Chapter 6: Seven Days Later

Over the next seven days, Lu Xuan experienced the most comfortable time since arriving in this world.

He had meat to eat, a gentle and beautiful woman to spend nights with, and his cultivation increased every single time he opened his eyes.

A single night's sleep was equivalent to two years of hard cultivation for anyone else.

The feeling was indescribably satisfying...

During the day, Shen Yuyan embroidered inside the house.

Meanwhile, Lu Xuan began trying to refine the techniques he had learnt, his Deer Form progressed from Minor Achievement to Perfection by now.

His movement became faster and faster... with a single step, he was swifter than a galloping horse, leaving the courtyard filled with nothing but afterimages.

He tried moving from one end of the yard to the other. Without his feet even seeming to touch the ground, he arrived in a flash.

When Shen Yuyan came out carrying porridge, she saw only a gust of wind before Lu Xuan was suddenly standing right in front of her.

"You... weren't you just over there?"

She blinked, genuinely thinking her eyes were playing tricks on her.

Lu Xuan smiled slightly and offered no explanation. He simply took her into his arms and said he was exercising.

By now, the initial awkwardness had faded between them, leading to occasional teasing just like these between them.

He had also reached the threshold of the Tiger Form. His pouncing and striking posture had already reached fifty percent mastery.

When he threw a punch, the air would buzz and hum... sounding like a fierce tiger growling low in its throat.

The old oak tree in the courtyard had its bark stripped away by his strikes, revealing the pale white new wood beneath.

Lu Xuan stood before the tree, looking at the calluses on his knuckles, seven days ago, even rolling over in bed had been painful for him.

Now, he was confident he could shatter a wolf's skull with a single punch.

This feeling was like a drowning man finally breaking through the surface for air.

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[Ding! Sleep cultivation complete.]

[Five Animals Transformation Art Progress: 30%.]

[Mastered Forms: Deer Form (Perfection), Tiger Form (30%).]

[Current Realm: Body Tempering: Level Nine.]

Lu Xuan looked at the panel and clenched his fists.

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Power flowed through his Meridians... warm and steady like a great river, many times wider than it had been seven days ago.

He took a deep breath. Spiritual Energy surged through his nose and mouth, circulated through his body, and dissipated through his pores.

His entire presence was like night and day compared to a week ago.

This was the unique brilliance of the Five Animals Transformation Art.

Ordinary Cultivation Techniques involved drawing Spiritual Energy into the body to slowly nourish the Meridians... like water dripping through stone. It would take eight or ten years to see any real results.

The Five Animals Transformation Art was different.

It imitated the form and spirit of five animals: the agility and alertness of the Deer... the ferocity and violence of the Tiger... the mountain-like heavy strength of the Bear... the versatility and flexibility of the Ape... and the breath-concealing stealth of the Crane.

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Each form tempered the body in the most extreme manner.

Practicing the Deer Form made one's movement light and agile. Practicing the Tiger Form caused the muscles and bones to resonate, making raw strength skyrocket.

Rotating through the five forms was equivalent to cultivating five techniques simultaneously... his efficiency was five times that of anyone else.

Coupled with the Lazy Cultivation System and its automatic sleep cultivation... his progress was beyond comparison.

Seven days were equivalent to fourteen years for anyone else.

He had already reached Body Tempering Level Nine, If he told anyone about this speed, not a single soul would believe it.

Lu Xuan clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

Body Tempering Level Nine.

This was the level of an average martial academy apprentice, he was already a full realm higher than a common servant.

Servants of the Lu Family were mostly between Body Tempering Levels Three and Seven... the gatekeepers, messengers, and laborers were all at that level.

Martial academy apprentices were different. They were the talents the Lu Family spent money to nurture, ranging from Body Tempering Level Six to Nine, with the potential to break through to the Martial Apprentice Realm and become true martial artists.

Lu Xuan was currently at that level, but he knew this was only the beginning.

One more night of sleep and he could reach the Martial Apprentice Realm, In the Martial Apprentice Realm, one opens the Dantian and condenses True Energy.

By then, even the inner disciples of the Lu Family would be no match for him.

