"Why are you so late?"
Zhang Yang glared at the tardy Bai Yuan and snapped.
He had always held high hopes for Bai Yuan.
Now that Xu Wen was dead, Bai Yuan had become his most prized disciple.
To be honest, Bai Yuan's talent was a far cry from Xu Wen's, but he made up for it with his diligence.
The climb on the Martial Dao was an arduous task. Besides aptitude and comprehension, the ability to endure hardship was a talent in itself.
Zhang Yang had been so focused on hunting down Xu Wen's killer lately that he had rarely come to the Martial Arts Arena.
Upon his return this time, he had heard that Bai Yuan was rarely seen practicing his fists at the Martial Arts Hall.
He was naturally furious at his perceived lack of ambition.
Bai Yuan gave an awkward smile.
He had spent all last night chasing a massive beast through the mountains. The reward had been generous—"10" reinforcement points—but it had also caused him to oversleep.
"Instructor Zhang, I have something to report."
"Bai Yuan, I know your family's situation. Martial arts is your only way out. You must seize this chance."
"Instructor, I..."
"On the path of the Martial Dao, diligence is what's most important. I am the best example..."
Bai Yuan felt his face darken, and he had no choice but to cut him off.
"Instructor, I've broken through the Skin Grinding Barrier."
"Back in my day, I was just like you..."
"What?!"
Zhang Yang almost suspected he had misheard.
With a sigh, Bai Yuan had no choice but to repeat himself.
"I've broken through the Skin Grinding Barrier."
"Good, good, good!"
Zhang Yang exclaimed "good" three times in a row, clapping a heavy hand forcefully on Bai Yuan's shoulder.
As a Bone Forger Martial Master, his strength was terrifyingly great. The slap twisted Bai Yuan's face into a mask of pain, nearly making his bones fall apart.
"Come, throw a punch for me to see."
Zhang Yang excitedly led Bai Yuan to a wooden post.
Bai Yuan assumed the Tiger Form stance from the Five Animals Fist.
Seeing this, Zhang Yang's eyes shone even brighter.
Everyone at Huwei Arts Hall knew that the Five Animals Fist was easy to start but hard to master, with the Tiger Form being the most difficult of all to practice.
Many apprentices broke through the Skin Grinding Barrier without ever mastering the Tiger Form. This showed that Bai Yuan must have put in a great deal of effort practicing in secret.
THUMP!
A dull thud.
Bai Yuan's powerful, heavy fist landed on the wooden post.
A closer look revealed a shallow fist print on the post!
This was the very sign of having broken through the Skin Grinding Barrier.
A training post wasn't a sandbag. An ordinary martial arts practitioner couldn't possibly leave a fist print on it; they would instead be injured by the recoil from the hard wood.
"Very good."
Zhang Yang couldn't resist wanting to pat Bai Yuan again, but Bai Yuan sidestepped, causing the slap to land on Zhang Yang's own thigh. He grimaced in pain.
"You little rascal..."
Zhang Yang pointed at Bai Yuan, chuckling as he scolded him.
His prized apprentice had become an Outer Disciple; he was happy from the bottom of his heart.
The other apprentices gathered in the Martial Arts Arena watched this scene, their hearts filled with envy.
Ma Qi and the other two only had admiration in their eyes.
When the gap between people becomes large enough, jealousy gives way to admiration. Even the highly competitive Li Ting had given up on comparing herself to Bai Yuan.
Breaking through the Skin Grinding Barrier in five months.
While this achievement wasn't as dazzling as Xu Wen's, it was still considered upper-middle tier among the Outer Disciples.
With Zhang Yang's help, Bai Yuan quickly completed the procedures to enter the Outer Courtyard.
Outer Disciples didn't actually receive a significant increase in resources. The biggest differences from being an apprentice, besides having free use of the Martial Arts Hall's public resources and no longer needing to do chores, was the ability to take an instructor as one's master.
Bai Yuan chose to take Zhang Yang as his master without hesitation.
"Master, please accept this disciple's bow."
Zhang Yang stopped Bai Yuan's attempt to kneel.
"The Martial Arts Hall doesn't stand on such ceremony. You can kneel when you take Master Xue as your master."
Bai Yuan's tact and quick-wittedness were a great comfort to him.
