Chapter Twenty-Five: Third Tier

Silvery moonlight spilled across the earth. A black carriage rolled slowly through the night. Chen Mu sat inside, leaning against the side, cradling a small cloth bag. From time to time, he would pull out the silver within to check its authenticity, a look of naive delight on his face, as if he had never seen the world before.

Sitting diagonally across from him, Jie Jia remained motionless, his eyes narrowed and his expression blank. However, his pupils darted beneath his eyelids, constantly flickering toward the bag in Chen Mu's hands.

"Stop sneaking glances," Chen Mu said, glaring at the old man with visible disdain. "You're a top-tier assassin who moves like the wind—why are you so pathetic? Have some composure!"

Jie Jia, completely unfazed, said flatly, "Twenty percent."

Chen Mu felt the wind knocked out of him. They had sold seven copies of the Body Shaping Technique in total, fetching seven hundred and thirty taels of silver. Twenty percent meant one hundred and forty-six taels. Just thinking about that sum made Chen Mu’s heart ache with sharp, spasmodic pains.

"Fine, fine, take it..." Chen Mu grumbled, counting out the silver and tossing it over to Jie Jia. He had no choice; without the old man, he would have had no channel to sell so many copies of the technique.

He tucked the money bag away and pulled out a book. It was a medical text he had just scavenged from the black market, intended to grind his proficiency in pharmacology. He placed great importance on this skill, which he had stumbled upon by accident. Old man Jie Jia’s talent for mixing fake medicine was becoming increasingly sophisticated; if he didn’t level up his pharmacology quickly, he feared he might one day be done in by the old man’s tricks.

...

Five days later, in the western residence of the Chen family in Ping’an Ward.

For the sake of security, he had rented three houses in total, including his own original courtyard. At this moment, he was digging a hole in the room of the second house. The area where the bed had once stood was now cleared, and a circular hole a meter in diameter had appeared in the floor.

The hole was about four meters deep, connecting to an underground space five meters long and wide. He had sprinkled sulfur and lime on the ground to repel insects and prevent dampness. With prices in Qingshan County soaring, he planned to hoard a stockpile of medicinal herbs and grain. He had spent the last few days busy digging this cellar specifically to store these supplies.

Over the following days, he went out multiple times, visiting various shops. Through small, frequent purchases, he slowly accumulated a large stock of daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt. He even specifically asked Zheng the Butcher to collect a batch of air-dried cured meat, which was easy to preserve. Once Jie Jia delivered the medicinal herbs he had ordered, his stockpiling mission was finally complete.

After that, he stayed holed up at home, spending his days practicing the Flying Locust Stone technique and the Red Falcon Body Shaping Technique. He interleaved this with studying his new medical books to grind his pharmacology proficiency. Life was monotonous, but far from dull. Watching his proficiency rise little by little, Chen Mu felt filled with drive every day.

He wasn't entirely a shut-in, though. Every five days, he would go out—partly to see other living people, as he knew that while practice was important, he couldn't let himself become socially isolated. The other reason was to gather information.

...

The Bafang Pavilion in Anle Ward, East Market.

This was the largest teahouse in the East Market of Qingshan County. It gathered a large number of storytellers who brought in all sorts of news from the four corners beyond Qingshan County. Chen Mu found a corner as usual, spent ten coppers on a pot of tea and a plate of melon seeds, and sat there listening to the storyteller and the gossip of the patrons in the main hall.

"Have you heard? Shao Family Village, thirty miles north of the city, is gone," a short, stout customer whispered to his companion not far from Chen Mu.

"What happened?" the other person at the table asked curiously.

"The officials say it was looted by bandits. I happened to be coming back from that area a few days ago, and there were corpses everywhere. It was miserable," the stout man said, shivering involuntarily.

"A village massacre? Where did these bandits come from to be so brazen?!"

"They say they’re remnants of a rebel army from the north. Once these people lose their restraints, they’re even more vicious than ordinary bandits," the stout man said bitterly. "Why start a rebellion when you could live a quiet life? They should all be rounded up and beheaded!"

