CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 48: LIKE A MAYFLY GLIMPSING THE BLUE SKY (PLEASE FOLLOW)

It was a vicious cycle. The great mountains served as a barrier, preventing Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artists from leaving. Exotic beast meat was monopolized by the county government and prominent families, with only small amounts released onto the black market.

Even if a Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist advanced to the Bone Forging Realm... then what?

On one hand, they could be enticed by powerful families to enjoy a life of pleasure within Pingling County. On the other, leaving Pingling County meant facing life-and-death situations, with only a slim chance of reaching the commandery city.

Compared to each other, how would one choose?

Jiang Shu remained silent. He had originally thought that upon reaching the Skin Grinding Realm, he wouldn’t face much difficulty in Pingling County. Now, it seemed, he was still too young. To be in Pingling County was to be trapped in a massive cage!

In the courtyard, the wind whistled through.

Qi Yuan was already somewhat drunk; the meat slices on his plate were long gone. He shook the empty wine jug, suddenly stood, and challenged Jiang Shu, "Come, let’s fight!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

His figure spun sharply, his fists landing with fierce intensity.

Half an hour later, Jiang Shu ached all over, his arms and legs covered in bruises.

Influenced by alcohol, Qi Yuan struggled to pull his punches in time. His fists were exceedingly heavy, repeatedly striking Jiang Shu’s limbs and torso. Of course, Qi Yuan, who wasn’t channeling his cultivated strength, wasn’t having an easy time either. Jiang Shu’s Tiger Form Three Styles were approaching Perfection. The force of his punches was also becoming increasingly focused.

Actual combat truly is the fastest way to improve! If only the Famished Tiger Sitting Stance and Famished Tiger Breathing Method could be practiced through combat like the Tiger Form Three Styles! A thought flashed through Jiang Shu’s mind as he threw a punch.

BANG!

He retreated sharply, his fist already red and swollen.

"Still want to fight?" Qi Yuan stood his ground, swaying but not falling.

"We fight!" Jiang Shu roared in response. The Fox Bear meat was already taking effect within him. A warmth spread through his body, as if energy was coalescing in his limbs and torso.

Tiger Form Three Styles: Lunge! Flip! Snip! They exchanged blows relentlessly.

A gentle breeze drifted by. The moon shone brightly, and the stars were sparse. Jiang Shu and Qi Yuan were drenched in sweat, their short training clothes soaked through.

"That was exhilarating!"

After another jug of wine, Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Shu and said, "Junior Brother, you’re good at everything except enjoying wine! This has to change. Come on, drink!"

"Senior Brother Qi, alcohol is a gut-piercing poison, and lust is a Bone-scraping Steel Blade. We are at a crucial time for our Martial Arts advancement; how can we let wine and women hinder us?"

Jiang Shu could barely stand. His legs trembled, yet he kept his posture ramrod straight. Clenching his fists, he declared loudly.

His principle in dealing with others was to repay kindness with kindness, and enmity with enmity. Qi Yuan had willingly shared the Fox Bear meat, held back his cultivated strength, sparred using only physical might, and effectively coached him through moves. Such friendship was significant!

What was there to fear from a monopoly on resources? Once he entered the academy, there would be plenty of exotic beast meat! Skin Grinding Realm! Within easy reach! Bone Forging Realm! Just a matter of time! The day he broke free from this cage... taking Qi Yuan with him was entirely possible!

"Damn it, Jiang Shu, I think *you’re* the drunk one! ’Alcohol is a gut-piercing poison’—that’s something experts in the Refining Internal Realm need to worry about. Why should a mere Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist like me care?"

"It’s enough if I can just be wary of lust, that Bone-scraping Steel Blade! Reaching the Bone Forging Realm in this lifetime would be the peak for me. Jiang Shu, you abstain from wine and women; don’t tell me you aspire to become a Refining Internal Realm expert?"

Qi Yuan squinted, amused by Jiang Shu’s words, and couldn’t resist a retort. He had expected Jiang Shu to humbly say, ’I wouldn’t dare.’ After all, he had shown Jiang Shu so much today: the black market, the exotic beast meat. Everything demonstrated that for a Skin Grinding Realm Martial Artist, advancing further was no less difficult than for an ordinary person to become a Martial Artist in the first place! Without the backing of a prominent family, even with the profits from the Zhou Family’s restaurant, what could Jiang Shu achieve? He’d likely be stuck in the Skin Grinding Realm for life, just like him!

