47-A Spark to Ignite it All.

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Zhong Lin walked out of the hall with a blank expression, glanced at Yun Ye waiting in the courtyard, then turned and headed toward a large bronze vat filled with water. He plunged his face straight into it.

Yun Ye, standing in the courtyard's center, twitched his mouth at the sight, looking at Zhong Lin with a trace of pity before stepping over.

"The Second Young Master's tastes are a bit… unique. You…"

"I'm fine."

Zhong Lin shook his head, signaling he was okay.

"Can I leave now?"

Yun Ye pulled a porcelain bottle from his coat and handed it over. "This is a reward from the Second Young Master."

"Thanks."

Zhong Lin glanced at the words "Bone-Strengthening Pills" on the bottle, and his sour mood lightened a bit.

Damn it, he'd thought being summoned by a Du family young master in the middle of the night meant something serious. Who'd have guessed it was to paint erotic pictures for him?

And not just any painting—live observation, with the Second Young Master Du and his two maidservants as the subjects.

One wasn't enough—he demanded several, each with different poses.

Zhong Lin felt like his eyes had grown calluses.

Yun Ye spoke up. "I see you've got some skill. Would you like to join the Du family as a guard?"

"Du family guards are all ranked martial artists. Ninth Rank martial artists are third-class guards, Eighth Rank are second-class, and Seventh Rank can be first-class. With your martial arts level, you'd be a second-class guard—twenty taels of silver a month, plus the Du family's backing. No one would dare mess with you when you buy medicine at the black market again."

Zhong Lin's mind raced. The offer sounded decent, but he had no interest. His goal was to head to Tianyang Prefecture to learn alchemy, not to become some family's hired muscle.

Taking a deep breath, he said firmly, "Thank you for your regard, Lord Yun, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline. I'm just a painter—I don't like fighting and killing. I just want a peaceful life."

"So be it."

Yun Ye's expression soured at the rejection, waving a hand to dismiss Zhong Lin.

"Hmph! Shortsighted fool. Doesn't he know that to cultivate qi and blood, you need blood-refining techniques? And those are only held by noble families," Yun Ye muttered coldly.

In his view, Zhong Lin was a junior with decent martial talent, and he'd been willing to give him a leg up. He hadn't expected a refusal.

Fine—reject it then!

The loss wasn't his—it was Zhong Lin's. Missing this chance, he'd spend his life stuck in the lower Third Stage, wasting away.

Meanwhile, Zhong Lin, already far off, didn't hear Yun Ye's words. Even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.

"Tsk tsk, worth of a noble family's son. This time's commission fee is ten Bone-Strengthening Pills."

Under the moonlight, Zhong Lin opened the bottle. Inside were ten perfectly round Bone-Strengthening Pills. At thirty taels each, that was three hundred taels of silver—the priciest commission he'd ever earned as a painter.

"Dong Yan contributed five Bone-Strengthening Pills, I bought five myself, and now these ten. With my max-level experience absorbing pill potency, it's about enough to push me to Seventh Rank."

The max-level *Iron Mountain Strength Technique* gave Zhong Lin a creator-level understanding of the art, allowing him to utilize pill potency to the fullest without waste. Where an ordinary person needed two pills, he needed only one.

Quickening his pace, he hurried back to the county.

"Second Brother, wow! That's a huge rooster! Are we eating meat tomorrow?"

Little Shi, still waiting for Zhong Lin to return, perked up at the sight of the big rooster in his brother's hands. The thought of meat tomorrow had his mouth watering, banishing all sleepiness.

"You little glutton. Go find a rope to tie it up. If it runs off, you won't get any tomorrow," Zhong Lin teased.

"Mm-hmm!"

Little Shi scrambled off the bed with his butt sticking up, slipped on his shoes, and excitedly fetched a hemp rope from the corner. He tied one end to the rooster's leg and the other to the table leg.

"Hungry? I got eggs too. Want me to cook you one?"

"Yes!"

Zhong Lin wasn't sleepy either. The two headed to the kitchen, added water to a pot, dropped in two eggs, and started a big fire.

Soon the water boiled. After a bit longer, they fished the eggs out and shocked them with cold water.

"Second Brother, I want this one."

Little Shi pointed at the sharper of the two eggs.

"Alright."

Even after the cold rinse, the eggs were still hot to the touch. Little Shi swapped it between his hands, blowing on it to cool it down.

Neither ate right away. They locked eyes.

"One, two, three—smash!"

"One, two, three—smash!"

With a crack, their eggs collided. Little Shi's stayed intact, while Zhong Lin's crumpled at one end.

"Yay! I won, I won!"

Little Shi cheered and jumped, waving his egg like a victorious general.

Zhong Lin watched with a smile. This egg… smelled so good!

…

Seven days passed in a flash. Each night at the Hour of the Pig, Zhong Lin still went to the black market to sell medicine. Part of the silver went to buying scarce goods, and the rest to more Bone-Strengthening Pills.

By day, he holed up at home training. The Bone-Strengthening Pills lived up to their name—tailored for post-Eighth Rank Tendon-Refining Realm use, their potent energy targeted the bones.

Swallowing one pill, Zhong Lin punched the air in the courtyard. With each breath, he felt the thick medicinal power working on his bones.

Human bones seem sturdy but are actually fragile, requiring years of tempering.

The pills sped up the process, but each tempering brought Zhong Lin a sharp, raw pain.

The max-level *Iron Mountain Strength Technique* made his bone-forging highly efficient. Even so, fully tempering every bone took time—there were so many in the body, and thoroughness demanded patience.

After two hours, Zhong Lin felt tired and stopped.

Sensing the power coursing through him, he nodded in satisfaction.

"I haven't stepped into the Seventh Rank Bone-Forging Realm yet, but I can clearly feel my strength, defense, and stamina have surged—far beyond the Tendon-Refining Realm. I've tempered most of my bones already, just a few small spots left. Three days at most, and I'll definitely reach Seventh Rank."

He washed his face, tidied up, and shouted into the house, "Shi, you packed yet? Time to go."

"Ready!"

Today was moving day. Old Xu had rented the house days ago. If Zhong Lin delayed any longer, Xu Lewu and his family might've moved in themselves.

The chaos outside was growing. The rebel Guo Yanhuai's actions were no secret anymore—word had spread. Countless nearby disaster victims had flooded the county for refuge.

More people meant tighter supplies. Beggars and refugees filled the streets and alleys. To Zhong Lin, Black Mountain County felt like a giant powder keg, needing only a final spark.

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