The next day marked the beginning of the New Year. The brilliant morning sun bathed thousands of households as they replaced their old peach wood charms with new ones. It was a customary day for maintaining relationships and exchanging pleasantries.
Although Chen Yuan had severed ties with the Chen Family, he still had his own social circle to maintain. Carrying the gifts he had carefully selected the day before, he set out to pay his visits.
His first stop was Huang Yan. This senior brother had taken good care of him, and even though Yuan was currently treated as a murder suspect, their bond remained unchanged. Next, he naturally had to visit his master, Huo Lin. After all, Lin was the mentor who had taught him his martial arts. Upon arriving at the Huo Courtyard, Yuan found it already bustling with people.
He then proceeded to the Fang Family residence to visit Senior Brother Fang Minghai. Back when the Gu Family abandoned Yuan and cut off his financial support, it was Minghai who had reached out to help. Though the amount was not large, it was a timely provision of warmth during his darkest hour. Now, that level of sponsorship had even increased.
Observing the atmosphere within the Fang Family, Yuan noticed they were trying to be festive but couldn’t quite muster the joy. This was likely due to the ongoing conflict with the He Family. However, Minghai made no mention of the He Family issue, simply welcoming him with a warm smile.
He couldn’t forget General Manager Li Song either. Li Song was his benefactor at the Medicinal Garden. Whether it was the extra increase in his monthly silver, the exceptional opportunity to become a Vice Steward, or even the offer to help resolve his troubles with the Government Office, Yuan kept all these favors firmly in his heart.
Looking back on his journey, malicious enemies had come one after another, yet there had been no shortage of good people. It was a complex and fascinating life.
Quite a few people also came to visit Yuan. Old friends arrived one after another, including Zhang Shi, the senior brother who had quietly left after failing his breakthrough, and Sun Chengjie, who had shared many experiences with him before also leaving due to a failed breakthrough. In the quiet courtyard beneath the light snow, they drank wine and reminisced about the passing years.
After they left, Qian Bao from the Black Dragon Gang also arrived with gifts just before lunch. Bao’s attitude was exceptionally respectful, calling out Brother Chen with every breath. Yuan received him outside the door.
From Bao, he learned that the Golden Saber Sect’s influence was growing rapidly. They had already swallowed up several neighboring gangs. Once they finished digesting those gains, it likely wouldn’t be long before the Black Dragon Gang became their next target. This gang warfare might very well embroil this area once again. Bao’s intention was to ask Yuan for help when that time came, promising that the Black Dragon Gang would reward him heavily.
Yuan’s eyes flickered slightly before he politely declined for the time being.
He remembered the dying words left by the previous owner of the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppression Body manual, which revealed that the Golden Saber Sect was backed by Sun Xie, a formidable Marrow-refining Martial Artist with Hidden Force. After so much time, Xie’s injuries had probably mostly healed. Yuan simply didn’t have the qualifications to provoke such an entity yet.
After New Year’s Day passed, Yuan’s life returned to its usual tranquility.
Leng Rushuang apparently hadn’t found any evidence, or perhaps she was to entangle in other matters, because she never came looking for him again. As for the Gu Family, apart from their initial hostility toward him, they were soon attacked by rival families who took the opportunity to suppress their businesses. They were now too busy fending for themselves and had no spare energy to care about Yu Yan’s death.
Yuan wasn’t the type to stir up trouble anyway. For an entire month, he lived peacefully while his strength steadily improved.
His only minor annoyance was Li Changgui. During this month’s performance review, Changgui once again intentionally found fault, using baseless excuses to make things difficult.
Yuan just laughed and slipped him another ten taels of silver.
Changgui smiled smugly and patted Yuan’s shoulder. "Brother Chen, it’s really not that I want to make things hard for you. This is just how the rules are set. Please understand."
Yuan offered a faint smile. "Brother Li, say no more. I completely understand."
Losing wealth in exchange for peace and quiet had a hidden benefit. The very next day, the system would judge that he had made a low-profile choice and reward him with an extra five Low-key Points. Trading ten taels of silver for five points wasn’t a loss at all. Furthermore, he considered this silver to be merely temporarily deposited with Changgui; framing it that way made it feel even more profitable.
