Even after signing the contract, Li Ting found it all a bit surreal.

Ji Hanming had offered the position of Eagle Cavalry Commander and still failed to recruit Bai Yuan, yet she had managed to win him over with a mere twenty taels of silver a month.

’Could it be that Ji Hanming and Bai Yuan are enemies?’

Li Ting wondered to herself.

Still, she was thrilled that Bai Yuan had agreed to affiliate with the Li Family.

While an affiliation wasn’t as secure or binding as pledging full allegiance, it meant Bai Yuan couldn’t just stand by and do nothing if the Li Family ran into trouble.

With an additional Martial Artist in their corner, other powers would be more wary of them.

That was more than enough for the Li Family.

Li Ting wasn’t delusional enough to think the Li Family could tie down a Martial Artist who was destined to become an Inner Courtyard Disciple.

Huwei Arts Hall only had a dozen or so Inner Courtyard Disciples, and the other three martial arts halls were much the same. Every year, most of the Inner Courtyard Disciples in Qinghe County were recruited by major powers or the Xuan Yang Court. The Li Family just wasn’t in that league.

Though Bai Yuan wasn’t an Inner Courtyard Disciple yet, Li Ting already regarded him as one.

Securing Bai Yuan’s affiliation with the Li Family would also elevate her own standing within the clan.

"Senior Brother Bai, thank you."

Li Ting felt that Bai Yuan must see her as a friend to have agreed to this affiliation.

She may have been the Li Family’s only daughter, and things looked glamorous on the surface, but her father’s lack of a male heir meant her branch of the family was in an unstable position. That was why she had taken up martial arts in the first place.

"If you really want to thank me, how about treating me to another meal at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion?"

The image of Bai Yuan devouring thirty taels worth of Ji Hanming’s silver like a Taotie immediately flashed through Li Ting’s mind.

"Senior Brother Bai, I haven’t received this month’s allowance yet..."

"Next time, then. Just don’t forget."

Bai Yuan waved a dismissive hand.

The Li Family had a decent reputation in Qinghe County. The strongest member of their clan was a Veteran Martial Artist who had reached the Yijin Pass. He was supposedly Li Ting’s great-grandfather and rarely made public appearances.

It was his presence that allowed the Li Family to hold an advantage over the Zhu Family.

The odds of his Tiger-Crane Form being exposed while affiliated with the Li Family were low, which was why Bai Yuan had made this choice.

If the Li Family truly needed help, he would provide it if he could. But if they provoked someone he couldn’t afford to offend, well, there was nothing to be done.

The twenty taels from the Li Family temporarily eased his financial straits.

...

"Sister Chen, here are twenty taels of silver. Take them and pay the rent for now."

Bai Yuan found Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family and took a heavy pouch containing twenty taels of silver from within his robes.

The Li Family’s Patriarch was quite generous; upon hearing that Bai Yuan was affiliating with them, he had advanced him three months’ stipend at once.

His sister-in-law and Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family ran the Hongqiao Dye Workshop together. He couldn’t let Mrs. Liu bear the financial burden alone.

The Hongqiao Dye Workshop now had to shut down for three months to avoid the Zhu Family’s wrath, but the rent for that period still had to be paid.

Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family had accumulated a fair bit of savings from her years in business, but she couldn’t afford to burn through it like this.

Mrs. Liu of the Chen Family let out a soft sigh.

Thinking of her recent difficulties, she accepted the silver.

"Ah Yuan, you’re too kind."

Seeing that the silver had been delivered, Bai Yuan gave a wave and headed back to his ancestral home.

The moment he stepped through the gate, he saw Xiao Qiaoniang in the courtyard.

Xiao Qiaoniang was fiddling with the wooden practice dummy Bai Yuan usually used for his training.

To make his saber practice more convenient, Bai Yuan had simply asked a carpenter in town to build him a training dummy.

"Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"

Xiao Qiaoniang looked at Bai Yuan standing at the entrance, her gaze first focused, then resolute.

