Martial Fourth Rank, Meridian Opening Realm!

Bai Yu mentally added another mark against Zuo Er and the Black Wolf Gang.

Gangs may fall, dynasties and nations may crumble, but Eternal Life is the only true path.

When you weaken, that will be the day of my revenge.

Bai Yu turned and walked back to the Mortuary.

At this moment, Zhu Tong said mysteriously, "Xiao Bai, do you know why the Black Wolf Gang's protection fees have doubled this time?"

Bai Yu was curious. "Could it be that you have some news, Brother Tong?"

Zhu Tong glanced around, then whispered, "This is just a rumor, and I'm only telling you, so don't tell anyone else, okay? A few days ago, the Black Wolf Gang seemed to have had two underground casinos snatched by the Divine Strength Sect."

"The Black Wolf Gang leader is now scraping together every bit of profit he can find, preparing to go all out in a fight against the Divine Strength Sect."

Bai Yu understood; it was a conflict between gangs.

It seems like things will be uneasy for a while.

However, this was actually a good thing for the Mortuary.

In the days that followed, people from the two major gangs were sent to the Mortuary for burial every few days.

Bai Yu's business boomed.

Uncle Jiu saw that Bai Yu was mastering the Zhu You Yin Fu Jing quickly, so he simply handed over most of the tasks to Bai Yu.

Originally, Uncle Jiu would chant scriptures to save souls, but now, Bai Yu would play a soul-pacifying tune on the Suona to dissolve the Sha Qi.

Bai Yu was even happier to do so, as it would increase his participation in the funerals.

On this day, the Black Wolf Gang sent another unlucky fellow.

This was a martial artist whose head had been split in two.

Bai Yu played the soul-pacifying tune, and Old Zhang tidied up the deceased's appearance.

Then, Bai Yu led everyone up the mountain for the burial.

After a mournful song was played, the funeral was completed.

[Successful Funeral, Reward: Blood Essence +36, Life Experience +60!]

[Funeral Participation 79%, choose one additional reward.]

[Available Rewards: Soul-Reaping Sword, Sword Skill Experience, Iron Sand Palm, One Year of Martial Cultivation.]

Bai Yu's heart stirred. This time, the optional reward included something new.

One year of Martial Cultivation!

There had never been a reward that directly increased cultivation before.

Bai Yu went down the mountain without showing any emotion.

Back in the small courtyard, Bai Yu claimed the rewards.

First, a warm current surged, and the Blood Essence in his body increased significantly.

Then, he chose one year of Martial Cultivation.

Instantly, he felt a jolt, and his bones cracked, filling his muscles with power.

His entire body's Blood Essence surged, and a stream of Essence Qi shot from the top of his head, condensing like smoke.

Bai Yu felt a coolness on his arm, and a cool energy flowed along his meridians.

This energy flow was the Inner Power converted from Bloodline Power!

Essence Qi Smoke, Blood Essence冲脉!

Martial Fourth Rank, Meridian Opening Realm!

The Meridian Opening Realm is about converting the abundant Blood Essence into Inner Power and opening the twelve meridians throughout the body.

Just now, Bai Yu had opened the Hand-Shaoyin Lung Meridian.

From now on, his respiratory function would greatly increase, providing ample breath for his body.

Bai Yu was delighted and then activated the Mystic Tortoise Breath Concealment Art to conceal the aura within his body.

As the Breath Concealment Art circulated, his skin even seemed to become a little rougher.

In the following days, Bai Yu lived a very fulfilling life.

The conflict between the Black Wolf Gang and the Divine Strength Sect grew increasingly fierce, and the Mortuary received many gang members every day, including many martial artists.

In the Mortuary, the Black Wolf Gang and the Divine Strength Sect tacitly maintained peace.

After all, when it comes to matters of life and death, who wouldn't want to rest in peace?

Bai Yu, on the other hand, focused on conducting funerals, reaping rewards, and watching his strength steadily rise.

He had made up his mind not to be greedy when it came to cultivation methods and martial skills.

He would primarily choose foundational attributes like Martial cultivation, blade technique experience, internal energy, and strength.

Only if he encountered a cultivation method with an exceptionally high compatibility would he choose to merge with it.

