'Let's level up my internal skill first…'

After thinking for a while, Xu Ning finally made a decision.

No matter how amazing his external power was, if he didn't have a strong body, his power would be limited.

As long as his body was strong, even if his external skill realm was one level lower, he could still exert terrifying combat power.

Xu Ning stared at the Martial Arts Panel and said "yes".

The panel refreshed again.

—

Name: Xu Ning

Martial Arts:

Spring Breeze Tactic (Mortal realm second stage: muscle bone realm) +

Gale Knife Method (Intermediate) +

Available energy: 6 units

—

After the panel was refreshed, Xu Ning felt a strange feeling in his body.

Unlike breaking through the practice realm, Xu Ning felt a chilling sensation in his fascia and bones.

It seemed like his bones had been tempered and his fascia had been stretched.

Xu Ning stretched his body and noticed that his flexibility had improved greatly.

Practice realm increased his strength, but after reaching the muscle bone realm, he was more flexible, explosive, and agile.

'After reaching the muscle bone realm, I can manipulate my body more delicately.'

Xu Ning clearly understood the changes in his body, 'The accuracy of my Gale Knife Technique has been improved, and the range and angle of my slashes has been improved. My attacks will be more difficult for enemies to defend against.'

'Additionally, my body is much stronger than before. Now, even if I don't use my external skill, I can easily defend against an attack from ten normal men just by relying on my fists.'

Xu Ning took a deep breath.

His physical changes made him feel ecstatic.

"No wonder countless warriors are pursuing higher realms. They are not only pursuing power and strength, but also a sense of control."

After experiencing the power of internal skills, Xu Ning had a higher level of thirst for martial arts.

'Thanks to these five Swallowtail Flowers, I am now two realms above what I was before.'

When Xu Ning's Gale Knife Technique was superimposed on his muscle bone realm, he could be considered outstanding amongst the young people in the Tao Village.

There were not many people of the same age who could match Xu Ning in the Tao Village.

With Xu Ning's current strength, he could leave Tao Village and earn a living by himself.

Xu Ning now had the basic qualifications to survive on his own.

'Let's see how many units of energy it takes to level up again…'

Xu Ning looked at the "+" sign besides the Spring Breeze Tactic.

—

Consume 12 units of energy to level up Spring Breeze Tactic?

Yes/No

—

"12 units…"

Although he knew that his energy units were not enough for three consecutive level ups, Xu Ning still didn't expect the energy requirement to increase by 6 whole units.

'The same amount of energy units to reach the perfection realm of the Gale Knife Technique…'

Xu Ning thought for a moment and turned off the Martial Arts Panel.

'Uncle Gang and Guo Ye helped me a ton this time.'

Xu Ning sighed.

These five Swallowtail Flowers allowed his internal skill to rise by two levels in a row, and he still had 6 units of energy left over.

Although Tao Yungang was just expressing his gratitude, Xu Ning still felt like he owed Tao Yungang a favor.

'Now that my strength has grown, I will surely gain more resources when I enter Yunze Mountains.'

Xu Ning was full of confidence.

The improvement of his strength and the acquisition of resources was a positive feedback cycle.

'I'll go into the mountains tomorrow!'

Xu Ning made a decision.

…

Half a month had gone by.

During this period, Xu Ning entered Yunze Mountains almost every other day.

A few days ago, Xu Ning carefully explored the outer areas of the inner circle, and after familiarizing himself with the terrain and environment, he began to tread deeper.

Xu Ning discovered many medicinal materials that were rare in the outer circle, as well as some beasts that were rarely seen anywhere else. The abundance of wild resources was amazing.

Xu Ning used to pick herbs on the outskirts of the mountains, and his monthly income was usually around three taels of silver.

But now, after only half a month, Xu Ning's income from selling herbs was 60 taels!

If he continued working, his monthly income would be more than 100 taels, which was equivalent to his family's yearly income.

Although this income was still incomparable to that of Tao Yungang's herbal business, it was much larger than most people.

