Xie Yuan finished his exercise and stood up.

"Oh, Senior Brother Huo," he said, "I’ve already broken through to the 2nd Layer."

It was a level that didn’t even qualify him as a true Martial Artist, so there was nothing to hide.

The training ground suddenly fell silent.

Hodar’s mouth hung open, and he was stunned for a long moment, unable to utter a single word.

As for the other nominal disciples who had been training alongside him, they all looked at each other, equally shocked into speechlessness.

When a nominal disciple cultivated to the "cowhide" level—that is, breaking through the 2nd Layer—they either got promoted to Core Disciple or could graduate directly.

After all, the teachings for reaching the Martial Artist realm were part of the school’s core competitive advantage and not easily taught to nominal disciples. Besides, nominal disciples lacked dedicated training and rarely managed to break through the 2nd Layer on their own.

Yet Xie Yuan, who rarely even showed up, had managed to reach the 3rd Layer so quickly just by training on his own. Such talent...

Tao Jelin couldn’t help but give Xie Yuan a thumbs-up. As for the other three who had started at the same time, they were suddenly filled with a pang of regret.

Hodar was silent for a long time before he coughed twice, composed himself, and regained the calm demeanor of a senior brother.

"Hmm, Junior Brother Xie. Another breakthrough so soon. Not bad."

’Not bad? It’s way better than not bad! He’s much faster than I was, okay?’

Hodar thought to himself, ’I have to make Master take him in!’

’The competition between the martial arts schools in Panlong Town is so fierce. We can’t afford to miss out on a good disciple!’

He paused for a moment, then exhaled.

"Since you’ve reached the 3rd Layer, according to the rules, it’s time to tell you about fighting methods and the content for breaking through to the Martial Artist realm.

"This is normally reserved for Core Disciples, but with your talent, Junior Brother Xie, there’s no harm in explaining the initial parts to you now. Sooner or later, you’ll be formally joining the school anyway."

Hodar was overtly and covertly extending an olive branch to Xie Yuan.

The other nominal disciples listened with envy and a bit of anticipation, thinking they might get to listen in on the theory of fighting methods thanks to Xie Yuan. But their hopes were dashed when Hodar instructed them to continue their Pile Skill practice, then turned and led Xie Yuan into a training room, leaving them deeply disappointed.

Hearing the sighs of disappointment behind him, Xie Yuan found it a little amusing:

"Looks like this is the premium content... but I get a free trial.

"This must be the benefit of showing your own worth."

Inside the spacious training room, Hodar closed the door, turned, and asked Xie Yuan,

"Junior Brother Xie, I once told you about the four methods of the Martial Dao: Nurturing, Training, Fighting, and Killing. In all your time cultivating, you have only practiced our school’s ’Training’ methods. Aren’t you curious about our ’Fighting’ and ’Killing’ methods?"

"Indeed."

Xie Yuan nodded honestly.

"Then let me give you a demonstration."

After speaking, Hodar sank into a low stance and assumed his posture.

Xie Yuan retreated to the wall and watched quietly, but confusion immediately flickered in his mind.

’Isn’t this just the basic Three Still, Three Moving Pile Skill?’

In the center of the room, Hodar had clearly begun by performing the basic Pile Skill.

But very quickly, Xie Yuan started to notice something different.

Although Hodar started with the framework of the basic Pile Skill, the sequence of movements was quite different and looked much more complex.

Looking closely, he discovered that Hodar was actually weaving the six sets of Pile Skills together. The basic footwork and Fist Skills were fused, transitioning back and forth with the solid, powerful stances of the static piles, combining them into a complete Fist Skill that was balanced in both offense and defense!

’So that’s how it is,’ Xie Yuan realized. ’The basic Pile Skill can be combined into a fighting style. First, you practice the fundamentals, then you learn to convert them. It’s a progressive system, quite scientific, actually.’

Xie Yuan had an epiphany as he watched. When Hodar finished his demonstration, Xie Yuan applauded and nodded repeatedly.

Hodar let out a breath and asked Xie Yuan with a smile,

"Junior Brother Xie, did you gain any insight?"

Xie Yuan nodded, walked directly into the center of the room, sank into a low stance, and then replicated the Fist Skill Hodar had just performed!

He was already extremely proficient with the basic Pile Skill, so once he understood the key principle behind it, he knew what to do after seeing it just once.

