This martial saint is too cautious.

next day!

The eastern part of the city was shaken, and the martial arts community in Guangping County was also shaken.

Wang Heng, the head of the Wang family, and his nephew Wang Hao were killed, and most of the Wang family's martial arts practitioners were wiped out. Only a few escaped the calamity because they were not at the Wang family mansion last night.

While the major powers in Guangping County were shocked by this news, Xu Ping and his father in the Xu family in the north of the city also stayed up all night.

The father and son sat there from dawn until noon, staring at the bag of silver on the table.

Early this morning, Xu's father heard a noise in the yard. He got up to check and found a bundle in the yard. When he opened it, he found that there were two hundred taels of silver inside.

"Ping'er, who do you think lost this silver? Could it have been lost in the wrong courtyard?"

"father."

Xu Ping interrupted his father, a resolute glint in his bloodshot eyes: "Don't think about who threw the money in. Just pretend it never happened. Don't mention it to anyone, including Mother and the others."

He had martial arts training, so he was quite quick-witted.

A hundred taels of silver is no small amount; it's impossible that it was lost by mistake.

The person dropped the money late at night without leaving any trace, clearly not wanting to reveal their identity.

……

……

Qingtian Town.

Lin Yan was very satisfied with what he had gained last night.

The silver notes totaled eight hundred taels, the silver itself over two hundred taels, and there were also some martial arts pills, bringing the total value to nearly fifteen hundred taels.

He threw away the two hundred taels that belonged to the Xu family.

Because of him, Xu Ping was framed and crippled by the Wang family. His actions against the Wang family can be seen as revenge for Xu Ping.

The two hundred taels were compensation for Xu Ping, and also a token of gratitude for Xu Ping giving up the opportunity to hold a temporary post in the Tang family.

The north of the city is quite chaotic. This sum of money is enough for the Xu family to buy a house in the less prosperous areas of the east or south of the city. There will also be several dozen taels left, which will be enough for the Xu family's expenses for several years.

It wasn't that Lin Yan didn't want to give too much, but he also needed money for practicing martial arts. He would give some more to the Xu family when he had another opportunity in the future.

If we give the Xu family more money, they'll just save it up anyway. They might as well use it to practice martial arts first.

"No one knows that I have broken through the skin-smoothing barrier three times. No one will associate the murder of the Wang family uncle and nephew with me. I will wait until the storm has subsided in a few days before returning to the city to announce that I have broken through the skin-smoothing barrier three times."

……

Seven days later.

Yang Family Martial Arts School.

Lin Yan entered the martial arts school and frowned as he looked at the few young figures in the front yard. When he came to the school to become an apprentice last year, there were more than a dozen disciples in the front yard. Every time he came after that, the number of disciples in the front yard remained above ten.

Why are there so few people signing up for martial arts schools this year?

With these questions in mind, Lin Yan passed through the middle courtyard and headed to the back courtyard. There weren't many disciples in the middle courtyard either, but fortunately, there were still a few senior brothers there when he entered the back courtyard.

"Junior Brother Lin."

Lu Qianfan and the others, who were cultivating in the backyard, stopped to greet Lin Yan when they saw him enter.

Lin Yan nodded in response, "Senior Brother Lü, is Master here?"

"The master is in the main hall."

"Then I'll go pay my respects to my master first, and we'll talk later."

Lu Qianfan and the others watched Lin Yan's retreating figure as he walked towards the lobby, their expressions complex.

Junior Brother Lin entered the Skin Polishing realm one step later than them. Back then, he was looked down upon by them because of his ordinary background. Unexpectedly, Junior Brother Lin has already become a second-stage Skin Polishing martial artist in the blink of an eye, and he is one of the best among the second-stage Skin Polishing martial artists.

Don't be fooled by Junior Brother Lin's "we'll talk later"; it's just a polite formality.

On the contrary, Ang Lee and Lin have a very good relationship. If Ang Lee were here, Lin would definitely stop and have a real chat, instead of saying "we'll chat later".

