Gou Zai Xianwu Wenjing Search for Opportunities

The next morning.

Lin Yuan and the others arrived at Taoli Ferry Wharf and boarded a boat.

At this point, the river water submerged most of the stone steps on the riverbank, making it easier for the boat to approach and board.

The group arrived at the county town dock by boat and disembarked at the Guanchao Tea House.

The Guanchao Tea House is built on a high platform overlooking the lake, offering panoramic views of the lake and the ebb and flow of the tides.

The teahouse has three floors: the first floor is the main hall, the second floor has private rooms, and the third floor has suites.

The teahouse is surrounded by a platform in the middle, which can be used as a stage for performances or a fighting arena.

Today, a martial arts arena has been set up, with two young men competing in martial arts on the stage. Some tea drinkers are sitting below, chatting and occasionally cheering for the performance.

Lin Yuan followed Wu Yong to a private room on the second floor, where a person was sitting.

Wu Yong spoke first: "Cousin, this is my senior brother Li Shi. You are from the same family, so you should know each other... This is my junior brother Lin Yuan, who studied martial arts with me at the Li family's martial arts hall. This is my cousin Li Ye, the fourth in his generation among the fourth branch of the Li family..."

Li Ye smiled slightly and waved his hand casually: "Just call me Si Lang. We're all family. Have a seat."

"Thank you, Fourth Brother!" Lin Yuan quickly clasped his hands in thanks. The fourth branch of the Li family was in charge of managing the family business, and it was likely that Li Ye was also in charge. No wonder Li Fourth Brother was less arrogant than Li Yuan and had a more smiling face.

Li Ye invited everyone to sit down. After chatting for a while, two more people came in. The one in the lead was burly and the other was very dark-skinned.

Li Ye introduced the burly man to everyone. He was eighteen years old, but looked like he was thirty. He was from Jiuzhen County. His ancestors were镖师 (bodyguards/escorts). He had mastered martial arts and was at the early stage of the Bone Forging Realm. He was a ninth-rank martial artist and had made a name for himself since childhood. He was ranked eighty-ninth on the Tiger List of Lizhou.

After listening to Li Ye's introduction, Xu Zhan said straightforwardly, "Since Si Lang is the middleman, Brother Lin, let's not beat around the bush. You are at the peak of the Body Tempering Realm, right? One thousand taels, and this 89th place on the Tiger Ranking is yours."

He was a professional martial arts master who sold his ranking in Linyuan County. He would then move to another place to challenge for a spot on the list and sell his ranking to make money. He could earn a lot of money every year. But the most important thing was that he could make friends with the sons of powerful and wealthy families. When he came of age, he could use this connection to find a good job.

A thousand taels wasn't a small amount, but fortunately Lin Yuan had enough silver. However, he still waited for Li Shi to speak up and play the good cop: "Junior Brother Lin is about to break through to the Bone Forging Realm. With his abilities, he's no weaker than the bottom-ranked youth..."

Xu Zhan glanced at Li Ye and said cheerfully, "For Si Lang's sake, if Brother Lin can break through to the Bone Forging Realm before the competition, then it'll be six hundred taels. Isn't that generous enough?"

Lin Yuan felt the price was about right, so he clasped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Fourth Brother, Brother Xu."

Li Ye nodded: "Then let's do it this way. Issue a challenge today, and the competition will be held in ten days to make a name for yourselves. I'll also help you invite some friends over so they can be witnesses and help spread the word..."

Lin Yuan had no objection to this, and as Li Ye suggested, he paid three hundred taels of silver in advance.

Li Ye had his waiter find the storyteller from the teahouse. The storyteller wrote a challenge letter on the spot, which Lin Yuan signed and then passed around for everyone to see.

"Alright." Li Ye withdrew the challenge and handed it to the middle-aged storyteller. "Please recommend it to the tea drinkers. The more people who come, the better."

"Don't worry, Fourth Master, I'll take care of things perfectly," the storyteller said with a fawning expression.

Li Ye called out to his attendants outside the door, who then gave the storyteller five taels of silver as a tip and each of the three or five assistants two taels.

The men, having received the silver, all came over to thank Si Lang, promising to spread the word about the challenge.

This was the first time Lin Yuan had ever seen a challenge so simple—just drinking tea, negotiating prices, and he didn't even have to show his face.

He reached for his silver to pay the tip, but Li Ye waved his hand to stop him: "No need, it's just a little bit of silver."

Is a dozen or so taels of silver considered a small amount of loose silver?

Lin Yuan clearly understood that Li Ye was doing this out of respect for his cousin Wu Yong, so he immediately offered tea instead of wine to the two men, and finally to Xu Zhan.

"That's settled then. You two have some tea and have a chat. I have to go see my guests, so I won't keep you company any longer." Li Ye had to leave early, and before leaving, he instructed the waiter, "Put the tea bill on my tab."

