A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Among the five or six constables, the leader was a middle-aged man with a shrewd look typical of officials. He sized Zhou Yuan up and down.

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, but he remained calm on the surface.

I handled last night's events very cleanly, so there's no way I could have left any clues.

"May I ask what brings you here, gentlemen?"

"You're Zhou Yuan?" the lead constable asked in a businesslike tone.

"Yes."

The constable nodded, his tense expression suddenly relaxing, and a smile spreading across his face: "Master Zhou, there's no need to be nervous. We are from the Patrol and Inspection Division. We heard that Master Zhou has already reached the level of Skin Refining at such a young age, so we have come to visit you and discuss the matter of affiliation."

Inspection Division?

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised. In his memory, the government always had its own set of strict procedures for recruiting people, so why would it actively recruit from the common people?

"That's right."

The constable seemed to sense Zhou Yuan's confusion and offered an explanation.

"Recently, the bandits in Black Wind Mountain have become increasingly rampant, and the city is not very peaceful either. Magistrate Liu has ordered the expansion of the patrol office and plans to set up branches at the four city gates in the east, west, south and north. However, there is a serious shortage of manpower, so we have made an exception and recruited skilled people from the civilian population."

It turned out to be the case.

"If a talent like Master Zhou were to join my patrol office, he would not only receive a monthly salary of six taels of silver, but also three Body Tempering Pills."

The constable confidently presented his price.

These conditions are far more favorable than those offered by the canal gangs before.

Zhou Yuan quickly considered the options in his mind, but did not agree immediately.

"Thank you for your attention, gentlemen. This matter is of great importance, and I would like to consider it for a few days."

"Of course, of course." The constable did not urge them, leaving behind the words "Wait for good news" before politely taking his leave.

No sooner had they left than Zhou Ting strode out of the house, her face filled with excitement and disbelief.

"Yuanzi, even the government officials have come to invite you?"

"Um."

Zhou Ting was so excited she didn't know what to do with her hands. After a long while, she murmured, "This is wonderful, wonderful... Our Zhou family is about to rise again!"

Before she finished speaking, several more groups of people walked in from the alley entrance. They were all from small gangs in the outer city. They had come to recruit after hearing the news, and the conditions they offered were naturally not comparable to those of the Patrol and Inspection Division.

Zhou Yuan politely sent them away one by one.

Zhou Ting watched this scene and felt as if she were dreaming.

Yesterday they lived in the shadow of the Jinshi Gang, but today they have become a coveted prize for various forces.

This earth-shattering change was something she never dared to imagine.

Looking at his sister's genuine smile, Zhou Yuan's murderous intent faded considerably.

He didn't know much about these forces and wasn't in a hurry to make a decision.

On his way to the martial arts school, Zhou Yuan passed by Song's general store again.

The news had obviously spread. Song Tao, who was in the shop, saw Zhou Yuan from afar, but only glared at him hatefully. He didn't dare to say a word and shrank his neck to hide behind the counter.

Song Laogen rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile on his face, wanting to say a few words to get closer to Song Tao, but Song Tao grabbed him.

"Dad! What are you doing! Don't go!"

Song Tao lowered his voice,

"So what if he's only at the Skin Refining Realm? What's so great about that! My sister said she's already engaged to Senior Brother Zhang Hao from the Black Tiger Martial Arts Academy! He's a core disciple, a Bone Forging Realm expert! What is Zhou Yuan compared to that!"

Song Laogen was taken aback by his son's words and hesitated before stopping.

Zhou Yuan naturally didn't care about what the Song family father and son were thinking at the moment; he was only thinking about which faction to go to next.

As he was pondering this, several people walked towards him. The one in the lead was tall and imposing, none other than his childhood friend, Li Hu, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

After a few months apart, the poor, stingy air of a dockworker that Li Hu had once possessed had completely vanished, replaced by a sharp and capable demeanor.

He has now risen to a minor leadership position in the Black Tiger Gang and is living a much more comfortable life.

