A Visit at the Door

Normally speaking, producing a single strand of qi and blood counted as getting started.

Producing a second strand meant mastery.

For ordinary martial artists, their qi and blood were only as thick as a thin string.

Yet the qi and blood Chen Sanshi had cultivated was like several thin strings twisted together, two to three times greater than an ordinary person's.

The Vast Exhalation Breathing Technique surely deserved some credit, but the proficiency system panel had definitely played a role as well.

He was already highly enduring, and now his qi and blood had become so robust. He was practically made for the battlefield.

A battlefield was not a duel, where killing one opponent meant the matter was over. One had to face thousands upon thousands of enemies, and it was basically always a battle of endurance.

That was also the purpose of military formations.

Even a martial artist at the peak of Blood Refining, equivalent to a Banner Captain, would usually exhaust their qi and blood and collapse from fatigue after killing around twenty enemy soldiers if trapped in a formation of well-trained troops. Then they would be hacked to death beneath a chaos of blades.

It was not because martial artists were weak, but because formations were strong.

During drills these past few days, Chen Sanshi had deliberately studied alongside them.

Take a small military formation of one hundred men as an example.

Before close-quarters combat began, there would first be archers and crossbowmen firing volleys, followed by spearmen thrusting forward. Then shield-and-saber soldiers would surround and kill, and only at the end came paired hand-to-hand fighting.

And do not forget that the enemy army also had commanders. You were not the only military officer.

Under such circumstances, no matter how high one's martial realm was, as long as human strength had its limits, one would be worn to death.

Unless your qi and blood truly lasted a very, very long time.

But all that was still far away for Chen Sanshi. He would not be going to the battlefield anytime soon.

"Your qi and blood has reached mastery?"

Xu Bin stood frozen in place for a long while.

It had only been a few days.

At this rate, Chen Sanshi would surpass him before long.

"It is thanks to Officer Xu sparring with me. Otherwise, I would not have improved so quickly."

After his breakthrough, Chen Sanshi felt thoroughly refreshed in body, but his mind did not relax.

Recently, Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy had sent people to invite him several times, and he had refused every one of them. He knew this could not go on forever; sooner or later, the issue would have to be resolved.

Liang Zhan, Tianyuan's young master, was at the Bone Refining realm, while the academy master had reached the peak of Bone Refining.

Blood Refining martial artists were still at the very bottom of the martial world, not worth mentioning at all.

If he could become a Viscera Refining Martial Artist like Xiang Tingchun, who in Poyang County would dare make trouble for him?

"Time for work!"

Patrol time was almost here. Chen Sanshi put away the Reed Leaf Spear and summoned his men.

It was not only he who had broken through; his subordinates had all improved as well.

Zhu Tong would cultivate qi and blood within the next couple of days. There was also a Warrior Recruit named Wang Li, who would not be far behind. The other five formation soldiers had all learned spear techniques and begun practicing military formations.

Only Xu Wencai could do nothing.

Two days ago, he had gone to feed the horses and gotten kicked. Afraid that he might die under a horse's hooves, they had not sent him back since.

"Come on, city patrol."

Ever since the Witch God Cult incident, people had been dying every day, both inside and outside the city.

Rumor had it that the Witch God Cult was murderously bloodthirsty.

Thus, the recent manhunt had become especially severe.

Yet even so, no martial arts academy disciples were allowed to take part.

Clearly, Lord Thousand Households wanted to obtain the immortal treasure before the martial arts academies did, then use it to coerce every academy in Poyang County.

Chen Sanshi also patrolled the city with particular care, hoping to find traces of Witch God Cult followers.

Unfortunately, he found nothing for the time being.

And even if he did find them, his current strength would likely not be enough to seize the item. Cultivation was still what mattered most.

Now that his qi and blood had reached two strands, one bowl of Blood Replenishing Soup every three days would most likely no longer be enough.

During a break in his patrol, Chen Sanshi went to a martial arts academy to buy medicine.

Zhu Tong followed along as well.

His family slaughtered pigs and had some savings. To speed up his Blood Refining, he had also scraped together enough money for a batch of medicine.

Among the four great martial arts academies, Yunhe Martial Arts School and the Zhao Clan Martial Arts School had the largest Medicinal Materials businesses, occupying two-thirds of Poyang County City.

Of the two, Yunhe Martial Arts School had the best quality medicinal materials.

When they arrived at Osmanthus Street, Chen Sanshi saw two Yunhe Pharmacies. More precisely, one of them was called "Yunhe Pharmacy."

