After breaking through to the Stone Skin Realm, Gong Yulei’s hearing had improved significantly.

Though the conversation inside the room wasn’t loud, he heard every word clearly. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He wasn’t angry, just disappointed.

He’d thought that by becoming stronger, he could finally fit in with them.

But in the end, he was just an outsider.

...

「Another half month passed in the blink of an eye.」

On this day, Jiang Che arrived at the Martial Arts Hall’s Disciple Courtyard to practice his fist techniques, only to hear the faint sound of scolding coming from inside a room.

He looked around and saw that Gong Yulei was nowhere to be seen.

Zhang Xiong came over and whispered:

"Master and Gong Yulei are in the room."

"Oh? What’s going on?" Jiang Che was a little surprised.

’Gong Yulei’s cultivation speed was the fastest in the courtyard, and he had already broken through to the Stone Skin Realm.’

’Anyone with eyes could see he was Master’s favorite. He practically wanted to give him private lessons every day. Who would’ve thought he’d actually get a scolding?’

"Isn’t he just affiliated with the Fish Dragon Gang? I heard he officially joined them recently and even became a minor leader," Zhang Xiong said.

"Why would he join the Fish Dragon Gang? Wouldn’t that take away his freedom?" Jiang Che asked doubtfully.

Although these gangs were lucrative, they required constant fighting and killing, involved all sorts of complications, and made it easy to attract trouble.

A loose affiliation was one thing, but if you truly joined, many things would be out of your control.

"I heard it was for Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat." Zhang Xiong sighed. "The Fish Dragon Gang is considered one of the major gangs in Lin Yuan City. They supposedly have access to it."

"I see." Jiang Che nodded.

To advance from the Stone Skin Realm to the Iron Skin Realm, one needed not only talent but also the support of a large amount of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat!

If he hadn’t happened to save the young lady of the Shao Mansion, he wouldn’t have obtained Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat so early either.

Of course, even without this opportunity, he was confident he could slowly grind his way up with his Skill Proficiency Panel and enough time.

His Qi Blood accumulation was slow, but he wouldn’t face any bottlenecks.

"That’s where you’re wrong. The Fish Dragon Gang is no righteous organization. I heard that to prove his worth..." Zhang Xiong lowered his voice,

"he crippled a minor leader from a rival gang, one that was fighting them for territory! Severed his tendons and threw him onto the street for public display!"

Zhang Xiong shook his head after he finished speaking.

"That... isn’t that taking it a bit too far? Does the Government Office not get involved?" Jiang Che frowned.

"As long as gang fights don’t harm ordinary citizens, the Government Office never gets involved.

"Besides, the Fish Dragon Gang’s Leader is said to have powerful connections. Even if it came to murder, he could smooth things over," Zhang Xiong said.

Just then, Gong Yulei walked out of the room, his face filled with an unconvinced expression.

The two of them stopped talking and went back to their respective training.

Lin Xue’er, however, went up to him. After she said a few words, the look on Gong Yulei’s face gradually softened.

Before long, the two of them left together.

For the next few days, Gong Yulei didn’t come to the Martial Arts Hall, and Luo Kun didn’t ask about him.

Jiang Che remembered what Master had said when he was drunk and started bringing Ling’er to the Martial Arts Hall from time to time. Master’s mood visibly brightened as a result.

No one took the initiative to bring up Gong Yulei.

Ten days later, Gong Yulei suddenly returned to the Martial Arts Hall.

Seeing Jiang Che and the others, he nodded in acknowledgment and then went straight to Master’s room.

Jiang Che saw that he and Master talked in the room for a long time. When they came out, both were smiling.

After that day, Luo Kun went back to giving Gong Yulei private lessons as usual, and it was as if nothing had ever happened.

The only difference was that whenever Gong Yulei left the Martial Arts Hall, people from the gang would be outside waiting to escort him.

Jiang Che felt that these men had fierce expressions and carried the faint scent of blood. They didn’t seem like good people.

But it was none of Jiang Che’s business. He focused daily on accumulating Qi Blood and cultivating [Body Refinement] and [Calligraphy].

「In the Jiang Family courtyard.」

Jiang Che stood bare-chested in the courtyard, holding a long, thin iron rod that he continuously used to strike his own body.

His muscles were tensed, and his skin was slightly flushed red.

Although not as exaggerated as Sun Yong’s physique, his muscles were already full and well-defined.

He was much stronger than he had been before his breakthrough.

Even his height had increased a little, reaching about 1.8 meters.

HUFF—

After striking his entire body, Jiang Che stopped.

’It doesn’t even hurt that much when the iron rod hits me anymore...’

Jiang Che carefully assessed himself and found that the recent strikes hadn’t caused him much damage.

With a wave of his hand, he opened the panel.

