Just then, the waiter came up with a tray bearing Immortal Brew and several dishes.
The waiter set down the food and wine and said, "Master Lin, please enjoy!" Then he turned and went downstairs.
"Come on, Brother Jiang! Let's taste this Immortal Brew!" As he spoke, he poured Jiang Liu a cup.
Jiang Liu raised his cup, clinked it against Lin Hai's, and downed it in one gulp.
Before long, he felt a faint flow of qi and blood well up from his organs and circulate throughout his body. The Immortal Brew did indeed stimulate qi and blood—but as for how great its effect was, it was nothing much! Its tremendous reputation was probably all thanks to this hunger-marketing strategy!
The two immediately began eating and drinking! They ate their fill, but did not drink their fill! Lin Hai rose first to settle the bill. It cost more than thirty taels! That was no small sum!
Jiang Liu's current monthly pay would not even cover half a year of meals like this! A single bottle of Immortal Brew cost twenty taels! And the restaurant's signature dishes were all made with Exotic Beast Meat! They were not cheap either.
All the silver on Jiang Liu happened to be just enough for two meals like this! At once, Jiang Liu felt truly poor! He had thought the dozens of taels on him would last a long time.
Yet the moment he stepped out of the Training Hall today, he learned what it meant to spend money like flowing water in the martial practitioner's world.
Lin Hai brought Jiang Liu to the Hunting Eagle Hall's headquarters. It was a cluster of courtyards that was clearly much smaller than the Fallen Blossom Gang's main hall! The gang members guarding the entrance immediately saluted and said, "Chief Lin!"
Lin Hai gave a slight nod and walked straight in, bringing Jiang Liu to the meeting hall.
The Hunting Eagle Hall Master, Lin Hao, sat upright in the tall chair at the center of the hall! No one knew what he was thinking.
Lin Hai stepped forward, cupped his fists, and said, "Hall Master, Jiang Liu is here!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Hao raised his head. Looking at Jiang Liu with a warm expression, he said, "Jiang Liu, you're here! How is it? What level of strength have you reached now?"
"Reporting to the Hall Master, I've already begun Blood Exchange!" Jiang Liu cupped his fists and answered respectfully.
"Oh, you've begun Blood Exchange? That quickly?" Lin Hao sounded slightly surprised.
Jiang Liu circulated his qi and blood, causing qi-and-blood energy to radiate from his entire body and envelop him.
Lin Hao sensed him for a moment and discovered that Jiang Liu had indeed begun Blood Exchange.
He nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad! Truly not bad! My efforts on your behalf were not wasted."
"How long do you think it will take you to reach Entry Grade?"
"I estimate that I should be able to do it next month!" Jiang Liu answered confidently.
"That confident? Many geniuses remain stuck just short of Entry Grade for a long time!" Lin Hao said, somewhat curious.
"I'm not an ordinary genius!" Jiang Liu declared with complete confidence.
"Hahaha! I like this spirited, confident side of you! Good! Good!" Lin Hao threw back his head and laughed in satisfaction.
He turned and instructed Lin Hai, "Adjust Jiang Liu's benefits from now on. A monthly salary of ten taels, ten Blood Growth Pills, and thirty jin of Exotic Beast Meat."
"Yes, Master Lin!" Lin Hai bowed and replied.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu hurriedly cupped his fists gratefully. "Thank you, Master Lin!"
"Go! Train hard and reach Entry Grade as soon as possible!" Lin Hao said, patting Jiang Liu on the shoulder.
"Yes, Master Lin!" Jiang Liu turned and followed Lin Hai out of the meeting hall.
Lin Hai gave Jiang Liu a rough introduction to the layout of the headquarters, then finally brought him to the Hunting Eagle Hall's Miscellaneous Affairs Hall. Following procedure, he instructed the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall Disciple to update the information on Jiang Liu's Identity Jade Token.
After finishing all this, Lin Hai hurried away.
Jiang Liu followed the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall's gang member to an independent residential courtyard. Its layout was much like the residential courtyards at the main hall, except there were far fewer independent courtyards. That was probably because the branch had fewer people.
Jiang Liu looked around and found there was nothing to tidy up, so he began his daily training.
In the blink of an eye, it was the morning of August 28.
Whoosh!
A shadow flashed out of Jiang Liu's residential courtyard.
A Ranked Martial Practitioner could only sense a shadow drifting back and forth; the naked eye could not make out anything at all! If it were not broad daylight, one might have thought they had encountered a ghost.
Jiang Liu had practiced the Wandering Steps twice that morning when he suddenly felt that they had reached perfection! Unable to hold himself back, he immediately began running the Wandering Steps all over the place!
He instantly felt the difference between the perfected Wandering Steps and their mastery level! The perfected Wandering Steps had completely abandoned the previous footwork's fixed stepping patterns. They were a truly freeform set of steps, allowing him to control the direction of each step and change direction at will. Wherever his intent went, that was where his feet stepped.
This made him even more impossible to read. If one encountered an enemy like this in battle, all one could do was take a beating.
Jiang Liu was extremely satisfied with the Wandering Steps.
With a thought, a dark-blue light screen appeared before his eyes.
Auxiliary System: Name: Jiang Liu Realm: Body Refinement (Blood Exchange 99%) Alchemy (Beginner 45/100) Medicine (Uninitiated 0/50) Five Elements Fist (Perfected) (Trait: Qi-and-Blood Generation) Wandering Steps (Perfected) (Trait: Evasion)
Tomorrow, I can complete Blood Exchange! But how am I supposed to enter the basics of medicine? I've already read the Hundred Cures Compendium dozens of times, yet my proficiency hasn't increased even a little. Jiang Liu wondered.
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