The Martial Arts Hall wasn't like a family-run school. Though it was called "taking a master," it was more akin to the student-teacher relationship found in a private academy.
In the entire Martial Arts Hall, only the few True Disciples of Hall Master Xue Gui truly qualified for the title of master and disciple.
Zhang Yang knew he wasn't worthy of that title yet.
Nevertheless, he was very happy to share this student-teacher bond with the earnest and clever young man before him, even if for just a time.
As for how far Bai Yuan could go from here, that would depend on his own destiny.
...
Bai Yuan had just bid farewell to Zhang Yang when he was surrounded by Zhuang Zhao and the others.
Zhuang Zhao's eyes weren't large to begin with, and now they were narrowed into slits from his excitement, almost disappearing completely.
"Brother Yuan, you really are my big brother."
He and Bai Yuan were childhood friends who had practically grown up wearing the same pair of pants. Since Bai Yuan was living with his family, his glory was their glory.
Now that Bai Yuan had become a proper Martial Artist, he was happy for him from the bottom of his heart.
"Congratulations, Brother Yuan."
"Congratulations, Brother Bai."
"Congratulations."
Ma Qi and the other two also came forward to offer their congratulations, their faces beaming with joy.
The four of them saw each other every day and had long since become friends.
Bai Yuan considered them his good friends as well.
It had been half a year since he transmigrated to this world, and he was gradually integrating into it.
It wasn't as if he was cultivating the Supreme Forgetful Technique; as far as he was concerned, the more friends, the better.
To everyone's surprise, it was the quietest of them, Li Ting, who took the initiative and suggested they go to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion to celebrate.
Although Bai Yuan's age from his past and present lives combined was nearly fifty, he couldn't resist his friends' enthusiasm and went with them to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Li Ting was surprisingly magnanimous.
She ordered one of every famous dish at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, as well as several pots of Immortal's Intoxication.
Even Zhuang Zhao, whose family was moderately wealthy, was secretly flabbergasted.
What a big spender!
Li Ting's family background was far wealthier than they had imagined.
With good food and fine wine, the atmosphere naturally became lively.
Liu Qingshan, having heard the news from who-knows-where, also managed to find his way to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
"Junior Brother Bai, you're not very considerate. Not calling me on such a joyous occasion."
Although he said this, there wasn't a trace of blame in his tone.
Liu Qingshan was an Outer Disciple and somewhat famous in the Martial Arts Hall, so Zhuang Zhao and the other three all recognized him.
They were all surprised that Bai Yuan knew an Outer Disciple, and it was clear their relationship was not a shallow one.
"Senior Brother Liu, it's my fault. I'll punish myself with three cups."
Bai Yuan tilted his head back and downed three cups of Immortal's Intoxication.
After spending some time with him, Bai Yuan had discovered that although Liu Qingshan was slick in his dealings with people, he was generous and sincere with his friends, making him someone worth getting to know well.
They were all young people, so naturally, they didn't hold back.
Liu Qingshan was also an interesting person and quickly hit it off with Li Ting and the others.
"Junior Sister Li, could you be the only daughter of the East City Li Family?"
Liu Qingshan found an opportunity to ask after they had become more familiar.
By this point, Li Ting's pretty face was slightly flushed, and she was already tipsy.
"Senior Brother has a good eye."
Hearing this, Bai Yuan and the others were all shocked. Although the East City Li Family wasn't as powerful as the Liu Family, it was still a renowned and prominent clan. The only daughter of the Li Family—that title carried significant weight.
They all knew Li Ting's family was well-off, but they had never expected them to be *this* well-off.
The night deepened, and several rounds of drinks had been served.
Zhuang Zhao, Liu Qingshan, and the others had already passed out drunk. Even Bai Yuan, who had a high tolerance for alcohol, was on his last legs.
'Looks like I won't be making it back tonight.'
He called over the waiter he had seen earlier and took out a blank sheet of paper.
"Brother, please trouble yourself to deliver this letter to Lady Xiao in Baisha Town. As for the silver coins... just put it on Liu Qingshan's tab."
Watching the waiter leave, Bai Yuan could no longer resist the wave of drowsiness washing over him and fell into a deep sleep.
'Can't let sister-in-law worry.'