After explaining the final detail on how to exert strength, Sun Yong saw Yang Jing’s contemplative expression and turned to walk toward his desk.

He moved the teacup aside. The oil lamp on the desk stretched his shadow long.

He pushed aside a pile of scrolls and took out a palm-sized wooden box from the back of a drawer.

The box was made of fine red sandalwood, its surface carved with simple cloud patterns. The edges and corners were worn smooth and lustrous, a clear sign of its age.

He placed the box on the desk and opened it gently. Inside, a lustrous white porcelain vial rested quietly on a bed of dark red velvet.

The vial was about a finger long, its body as smooth and fine as jade, and its mouth sealed with a cork stopper.

Sun Yong pulled out the cork and glanced inside. A faint, bittersweet medicinal aroma wafted through the study.

He stoppered the vial again and turned to hand it to Yang Jing, his voice steady. "These are Qi Storage Pills. Take them and keep them safe."

Yang Jing’s gaze fell on the porcelain vial. He froze for a moment, and before he could fully process it, he heard Sun Yong continue, "The nourishing effect of these pills is comparable to high-grade Exotic Beast Meat. Taking one a day is equivalent to refining the essence from a pound or two of high-grade Exotic Beast Meat. It will be of great benefit to your training."

Yang Jing blinked, finally snapping back to reality. He looked up at Sun Yong, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Master, this—"

’High-grade Exotic Beast Meat...’

He knew what something like that was worth now.

The Spirit Fish he occasionally ate was a type of Exotic Beast Meat, and its effects far surpassed those of meat from an ordinary beast.

’And Spirit Fish were just a common type of exotic beast. Yet these Qi Storage Pills were comparable to *high-grade* Exotic Beast Meat? A single pill was worth a pound or two of the high-grade meat!’

Yang Jing didn’t know exactly how much this bottle of elixirs was worth in silver coins, but it was definitely far more than his entire fortune.

’Maybe a few hundred taels of silver. Maybe even over a thousand.’

Nearly a thousand taels of silver... The number weighed on Yang Jing like a mountain.

He came from a rural village where his family’s annual expenses were no more than three taels of silver.

Even with the small windfalls he had acquired, his entire savings added up to less than four hundred taels.

Yang Jing stared at the porcelain vial Sun Yong held out to him. His breathing grew labored, and for a moment, he forgot to reach out and take it.

He felt as if the very air around him had solidified. The glow of the oil lamp swirled across the vial, making its lustrous white surface seem increasingly brilliant, and increasingly heavy.

Yang Jing knew it had to be his performance today that had earned his master’s esteem.

This had been part of his plan all along.

If he kept hiding his strength and maintaining a low profile, he would be overlooked, miss out on opportunities, and hinder his own training.

But Yang Jing had never imagined that his master, when he finally decided to act, would be so incredibly generous.

Seeing Yang Jing still frozen in hesitation, Sun Yong pushed the vial a little closer, his tone gentle but firm. "Take it."

His fingertips tapped lightly on the desk, the cloud patterns on the open box seeming to shimmer in the lamplight. "I’ve been rooted in Yuhe County for thirty years," he said softly. "My savings may not compare to those of the great families, but I still have a little something to my name."

When Yang Jing looked up, he met the profound gaze in Sun Yong’s eyes.

There was nothing perfunctory in that look; it was as if he were appraising a piece of uncut jade.

Flawed, perhaps, but hiding a light that could not be concealed.

"Lin Yue is impulsive and flamboyant. His foundation is solid and his talent is high, but he lacks a certain quiet tenacity."

Sun Yong suddenly spoke, his voice a little lower than before. "You’re different. You seem quiet and reserved, but inside, you see things with perfect clarity. You have a tenacious spirit. That spirit, combined with your talent, makes you excellent material for the Martial Arts."

He pressed the vial into Yang Jing’s hand. The warmth of his palm seeped through the porcelain, a tangible, comforting heat.

"Use these elixirs for now. When you run out, come to me for more. Don’t feel like you’re taking advantage or be embarrassed. The best way to repay me is to establish yourself in Yuhe County, keep some of the more impetuous youngsters in line for me, or lend the Martial Arts Hall a hand if it ever runs into trouble."

Yang Jing clutched the lustrous white vial. It was cool to the touch, yet it miraculously soothed the last trace of unease in his heart.

He remembered when he first joined the Martial Arts Hall, how he knew nothing and just lingered at the edge of the front courtyard. He didn’t even know what Inner Strength was back then. Who could have imagined that one day he would be valued so highly by the Hall Master? 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

"Don’t worry, Master."

He looked down at the fine, crackle-glaze pattern on the vial, his voice a shade deeper than usual. "I won’t let you down."

He said it with utter sincerity, without a hint of pretense.

He knew what he was missing. He needed tonics like this, the flesh and blood of exotic beasts that could make his qi and blood surge and his body grow strong.

In other words, he needed someone willing to give him a hand as he struggled to climb higher.

Now that Sun Yong had offered it, he accepted it with composure.

’As for repaying this debt?’ Yang Jing felt confident.

With his status panel, he knew he wouldn’t stop at the stage of Concealed Strength. One day, he would reach Transformative Strength, and even higher realms beyond that.

When that time came, when he had made a name for himself in the Martial Arts world of Yuhe County and even Jintai Prefecture, he would repay Sun Yong and the Martial Arts Hall not just tenfold, but a hundredfold.

His fingers tightened around the vial. Where it pressed against his palm, a warm current seemed to spread, seeping through his veins and into every inch of his body.

Yang Jing could feel that along with this bottle of pills, something else had taken root deep within his heart.

"You’re tired. Go back and get some rest," Sun Yong said. "Tomorrow’s matches are what will determine if you can make it onto the training ground’s ranking list. Make sure you’re in peak condition. Win or lose, just do your best."

Yang Jing nodded. He carefully tucked the porcelain vial of Qi Storage Pills inside his robes and gave Sun Yong a deep bow. "I will take my leave. Master, you should also rest early."