However...

Lu Xuan looked out at the wild mountains and desolate ridges beyond the courtyard, they couldn't stay in the old Ancestral Home much longer.

During these seven days, he had heard wolves and wild dogs howling in the distance more than once at night.

Once, when he got up in the middle of the night, he saw a pair of glowing green eyes staring at him from the darkness.

After a long standoff, the creature had finally run away.

Wolves were manageable... with his current strength, he could kill as many as came his way.

But what about bandits?

Twenty miles outside the city, there were no neighbors and no help.

A couple of petty thieves were fine, but if a whole gang came, he couldn't protect Shen Yuyan alone.

Besides, living out here was impractical, having the wild wolf for food these past seven days was one thing, but to buy salt and rice, he had to travel twenty miles to the nearest town.

A round trip would eat up most of the day, If Shen Yuyan wanted to buy needle and thread for her embroidery, she couldn't find a place to do so.

They had to move back into the city, Shen Yuyan came out of the house wearing her veil.

She was always like this during the day. Even though Lu Xuan had told her many times that he didn't mind... even though he knew exactly how beautiful she truly was... Shen Yuyan remained insistent.

Unable to convince her otherwise, Lu Xuan could only let it be.

She held several pieces of embroidery, spreading them out one by one on a flat stone to dry in the sun.

The stitching was fine and dense, the flowers and birds lifelike.

Especially the one with two cranes standing by the water... the ripples shimmered, and every feather on the cranes was so distinct they looked real.

"You embroidery is very beautiful," Lu Xuan said.

The tips of Shen Yuyan's ears turned red, "It's... it's alright."

"These should sell for thirty or forty copper coins. I was thinking of going into the city to buy some rice and salt."

Lu Xuan shook his head, "No need to buy them."

"Why?"

"We're moving back into the city. It's too inconvenient out here... and not safe."

Hearing about moving back, Shen Yuyan was naturally happy, "But a very realistic problem stood in their way: where would the two of them live?

The Lu Family and the Shen Family were out of the question... those people probably wished the two of them would just die quietly out here to save everyone the trouble.

Lu Xuan could see the worry on her face, and his voice softened.

"It's fine. Once we're in the city, we'll find a small house to rent first. I'll find a job that can cover the cost."

In truth, Lu Xuan had already planned everything out over the last few days.

First... they had to get back into the city, they needed a place to live. If they couldn't afford to buy, they would rent. A small side courtyard would cost about half a silver piece a month.

Where would the money come from? Shen Yuyan's embroidery could only sell for a few dozen copper coins at best... a drop in the bucket.

But he couldn't reveal his strength. He couldn't let people find out that the "trash" Lu Xuan could fight now.

Doing so would surely draw the suspicion of his second uncle and the others... and right now, suspicion meant death.

He couldn't take on any work that required showing his martial ability, So he had to find a normal, quiet job.

What kind of job was best? Something that didn't require showing his face, didn't attract attention, and ideally... allowed him to sit and sleep.

Lu Xuan suddenly thought of a person, Fang Tieshan.

An old friend of his late father and a former apprentice from the Lu Family's martial academy who had later struck out on his own and opened an escort company... the Iron Mountain Escort Agency.

When Lu Xuan was a child, his father had taken him to visit Fang Tieshan once.

The man was burly and large, his laugh like rolling thunder as he ruffled Lu Xuan's hair and said, "This kid is going to be even better than his old man someday."

Later, his father died, and after that... they never met again.

But Lu Xuan had heard people say that Fang Tieshan was a man who cherished old bonds.

During festivals and anniversaries, he would still send someone to visit his father's grave.

If Lu Xuan went to him to ask for a job...

He had no other path to take, he could go to the escort agency as a handyman, sweeping floors, moving goods, guarding the gate, any work would do.

No showing his face and drawing attention.

With people coming and going at an escort agency all day long, no one would care about a "trash" gatekeeper.

Moreover, the agency had a training yard.

He could secretly watch others practice martial arts... and learn on the sly.

Guard the gate by day. Sleep to cultivate by night.

Once his strength was sufficient... he would make other plans.