He even had the confidence that if he were to learn an entirely new martial art now, he could grasp and master it in the shortest possible time.
That was the most precious aspect of the Marrow Cleansing Pill.
What it enhanced was not temporary combat strength, but the foundation that determined a martial artist's future—aptitude and comprehension.
From this day onward, he was no longer an ordinary martial artist with a bit of talent.
He had become a true martial arts prodigy!
This meant that the Time Value he needed to expend to raise his martial arts realms in the future would be greatly reduced.
With a thought, Shen Che brought up his attribute panel.
[Black Tiger Saber Technique: Level 6 (Embryonic Saber Intent)+] [Vajra Zen Fist: Level 6 (Embryonic Fist Intent)+]
Just as expected!
A long-absent plus sign had appeared behind both martial arts.
Over the past few days, he had accumulated a total of seven thousand points of Time Value from killing horse bandits and Lei Lie. He had been worrying over where to spend them.
"System, raise the Black Tiger Saber Technique!"
[500 Time Value consumed. Black Tiger Saber Technique raised to Level 7 (Minor Achievement Saber Intent)!]
A stream of insight regarding the saber technique appeared out of nowhere and flooded into his mind.
Shen Che did not pause.
"Keep raising it!"
[500 Time Value consumed. Black Tiger Saber Technique raised to Level 8 (Major Achievement Saber Intent)!] [500 Time Value consumed. Black Tiger Saber Technique raised to Level 9 (Perfected Saber Intent)!]
One thousand five hundred points of Time Value were completely spent.
Shen Che only felt an incomparably sharp saber aura emerge within his body from nowhere, capable of cutting through anything.
That saber aura coursed through his meridians, as though it could burst from his body at any moment and sever everything before him.
He looked at the attribute panel.
[Black Tiger Saber Technique: Level 9 (Perfected Saber Intent)+]
That plus sign was actually still there.
It could still be raised?
What lay above perfection?
Shen Che's curiosity was stirred.
"Continue!"
[Black Tiger Saber Technique raised to Level 10!]
A martial arts insight ten times more immense than before crashed into his mind like a flood bursting through a broken dam.
Shen Che's body jolted violently.
Behind him, the phantom of a fierce tiger condensed entirely from black Killing Intent emerged out of thin air.
This black tiger stood over three meters tall, its form solid, its mane flying wildly, while flames of savagery and slaughter burned in its tiger eyes.
It crouched behind Shen Che and let out a silent roar toward the heavens.
Roar—!
A terrifying Killing Intent, invisible to the naked eye, exploded outward from the guest courtyard where Shen Che was staying.
The tables and chairs in the room silently crumbled into powder beneath the impact of that Killing Intent.
At the same time, on a patrol path within the White King's Mansion.
A squad of armored guards was leading several mastiffs on a routine patrol.
These mastiffs had all been carefully selected from the northern lands. Fierce by nature and rigorously trained, they would dare to fight even tigers and leopards in the mountains.
But at that very moment.
Every mastiff seemed to have encountered its natural predator.
They all halted at once and barked frantically toward one direction, their barking laced with fear.
"Woof! Woof woof!"
"Awoo..."
Several of the strongest mastiffs even tucked their tails between their legs and trembled all over. In the end, their limbs went weak, and they collapsed directly onto the ground, letting out pitiful whimpers.
Shen Che was utterly unaware of the disturbance he had caused.
He was sensing the newly born power within him.
Borrowing the momentum of heaven and earth, melding it into oneself.
The black tiger phantom behind him was the manifestation of saber momentum.
This black tiger was not merely a body of energy. It continuously absorbed the drifting energy between heaven and earth, strengthening itself.
Shen Che had a feeling that if he casually swung his saber now, he could easily tear apart an entire house.
He turned his attention back to the attribute panel.
[Vajra Zen Fist: Level 6 (Embryonic Fist Intent)+]
"System, raise Vajra Zen Fist!"
A string of notification chimes rang out.
Boom!
Another entirely different martial arts insight exploded in his heart.
If the momentum of the Black Tiger Saber was dominance and slaughter—
Then the momentum of Vajra Zen Fist was demon-subduing majesty!
The roaring black tiger phantom behind him slowly faded away.
In its place appeared a golden arhat phantom over three meters tall.
This arhat had a solemn, treasure-like visage, knotted muscles, and faint golden flames burning all around its body. It stood proudly between heaven and earth, carrying an unparalleled might capable of suppressing all evil.
As the arhat phantom appeared, all manner of profound truths concerning Vajra Zen Fist were continuously deduced and reassembled within Shen Che's mind.
Vajra Zen Fist: Zen Arrow, a single-target fist technique, had actually been developed by him into an entirely new application.
With one punch, fist shadows filled the sky like a torrential downpour.
"If I faced trash like Lei Lie again now, I could blast him into dregs in a single exchange."
Shen Che slowly withdrew his aura, and the two phantoms dispersed along with it.
He now had a clear understanding of his current strength.
The next day, just as dawn broke.
Shen Che decided to set out and leave.
He was not someone who liked to drag things out. The mission was complete and the reward was in hand, so there was no need to remain any longer.
He found a servant of the mansion and had him pass a message to Bai Fengling. Then he led his horse away from the White King's Mansion alone.
Hoofbeats rang crisp and pleasant against the bluestone road.
Just as he reached the border of Dolin County.
A burst of urgent hoofbeats came from behind him.
Shen Che reined in his horse and looked back.
He saw a white horse racing toward him, carrying a dashing figure dressed in white.
The newcomer was unexpectedly Bai Fengling.
He had changed out of his male attire and into a neat white dress. He had lost some of his youthful boyishness, gaining instead a measure of feminine gallantry.
He had originally been female, merely presenting himself as a man all this time to conceal his identity.
"Young Master Shen, are you leaving so soon?"
Bai Fengling rode up beside him, a faint and barely perceptible disappointment in his tone.
"The matter is settled. Naturally, it is time for me to leave."
Shen Che answered bluntly.
"If you have the time in the future, come visit the White King's Mansion again. I... the entire Bai family will sweep the couch clean to welcome you."
Bai Fengling extended the invitation with sincerity.
"We'll see when the time comes."
Shen Che nodded, taking it as an acceptance.
He squeezed his legs against his horse's flanks and, without lingering any longer, galloped toward the distance.
Bai Fengling reined in his horse and remained where he was, watching that black figure gradually recede until it vanished beyond the horizon.
The journey back to Cangyun City required crossing a vast desert.
The journey there had been unsettled, yet the return trip went smoothly enough to seem abnormal.
Shen Che discovered that the horse bandit groups entrenched in this desert had noticeably decreased in number.
When he occasionally encountered one or two groups that did not know their place, they would spot him from far away and turn to flee at a distance like mice spotting a cat.
The tale of his killing Zhang Kuangfeng had clearly already spread across this land.
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