What a pity…

Lin Yun was a bit disappointed to see Chen Xiao still chose to leave despite his rage. If Chen Xiao had lost his cool and attacked him, he could have used the approaching demonic beast to deal with him.

Looking around, Lin Yun could see the demonic aura wafting over with his naked eyes. The corpse of the Saber-toothed Tiger had evidently attracted an unknown demonic beast. Lin Yun decided it was his time to leave as well, stopping only to grab the bag of materials he had hidden earlier.

Three days later, Lin Yun arrived at a shop located just south of the Azure Sky Sect in a town known as Azure Sky Town. This town’s main source of revenue was from serving disciples from various different sects.

The shop was quite busy when Lin Yun arrived. A seemingly endless stream of people were going in and out of the shop. Based on the clothes that they were wearing, they were either disciples of the various sects or wandering cultivators.

Lin Yun walked over to the counter and placed his bag in front of the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was an older man, and Lin Yun could tell he had been in the business for a long time. The shopkeeper had a hard time hiding his surprise as he went through the bag, occasionally shooting a glance at Lin Yun before quickly returning to his work

It was surprising for one man to bring in so many materials, especially the claws of Iron Clawed Wolves. It was never easy to hunt beasts that travel in packs.

“3,000 taels of silver for the claws. The pelt of the Spotted Tiger is mostly intact. I can pay you 2,000 taels of silver for it. As for the Sharp Bull’s horn, I’m afraid that I can only give you 900 taels of silver. It’s just an average one. As for the rest…I can do 1,500 taels of silver. How does that sound?” The shopkeeper’s offer reflected his keen eye.

“I’ll take 500 taels of silver and use the rest to buy pellets,” Lin Yun said as he nodded in approval.

“Alright!” The shopkeeper smiled. It was a profitable transaction for him. “What pellets do you want? Our pellets may not be as good as those refined in your sect, I can guarantee that you will still be satisfied with them.”

Every month, the Azure Sky Sect would give out silvers and pellets to their disciples. However, it wasn’t enough for cultivating. Only an inner disciple or someone ranked among the top among the outer disciples could receive more resources from the sect.

“Do you have a list for me to look at?” Lin Yun asked.

The shopkeeper handed him a sheet that contained a list of the pellets available and a brief description of each one. The prices were terrifying. Lin Yun shook his head as he went over them. It turns out 7,000 taels of silver wasn’t as much as he had imagined.

Many pellets cost several thousand taels of silver a piece. Lin Yun could only imagine how valuable sect pellets must be if these were the prices for an inferior product.

“I’ll have 2 Body Nourishing Pellets, 2 Spirit Nourishing Pellets, and a bottle of Body Refining Liquid,” Lin Yun decided. For nearly 7,000 taels of silver, he had only managed to get himself four pellets and a budget medicinal liquid. Body Refining Pellets cost 10,000 taels of silver for one. He would have to settle for the second-best alternative — the Body Refining Liquid.

One could never have enough Body Nourishing Pellets. They were helpful in every stage on the Martial Path, but had diminishing returns as higher levels of cultivation were obtained. Their counterpart was Spirit Nourishing Pellets, which were used to refine the internal energy within the body.

Lin Yun finally understood why there was so much gossip about him and Su Ziyao going around the sect. With prices like that, most of them were probably jealous.

“I’ll have to pay her back,” Lin Yun muttered as he returned to the Azure Sky Sect.

When he returned to his wooden shack, he began his secluded cultivation. His trip to Cloud Horizon Mountain had allowed him to make a breakthrough in both his cultivation and martial techniques. Now, he had to focus on consolidating his cultivation so his breakthrough would not go to waste.

He swallowed a pellet and began.

While Lin Yun was in secluded cultivation, Zhou Ping rushed home as quickly as his broken ribs would allow.

“Big brother, I need your help! If I don’t do something, I’ll be too ashamed to stay in the Azure Sky Sect!” Zhou Ping cried out.

When his ribs were broken by Lin Yun in the Administration Hall, he felt like the dirt he was laying in. Since, he had become a joke among the outer disciples. He lost to a sword slave and no one was letting him live it down.

“Get lost!” Zhou Yun scoffed.

Zhou Yun had reached the seventh stage of the Martial Path and out of the thousands of outer disciples was ranked among the top 10. The mid-year test would take place in two months, and he was determined to become an inner disciple. He didn’t have the time to deal with his brother. Besides, it would look bad for him to stoop to bullying a sword slave.

