Chapter 10

What a pity…

Watching Chen Xiao, who was furious, Lin Yun chose to leave, muttering to himself.

If he had rushed over, he might have been able to use the beast to get rid of this trouble early.

Looking back, gusts of demonic wind were blowing towards him.

The unknown beast that had come for the sawtooth tiger's corpse was about to attack.

Without hesitation, Lin Yun chose another path, retrieving the package he had hidden earlier and leaving far away.

Three days later…

In the small town at the foot of the Qingyun Sect, Lin Yun appeared in the busiest shop.

The town was called Qingyun Town, built against the mountain, and the shops mainly did business with the sect disciples.

There were many people coming and going in the shop, all of them sect disciples and nearby martial artists.

Approaching the counter, he placed the package containing the ferocious beast materials on it.

The shopkeeper was an old man with a steady demeanor. He opened the package and skillfully counted the materials, occasionally glancing at Lin Yun with a hint of surprise in his eyes.

So many ferocious beast materials, all obtained by one person, was quite rare. Among them was the iron wolf claw, a well-known pack beast, which was hard to deal with alone.

"The iron wolf claw is worth 3,000 taels, the spotted tiger skin is quite intact, so I'll give you 2,000 taels, the sharp bull horn is of average quality, 900 taels, and the rest, I'll give you a round number of 1,500 taels. How about that?"

The shopkeeper, skilled in his business, quickly finished counting and quoted the price.

Lin Yun nodded: "Leave me 500 taels, and I want to buy some elixirs with the rest."

"Alright!"

The shopkeeper immediately smiled, finding the deal profitable. He said in a deep voice: "What elixirs do you need? Our elixirs may not be as good as those refined by your sect, but the quality is almost the same, guaranteed to satisfy you."

The sect provided a monthly stipend of silver and elixirs based on cultivation level, but it was far from enough for cultivation expenses.

Unless you were an inner sect disciple or a top-ranked disciple, you wouldn't have additional benefits.

"Let me see the list."

The shopkeeper tossed Lin Yun a list, filled with various elixir names and effects.

Lin Yun shook his head slightly; the elixirs were shockingly expensive, and his 7,000 taels of silver wasn't as much as he had imagined.

Many elixirs cost several thousand taels each, and the quality was only average.

"Two health elixirs, two primordial elixirs, and a bottle of body-tempering liquid."

Almost 7,000 taels of silver exchanged for four elixirs and a bottle of cheap medicinal liquid.

Unlike the third level of martial arts, which focuses on meridian cultivation, the fourth level focuses on strengthening the entire body's muscles. With a body-tempering elixir, the process would be much more efficient.

Unfortunately, a body-tempering elixir costs 10,000 taels of silver, so he had to settle for a body-tempering liquid.

Health elixirs are basic elixirs, and more is always better. They help at every level of martial arts, though their effects diminish as one progresses.

Primordial elixirs are used to refine internal energy.

Looking at the elixirs handed over by the shopkeeper, Lin Yun understood why everyone in the sect liked to talk about Su Zhirao's rewards on him.

Most of it was probably out of jealousy, as Su Zhirao's rewards were indeed substantial.

"But what is owed must be returned."

Returning to the Qingyun Sect, Lin Yun immediately began his seclusion.

The trip to the Hengyun Mountains had brought him great gains, breaking through both his cultivation technique and realm.

Such a significant breakthrough in a short time required him to eliminate arrogance, stabilize his cultivation, and digest the elixirs he had purchased.

Meanwhile…

Zhou Ping, whose ribs Lin Yun had broken a few days ago, had recovered and hurried to his family's residence.

"Brother, if you don't help me this time, I won't be able to stay in the Qingyun Sect!"

Zhou Ping said with a mournful face, looking pitiful.

In the sect's affairs hall, he had been defeated by Lin Yun in three moves, lying on the ground like a dead dog.

This made him the biggest laughingstock among the outer sect disciples, even worse than a sword slave who lived off others.

"Get out."

His older brother, Zhou Yun, said coldly, with a look of disdain on his face.

Zhou Yun was at the seventh level of martial arts and ranked in the top ten among the thousands of outer sect disciples in the Qingyun Sect!

He was determined to secure a spot as an inner sect disciple in the mid-year assessment in two months.

He was too lazy to deal with his useless younger brother, let alone a sword slave. How would others view him if this got out?

