A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

"Seriously injured in a sneak attack?"

Zhou Yuan was quite surprised to hear this news.

Wang Tengfei is now a master of the Bone Forging Realm, and with the Jiang family and the Business Alliance as his backers, anyone who can touch him in Luochuan County must be a person of great strength.

Who did it? What was their motive?

The next moment, a figure flashed through Zhou Yuan's mind.

He recalled the man wearing a straw raincoat and carrying a large knife that he had encountered in the rainy night a few days ago when he went to the inner city to purchase medicinal herbs.

Although that person was only at the Bone Forging Realm, the fierce aura emanating from him made Zhou Yuan's heart pound with fear.

Moreover, the direction this person was heading that day was precisely towards Zuichunlou.

Could it be him?

Zhou Yuan pondered for a moment, then stopped thinking about it.

Whatever, what does this have to do with me?

Wang Tengfei is no longer the shy boy who first came to the martial arts school and lived in Qingyu Lane.

This person, relying on his exceptional talent, became increasingly eccentric and domineering after joining the Wei family, and had long since become estranged from Wei.

This attack was likely caused by his flamboyant personality, which offended many people.

Zhou Yuan composed himself, nodded slightly to the disciple in front of him, and then found an empty space to continue practicing the Six Harmonies Stance Technique.

With a thought, the panel slowly opened.

[Realm: Body Tempering Stage Two - Bone Forging]

[Exercise: Six Harmonies Stance Exercise (Mastered)]

[Progress: 300/1000]

[Martial Arts Skill: Mountain-Shaking Fist (Third Level)]

[Progress: 320/1000]

[Martial Arts Skill: Treading Snow Without Leaving a Trace (Second Level)]

[Progress: 230/500]

[Martial Arts Skill: Bone-Melting Palm (Second Level)]

[Progress: 270/500]

【Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill (Beginner Level)】

[Progress: 5/300]

Although he obtained the unparalleled martial art of Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, the Six Harmonies Stance Skill is his current foundation.

Only by mastering the Six Harmonies Stance Technique can he open up all the major tendons in his body and truly enter the realm of Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Technique).

Moreover, being in a martial arts school, a place with many people and eyes, the only thing he could openly practice was the Six Harmonies Stance Technique.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan slowly closed his eyes and began to guide the qi and blood throughout his body, using a specific method to repeatedly strike and refine his tendons.

Just as Zhou Yuan was focused on his cultivation, two figures had been standing in a pavilion not far away for some time.

It was Han Ming and Jiang Qian.

"How is Junior Brother Wang's injury? I heard he's been lying in the Jiang family's house for five days," Han Ming asked Jiang Qian in a deep voice.

"We have already hired the best doctors from Huichuntang to treat him, but whether he can pull through in the end depends on his own fate."

At this point, a look of worry appeared on Jiang Qian's face.

"Have you found the murderer?" Han Ming asked again.

Wang Tengfei is now a martial artist affiliated with the Jiang family and is also considered a member of the business alliance. Given his exceptional talent, he is often the target of jealousy and sabotage.

"Not yet." Jiang Qian frowned slightly and sighed helplessly. "The other party chose to strike at midnight, when there are the fewest people on the street. Moreover, the person acted decisively; if the first strike failed to kill, they immediately fled without leaving a trace."

Han Ming fell silent upon hearing this.

Such underhanded tactics are common among various factions, but they are also the most difficult to investigate.

In order to stifle the talent of the other side's young talents, hostile forces often plan for a long time and even spend a lot of money to hire assassins from neighboring counties, and will never easily expose themselves.

"Alright, let's not talk about him anymore." Jiang Qian didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer and instead asked, "Nie Xu from Tianhong Martial Arts School has sent an invitation, inviting us to bring a few of our core disciples with good combat skills to the Green Bamboo Gathering. Have you chosen your people yet?"

"Now that Junior Brother Chen has family troubles and Junior Brother Wang is seriously injured, it's indeed difficult to find someone among the remaining people," Han Ming said thoughtfully.

The Green Bamboo Gathering is a small-scale martial arts competition organized by several major martial arts schools in Luochuan County before the martial arts tournament.

Its purpose is to allow disciples from different schools to learn from each other and exchange skills, thereby enhancing their practical combat abilities.

"Senior Brother has never liked these kinds of gatherings. He has never attended the previous Green Bamboo Gatherings. So how about..." Jiang Qian said, her gaze involuntarily turning to the figure in the martial arts arena who was engrossed in his training.

