Among the crowd, Tao Ping was the first to react. He smiled and said, "Congratulations, Senior Brother Chen, on breaking through the Muscle Barrier. Barring any accidents, our Huo Courtyard will have at least two disciples pass the Martial Examination this time."
Xu Heng stared at Chen Yuan with deep, brooding eyes, the sense of urgency in his heart growing stronger.
To make things less boring, he had tasked Chen Yuan with simply keeping up with his back. He never expected Chen Yuan to do it so brilliantly, faintly showing signs of closing the gap between them. But he was a Grade B-Upper Root Bone! A mere Grade D-Upper Root Bone, no matter how hard they worked, shouldn’t be able to perform like this.
How was this fair?
The other three looked at Chen Yuan with eyes full of admiration. All three of them had Grade C-Upper Root Bones, yet their progress in the Martial Dao was far inferior to Chen Yuan’s. They figured he must possess an indomitable will.
Master Huo’s smile had yet to fade. "That’s right. Your combat prowess was already outstanding, and now that your Stage has improved, it’s not impossible for you to challenge the Rank A List. I only hope the two of you aren’t matched against each other in the end."
If his Huo Courtyard could produce two Rank A List Martial Artists at once, they would rival the Four Great Families! It would absolutely be the most glorious moment of his life. This Chen Yuan, who hadn’t been favored from the start, had truly surprised him time and time again. Now, no Root Bone grading could mask his brilliance.
As for how Chen Yuan could perform so well, Huo Lin had his own speculations. In his early years, traveling far and wide, he had witnessed many strange people and bizarre phenomena. Among them were late-blooming martial geniuses who, once familiar with a particular discipline, would see their talent in that field grow stronger and stronger over time. Ultimately, they would bloom late and astound the world with a single feat.
However, Chen Yuan’s situation was even more unique. To call him a "late bloomer" was a stretch—he was still so young, not even eighteen years of age. He could only be described as a freak of the Martial Dao. With his two most outstanding disciples being a genius and a freak respectively, Huo Lin didn’t quite know what to say.
Chen Yuan cupped his hands and smiled. "Thank you for your high regard, Master. I will go all out in the Martial Examination and do my best not to disappoint your expectations."
In his heart, however, he thought it best to just do enough to get by. His main reason for participating in the Martial Examination was to bring prosperity to his aunt’s family, as it meant an elevation in status. That way, after he left Qingyuan County, they would still be able to live well. Secondly, he wanted to reveal some of his talent to gain more attention and access better resources. Therefore, placing on the Rank B or Rank C List was completely acceptable.
Huo Lin nodded slightly and continued, "Back to the Martial Examination itself. The main reason I called you all here today is regarding the Spring Hunt that takes place before the exam.
"Our Qingyuan County is surrounded by numerous mountain ranges teeming with exotic beasts. They pose a significant threat to the county town and interfere with the resource cultivation and extraction of the various families.
"Therefore, every year before the Martial Examination, the Government Office takes the lead in organizing a Spring Hunt to cull the exotic beasts and reduce the threat. At the same time, it serves as a prelude to the Martial Examination. Those Martial Artists who end up ranking high in the exam often first make their mark during the Spring Hunt.
"This is not only an opportunity to make a name for yourselves but also a chance to hunt exotic beasts and gather precious herbs. If you’re lucky, you can earn a handsome sum of money.
"Now, I’m asking for your individual preferences. If you choose to participate, it would be best to team up and look out for each other, making it safer."
This kind of large-scale Spring Hunt was the safest. If they could also team up, generally nothing bad would happen.
Xu Heng nodded calmly, the first to state his position. "Master, I am willing to participate in the Spring Hunt."
At his master’s request, he had kept his blade sheathed for a long time; now was the perfect time to test it. Seeing Xu Heng declare his stance, the remaining three disciples chimed in, expressing their willingness to participate as well. With Senior Brother Xu leading the charge, what did they have to fear? They could just follow behind, help out, scrounge up some money, and broaden their horizons.
Chen Yuan put on a show of thinking it over before politely refusing. "Master, I have just broken through and wish to focus entirely on my cultivation to raise my strength to its peak as much as possible. I won’t be participating."
He had no reason to agree. The two main benefits of the Spring Hunt had nothing to do with him. Make a name for himself? That was just asking for trouble, fundamentally contradicting his Dao of Laying Low. He currently didn’t lack resources either, so there was no need to risk his life for an unknown pittance.
