Red Serpent Leaves Seclusion

As Chen Yuan's sole disciple, Murong Zhi held an extremely high status in the Izumo Empire.

Chen Cheng's appearance would likewise have a tremendous impact on his standing.

Murong Zhi did not know what Chen Cheng meant by asking that question. Yet upon suddenly hearing it, he felt a wrenching pain in his heart.

Murong Zhi stopped and watched Chen Cheng's gradually receding back. He stood there blankly for quite some time before finally coming back to himself.

"I'm merely an outsider. How could I possibly compete with you?"

Murong Zhi's voice was low, his expression somewhat dejected. There was a trace of unwillingness in his tone.

After all, he was only Chen Yuan's disciple. How could his status compare to Chen Cheng's as his biological son?

Murong Zhi wanted to fight for it, but his status determined that he was not qualified to do so.

Murong Zhi raised his head slightly and closed his eyes, immersing himself in his tangled thoughts. Once his emotions had calmed, he looked toward the street, but Chen Cheng was nowhere to be seen.

Murong Zhi shook his head in disappointment, then left in the opposite direction.

After leaving the accessory shop, Chen Cheng continued wandering the streets. It was nearly lunchtime before he returned to the Chen Family.

Upon arriving at Linjiang Courtyard, Chen Cheng saw Red Serpent again after a long time apart.

"Master." Seeing Chen Cheng return, Red Serpent ran toward him joyfully.

When Red Serpent noticed Yan Lingji beside Chen Cheng, her expression changed slightly. As a woman herself, Red Serpent was deeply envious of Yan Lingji's beauty. With someone like her remaining by her master's side, a powerful sense of crisis suddenly rose within Red Serpent's heart.

Yan Lingji noticed Red Serpent as well. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and a seductive smile slowly curved across her lips.

This little girl should be quite fun to train.

That was what Yan Lingji thought.

"Red Serpent, we haven't seen each other in days, and you've grown even more beautiful." Chen Cheng looked at Red Serpent's somewhat wild features, a faint smile on his lips as he spoke calmly.

"Thank you for the praise, Master." Hearing Chen Cheng's compliment, Red Serpent was delighted as well.

"Alright, let's all go inside. Don't stand at the entrance." Chen Cheng said.

After lunch, Red Serpent found Chen Cheng and handed him a jade bottle.

"The upgraded Zhen Yu Qian Ye has been refined. Please inspect it," Red Serpent said.

After taking the jade bottle, Chen Cheng did not open it to test the upgraded poison.

All this time, Red Serpent had been researching poisons. Meanwhile, Chen Cheng had discovered an even greater use for the Copy System.

Once Chen Cheng copied someone's ability, if that person's ability improved in that area later on, the ability Chen Cheng had copied would improve accordingly as well.

For instance, after Chen Cheng copied Red Serpent's Poison Art, as long as she later acquired more knowledge related to poisons and deepened her understanding of Poison Art, Chen Cheng's own knowledge of Poison Art would improve accordingly.

Recently, Red Serpent had been studying ways to combine Poison Art with alchemy. She had never discussed it with Chen Cheng, yet through this special function of the system, Chen Cheng's knowledge of Poison Art had increased as well.

Zhen Yu Qian Ye was part of Poison Art knowledge, so even though Red Serpent had never explained this upgraded poison to Chen Cheng, he still knew its effects.

Compared to the original version, the preparation time for the upgraded Zhen Yu Qian Ye had been drastically shortened. What had once taken a thousand nights now took only one day.

Of course, completing the poison's preparation in one day required an alchemist to operate it.

Otherwise, using ordinary methods, purifying the medicinal ingredients alone would take a great deal of time.

Its method of release had also been improved.

Previously, it would rapidly spread upon encountering water and light. The current Zhen Yu Qian Ye, however, was harmless in its normal state. Even if consumed directly, it would not have the slightest effect on the human body. But once activated with special Poison Dou Qi, its medicinal properties would rapidly spread.

Its transmission method had become airborne. Anyone who breathed it in or whose skin came into contact with the poisonous gas would be poisoned.

The toxin had an incubation period of twenty-four hours. Within those twenty-four hours, the victim's bodily functions would gradually decline, and once the time was up, the poison would take effect and kill them.

However, this utterly sinister poison had one major flaw.

It feared fire.

Near flames, the poison would lose its potency and become ineffective.

"Master, aren't you going to test its effects?" Red Serpent asked in surprise when she saw Chen Cheng place Zhen Yu Qian Ye into his Storage Space.

"I trust your abilities," Chen Cheng said with certainty.