In the lobby, Yang Qingfeng was looking through the account book when he saw Lin Yan enter, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Disciple greets Master."

Lin Yan bowed and said directly, "This disciple has come to tell Master some good news."

"What good news?"

Yang Qingfeng subconsciously glanced at Lin Yan, then his eyes lit up after a moment: "Three skin smoothing sessions?"

"Master, your eyes are so discerning; I could not hide anything from you."

Lin Yan chuckled. Yang Qingfeng stood up from his chair, stepped forward, grasped Lin Yan's arm, and with a slight exertion, felt the surging blood and energy within Lin Yan's body. He released his grip with a look of satisfaction.

"Not bad. I originally thought it would take you another six months to break through to the third level of skin smoothing. You have indeed given me a pleasant surprise."

Yang Qingfeng was extremely satisfied with Lin Yan.

At first, he just thought Lin Yan had a good temperament, but martial arts cultivation depends more on resources. He didn't expect Lin Yan to surprise him time and time again. From the first time to the second time and now the third time, this cultivation speed has already surpassed 90% of the martial artists in the county.

However, despite his satisfaction, Yang Qingfeng also felt a little guilty.

As the head of a martial arts school, he naturally hoped that all his disciples would be geniuses. But now that he had two genius disciples in front of him, he was both happy and ashamed.

Since he opened the Yang Family Martial Arts School, he has been quite generous to his disciples. Apart from the apprenticeship fee, the price of other secret medicines and food has only increased by 20% above the cost price. Therefore, he has not accumulated much money over the years.

With the resources at his disposal, he could manage to train warriors who had undergone secondary and tertiary skin-refining, but the cost of rapidly advancing to the fourth level of skin-refining after the third level was a terrifying figure.

He and the Zhao family had exhausted all their resources, but they could only barely cover Lin Yuan's expenses, and could no longer provide Lin Yan with much martial arts resources.

This is why he initially sought a marriage for Lin Yan, and why he later gave Lin Yan the secret medicine and recipe.

Feeling guilty, this is the only way I can make amends.

"You've already done three skin smoothing sessions. Now, I'll teach you the method for four.

Setting aside his emotions, Yang Qingfeng began to teach Lin Yan the four-step skin-smoothing method.

"The first time you grind your skin, the second time you grind your skin and toughen your flesh, the third time you grind your skin and cleanse your tendons. These four grinding processes are what temper your bones."

"The first three stages train the skin, flesh, and tendons, which are areas that Qi and blood can easily reach. But bones are different—bones are hidden deep within the flesh and blood, making it difficult for Qi and blood to enter and for impurities to be removed."

He turned to look at Lin Yan, his tone becoming more serious: "The fourth skin resurfacing procedure, also known as 'rebirth,' involves infusing blood and qi into the bones to gradually remove impurities."

"This stage can no longer be achieved by simply grinding away at the bottom; it requires both proper diet and secret medicine." Yang Qingfeng held up two fingers. "For food, at the very least, it must be rare meat. As for secret medicine and pills, there are two types that are indispensable: one is the external application of 'Bone Strengthening Ointment,' and the other is the internal consumption of 'Bone Tempering Pill.'"

"The bone-strengthening ointment is pretty much the same across all martial arts schools, but the bone-tempering pills are divided into three grades based on their main ingredients. The best is the tiger bone bone-tempering pill, which is made from the bone marrow of tigers that are over three years old. The slightly inferior one is the bear bone bone-tempering pill, and the next grade is the leopard bone bone-tempering pill."

Lin Yan listened attentively, then pondered for a moment before asking, "Master, are the effects of these three bone-tempering pills significantly different?"

"You get what you pay for. Tiger bone tempering pills cost 100 taels each, bear bone costs 70 taels, while leopard bone only costs 50 taels."

Yang Qingfeng directly told Lin Yan the answer with the price: "The three types of Bone Tempering Pills not only differ in efficacy, but most importantly, the Bone Tempering Pill made from tiger bone has the highest chance of success after four skin-refining treatments."

