My martial arts have no bottlenecks.

Chapter 25 Breaking Through

When Liang Cheng returned to the martial arts school, the disciples in the front yard stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully. He nodded slightly and walked straight to the back yard, where Zhou Hu stopped him.

"Junior Brother Liang, you've worked hard. Master is very happy."

"what?"

Liang Cheng was somewhat bewildered, but after Zhou Hu explained, he understood what was going on.

Chen Bainian is very good at interpersonal relationships.

After the lost goods were found, Chen Bainian was afraid that something else might happen, so he directly escorted the goods to the city lord's mansion. However, he also had Chen Fu personally deliver a generous gift to the martial arts school, which amounted to two hundred taels of silver.

He flattered Yang Wei to the extreme, praising him as a good teacher who produces outstanding students and as virtuous and righteous, which comforted Yang Wei and led to this scene.

Liang Cheng could only humbly say that it was all his duty before returning to his room and carefully hiding the silver he had earned.

I also tried to piece together the previous kraft paper and Zhang Kui kraft paper. Sure enough, the edges matched perfectly, and the pieced together it became a larger picture. However, it was still incomplete, and I don't know exactly how much was missing.

As for the distorted symbols above, they seemed to follow a certain pattern, resembling some kind of cipher or a simplified marking on a topographical map. Liang Cheng looked at them over and over for a long time, but it still felt like reading a book written in a foreign language.

"It seems we still need to find the remaining puzzle pieces, or find someone who knows about them."

He shook his head, carefully put the parchment away, and tucked it deep under the bed. This matter couldn't be rushed; his cultivation was more important right now.

After that, Liang Cheng secluded himself at home and practiced regularly, standing in the morning to practice stances, practicing boxing in the afternoon, and refining his Stone Armor Kung Fu at night, without the slightest slackening.

That two-foot-long silver-headed shark was indeed a spiritual creature. The energy that had settled in its blood and qi was gradually drawn out and transformed into a warm current, like a deep well from which new nourishment could be drawn with each cultivation session.

Half a month passed quietly, and March has unknowingly entered its first ten days.

【Mastery of Hunyuan Zhuang (788/1000)】

【The Great Perfection of the Wild Bull's Strength (755/2000)】

The Complete Works of Stone Armor Technique (Fragment) (912/2000)

The progress is visible to the naked eye, especially the Stone Armor Skill, which has actually caught up and surpassed others, with a significant increase in bone density, and a faint sound of metal and stone resonating when exerting force.

The nourishing effects of silver-headed shark on the body are evident.

However, there are still three catties left of the top-grade iron marrow that Chen Bainian sent. After using it up, we will have to find a way to buy some more.

The current savings have reached over 1,700 taels of silver, so there is no need to worry about a lack of money for the time being.

The old saying goes, "Murderers and arsonists wear golden belts," and the ancients were right!

……

Just as Liang Cheng was making steady progress, Linhai Town appeared calm on the surface, but undercurrents were surging beneath.

Zhang Kui, the leader of the Sea Serpent Gang, had been missing for half a month. At first, his subordinates thought he had gone somewhere else to have fun and didn't pay much attention.

This situation has happened before, but the ledgers are pending signature, and several business deals are waiting to be decided. The deputy gang leader, One-Eyed Flood Dragon, and Smiling Tiger are both unwilling to submit to each other. At first, things were fine, as they kept searching for Zhang Kui, preparing to gain the upper hand.

However, half a month passed and there was still no news from Zhang Kui. Something was clearly wrong, so he began to have his own thoughts and started to fight for power and profit.

The unloading area at the dock was the first to become chaotic.

The two factions fought three battles at the dock over control of the warehouse, resulting in dozens of deaths and injuries. In the end, the town's security office intervened to quell the unrest, punishing both sides equally and ordering them not to interfere with the operation of the dock. Only then did things calm down on the surface, but the fighting continued behind the scenes.

However, the street where Liang Cheng's family lived remained peaceful and quiet.

Not only did no members of the Sea Serpent Gang come to collect "peace money," but the gang members who had been fighting also avoided the area. The neighbors were initially worried, but gradually relaxed when they saw that nothing had really happened.

