This martial saint is too cautious.

Zhou family.

Zhou Shu lowered her head; she no longer knew what to say.

She admitted that she regretted it.

If Lin Yan only had her skin smoothed twice, she would still care about how she looked in front of her close friends.

Lin Yan has already polished the skin three times; going back on her word is nothing to her.

Similarly, her close friends wouldn't laugh at her; they would only envy or even be jealous of her.

The rest of the Zhou family remained silent, filled with regret and, more than anything, worry.

The county town is only so big. Once Lin Yan breaks through to the third level of skin-sharpening, he will come into the sights of all the major families. The fact that the Yang family master asked someone to arrange a marriage for Lin Yan will no longer be a secret and will spread throughout the town sooner or later.

At that time, the Zhou family will not only face ridicule, but more importantly, it may affect the clan's business.

Who can guarantee that Lin Yan harbors resentment towards the Zhou family, or that he resents their past disdain for him?

Many families that do business with the Zhou family have to take this situation into account.

It won't matter in the short term, but as Lin Yan's strength improves, the impact will become increasingly significant.

The only consolation for the Zhou family was that they weren't the only ones who rejected Lin Yan.

It's better for four people to be ridiculed than for one to be ridiculed.

……

Snapped!

The jade hairpin in Li Yu's hand broke into two pieces. When Lin Yan didn't attend her flower-viewing banquet, she lost interest in him and didn't think she had done anything wrong.

A martial artist from an ordinary family who can't even manage the most basic forbearance and has such a fragile sense of self-esteem will never achieve great things in the martial arts world.

How did he manage to get the skin smoothing done on his third try?

Li Yu could imagine that as Lin Yan smoothed his skin three times, the generous and straightforward image he had cultivated in front of outsiders would inevitably collapse.

The image she cultivated made her very popular among young martial artists in the county, which was also the reason her family allowed her to freely choose her husband. Now that this image is gone, her family will probably interfere in her marriage.

……

The next day.

As Lin Yan stepped out of his house, he could clearly sense that the way his neighbors looked at him had changed; it was now filled with awe.

Those who can afford to buy a house in the east of the city are mostly from well-off families. Even if they don't have any skin-smoothing martial artists in their own family, they usually have relatives who are skin-smoothing martial artists and are well-informed.

Not to mention, the Lin family had a constant stream of guests coming and going yesterday, so a little inquiry would reveal what had happened.

Three rounds of skin smoothing—that's what a big shot looks like.

Lin Yan's attitude remained unchanged. As usual, he smiled and nodded when he met someone, and then headed towards his destination after leaving the alley.

For martial artists in the county town, breaking through to the third level of skin-grinding is a great joy and worth celebrating with a banquet, but Lin Yan did not consider holding a banquet.

Hosting a banquet costs money.

Wouldn't it be better to save this money to buy Bone Tempering Pills?

He didn't have much interaction with the various families and merchants in the city who gave him gifts yesterday, so why bother holding this banquet just to save face?

As for his fellow martial arts brothers, Lin Yan did not accept any gifts. Junior Brother Zhao had also refused to accept any, so he couldn't very well accept them. The only gift he received was two hundred taels of silver notes that his master had sent through a steward yesterday. He was going to the martial arts school today to personally express his gratitude to his master.

It's obvious that the news of my skin being smoothed three times was spread by someone arranged by my master.

With 1,400 taels of congratulatory gifts, plus 200 taels sponsored by the Wang family, 200 taels added by the Lin family, and 200 taels sent by his uncle, he now has nearly 3,000 taels of silver on him.

This sum of money seems enormous, enough to buy a three-courtyard house in the county town, dozens of acres of fertile land, and even hire a dozen servants to live a comfortable life like a landlord.

However, if used for martial arts, it would only be enough to cover his expenses for a few months.

Junior Brother Zhao could only afford one Tiger Bone Tempering Pill a day, so he opted for one Leopard Bone Tempering Pill a day instead.

In addition, there's the cost of eating rare meat and applying secret medicines.

After leaving the martial arts school, Lin Yan finally understood why the major families in the county had sent him congratulatory gifts; this tradition had continued for hundreds of years in Guangping County.

The tradition arose because a genius martial artist emerged in Guangping County at that time, who had already achieved three skin-sharpening techniques at a very young age.

That genius senior didn't come from a wealthy family. After three skin-sharpening sessions, he ran out of money to cultivate and chose to leave Guangping County. Unexpectedly, more than ten years later, he became a powerful figure throughout Shandong Province.

The martial artists in Guangping County later made some inquiries and were filled with regret.

