The weather in May is as fickle as a child’s face.

It was mid-May. The sun might be shining brightly one moment, only for dark clouds to gather the next.

Seated under the eaves, Xile—who had grown another size—lay sprawled at Qin Fang’s feet. The dog would yawn from time to time, occasionally nuzzle against Qin Fang’s leg, its tail giving a lazy wag.

The rain fell in a steady PITTER-PATTER. Qin Fang glanced at the sky, figuring the downpour wouldn’t let up anytime soon.

He looked down and continued to take stock of his current assets.

He’d taken over 2,800 silver from Wang Hu last time and thought it would last him a long while. He hadn’t expected his expenses to be so surprisingly high.

...Especially with the price of Qi Blood Pills from Huichun Hall going up, and the number of Elixirs he could consume each day increasing from one to two.

Over the past two months, his expenditure on Qi Blood Pills alone had been over 1,400 silver.

Adding in the expenses from his last trip to the city, daily tips for the Fish Dragon Gang members, groceries, and other miscellaneous costs, he had spent nearly another 500 silver.

Now, he was down to just over 800 silver?

’Poverty for the scholar, wealth for the warrior!’

I didn’t realize until I sat down and did the math. The final number is shocking!

At this rate, this 800 silver wouldn’t even last a month, would it?

Qin Fang winced.

’...Martial Cultivation is just too expensive!’

Of course, the money hadn’t been spent for nothing.

It had only been ten days or so since his senior brother had instructed him on their master’s behalf, but his progress was excellent. The progress bar for his Spiritual Snake Listening Wave Pile had already reached 432 points.

At his current daily pace, it would only take two or three more days.

’It’s a shame I’ve run out of Pig King Meat, or my progress would be even faster...’

A glint appeared in Qin Fang’s eyes.

He was out of money, and his cultivation resources were dwindling. Naturally, Old Ox Back came to mind...

’That Giant Bee Meat is even more effective than the Pig King Meat!’

’And it’s completely free.’

’How could anyone not be tempted by that!’ 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

’The only problem is the considerable danger...’

Qin Fang’s face twitched as he recalled how his dart had been deflected last time.

He had also lost his Poison Needle while killing Wang Hu, and now all he had left was a piece of Bee Skin...

He had experimented with the Bee Skin a couple of days ago.

With his current Mingjin Cultivation, he had tried shooting the Bee Skin with one of his Darts... and it hadn’t even pierced through!

’...To think that I can now kill a man with a mere wood splinter, yet I can’t even pierce this Bee Skin with a dart... It just goes to show how incredibly tough it is.’

’I’ll have to wait until I break through to Anjin... and see if it’s possible then.’

Anjin primarily enhanced the Penetration Power of one’s Force... so there should be a good chance of success.

As long as I can pierce its defense... it will still be dangerous, of course. If I accidentally provoke a few more of them, I’ll be in a perilous situation.

But at least, there would be an opportunity to pull the chestnuts from the fire.

And as for Anjin...

As long as the progress bar reached ’Minor Achievement,’ the breakthrough to Anjin should come naturally.

After all... I have a Divine Technique like ’Epiphany’.

With a plan in mind, Qin Fang let out a soft breath. He stood up, gathered his assets, placed them in a jar, and buried it beneath a floor tile in the main hall.

Only then did he begin his Standing Pile practice in the main hall.

Qin Fang’s Standing Pile posture now was vastly different from when he first started.

The Spiritual Snake Listening Wave Pile primarily emphasized the Mental Realm; the physical form was less important.

Now that Qin Fang had integrated the technique and his Force was established, his body would naturally adjust to the optimal posture with just a casual stance.

Mingjin was too hard and unyielding. To cultivate the water-like Yin Softness, the first step was to ’loosen’ that rigidity... so posture became less of a focus.

This was a principle he had gradually come to understand over the past two days as his proficiency grew.

’...It seems my senior brother hasn’t grasped this yet.’

A glint appeared in Qin Fang’s eyes. ’Have I... unknowingly surpassed my senior brother?’

’I’m quite curious what kind of expression he’ll make when I see him again as an Anjin Martial Artist...’

He couldn’t help but smile, but he quickly composed himself and focused wholeheartedly on his Standing Pile practice.

...

In the blink of an eye, a day went by.

His proficiency reached 467 points.

’At this rate... one more day should be enough!’

...

「The next day.」

The dreary rain continued. Qin Fang was in the main hall, practicing his Standing Pile.

At a certain moment, the number on his panel twitched.

The text changed.

’Spiritual Snake Listening Wave Pile (High Grade Root Technique) (Minor Achievement): 1/1000’

BOOM!!!

A roar resounded in Qin Fang’s mind, followed by that familiar rush of enlightenment.

He stood stunned as a series of wonderful realizations emerged...

’This is... Anjin?’

He closed his eyes, experiencing the ’Force’ within his body. This ’Force’ was incomparably fierce and violent.

But in that instant, with a mere thought, this Force that had been surging across his muscles and skin began to ’burrow’ deep into his body!

His entire body began to tremble uncontrollably, but it wasn’t an unpleasant sensation. It was an adjustment.

It was as if he had flipped some strange switch in his body, allowing his Force to seep naturally into his muscles and organs!

The feeling... was difficult to describe to someone who hadn’t experienced it firsthand.

It was like how some people can wiggle their ears while others can’t. Or how some people can raise one eyebrow at a time, while others can’t...

It’s simply because they haven’t found the right method. Or, to put it another way... they don’t even know which muscles to move.

That was something no one could teach you.

You had to realize it on your own, to find those muscles yourself...

And now...

Qin Fang had that feeling!

Before, his Force had always been unyieldingly fierce. He had tried to comprehend the so-called ’softness’ of Anjin with all his heart, but he had never been able to truly experience it.