Breakthrough to the Blood Changing Realm

A month and a half later, By now, Changqing County had settled down. After the great battle, the county government had completely dominated the region, not only taking over all the territory of the Black Tiger Gang and the Ten Thousand Blades Sect, but also bringing down any other slightly larger gangs. It could be said that the County Magistrate had become the local tyrant of Changqing County, the kind who decided life and death with a single word.

Although Bai Ze had heard news half a month ago that no one was still investigating the matter of the Innate Cultivation Method, faced with such a temptation, the County Magistrate could not easily give up. He had merely shifted from open pursuit to covert investigation. Even members of Wolong Valley would occasionally appear in Changqing County, clashing with the county government several times, likely also investigating the matter of the Innate Cultivation Method. But what no one knew was that the Innate Cultivation Method they longed for was right here with Bai Ze.

And at that moment, inside Bai Ze's room, his entire body's blood and qi surged violently, making him look like a boiled shrimp. "Boom!" A thunderous roar seemed to echo from within Bai Ze's body, and a powerful wave of blood and qi exploded outward. Gradually, his body calmed down and returned to normal.

Bai Ze slowly opened his eyes, feeling his body, and muttered to himself, "So this is the Blood Changing Realm. My strength is more than five times greater than before." According to the description in the Three Yang Qi Refining Art, I can now cultivate the method and break through to the Innate Realm. If it had been before, I might have been eager to cultivate the Innate Cultivation Method, but now I'm not in a hurry.

After all, when he obtained the Three Yang Qi Refining Art, it contained not only cultivation content but also descriptions of the Innate Realm's divisions. He knew that the Blood Changing Realm was called such because one had to expel impurities from the blood within the body, transforming it into new blood. Although breaking through to the Blood Changing Realm allowed one to cultivate a method and generate inner qi to reach the Innate Realm, the more one transformed in the Blood Changing Realm, the stronger one would be after the breakthrough.

For this reason, Bai Ze planned to complete the transformation of all his blood before making the breakthrough, thereby making his strength even more formidable. Unfortunately, the Three Yang Qi Refining Art was incomplete, only having the first five layers. So after breaking through to the Inner Qi Realm and True Qi Realm within the Innate Realm, he would need to find the later parts of the method or switch to another Innate Cultivation Method. Otherwise, breaking through to the final Gang Qi Realm of the Innate Realm was not impossible, but the possibility was extremely slim.

Still, Bai Ze wasn't worried for now. It wasn't as if he needed to cultivate inner qi and break through to the Innate Realm immediately. This Three Yang Qi Refining Art was just a preparation in advance; perhaps he would come across something more suitable later. As this thought crossed his mind, a translucent system interface appeared before his eyes.

code
[Martial God System]
[Host: Bai Ze]
[Age: 15/73]
[Talent: One in a Hundred (500/1000)]
[Realm: Blood Changing Realm (2%)]
[Technique: None]
[Skills: Star Point Swordplay (Incomplete, first three swords Great Accomplishment 9%, fourth sword Minor Accomplishment 19%), Sword Drawing Technique Profound Realm (21%), Lightning Step Profound Realm (13%), Breath Concealing Technique Profound Realm (5%), Mad Bull Body Tempering Fist Perfection (21%)...]
[Talent Points: 7]

In the nearly two months since, Bai Ze had not only broken through to the Blood Changing Realm but also cultivated all the martial skills he had obtained from the Black Tiger Gang's secret chamber last time. With his talent, mastering most of those mid-to-high-grade Houtian martial skills to Great Accomplishment was not too difficult. It was precisely because of this that he had gained a large number of Talent Points, pushing his talent to the next level. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to break through to the Blood Changing Realm so quickly.

Now, feeling his own strength, Bai Ze quickly drew his longsword and began practicing Star Point Swordplay in the courtyard. First sword: Lamplight Shine. Second sword: Starlight Beacon. Third sword: Sparks Set Prairie Ablaze. As he executed the fourth sword, Galaxy Brilliance, the longsword in his hand moved even faster, as if pushing speed to its limit. The sword shadows around him became even more unpredictable, making them hard to defend against. But it still felt like something was missing, as if he couldn't unleash the true power of this sword. Perhaps it was due to the lack of inner qi. Even so, its power far exceeded the first three swords, giving Bai Ze another trump card.

Bai Ze sheathed his longsword, calmly gazed at the sky, and murmured to himself, "It's time to leave."

Three days later, Bai Ze was now on horseback, having joined a merchant caravan to leave Changqing County, heading toward Pingfeng City.

Moreover, this merchant caravan itself came from Pingfeng City, only traveling to various surrounding counties each month to peddle some goods.

It was precisely for this reason that Bai Ze paid some money to join them, thereby avoiding unnecessary trouble.

But just then, a crowd of martial artists suddenly appeared ahead, blocking the caravan's path.

Bai Ze instantly tightened his grip on the longsword in his hand, ready to respond to whatever happened next.

He soon saw the caravan's leader walk straight up, produce a pouch, and hand it over to them.

After the other party opened it and inspected its contents, they waved their hands to let the people behind clear the way.

Yet Bai Ze still did not let his guard down—after all, he could not entrust his life to others.

A middle-aged man nearby also witnessed this scene, smiled, and took the initiative to speak: "Little brother, this is your first time leaving Changqing County, isn't it!"

"That's right, but what does that matter?"

"Hahaha, of course it matters."

Sensing Bai Ze's confusion, the middle-aged man before him smiled and explained: "Because if you'd come out with the caravan a few times, you'd understand without me having to say a word."

"Earlier, when you joined the caravan, you paid a fair amount of silver, didn't you? That wasn't given for nothing."

Then, perhaps bored on the road and wanting someone to chat with, the man proceeded to explain things to Bai Ze.

You see, they gave the caravan silver to ensure safe passage along the way, and the caravan gave silver to the bandits for the same reason—safe passage.

After all, compared to the total value of the caravan's goods, this bit of silver was utterly insignificant.

And the bandits didn't want to gorge themselves in one meal; they wanted to eat their fill every time, so things had ended up this way.

Now that Bai Ze understood everything, he cupped his hands and said, "Uncle, on the road to Pingfeng City, I'm afraid there's more than just this one mountain stronghold with bandits, right?"

"Do all the bandits act like this? Isn't there any stronghold that thinks differently?"

"How could there not be?"

Hearing this, the middle-aged man shook his head, his gaze seeming to grow deeper, as if lost in thought.

Seeing this, Bai Ze hadn't expected that he too was a man with a story!

After snapping out of it, the man gave a somewhat dejected laugh and said, "Sorry, I was just thinking of something."

"And don't keep calling me 'Uncle.' Everyone who knows me calls me Old Wang. You can call me Old Wang too!"

"Uh... Old Wang."

Though Bai Ze had been transmigrated for several years now, hearing the words "Old Wang" still made his mind drift toward a certain kind of animal.