Surviving in the chaos of battle, I'm grinding for proficiency.

Li Chuan drank the entire pot of silver marrow soup in one gulp.

The silvery soup slid down my throat.

As soon as it entered the stomach, it unleashed an astonishing burst of energy and blood.

"hot!"

Li Chuan's face instantly turned bright red, and even his breath felt incredibly hot.

He knew that this was the time to activate the Geng Metal Technique to guide his Qi and blood!

Li Chuan immediately sat cross-legged, his back straight as a spear, his shoulders slightly lowered.

Place both hands on your knees, palms down.

The intention is to "lock in qi" and "strengthen the original qi", ensuring that "not a single drop of qi or blood is lost"!

Li Chuan's Basic Breathing Techniques for Circulating Geng Metal.

Inhale deeply, slowly, and deeply, directing the breath into the dantian (lower abdomen).

Exhale short, steady, and forceful, without drifting or dissipating.

After completing all these preparations, he used the basic mental techniques of the Gengjin Formula.

The medicinal power scattered in the meridians and flesh is gradually drawn towards the dantian.

A vast and disordered surge of blood energy, as if under command, rushed into the dantian all at once!

Within the Dantian.

His blood and qi, like the sharpness of a blade and the grinding of iron filings, constantly tempered and refined his inner strength.

In this way, his internal strength was honed again and again.

Only after completing a small cycle of circulation and the medicinal effects were exhausted did Li Chuan slowly exhale a breath of turbid air.

Upon experiencing himself again, Li Chuan could clearly feel it.

The internal energy changed from scattered to solid.

When this internal energy can gather into a spark, that's when he will be able to reach the Great Perfection of Internal Energy!

【Technique: Geng Metal Technique (Beginner)】

[Proficiency: 31/500]

"Depend on!"

A bowl of thirty-tael silver marrow soup, and this is all the skill I've gained.

Li Chuan couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

I never imagined that cultivating true skill would be so much more difficult than the previous Embracing Mountain Stance.

However, after thinking about it, he felt that was indeed the case.

After all, cultivating true skills is the process of transforming one's internal energy into true qi.

It's not just like the fusion of Ming and An Jin into Hua Jin, but a true qualitative change!

More resources will inevitably be consumed.

What's more... he chose the most difficult Gengjin Technique to learn.

"Just this bowl of silver marrow soup has made my strength a bit sharper. The Gengjin Technique is indeed domineering."

Li Chuan keenly realized that although the Gengjin Technique was difficult to master, its advantages would become greater as one progressed.

Just like he has mastered three perfect fighting techniques, even those who have reached the Great Perfection of Internal Energy cannot match his combat power!

"It's just too expensive..." Li Chuan thought of the treatment given to core disciples.

Three bowls of Golden Marrow Soup every month, each bowl worth two hundred taels, are far more effective than Silver Marrow Soup.

If I were to take it myself, I'm afraid I could quickly achieve the Great Perfection of Internal Energy!

The difference between inner disciples and core disciples is reflected in these details.

"I thought my savings of three hundred taels was a lot, but now it seems that it's just enough for ten bowls of silver marrow soup."

"I still need to find a way to make a living!"

For a military man, unless he is born into a noble family with high official rank and honors.

Otherwise, making money and practicing martial arts are actually equally important.

Without the support of potent medicines, how easy is it to make rapid progress?

"Liu Peiran told me that if you want to make money in the Heavenly Blade Sect, you have to go to the Mission Hall to find missions to take on."

With this in mind, Li Chuan changed his clothes and went out to the mission hall.

……

……

After walking about a mile, a blue stone hall came into view.

The black wooden plaque bears the three characters "Mission Hall," and the brushstrokes are much softer than those in the Sutra Repository.

The interior of the hall was not decorated much, with layers of wooden lattice carved into the stone walls on both sides.

Inside the wooden compartment, there were many task plaques in yellow and black.

The sign clearly states the reason for the event, the location, and the requirements for remuneration.

At the front of the mission hall, there is a green sandalwood deacon table more than ten feet long.

A deacon dressed in black sat behind a desk, responsible for verifying the identities of the people and distributing their pay.