"Brother-in-law, I want to practice martial arts." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Ever since the incident at the Hongqiao Dye Workshop, the idea of learning martial arts had slowly taken root in her mind.

She had a resilient nature and didn’t want to hide behind someone else for every little thing. There would be more trouble ahead, and she couldn’t let her brother-in-law shoulder it all.

Bai Yuan guessed what was on Xiao Qiaoniang’s mind.

"Sister-in-law, have you made up your mind?"

"Yes."

"Alright. In that case, I’ll teach you for now."

In terms of strength, he was already on par with an Inner Courtyard Disciple, so he was more than qualified to teach Xiao Qiaoniang the Five Animals Fist.

The Five Animals Fist was a basic Cultivation Technique. Manuals for it were sold at the Martial Arts Hall for five hundred copper coins a copy, so teaching it to his sister-in-law wouldn’t be breaking any rules.

"Sister-in-law, start with this Five Animals Fist manual. If you run into anything you don’t understand, you can ask me."

Bai Yuan retrieved the long-neglected Five Animals Fist manual from his room. He hadn’t practiced the technique since breaking through the Skin Grinding Barrier.

Xiao Qiaoniang accepted the manual, her expression serious.

She was truly determined to learn.

Bai Yuan had no intention of discouraging his sister-in-law. If she truly had talent, he would even help her join a Martial Arts Hall.

Not many poor families in this world were willing to let women learn martial arts, but he was a transmigrator.

A female Grandmaster?

’Just the thought of it is exciting.’

’I thought I was just playing a monster-grinding, level-up kind of game, but it turns out it’s a character-raising simulation too.’

...

Bai Yuan was busy. Very busy.

He had already cleared out all the beasts on the nearby mountains, forcing him to venture into more distant forests.

The round trip alone took four hours. Factoring in his time at the Martial Arts Hall, he was seeing less and less of Xiao Qiaoniang.

This went on for two months.

Huwei Arts Hall.

"Bai Yuan, I know your family is of humble means, but your training is what’s most important. If you need money, you can just borrow from me."

Zhang Yang said, looking at Bai Yuan, who these days only ever showed up from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Bai Yuan was his most prized disciple, and he had invested a great deal of effort in him.

This disciple of his was perfect in every other way, but he seemed to have his priorities mixed up, spending all his time hunting in the mountains. If his progress in martial arts hadn’t been completely unaffected, Zhang Yang would have suspected him of squandering his potential.

But as a Martial Artist who also came from a poor background, he could understand Bai Yuan’s plight.

Without a wealthy family to support you, you had to earn the silver needed for cultivation yourself.

It wasn’t just Bai Yuan. Even he himself was often away from the Martial Arts Hall, taking on various side jobs just to make ends meet and afford the medicinal herbs needed to strengthen his body.

He knew full well that training without proper nourishment would only end up crippling the body.

Little did he know that for Bai Yuan, the money from hunting was secondary. His real goal was enhancement points.

Only killing monsters yielded enhancement points.

Weakened monsters like that Snake Demon were a rare find. If he didn’t go farm beasts for points, what was he supposed to do? Follow the Black Evil Elder’s example and slaughter a city?

’A man has to have some principles.’

It was a pity the Xuan Yang Dynasty was currently at peace across Kyushu. With no wars to fight, joining the army wasn’t an option, though it would have been a good one.

The thought that the Divine Mansion Sect would soon be in Qinghe County to recruit disciples made Zhang Yang grit his teeth.

"I’ll cover all the herbs you need until you reach the Bone Forging realm!"

He was thirty-six now and had been stuck at the Bone Forging realm for ten years. Advancing further was already a near impossibility for him, so he could afford to set his own training back a few months.

Bai Yuan stared at Zhang Yang in astonishment.

It was a decision that couldn’t have been easy, not even for an instructor at the Martial Arts Hall like Zhang Yang.

This was a gift that came at the cost of his own future. Bai Yuan couldn’t accept it. Nor did he need to.

"Master, there’s no need."

"And this might be the last time I call you Master."

Zhang Yang’s heart leaped in shock at his words.

’Has some other power poached the boy?’