"Yuanzi!" Li Hu called out from afar.

He saw Zhou Yuan, paused for a moment, then strode forward and punched Zhou Yuan hard: "Good lad! I heard you broke through to the Skin Refinement stage? You really did it!"

Li Hu looked Zhou Yuan up and down, his heart filled with shock.

In his memory, Zhou Yuan had always been a tagalong who followed him around, and was somewhat timid.

But now, looking at him, he is calm and composed, and his demeanor is completely different from before.

The sigh was fleeting, and Li Hu quickly cheered up: "Come on, let's go for a drink! Let's celebrate!"

"I have something to do today, let's do it another day," Zhou Yuan said with a smile.

"Alright!" Li Hu didn't insist. "Then in a few days, I'll invite Erbao too, and the three of us brothers will have a good get-together! I heard that kid's doing really well at the pawnshop in the inner city, he's making something of himself!"

"Okay," Zhou Yuan agreed with a smile.

Upon arriving at Qingyang Martial Arts School, the atmosphere in the courtyard was noticeably different.

Wang Tengfei was surrounded by a group of disciples, who treated him like a star around the moon.

Today, Wang Tengfei wears a brand-new silk outfit, and his face no longer shows any of the restraint of a fisherman's boy. Instead, he exudes a confidence that comes from the bottom of his heart, and even carries a bit of undisguised arrogance.

When the surrounding disciples saw him, they all clasped their hands in greeting and addressed him as "Senior Brother Wang".

Zhou Yuan saw him and simply nodded.

Wang Tengfei seemed not to see, or perhaps he deliberately ignored, as he walked past Zhou Yuan and called out loudly to the pavilion in the distance.

"Senior Sister Jiang! Senior Brother Han!"

Jiang Qian and Han Ming, who were inside the pavilion, also waved to him with smiles.

Zhou Yuan shook his head slightly, not taking the matter to heart.

The Wang Tengfei of today is no longer the boy who walked home with him.

For him, other people's attitudes are irrelevant; only his own strength is fundamental.

He walked to the corner of the courtyard, and with a thought, the panel unfolded before his eyes.

[Realm: Body Tempering Stage 1 - Skin Refinement]

[Exercise: Six Harmonies Stance Exercise (Beginner)] [Progress: 30/500]

[Martial Arts Skill: Mountain Shaking Fist (Second Level)] [Progress: 35/500]

Last night I killed a powerful opponent and obtained more than a dozen Body Tempering Pills, which will greatly increase my cultivation speed.

Zhou Yuan assumed the stance of the Six Harmonies Stance and began to guide the scorching blood and qi, no longer merely warming and nourishing the skin, but attempting to let it penetrate and cleanse the bones beneath the skin.

The next stage after refining the skin is forging the bones.

According to his understanding, to break through the bone-forging barrier, one must master the Six Harmonies Stance Technique.

By then, the Qi and blood can penetrate deep into the bone marrow, repeatedly tempering and refining the bones, making them stronger than metal, and even producing a metallic sound when they collide.

After a bone is broken, it can reconnect and heal on its own, becoming even stronger.

With a single swing of his arm, he possesses the strength of several hundred kilograms, capable of withstanding heavy blunt force blows without injury.

That is the true body of a martial artist.

Zhou Yuan was so engrossed in his cultivation that he was oblivious to everything around him.

After an unknown amount of time, the sound of footsteps approached from afar.

"Junior Brother Zhou."

Zhou Yuan slowly finished his practice, exhaled a breath of turbid air, and turned his head to look. The person who came was Chen Shaoshang.

Fifth Senior Brother.

Chen Shaoshang fanned himself with a folding fan, a gentle smile on his face: "Have all the various forces come knocking today? Junior Brother, have you decided where to go?"

Zhou Yuan shook his head: "I'm still considering it."

"In that case," Chen Shaoshang closed his folding fan, his smile becoming more sincere, "Junior Brother, would you be willing to come to my Chen family?"

......