"It looks like those trade routes to the north are no longer safe to travel..."

The group exchanged worries about their dwindling businesses. Chen Mu cracked his melon seeds without tasting them, his mind occupied by the thought of those rebel remnants. This wasn't the first time he had heard of such chaos. He could clearly feel that the range of bandit activities was expanding and drawing ever closer to Qingshan County.

"Surely no bandits would be bold enough to attack Qingshan County, right?" Chen Mu was startled by the sudden thought.

"Unlikely, unlikely..." He quickly pushed the thought away.

But... what if Qingshan County were actually breached? Where would he go? Even if he mastered the Tendon Transformation stage and could easily fell a dozen men, what if he were surrounded by hundreds or thousands?

Chen Mu lost the mood to listen to the storyteller and focused his attention on eavesdropping on conversations throughout the hall. Five out of every ten people were talking about the chaotic world outside. Chen Mu’s mood grew heavy.

After staying in the teahouse for only an hour, he prepared to head home. Rather than sitting here listening to news that agitated him, he would rather go home and grind his proficiency.

As he walked out the door, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure. It was the young master of the Zuo family, Zuo Sheng. The other man seemed to sense someone watching him and immediately turned his head. Upon seeing Chen Mu, he was slightly taken aback, then offered a slight smile and a nod of acknowledgment.

Chen Mu was stunned, instinctively bowed his head in return, and then walked away quickly. How would this young master know who he was?

Inside the Bafang Teahouse, Zuo Sheng watched the plain-looking scholar with interest. "An interesting fellow."

...

Inside the Chen residence in Ping’an Ward.

Chen Mu held an iron lotus seed, observing it. It was the size of a peanut, oval-shaped, and covered in sand-grain-sized pits and dents—a very rough cast iron piece. This was after he had specifically polished it; otherwise, it would have been even coarser. Beyond that, there were nine spiral grooves on it, which he had carved one by one, a task that had cost him significant effort.

This was a special pattern he had comprehended through his proficiency. Carved onto the iron lotus seed, it acted like the rifling in a gun barrel, allowing the seed to spin upon release and increasing its lethality.

With a flick of his wrist—

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

*Bang!*

The palm-thick vegetable chopping block on the wall ten meters away was instantly pierced through.

"With this, it really can rival a pistol bullet."

Chen Mu carried a bag of iron lotus seeds, throwing them one after another. Before long, the locust wood chopping block on the wall had been turned into a beehive. Previously, to hide the fact that he knew martial arts, he hadn't dared to practice with full intensity. Now, with Boss Zhen gone, the Miaohua Studio half-closed, his portrait business gone, and Zhou Liang and Zheng Huan having stopped coming altogether, Chen Mu felt free.

He let loose and practiced at home with abandon.

*Whoosh!*

*Bang!*

The final iron lotus seed was released. The chopping block shattered into a pile of wood splinters.

At that moment, a surge of heat erupted from all parts of his body. The muscles in his arms, chest, back, waist, abdomen, and thighs suddenly began to ripple and pulse, bulging and expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Chen Mu quickly pulled up the Gray Wall.

Writing: 1445/10000/Second Tier;
Painting: 1353/10000/Second Tier;
Throwing: 3/10000/Third Tier;
Red Falcon Body Shaping Technique: 2769/10000/Second Tier;
Cooking: 3016/10000/First Tier;
Pharmacology: 1143/10000/First Tier;

*Breaking through to the third tier in throwing ability can also enhance physical attributes?*

*This feeling is almost identical to the Tendon Transformation stage of the Red Falcon Body Shaping Technique!*

Previously, while practicing with the Flying Locust Stone, his body had been subtly strengthening. Now that he had broken through to the third tier, quantitative changes had led to a qualitative leap, and his strength, speed, and other aspects had surged once more.

He lifted his shirt and looked at his clearly defined eight-pack abs, unable to suppress a grin. This was the physique he had dreamed of in his past life, and now, it had all come together effortlessly!