That night, under Village Chief Xiao Tianren’s leadership, the villagers gathered in the ancestral hall and he distributed the living supplies needed by each family.

The large quantity of items that Lin Xun had brought back included fabrics, clothes, cooking ingredients and other items for daily needs. In addition, there were aeth grains, aeth vegetables, and aeth herb seeds as well as farming tools.

The villagers buzzed with excitement when all the items were divided. Back when Lian Rufeng was the guard leader, the items he brought back could barely sustain their lives. In contrast, the items that Lin Xun brought back were not only generous but there was also a wide range of items.

Most importantly, each household was given a share of three imperial silver coins, which was equivalent to three hundred copper coins!

This was an unimaginable fortune to the villagers who had never left the Great Three Thousand Mountains.

What Lin Xun had done made the villagers even more grateful to him and raised his prestige to an unprecedented level.

It wasn't until late at night that the villagers began to disperse one after another, leaving only Lin Xun and Village Chief Xiao Tianren in the ancestral hall.

“Silly, what’s the use of giving money to the villagers? They will always stay in Feiyun Village, how will they have the chance to spend the money?” Xiao Tianren sighed. He felt Lin Xun had spent too much money and he didn’t have to do so.

𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

“They might not use it now, but it might be useful in the future.” Lin Xun smiled. “Besides, the money was from selling Feiyun Fire Copper, so just see it as wages for everyone.”

Xiao Tianren sighed, “Thirty copper coins would be enough for wages, but they each received three silver coins.”

Lin Xun smiled and said nothing. He had previously promised Xiao Tianren that the villagers would only receive payment for mining Feiyun Fire Copper and he shouldn’t share his profits.

However, how could Lin Xun treat the villagers as his employees? In his view, Feiyun Village was no different from his home and the villagers were his relatives. Naturally, he had to share his earnings with them.

Based on that fact alone, Lin Xun would never be stingy to them.

“Ai, you—you—I really don’t know what to say about you,” Xiao Tianren sighed helplessly. In truth, Lin Xun’s action had greatly touched him. And seeing that Lin Xun had no intention of changing his mind, he left the matter at that.

“Uncle Xiao, I believe Feiyun Village will only become better in the future. We should set our sights high. We should first make everyone become wealthy, then perhaps, in the future, all of the villagers can enjoy life in the city.” Lin Xun said seriously, “Don't you want your descendants to escape a life of poverty and live a better life in the city?”

Xiao Tianren was visibly moved. He fell silent, touched by Lin Xun’s words and his beautiful vision for the village.

He’s right. The villagers have been poor their entire lives. Would they want their next generation to be just as poor?

Of course not!

Lin Xun didn’t say anything else, bowed, and took his leave.

He knew that the change wouldn’t happen overnight. They would think deeper about the long term when the villagers from Feiyun Village become rich from selling Feiyun Fire Copper.

Surviving and living were completely different.

In the past, the villagers of Feiyun Village only had to deal with the problem of surviving. The most important thing for them was to survive.

However, once they dealt with the survival problem, they would think about their quality of life and how to raise their next generation.

Right now, the Feiyun Fire Copper Mine provided Feiyun Village with a solution to their survival problem and the ability to live a desirable life.

Lin Xun firmly believed that the villagers’ lives would only get better when he left.

Of course, that was only if nothing bad happened.

However, given the Stone Cauldron Alms’ credibility, he shouldn’t have to worry.

……

Early next morning, Gao Guiyong and Zhou Quan said goodbye and left. They had completed their mission and also reached an agreement with Xiao Tianren—They would personally come to purchase Feiyun Fire Copper every month as well as bring living supplies for the villagers.

This could be regarded as a mutually beneficial deal, only that the transaction would take place in Feiyun Village and, as a result, remove a lot of unnecessary risks and problems for the villagers.

The same morning, Lin Xun asked Ying Liu’er and the other three children, who had reached the first layer True Martial Stage, to gather together so he could distribute the aeth decoctions, including qi-drawing pills, inner strengthening pills, organ opening powder and orifice unlocking liquid, he had purchased among them.

There were over twenty children in the village but unfortunately, only four were able to draw qi into their bodies.

In other words, among the twenty-odd children, only Ying Liu’er and the other three managed to set foot on the cultivation path. The other children only had a slim chance of doing so.

This was the reality. After all, only very few people in the world could become true cultivators.

From that day on, Lin Xun was relieved of the responsibility of martial arts master in the village. He had imparted everything he could to the children and could only leave the children to train on their own.

As they said, the master could lead you to the cultivation door but one's cultivation depends on oneself.