Xu Ning came back from Yunze Mountains again.

As usual, he still sold the medicinal materials to Guo Ye's shop.

Over the past half a month, Tao Yungang handled the affairs of his fallen brothers.

Tao Yungang compensated 500 taels each to the families of the three casualties, and would also pay for the living expenses of their children until they got married.

Tao Yunquan lost his hand, so Tao Yungang paid him a large sum for medical expenses and provided precious herbs for him to recover from his injuries.

Tao Yungang performed all of his duties impeccably.

Thus, in the future, there would still be people willing to escort Tao Yungang's carriage.

People were happy to work for generous bosses.

Xu Ning sold six taels of silver worth of medicinal materials today.

Although this was small compared to the huge profits from selling the Heal-all Plants some time ago, the small profits added up.

If he could find a spirit medicine once in a while, he would be even more wealthy.

Guo Ye had gotten used to Xu Ning's sudden increase in income.

Xu Ning was now comparable to some of the old medicine collectors in the village; he could be regarded as a master medicine collector.

After selling the herbal medicine, Xu Ning returned home.

Their family income had increased significantly recently, so Xu Ning persuaded Xu Lian and Tao Yunchuan to relax and quit their job.

At first, the both of them were a little hesitant. But after seeing the high amount of income Xu Ning brought back the next day, they agreed to his request.

They had just entered winter, and the couple planned to spend their winter leisurely.

During spring next year, they would start farming and planting again. They didn't need to make money from selling food—they just wanted something to do.

At the dinner table.

The quality of the dishes on the table had obviously improved. They went from eating meat once a month to eating it almost every other day.

The family house had also begun renovations.

It was like the entire family was experiencing a new life.

"Brother-in-law, is there any meat at home?"

Xu Ning asked after dinner.

"Yes, what are you going to do?"

Tao Yunchuan's mental state was very different from before.

The fatigue caused by his original life had disappeared.

"I want to take two pounds of lamb meat and go to Uncle Tao Yunmeng's house."

Xu Ning said.

During this period of gathering medicine in the inner circle of the mountains, Xu Ning had encountered various ferocious beasts.

Even though Xu Ning was strong, there was still a risk of injury if these beasts got close to his body.

After pondering this problem, Xu Ning decided to learn a long-range archery type external skill.

By attacking the mountain beasts from far away, he would be much safer.

Although this was a good idea, he didn't know where to learn archery skills.

Although quite a few people in the Tao Village now knew his name, most of them were still strangers.

Xu Ning had asked Guo Ye to ask Tao Yungang, and Tao Yungang told Xu Ning to visit his former coach, Tao Yunmeng.

Which brought him to where he was today.

"Okay, after dinner, I will tie up the lamb chops for you."

Tao Yunchuan immediately responded. Xu Ning's affairs were extremely important to him.

"Bring some of Uncle Yungang's gifts too."

Xu Lian said. She knew that Xu Ning was going there to learn martial arts.

…

After dinner, Xu Ning went to Tao Yunmeng's house with the gifts.

Tao Yunmeng's home was quite grandiose.

The night was coming. Two illuminated lanterns were hung high at the gate of Tao Yunmeng's house, lighting up the front gate.

Tao Yunmeng was a powerful moral realm fourth stage qi realm warrior. His income was similar to Tao Yungang's.

The reason why he served as the head coach and instructed the younger generation in the village was not for the salary, but just to train the descendants of the village.

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Xu Ning banged on the door.

"Who is it?"

Soon, a voice came from the courtyard. It was the voice of a young man that was loud and clear.

"I'm Xu Ning, I came to visit Uncle Meng."

Xu Ning responded loudly at the door.

The courtyard door soon opened.

A young man came out, his face looked somewhat similar to Tao Yunmeng's.

"Xu Ning?"

The young man glanced at Xu Ning.

"It's me."

Xu Ning responded.

The young man grinned. "Come on in."