Cheng Ran's Shock

His strength in one arm exceeded two hundred jin.

In Cheng Ran's eyes, this was not a terrifying number.

After all, once his Blood Qi had reached completion and penetrated his whole body, the strength of one arm had already surpassed five hundred jin—more than twice Jiang Ning's current strength.

But exceeding two hundred jin in strength when one had only recently begun practicing martial arts was enough to leave Cheng Ran utterly shocked.

At this rate of growth, it would not be long before Jiang Ning caught up with him.

Of course, actual growth could not be calculated that way.

The farther one advanced in strength, the more difficult each increase became.

That was precisely why, despite his Blood Qi having reached completion and penetrated his whole body, he could only exceed five hundred jin in strength.

Even so, a strength of over two hundred jin allowed him to roughly estimate the level Jiang Ning's Blood Qi had reached.

His Blood Qi had at least surpassed Minor Completion. Perhaps he had even managed to channel it through both arms.

Moreover, given his relationship with Jiang Ning, he knew very well that Jiang Ning's only nourishing medicine was the Wild Ginseng Zhou Xing had given him, along with the Medicinal Soup provided by the Martial Arts Hall.

Other than that, there was nothing else.

Under such ordinary conditions for practicing martial arts, yet with his strength having risen to this level, Cheng Ran could think of only one possibility.

Jiang Ning's Martial Talent was exceptionally outstanding. Relying solely on the Five Animal Frolics Fist, this foundational martial art, he could condense a tremendous amount of Qi and Blood Power.

Furthermore, Jiang Ning's progress in boxing was certainly astonishingly fast. He had probably reached the level of Proficiency, or even Minor Completion.

At this thought, Cheng Ran's heart surged like a stormy sea.

Having personally felt the changes in Jiang Ning, he understood Jiang Ning better than anyone else present.

He had never imagined that a friend he had casually befriended would possess such absurdly astonishing Martial Talent.

Such talent stood head and shoulders above the masses. Even throughout Luoshui County, it was exceedingly rare.

At that moment,

Cheng Ran pondered briefly before choosing not to make it known.

He then revealed a smile and cupped his hands once more. "Thank you for Making a Move, Junior Brother Jiang!"

"Senior Brother already thanked me!" Jiang Ning said with a smile.

Cheng Ran also gave an embarrassed laugh. "As the saying goes, injuries to the sinews and bones take a hundred days to heal. At this critical juncture, if I had injured my sinews and bones, Junior Brother Jiang spared me a long period bedridden. How could a mere one-time expression of thanks convey my gratitude?"

"How about this?" Cheng Ran said, then rummaged around in his robes. A moment later, he pulled out a Silver Note. "Junior Brother Jiang, this is the Fifty Taels of Silver I have left on me. It isn't much, but it represents a token of my sincerity. Please accept it."

At this, Jiang Ning looked at Cheng Ran in some surprise.

A faint smile then appeared on his face. "Senior Brother Cheng is certainly generous. I won't refuse, then. But don't secretly regret it later!"

Cheng Ran immediately laughed heartily. "I like Junior Brother Jiang's straightforward, uncomplicated, and forthright nature!"

As he spoke, Cheng Ran stuffed the Silver Note in his hand into Jiang Ning's. "Anything I, Cheng Ran, give away is given from the heart. How could I possibly regret it?"

"Besides, although my family isn't exceptionally wealthy, I can still afford to give this much to a friend of mine. Not to mention that Junior Brother Jiang came to my aid, sparing me injuries to my flesh, pain in my sinews and bones, and the suffering of lying bedridden!"

"Compared to that, what does a mere Fifty Taels of Silver amount to? If Junior Brother Jiang doesn't accept it, that means you look down on me!"

Jiang Ning smiled. "Since you put it that way, I'll accept it without being overly polite."

He immediately slipped the Fifty Taels of Silver Note into his pocket.

At that moment, the people in the distance watched this scene.

Envy appeared in their eyes, especially among the few Good Family Disciples from the Outer City. The envy in their eyes was even more pronounced.

"Fifty taels of silver in a single gesture—Cheng Ran really is generous!"

