This martial saint is too cautious.

In the mountains and forests, Lin Yan warmed himself by the fire and ate large mouthfuls of bear meat.

After killing Bai Qingrang and the other four, Lin Yan separated their bodies and disposed of them in Baiyun Mountain. In less than a night, the five bodies would be devoured by wild animals.

The campfire flickered, casting intermittent light and shadow on half of Lin Yan's body.

After swallowing five pounds of bear meat, the burning sensation in his stomach grew stronger and stronger, as if he had swallowed not meat, but a ball of fire.

Tiger, bear, deer, snake, and fish—no wonder they're ranked second among the rarest meats.

Lin Yan stood up and walked to the open space next to the campfire.

Begin with the Mountain-Splitting Fist.

The first punch was thrown, the wind from the punch exploded, the campfire was pressed down by the strong wind, and the scorching heat in my body trembled, turning into a stream of heat that surged through my body and was quickly absorbed.

Come again.

The second punch, the third punch...

The fists flew faster and faster, the wind howled, and the fallen leaves around them were swept up and swirled in the wind. With each punch, the burning sensation in Lin Yan's body was stirred up and turned into blood and qi that surged into his limbs and bones.

Sweat rolled down his forehead, slid down his cheeks, and dripped onto the ground; it wasn't from exhaustion, but from the heat.

The bear meat was so rich in blood and energy that it caused his pores to expel heat.

After finishing a set of punches, Lin Yan stopped and gasped for breath.

Looking down at my hands, I saw that the skin was red and the veins were faintly visible.

Back by the campfire, Lin Yan cut off several more pieces of roasted bear meat, weighing about five or six pounds.

The oil dripped down, sizzling and releasing a fragrant aroma.

As Lin Yan chewed, that burning sensation rose from his stomach again.

Keep eating.

Lin Yan stopped when the burning sensation grew stronger, stood up, and threw another punch.

After repeating this process several times, Lin Yan finally stopped, having completely devoured a whole bear leg.

Looking into his mind, he saw that the martial arts tree had grown by about half an inch.

Before today, he had been undergoing three skin-sharpening sessions for half a month. In that time, his martial arts tree hadn't even grown half an inch taller. But now, after eating five pounds of bear meat, his martial arts tree has grown significantly.

After glancing at the remaining amount of bear meat, Lin Yan estimated that after eating this amount of bear meat, combined with the Bone Tempering Pill, he should be able to grow his martial arts tree to three feet two inches.

Since one's cultivation level cannot be rapidly improved in a short period of time, one should first focus on improving one's swordsmanship.

The reason he was able to defeat Bai Qingrang and his group of five so quickly was because of his swordsmanship.

There are currently six martial arts fruits on the martial arts tree, and the total cultivation time is eighteen years and three months.

"Refine!"

With a thought, Lin Yan poured all six martial arts fruits into the arduous practice of the Jinghong Sword Technique.

The surrounding space changed again, and he saw a figure practicing swordsmanship.

That figure was indeed him.

This time, he appeared from the perspective of an observer, seeing the trajectory of the sword tip in the air as he swung his sword.

The Jinghong Sword Technique emphasizes the sword's movement like a swimming dragon, with its movements as graceful as a startled swan.

The sword stance he developed evolved from the moves, and as he observed Lin Yan, he gradually understood what sword stance was.

The so-called sword momentum is the overall effect of sword moves. It may seem like a single sword strike, but it is actually a continuous series of sword moves.

But this time, from a third-person perspective, he discovered the flaws in the sword aura. The sword aura was overwhelming, making people fearful and difficult to defend against, but the many sword moves also meant more resistance.

A true master swordsman is one who uses every strike without any unnecessary energy expenditure.

Looking at the sword trail left by the longsword in the air, Lin Yan gradually understood and began to try to capture the trail.

The trajectory is like silk, like thread...

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Yan suddenly murmured, "Entangling Silk Sword Intent?"

The next moment, Lin Yan opened his eyes.

He looked down at the scabbard in his hand; the sword was drawn, and the moonlight fell on it, reflecting a cold light.

Lin Yan raised his sword and gently swung it at a tree about ten feet away, which was as thick as a bowl.

The sword did not touch the tree trunk.

But where the sword wind passed, fine cracks appeared on the tree trunk.

Walking up to the tree, Lin Yan gently pushed it.

Click.

The tree trunk was broken into several sections, each section as smooth as a mirror.

Just like using a sharp fishing line to wrap around tofu, you can easily divide the tofu into multiple pieces.

After fifty-six years of arduous training, he finally comprehended the essence of the Entangling Silk Sword.

Lin Yan looked into his mind again, and the leaf belonging to the Jinghong Sword Technique had now turned completely purple, with a thin white vein on the purple leaf.

These white veins are the essence of the entwined sword intent.

