Royal Family Brain

The group, now fed and watered, set off again on their path of escape. Before leaving, Leader Cai spoke with the Village Chief about the situation in Qingya County, roughly telling him to stay alert and flee at the first sign of trouble. Unfortunately, the Village Chief didn't take it to heart, and few of the villagers paid it any mind either.

They had all grown accustomed to living here, so they naturally wouldn't uproot their families and flee just because of a single sentence from Leader Cai. If they were truly going to run, they would only move after confirming the news themselves.

Leader Cai didn't press the matter further. After all, this was merely his own speculation; those people might just burn Qingya County and then stop.

What they called rebellion, in Leader Cai's eyes, was nothing but a joke.

He himself was the biggest bandit chief near Qingya County. If there were truly rebels active in the area, there was no way he wouldn't know. So Leader Cai didn't need to think twice to know something was off about the Qingya County incident. But he was just a bandit leader, a man of little influence. Knowing the truth was useless; he couldn't change the bigger picture.

This world was simply this rotten.

The Imperial Court had sealed off the Martial Dao. Ordinary people could never come into contact with true power. All they could do was obey, then struggle to survive.

Leader Cai had once been an honest, simple farmer himself. Later, when life became utterly unbearable, he took to the mountains and became a bandit. In the beginning, the Fierce Tiger Stockade was just him and a few brothers. Later, as more people couldn't make a living, it slowly grew into a proper mountain stronghold.

At the end of the day, the Fierce Tiger Stockade was nothing but a pack of miserable wretches, like stray dogs.

They had no access to the Martial Dao; they could only fumble and train on their own.

That was exactly why, after Chen Luo displayed his martial arts, everyone in the Fierce Tiger Stockade immediately believed him. Because in their eyes, anyone who could come into contact with the Martial Dao was a nobleman!

"Brother Chen, any interest in joining our Fierce Tiger Stockade? If you're willing to come, I'll hand this seat over to you."

After walking for a bit, Leader Cai slowed his pace to fall in beside Chen Luo and asked in a low voice.

Leader Cai was shrewd.

After witnessing Chen Luo's martial arts, he started scheming. A master who truly understood the Martial Dao—that was an opportunity for him and the Fierce Tiger Stockade!

As long as Chen Luo agreed to join, what did it matter if he stepped down and gave up his position?

A path that held real power—he believed none of the brothers in the stronghold would refuse it.

"I don't have any plans in that direction for now. You're too kind, Brother Cai."

Chen Luo shook his head and refused.

During the short rest earlier, he had borrowed the eunuch's brain to sort through his Black Tiger Fist and gained new insights. That dead eunuch, Eunuch Wei, had far better talent than the Jianghu Wanderer Chen Luo had collected before. It was only his obsession with power struggles that had held back his cultivation; otherwise, Chen Luo might not have been his match.

He had already made up his mind.

Once he got through this escape, he would find a place for himself and Third Uncle to settle down, then use his newly acquired 'brain' to practice the Black Tiger Fist again.

Especially that Royal Family Brain.

He still hadn't dared to use it. He had a feeling that the Royal Family Brain was completely different from all the Jianghu Wanderer brains he had come into contact with before. It might very well point him toward an entirely new path. With luck, he might even break through directly to the Third Realm, Bone Forging.

It was precisely because of this feeling that Chen Luo didn't dare use it recklessly.

If he wasted the opportunity in an unstable environment, the loss would be tremendous.

After another half a day of walking, the group finally left the country paths behind and began to see some proper roads.

At this point, the Fierce Tiger Stockade group had to change course.

They also had a stronghold in Yanhu County, manned by their own people. A wily rabbit has three burrows—that saying was meant for bandits like them. No wonder the authorities could never wipe them out completely.

"Brother Chen, if you ever change your mind, my Fierce Tiger Stockade will welcome you anytime."

Leader Cai said reluctantly.

They were all bandits who had taken to the hills; naturally, they couldn't go into the city. From here on, Uncle and Nephew Chen were temporarily safe. With the threat gone, Chen Luo planned to find a place to settle down and properly digest the gains from the past few days.

"Certainly."

Chen Luo cupped his hands in farewell.

Setting aside his identity as a bandit chief, Leader Cai was a good man—loyal to his friends, a true brother. Just a bit lacking in strength.

After parting ways with the Fierce Tiger Stockade group, Chen Luo took Third Uncle and settled down in the nearest village, Fanjia Village.

This place was the closest settlement to Yanhu County.

After arriving, Uncle and Nephew Chen found the local Village Elder and rented the most remote house, temporarily settling in.

"Once this heat blows over, we should go back to the village for a visit. With such a big incident in Qingya County, Eldest Brother and the others are sure to be worried." Chen Laosan cooked up some food, brought it in, and set it on the table.

The 'Eldest Brother' he mentioned was Chen Luo's father.

Life was hard even in the villages these days. People scraped a living from the soil all year round and still couldn't get a single full meal. Chen Luo's father had reached his limit, which was why he sent his son into the city to rely on Chen Laosan.

In the past, Chen Laosan was the most accomplished person from their Chen Family Village.

Don't look down on him just because he was a Corpse Burier—that was a job working for the authorities.

"We should go back."

Chen Luo nodded.

He and Third Uncle had a simple meal, then each went to their own rooms to rest.

The houses in the village weren't like those in the county town. Their main feature was that they were big. The house Uncle and Nephew had rented was a four-door courtyard, with very spacious rooms.

Chen Luo sat in his room, focused his mind, and began to activate that Royal Family Brain.

Along with the concentration of his will, his consciousness once again appeared from a third-person perspective. The brand-new Royal Family Brain replaced his perception, and his entire being felt as if it had been rebooted. His memories were still the same, but recalling them now felt incredibly clear—he could even remember wetting the bed as a child.

'The Black Tiger Fist shouldn't be practiced this way.'

After reviewing the cultivation method for Black Tiger Fist, a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

The fist technique optimized by over a hundred Jianghu Wanderer brains now appeared riddled with flaws. Not only were there numerous incorrect force application methods, but the use of power itself was also disharmonious. Though it was only a very brief moment, once Chen Luo cultivated Black Tiger Fist to late-stage mastery, this slight 'disharmony' would be magnified infinitely. When encountering a Higher Level expert, that 'disharmony' would become the point where he lost his life.

"Weak in the spiritual aspect, and somewhat lacking in agility. We could borrow Eunuch Wei's brain—he has extensive experience with speed cultivation."

The Royal Family Brain continuously summarized existing abilities, optimizing and reorganizing them.

Soon, it formulated an entirely new direction for Chen Luo.

The strength was still the same strength, and the fist technique remained the same set. But his combat power had increased by nearly double!

When the Royal Family Brain wearily receded, Chen Luo felt a jolt through his entire body. An indescribable fatigue surged into his heart, making him forget even the subsequent 'training.' He collapsed directly onto the bed and fell asleep.

One night passed.

Waking up after a full sleep, Chen Luo felt refreshed. All the hidden injuries left from his previous fights with Eunuch Wei and the others in Qingya County had fully healed. The Internal Qi Inside the Body had become more active, his mind was exceptionally clear, and the bottlenecks he had encountered while learning Black Tiger Fist were now completely understood.

"Does the Royal Family Brain have some special bonus?"

Chen Luo was slightly stunned.

They were all brains, so why was the Royal Family Brain so vastly different from the others? Could there be something inside it that he couldn't see?

For example... a Spirit Root.