The new inner strength brought more than just an internal breakthrough to Lu Sheng. The Hei Hu Yu He Gong (Black Tiger Jade Crane Skill) and Hei Sha Gong (Black Evil Skill) were not inherently in conflict, and now that the former had been enhanced, Lu Sheng felt that his internal energy was endless pouring out, making his entire being feel much more powerful than before.

He got up and casually struck out with his palm as if it were a saber, sending out a Tiger Evil move.

Chi!

Ao!!

A faint sound of a tiger's roar oscillated, and the air instantly became scorching hot.

This was the effect when Lu Sheng used less than one-fourth of his strength. To achieve the same effect with his previous inner power, he would have needed to explode at least half of his inner force and strength.

"The effect of my inner power has increased at least twofold!" Lu Sheng was exhilarated. He recalled what Zhao Bo had told him about masters in the Jianghu realm.

"In the martial world, it is said that in the central plains, those at the Tong Li (mastery) realm are ordinary top masters, and there are two greater realms beyond that - Tong Yi (unity) and Ning Shen (divine condensation). Most of those famous masters and grandmasters are at the Ning Shen level. With both internal and external cultivation, their spirit and intention is condensed and solidified, so that every move manifests the essence and grand path of their martial arts, resulting in endless inner power and vastly increased battle prowess. I wonder what level I have reached now..."

Lu Sheng secretly estimated.

"I unintentionally reached Tong Yi at Jiulian City, and my Black Tiger Saber is my only Tong Yi martial art, but even without reaching Ning Shen, the richness of my inner power far surpasses that of ordinary Tong Yi masters. If I were to encounter someone at Ning Shen, the outcome of a fight would be uncertain. So now I can also be considered a Ning Shen master, on the same level as those famous masters of the central plains."

He was confident. Both his Hei Sha Gong and Hei Hu Yu He Gong had reached the pinnacle of the third layer. If it were ordinary people practicing them, they wouldn't achieve this even after 40-50 years without abundant recuperating medicines and medicinal baths.

"I'm only 19 years old this year, yet I already have such a strong foundation and cultivation base. If not for those monsters and ghosts, I could have my pick of the land under the heavens. What a pity..." As Lu Sheng thought of the monsters he had encountered before, he couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

Just as he was lost in thought, suddenly the cry of a rooster came from outside the window.

Lu Sheng looked outside and saw that the sky was faintly brightening. Unknowingly, the entire night had passed.

He got out of bed and swiftly went out the door to fetch water and wash up. After putting on his robes, he strode out of his room with large steps.

First he went to a nearby tavern to eat breakfast, typically meat buns, millet porridge, and a plate of stir fried vegetables. Though the fare was simple, the quantity astonished the other patrons eating there as well.

The palm-sized meat buns had thin skin and lots of filling. Lu Sheng ate them one bite after another without fear of burning his mouth. Ever since he had trained in the Hei Sha Gong, his resistance to heat had also greatly improved. He could put his hand over a candle flame to roast for 5-6 breaths before feeling hot.

There were 6 buns in a steamer basket and he rapidly finished 5 baskets, or 30 meat buns, in one breath. The plate of greens were meant to clear his palate at the end. He simply picked up the entire plate and poured the contents into his mouth, chewing a couple times before swallowing it all down.

It was like an ordinary person drinking water after finishing a big meal.

The millet porridge sat in a washbasin sized bowl about a forearm high, enough for 5-6 people. Face basin sized bowl of porridge, Lu Sheng finished it in 3 gulps.

The bowl emptied as he set it down.

Oh!!!

The onlooking crowd immediately cried out in surprise. For their daily humdrum lives lacking stimulation, witnessing such a peculiar event was enough to give them things to talk about for three days.

Lu Sheng remained expressionless. After elegantly wiping the corners of his mouth with a silk handkerchief, he got up and left. The stark contrast left the other patrons and waiter dumbfounded with eyes wide open.

Inner power was tempering essence into energy. The essence came from the food one ate.