"Developing sword intent does not mean you've reached your limit; the Entwining Silk Sword Intent can continue to grow stronger."

……

The next day, at dawn.

Lin Yan didn't plan to stay in the mountains any longer. He was afraid that the master of Qingsong Martial Arts School would discover that his disciples were missing and bring people to search for them in the mountains. He couldn't let the people of Qingsong Martial Arts School find out.

Before descending the mountain, he went to the ravine where the bodies had been dumped. As he expected, the bodies of Bai Qingrang and the other four had been completely devoured overnight, and even the bones had been carried away by wild animals, making it impossible to piece together a complete corpse.

He picked up the remaining remains of the group and threw them into the woods where the black bear had knocked them down, creating the illusion that they had been wiped out by a wild beast before heading down the mountain.

"Encountering a black bear on my first trip into the mountains is far beyond what I expected. I'll come back into the mountains after I've eaten the bear's meat and the storm has passed."

Lin Yan was satisfied with his harvest from this trip into the mountains, but he wouldn't set his expectations too high. Encountering a black bear this time didn't mean he would encounter one next time.

A mountain forest, especially one inhabited by territorial beasts like tigers and bears, will not have a large population.

This is Baiyun Mountain, not Hutou Mountain. It's impossible for one hunter to go into the mountain and catch a thousand catties of prey, or for a thousand people to go into the mountain and catch a million catties. The prey doesn't refresh every day.

……

From the time he went up the mountain yesterday until his return today, Lin Yan did not disturb anyone. He simply threw the bear meat into the cellar in the yard.

The cellars at the foot of the mountain are very cool; you can leave things there for ten days or half a month without any problem.

After getting everything in order, Lin Yan made a special trip out of the courtyard and appeared in front of people several times. If Qingsong Martial Arts School investigated, these people would be his witnesses in the courtyard.

However, no one from the Green Pine Martial Arts School came to the place until he finished eating all the bear meat.

"Is it that Qing Song Martial Arts School hasn't investigated this area yet, or does the school's owner believe his disciple died at the hands of a wild beast and therefore haven't decided to investigate?"

Lin Yan frowned, but whatever the reason, out of caution, he decided not to go in for the time being and to wait a while longer.

……

Ten days later, Lin Yan's martial arts tree had reached a height of one and a half inches.

That day, he was practicing martial arts in the courtyard as usual when he heard a sound coming from the doorway.

"Is Young Master Lin here?"

The one who arrived was Xia Mingtang, the top martial artist from the Tang family during this second stint of temporary posting.

Xia Mingtang pushed open the door and entered. As the second-best martial artist in the Tang family after Lin Yan, Xia Mingtang was the one who actually managed the specific matters. At this moment, he looked very anxious: "Young Master Lin, a batch of our medicinal herbs was stolen yesterday."

"Robbed by bandits?"

Lin Yan frowned. The Tang family had been in Sanshan County for so many years without any trouble, but he encountered bandits as soon as he arrived.

"Not a bandit."

Xia Mingtang knew that Lin Yan had misunderstood, so he explained, "Young Master Lin, I apologize for not being clear. Yesterday, a batch of medicinal herbs that our Tang Family Pharmacy was supposed to purchase locally were intercepted by another company."

After Xia Mingtang's explanation, Lin Yan finally understood what was going on.

In addition to owning its own medicinal herb-growing areas in Sanshan County, the Tang family also purchased local medicinal herbs. Some traveling merchants would go down to various villages to collect the herbs and then deliver them to the Tang family's local pharmacies.

Yesterday was the day the traveling merchants would deliver the medicinal herbs, which was the monthly tradition. However, Xia Mingtang waited in the medicine storehouse for half a day yesterday but did not see a single traveling merchant.

I only found out today that these traveling merchants were stopped by the Wei family on the way and forcibly taken away by Wei family warriors, forcing them to sell all their medicinal herbs to the Wei family.

Like the Tang family, the Wei family also runs a medicinal herb business, but the difference is that the Wei family's medicinal herb business is only located within the territory of Sanshan County.

Lin Yan narrowed his eyes slightly. The Wei family, as local medicinal herb merchants in Sanshan County, had their business interfered with by the Tang family. They must have resentment towards the Tang family, but they hadn't made any moves all these years. Why did they suddenly do this after Zhang Xin left? Did they think they had him cornered?

"How powerful is the Wei family?"

"Both the Wei family father and son are experts at the third level of skin polishing. The head of the Wei family has been at the third level of skin polishing for eight years. Two years ago, Lord Zhang sparred with the head of the Wei family, and Lord Zhang had the upper hand."

Upon hearing Xia Mingtang's answer, Lin Yan recalled the height of the martial arts tree that Zhang Xin had displayed when he touched it during the welcoming banquet: three feet four inches.