While chatting idly by the well, someone would occasionally remark:

"The Liang family lad is really capable."

"I heard he's now a guest retainer of the City Lord's Mansion. How dare the Sea Serpent Gang offend him?"

"How could Chief Zhang suddenly be gone..."

Shh! Don't ask too many questions! Maybe you've offended someone you shouldn't have.

These words occasionally drifted into Ning San Niang's ears, but she just kept her head down kneading the dough and didn't respond at all.

Every five or six days, she would send messages and food to Liang Cheng through the neighbors in town, never mentioning anything about what happened in the alley.

She couldn't let these trivial matters bother her son. Although she didn't know martial arts, she would never hold him back.

So the mother didn't ask, and Liang Cheng didn't say anything either; this was the tacit understanding between the mother and son.

……

Before we knew it, it was mid-March, and the spring hunt was just around the corner.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the backyard of the martial arts school was also somewhat somber. Liang Cheng did not practice this time because Zhou Hu decided to attempt to break through to the Transformation Realm.

He had been stagnant at the peak of Dark Force for nearly two years, and his foundation was already sufficient. Although he was seriously injured in the battle against Zheng Biao in the Three Towns Competition, it also allowed him to advance further.

After his injuries healed, he confessed his feelings to Yang Wei, who naturally did not stop him and personally protected him.

If Zhou Hu succeeds in breaking through the barrier, Yangwei Martial Arts School will have two masters of the Transformation Realm, truly becoming the number one martial arts school in the three towns.

The challenge was scheduled for midnight. The doors and windows of the main hall in the back courtyard were tightly closed, leaving only Yang Wei and Zhou Hu. Zhao Yuanliang and other disciples waited outside the courtyard, holding their breath in anticipation.

For the first hour, the hall was silent. Zhao Yuan's expression was complicated. He had been seriously injured, but fortunately, as the son of a grain merchant, he had a wealthy family and was favored by Yang Wei, so he received a constant supply of medicine.

He has largely recovered and is mostly fine now, but it was a waste of time as he has not made any further progress compared to before the competition.

Inside the courtyard, a low, resonant sound of energy flowing could be faintly heard. After another half hour, the sound grew louder, seemingly mixed with the bellowing of cattle and the roar of tigers, and the doors and windows trembled slightly.

Liang Cheng focused his senses and could perceive that the qi and blood in the hall were burning like in a furnace, and Zhou Hu's aura was constantly rising, trying to break through some invisible shackle.

Just as that aura reached its peak, as if it were about to break free from its cocoon, suddenly...

"puff!"

A muffled snort of despair rang out, followed by Zhou Hu's suppressed groan.

All sounds ceased abruptly.

The disciples outside the courtyard felt a chill run down their spines.

After a long while, the hall door creaked open, and Yang Wei helped Zhou Hu out. Zhou Hu's face was ashen, with blood still clinging to the corner of his mouth. He was weak, but his eyes were terrifyingly calm.

"Disperse." Yang Wei's voice was hoarse. "Zhou Hu failed to break through the pass and needs to rest. Today's events must not be spread."

"Yes."

The disciples responded in hushed tones and dispersed, but a shadow fell over their hearts.

Before Liang Cheng returned to his room, he caught a glimpse of Zhao Yuan standing in the shadows of the corridor, gazing in the direction of Zhou Hu's room, his fingers unconsciously stroking.

With the eldest disciple's failure to break through the barrier, Yang Wei is now the only remaining strongest fighter in the martial arts school. Meanwhile, Wu Tianxiong of Zhennan Martial Arts School has always harbored resentment towards the competition.

With the spring hunt just around the corner, the other side is likely to go all out this time...

Liang Cheng closed the door, sat cross-legged on the bed, and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

In terms of Qi and blood, he was already qualified to break through to the Transformation Realm. Unfortunately, due to his ephemeral fate, if he wanted to soar to the heavens, his condition would have to be perfect, and the breakthrough would happen naturally.

However, this also allowed him to accumulate considerable strength, and with each breakthrough, his power far surpassed that of his peers.

Keep practicing!