Surviving in the chaos of battle, I'm grinding for proficiency.

It was quite a coincidence that the Gathering of Heroes was held right next to the Songfeng Martial Arts School.

People came and went in an endless stream, and cheers echoed continuously.

It had a rather boisterous, noisy feel to it.

This made the usually quiet Songfeng Martial Arts School lively and bustling.

On this day, Li Chuan walked out of the inner courtyard.

"Senior Brother Li!" Whenever a disciple passed by him, they would stop and greet him.

After nodding in response, Li Chuan walked out of the Songfeng Martial Arts School.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the location of the Gathering of Heroes.

The surrounding shops and vendors were all cleared out, leaving a huge open space.

Five large arenas were set up in the open space.

Below each arena are seats arranged around it.

In the central government, even minor officials set up a shop where people could place bets on who would win.

The odds are clearly written down.

Li Chuan chuckled softly:

"When ordinary people play, that's called gambling, which is despicable, but when the government organizes it..."

In that instant, he recalled his painful experience of angrily scratching 600 yuan worth of lottery tickets, only to lose 400 yuan...

"Triple odds! I won! I won!" A man jumped up from his stool excitedly and shouted.

"Unexpectedly, Sun Xing, who failed the martial arts exam this time, actually defeated the martial arts scholar who ranked forty-ninth?!"

"It seems these veteran martial arts masters aren't necessarily inferior to Wu Xiucai!"

Following their words, Li Chuan turned his gaze to the stage.

The man called Sun Xing raised his hands high, looking smug.

The martial arts scholar he defeated lay on the ground like a dead dog.

To lose to someone above is an honor; to lose to someone below is a disgrace.

It's foreseeable that he'll be the target of a lot of criticism when he gets back.

This is the cruelty of the Gathering of Heroes, and also its allure.

Those who are dissatisfied with their ranking can fully demonstrate their abilities.

Such scenes were commonplace over the past few days.

There are stories of high-ranking people being defeated by low-ranking people, and there are also stories of ordinary people making a comeback.

and......

Li Chuan felt the atmosphere was a bit too enthusiastic.

It seemed as if they were pushed up by an invisible hand.

Looking at the current list of names, Li Chuan discovered that the three major families of the inner city were not participating in such a grand event.

This in itself is enough to explain a lot.

Li Chuan turned his gaze to the highest stand and found that Wang Wenzhi, the head of the Wang family, was also sitting there with a satisfied expression.

"The county magistrate and the Wang family are trying to use this method to win over people's hearts and bring many neutral forces under their control." A sudden realization flashed through Li Chuan's mind.

Suddenly, a great deal of noise arose at the entrance of the Gathering of Heroes.

"Master Lu has arrived!"

A woman in a tight-fitting outfit with a cool expression and stunningly beautiful face walked in, surrounded by a crowd.

She wore a sword at her left waist, but a wine gourd hung at her right waist.

As you walk, you can hear the crisp sound of flowing liquor.

Dan Tang, Lu Qiuhan!

Wang Wenzhi, with surprise in his eyes, immediately came down to greet him:

"What brings Hall Master Lu of the Pill Hall here? I'm so sorry for not greeting you sooner!"

The Dan Hall is a force that no martial artist in Anning County can bypass.

If one wishes to accelerate cultivation and improve martial arts skills, elixirs are almost an indispensable part of the process.

The Dan Hall itself is a neutral force and does not participate in these struggles.

However, this does not stop the major powers from trying to curry favor with and win them over.

Lu Qiuhan's expression was cold and calm as he said:

"I happened to have some free time, so I came out for a stroll."

Wang Wenzhi was not offended at all, and his smile carried a hint of ingratiation:

"Master Lu's presence is truly an honor for this gathering of talents! Please follow me to the seat of honor!"

Wang Wenzhi gestured with both hands to dismiss the servant who was about to lead the way, and personally escorted Lu Qiuhan to the main seat.

After looking at it for a while, Lu Qiuhan's beautiful oval face showed a hint of weariness.

She picked up the wine jug and took a hearty gulp.