[Name: Jiang Che]

[Age: 16]

[Realm: Qi Blood First Layer·Late-stage Bull Skin Realm]

[Qi Blood Martial Dao: Cloud-Stacking Fist Minor Achievement (1/200), Flying Swallow Step Minor Achievement (1/200)]

[Skills: Body Refinement Minor Achievement (140/200), Calligraphy Minor Achievement (190/200), White Cloud Fist Perfection]

[Talent: Heart Stream, Omen]

...

After a period of cultivation.

Jiang Che’s Qi Blood had reached eighty percent capacity.

He had solidified his strength at the Late-stage Bull Skin Realm.

Furthermore, since he spent all his time practicing Body Refinement, his skill level progressed rapidly, and he had now reached Minor Achievement.

However, this skill wasn’t a proper Iron Body Skill, so its effects were limited.

After reaching Minor Achievement, although Jiang Che felt it didn’t hurt as much to be hit, he would still be injured by a full-power attack.

Still, it was just a common skill he had accidentally unlocked. It wasn’t restricted by Qi Blood and could be trained directly to Perfection.

What Jiang Che was truly looking forward to was the Talent Skill that would activate after he reached Perfection.

That was his true ace in the hole.

...

...

「North of Lin Yuan City.」

「Fish Market.」

This was a street near the docks, lined on both sides with fishermen selling all kinds of catches.

A tall, thin, dark-skinned youth was selling some small, miscellaneous fish and river shrimp.

But even after a long time, no one had patronized his stall.

Seeing that the sun was about to set and he had only earned a few copper coins, the youth couldn’t help but sigh, his face etched with worry.

This person was Zhao Xisheng.

After they had caught the Treasure Fish, his father, Zhao Tiegen, had secretly taken the fish into the Inner City.

He had successfully sold it to the Drunken Immortal Tower and received two hundred taels of silver.

After returning, the father and son kept quiet and continued to fish as they always had.

After chatting with the other fishermen, they discovered that the Fish Dragon Gang hadn’t noticed them secretly selling the Treasure Fish.

With their hanging hearts finally settled, the father and son began secretly looking for farmland to purchase, planning for their future.

Zhao Tiegen even found a matchmaker to arrange a meeting for Zhao Xisheng.

Zhao Xisheng also took a liking to one of the girls.

The girl was from a farming family. She had a quiet demeanor, was capable of any kind of work, and Zhao Tiegen was also very satisfied with her.

Just as they were preparing to sell their boat, say goodbye to the fishing life for good, and start living a better life, Zhao Tiegen fell ill.

Only then did Zhao Xisheng discover that the wound from the fish bite on his father had long since begun to fester.

Zhao Tiegen hadn’t thought much of it at first. After all, fishermen were no strangers to injury.

In the past, he would just bandage it up casually, and nothing ever came of it.

But unexpectedly, the wound from the Treasure Fish’s bite refused to heal.

By the time he realized the severity, the man was already running a high fever, his consciousness starting to fade.

Zhao Xisheng hurriedly found a doctor.

The doctor took one look, shook his head, said, "The illness has reached the vital organs; he’s beyond saving," and then left.

Zhao Xisheng found three doctors in a row, and they all said the same thing.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he spent a fortune to hire a famous doctor from the Inner City, who prescribed some medicine that managed to temporarily keep him alive.

However, the doctor used extremely expensive medicinal ingredients, and the two hundred taels of silver from selling the Treasure Fish was quickly spent.

Just like that, the dream of buying land was gone, and his prospects with the girl he liked had vanished.

He had lost his mother at a young age; it was his father who had struggled to raise him.

Left with no choice, Zhao Xisheng had to fish during the day to earn money for medicine and take care of his father at night.

The heavy burden of life suddenly fell upon his shoulders.

He became visibly haggard.

"Sigh... I only made twenty copper coins today. That’s not even enough to cover the docking fee, let alone the money for medicine!"

Zhao Xisheng looked at the fish and shrimp in his basket, his heart filled with misery.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out in the Fish Market as a large group of people arrived with great fanfare.

The person in the lead had shifty, rat-like eyes and walked with his feet turned out, looking somewhat comical.

Zhao Xisheng focused his gaze and saw that it was Li San from the Fish Dragon Gang!

’Crap, are they here to collect the stall fee again? But didn’t I just pay half a month ago?’

His heart sank.

As the group drew closer, he suddenly noticed that Li San was bowing and scraping, accompanying a tall, slender young man.

The man wore a white, form-fitting martial uniform, had upward-slanting phoenix eyes, and wore an arrogant expression.

Zhao Xisheng found him familiar. After thinking carefully, he suddenly remembered.

"Gong Yulei... It’s Senior Brother Gong Yulei!"