Realm-Hopping Martial Master

Endless cycle.

The great mountains acted as a barrier, and Martial Artists at the Skin Grinding Realm couldn't get out.

Exotic beast meat was monopolized by the county office and powerful families, with only a tiny bit released onto the black market.

Even if some Martial Artists at the Skin Grinding Realm managed to reach the Bone Forging Realm,

then what?

On one hand, they could be recruited by a powerful family and spend their life enjoying themselves in Pingling County.

On the other hand, they could leave Pingling County and face life and death, just for a slim chance to reach the county capital.

Comparing the two, how should one choose?

Jiang Shu didn't speak. *He had originally thought that once he reached the Skin Grinding Realm, there wouldn't be any major hurdles in Pingling County.*

*Looking at it now, he had still been too young.*

*Living in Pingling County was like being trapped in a gigantic cage!*

The wind blew through the yard.

Qi Yuan was already a bit drunk. The meat slices on the plate had long been eaten. He shook the now-empty wine pot, suddenly stood up, and called out to Jiang Shu, "Come fight!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Their bodies twisted fiercely, fists clashing in a flurry.

Two quarters of an hour later,

Jiang Shu's whole body ached, with bruises all over his arms and legs.

Qi Yuan, drunk as he was, couldn't pull back his punches in time on several occasions. His fists landed with full force again and again on Jiang Shu's limbs and bones. Of course, without channeling his full strength, Qi Yuan didn't come out unscathed either. Jiang Shu's Tiger Form Three Styles were already close to perfection.

His punches were becoming increasingly focused into a single point.

*Real combat was the fastest way to improve!*

*If only Famished Tiger Sitting Posture and Famished Tiger Breathing Technique could be trained in real combat just like Tiger Form Three Styles!*

A thought flashed through Jiang Shu's mind, and he threw out a punch.

"Bang!"

He staggered back, his fist already flushed and swollen.

"You still fighting?"

Qi Yuan stood where he was, swaying but unyielding.

"Fight!"

Jiang Shu howled in response. The Fox Bear meat was already showing its effects inside him. His whole body felt warm, as if energy was condensing in every part of his limbs and bones.

Tiger Form Three Styles.

Pounce!

Lift!

Slice!

...

A gentle breeze blew in.

The moon was bright and the stars were few.

Jiang Shu and Qi Yuan were drenched in sweat, their thin shirts soaked through.

"That felt great!"

After another round of drinks, Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Shu and said, "Little junior brother, you're good at everything except drinking! That's something you definitely have to fix. Come on, drink!"

"Qi senior brother, alcohol is poison through the intestines, lust is a bone-scraping steel blade. We're both advancing in Martial Arts right now, how can we let wine or women get in our way?"

Jiang Shu could barely even stand at this point.

His legs quivered, but he still managed to stand ramrod straight. Clenching his fists, he shouted loudly.

He had always been someone who repaid kindness with kindness, and grievances with grievances.

Qi Yuan was willing to share the Fox Bear meat and willing to pull back his strength, only using raw force in their spar and feeding him moves.

*That sort of brotherhood was no small thing!*

*Who cared about resource monopolies.*

*Once he got into the academy, there would be plenty of exotic meat!*

*Skin Grinding Realm! Easy to grab!*

*Bone Forging Realm! Right around the corner!*

*The day he escaped the cage.*

*There was no reason he couldn't take Qi Yuan with him!*

"Damn it, Jiang Shu, I think you're the one who's drunk! 'Alcohol is poison,' that's a thing for Refining Internal Realm experts to care about. Me, a Skin Grinding Realm guy, what do I care?"

"If I can manage to steer clear of lust—that bone-scraping steel blade—I'm lucky enough! If I ever reach the Bone Forging Realm, that's it for me. Jiang Shu, you don't touch booze or women—are you trying to be a Refining Internal Realm expert or something?"

Qi Yuan squinted his eyes, unable to help but laugh out loud at Jiang Shu's words, then couldn't help but fire back.

He expected Jiang Shu to reply with a 'wouldn't dare, wouldn't dare.'

*After all, today he had shown Jiang Shu way too much.*

Black market.

Exotic beast meat.