He practiced two powerful inner force skills, the Hei Sha Gong and Hei Hu Yu He Gong. The Hei Sha Gong had an extraordinary history. Though incomplete, its effects were extremely profound, actually able to injure ghosts. The Hei Hu Yu He Gong was comprehension of longevity practices taken to an extreme by Lu Sheng himself. It specialized in managing the body's functions and recuperation.

The combination of the two allowed Lu Sheng to eat even more.

After breakfast, Lu Sheng hailed a carriage and raced towards the Dongshan Academy. All the way without stopping the horses, by the time they arrived at the academy, the morning bell was tolling.

Lu Sheng alighted from the carriage and swiftly raced into the academy, towards the hall where he took classes.

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The Dongshan Academy occupied a huge area of land at the foot of Dongshan Mountain on the outskirts of Xiangshan City. Though close to the city districts, it was not actually within the city administration, having its own private troops and governance. The academy head was known as the Cave Master, a proper government official appointed by the court. It was a separate system from Xiangshan City.

Legend has it that this place was founded as a private academy by a Grand Secretary upon retirement to his hometown. Later it slowly expanded and enlarged until long afterwards, it became what is now the Dongshan Academy.

Lu Sheng adeptly made his way to the hall where he studied. Their instructor was Master Lu Rang who had passed the Advanced Scholar examination.

Master Lu was already standing at the lecturer's podium ready to start class and take roll call.

Lu Sheng and several other students who rushed in just in time all bowed slightly towards him before swiftly sitting down in their seats.

The lecture hall was simply a long rectangular room with a little over 10 scattered students sitting inside, Master Lu's entire class.

Lu Sheng's seat was next to Song Zhenguo. After sitting down, he tidied his robes and sat properly, then took out that day's history texts from the book cabinet.

Before coming to class, each student would have an attendant put the texts needed that day inside their personal book cabinets. The cabinets were just shorter versions of desks since everyone sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Du Zhenxu" "Here"

"Wang Dao" "Here"

"Zhao Banyue" "Here"

"Yan Song" "Here"

Soon it was Lu Sheng and his neighbor's turns.

"Lu Sheng" "Here"

"Zhao Zhenguo" "Here"

"Wang Ziquan"

"Wang Ziquan??"

Master Lu's eyes flashed severely as he sternly scanned all the students. With his memory, he naturally knew all their appearances and names by heart. Sweeping his gaze over them now to confirm Wang Ziquan's absence.

"Wang Ziquan isn't here?" He asked again.

Song Zhenguo curiously glanced over at Wang Ziquan's seat. Indeed there was no one there.

"Maybe there's some urgent family matter that made him return home first?" He muttered softly.

Lu Sheng also looked over. Wang Ziquan indeed hadn't come. He didn't know why, but he suddenly recalled the bizarre flower boat he had seen last night.

"Or maybe he overslept?"

Hearing this, Song Zhenguo was amazed as he seemed to remember something, an odd smile appearing on his face.

The two said nothing more. Seeing the student truly wasn't present, Master Lu harrumphed and drew a mark next to Wang Ziquan's name with the chalk.

"Now beginning today's lesson, last time we left off at 'the people comply with laws and are upright, merchants engage in honesty and prosper'..." No longer paying the issue any heed, Master Lu started seriously explaining the meaning and implications behind the history lesson.

Lu Sheng listened for a bit before looking again at Wang Ziquan's seat. He kept feeling that Wang Ziquan not coming had something to do with that flower boat.

About an hour later, class ended and Master Lu hurriedly left hugging his books.

Lu Sheng and Song Zhenguo stood up from their seats.

"It looks like Young Master Sheng is fully prepared and assured of topping the exams this year!" Song Zhenguo grinned at Lu Sheng. "I can see that you listen without hindrance and clearly have long comprehended the essence and mysteries spoken of in lessons. Top rank on the exams is just a matter of course!"

"Don't tease me like that, Brother Zhenguo." Lu Sheng laughed. He rather appreciated Song Zhenguo's bold and unrestrained personality. Coming from a wealthy family, he didn't look down on poorer classmates. More importantly, he was loyal and would readily agree if friends needed help with something within his ability.