"Oh, right. You've worked hard during this time. A few days ago, I took a Dou Technique from the Dou Qi Pavilion. Take it and practice it first." Chen Cheng swept his right hand over the small table before him. Spiritual light flashed, and a book appeared atop the table.

Mysterious High-Rank poison-element cultivation technique, Fallen Body Needle.

Chen Cheng's cultivation had yet to reach the requirements for practicing this Dou Technique, so it had remained on his person.

After hearing Chen Cheng's words, Red Serpent picked up the Dou Technique from the table and gave it a brief look before expressing that she liked it very much.

Profound Rank Dou Techniques were not easy to cultivate. Even with Red Serpent's comprehension, it would take a long time to master it. Still, the killing power of this Dou Technique was quite impressive.

After a day of rest, all the fatigue in Chen Cheng's body had vanished. In the days that followed, he once again entered a state of diligent cultivation.

Within the spacious courtyard, Chen Cheng sparred with Yan Lingji.

Chen Cheng did not use any Dou Techniques. A Low-Rank Yellow Tiger Fighting Skill was simply too embarrassing to bring out. Relying solely on his exquisite close-combat skills, he was still able to exchange blows evenly with Yan Lingji.

Yan Lingji did not use her flame abilities either. Her realm far surpassed Chen Cheng's; if she used her favored methods as well, there would be no point in Chen Cheng fighting at all.

Yan Lingji was also highly skilled in close combat. In terms of strength, she was slightly inferior to Chen Cheng, but when it came to agility, Yan Lingji far surpassed him.

After five days of practical combat training, Chen Cheng's fighting ability had improved rapidly as well.

Copy System

Name: Chen Cheng

Cultivation: Dou Qi Fifth Stage

Abilities: Low-Level Combat lv2, Poison Art

Summoning System

Name: Chen Cheng

Cultivation: Dou Qi Fifth Stage

Overall Combat Power: One-Star Dou Zhe

Summoned Characters: Red Serpent, Huang Yaoshi, Yan Lingji

Having reached the Dou Qi Fifth Stage, Chen Cheng had arrived at a minor turning point, one completely different from the previous four stages.

This stage greatly enhanced the body's physical functions. As a result, Chen Cheng had made significant progress in strength, speed, and agility.

After being battered by Yan Lingji for four days during their sparring sessions, Chen Cheng's combat ability had improved as well. On the Copy System's ability list, the LV2 after Low-Level Combat represented the ability's level.

Chen Cheng had asked the system about it. There were three ability levels in total. Once a skill reached LV3, Chen Cheng would receive some unknown benefit.

With his combat ability upgraded and his physical condition strengthened, Chen Cheng's overall combat power had risen from Dou Qi to Dou Zhe.

A Dou Zhe had already condensed a Dou Qi Vortex within their body and could truly use Dou Qi in battle. Compared to the Dou Qi stage, the advantages were simply overwhelming. Under normal circumstances, it was difficult for anyone at the Dou Qi stage to fight a Dou Zhe to a draw.

Cultivating at the Dou Qi stage was painful. There was no Cultivation Method and no shortcut; one could only temper the body to improve one's cultivation.

Even those at the ideal age for honing their physical strength needed more than ten years to complete the Dou Qi stage and advance to Dou Zhe.

Chen Cheng's physique was special, but it was still impossible for him to reach the end of this stage in one leap. He could only cultivate diligently and become a Dou Zhe as soon as possible. At least then, he would have the two shortcuts of Cultivation Methods and medicinal pills during cultivation.

Unfortunately, Anyang City had no such thing as Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, nor was there any alchemist capable of concocting a medicinal liquid suitable for use at the Dou Qi stage.

Although the Nine Flowers Jade Dew Pill prepared by Huang Yaoshi could nourish the meridians and strengthen the body, its effects were far too mild. Compared with Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, it still fell somewhat short.

I should find time to visit the Jia Ma Empire. I wonder how far the plot has progressed by now, Chen Cheng thought.

Early the next morning, Chen Cheng got up at dawn and performed some morning exercises in the courtyard.

He had never been in the habit of sleeping in.

After a while, once he had finished breakfast with Yan Lingji and Red Serpent, a Steward came knocking and was led before Chen Cheng by a servant.

"Young Master, the family tournament is about to begin. The Family Head sent me to urge you along," the Steward said respectfully, bowing at the waist.

Five days after the clan assembly, the family tournament began.

With those five days as a buffer, the people who had tested at the Dou Qi Ninth Stage during the clan assembly had already taken Qi Gathering Powder, become One-Star Dou Zhes, and received their Cultivation Methods. Those who had only just broken through to Dou Zhe had also finished choosing their Cultivation Methods.

"Understood. Go tell Father that I'll be there shortly," Chen Cheng said to the Steward.