"Brother, please help me. In the past few days, even the miscellaneous servants in the Sword Washing Pavilion have started to ignore me. If this continues, I might be expelled…"

Zhou Ping almost fell to his knees, begging incessantly.

Zhou Yun's eyes flashed with disgust, and he sighed inwardly, saying coldly: "Leave first, I'll help you one more time, but this is the last time."

"Thank you, brother, thank you, brother!"

Zhou Ping immediately beamed, clearly not as miserable as he claimed.

Looking at his useless younger brother, Zhou Yun was helpless.

But he was still his younger brother. Closing his eyes and pondering for a moment, he had an idea.

He couldn't personally get involved, as he was competing for an inner sect disciple spot and couldn't afford any trouble.

He needed to find someone willing to act, which would cost him some elixirs.

…

In the wooden house on the halfway up the mountain of the Qingyun Sect…

Lin Yun had been back for two days and had already refined one health elixir and one primordial elixir each.

With the help of the elixirs, the effects were significant, and his cultivation had stabilized at the fourth level of martial arts.

Especially his internal energy, which was already thick and heavy due to the Pure Yang Technique, had been further refined by the primordial elixir, making it even better.

He estimated that even if he encountered a fifth-level martial arts disciple, his internal energy would give him a slight advantage.

The Pure Yang Technique, though slow to cultivate, was much more effective than other techniques.

In front of him was a bathtub more than half a meter high.

Taking out the body-tempering liquid, he poured in a third and then capped the bottle.

Sizzle!

The medicinal liquid mixed with the water, reacting immediately, and layers of steam rose.

The clear spring water turned a bright green, and a faint medicinal fragrance filled the air.

Taking off his clothes and getting into the tub, he immediately felt a burning sensation. As the medicinal liquid seeped into his body, it was absorbed by his muscles, and his cells seemed to come alive, feeling incredibly comfortable.

After five minutes, the sensation of his body being strengthened gradually weakened.

Lin Yun sighed softly: "After all, it's just a body-tempering liquid. If it were a body-tempering elixir, my cultivation would have improved significantly."

Through the mist, Lin Yun's gaze fell on a scroll on the nearby desk.

A fierce tiger, delicately sniffing a rose!

His expression grew serious. What was the origin of this mysterious scroll that had无形中改变了他虎拳的威力？

使百兽来朝，这虎拳最强的杀招，意外地达到了拳剑合一。

他慎重地取过画卷，沉吟片刻，再次缓缓展开。

轰！

一如往昔，画卷展开的瞬间，便有猛虎从画中凶猛地跃出。仿佛有怒吼声在耳边呼啸；仿佛有狂风扑面而来；可怕的压迫感，沉重而真实。

但林云的意志已在生死间磨砺，加上与锯齿虎搏斗的经历。

今日的林云，已非昔日可比。

尽管握着画卷的手仍在微微颤抖，但他依然直面猛虎，任由它不断扑来。

一秒，两秒，三秒……整整一分钟过去。

猛虎的神韵不断冲击他的本心，就在他快要坚持不住时。

隐约间，在画卷中见到一抹剑光。

剑光出现的刹那，林云瞬间无法承受，连忙将画卷收起。

扑通扑通！

心脏不断跳动，似乎要跳出胸膛，林云额头冷汗直冒。

真的是一抹剑光，那剑光惊鸿一瞥，却让他浑身汗毛倒立，受惊不小。

冷静下来，林云再次看向画卷，重新打开。

视野中只有猛虎，带着百兽之王的杀气，直取本心。

那一抹剑光，再也无法显现。

“谜团真多，或许现在实力不够吧，未来总有一天会想个透彻。”

林云放下画卷，不再去思考。

浴盆中的水已经恢复清澈，身体强化液已被完全吸收。

起身随意擦拭一番，林云穿上衣物，带着旧剑走出木屋。

拔剑而出，流云剑法，顺势展开，挥洒自如，如云在舞。

两天没有活动筋骨，此刻剑法一经施展，林云迅速沉浸其中。

聚水成溪，奔流如风！

随意挥洒间，剑法真意尽显，他如流水一般，几乎与剑合一，奔流如风，忘乎所以。

收剑之后，林云吐出一口浊气，轻声说道：“剑法已经小成，想要再进一步，或许得去机关堂试试。”