Two years ago, this Wei family head was not as good as Zhang Xin, but now he is at most the same as Zhang Xin, both at the three-foot-four-inch level.

He was two and a half inches taller than me.

I should be able to win, but I don't know if I can kill him in one move with my sword intent and Stone Waist Barbarian Spine. It's too risky, so I'll pass.

"Young Master Lin, what should we do next? Should we go and negotiate with the Wei family?" Xia Mingtang asked, interrupting Lin Yan when he saw him remain silent.

Lin Yan shook his head: "Forget it, if the Wei family wants to intercept us, then we'll just raise the purchase price."

Hearing Lin Yan's answer, Xia Mingtang felt a hint of disappointment in his eyes, but he wasn't surprised.

Lord Zhang is a veteran expert who has broken through to the third level of the Skin-Refining Realm, so the Wei family dares not make any moves. However, Young Master Lin has only recently broken through to the third level of the Skin-Refining Realm, while the Wei family has two martial artists who have broken through to the third level of the Skin-Refining Realm. It is normal for Young Master Lin to back down.

Regardless, the Wei family wouldn't dare to completely offend their employer. At most, they would intercept one or two batches of medicinal herbs. As for raising the purchase price, that was within Young Master Lin's authority.

Lin Yan really didn't want to cause trouble, and raising the purchase price would benefit the herb farmers who went up the mountain to collect herbs, which could be considered as taking care of the common people.

After seeing Xia Mingtang off, Lin Yan continued his cultivation.

shhhhhh!

The long sword in his hand was like a carving knife; with a wave of his hand, the petals of the yellow flowers in a corner of the courtyard wall were cut out.

While sorting out the medicinal herbs he had collected and selling them to the Tang family's pharmacy, he continued to study the Entangling Silk Sword Intent.

The sword intent of winding silk is effortless, yet it can be as powerful as thunder in the smallest details.

To Lin Yan's surprise and delight, while he was studying the Entangling Silk Sword Intent, the circulation of his internal energy and blood also became more refined. The force was no longer just large and sweeping, but also contained a touch of subtlety.

"Practicing the art of intention actually helps with the control of qi and blood. By using the martial arts fruit to comprehend 'intention,' and then using the subtlety of 'intention' to reverse the control of qi and blood strength, it achieves twice the result with half the effort."

This exquisite control over qi and blood fascinated Lin Yan, and compared to that, fighting and killing with the Wei family was something he really didn't enjoy.

The Wei family.

"Father, Lin Yan doesn't dare to come to our Wei family. He just told his people to raise the purchase price of medicinal herbs."

Wei Li listened to his son's words and a mocking look appeared on his face: "I have investigated Lin Yan, who was sent by the Tang family. He is just an ordinary person from Guangping County. He has already accumulated good karma from his ancestors to be able to cultivate to the third level of skin polishing. Even if such a person is a third-level skin polishing martial artist, he is still a cowardly and timid person."

"Father has a very good eye for people."

"He wants to raise the purchase price, but those traveling merchants have to dare to sell to him first." Wei Li's eyes flashed with a fierce light: "Shaoyou, give the order that any traveling merchant who dares to sell medicinal herbs to the Tang family's pharmacy will have their hands and feet cut off by my Wei family."

Wei Shaoyou was taken aback: "Father, won't this anger the Tang family?"

The Tang family has produced four skin-sharpening martial artists!

"This is Sanshan County. Even if the Tang family's fourth-level Skin-Refining Martial Artists came to the county, our county's own fourth-level Skin-Refining Martial Artists wouldn't stand idly by," Wei Li continued in a low voice. "Besides, the Tang family is currently overwhelmed with their own problems and has no time to worry about this place."

"Father, have you heard something?"

"Now, a new gang called Sihai Gang has emerged in Guangping County and is fighting with the Patrol and Inspection Bureau. The Tang family has chosen to remain neutral, which is not good for either side. Both sides are suppressing the Tang family. It is already good enough that the Tang family can keep its business in Guangping County. They have no time to pay attention to Sanshan County."

"To be honest, if I were from the Tang family, whether I chose the Four Seas Gang or the Patrol Division, as long as I joined one, I could crush the other and reap even more benefits. However, it's even better if the Tang family makes a foolish mistake, which just benefits us."

"I see."

Wei Shaoyou suddenly realized why his father dared to intercept the Tang family's medicinal herbs at this time.

As the largest pharmacy in Sanshan County, the Wei family could have purchased medicinal herbs at a lower price.

However, because of the Tang family's existence, once they lower the price, the herb farmers who collect herbs will sell their herbs to the Tang family. They have long harbored resentment towards the Tang family and their father.

Although they were full of resentment before, they could only endure it because they were afraid of the Tang family's strength. But now, with this opportunity, as long as they drive the Tang family away, the Wei family can lower the price however they want. If those herb farmers don't sell, they can only watch their herbs rot.