"Chen Yuanxi has come. Yesterday you stood up for the beauty, now her heart is firmly tied onto you. Go, go on." Song Zhenguo looked towards the lecture hall entrance and winked suggestively at Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng turned around and saw Chen Yuanxi's alluring beauty standing prettily at the door. She had changed into an pure white cheongsam with billowing cloud sleeves dangling down, covering the item she was clutching in her hands.

Her long hair was done up in a small twisted bun held in place by a white jade hairpin. Just one strand of black hair draped loosely over her chest. Tall and slender, fair as jade, her figure was lofty and her bosom full.

She appeared as pure as a fairy, stirring Lu Sheng's heart for a brief moment.

"Who's that woman? Her legs are so long, simply ugly!" A student sitting nearby softly cursed, instantly breaking the atmosphere.

"Not bad, not bad. Her legs are too long to even look at. If not for that, I would have tried pursuing her long ago."

"Chen Yuanxi? If not for her ugly legs, given how prestigious and wealthy her family is in Xiangshan City, she would have endless suitors already. What a pity, what a pity!"

"Her legs are too ugly!"

"That's true, that's true!"

"You all should stop talking. It's not something she wishes to have either. One's physique and skin are bestowed by heaven and passed on by parents, who'd want to be disabled like this from birth? We're all academy fellows, isn't ridiculing and critiquing a classmate like this inappropriate?" A female student couldn't bear listening anymore and admonished them to stop.

Alas.....

The group of chatting students instantly scattered apart.

Lu Sheng looked at Chen Yuanxi's extremely easy on the eyes legs, then at the lecture hall full of students with faces they couldn't bear to directly look at. He was speechless to the extreme.

"Go quickly, Yuanxi dressed up specially for you after all." Since Song Zhenguo knew some of what was going on between Lu Sheng and Chen Yuanxi, he urged Lu Sheng on repeatedly.

Lu Sheng swiftly walked over and pulled Chen Yuanxi's hand, leaving the lecture hall towards the Academy's lecture terrace.

The lecture terrace was where the Academy would invite famed scholars to give lectures periodically. Usually lacking people, it had become the place for trysts between academy students.

In this world, both men and women had the qualifications to be educated and take civil service exams for official positions. Although gender equality wasn't complete, women had status comparable to Tang Dynasty China in Lu Sheng's knowledge.

The two ran all the way to a forested area by the lecture terrace near the mountainside. Shadowy and somewhat chilly from bordering the mountain walls.

Only then did Lu Sheng halt his steps and turn to face Chen Yuanxi.

"Why have you come? There's no issue from yesterday right?"

Chen Yuanxi smiled and brought out her other hand that had been hidden in her wide sleeve. Grasped in her hand was an enchanting vibrant red peony.

"This is for you."

Lu Sheng was startled and accepted the flower. Though women tended to be more uninhibited in this era, ones as forward as Chen Yuanxi were still uncommon.

Chen Yuanxi smiled. "My family previously wanted to arrange my marriage to that man from yesterday, even making my eldest brother desperately curry favor and plead endlessly, yet it still fell through in the end. He wouldn't even take me as a concubine.

A hint of desolation showed through her smile.

"I know I'm not good looking with legs that are too long..... It's very normal they look down on me. Whenever I hear others talk about my legs, I feel awful inside and can't help lowering my head, unable to bear listening further."

The corner of Lu Sheng's mouth twitched. He felt something off about this, a strong sense of incongruity hovering in his heart that he couldn't dispel.

"Yet there's nothing I can do since I was born with long legs!" Chen Yuanxi raised her head with an anguished expression. "I know you probably see me as unworthy, but I truly like you..."

She gritted her teeth and took out a scroll of paper stamped with a bronze seal from her waist pouch, gently unrolling it.

"My father said that he heard Young Master Lu's family is preparing to move to the capital city. Why not just move over to our place. As long as you're willing, these are the deeds to 15 restaurants and taverns in Xiangshan City, all yours. Enough for the Lu family to gain a firm foothold."