"Zhou Yuan?" Han Ming followed Jiang Qian's gaze, a thoughtful expression on his face.

After a moment, he shook his head slightly.

"I'm afraid that won't work."

"The Green Bamboo Gathering has a clear rule that, because the spots are precious, only disciples with rich practical experience can attend, not just those who are all show and no substance."

Last time, Dashan Martial Arts School brought a newly-developed disciple to show off, only to have him defeated in just a few moves, losing all face. I heard that this year, Tianhong Martial Arts School didn't even send them an invitation.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qian didn't say anything more, clearly agreeing with Han Ming's words.

Although Zhou Yuan has broken through to the Bone Forging Realm, it has only been a short time since then, and he only knows how to bury himself in training all day long, and has never been seen to fight with anyone.

Their actual combat ability is probably not that high either.

Facing martial artists of the same level, they would surely crumble at the first touch. At most, they could only bully those martial artists in the Skin Refining Realm by relying on their superior cultivation level.

"Fine, let's just go, the two of us."

With that in mind, Jiang Qian ultimately gave up the idea of ​​inviting Zhou Yuan.

At this moment, Zhou Yuan was naturally unaware of the conversation between the two.

His mind was completely absorbed in practicing the Six Harmonies Stance Technique, and time slowly passed.

Zhou Yuan only slowly finished his practice when the sun was beginning to set.

He changed into his everyday clothes in a side room and then went straight out of the martial arts school towards the inner city.

The medicinal herbs we used for the bath have all been used up, so I'll go and buy some more today.

After walking for about half an hour, Zhou Yuan arrived at the same Jishi Pharmacy as before.

"Hey buddy, give me four more doses of the same prescription as last time," Zhou Yuan said to the clerk behind the counter.

"Master Zhou, you're here!" The waiter's face immediately lit up with a smile when he saw Zhou Yuan.

Those who open pharmacies are most fond of martial artists who are generous with their money.

They would buy medicinal herbs for bathing, often spending hundreds of taels of silver at a time, making them the most important customers of the pharmacy.

"Please wait a moment, I'll go get your medicine right away." The shop assistant said with a smile, and added, "Oh, by the way, there's one more thing. Some of the auxiliary medicines in the ancient prescription that you asked me to keep an eye out for last time have been secured."

"Oh? Is that so? Then hurry up and get it." Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.

He thought it would take a long time to gather all the herbs on that ancient prescription, but he never expected to have such a pleasant surprise today.

"The price might be a bit higher," the waiter cautiously probed, seeing the situation.

"It's alright, go and fetch it for me first."

Now that Zhou Yuan has amassed a considerable fortune, he speaks with much more confidence.

"Okay, just a moment!" Seeing how readily he agreed, the shop assistant hurriedly ran to the back warehouse.

About half an hour later, the waiter returned carrying several large paper packages.

"Master Zhou, these are your medicinal herbs, they're all here." The shop assistant respectfully placed the package in front of Zhou Yuan.

"It'll be three hundred and fifteen taels in total, but you can have three hundred taels." The waiter made sure to state the price at the end.

Zhou Yuan's heart stirred slightly. The profits of this pharmacy were truly astonishing. A mere fifteen taels of silver could be wiped out as a mere fraction.

He paid, picked up the medicine bag, and prepared to leave.

But just then, the waiter suddenly spoke up again.

"I wonder if Master Zhou has any need for elixirs?"

"Hmm?" Zhou Yuan stopped in his tracks upon hearing this.

"We recently received a new batch of goods. Would you like to try them, Master Zhou?" The shop assistant leaned down and lowered his voice.

"New stock?"

Zhou Yuan was somewhat surprised. The Great Zhou Dynasty had extremely strict control over elixirs. For martial artists at the fourth level of Body Tempering, the only ones available on the market were Body Tempering Pills issued by the government.

Apart from that, he had never heard of any other pills for sale.

"Please wait a moment."

After the waiter finished speaking, he turned and went into the back room. A moment later, he came out carrying an exquisite brocade box.

He glanced around warily, and only after confirming that no one was around did he carefully open the brocade box, revealing four bright red pills inside.

The guy moved closer mysteriously.

"This is a Blood Spirit Pill purchased through special channels. Its efficacy is twice that of the Body Tempering Pill, but its price is only one-third of the latter."

......