“Big brother, please! Help me just this once! No one in the Sword Cleaning Chamber is listening to my orders anymore! If this goes on, I might even be fired…” Zhou Ping sobbed as he prostrated himself before Zhou Yun.

Despite the disdain in his eyes, Zhou Yun didn’t like seeing his little brother like this. He sighed reluctantly, “Fine. But this is the only time I will help you.”

“Thank you, brother!” Zhou Ping’s sobbing stopped abruptly as he smiled. Evidently, his time in the Sword Cleaning Chamber wasn’t as miserable as he had just described. Zhou Yun looked at his useless brother begrudgingly. Family was family, after all. Zhou Ping was his little brother whether he liked it or not.

It did not take long before he had come up with an idea. He couldn’t make an appearance personally, but he could pay someone to do it on his behalf. After all, he had a test to train for. He wasn’t about to pass up his chance to become an inner disciple

It had been two days since Lin Yun had returned to his wooden shack at the foot of the mountain. He was already down to one Body Nourishing Pellet and Spirit Nourishing Pellet each but had yet to touch the Body Refining Liquid .

With the aid of the pellets, he managed to consolidate his foundation in the fourth stage of the Martial Path. The effects of the pellets were outstanding, especially the Spirit Nourishing Pellet. His internal energy had become so refined that he thought he might even have an advantage over someone in the fifth stage of the Martial path. Cultivating the Pure Yang Art might be slow, but it was more powerful than other cultivation techniques!

Standing before a half-meter tub, Lin Yun took out the Body Refining Liquid and poured out a third of the bottle.

Sizzle!

Lin Yun stripped while he watched steam rise from the reaction of the two liquids mixing. His skin burned as he lowered himself into the water. The medicine began to take effect quickly. Euphoria came over him in waves as it permeated his entire body before being absorbed by his muscles. His skin broke out in goosebumps and he became intensely aware of his 5 senses. It was as though every single one of his cells had been revitalized.

However, the sensation was short lived, completely wearing off after only five minutes.

“It is only the Body Refining Liquid, after all. If I had a Body Refining Pellet instead, I would probably make much more progress.” Lin Yun sighed. His gaze travelled past the steam and fell onto the painting beside his desk.

Embody the tiger, smell the rose!

Lin Yun began to concentrate. He had to figure out where this painting came from. It had changed the core of his Ferocious Tiger Fist, somehow granting him a fusion between fist and sword for the Hundred Beast Wave. Lin Yun went over to the scroll and, after a brief hesitation, unrolled it.

KABOOM!

Just as before, the split second the painting was open a ferocious tiger leapt out from the painting. Its roar echoed inside Lin Yun’s ears. He was hit by a fierce wind before being enveloped by an intimidating pressure.

But Lin Yun had faced death since he last opened the scroll. He was no longer the same person. He fought to control the trembling in his hands as he forced himself to watch as the tiger pounced in his direction. Time slowed to a crawl, each second feeling like its own eternity.

Fifty-seven… Fifty-eight… Fifty-nine…

He was finally able to hold the scroll open for an entire minute! However, the intimidation from the tiger was too great. He was on the verge of collapsing. Vaguely, he could see the flash of a sword in the painting.

A glimpse was all he got before he reached his limit. He barely managed to fold the scroll before falling to the floor, heart pounding as he lay in a pool of his own sweat. He only saw the metallic sheen for a fraction of a second, but that was more than enough to leave him trembling in fear.

Despite his exhaustion, Lin Yun knew he needed to get a better look. He allowed himself some time to recoup before opening the scroll once more. This time, though, the flash was nowhere to be seen. He could only see the tiger and its intimidating presence.

“This painting is quite the mystery. Maybe it’s because I’m still weak from the last viewing. I will definitely figure this out soon!” he said as he placed the painting down on the desk.

Lin Yun quickly hopped back in the tub. There was no feeling of euphoria this time as his body had absorbed all the Body Refining Liquid, but he was still able to use the water to wash himself off. After a quick rinse, he got dressed and left his hut.

Outside, Lin Yun retrieved his sword and started performing the Flowing Wind Sword. Under his control, the sword danced like the clouds in the sky. It had been two days since he last practiced. It was not long before he was lost in his performance.

Convergent Streams, Flowing Wind!

Lin Yun brought out the essence of the Flowing Wind Sword as he practiced. His movements were fluid. The sword gradually became an extension of his body as he became absorbed in the dance.

After he was finished with his practice, he exhaled sharply and reflected, “I’ve already obtained lesser mastery in my sword technique, maybe it’s time to give the Mechanism Hall a shot…”