Chapter 6 Disaster_1

This time, Lu Qingshan did not refuse.

Before Lu Yan started practicing the fist technique, his archery skills had already reached mastery, so he could start hunting in the mountains with him.

At the same time, he understood that after his fist practice, his appetite had increased significantly. Relying solely on him for hunting would not meet Lu Yan's cultivation needs and would only delay Lu Yan's progress.

Working together, their efficiency would surely increase.

Lu Yan, with his hunting bow in hand, dove headfirst into Woniu Mountain with Lu Qingshan.

People had already thoroughly explored the periphery of Woniu Mountain, wild vegetables and fruits were almost nonexistent, and there were very few animals. Therefore, they didn't linger there and continue towards the interior.

Woniu Mountain, according to Lu Qingshan, was divided into the outskirts, interior, and deep mountains.

On the outskirts, only some small animals could be found, but now they were very rare.

In the interiors, there were more small animals, and sometimes large beasts would appear.

As for the deep mountains, those were the territories where large beasts roamed, and ordinary people dared not to tread.

Lu Qingshan usually hunted in the interior. He had only ventured into the deep mountains once, and though he had preyed on a roe deer, he had also sustained injuries.

Along the way, Lu Qingshan would teach Lu Yan some tricks about setting traps and tracking game.

Shortly after, they entered the interior of the mountain.

"Father, there's a wild rabbit up ahead," Lu Yan whispered.

"Quiet down, Yan'er. You ambush here, I'll block the other end," Lu Qingshan responded, holding his breath, crouching low and gently circling to the other side. He then pulled out an arrow, laid it on his bow, and prepared to shoot.

Swoosh!

The arrow flew through the air, but the rabbit was extraordinarily quick and agile. It had somehow sensed the danger and scampered away as the arrow was released, causing Lu Qingshan's arrow to miss its mark.

In the mountains, it's survival of the fittest. For an animal to grow up within these forests, it needs to be extremely alert.

But Lu Qingshan had already calculated the escape route. Startled, the rabbit ran in the direction where Lu Yan was lying in ambush.

Lu Yan had already prepared and, as the rabbit approached, he let his arrow fly. The arrow shot out as fast as lightning and penetrated the belly of the rabbit.

The rabbit struggled a few times, then finally lay still.

"Yan'er, your archery skill has improved significantly," Lu Qingshan who picked up the rabbit, expressed delightedly.

This was the advantage of working together. Usually, if Lu Qingshan was hunting alone, once an arrow missed the target, the game would instantly run away, making it difficult for him to strike again.

However, when they were hunting together, the efficiency of their hunts was multiplied.

"Yeah, I did improve a little," Lu Yan smiled.

"Let's bury this rabbit first," Lu Qingshan took out a small hoe, initially used for digging up wild potatoes. He dug a hole, buried the rabbit with some leaves and made a mark over the spot.

Carrying a bloody rabbit during hunting was definitely a bad idea. The smell of blood would attract large beasts and scare away other small game.

They continued their hunt.

An hour later, the two successfully took down a wild goat weighing over 30 pounds together.

"Yan'er, you're so lucky. It's your first hunt and you've caught a wild goat," Lu Qingshan expressed joyfully.

Actually, it wasn't just luck. When he hunted alone, he had encountered wild goats, deer, and roe deer many times. However, such game was always extremely alert. Each time, before he could even draw his bow, the prey would sense the danger and run away.

Lu Yan also smiled, with these meats, his cultivation progress will surge.

After another hour of wandering with no further gains, the two chopped down a large bunch of dry firewood, tied the wild goat in the middle, and after finding the buried rabbit, they returned to Kaoshan Village.

At noon, Lu Yan ate over five pounds of meat and immediately proceeded to practice his fist technique amongst the bamboo groves.

In the days that followed, every morning Lu Yan and Lu Qingshan would go hunting in the mountains, and in the afternoon, he would practice his fist technique to gather qi-blood and refine his body.

