This martial arts tournament is time-stopping.

"Only one hundred and fifty taels."

hiss~

In the sweltering summer heat, Ye Chu gasped for air, feeling a chill run through him!

He said that from the moment they entered the inner quarters to the beast garden, Nie Qingcang had been more attentive than a biological father.

So that's where the pit was!

As for hunting tigers, he can't leave the city.

If you buy a tiger outside, you still have to send it to a martial arts school to be processed with secret medicine. The cost will definitely be more than the one-time package price at the martial arts school.

"Master, this is too much! Can you reduce it?"

"Not a little less!"

Like an old fox, Nie Qingcang asked, "Everyone in your village is saying that you stole 500 taels of silver from the Yang family, so why are you being so stingy with me?"

"I didn't do such petty thievery!" Ye Chu quickly denied.

In addition, he took away 35 taels of silver and 9 taels of gold from the Yang family, which translates to 125 taels of silver.

But how did the rumors spread to the outside world, eventually reaching a terrifying amount of 500 taels?

Could it be that Madam Yang burned down the granary to settle accounts?

Moreover, spreading this around could easily attract thieves to steal from your home!

"Whether you did it or not, everyone else in the Dragon Tiger Hall will charge 200 taels of silver. Only because I previously instructed the pharmacy to offer you all the medicinal herbs at cost price is it 50 taels cheaper. Go and raise the money!"

Nie Qingcang escorted Ye Chu out of the beast garden, and then the two parted ways.

Ye Chu hesitated on his way to the inner courtyard. He had 113 taels of silver left in his pocket, leaving him short 37 taels.

Where do you get it?

What should we do now?

Furthermore, without making money, one cannot bathe in tiger blood to absorb tiger power, nor can one obtain tiger skin medicine, and thus cannot successfully cultivate the "Tiger Transformation".

Then the appearance of the ghost tamer and the tiger tamer is still a long way off.

It could even be said that after breaking through the Blood Barrier, without any cultivation techniques or secret medicines, one is simply a blank-slate martial artist.

"Others are asking for 200 taels of silver, I'm asking for 150 taels, but I don't believe anyone else can easily scrape together such a large sum!"

"If all else fails, I can add some cheating! Like the Yellow Turban Warrior Method—hearing Zhang Jiao recount it personally through the long river of history would be far more detailed than the book the Yang family possesses!"

"We'll just use the history lesson to decipher the secret medicine recipe and find out how to make tiger skin..."

As Ye Chu passed through the lotus gate and entered the inner courtyard, he was immediately noticed by many people.

Third Senior Brother Qi Feixing beckoned Ye Chu to his side and asked:

"Junior brother, were you shocked by the price of the secret medicine? But don't worry, your senior brother said he would give you some compensation. I'll plan something for you!"

Ye Chu thought to himself that it would be difficult to raise money for the secret medicine, but the martial arts school would not offer a price arbitrarily. It was certain that the skin-smoothing martial artist who had broken through the blood barrier had some value, and that a sum of money could be quickly raised through certain events or channels for cultivation.

Now that the third senior brother has taken the initiative to shout, we'll agree to make money!

Ye Chu didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point:

"When Master mentioned the price, it really startled me. Could you please advise me on how to raise the money, Third Brother?"

"Simple!"

Qi Feixing pointed at Han Heng and said, "Like him, marry the sect leader's daughter, and you won't have to worry about anything anymore. You can just focus on cultivation! When you achieve success in the future, you can come back to repay the sect leader!"

He paused, and seeing that Ye Chu had not yet expressed his opinion, he thought to himself that it was a pity that they could not be brothers-in-law.

Qi Feixing then pointed to the inner courtyard pavilion, where a man in a black, gold-embroidered, narrow-sleeved, close-fitting outfit stood. His dark hair was half-tied up, with a few strands hanging down his neck. He had sharp eyebrows and bright, aloof eyes, and looked at people with the noble air that came with being born into a prominent family.

"This is Qin Shiming, the sixth young master of the Qin family, one of the four great families of Shuanglong City. You can become a retainer in the Qin family. Just sign a 10-year retainer contract, and you'll immediately receive a settlement fee of 200 taels!"

"Or you could become a retainer in one of the smaller families next to him, Wang Hongru or Long Xuanji. You only need to sign a seven-year retainer contract, and you'll receive the same 200 taels settlement allowance!"