It gave off the same feeling as Sprite and Leibi.

But in truth, both were genuine.

During his recent patrols through the city, he had heard quite a bit of news about the martial arts academies.

After the County Magistrate died, barbarian assassins had killed the master of Yunhe Martial Arts School as well, causing the school to split apart.

It was said that Yunhe Martial Arts School's Young Master of the Academy had mediocre talent. He was nearly thirty and had yet to enter the Bone Refining realm, whereas his uncle had achieved minor success in Bone Refining. After the old academy master died, the uncle seized his nephew's inheritance rights and became the new academy master.

Not only that, he had kicked his nephew out in one stroke, leaving him only a group of lowly servant disciples and a pharmacy. He was not even allowed to use the original signboard, so he could only name it "Yunhe."

To compete, Yunhe Pharmacy offered discounts. Blood Replenishing Soup, normally ten taels, sold for only eight taels.

The more advanced Nine Revolutions Vitality Soup, Medicinal Baths needed for the Bone Refining realm, and the like were all discounted to roughly seventy or eighty percent of their original prices, but they were still outrageously expensive.

A single batch of Nine Revolutions Vitality Soup cost twenty-five taels.

How could Chen Sanshi possibly afford that?

He had saved twenty taels from selling the Black Bear and gotten another ten taels from killing Qin Feng, but his daily expenses were considerable. He could not go without all kinds of game and beast meat, so there was not much silver left at all.

In the end, Chen Sanshi bought two batches of medicine for sixteen taels.

"My savings are empty again."

Chen Sanshi felt as though his heart were bleeding.

And two batches of medicine would only last about a week.

It seemed he still had to rely on his hunting skills to earn serious money.

Fortunately, he was already a Banner Captain and could freely enter the depths of Second Mountain. Hunting valuable prey should not be too difficult.

At most, it would delay some of his martial arts training. There was nothing to be done about that.

He had heard that a single tiger could sell for a hundred taels of silver! Exotic beasts were even more expensive.

Exotic beasts were rare, but tales of Great Worms on Second Mountain were heard from time to time.

I will ask around later. If I can hunt a tiger, the silver I earn will be enough for me to quickly cultivate to minor success.

Back at the Military Camp.

Chen Sanshi spotted Commander Wang, who had been absent for several days. The latter claimed to have gone to the prefectural city to visit relatives, and upon learning that Chen Sanshi had broken through to mastery, he was extremely pleased.

"Good, good, good! You brat is not bad. You have the bearing I had in my younger days!"

Wang Zhi rummaged in his clothes and pulled out a gold lock. "This is for you, a reward for your diligence in cultivation."

"A Longevity Lock?"

Chen Sanshi knew what it was. Usually, elders in a child's family gave such things as gifts. Since Wang Zhi was willing to give it away, it was certainly not his own. For all he knew, it had been swindled from someone else.

"Thank you for your kindness, sir, but I should not take this."

He politely declined.

"Fine, do not take it then. Where else can you find such a good superior as me, willing to buy gold for his subordinate?"

Commander Wang directly put it around his own neck. "You are taking leave tomorrow to go up the mountain, right? Go on, go on."

"Thank you, sir."

Chen Sanshi took his leave. Just as he was nearing his home.

Two figures abruptly appeared in the middle of the road, blocking his way. One stood in front and the other behind, one old and one young, looking like master and servant.

"Officer Chen, I invited you several times without success, so I had no choice but to pay you a presumptuous visit. Please forgive me."

Liang Zhan held a folding fan and cupped his hands in salute. "Please honor me with a gathering at Chunman Tower. Beautiful women and fine wine, as much as you want."

"You are indeed rather presumptuous."

Chen Sanshi said flatly, "I have business to attend to, so I will not make Young Master Liang spend money."

"I bear no ill intent."

Liang Zhan stepped half a pace forward and lowered his voice. "Rest assured, Tianyuan Martial Arts Academy will not pursue the matter of the Qin brothers."

"What Qin brothers?"

Chen Sanshi looked bewildered. "I do not understand."

Perhaps they truly would not pursue the matter of Qin Feng.

But more likely, they wanted to use it to sound him out, to ask whether he had left the city that night and whether he might have come into contact with the immortal treasure.

"Officer Chen is quite skilled at playing dumb."

Liang Zhan smiled without warmth and gave the old servant behind him a look. "Still, I hope you can honor us by sharing a meal."

"Please!"

The old servant extended a pair of hands like withered branches and reached to grab him.

Chen Sanshi frowned and tightened his grip on the spear shaft.