……

Lin Xun had done everything to help eliminate troubles for Feiyun Village, whether it was eradicating Lian Rufeng and his people or suppressing the Wu Corporation with the help of the Stone Cauldron Alms.

Moreover, the mining of Feiyun Fire Copper and teaching martial arts to the children in the village were for the future development of Feiyun Village.

Lin Xun could finally free himself from those mundane affairs now that they were progressing as he wanted.

However, Lin Xun couldn’t completely relax. During the day he practiced martial arts and engraving runes and at night he tempered his cultivation base and spirit. He didn’t need to worry about food or cultivation problems now that he had massive resources.

Every three days, he entered the rune battle realm—Thousand Heavy Wave Sea to attempt to break through. He fully utilized every second he had.

Occasionally, he would train with Xia Zhi to improve his combat skills and temper his body. The insights he gained from those battles were used to invent and perfect his own fighting techniques.

On the other hand, Xia Zhi lived a carefree life, doing nothing apart from eating and sleeping.

Half a month later.

Lin Xun had successfully broken through to the Essence Refining layer, the fifth layer True Marital Stage, with the help of Blood Essence Sand and the Four Seasons Brew.

Shua! Shua! Shua!

Lin Xun’s figure was akin to a lightning bolt as he darted across the air and left blurred shadows in the courtyard. The Skybreaker Blade slashed through the air, performing various moves with ease.

Multiple blade shadows swiftly sliced a huge boulder thrown into the air into neat strips like dicing tofu.

Each stone strip was the same thickness of his thumb and three inches long.

Bang!

Each one exploded to smithereens before it touched the ground and dissipated in the air.

That move alone demonstrated the incredible speed and accuracy of Lin Xun’s blade. The blade not only contained razor sharp qi but also an internal force that shattered the huge boulder to smithereens.

“As expected, my control of power has improved after breaking through to the Essence Refining layer.”

Lin Xun withdrew his sword and stood still, quietly analyzing the subtle differences of his blade.

The Essence Refining layer was the fifth layer of the True Martial Stage. A cultivator’s bones and essence would be tempered thousands of times upon breakthrough to the fifth layer and sparkle in a silvery shimmer. This was the reason why people said that blood refining resembled syrup and essence refining resembled frost.

At the same time, Lin Xun’s aeth power underwent another transformation after the breakthrough. It became twice as strong as before. His body of qi had surged and he radiated a terrifying and fierce bearing even when he was merely standing and doing nothing

This was a sign of a further upgrade to the qi inside and outside the body.

The next layer was the blood igniting layer, the sixth layer True Martial Stage, and in that layer, as the name indicated, a cultivator would need to make their blood boil until it ignited and then vigorously course around the body.

Once a cultivator reached that layer, their skin membrane, muscles, bones, blood, essence, organs and the qi inside and outside their body would enter a state of true gold and could withstand even fire. Their life span would be extended beyond one hundred years!

However, Lin Xun, who had just broken through to the fifth layer, was still far from the Blood Igniting layer and his top priority now was to consolidate his foundation.

After all, a cultivator who had just undergone a breakthrough would need to go through an accustoming process to fully grasp their new powers.

“Are you going to keep practicing like this every day?” asked Xia Zhi. She was the one who tossed the huge boulder.

“Of course not.” Lin Xun withdrew his Skybreaker Blade, sat at the stone table, took a cup of iced tea, and gulped it down. A refreshing feeling washed over his body.

“In another month or so, we will leave here and head to Donglin City in the Ziyao Empire. I have thought about it for a long time. If you want to become stronger, you should follow a powerful martial arts master or study at a powerful academy.” Lin Xun said casually, “When we reach Donglin City, I will help you find out more about this.”

Xia Zhi shook her head. “I don't want to follow a master.”

Lin Xun was taken aback at first then he said with a smile. “Then I’ll find an academy for you to study at.”

There were different academies across the city in the empire. The majority was for cultivation but some taught courses such as the art of runes, forging tools, decocting medicines, law of sound, aeth planting, raising beasts and military affairs. There were all kinds of courses.

“Will you be going?” Xia Zhi raised her little face and stared seriously at Lin Xun with her clear and dark eyes.

“Me?” Lin Xun thought about it and shook his head. “I'm not sure yet.”

“If you’re not going then I also won’t go,” stated Xia Zhi.

Lin Xun said helplessly, “Let's talk about it then.”

“No matter what happens, you can’t leave me behind.” He couldn’t tell what Xia Zhi was thinking, but her beautiful and tranquil eyes became unwavering and stubborn.

Then, she turned around and went into her room.

Lin Xun fell into deep thought while he watched Xia Zhi leave the courtyard.