A single Body Tempering Pill only supported Lu Yu’s training in the morning. Nearing noon, he could clearly feel the temperature on his skin declining.
After continuing to train a few more routines of the Fierce Tiger Fist, the effect completely wore off, and the pain returned to his body, but it was much weaker.
He glanced at his skin, which was a reddish hue, still emitting heat, the red fading away, his entire body drenched in sweat, even his shoes soaked.
First, he went to the bathing house for a shower and changed clothes before Lu Yu went to have lunch.
As usual, he ate a lot, two roasted chickens, three braised pig trotters, five bowls of porridge, one large bowl of weekly ginseng pigeon stew.
While eating pig trotters, Wang Qiang carried his food over and sat before Lu Yu. Seeing him eat so much, he marveled, "You young ones are still growing, with enough nutrition, your Qi Blood changes by the day."
"Unlike me, I’ve already passed the best training period, my Qi Blood is like stagnant water; no matter how much I eat and train, it’s hard to see any growth."
Lu Yu devoured the pig trotter in a few bites, drank some pigeon soup to cut the grease, seeing Wang Qiang only had a roast duck and three large bowls of rice, he asked the question he’d been pondering for a long time.
"Isn’t the higher the cultivation, the more Qi Blood consumed each day? Is that little enough for you?"
Wang Qiang tore off a duck leg, saying, "It’s definitely not enough."
After taking two bites, seeing the doubt on Lu Yu’s face, he explained, "You’re thinking the higher the cultivation, the more you eat, right!"
Lu Yu nodded while eating.
"I thought so at first, too, until I knew about something called a Marching Pill."
With that, Wang Qiang took off a pouch from his waist and showed Lu Yu its contents, a dragon-eye-sized earth-colored pill.
Throwing a Marching Pill to Lu Yu, he said, "Just one of these pills will keep you from getting hungry all day."
Lu Yu curiously examined the Marching Pill up close. It appeared as ordinary as a flour-made ball, similar in color to compressed biscuits bought in supermarkets.
"If I eat one of these with my meal every day, it’s enough. In emergencies, a Marching Pill can serve as reserve rations. Originally, Marching Pills were soldier’s provisions."
"After improvements and cost reductions, it’s become the daily nutritional supplement for Martial Cultivators at the Body Refinement stage."
Lu Yu put away the Marching Pill; now half-full, he didn’t plan to consume it.
After finishing a meal, Wang Qiang stood up to leave and said, "Today I’m moving into the inner courtyard, but I believe you’ll be there soon."
After eating, Lu Yu inquired at the logistics department. Marching Pills cost five silver coins each, and one gold coin could buy twenty Marching Pills.
Every month when receiving the monthly allowance, each Protector gets a certain amount of Marching Pills. The next allowance day was three days away.
In two days, Lu Yu finished consuming the Body Tempering Pills given by Zhang Lun.
His body’s strength improved slightly; his skin became more resilient. When he punched a wooden stake with full force, he only felt slight pain.
Lu Yu felt his skin toughness was approaching that of cowhide; an ordinary person might not break his skin even with a dagger.
However, facing Martial Cultivators of the same level, he was still quite fragile.
Under the immense power of Martial Cultivators, blades and swords could easily pierce cowhide and naturally injure Lu Yu easily.
This is why few Protectors are willing to spend money on Body Tempering Pills to enhance physical strength.
Training at full speed, not even sparing nighttime patrols, along with the daily Body Refining Pills he received, Lu Yu already elevated his Qi Blood to 49 points.
Surpassing several Protectors who have been in Han’s mansion for a year.
Today, while Lu Yu was training in the Eight-Step Cicada pursuing technique, he suddenly heard arguing, instinctively turning to look.
Wang Can was surrounded by a group of Protectors; he had become a formal Protector, the second among the newcomers to do so.
People like Wang Can who spend over ten days breaking through the Mortal Stage to become a Martial Cultivator belong to the normal case for becoming a formal Protector.
Lu Yu’s case, training for just five or six days before breaking through the Mortal Stage to become a Martial Cultivator, is abnormal, which is why Zhang Lun holds high hopes for Lu Yu.
If Zhang Lun knew Lu Yu became a Martial Cultivator in just two days, even Han Yaozu would be alarmed; such a talent would be highly valued in Han’s mansion.
It seems that Lu Yu only took one less day than the eldest young master of Han’s mansion to become a Martial Cultivator, but in fact, before beginning training, the young master had consumed numerous Qi Blood-enhancing herbs.
Their pre-training physical conditions were incomparable.
The young master had Qi Blood very close to a formal Martial Cultivator before training and still took two days to break through the Mortal Stage.
On the other hand, after Lu Yu’s parents passed away, he hadn’t had a proper meal, his Qi Blood severely depleted.
Under such circumstances, becoming a Martial Cultivator in two days means his training talent surpasses the young master’s unknown multiple times.
Or, the system’s automatic training efficiency is vastly superior to normal people’s speed.
After all, normal people need a process of learning Cultivation Techniques, may make training errors, resulting in half the effort for double the work.
System auto-training completely avoids these issues; movements are perfectly standard, efficiency is maximal.
"Newcomer, becoming a formal Protector means you need to understand some rules of the Outer Courtyard."
"First, respect seniors, greet them when you see them. Second, during meals, let seniors take their food first; don’t grab. Third, remember to treat seniors to a meal when you receive your monthly allowance."
The speaker patted Wang Can’s shoulder; with each pat, Wang Can’s body shook slightly, face flushing red.