On this day, he conducted a funeral for a Martial Fourth Rank expert from the Divine Strength Sect.

[Funeral Target: Zhang Meng!]
[Identity: Senior Disciple of the Divine Strength Sect.]
[Age: 39.]
[Cultivation: Martial Fourth Rank.]
[Funeral Participation: 69%.]
[Common Reward: Internal Energy +3, Life Experience +388.]
[Optional Rewards: Blood Essence +55, Vajra Art, Arhat Blade, Blade Technique Experience, Golden Eagle Claw...]

Bai Yu glanced at the options and first chose blade technique experience.

Then, he examined each cultivation method and discovered that the Vajra Art was truly exceptional, boasting a 92% compatibility with his Iron Shirt Skill.

Bai Yu extracted the Vajra Art and merged it with the Iron Shirt Skill.

It transformed into a new cultivation method, the Vajra Iron Shirt Skill, a high-grade Yellow Rank skill.

In this manner, his strength advanced by leaps and bounds.

Within a mere month, he had already opened seven meridians.

After opening five more, he would reach the peak of Martial Fourth Rank and step into the Fifth Rank Bone Tempering Realm.

Bai Yu looked at his attribute panel.

[Name: Bai Yu.]
[Aptitude: 8]
[Blood Essence: 370]
[Strength: 110]
[Internal Energy: 18]
[Cultivation: Fourth Rank Meridian Opening Realm.]
[Cultivation Method: Four Elephants Five Elements Fist (Profound Understanding, 3571/10000)]
[Martial Skills: Soul Severing Blade (Profound Understanding), Dark Turtle Breath Concealment Art (Skilled), Lingxu Step (Skilled), Vajra Iron Shirt Skill (Profound Understanding)]
[Divine Power: Eternal Life.]
[Other Skills: Suona Playing (Profound Understanding), Essence Nourishing Powder (Skilled), Zhu You Yin Fu Jing (Skilled), Meng's Herbal Compendium (Basic Understanding), etc.]

With the strength of the Martial Fourth Rank Meridian Opening Realm, he could be considered to have a foothold in Jiang City.

However, Bai Yu remained as steady as an old dog.

Wasn't conducting funerals while lying down better? Fighting and killing was far too troublesome.

Another half month passed in this manner.

The conflict between the Black Wolf Gang and the Divine Strength Sect had begun to affect life in Jiang City.

Finally, under the mediation of the Liu, Zhao, Xiao, and An Families, the two major gangs ceased hostilities.

The Black Wolf Gang ceded several streets to the Divine Strength Sect for management.

This caused the Mortuary's business to become much quieter.

However, Uncle Jiu had been frequently going out these days, sometimes not appearing for a whole week.

It was said that he was going out to deal with Baleful Corpses.

For some reason, the number of Baleful Corpses appearing in Jiang City was increasing.

Bai Yu was somewhat curious about what these Baleful Corpses actually were.

On this night, Uncle Jiu was still absent.

Bai Yu was keeping watch in the front hall, sleeping on a small bed.

Old Mo, on the other hand, was sitting next to him on a small stool.

In front of Old Mo, there were several books piled up, and it was patiently flipping through them.

It was strange, but Old Mo truly had a special fondness for books.

Bai Yu had asked Old Mo why it liked reading so much.

Old Mo barked a few times and wrote two lines of large characters with its paw.

"If you don't study today, you'll become trash tomorrow."

Bai Yu was amused and exasperated. It seemed Old Mo had never suffered the "beatings" of nine years of compulsory education.

If they were on Earth, Bai Yu would definitely enroll Old Mo in a class and make him take the college entrance exam.

Half-asleep, Bai Yu suddenly felt very cold.

Bai Yu sat up and said, "Old Mo, it's your turn to sleep."

He glanced over and saw that Old Mo had just finished reading the Spring and Autumn Annals and Meng's Herbal Compendium, and was about to start on the White Fox Erotic Tales.

Bai Yu snapped awake and snatched the book away. "Kids can't read this stuff."

Old Mo whined in dissatisfaction.

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind inexplicably blew through the front hall.

Old Mo barked loudly towards the inner courtyard.

"Woof woof!"

From the inner courtyard came a non-human roar.