In the ten realms of martial arts, Martial Apprentices absorb the elemental spiritual energy from the world or Spirit Crystals into their Dantian to enhance their strength.

Because the Yin-Yang Canon is a powerful technique that surpasses the Emperor-rank, and Lu Chen himself is a Divine Vein Martial Cultivator, he consumes Spirit Crystals at an extremely fast rate.

Typically, an ordinary Martial Apprentice would take a week to completely use up a single Spirit Crystal, but Lu Chen finishes one in less than an hour.

As a result, thirty-seven Spirit Crystals were exhausted before midnight, and when Lu Chen finished his training, thirty-seven dull Spent Stones lay beside him.

What was more frustrating was that, due to the Yin-Yang Twin Cores, each Dantian could store more spiritual energy than ten times that of a martial artist of the same realm. Even after using up thirty-seven Spirit Crystals, Lu Chen's martial path did not break through.

Looking at the empty desert before him, Lu Chen felt a bit helpless. It was like a clever housewife unable to cook without rice; he couldn't advance his cultivation even if he wanted to.

"The long night is hard to endure; it seems I must venture out again," Lu Chen sighed as he gazed at the desert, then quietly left the Lu Family once more.

In this second "operation," Lu Chen originally intended to continue collecting interest from the Lin Family, but recalling the events of the day, he decided against it.

Currently, the conflict between the Lu and Lin families was intense. If he continued to target the Lin Family, they might directly suspect the Lu Family and retaliate.

After some thought, Lu Chen went to the Wu Family's properties, another of the Four Great Families, and successively looted two of their shops.

An hour later, Lu Chen returned to his room, now with eighty-five Spirit Crystals in hand, and happily entered the Stone Pearl World.

In the following time, Lu Chen focused on his training. After using sixty-seven Spirit Crystals, he finally broke through to the 5th-level Martial Apprentice Realm with both cores before dawn, and the territory of the Stone Pearl World expanded once more.

After breaking through to the 5th-level Martial Apprentice Realm, Lu Chen did not continue to practice martial arts but instead began cultivating Soul Power using the Soul Refining Art from his previous life.

The next day

Lu Zhan, as usual, brought breakfast to Lu Chen and stayed with him. Lu Chen casually hinted to Lu Zhan that his health was improving, as he couldn't stay wrapped in bandages pretending to be dead forever.

During this time, Lu Ming barged in angrily with four followers. As soon as he entered, he ordered them to beat up Lu Chen.

However, just as the four were about to make a move, Lu Kuang appeared, casually breaking their legs and throwing them out of the room.

Having dealt with Lu Ming's followers, Lu Kuang warned Lu Ming, "This is the first and last time. If I see you bullying Chen'er again, I'll break your legs like those four and throw you out."

Lu Ming retorted angrily, "Fourth Uncle, I'll tell my father."

Lu Kuang replied coldly, "Your third uncle, Chen'er, and Zhan'er are my bottom line. Even if it's your father bullying them, I'll beat him too."

"Fine, Fourth Uncle, keep protecting him. Let's see if you can shield this burden to the Lu Family for a while, but not forever."

Seeing that he couldn't gain any advantage in front of Lu Kuang, Lu Ming threw out a harsh remark and stormed out of Lu Chen's room, leaving alone.

After Lu Ming left, Lu Kuang inquired about Lu Chen's injuries with concern and then left the room with the reluctant Lu Zhan.

Once they were gone, Lu Chen entered the Stone Pearl World, using his Soul Power to sense the external situation while practicing the Soul Refining Art to enhance his Soul Power.

In Tianyuan City, overnight, three shops were looted, infuriating the patriarchs of the Lin and Wu families, who immediately sent people to track down the culprits.

However, Lu Chen left no traceable evidence, and despite searching Tianyuan City for half a day, the Lin and Wu families found no clues.

With no other choice, the Lin and Wu families had to swallow their losses and instructed the remaining shops to be more vigilant at night.

When night fell, Lu Chen took action again.

Unlike the previous night, this time he targeted the Li Family, another of the Four Great Families, and looted three of their shops.

After looting the three shops, Lu Chen obtained one hundred fifty-seven Spirit Crystals. As soon as he returned to his room, he eagerly began his training.

Several hours passed, and after using all the looted Spirit Crystals, Lu Chen's martial path naturally broke through to the 6th-level Martial Apprentice Realm.

After the breakthrough, Lu Chen switched to practicing the Soul Refining Art.

The next day

News of the Li Family's three shops being looted spread throughout the city. Considering the three shops looted the previous day, the Four Great Families grew uneasy, especially the Lu Family.

In the past two days, the Lin, Wu, and Li families, all part of the Four Great Families, had been looted one after another. If it was a turn, it should be the Lu Family's turn now.

Since compensating the Lin Family with ten shops, the Lu Family had only eleven shops left. The thought of the remaining eleven shops being looted made Lu Qian and Lu Meng uneasy.

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With no one else to turn to, they immediately thought of Lu Kuang and sought him out for advice.

Lu Kuang, having been deeply hurt by Lu Qian and Lu Meng, coldly stated that the Lu Family had nothing to do with him anymore and then turned back to his room.

After being shut out by Lu Kuang, Lu Qian and Lu Meng left, cursing, and gathered everyone in the Lu Family to arrange for additional guards for the shops.

These people, although claiming to be part of the Lu Family and living there, were merely dependents with no blood relation to the Lu Family.

They had previously relied on the Lu Family mainly for protection and to receive some cultivation resources each month.

Now, with only eleven shops left, the resources available to them were minimal. Hearing that they might have to guard the shops and risk their lives, none of them were willing.

Amidst the uproar, over thirty out of more than a hundred people resigned to Lu Qian, wanting to leave the Lu Family and become free martial artists.

Seeing the crowd below, Lu Qian and Lu Meng, furious, cursed them for being ungrateful, despite the Lu Family's care over the years.

However, even so, Lu Meng and Lu Qian couldn't stop them from leaving, and soon, over thirty people departed.

After they left, Lu Qian promised the remaining people an additional twenty percent in cultivation resources each month, barely managing to keep them.

Subsequently, Lu Qian added twenty-two more people to guard the shops.