An indescribable sense of gratitude welled up in Yang Jing’s heart.

The great powers, like the Chen Family and the Jiang Family, would offer ten pounds of high-grade Exotic Beast Meat, but it would come with countless strings attached—so many rules and restrictions they could suffocate a person. The slightest misstep could turn you into their vassal.

Yet his master had just given him twenty pounds with no conditions whatsoever. This generous treatment moved him more than a gift a thousand times its weight.

"Take it. And keep it safe."

Seeing him dazed, Sun Yong pushed the wooden token forward a little more. "This month’s allotment for this Token hasn’t been claimed yet. You can go to the Exotic Beast Pavilion in the Inner City and collect it today."

Yang Jing finally snapped back to his senses and accepted the wooden token with both hands.

The Token felt slightly heavy in his grasp, its surface smooth and warm. The character for "Sun" seemed to carry a warmth of its own, and a comforting current flowed from his palm straight to his heart.

He clutched the wooden token tightly, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he spoke in a low voice, "Thank you, Master."

Sun Yong watched him take the Token and nodded slightly, his eyes filled with expectation. "With these twenty pounds of high-grade Exotic Beast Meat, plus the Spirit Fish and Qi Storage Pills from the Liu Family, you will no longer have to rely on the meat of mere fierce beasts. With Exotic Beast Meat as your primary dietary supplement, your resources will be more than enough to support your training, even if you’re cultivating two martial arts at once. This will surely speed up your progress considerably."

Yang Jing nodded in agreement, already calculating in his mind.

Exotic Beast Meat and the meat of fierce beasts were worlds apart.

While the meat of ordinary fierce beasts could strengthen the body and was nutritious, it contained very little Spiritual Qi. Its restorative effects were far inferior to that of Exotic Beast Meat.

Exotic Beast Meat, on the other hand, was nourished by Spiritual Qi and contained pure vital energy and blood. This was especially true for high-grade Exotic Beast Meat; a single bite was worth more than half a pound of fierce beast meat.

Previously, he had to eat over two pounds of fierce beast meat in one sitting, supplemented with elixirs, just to barely replenish his spent qi and blood. With Exotic Beast Meat, half a pound would likely be enough. A full pound at most would be enough to make his Dantian grow warm and eliminate the need for any other dietary or medicinal supplements for the rest of the day.

Paired with the Qi Storage Pills, his resources could be considered abundant.

’I wonder how much my Martial Dao progress will improve now that I have a steady supply of Exotic Beast Meat and the help of Elixirs.’ He felt a surge of anticipation.

Yang Jing took a deep breath and looked down at the wooden token in his palm. It felt heavy—not just from its physical weight, but from the weight of his master’s investment in him.

He secretly made a resolution: he would not disappoint this expectation. He would break through his bottleneck as soon as possible, for his master’s sake and for his own.

Sun Yong didn’t know what Yang Jing was thinking at that moment, but he could guess some of it and felt a sense of comfort.

His gaze fell upon Yang Jing. Just as he was about to dismiss him, he suddenly recalled two incorrect details he had noticed while watching Yang Jing practice his fist forms earlier. He began to explain them carefully. "Right, when you practice the Mountain-Shattering Fist, in the move where you turn and swing your fist, you can sink your waist and hips another half-inch. That will make the force flow more smoothly. Also, during the breathing exercise at the end of the form, your breath is a bit rushed. It needs to be about thirty percent longer to transition more seamlessly into the next move."

Yang Jing listened with rapt attention, committing these two details firmly to memory. He bowed and replied, "This disciple will remember. Thank you for your guidance, Master."

Seeing that he understood, Sun Yong waved a hand. "Go on, then. Cultivate well."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jing quickly stood, bowed, then turned and left the study.

The wooden door closed softly, sealing the room off from the outside. Sun Yong was left alone in the study.

Sun Yong sat behind his desk, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the tabletop. His gaze fell on an empty corner of the desk, and he remained silent for a long while.

"Sigh..." A soft sigh echoed in the quiet study. He slowly shook his head, a complicated expression on his face.

’The Token I just gave Yang Jing wasn’t originally for him.’

He had given it to Lin Yue long ago. Although Lin Yue was highly talented with a superior constitution, the reason for his rapid progress—reaching the Peak of Dark Energy less than a year after breaking through to Dark Energy—was not just his own talent, but also this Token. Twenty pounds of high-grade Exotic Beast Meat every month was a luxury that even the direct heirs of wealthy families rarely enjoyed.

But now, Lin Yue was severely injured and bedridden. Forget practicing martial arts, even getting out of bed was difficult for him. He would need at least half a year of quiet recuperation to recover.

The Token would just sit idle in Lin Yue’s hands, so he had taken it back and given it to Yang Jing instead.

But now that he had a quiet moment to think, Sun Yong found himself in a difficult position.

’In six months, if Lin Yue’s injuries are healed and he returns to the Martial Arts Hall to resume his training, what should I do about the Token?’

’Not give it back to Lin Yue? But he’s my most valued Direct Disciple, exceptionally gifted, the one I have the highest hopes for.’

’Take it back from Yang Jing?’

’Yang Jing is in a period of rapid advancement right now; this Token is a huge help to him. Besides, I gave it to him of my own volition. To ask for it back now would not only hurt Yang Jing’s feelings but also make me, his master, seem petty and like I go back on my word.’

He was damned if he did, damned if he didn’t.

Sun Yong rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling a sharp headache coming on.

"Forget it, forget it..." He finally let out a heavy sigh, his voice thick with frustration. "I’ll just take it one step at a time. When the time comes, I’ll figure something out."

With that, he shifted his gaze out the window, watching the green bamboo in the courtyard sway gently in the wind. His expression grew even more somber.

...

Yang Jing left the inner courtyard and went straight back to the training grounds in the front courtyard.

The sun was bright. He took a deep breath, once again sinking into a horse stance and beginning to practice the Mountain-Shattering Fist.

This time, he carefully corrected the two flawed details Sun Yong had pointed out. The force of his fists grew deeper and heavier, and every punch he threw carried the artistic intent of Mountain-Shattering Stone-Splitting.

As his practice intensified, he shifted his footing, and his figure suddenly became elusive. He began to integrate the Raging Wave Legs into his Mountain-Shattering Fist, his twisting and turning movements lending his fist techniques an unpredictable quality, making it difficult to distinguish feint from reality.

Since his Body Technique had already been exposed to others, he no longer bothered to deliberately hide it, occasionally interspersing a few moves from the Raging Wave Legs into his training.