*All of it proved that for a Martial Artist at the Skin Grinding Realm to take another step up was as tough as it was for a normal person to become a Martial Artist at all!*

*Without the backing of a powerful family.*

*So what if Jiang Shu had Zhou Family restaurant profits.*

*He'd still be stuck at Skin Grinding Realm his whole life, just like him!*

Qi Yuan was filled with mixed emotions, but at this moment, Jiang Shu's voice drifted on the wind, calm and clear, "Why not?"

"The hell. What are you, dreaming?"

He shot back instinctively, but as soon as the words were out, Qi Yuan suddenly shut his mouth and fell into silence.

*Come to think of it, before he became a Martial Artist, he used to dream that one day, he'd make it to the Refining Internal Realm too.*

Skin Grinding Realm only trained the skin.

Bone Forging Realm only trained the bones.

*At the core, they were still the same as ordinary people—they'd get old, get sick, and die.*

*Before a hundred years, all that'd be left would be dust.*

But Martial Artists at the Refining Internal Realm lived over two 60-year cycles!

*That was what it truly meant to succeed at Martial Arts!*

Qi Yuan's thoughts drifted far away, and he fell silent. After a long while, he finally muttered, "Such good wine, not drinking it...what a shame."

"What a damn crock of shit!" Jiang Shu spat, "If you never cross that line, you'll end up drinking Pingling County's crappy wine and sleeping with Pingling County's women for the rest of your life! Don't you want to go see the world?"

Pointing toward the distant mountains, Jiang Shu's voice grew louder and louder, "Cross those mountains! Go drink wine in Yongning County's capital! Go sleep with the women in Yongning County's capital!"

Qi Yuan followed Jiang Shu's pointing hand. Mountains he'd always thought impossibly high suddenly seemed much lower.

"Is the wine in Yongning County really better?"

He couldn't help but murmur, but the way he spoke already showed he was starting to doubt himself.

*Doubt whether he should really spend all his days soaking in booze.*

"If it's not, then go to the provincial capital! Can't go at Bone Forging Realm, then go at Refining Internal Realm! Can't do it then, keep going up! Martial Arts is for clearing the mind—Qi senior brother, honestly, I don't think you even like wine that much."

"A true wine lover, if he believed he'd never get to taste all the best wines in the world in his whole life, shouldn't he be bawling his eyes out?"

"Bullshit!"

"Is Pingling County wine even good?"

"Horse piss!"

"How about the wine I brought?"

"Excellent!"

"There's even better wine in Yongning County's capital—are you in or not?"

"I'm in!"

Qi Yuan threw away his wine pot and said, "See? When I say I won't drink, I won't drink! No more wine for me till I hit Refining Internal Realm! What about you, little junior brother? When are you finally getting to Skin Grinding Realm?"

"Master's been teaching you 'Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength' for more than two weeks now, and you still haven't gotten it! You know how long it took your senior brother? I figured it out in a little over twenty days! Your senior brother was done in just over twenty days!"

"Done with what? Done turning into a drunk?"

Jiang Shu curled his lip and said, "Watch closely—if you don't step up soon, someday you'll be calling me senior brother, and I'll be feeding you tricks."

???

Staring at his suddenly cocky little junior brother, Qi Yuan couldn't coddle him anymore. He swung a punch through the air, its force booming out, expression all icy cool, head lifted just so, like he'd first seemed when they met,

"You've only seen me pulling my punches. If I went all out, you'd be like a frog trying to gaze at the moon from the bottom of a well."

He lowered his fist and stood tall—suddenly, he seemed way more impressive than usual.

"Qi senior brother."

"Yeah?"

Qi Yuan answered coolly, keeping up his image.

He just wanted some flattery from Jiang Shu.

Only then might he clear away the gloom in his heart.

But Jiang Shu, already used to how Qi Yuan acted, didn't humor him. Instead, he said straight out, "The Fox Bear meat you made tasted awful."

"I know a method called grilling—I'll do it tomorrow."

"I'll admit—for now, in Martial Arts, you beat me by more than a little."

"But when it comes to food," Jiang Shu shot Qi Yuan a sidelong glance, "you're like a mayfly gazing up at the heavens."