"How often should the Bone Tempering Pill be taken?"

Lin Yan asked the question that concerned him: the high unit price was one thing, but the key was the frequency of use.

"If you have enough money, you can take one of these three types of bone-tempering pills every day. However, most martial artists who have undergone three skin-refining treatments take one pill every ten days or half a month. Your junior brother Lin Yuan takes one tiger bone bone-tempering pill every three days, plus other secret medicines and rare meats. His monthly expenses are over a thousand taels."

Hearing his master's words, Lin Yan's lips twitched. He didn't seem to have spent a thousand taels of silver since he started practicing martial arts.

This martial arts world is no longer a money pit; it's a bottomless black hole.

Seeing Lin Yan's shocked expression, Yang Qingfeng explained, "Lin Yuan's situation is different. His goal is to break through to the fourth level of skin refining this year, so he invests money without regard to the cost. You don't have to be like him."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yan's heart stirred, and he asked curiously, "Master, Junior Brother Zhao is seventeen years old this year. Is there some reason why he's in such a hurry to break through to the fourth level of skin polishing?"

Yang Qingfeng glanced at the doorway: "Well, there is a reason why Lin Yuan is in such a hurry to break through. You have now entered the third stage of the Skin Polishing Realm, and I should tell you about the martial arts situation in Dengzhou Prefecture."

Lin Yan listened attentively, waiting for his master to answer his questions.

"In this dynasty, the imperial family and the sects jointly govern the country. The major sects contributed greatly to the overthrow of the previous dynasty. For this reason, the imperial family lavishly enfeoffed the major sects. These fiefdoms nominally belong to the Great Zhou, but the real power lies with the sects. Dengzhou Prefecture, where we are located, belongs to the Xuantian Sect."

Lin Yan's mind raced. He believed that no dynasty would be willing to accept a fiefdom. There must have been many struggles between the imperial power and the sects involved. However, these things were too far removed from him. He only needed to know that the Xuantian Sect was in charge of Guangping County.

"The Xuantian Sect's governance of Dengzhou Prefecture is somewhat similar to that of the imperial family. They do not send disciples to each county to oversee the administration. Dengzhou Prefecture has 48 counties under its jurisdiction, all of which are governed by the county patrol offices. The patrol offices have the power to maintain public order and set tax rates. The patrol offices only need to pay the taxes set by the Xuantian Sect on time. As for how much tax the patrol offices collect in their respective counties, the Xuantian Sect will not interfere."

"Does the Inspection Division have that much power?"

Hearing his master's words, Lin Yan clicked his tongue in amazement.

Holding the power of taxation and maintaining public order is no different from being a local tyrant.

Based on his understanding of the Guangping County Patrol Office over this period of time, although the Patrol Office was powerful, it was not as powerful as his master had said, otherwise it would not be embroiled in a struggle with the Sihai Gang.

"The Inspection Division does have a lot of power, but it is not without checks and balances."

Knowing what his disciple was thinking, Yang Qingfeng explained, "The powerful and influential people in each county are all martial artists. The patrol office can't collect too much tax, otherwise it will incite public outrage. Moreover, the Xuantian Sect will not support the patrol office. If they fail to collect enough tax, they can simply replace the patrol office with another force."

"Therefore, in order to collect enough taxes, the patrol office cannot afford to offend the martial arts families in the city too much. After all, most of the shops and businesses in the county are controlled by these martial arts families. If these families use some tricks to prevent the patrol office from collecting enough taxes and failing to meet the tax requirements of the Xuantian Sect, the patrol office will face severe punishment from the Xuantian Sect."

Lin Yan understood this immediately, and at the same time, he realized how powerful the Xuan Tian Sect was.

By delegating power to the Patrol and Inspection Division but not acting as its backer, the Patrol and Inspection Division would be unable to use the name of the Xuantian Sect to intimidate the martial arts families in the county.