"Isn't he? Cheng Ran is the only son in his family. His family owns not only several thousand acres of fertile land, but also a Wine Shop. Senior Brother Cheng is naturally rich and imposing. Otherwise, how could Senior Brother Cheng have reached the level of Blood Qi Completion and Penetrating the Whole Body? The amount of silver spent on that was no small sum!"

"Jiang Ning is truly lucky to have befriended Senior Brother Cheng Ran and won his favor."

"Winning Senior Brother Cheng Ran's favor was also his own achievement. He spared Senior Brother Cheng an injury to his sinews and bones. With only about three months left before the Luoshui County Patrol Office is established, if Senior Brother Cheng wants to compete for a position and enter the Patrol Office, the delay of recuperating for several days will be far more important to him than fifty taels of silver."

"That's true. For the people of Luoshui County, entering the Patrol Office is no different from a fish leaping through the Dragon Gate. Their future would be completely different."

"..."

On the other side,

Jiang Ning naturally accepted the Fifty Taels of Silver Note.

He had no intention of engaging in the superficial back-and-forth of pretending to refuse.

The Fifty Taels of Silver Note would be a great help to him now, while to Cheng Ran, it was of little consequence.

He was precisely at a time when he desperately lacked resources.

Without the help of resources, the progress and efficiency of the Martial Path would be greatly affected.

Ever since he had run out of the Wild Ginseng, the number of times he practiced boxing each day had fallen considerably, and his daily Source Energy Points income had likewise decreased.

With these fifty taels of silver, he could return to his previous level of efficiency.

As a result, his boxing progress would accelerate, and the rate at which he accumulated Blood Qi would also increase.

This would greatly increase the possibility of him joining the Patrol Office three months later.

All along, he had already made up his mind to join the Patrol Office.

But whether he could actually succeed, he did not know.

After all, he did not have much time left. Three months was far too short.

In three months, he had to achieve Great Accomplishment of Qi and Blood, attain Martial Dao Entry Rank, and pass the practical assessment for entering the Patrol Office.

Regarding the first requirement, he now had confidence in his heart. It should not be a problem.

But regarding the second requirement—Martial Dao Entry Rank—he had no confidence at all.

On the Martial Path, even with Blood Qi Completion and Penetrating the Whole Body, one could still only be considered an ordinary person—an ordinary person who had yet to break through the limits of the human body.

Only by attaining Martial Dao Entry Rank could one be considered to have truly set foot on the Martial Path.

According to what he knew, to enter the Ninth Rank, one had to circulate the Blood Qi throughout the body, supplement it with a Secret Method and external substances, temper the inside and outside together, and refine a layer of membrane beneath the skin—a membrane connected to the flesh.

Once the membrane initially formed, the entire body would have no leaks. It was like the layer beneath an Ox Hide after it had been scraped bare, linking together the flesh of the whole body.

Only after accomplishing this could one be said to have entered the Martial Path. A Skin Refining Martial Artist could then be called a Ninth Rank Martial Artist.

Upon initially reaching the Ninth Rank, one's strength did not transform very dramatically. It could only increase the strength of one's Blood Qi and a certain amount of physical power, while slightly improving one's resistance to blows. Even with this improved resistance, ordinary weapons and sharp blades would still not be obstructed to any great degree.

But once one advanced to the next step in the Skin Training realm and reached Skin Refining Small Accomplishment, the membrane would become as hard as stone. This was the Stone Skin level, and everything would be completely different.

Not only would ordinary weapons find it difficult to inflict much damage on a martial artist at this level, but their resistance to blows would also increase greatly.

More importantly, their Blood Qi and physical strength would be further enhanced.

If such martial artists donned armor and took up weapons to form an army, they would become nightmares on the battlefield. Ten could break an ordinary army of a thousand, while a hundred could break an ordinary army of ten thousand.

If one reached Great Completion in the Skin Training realm, there would be another transformation.

The membrane would connect with the flesh, rivaling Bronze, and ordinary swords and knives would be unable to harm it.

At Skin Refining Great Accomplishment, even when dressed in a single layer of clothing, it would be equivalent to wearing armor.

This was the might of a Ranked Martial Artist.