With Lu Yan joining him, their hunting efficiency greatly improved. Although they couldn't guarantee to catch medium-sized game like wild goats or roe deer every day, they could at least ensure a daily supply of small game to keep up with Lu Yan's need of eating an average of five pounds of meat per day.

As the amount meat they stored increased, both Wang Cui and Lu Qingshan started to allow themselves to consume a bit of it as well.

With the enhanced strength gained from the martial arts training, results gradually started showing up.

With enough meat to eat, Lu Yan's progress had been incredibly rapid, not only in terms of his advancement in martial techniques, but also in the accumulation of his qi-blood, that had significantly sped up its pace.

According to Lu Qingshan, once a state is reached where the qi-blood in one's body overflows and it is fully operational, one can sense the existence of the 'sealed door'.

Once the 'sealed door' is broken, one can become a limit-breaking warrior, boosting one's strength explosively.

In this way, another month or so passed.

At this point, it had been over a hundred days, specifically, 105 days since Lu Yan started practicing the fist technique.

His Iron Thread Fist had transcended mastery and entered the realm of reaching the peak of perfection.

If word got out that it took 105 days to bring a third-rate martial art like the Iron Thread Fist to the peak of perfection, it would surely shock people.

For ordinary people, they would need to train diligently for thirty years to bring a third-rate martial art to its peak.

In the bamboo grove, Lu Yan continually practiced the Iron Thread Fist. With each swing of his fist, a howling noise could be heard in the air, and unending black lines were seen encircling his arms and fists. They were extremely clear, making it appeared that his hands were encased in gloves made of intertwined iron threads.

This made Lu Yan's palms and arms extraordinarily tough.

He was soaked in sweat. His skin was red as if it was going to bleed. A faint red mist could be seen emanating from the surface of his skin.

It wasn't until an hour later that Lu Yan ended his practice. His reddened skin returned to its normal color, and the black lines on his palms and arms disappeared.

"I should be nearing the state of qi-blood overflowing," he murmured to himself, quite pleased with his own progress.

This indicated that his cultivation level was nearing its first limit breaking point.

Lu Qingshan once mentioned that Wu Chaofeng was at this level.

"Indeed, the Dao Book is an invaluable treasure," he remarked.

Although the Dao Book couldn't directly increase one's qi-blood or improve their cultivation realm, it could rapidly elevate one's martial arts level.

The improvement in martial arts level could open up more energy channels, accelerating the accumulation of qi-blood and improving the rate of cultivation.

This indirectly bolstered his cultivation level.

For an average person with ordinary talent, when they start practicing martial arts, even with enough meat, they would have at least needed three years to reach a state where their Qi-blood overflows and they nearly reach a Limit Breaking level.

However, he only needed 105 days.

Not only was his progress in martial arts faster than any ordinary person by numerous folds, the speed of his cultivation level advancement also exceeded ordinary people by more than ten times.

Besides, if he advanced further in his martial arts, reaching the state of 'Transcendent' or even 'Unity of Man and Martial Arts', and opens up more sub-veins, his cultivation speed would increase even more.

"It should take only a few days to truly overflow Qi-blood and hit the 'Sealed Door' limit,"

Lu Yan, feeling energetic, rested for a while, then practiced Iron Thread Fist one more time before returning home.

The sun was setting; night had arrived. Lu Qingshan was back carrying a bundle of firewood, with excitement hardly veiled on his face.

"What are you so happy about, my dear?"

Wang Cui could tell at a glance.

"Look at this!"

Lu Qingshan unwrapped the bundle of firewood and out emerged a huge leg of a pig. By its look, it must weigh more than thirty jin.

"A wild boar leg? Dad, did you hunt a wild boar?"

Lu Yan asked.

"That's right, I was lucky today, I caught a big wild boar. I estimate it could weigh around three hundred jin. It was too heavy for me to drag back, so I buried it in a big pit and took one leg back first. I'll return to get the rest when the darkness falls,"

Lu Qingshan replied.

"Dad, I'll go with you."

Lu Yan said.

After nightfall, those large beasts would come out of the deep mountain. Lu Qingshan going into the mountains alone made Lu Yan worried.

"Alright."