Wang Can clenched his hands, nodded through gritted teeth, his unwillingness and anger causing his Qi Blood to surge, making his face even redder.
"That’s better, let’s go." The leader saw him being sensible and called for those around him to disperse.
"Yesterday, I felt like I was about to break through to the third stage of Body Refinement. If I push myself today, I might just succeed," one person said as he left with the others.
"You said you felt like breaking through ten days ago, and there’s still no sign of it. How much longer are you going to wait?"
"If you don’t believe me, shall we spar?" the person said, giving a sidelong glance to the speaker.
"Alright, alright, don’t really fight. Focus on your training. The sooner you reach the seventh stage of Body Refinement, the sooner you can enter the Inner Court."
Midway through their walk, they suddenly noticed Lu Yu practicing nearby. The leader halted and asked, "Who is that person? Why do I feel like his face is unfamiliar?"
"Seems like it. I’m not sure, but I saw him training here a few days ago, so he should be new."
"A few days ago? I happened to be out on business then. Didn’t you tell him about the Outer Court rules?" the leader glanced at the surrounding people.
Someone explained, "A major incident occurred at the Han House a few days ago. We were all so busy that we didn’t even have time to meet the newcomer."
"Then go and tell him about the Outer Court rules." With that, he led the group towards Lu Yu.
Lu Yu had already noticed them. From Wang Can’s expression, it seemed these experienced Protectors were trying to intimidate the newcomer. This kind of thing happens in many places.
As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there is a martial world, and where there is a martial world, there is a hierarchy.
Veterans certainly don’t want their status threatened by newcomers, hence the bullying of the inexperienced.
Just a few days ago, Lu Yu might have avoided these people.
But now, his strength had surged immensely. He wasn’t even sure of his own level and wanted a fight to test his prowess.
Most importantly, these individuals didn’t seem very strong.
"Newcomer, do you know the rules of the Outer Court?" the leader asked as he walked.
"There are rules in the Outer Court? I’ve never heard of them. Are you not afraid of Steward Zhang’s punishment for making your own rules?" Lu Yu replied.
At the mention of Steward Zhang, the leader’s expression changed slightly, then he maliciously smiled, "You think you can use Steward Zhang to suppress me? Do you think Steward Zhang would care about such trivial matters?"
As he spoke, he reached out to slap Lu Yu, but Lu Yu discreetly dodged, and the leader’s hand hit the air, the smile vanishing from his face.
"I’ll show you what the rules are in the Outer Court," he said in a low voice.
"As a senior, I have a duty to help newcomers familiarize themselves with the Fierce Tiger Fist techniques. Let me give you some guidance!"
He emphasized the word "guidance," making his intentions clear.
"That depends on whether you have the capability," Lu Yu retorted without hesitation.
"You’ll soon find out if I have the capability," the leader grinned, attacking Lu Yu with the Fierce Tiger Fist technique, "Hungry Tiger Lunges for Prey."
In his mind, Lu Yu wouldn’t stand a chance against him, after all, he was at the peak of the third stage of Body Refinement.
And Lu Yu was just a young boy who had just started training, a newcomer Martial Cultivator who just entered the Body Refinement stage.
Lu Yu watched him make the first move; from Lu Yu’s perspective, his technique was full of flaws.
He only knew how to launch rigid attacks based on the technique’s forms, completely lacking flexibility.
He could have attacked directly, but instead chose to pose for the initial stance of the Fierce Tiger Fist before punching, which had too long a wind-up.
In just two days of training, Lu Yu’s skills in Fierce Tiger Fist - Fierce Tiger Descending the Mountain had already reached an advanced level, with Evil Tiger Roar attaining an intermediate level.
Facing someone whose skill was barely intermediate, from a technical standpoint, Lu Yu was overwhelming.
Lu Yu struck, inserting his right hand into the opponent’s blind spot, disrupting his move with minimal force and counterattacking simultaneously.
Bam~ The man staggered back a few steps, finding it hard to maintain his balance, his face full of shock.
The others, seeing that it wasn’t Lu Yu who was beaten back, but the other person, were left dumbfounded and speechless.
Lu Yu lost interest in engaging with him further; the opponent’s technique level was inferior, and his Qi Blood strength was slightly weaker than Lu Yu’s. If they really fought, it would be a one-sided crushing.
Moreover, Lu Yu hadn’t even used his body technique ability. If he went all out, he could defeat him before he even realized what was happening.
While the others were still in shock, Lu Yu had already left the martial arts field. He had an almost clear understanding of his own strength by now.
His current strength was equivalent to a Protector of the third stage of Body Refinement, and his skill level far exceeded a Protector’s, making it easy to defeat a third-stage Body Refinement Protector in combat.
His Qi Blood strength was lower than a fourth-stage Body Refinement Protector, but with his advanced level in Fierce Tiger Fist and displacement skill "Eight Steps to Catch a Cicada," he could contend with a fourth stage.
The premise was that his opponent’s skill level was similar to his, or lower.
"Who goes there?" Zhang Lun shouted.
"Damn, how is there someone in the tree? Retreat."
After a chase, Zhang Lun returned to the Han House to report to Steward Zhang.
"Was it clear who was in the forest outside the West Courtyard?"
"They were masked, and I was held up by a few people at the eighth stage of Body Refinement, so I couldn’t catch them. But one of their moves seemed to belong to the Vice Gang Leader of the Wild Wolf Gang."
"The Wild Wolf Gang? How dare they provoke the Han House? It’s such a turbulent time. We haven’t even found the murderer of Han Fan yet, and such petty scoundrels as the Wild Wolf Gang dare to challenge us."