Su Yu’s gaze fell on the Pile Skill White Ape Six Transformations. The Heart Monkey Clarity Trait he’d gained from Breaking the Limit once had greatly compensated for his poor innate talent, significantly boosting his Martial Arts progress.

However, just as he was about to add points, he suddenly discovered he couldn’t!

A new prompt appeared before him.

[To Break the Limit of Pile Skill White Ape Six Transformations again requires 2 Breakthrough Points]

"Hiss—"

"This is ridiculous. Are they deliberately trying to slow down my Martial Arts progress?"

Su Yu grumbled to himself but quickly calmed down.

"Let’s see what else I can put points into."

He tried adding points to each of the Martial Arts and skills on his panel that had reached Perfection.

[To Break the Limit of the Net Casting Skill a fourth time requires 2 Breakthrough Points]

[To Break the Limit of the Martial Art Coin Throwing once requires 1 Breakthrough Point]

"Even the Breakthrough Point cost for the Net Casting Skill has increased. It looks like the only thing I can Break the Limit of now is Coin Throwing."

But Su Yu hesitated, wondering if he should immediately Break the Limit of Coin Throwing or save up until he had two points to Break the Limit of Pile Skill White Ape Six Transformations again.

’I should Break the Limit now. I revealed my full strength during the Martial Examination, and I’ve made an enemy of Sun Yan and the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall behind him. I have to get stronger, fast!’

The saying "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" was precisely about this.

Besides, he had plenty of money now. If he ate large amounts of precious fish and Exotic Beast Meat, the accumulation of Breakthrough Points would surely speed up. Accumulating two points at once would be much easier then.

Having figured this out, Su Yu no longer hesitated. He used his point on Coin Throwing!

BOOM!

A golden storm seemed to explode in his mind.

Countless insights about Finger Force, Vortex Force, and Qi Flow rushed into his mind like a tidal wave.

In a daze, Su Yu seemed to see himself training bitterly day and night in the wilderness, facing a thick-skinned Armored Giant Rhinoceros. Ordinary Flying Locust Stones shattered on impact against its body. Then one day, his fingertips blurred as he spun a Flying Locust Stone, sending it drilling into the rhino’s armor with terrifying Spiral Force...

The next moment, the panel before his eyes changed.

[Coin Throwing successfully underwent Breaking Limit once. Awakened Trait: Spiral Armor-Breaking.]

[Martial Art]: Coin Throwing (Limit Broken 1 time) (Trait: Spiral Armor-Breaking)

[Spiral Armor-Breaking]: Your Spiral Force has been deduced to its ultimate form. The moment your hidden weapon makes contact with a target, it generates terrifying Penetration Power and tearing force.

Su Yu opened his eyes and took a heavy water tungsten gold coin from his deerskin pouch.

He gently rolled it with his fingertips. The tungsten gold coin spun rapidly in his palm, emitting a sizzling sound, as if it were tearing the very air apart.

"So Spiral Force can reach an even higher level! With this, the armor-breaking power is simply overpowering."

"If I use a heavy water tungsten gold coin with this Spiral Armor-Breaking against Sun Shi, I could probably kill him in a single strike!"

"That so-called First-Turn Iron Armor Skill would be like paper!"

"This Coin Throwing can totally be my trump card for now! Even against a master of the Second Acupoint, as long as they don’t specialize in a Hard Skill like the Iron Armor Skill, I could probably inflict serious injuries with a single strike!"

At this thought, Su Yu’s confidence returned.

The gap between acupoint levels was enormous, but now he had the ability to defeat those of a higher level. He supposed he had finally joined the ranks of true geniuses.

Su Yu was eager to test it out, but right now he was in the White Ape Martial Arts Hall. With so many eyes around and no suitable target to practice on, he could only suppress the urge for now.

"Junior Su, Master Qin is looking for you!"

Just then, a voice called out from outside the door.

"Okay, I got it, Senior Brother."

Su Yu replied, straightened his clothes, and headed for Master Qin’s tea room.

...

「The Inner Courtyard Tea Room.」

Qin Fangqiong still had her usual lazy look, but this time she wasn’t gnawing on a chicken foot. Instead, she was delicately sipping tea.

Seeing Su Yu, a look of satisfaction flashed in Master Qin’s eyes.

"Very good. I heard that you haven’t changed at all after the Martial Examination and are still focused on training. That is the true heart of Martial Arts."

