
Pushing off the ground with both hands, Feng Hao stood up, stretched his limbs casually, and savored the benefits of his breakthrough.
“Not bad.”
Breaking through in three days — he certainly had no complaints.
“Father!”
He turned and saw Feng Chen standing there.
“Mm.”
Feng Chen walked over slowly, looking at his sweat-soaked son.
“Well done.”
He patted the boy’s shoulder gently.
Feng Hao looked at him in surprise.
This was the first time he had ever been praised.
An indescribable feeling welled up in his heart — was it joy?
He liked this feeling.
“I’m going out.
There’s an auction at Yage today.
You train well at home.”
Today was the auction day, so Feng Chen naturally had to attend.
“The auction?”
Feng Hao watched him leave and suddenly remembered.
“Might as well go see if they have any herbs I need.”
He took a quick bath, changed his clothes, and headed out as well.
[END OF CHAPTER 12]