"As for the difference in the duration of the two contracts, it's because the smaller family pays less in monthly salary and has more to do!"

What do you think?

Ye Chu did not want to be involved with any particular force; otherwise, wouldn't it be more comfortable to be Master Nie's son-in-law?

He shook his head slightly.

Third Senior Brother Qi Feixing wasn't annoyed. He had collected all sorts of jobs, and there was bound to be one that could satisfy him. He continued, "..."

"I also have positions available for镖局镖人 (bodyguards/escorts), 政府獍獍猎猎 (bounty hunters), 醫館辭集者 (medicine gatherers), 齊帮小賀彎 (gang leaders), 渔劉镰市詩管事 (fish market managers)... etc. Anything you'd like to do?"

Are there any positions that don't require leaving the city?

"No, I have to go out of town to run errands more or less."

"Are there any companies that don't sign contracts?"

"Yes, but only one: to investigate what happened in Longnu River that caused martial artists from several prefectures to gather here!"

"I see that our martial arts school's animal enclosure and herb garden are guarded by martial artists. Could I do that?"

"That's a good spot for the owner's son-in-law, son, or a few close relatives; you can't squeeze in!"

"Sigh~"

Ye Chu sighed.

He didn't leave the city because he wanted to avoid the chaos caused by the Dragon Nu River, right?

In addition, all the jobs given by the third senior brother were to sell themselves to certain forces in exchange for money to get by.

Therefore, even martial artists who are superior to others still have to sell themselves and take out loans to practice martial arts, and everyone has a corresponding prison sentence!

In that case, it would be better to let the Yang family suffer a little longer!

"This won't work, that won't work either. You need to tell me what kind of work you prefer, and what your conditions are, so I can recommend a place for you!"

Qi Feixing was completely rejected by Ye Chu and had no other choice.

"Let me think about it some more!"

After thanking his third senior brother, Ye Chu went to the side to think about it.

Third Senior Brother Qi Feixing returned to the crowd.

The jobs he gets either come from people in the inner court, or from tasks that external forces have been cooperating with the Dragon Tiger Hall for a long time, or from tasks that are issued through his personal connections.

So regardless of the outcome, he needs to give everyone an explanation.

He shook his head at the crowd and said:

"Everyone, Junior Brother Ye hasn't made up his mind yet. He said he'll think about it for the next couple of days!"

"If it weren't for the fact that his speed in breaking through the Blood Barrier was only one step slower than Han Heng's and much faster than Yang Heng's, Ding Xia's talent wouldn't be worth 200 taels of silver!"

"Senior Brother Qi, our Long family has withdrawn the offering task from Junior Brother Ye. Since he doesn't want to choose it, we won't accept it either!"

"Holding for a higher price? We're out too..."

Ye Chu had sharp ears and could faintly hear the conversations between the people in the distance, but he didn't want to pay attention to them.

Although everyone looks down on me, what's a little money?

He has plenty of ways to handle things!

He'll go to the Yang family tonight to scout out the place. He wants to see just how many accounts Madam Yang has settled, that's why rumors are spreading that 500 taels of silver have been stolen.

However, due to the lack of secret medicine, the "Tiger's Skin Physiognomy Method" could not be practiced.

The "Tiger-Taming Stance" is the foundation for expanding physical strength and the quantity of qi and blood. You can practice it every day without rushing.

The only thing that can be cultivated now is to transform ordinary qi into tiger fodder qi that is in line with the "Tiger Fodder Skin Appearance Method".

However, Ye Chu's internal energy originated from the "Tiger Subduing Stake" and is in the same series as the "Tiger's Pathological Appearance Method," so the transformation is not difficult.

The only difficulty lies in the fact that the Qi energy evolves by absorbing Qi and blood, and the capacity of Qi and blood is related to the strength of the physical body.

Simply put, physical strength has a great influence on the quality of one's internal energy.

Those with better physical constitution have a greater advantage in terms of strength and quality.

"There are so many hidden challenges in martial arts training, but thankfully my physical constitution can grow stronger over time!"

Ye Chu focused on his cultivation, and in just one afternoon, he transformed the energy he had condensed within his body—a force the size of a little finger—into a thin strand of Tiger's Fury.