In his room, Xie Yuan stroked the large silver ingot, which seemed to be glowing, and a satisfied expression appeared on his face.

This single silver ingot was worth ten taels of silver!

He had never seen a silver ingot this large before!

Zhu Dongming’s words still echoed in his ears:

"Yuanzi, the tiger sold for a little over forty-one taels of silver. We could have gotten more, but we don’t have the right connections. Those greedy merchants lowballed us, and there was nothing we could do. Zhou Feng took the large leg bone, and the hide went for seventeen taels, the penis for fifteen... and so on. That was the grand total.

"Wu the Fourth was badly hurt, so we paid for his doctor’s visit and medicine out of that money. That left us with a little over thirty taels. We talked it over and agreed you should get the largest share. How does twelve taels sound?"

Zhu Dongming had spoken graciously, but how could Xie Yuan possibly refuse?

’They took all the damage. I just went in, used a skill, and snatched the kill—no, the tiger’s head! I’m more than satisfied with this haul.’

Besides, he now had the tiger’s leg bone.

’Basically, on a single tiger hunt with a five-man team, he’d taken almost half the earnings for himself!’

Xie Yuan hefted the large silver ingot and the two taels of loose silver again and again, then sighed in satisfaction.

’The startup capital for my martial arts training... I have it.’

He eagerly tucked the silver deep into the inner folds of his tunic, close to his chest. Then he picked up the axe Zhou Feng had just delivered.

The brand-new axe head was as wide as half his face. It was perfectly smooth and flat, polished so finely that it was almost a mirror, reflecting Xie Yuan’s features.

Its edge was a single, perfectly straight line, exceptionally sharp and glinting with a cold light. It was nothing like his old axe, with its spots of rust and innumerable nicks.

One glance was enough to tell the axe was forged from the finest iron. To thank Xie Yuan for saving his only son, Zhou Feng’s father had clearly brought out his most prized materials from the smithy.

But the most striking feature of the axe was its handle, crafted from the tiger’s leg bone.

Not only was the Tiger Bone far sturdier than wood, but Zhou Feng’s father had also polished it to a jade-like sheen. With the pearly-white handle fitted to the axe head, it looked more like a rich family’s prized decoration than a woodcutting axe.

It wasn’t just for looks; the handle was incredibly sturdy. Paired with the fine iron blade, it was perfect for Xie Yuan. Wielding this axe with his skills would increase his power by at least a full notch.

The axe was a magnificent sight, and Xie Yuan himself cut a fine figure. Standing there holding it, he looked as though he were wielding a precious weapon, a man apart from the crowd.

No one would ever guess he was just a woodcutter.

Xie Yuan enjoyed the feeling for a moment before taking out a cloth strip and carefully wrapping it around the pearly-white Tiger Bone handle.

For one, it would absorb sweat and improve his grip, making it more comfortable to use. For another, it was a way to be more discreet; it was best not to flaunt one’s wealth.

Axe in hand, Xie Yuan headed straight out the door, his steps light as he made his way toward Panlong Town.

Panlong Town, to the south, was the nearest market town to his village. It served as a central hub for the surrounding hamlets and had a sizable population.

Beyond Panlong Town lay Yunzhao County, which was the largest "city" Xie Yuan knew of in the area.

Due to the lack of transportation and information, the farthest most mountain villagers would ever travel in their lifetime was the county seat—or perhaps only ever the town. As for what lay beyond the county, they couldn’t tell you a thing.

Xie Yuan didn’t know either, but thanks to his parents’ teachings, he was literate. His parents had moved to Little Stone Village from elsewhere and were able to read and write. They had taught both Xie Yuan and his brother when they were children, but they had both passed away from poor health when Xie Yuan was still very young. His older brother, Xie Lun, had worked hard to raise him, so his memories of his parents were faint.

Xie Lun had taken him to the market in town when he was a boy, so Xie Yuan knew the way. The path was well-traveled and considered relatively safe, but with a large sum of silver on him, Xie Yuan kept his hand on his axe the entire journey.

After walking for a good few hours, Xie Yuan finally reached the outskirts of Panlong Town and let out a sigh of relief.

