Qingtian Town.
Four months passed in a flash.
Outside the courtyard, heatwaves rolled. The dog-day sun was so vicious it seemed poised to scorch the earth and crack it open.
In the courtyard.
Lin Yan sat cross-legged under the scorching sun, his upper body bare.
Sweat rolled down his spine, evaporating the moment it left his skin.
His skin was burned red, but he seemed utterly oblivious, his eyes closed, his breathing long and even.
Within him, his Qi Blood churned like boiling water.
The transition from the Second-Time Skin Smoothing to the Third-Time of Skin Smoothing was a critical step, where Qi Blood entered the tendons.
With the Lin Family’s support, silver was spent like water. Vital Tendon Pills, Secret Medicines, Treasure Meat—he had an abundant supply of everything.
After training bitterly day and night, he had finally nurtured his Qi Blood to its absolute limit.
Now was the time to break through.
Lin Yan took a deep breath, his focus sinking into his body.
In his mind, the trunk of the Martial Arts Tree had already grown to two feet and nine inches, just a hair’s breadth away from three feet.
With a single thought, the Qi Blood in his Dantian surged violently, rushing toward the tendons and meridians throughout his body like a flood breaking through a dam!
Although failure was not an option for him, he still couldn’t escape the process of breaking through.
Pain!
The moment the first wave of Qi Blood surged into his meridians, Lin Yan’s brows furrowed.
This wasn’t a superficial pain of the flesh, but one that bored out from the depths of his meridians, as if countless fine needles were weaving through and tearing them apart.
But he didn’t stop.
He pushed on!
Wave after wave of Qi Blood washed over his meridians like a tide.
With every flush, a trace of impurity was carried out. With every contraction, his meridians grew wider and more resilient.
Time trickled by!
Lin Yan’s expression gradually became serene. The piercing pain went from unbearable at first, to habitual later on, until finally, he could clearly perceive the expansion of every meridian and the surge of every wave of Qi Blood.
An unknown amount of time passed!
BOOM!
A muffled boom echoed in his mind as the trunk of the Martial Arts Tree shot up, breaking through the three-foot barrier!
Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, complete!
Lin Yan opened his eyes.
The scorching sun remained, as did the chirping of cicadas.
But everything was different.
He could clearly perceive the pulsing of every meridian in his body. His Qi Blood rushed through them like a great river, flowing with incredible smoothness.
With every breath, streams of heat flowed from his limbs and bones into his Dantian, then circulated throughout his body with his Qi Blood.
He stood up and casually threw a punch.
The punch was silent.
But where his fist passed, the air abruptly compressed before exploding in a visible shockwave. A stone block a foot away from his fist shattered, sending stone fragments flying everywhere.
The Third-Time of Skin Smoothing, combined with his Fist Momentum.
The power of this punch was several times stronger than before his breakthrough.
"Third-Time of Skin Smoothing. From this moment on, I’m finally somebody in the county town."
Feeling the explosive surge of Qi Blood and strength in his body, Lin Yan couldn’t help but feel a rush of heroic pride. But after a few breaths, he calmed down once more.
’The path of Martial Arts is long. The Third-Time of Skin Smoothing is just the beginning. I absolutely cannot become arrogant and complacent because of this.’
’Especially since Guangping County Town is clearly facing a shocking turn of events. It’s more important than ever to remain low-key and cautious.’
「Three days later.」
Lin Yan, now able to perfectly control the surging Qi Blood in his body, left Qingtian Town for the county town just as night began to fall.
He was going to get his revenge!
When his strength was insufficient, he could only endure in the face of his enemies.
Now that his strength was sufficient, if he couldn’t settle his grudges with satisfaction, then all his martial training would have been for nothing.
East City, Prince’s Mansion.
In the main house of the Inner Courtyard, though it was night, the candlelight within was as bright as day, spilling through the cracks in the door curtain and illuminating most of the steps.
"Patriarch, this month, two of the gangs we secretly support were taken out by the Four Seas Gang, and another was wiped out by the Inspection Bureau. Our income in silver coins is only thirty percent of what it used to be."
A middle-aged man on the left reported from an account book. Wang Heng’s face turned ugly at the news. In the past, the several gangs the Wang Family secretly supported brought in one to two hundred silver coins a month, accounting for eighty percent of the clan’s total monthly income.
Most critically, the Wang Family had invested a considerable amount upfront: cultivating Skin Smoothing Martial Artists, recruiting underlings for them, and secretly helping them seize territory. For these gangs to be destroyed so quickly meant they hadn’t even recouped their initial investment.
"The Four Seas Gang and the Inspection Bureau have gone too far!"
Wang Heng slammed his hand on the armrest, which instantly turned to dust. But after that, nothing more was said.
Whether it was the Four Seas Gang or the Inspection Bureau, neither was an existence the Wang Family could afford to offend.
"Patriarch, there’s a dangerous undercurrent in the city right now. Many gang leaders have been mysteriously assassinated. Why don’t we temporarily give up on the gangs?"
Wang Heng’s expression was uncertain. He didn’t make a decision immediately. Instead, he looked at the young man to his left. "Hao’er, are you confident you can break through to the Second-Time Skin Smoothing?"
"Uncle, give me one more month, and I will definitely break through to the Second-Time Skin Smoothing."
Wang Hao’s face was full of confidence. He had failed to break through to the Second-Time Skin Smoothing half a year ago, but nourished by a large quantity of precious Elixirs, his internal injuries had not only healed, but his Qi Blood had also grown more vigorous.
"Very good. Once you break through to the Second-Time Skin Smoothing, our Wang Family will move out of Guangping County. It looks like this county is about to descend into chaos. If we stay, I’m afraid we’ll be dragged into it."
"Move?"
Wang Hao was a little confused. ’Has Guangping County really become that chaotic?’
"Hao’er, you don’t understand. For so many years, the Inspection Bureau has never set foot in North City, and the gangs of West City have likewise never extended their reach there. North City has always been a buffer zone. But now, both the Four Seas Gang and the Inspection Bureau are reaching into North City. There must be a reason."
Wang Heng had built the Wang Family up from a family of merchants to the Martial Arts Clan it was today. He relied not only on his strength at the peak of the Second-Time Skin Smoothing, but also on his shrewd calculations and cunning mind.

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