If the inspection office imposes excessive taxes, inciting public anger and resentment, and things really come to that, the Xuantian Sect can send people down to handle the situation and quell the public discontent.

The major martial arts families and ordinary people in the county will not direct their hatred towards the Xuantian Sect; on the contrary, they will be grateful to the Xuantian Sect for standing up for them.

The bad guys were played by the patrol inspectors, while the Xuantian Sect maintained the image of a good person as the leader of a region.

"Master, can just anyone move into the patrol station?"

"Of course not." Yang Qingfeng shook his head: "The Xuantian Sect takes the lion's share of the tax revenue and doesn't care about the remaining meager amounts, but that doesn't mean the disciples of the Xuantian Sect don't care either. The people behind the patrol offices in each county either have intricate connections with the disciples of the Xuantian Sect or are backed by powerful forces in the prefecture."

Lin Yan suddenly realized that the Xuan Tian Sect had contracted out the power of maintaining order and collecting taxes, and the contractors were either powerful or had connections.

"In Dengzhou Prefecture, Xuantian Sect is the most powerful sect. Lin Yuan is cultivating so desperately because he wants to join Xuantian Sect and become a disciple. However, the minimum requirement for Xuantian Sect to recruit disciples is to have entered the skin-grinding stage four times before the age of eighteen."

Four skin smoothing treatments before the age of eighteen?

Lin Yan's lips twitched; he only started practicing martial arts at the age of eighteen.

"Master, since the Xuantian Sect has such requirements, why didn't Junior Brother Zhao start practicing martial arts earlier? Wouldn't he have had more time if he started a year earlier?"

This is what Lin Yan doesn't understand. Junior Brother Zhao's goal is to become a disciple of the Xuantian Sect. He could have started practicing martial arts at fourteen or fifteen years old or even earlier. Why wait until he is sixteen to start?

"Most people's bones and muscles don't fully develop until they are eighteen years old or even later. If they start practicing martial arts too early, their bodies won't be able to withstand the strong effects of martial arts, and the end result will be that they fail to break through the barriers four times and have their skin sculpted multiple times."

Yang Qingfeng knew that his disciple came from an ordinary background and did not know much about martial arts, so he added an explanation: "The reason why each of the four trials of skin-grinding is so difficult for martial artists is because these martial artists have damaged their foundation to varying degrees during their training without realizing it, or by the time they realize it, it is too late."

"Only a few people are able to fully develop their physique before the age of eighteen, and Lin Yuan is one of the few."

Lin Yan asked again, "Master, the Xuantian Sect only recruits martial artists who have undergone four skin-refining processes before the age of eighteen. Does that mean that someone like Junior Brother Zhao, whose bones and muscles have fully developed early, has something special about him, such as special innate talent?"

Lin Yan asked this question because he was thinking about his own stone waist and spine. He initially thought that martial artists should have a distinction of "innate bone" or "physical bone", but even after entering the skin-grinding stage three times, he had never heard the word "innate bone" from other martial artists.

Why would you think that?

Yang Qingfeng was somewhat surprised by his disciple's words and laughed, "There is no such thing as special talent in the martial arts world. At least I have never heard of it. Of course, it is possible that your guess is correct, but this should be a secret belonging to a higher level of the martial arts circle, which is beyond our knowledge."

Hearing his master's answer, Lin Yan felt a little disappointed. He was wondering if his stone waist and strong spine could be considered a special bone structure.

"The reason why the Xuantian Sect requires its disciples to achieve four skin-refining stages before the age of eighteen is that in order to achieve four skin-refining stages before the age of eighteen, one must start cultivating at the age of sixteen. Otherwise, there will not be enough time. Those who can fully develop their muscles and bones before the age of eighteen will indeed have a faster martial arts cultivation speed than those who are over eighteen."

Lin Yan seemed to be deep in thought, and after a few moments of contemplation, asked again, "Master, how does the martial arts world determine if one's bones and muscles have fully healed?"