Many inner disciples crowded in front of the wooden grid, scanning the various tasks with sharp, hawk-like eyes.

If they find something easy and high-paying, they quickly pick it, fearing someone else will snatch it away.

Li Chuan also saw that two people were arguing over a wooden sign.

Their words were so intense, they sounded like a pair of bitter enemies.

If fighting weren't forbidden within the Heavenly Blade Sect, a brawl would probably have broken out on the spot!

"There are only so many tasks, and everyone wants the best, but where can you find so many good ones?"

Li Chuan swept through the crowd, walked to the wooden grid, and scanned the wooden signs with his eyes.

"Help the elders feed the eagles, once every three days, ten taels each time."

"Pluck the Bone-Tempering Spirit Herb from the cliff face of Wanren Cliff, one herb costs fifty taels of silver!"

Note: The cliff face is sheer, the wind is sharp as knives, and a faint poisonous miasma hangs in the air year-round. Ferocious beasts lurk at the bottom. Those without considerable strength should proceed with extreme caution!

Li Chuan frowned. The reward for feeding the eagles was too low; there was no need to do it.

But the reward for picking spirit herbs at Wanren Cliff sounds high, but it's too dangerous.

Taking risks on cliffs and precipices will inevitably lead to failure sooner or later!

Since I'm new here, I should choose something more prudent.

Suddenly, Li Chuan's gaze was drawn to a dark wooden plaque.

"Go to the Zhou family in the prefectural city and teach their youngest son, who possesses internal strength, how to fight. One hundred taels of silver a day!"

Note: You can only accept this course if you have mastered at least one fighting style.

Li Chuan's eyes lit up.

This is practically tailor-made for me!

If you can earn 100 taels of silver a day, wouldn't that be 3,000 taels of silver a month?

But why is no one taking on such a lucrative task?

He glanced at several more dark wooden plaques and found that they all offered high rewards and low risks, but no one was interested in them.

Only occasionally would someone come and pick one or two items.

Li Chuan, puzzled, walked to the deacon's table and asked:

"May I ask, Steward, are there any restrictions on accepting the black wooden plaque?"

The deacon looked to be around middle-aged, with a lean and wiry build, and taut skin without an ounce of excess fat.

His cheekbones were slightly prominent, and his triangular eyes shone with a restrained brilliance.

He had a sparse goatee on his chin, giving him a shrewd and intelligent air.

Hearing Li Chuan's question, he replied indifferently:

"Only core disciples can receive the black wooden plaque; you inner disciples can forget about it."

"Such a good task should naturally be prioritized for those at the Core Formation stage; why would we leave it for you?"

"Only tasks with yellow wooden plaques are available to inner disciples, but you seem to be new here and probably don't know the rules."

The goatee butler stroked his beard:

"Our Heavenly Blade Sect has many resource locations such as ranches, herb gardens, fishing grounds, and mountain trails. Most of the tasks are issued by the stewards above and distributed to them for distribution."

"So tell me, who would be prioritized for easy, well-paying jobs?"

"Young man, if you have no power or influence and are unwilling to pull strings, then you can only pick up what others have left over."

As he said this, the goatee deacon rubbed his thumb and forefinger together seemingly unintentionally.

Li Chuan had a sudden thought. He glanced around and quietly slipped a hundred-tael silver note into his hand.

"Please, sir, show me the way!"

The goatee-bearded deacon nodded in satisfaction, his gaze towards Li Chuan filled with approval:

"Disciples as insightful as you are rare these days."

"Why not show you a way, alright?"

"Tell me, what are you good at?"

Li Chuan thought for a moment:

"Strong fighting style, strong in actual combat."

Compared to his other disciples, this was indeed his most significant advantage.

With his three fighting techniques perfected, even the mighty Heavenly Blade Sect would find such a disciple quite rare.

After a moment's thought, the goatee-bearded deacon channeled his inner energy through his fingertips and used it to lift a wooden plaque from under the stage.

"Then this might suit you."

Li Chuan stared intently.

"The mountain search team is recruiting. We need you to go to the Northern Wilderness Mountains to search for ten catties of 'Scrophularia Fruit'. The reward is three hundred taels of silver!"

"If they perform well, they can be retained for a long term!"