Xu Zhan and Lin Yuan drank tea for a while, and Xu Zhan asked Lin Yuan about his fist techniques, while Xu Zhan briefly explained his own palm techniques.

Xu Zhan explained in detail, "We won't use weapons that day, just fists and feet, to avoid accidental injuries. Let's discuss how to train the moves."

"Do we need to go outside?" Lin Yuan asked.

"No need, just a simple demonstration will do, it doesn't require much effort." Xu Zhan immediately practiced moves with Lin Yuan face to face, exchanging blows as they went.

The key is that you can't defeat me, and I can't hurt you. The fights are not only visually appealing but also exciting, yet neither player exerts much effort.

The two sparred for an hour. Xu Zhan nodded and said, "You've learned the Sixty-Four Forms of Taizu Long Fist quite well, very solidly! On the day of the competition, don't be afraid of hurting me. Just fight with all your might. I'll hold back a bit. We'll decide the winner in three hundred rounds. Try to make your moves as beautiful as possible, the more beautiful the better."

After the two finished their discussion, everyone went their separate ways back home.

Back in Taoli Town, Lin Yuan resumed his martial arts practice, which revolved around the two points of his daily routine.

Four days later, on June 20th.

It's the dog days of summer, and it's incredibly hot. Today is the first day of classes at the martial arts academy.

Lin Yuan and Hu Cai arrived at the martial arts field early, and Wu Yong also came. The three of them stood by the pavilion and began to practice standing meditation.

Lin Yuan still stood at the head, with the other two behind him. Zhao Sheng was still hiding in the crowd of teenagers, secretly observing the three of them, occasionally lost in thought, his mind wandering.

After a while, Coach Hong arrived at the martial arts field, still wearing his usual solid training clothes, the style and fabric of which hadn't changed in a year.

Lin Yuan didn't know if she wore the same set of clothes for a year, or the same style of clothes for a year.

He met the Red Instructor's gaze, and instead of avoiding it, he pulled out a porcelain bottle on the spot, took the medicine in front of him, and slowly curled the corners of his mouth into a provocative smile, his expression slightly exaggerated.

As Coach Hong became increasingly immune to his performance, his expression inevitably rose accordingly.

The Red Instructor immediately drew his long whip, quickened his pace, and arrived in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"Clap clap clap!"

She lashed out three times with her whip, and seeing that Lin Yuan had entered a state of selfless martial arts practice combined with a high-frequency state of fear, she turned around to instruct Wu Yong on swordsmanship.

Wu Yong has always had a mindset of not being inferior to others, and he also joined in the practice of martial arts that combines two states.

Hu Cai stared blankly, "Slapped so hard? And you're not taking me with you?"

He thought about how he hadn't taken any pills or had any good medicinal food, so he simply gave up and chose to empathize. Whenever Lin Yuan and Wu Yong trembled, he would tremble along with them and could even feel that spurring, trembling sensation.

It's neither too intense nor too uncomfortable, which is just right!

Only Zhao Sheng would occasionally steal glances at the three of them, and when he saw them being whipped, he would chuckle.

Half an hour later, Lin Yuan finished standing on the barricades, practiced the Eight Directions Step, and started practicing the Sixty-Four Forms of Taizu Long Fist. Instructor Hong came over again to help him maintain his form.

At this point, Wu Yong could no longer hold on and had to fall to the ground, feigning death, in an attempt to escape.

Hu Cai was somewhat disappointed and could only stare at Lin Yuan's back as he shivered along with Lin Yuan.

An hour later, Lin Yuan was immersed in the superposition of two states. His blood and qi surged throughout his body, and the medicinal power nourished his limbs and bones. He kept unleashing his fist power, which was fierce and unparalleled.

He threw a single punch, his fist clenching tighter and tighter, gathering his strongest power as he struck through the air.

But heaven and earth remained still.

Sensing the change in feel, he wanted to test the effect, so he immediately delivered a powerful ground-to-sky strike, hitting the grass next to him.

A dull thud was heard, and the soft soil of the grass sank several fist-deep.

Lin Yuan withdrew his fist and blew off the tender grass leaves clinging to it: "Awesome!"

At this moment, Hu Cai, feeling the same way, ran over and punched the grass as well. They compared the depth of their punches—about the same—and he exclaimed excitedly, "Junior brother, you've broken through?"

"It should be." Lin Yuan's lips curled up slightly.

He finally broke through to the entry level of the Bone Forging Realm, catching up with Hu Cai and Wu Yong, and completely leaving Zhao Sheng behind.

Wu Yong ran over, excitedly saying, "That's great! Now we have a good chance of passing the autumn competition!"

"Tonight's the day..."

Before Lin Yuan could finish speaking, a long whip lashed out, "crack, crack, crack," one whip for each person.

All the joy of the three was extinguished in that instant, leaving them feeling utterly chilled.