Lu Qingshan hesitated for a moment before nodding his head.

Why not take it in daylight?

A wild boar of this size would definitely draw attention. If seen by others, someone like Wu Chaofeng might do something unexpected.

Better be cautious.

After dinner, darkness had completely fallen. Lu Qingshan and Lu Yan quietly left the village and headed into Woniu Mountain. They found the place where Lu Qingshan had buried the wild boar.

They dug up the wild boar, chopped it into four pieces with a machete, each piece weighing over sixty jin.

They carried one piece each, buried the remaining pieces in the ground, and quickly returned.

After putting the pieces down, they went back into the mountain immediately.

ROAR!

In the forest, the roar of a fierce beast sounded, particularly terrifying.

Both of them held their breath, stealthily moved forward and returned to the spot where the wild boar was buried. They carried the remaining pieces and left immediately.

Luckily, they had no encounters with fierce beasts. Though there were some scares, they returned home safe and sound.

Wang Cui had been anxiously waiting for their return. Only when she saw both of them safe and sound did a big boulder in her heart fall. She immediately busied herself cleaning and marinating the wild boar meat with pepper powder.

That night, Wang Cui cooked a big plate of wild boar meat, and they had a heartily meal.

The next day, upon Lu Yan's suggestion, they prepared him three jin of meat for each meal. After eating his fill, he would go practice Iron Thread Fist in the bamboo grove, ready to hit the 'Sealed Door' limit.

With plenty of meat available, Lu Qingshan didn't go hunting in the mountains for the next few days. Instead, he stayed at home and helped Wang Cui with farm work.

Three days later.

That day, after having lunch and on the way to practicing Iron Thread Fist in the bamboo grove, Lu Yan happened to pass by a house. There was a crowd at the entrance and crying could be heard from inside the house.

"What's going on?"

Lu Yan went over to ask.

"Ah, it's those good-for-nothing guys, Wu Chaofeng, Li Shi, and Li Mu! They never work and only snatch grain from others. Just a few days ago, they were about to seize the potatoes from Dagang's house. Dagang resisted and ended up getting seriously injured. Without any money for medical expenses, he died today."

A strong man responded with gritted teeth.

"Hush, keep your voice down. If Wu Chaofeng and his crew hear you, you're in trouble."

An old woman warned in a fearful and cautious voice.

"What's there to be scared of? Those troublemakers will be taken down by someone sooner or later."

The same strong man from before cried out in anger.

"Poor Dagang's wife. With Dagang gone, she has to raise two children alone. Now that their grain has been taken away, how will she live?"

"Damn it!"

The others sighed. They could at most sympathize, but as for giving away their own grain to help Dagang's wife, they were willing but incapable.

"Doesn't the Feudal Lord of the Liu Family do anything?" Lu Yan questioned.

"Wu Chaofeng did not kill anyone, he just injured someone. The big shots of the Feudal Lords have no time to care about such small matters,"

An old man sighed.

Lu Yan silently walked away with a cold expression, making a decision in his heart. On his way to the bamboo grove, he happened to see three individuals he 'knew well'.

It was Wu Chaofeng, Li Mu, and Li Shi.

The three idly sat at the mouth of the village, basking in the sun, giving Lu Yan a sweeping glance from head to toe.

Lu Yan ignored them and walked straight to the bamboo grove to practice his fist.

"That fellow Lu Yan is getting stronger, just a few months ago he was a sick weakling,"

Li Mu commented.

"His dad, Lu Qingshan, is an old hunter, always going in and out of the mountains for hunting. He must be able to obtain game, so this kid certainly does not lack for meat. Otherwise, how could he have grown so quickly, damn it, we have no meat to eat. It's hateful, Brother Feng, what about..."

Li Shi turned to Wu Chaofeng, hinting unknown thoughts.

Wu Chaofeng licked his lips, saying, "Li Mu, you keep an eye on the vicinity of Lu Qingshan's house. As soon as Lu Qingshan and his wife are out doing chores, you sneak in and see if there's any meat."

"Alright, leave it to me,"

Li Mu responded excitedly.