A drop of crystal-clear wine flowed down her lips and onto her snow-white neck, creating a strangely beautiful effect.

Lu Qiuhan casually brushed away the spilled wine, looked at the warriors fighting to the death, and said with disappointment:

"A room full of people seeking fame and fortune, it's all rather meaningless."

After saying that, she left on her own, completely ignoring Wang Wenzhi's increasingly grim expression behind her.

Li Chuan, observing this scene from a distance, felt a mix of emotions.

The people from the Dan Hall of the Three Yuan Prefecture are truly different; they show no respect to the head of the Wang family.

Li Chuan shook his head; such a situation was beyond his current reach.

But with time, he will eventually reach the top.

Having lost interest in watching, Li Chuan returned home to continue practicing his stance training.

However, before they could practice for even an hour or two, the courtyard gate was knocked on again.

Li Chuan opened the door and found that it was Luo Zheng, whom he hadn't seen for several days.

In the past, Luo Zheng, though easy-going, still paid great attention to his image.

Every time I see him, his face is always clean.

But today, you can clearly see his thick, dark stubble.

Luo Zheng looked tired and said apologetically:

"Ah Chuan, today is the day I'm supposed to pay your monthly salary, but there's been some trouble at home..."

"I'll give you ten taels first. I'll give you the remaining five taels of silver and ten catties of tiger meat in a few days. What do you think?"

"If you need it urgently, I'll ask my dad for it first."

Li Chuan waved his hand:

"Senior Brother Luo, it's alright, I still have enough silver on me for now."

"But what's wrong with you, looking like this?"

"If you need any help, please don't hesitate to ask!"

Luo Zheng smiled, feeling touched:

"It's okay, I can handle it."

After saying that, he stuffed ten taels of silver into Li Chuan's hand and left.

Although he said it was fine, Li Chuan could sense a sense of desolation in his back view.

Ugh.

Li Chuan sighed inwardly, knowing that this matter was definitely not simple.

The Luo family owned a large pharmacy in the outer city; they certainly wouldn't be so stingy as to delay paying even five taels of silver.

Unless... a really big problem has arisen.

"If I can help, I will definitely do my best to lend a hand."

He would never forget Luo Zheng's kindness to him.

After locking the courtyard gate, Li Chuan immediately began his boxing practice for the day.

Under the bright sunlight, the boy's sharp figure moved about in the courtyard.

[Practicing Tongbei Quan, proficiency +1]

[Practicing Tongbei Quan, proficiency +1]

……

Three more days passed.

【Skill: Embracing Mountain Stance (Mastery)】

[Proficiency: 2216/4000]

[Technique: Tongbei Quan (Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1543/3000]

[Skill: Lightning Shadow Kick (Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 209/3000]

"As my mastery of the Baoshan stance improved and I broke through the two thousand mark, it seems that the light and dark energy within my body have already shown signs of fusion."

Li Chuan clenched his fist, feeling the flow of energy within his body.

Even if there is only a tendency to merge, the strength has increased significantly.

"No wonder Master Liang said that the power of neutralizing force far surpasses that of concealed force; what he said is indeed true!"

As he continued to practice the Baoshan stance, he refined his qi and blood.

Now, his vital energy is no longer as chaotic and weak as it was when he first joined the martial arts school.

It appears much more concise.

Not only has the quantity of Qi and blood increased, but the quality is also slowly transforming.

The benefits are obvious.

To perform the same action, you must do it faster and more swiftly than before.

"If I were to return to my martial arts training days, my raw strength would probably rank in the top ten, only slightly inferior to those veteran internal strength practitioners who are close to passing the final stage!"

"Knock knock knock!"

"Senior Brother Li, it's me!"

Li Chuan opened the door and found Zhuang Beiwang standing there.

"What's wrong, looking north?"

Zhuang Beiwang cautiously looked around, then leaned close to Li Chuan's ear and whispered:

"Senior Brother Li, a junior brother told me that someone recently contacted him to inquire about you."

"He's someone important, from Sanyuan Prefecture, I think his surname is Zhou?"