Yang Qingfeng stroked his beard, pondered for a moment, and said, "Feeling bones, touching tendons... but these methods are mostly based on experience and are not necessarily accurate. The most accurate method is to take medicine. Lin Yuan was diagnosed by first having someone feel his bones and then taking the bone-fixing pill."

"Dingguwan?"

"If a person whose bones and tendons have fully developed takes this pill, there will be no abnormality in their body, just like drinking a bowl of water. However, if a person whose bones and tendons have not fully developed takes it, their bones and tendons will be in pain. The more tender the bones and tendons, the more intense the reaction will be. However, this Bone-Fixing Pill is not easy to make. The medicinal materials required are not cheap. One pill costs more than a hundred taels of silver. Ordinary people are unwilling to spend this money. Only those big families can afford it in order to discover talented disciples in advance."

"I see, thank you for your explanation, Master. I understand now." Lin Yan bowed and then smiled, "With Junior Brother Zhao's talent, he should have no problem reaching the Skin Refinement stage four times within this year."

"It's not that easy." Yang Qingfeng smiled helplessly: "To achieve four skin-sharpening techniques within a year, in addition to Lin Yuan's own talent, a massive amount of martial arts resources are needed to support him. Back then, I made an agreement with Lin Yuan's family to jointly cultivate Lin Yuan, but now my family's resources have been completely depleted, and the Zhao family isn't in much better shape either."

Right after Lin Yuan's three attempts to sue, the Zhao family mortgaged some of their silver shops and stores in the city to money lenders, and sold all of their hundreds of acres of fertile land outside the city.

The Zhao family's savings of over a hundred years were all spent on Lin Yuan.

If you win the gamble, everything can come back.

If they lose the bet, the Zhao family's century-old fortune will be completely wiped out.

"That's why I can't offer you much support in martial arts. I hope you won't blame me."

"Master, you flatter me. I owe everything I have today to your teachings and guidance, which is an immense kindness. Junior Brother Zhao has a bright future ahead of him, and it is only right that you devote yourself to nurturing him. I am filled with gratitude."

Lin Yan's expression was sincere; he truly had no resentment, after all, his master and the Zhao family had made a prior agreement.

Moreover, in everyone's eyes, Junior Brother Zhao's martial arts potential is higher than their own, unless they self-destruct the existence of the Martial Arts Tree.

But the Martial Arts Tree is his greatest trump card and secret, which he would never reveal to the outside world.

Yang Qingfeng looked at Lin Yan. The more sincere Lin Yan was, the more guilty he felt. If it were any other martial arts school, they would do everything they could to cultivate such a talented disciple.

After a long pause, he made a decision: "If other martial arts schools are willing to train you, I will allow you to transfer to those schools."

Lin Yan was stunned. When he looked up and saw his master's serious expression, he realized that his master was not testing him, but rather felt guilty for giving the resources to Junior Brother Zhao.

"I have no regrets about becoming your disciple."

Lin Yan had never considered switching to another martial arts school.

"I'll make you a promise; there's no rush to make a decision on this matter."

Yang Qingfeng sighed inwardly. Lin Yan's martial arts talent was not much worse than Lin Yuan's, except that he was two years older and came from a poorer background.

But it is precisely these two points, especially the last one, that are most valued in the martial arts world. Otherwise, why would the families he asked to act as matchmakers have rejected Lin Yan?

Now that Lin Yan has brought up the marriage proposal three times, those families should not refuse.

However, the moment this thought crossed Yang Qingfeng's mind, he rejected it.

Those four families refused once, but now they're coming to him again. Wouldn't that make Lin Yan lose face and dignity?

inappropriate!

P.S.: Oops, I forgot to schedule the release. My apologies. So, I'll combine two chapters into one. The free chapter is 5,000 words long, which is equivalent to more than two chapters of many new books. Please read on and vote for me with your monthly tickets. Let's try to climb the new book charts. Thank you all!