Travel through a martial arts world and gain a little breakthrough every day.

Lin Feng suddenly remembered the day he went to find Wang Shanxiong.

Wang Shanxiong was in the courtyard.

Judging from the voice, he should be sitting next to the stone table.

On the stone table is a large, round stone slab, with a square stone block underneath.

This stone table is considered high-end furniture, but upon closer inspection, it seems completely out of place in this dilapidated courtyard.

Lin Feng lifted the large stone slab on the stone table and placed it aside.

Then, a smile appeared on Lin Feng's face.

There is a groove on the stone block under the stone table.

Inside the recess was a secret manual, with three large characters written vertically on it: "Golden Bell Cover".

Mr. Hong told him that the Golden Bell Cover is a very powerful hard skill, belonging to the masculine strength, and also possessing internal strength. It is considered one of the most important skills among the seventy-two hard skills.

This martial art is extremely difficult to master, but once mastered, one can achieve a state where the entire body is covered in iron, making one impervious not only to ordinary swords and spears, but also to water, fire, and poison.

The highest level of skin refining is the copper skin level.

To reach the Copper Skin level, one must either be born with exceptional talent or master multiple hard skills to a high degree.

Hard skills are harder to learn than ordinary martial arts, and few people bother with them, not because they are unwilling, but because they don't think it's worth it.

Imagine yourself painstakingly mastering several hard skills to the point of achieving a state of near-perfect skill.

Those with similar aptitude to me may have already reached the Bone Refining Realm, and their strength is already enough to crush me.

When I first met Wang Shanxiong, he didn't know how to use the Golden Bell Shield.

After Wang Shanxiong disappeared for more than half a month, when he returned, the martial arts section of his attribute panel had added the Golden Bell Shield skill, but he had not yet mastered it.

It seems he obtained the Golden Bell Shield after he left.

I wonder where he got this manual. I'll have to find a way to buy one myself in the future.

Lin Feng picked up the Golden Bell Cover, revealing gleaming silver underneath.

Lin Feng felt a little regretful. Wang Shanxiong knew so many martial arts, but he only found the Golden Bell Cover manual.

Moreover, Wang Shanxiong had only recently learned this secret manual.

Disciples of some sects generally do not possess any secret manuals.

Just like how Mr. Hong taught me swordsmanship, it was all about teaching by example.

These martial arts techniques are all recorded in secret manuals, which are usually kept in the scripture pavilions of various sects.

If only I could spend two days in the scripture library of some sect, I could memorize a lot of martial arts manuals in two days.

However, when it comes to martial arts, quality is more important than quantity.

You only get a little progress each day. It looks like you're growing very fast, but the number is actually limited. You only get 365 progress points a year.

We cannot waste our breakthroughs on low-level martial arts techniques.

He quickly flipped through the Golden Bell Cover first.

After reading it, Lin Feng checked his attribute panel.

The "Martial Arts Skills" section now includes the "Golden Bell Cover" skill.

Golden Bell Cover (Lower Level) (Beginner)

Now I can finally practice martial arts.

It might take several months to master all the martial arts I know now, which feels like a long time.

However, Lin Feng thought that others might not be able to master these martial arts even after a lifetime of practice, so he didn't feel that time had passed too long.

Lin Feng tucked the Golden Bell Cover manual into his pocket and began counting the silver coins at the bottom of the manual.

They found a total of ten silver ingots and some loose silver.

One silver ingot is worth about fifty taels, so ten silver ingots would be worth five hundred taels.

There were also thirty to fifty taels of loose silver.

If this silver were converted into grain, the whole family could never finish eating it all in a lifetime.

However, if people have money, their spending level will increase, and they will definitely be able to spend it all.

Five hundred taels of silver could buy a small house in the county town.

Many wealthy families in the town wanted to send their children to private schools in the county town so they could learn to read.

They would all spend a few hundred taels of silver to buy a small house in the county town.

Because a courtyard house in the county town costs around two thousand taels of silver, ordinary wealthy families simply cannot afford it.

Therefore, these wealthy households have no choice but to bite the bullet and buy smaller houses.

Some people in the county town also rent out their houses.

However, the private schools in the county only accept people from the county town, so renting a house is useless.

Lin Feng found a cloth bag and wrapped the silver in it.

They pushed over the stone block again and examined it carefully, but found nothing of value.

He then restored the stone table to its original state.

Wang Shanxiong really knows how to hide things; who would have thought he could put such good stuff right in the yard?

Moreover, these ten tables are heavy enough that ordinary people simply cannot move them and would have no way to take away the silver and secret manuals inside.

Based on his experience in finding the secret manual, Lin Feng guessed that Wang Shanxiong's house might have other hidden compartments.

He knocked on every possible spot in Wang Shanxiong's house.

They actually found a hidden compartment in the wall of the main room.

He pried open the wall and found a steel knife hidden inside.

Lin Feng held the steel knife in his hand and immediately sensed that it was extraordinary.

The steel knife is only the normal size, but it is quite heavy, so the material must be extraordinary.

The surface of the steel knife is not bright; it has dark patterns formed during the casting process, and the blade has a subtle gleam.

Lin Feng plucked a strand of hair, placed it on the blade, and gently blew on it, cutting the hair in two.

This is a fine sword.

Something that Wang Shanxiong would carefully collect must indeed be extraordinary.

Unfortunately, I only know swordsmanship now, not sabers.

But it's alright, I'll keep it for now. I'll learn swordsmanship eventually.

Lin Feng searched for a while longer, and only left with these things when it got dark.

He secretly wrapped up the items and buried them in his yard when his family wasn't looking.

The wounds on my body have healed.

Lin Feng plans to go into the city tomorrow and use Wang Shanxiong's head to exchange for the reward money.

Even as he lay in bed that night, Lin Feng was still thinking about how to spend all that money.

You can't always practice swordsmanship with a wooden sword.

I definitely need to buy an iron sword to use first.

There's no need to buy a really good sword.

According to Yue'e, when a disciple becomes an apprentice, the master will give the disciple a small gift, usually a handy weapon.

After I become Mr. Hong's apprentice, Mr. Hong will probably give me a precious sword.

After I get to the city tomorrow, I need to buy myself a decent set of clothes, so I can at least look like a江湖人士 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world).

As a poor hunter, if I were to take Wang Shanxiong's head to claim a reward, wouldn't the government make me hand it over for nothing?

That's quite possible; they might just write themselves a small certificate of merit and call it a day.

I definitely need to dress up nicely.

Buy a set of tight-fitting clothes, wear a straw hat, and carry a long sword on your back.

Wearing this outfit, you'll look like a chivalrous knight-errant, and who would dare to underestimate you?

That's it.

Lin Feng drifted off to sleep as he pondered these thoughts.

In his dream, after receiving the reward money, he was chased by a group of men in black, and in the end, he not only lost the money but also his life.

Lin Feng was startled awake by the dream, and when he opened his eyes, he realized it was already daylight.