Watching Xie Yuan’s slightly unpracticed but clearly insightful movements, Hodar was inwardly amazed:

’I thought he would only be able to see that it was derived from the Pile Skill, but I never imagined he could perform it directly! What an incredibly gifted Junior Brother.’

When he finished the set, Xie Yuan was slightly out of breath. Hodar returned the applause and sighed.

"Junior Brother Xie, your talent is truly something our school hasn’t seen in years. Since you already understand it, I won’t explain further. Just practice it on your own. Do you have any questions?"

Xie Yuan pondered for a moment before asking,

"Senior Brother Huo, is this the only fighting style the school has?"

Hearing this question, Hodar understood.

"This is indeed the only ’Fighting’ method. There is a more powerful ’Killing’ method, but that is Master’s life’s work and is only taught to his personal disciples.

"Junior Brother Xie, do you perhaps feel that this ’Iron Garment Long Fist’ is too weak?"

Xie Yuan glanced at the space in front of him, finding the question a little difficult to answer.

[Iron Garment Long Fist: (1/10)]

It really was simple. The name was as simple as the skill itself.

Otherwise, no matter how high his comprehension was, he wouldn’t have been able to learn it after just one look.

Still, at least it was another fighting style, another tool in his arsenal. Xie Yuan had been worried that with only his tough skin and no real skills, he was just a punching bag.

Now he finally had another way to fight, instead of just desperately swinging an axe.

Hodar explained briefly,

"Our school’s core principle lies in the ’Iron Cloth Shirt.’ During the Skin Training stage, our Defense Power is far superior to others. This Iron Garment Long Fist was created by Master to complement the Iron Cloth Shirt. Its potential is indeed limited, but when used with the Cultivation Technique, it’s exceptionally practical.

"Frankly, the other two schools in Panlong Town are about the same—one Cultivation Technique, which is to say, one ’Training’ method, and one or two ’Fighting’ methods. If you really want to learn a truly powerful fighting style, you have to go to Yunzhao County."

Xie Yuan followed up,

"Are the martial arts schools in Yunzhao County very powerful?"

"Well... Junior Brother Xie, you’re one of us now, so there’s no harm in telling you some of the old stories.

"When Master first came to this region of Yunzhou, he initially opened the school in Yunzhao County City. But after only one month, he moved it to Panlong Town...

"In Yunzhao, the master of a school must be at least at the Third Training level just to establish a foothold. Those at the Fourth Training are not uncommon, and there are even some at higher levels. And this is despite Yunzhao County not even being considered a major county in the Great Li Dynasty."

Xie Yuan’s interest was piqued.

It turned out that Liu the Monk, who seemed quite capable here, couldn’t even find a foothold in Yunzhao County.

Compared to the small pond of Panlong Town, the waters of Yunzhao were far more turbulent.

He asked with great interest,

"Senior Brother Huo, what are some of the famous martial arts schools in Yunzhao County?"

Hodar seemed to have become quite chatty and was happy to talk. He held up four fingers.

"The martial arts world in Yunzhao County recognizes four great schools, known as ’Golden Blade, Feather Sword’.

"They are the ’Vajra Sect,’ invincible in hard-style techniques; the ’One Blade School,’ with its ferocious saber techniques; the ’Piaoyu Sect,’ renowned for its Lightweight Skill and leg techniques; and the ’Sword Monarch Hall,’ with its exquisite Swordsmanship.

"The masters of these four great schools are all powerful experts at the Fourth Training. Among them, the Vajra Sect is considered the strongest. This is partly because a fully accomplished Fourth Training hard-style Martial Artist is inherently formidable, but there’s another reason—

"The current County Captain of Yunzhao is from the Vajra Sect. He is the junior brother of the current sect master, and he is also at the Fourth Training."

Xie Yuan had heard the name Vajra Sect before, but mainly because Brother Zhang had learned his skills there. As a result, most people in Little Stone Village had heard of this major martial arts school from Yunzhao County.

As for the other three schools, this was the first time he’d heard of them. They each seemed to have their own specialty, and to be as famous as the Vajra Sect, their skills must be extraordinary.

"However, that’s actually just one part of a saying. ’Golden Blade, Feather Sword’ is only the first half; there’s a second half. The full saying goes—

"’Golden Blade, Feather Sword, can’t leap the Dragon Gate.’

"The true number one martial arts institution in Yunzhao County isn’t a pure martial arts school, but an Escort Agency.

"The Longteng Escort Agency."