Hearing Master Qin’s praise, Su Yu said calmly, "You praise me too much, Master. I know well that the path of Martial Arts is difficult, and my own innate talent is poor. Only by focusing on my training and practicing diligently can I hope to climb higher!"

"Good, good, good!"

Master Qin couldn’t help but say "good" three times in a row, feeling increasingly satisfied with this disciple of hers.

’His disposition and comprehension are both excellent, and he walks the path of Martial Arts one step at a time, neither hasty nor impatient.’

’With such fine talent, how could he not have a promising future?’

’But how did I not discover such fine talent sooner?’

’It must have been Xu the kid and Lin Girl deliberately deceiving and hiding him from me! Otherwise, with my eye for talent, I would’ve taken Su Yu as my personal disciple long ago!’

"Drink your tea. I called you here for another matter. It’s about the aftermath with Sun Shi from the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall."

Su Yu took a light sip of tea, his gaze hardening as he looked at Master Qin.

"Don’t worry, it’s good news. Sun Shi’s sneak attack on you after the match was a major taboo. In Black Stone City, they still have to follow the rules, more or less," Master Qin explained with a smile, seeing the look in Su Yu’s eyes.

"The Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall may be powerful, and many of its disciples are in the Black Stone Army, but the Black Stone Army ultimately passed a just verdict. Sun Shi’s post-match sneak attack violated the rules of the Martial Examination, so all his results have been nullified. There should have been further punishment, but since he’s already dead, it’s a moot point. As for Sun Yan, he was also disciplined for attacking you in public after the match."

"Of his rewards for second place in the Martial Examination, he only gets to keep the ranking, the Black Stone Body Forging Skill, and the spot to enter the Inner City! Furthermore, he must serve in the Black Stone Army for one year!"

"As for the others from our White Ape Martial Arts Hall and the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall who got involved, they were all just given a symbolic fine of ten taels of silver."

Su Yu nodded. This result was probably only possible because Master Qin had intervened.

’In the end, this world reveres the power of Martial Arts. So-called rules are merely shackles for the weak.’

’If I had just been a Little Martial Artist with no backing, Sun Yan probably would have killed me on the spot!’

’Once someone is dead, what’s the use of talking about rules?’

’In the same vein, the matter of me killing Sun Shi could only be dropped. After all, how could a dead Sun Shi compare to my potential?’

’So, it went without saying that there would be no punishment for me.’

"However, now that the Martial Examination is over, the Black Stone Army and the Three Great Families will no longer concern themselves with any subsequent matters. Do you understand?" At this, Master Qin’s expression turned serious as she looked at Su Yu.

"I understand. I will deal with Sun Yan myself! But as for the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall..."

"Haha, good! You’ve got guts! Worthy of being my personal disciple!" Master Qin laughed heartily and declared with bravado, "Don’t you worry about the Iron Armor Martial Arts Hall. As long as I’m here, they won’t dare bully a junior! At most, they’ll resort to some petty suppression tactics against our White Ape Martial Arts Hall! As for Sun Yan, you don’t need to worry too much either. That kid was seriously injured and will need half a year to recover. After he recovers, he’ll be entering the Black Stone Army, so he won’t have the energy to cause you trouble for a while!"

"During this time, focus all your energy on training and find ways to increase your strength. Also, about the Law Enforcement Team—report for duty tomorrow. Be careful when you’re carrying out missions outside the city. The world is chaotic these days. You never know what kind of monsters or demons might pop up. Your priority is to be cautious."

Su Yu’s heart warmed at Master Qin’s advice.

"Thank you, Master. I will definitely do my best to train and increase my strength!"

"Mm, here are this month’s cultivation pills. Ten Black Scale Blood Orifice Pills."

"Thank you for your generous gift, Master!" Su Yu respectfully accepted the porcelain bottle Master Qin handed him.

"You may go."

Su Yu clasped his fist in salute once more, then turned and left.

After leaving Master Qin’s room, Su Yu didn’t feel particularly relieved.

’Sun Yan was said to be injured, but who could say if he’ll really take half a year to recover?’

’I killed his brother, so he must hate me to the bone. He could suddenly attack me again any day now; that’s entirely possible.’

’If I were in his shoes, I’d use the injury as a cover to find an opportunity to strike at my enemy. That way, I could use the injury as an alibi, claim it wasn’t me, and avoid any trouble afterward.’

"Strength. It all comes down to strength! Within half a year, I must break through to the Second Acupoint, or even the Third Acupoint. Only then can I handle the crises to come!"

Having made his decision, Su Yu strode away like a meteor, heading in the direction of the Su Mansion!