The only side benefit was something he could enjoy without even going: the Spring Hunt would cull a massive number of exotic beasts, making his job as a hidden sentry much easier. He would have more time to practice martial arts. From this perspective, the Spring Hunt was quite useful, and the Li Family was more than likely participating as well.
Chen Yuan was already a freak of the Martial Dao, so Huo Lin wasn’t surprised by his decision not to participate. He didn’t try to persuade him otherwise; he was already quite confident in Chen Yuan’s combat abilities. Nodding, he said, "Alright, then that’s all. You may leave first. I’ll go over some precautions with the rest of them."
Chen Yuan bowed slightly and turned to leave. He assumed the precautions were likely about Master Huo’s enemies, warning them to be on their guard.
Rejecting the Spring Hunt invitation felt great. Halfway through Midnight that day, the system popped up a message for extra settlement points, directly giving him +14. By the way, on the day he broke through the Muscle Barrier, he had successfully passed the system’s evaluation, bringing his base settlement points to 7.
Chen Yuan figured that as long as he primarily followed the Dao of Laying Low in his daily life, not causing trouble or casually entangling himself in karma, occasionally dropping his guard once or twice wouldn’t stop him from passing the evaluation. And this increase in base points meant his strength had reached a new Stage.
Seven points a day meant 210 points a month.
Using them to upgrade his Root Bone, it would take less than two months to reach a Grade A Root Bone, qualifying him to condense the so-called Jade Marrow. Not to mention Golden Muscle—he could certainly master that with ease. In four or five months, he could upgrade to a Grade A-Upper Root Bone. At that time, who in the entire Qingyuan County would dare to challenge him? They would all be absolute weaklings! Even that monstrous genius Li Changqing wouldn’t be worth a glance before him.
He would even be qualified to develop his own unique special phenomenon. What would it be? Chen Yuan had read in books that some people’s phenomenon was the Eye of Sluggishness; in their line of sight, the enemy’s movements would be slowed down, making it easier to find flaws. Others had the phenomenon of Golden Skin. When stacked with Copper Skin, their defensive power was astonishing, making them virtually invulnerable to swords and spears. Rumor had it that some could even develop two phenomena, though there was no concrete evidence to prove it.
Without exception, they were all amplifications of bodily functions with tremendous utility. Chen Yuan suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind. It was still too early to think about all that. Right now, he only had to do one thing: lay low at all costs.
Time easily leaves people behind, reddening the cherries and greening the plantains; in the blink of an eye, several more days passed. On this morning, fading blossoms shed their withered red, young green apricots emerged, and swallows flew in pairs.
Chen Yuan, who was practicing martial arts in the Huo Courtyard, received a visit from someone he hadn’t seen in a long time. Stepping out of the courtyard gates, Chen Yuan’s mind stirred as he looked at Gu Ye, who was wearing a long robe and a face full of smiles.
Ever since Yu Yan died and he was listed as a suspect by the Gu Family, they had had no further contact. Even when visiting Senior Brother Huang, he would go directly to his home to avoid catching the stench of unnecessary trouble.
Gu Ye smiled and said, "Master Chen, how have you been lately? Please forgive me for this sudden intrusion."
Chen Yuan nodded slightly. "It’s fine. What brings Steward Gu here today?"
One never visits the temple for nothing. Could it be that he heard about his breakthrough of the Muscle Barrier and came specifically to apologize? It wasn’t entirely impossible. He was no longer the same person he used to be.
Gu Ye maintained his gentle smile. "I heard that Master Chen’s Martial Dao has advanced once again, successfully breaking through the Muscle Barrier, so I came to offer my congratulations. At the same time, I have a favor to ask and hope to discuss it with you."
Speaking of this, he actually felt a bit embarrassed. Just days ago, they had treated him as a suspect and wanted to report him to the authorities for investigation. Now that his strength had surged, they were coming to cozy up to him. Wasn’t this just blatantly changing their tune, acting arrogant before only to grovel now? However, Gu Ye truly had no other choice, so he could only swallow his pride and come begging.
He knew it was a favor to ask. Chen Yuan shook his head inwardly; he no longer wanted anything to do with the Gu Family. But after a moment’s thought, he said softly, "Alright, let’s find a place to chat."