However, Yuan couldn’t deliberately orchestrate such coincidences to farm points; he had to let nature take its course. Otherwise, letting Changgui extort him eight or ten times a month wouldn’t be completely unacceptable.
The plum blossoms faded, the ice thawed, and the spring wind quietly changed the season. Winter passed into spring, bringing life back to the world.
In the blink of an eye, nearly half a month slipped by.
On this particular morning, Yuan was practicing the Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist at the Huo Courtyard as usual. He had mastered the Twelve Forms Fist to the point of effortless integration, allowing him to switch seamlessly with the Five Elements Fist in a manner befitting a grandmaster.
After more than a month, his Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist had advanced by leaps and bounds once again.
[Comprehension: 72]
[Root Bone: 100]
[Cultivation: Bone Barrier (Great Success); Manifest Force (Great Success)]
[Cultivation Technique]
[Rocky Pile Skill (Great Success): 343/2000]
[Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist (Minor Achievement): 999/1000]
[Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppression Body First Layer (Elephant Bone): 991/1000]
[Low-key Points: 8]
[Evaluation: You do not show off, you do not make enemies, and you understand the principle of hiding your capabilities. You have caught your first glimpse into the path of keeping a low profile. Daily Low-key Points +5]
His Root Bone needed no explanation. It had reached 100, putting him on the same Upper-Grade Two tier as Xu Heng. He no longer had any innate physical disadvantages among his generation. He was already qualified to forge Golden Muscle, while achieving Iron Bone would be effortless.
The remaining Low-key Points had pushed his Comprehension from 60 to 72, making it only a matter of time before it caught up to his Root Bone. This enhancement was directly reflected in his progress with the Bone Barrier and Elephant Bone. It had barely been two and a half months since he broke through the Bone Barrier, yet he had already reached Great Success in bone refinement. He could now attempt Iron Bone and prepare to break through the Muscle Barrier.
His progress in Elephant Bone was even more unreasonable; he planned to reach Perfection this afternoon and prepare for the second layer of the Dragon Elephant Prison-Suppression Body.
His Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist had finally grinded to a progress of 999 the day before. Yuan wanted to try achieving the breakthrough on his own, so he spent the entire morning practicing. However, after two hours, he still couldn’t find that spark of inspiration.
He figured that with his current Comprehension, grinding for another day or two would eventually yield a self-realization. A Comprehension stat of 72 was already quite high; it was no wonder Senior Brother Fang had been stuck at Manifest Force for so long. But Yuan had no intention of waiting. Time was money. He directly spent one Low-key Point and added it to his Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist.
The interface instantly changed:
[Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist (Great Success): 0/2000]
Simultaneously, a surge of enlightenment flooded his mind.
Drawing a deep breath, Yuan continued to practice the Heart Intent Six Harmonies Fist. The moves were the same, but from his perspective, they were entirely different. He no longer pursued ferocious strength that produced explosive cracks. Even an ordinary punch that appeared soft and powerless now carried a force as heavy as the ocean, drilling into an opponent’s body inch by inch. Expanding the membrane, extending the tendons, and connecting the force both vertically and horizontally.
His technique had reached the next level, doubling his lethal power.
Yuan deeply felt his own growing power. With his current strength, even in a head-on confrontation, he could absolutely beat Yu Yan to death within three punches, leaving the man completely defenseless. Even if he were to face that Black-Scaled Leopard again, he was confident he could kill it cleanly. With his current lethality, a single thrust of his spear wouldn’t just knock off a few black scales. It would cleanly pierce its hide and butcher the mutated beast outright.
Looking back on his past sparring match with Heng, he now fully understood how much his friend had held back.
Manifest Force and Hidden Force were simply on completely different levels. If a Muscle Barrier Martial Artist with Manifest Force fought a Bone Barrier Martial Artist with Hidden Force, the latter would most likely hold the upper hand, using superior combat techniques to minimize the former’s physical advantage.
Yuan pulled back his fists and stood upright, a faint smile playing on his lips.
As his strength climbed to another level, his state of mind shifted once more. After breaking through his Elephant Bone this afternoon, he wanted to see who would still dare to act arrogantly in front of him.