Panlong Town was, of course, far more bustling than Little Stone Village. Several streets crisscrossed the town, filled with the back-and-forth of vendors and pedestrians. The streets were paved with bluestone, flanked by buildings of gray brick and black tile. At the town’s center stood a three-story tavern, towering over its surroundings.

Xie Yuan soaked in the rare, lively atmosphere, but he didn’t linger.

With the heavy weight of the silver tucked against his chest, he walked forward with a clear destination in mind.

’East end of the street, east end of the street... Ah, found it.’

Xie Yuan stood before a large compound, looking up at the plaque above the gate.

"Iron Cloth Gate."

’The gate to this compound is quite grand...’

As Xie Yuan was taking it in, a disciple in gray robes approached from the entrance and asked with great enthusiasm:

"Young man, are you looking to learn martial arts? Our Iron Cloth Gate’s Iron Cloth Shirt is famous far and wide. It’s unparalleled in Panlong Town; we even have people coming all the way from Yunzhao County just to learn it. The price isn’t steep—only eleven taels of silver."

Xie Yuan’s eyes widened.

"Eleven taels? Wasn’t it ten?"

The disciple smiled.

"Ah, that’s the old price. The initiation fee is now eleven taels of silver. It symbolizes a practitioner’s single-minded devotion."

Xie Yuan was left a little speechless. He deliberately grumbled,

"With a price hike like that, you’re almost as expensive as the Black Tiger Fist Hall and the Divine Weapon Hall. Why wouldn’t I just go to one of them?"

The disciple quickly waved his hands.

"My friend, you don’t understand. The first step in martial arts is to train the body itself. The Cultivation Techniques at those other schools might look more impressive, but what good is that if you get taken out by a sneak attack? It’s not like our Iron Cloth Gate. With the Iron Cloth Shirt protecting you, you’re practically invulnerable to blades and spears. In a duel, that puts you in an unbeatable position. After all, you can’t deal damage if you’re not on your feet, right?

"Besides, the other two have raised their prices as well."

’So they all raised their prices together?’

Xie Yuan found it rather amusing.

Still, he had come straight to the Iron Cloth Gate for a reason. He’d done his homework.

First, just as the disciple said, the other two schools focused on Fist Skills and weaponry, respectively. They were flashier and looked more impressive in a fight than the Iron Cloth Shirt. But what could a struggling beginner really learn in three months? It would all come to nothing. The Iron Cloth Shirt was at least good for strengthening the body—though in truth, most people could never even grasp the basics.

As for Xie Yuan, he was already skilled with his axe and didn’t lack offensive techniques for the time being. It made more sense to start with the Iron Cloth Shirt to learn defense, temper his body, and become a true Martial Artist.

Second, and most importantly, the Iron Cloth Gate was significantly cheaper than the other two schools.

The initiation fee for the other two was at least fifteen taels.

The price of tutelage was a good indicator of each school’s relative strength and popularity.

Xie Yuan asked another question.

"Isn’t the Iron Cloth Shirt a pretty common technique? It seems like everyone in the martial world has dabbled in it. What makes your sect’s version any different?"

"Of course it is! An excellent question, my friend. If it were just the common version, how could our Iron Cloth Gate have founded a Sect based on it? It’s because our Cultivation Technique is special.

"Our Sect Leader, Master Liu, is an expert who has perfected the Second Training. He was once a lay disciple of Prajna Temple, and the ’Iron Cloth Shirt’ he learned is actually one of the temple’s techniques. It contains a subtle Buddhist essence and has a fraction of the power of the legendary Golden Bell Shield. Against an opponent of the same realm, it cannot be pierced by blade or spear.

"That’s why our Iron Cloth Shirt is far stronger than the common version. You absolutely won’t regret learning it!"

"Prajna Temple?"

’What’s that?’

Xie Yuan asked the question as soon as it came to mind. The disciple stared at him in disbelief, as if he were some kind of wild man from the mountains.

The disciple’s eyes quickly flicked over Xie Yuan’s dusty clothes. He looked away and thought, ’He really must be from the mountains.’

He explained,

"Prajna Temple is the top Sect in our Great Li Dynasty... Er, a Sect is like a massive martial arts school. Just think of Prajna Temple as one of the top two martial arts schools in the entire Great Li.

"Its position in the Great Li is just like the Iron Cloth Gate’s position in Panlong Town."