After leaving Guangping County, that genius senior arrived in Jinchuan County. A senior martial arts master in Jinchuan County felt that this genius senior had potential and rallied the major families in Jinchuan County to help him. In the end, they raised several thousand taels of silver. And that genius senior did not disappoint. Not only did he enter the Blood Exchange Realm in two years, but he also became one of the top experts in Shandong Province.

To repay the kindness of the various families in Jinchuan County, this genius elder exempted Jinchuan County from taxes for thirty years, and personally mentored all the rising stars in Jinchuan County.

In addition to these obvious benefits, there are also many hidden benefits.

During those decades, caravans from Jinchuan County traveled freely throughout Shandong Province, and no bandits or river pirates dared to mess with them. Jinchuan County also got a share of the martial arts resource trade, which was originally only accessible to the prefectural city authorities.

When the news reached Guangping County, all the major martial arts families in the county fell silent.

That same year, the major families made an agreement that any martial artist under the age of twenty who had reached the third level of the Skin-Refining Realm would receive a congratulatory gift from each family.

At first, the amount was set at one hundred taels per household, and everyone gave it willingly.

Unfortunately, these martial artists who had undergone three skin-smoothing sessions before the age of twenty all ended up at the fourth level. As time went on, their enthusiasm faded, but the tradition was still preserved.

The agreed amount of silver has been reduced from one hundred taels to fifty taels, and now to twenty or thirty taels.

After listening to his master's explanation, Lin Yan exclaimed, "Wow, isn't this just a replica of 76 eggs?"

Lin Yan didn't want to humiliate himself by asking how much of a congratulatory gift his junior brother Zhao had received; it was certainly much more than his own.

With Junior Brother Zhao's outstanding achievements as a precedent, these families had higher hopes for him and gave him generous congratulatory gifts, while their own gifts were less.

……

……

three days later.

Lin Yan bid farewell to his aunt and rode out of the city on horseback, carrying silver notes and bone-tempering pills.

After three rounds of skin resurfacing, he volunteered to go to Sanshan County to oversee the Tang family's territory there, and the Tang family agreed.

The reason for choosing Sanshan County is simple: the mountain range there is long and continuous, providing an opportunity for the "True Explanation of Earth Veins" to be put to good use.

Secondly, the county's patrol office and the Four Seas Gang are currently locked in fierce fighting, with each of the major forces in the city choosing a side. He has already become a three-times-skin-sharpening martial artist, so he will definitely be targeted by both of them. Going to Sanshan County is also a way to avoid the current turmoil.

However, before leaving the city, he needed to visit the Lin residence first.

Lin Yan arrived at Lin's Iron Shop and was invited into the front hall by the steward, where Qin Yin was already waiting.

"Young Master Lin, here is the weapon you requested."

A scabbard with a hilt was placed in front of Qin Yin. Lin Yan grasped the hilt and drew the long sword. At the same time, he gripped the mouth of the scabbard with his right hand, and a long sword sprang out from it.

"Such exquisite forging."

Feeling the smoothness of the longsword as it was drawn and how well it remained hidden in its scabbard, Lin Yan was very satisfied.

This was the request he made to Qin Yin yesterday: to have a scabbard made, but it had to have a hidden compartment inside so that the sword and blade could be concealed together.

The reason for doing this is simply to conceal one's true strength.

Anyone unfamiliar with me, seeing me carrying a scabbard, will assume I'm a swordsman, only to be pleasantly surprised when I draw my sword.

In addition, he deliberately made the swords forged by the Lin family more brittle. In this way, the long swords would be more likely to break when fighting. When the opponent finds that his long sword is broken, he will inevitably become complacent or even relax his vigilance. At this time, he can draw his sword again and catch the opponent off guard.

It makes perfect sense to draw a sword from its sheath.

……

"This was forged by our Lin family's best blacksmith according to your requirements, Young Master Lin."

Qin Yin watched as Lin Yan examined the sword in his hand, a faint smile playing at the corners of his eyes. She thought of three days ago when she relayed Young Master Lin's request to the master craftsman in the manor, and the master's cursing face, saying that he had never seen anyone forge such a scabbard.

She didn't know why Young Master Lin wanted to forge such a strange scabbard, but since it was Young Master Lin's request, she would definitely do her best to fulfill it.

Despite his inner grumbling, the craftsmen in the manor still managed to forge it within three days.

"Madam Lin, how much do these swords and scabbards cost?"

Lin Yan sheathed his sword and asked, Qin Yin smiled and said, "Given the relationship between Young Master Lin and my Lin family, talking about money would be too formal."

"In that case, thank you very much."

The other party refused to accept money, and Lin Yan didn't pretend to be polite. Ever since he had slept with the other party three times, the Lin family would release their relationship with him, and he would be responsible for solving any trouble the Lin family encountered in the future.