While Qi Yuan was lost in these thoughts, Jiang Shu’s voice, carried by the wind, drifted over faintly, "Is it not possible?"

"Damn it! What are you dreaming of!"

He blurted out reflexively. But as soon as the words left his mouth, Qi Yuan abruptly stopped, falling into a sudden silence.

It seemed that before he became a Martial Artist, he too had dreamed of one day becoming a Refining Internal Realm expert. The Skin Grinding Realm was merely about cultivating the skin’s membrane. The Bone Forging Realm was merely about cultivating the bone’s periosteum. Essentially, they were still like ordinary people, subject to birth, aging, sickness, and death. In less than a hundred years, they would turn to dust. But a Refining Internal Realm Martial Artist could live for more than 120 years! That was true achievement in Martial Arts!

His thoughts drifted. Qi Yuan remained silent for a long while before finally saying, "Such good wine... it’s a pity not to drink it."

"Pity, my ass!" Jiang Shu spat. "If you can’t break out of here, you’ll be stuck drinking Pingling County’s wine and bedding Pingling County’s women for the rest of your life! Don’t you want to go out and see what’s beyond?"

Pointing to the distant mountain range, Jiang Shu’s voice grew louder, "Cross those mountains! Go drink the wine of Yongning Commandery City! Go bed the women of Yongning Commandery City!"

Qi Yuan looked in the direction Jiang Shu pointed. The mountain range, which he once considered insurmountable, now seemed somehow less imposing.

"Is the wine in Yongning Commandery really better?" he murmured. But his words betrayed a newfound doubt in himself. Was he wrong to spend his days indulging in fine wine?

"If it’s no good, then go to the provincial capital! If you can’t make it as a Bone Forging Realm cultivator, then go as a Refining Internal Realm expert. If that’s not enough, then aim for realms beyond that! Martial Arts is about achieving a clear and focused mind. Senior Brother Qi, I don’t think you actually like wine that much at all."

"Shouldn’t a true wine lover, upon realizing they’ll never taste all the world’s finest wines in their lifetime, be weeping in despair?"

"Bullshit!"

"Is the wine from Pingling County good?"

"Horse piss!"

"Is the wine I brought good?"

"Very good!"

"There’s better wine in Yongning Commandery City. Are you going or not?"

"I’ll go!"

Qi Yuan slammed his wine jug to the ground. "See? I said I’d stop drinking, and I have! I won’t touch another drop until I reach the Refining Internal Realm! What about you, Junior Brother? When will you reach the Skin Grinding Realm?"

"It’s been over half a month since Master taught you the Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength, and you still haven’t comprehended it? Do you know how long it took me, your Senior Brother? Damn it, I grasped it in just over twenty days! Your Senior Brother succeeded in just over twenty days!"

"Succeeded in what? Becoming a drunkard?"

Jiang Shu sneered. "Watch carefully. If you don’t improve, one day you’ll be calling me Senior Brother, and I’ll be the one coaching *your* moves."

Qi Yuan was stunned.

Seeing his increasingly arrogant Junior Brother, Qi Yuan decided not to indulge him any longer. He threw a punch into the air, the force exploding with a crack. He stood aloof, head slightly raised, exuding the same cool demeanor as when they first met:

"You’ve only seen me holding back my cultivated strength. If I were to unleash my full power, you would be like a frog in a well looking up at the bright moon."

He retracted his fist and stood still. For a moment, he truly exuded an impressive aura.

"Senior Brother Qi."

"Hm?"

Qi Yuan responded indifferently, maintaining his self-image.

Now, all he wanted was to hear Jiang Shu’s flattery. Only that could soothe the frustration in his heart.

However, Jiang Shu, now familiar with Qi Yuan’s temperament, didn’t indulge him. He said bluntly, "That Fox Bear meat you cooked was terrible."

"I know a method called ’barbecue.’ I’ll cook tomorrow."

"I admit, for now, you surpass me in Martial Arts by more than a little."

"But in culinary expertise..." Jiang Shu glanced sideways at Qi Yuan. "Compared to me, you are like a mayfly gazing at the boundless heavens."