Caravan Departs the City, Crimson Scales' Twin Arms

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, three days had passed.

During these three days, thanks to Steward Fu's efforts in visiting various merchants, some who were previously unwilling to part with their old items finally relented.

After Steward Fu's haggling, the prices were even lower than the original acquisition prices.

This showed that the merchants in Linyuan City had been having a difficult time recently.

Piled-up goods and stagnant capital were major pain points.

However, due to the Wang Family's merchant caravan, more merchants felt that the tight period was about to end. With goods being transported out, good times would surely return, so they gritted their teeth and held on, not selling their old items.

"Spent over a thousand taels to acquire six old items, gaining a total of twenty-four strands of Exotic Power. Not bad, it covers the recent depletion of Exotic Power from my cultivation and even leaves a surplus."

Inside the inn, a small stove was boiling a pot of tea.

Chu Ge sat cross-legged on the carpet, looking at the ninety-eight strands of Exotic Power swirling in the heart of the Dragon Bell, feeling quite satisfied.

With his current meridian and acupoint tolerance, he could only consume four strands of Exotic Power per day for cultivation.

However, after completely absorbing these four strands, it was equivalent to sixteen days of full cultivation, a fourfold increase in speed.

Twenty-four strands of Exotic Power, costing over a thousand taels, seemed to only be enough for six days of cultivation, which was not cost-effective.

But one must remember that for ordinary people, increasing Qi and Blood through martial arts becomes increasingly difficult.

Due to the human body's limits, high-nutrition supplements like medicinal meals and large quantities of meat are needed to aid in increasing Qi and Blood.

Sometimes, at certain bottlenecks, even with medicinal meals and meat, no further progress can be made.

Chu Ge, however, did not need to consume large amounts of medicinal meals and meat. By simply refining Exotic Power, he could steadily increase his Qi and Blood, greatly improving his cultivation efficiency.

Furthermore, he saved the money spent on purchasing precious medicinal meals and meat, so in reality, he had saved a lot.

"What a pity. I haven't acquired a Spirit Fish recently. It's freezing cold now, and there are fewer fishermen, leading to a lack of resources."

Chu Ge sighed inwardly about the difficulty of cultivation. He poured himself a cup of hot tea and walked to the window. He saw the Wang Family's hired porters busily loading goods onto prepared mule carts on the wide street not far away.

The morning air was cold, and a thin layer of frost covered the road.

A dozen mules kicked the ground, their breath puffing out white mist.

An accountant was gathered with some merchants, handling paperwork and procedures.

Soon, some goods were tied onto carriages or mule carts and proceeded unhurriedly down the street, heading towards the northeastern city gate.

"The Wang Family's actions are really fast. It looks like they're still choosing land transport. That's understandable. If their boats were sabotaged or intercepted on the water, it could lead to the loss of both lives and property, with no escape."

Chu Ge mused inwardly. He then looked towards the direction of the city yamen and, seeing no activity, felt a sense of strangeness.

With the Wang Family making such a big move, City Guard Captain Tian Youji couldn't possibly be unaware.

A guard team composed of two Bone Training Realm experts and over a dozen Muscle Training and Skin Refining Martial Cultivators was indeed a formidable force.

Even the vicious Thirteen Golden Spear Bandits wouldn't dare to provoke them.

However, near the county yamen, there was also a stronghold of the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult.

The Thirteen Golden Spear Bandits were long gone. A few months ago, a merchant's cargo ship was robbed during water transport, which might have been the work of the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult.

Now, with the Wang Family's guard team escorting so many goods out of the city, it was hard to guarantee that the Iron Token Envoy from the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult's stronghold wouldn't be tempted.

"If I were that Iron Token Envoy, I definitely wouldn't miss this opportunity. Tian Youji must have anticipated this as well. He's holding back, is he planning something?"

Chu Ge looked at the street below, which seemed peaceful amidst the bustle, and sensed that something big was about to happen. Beneath the calm, undercurrents were already surging.

Since Tian Youji wasn't leaving the city, Chu Ge wouldn't rashly go out to meddle in other people's affairs.

But if Tian Youji were to engage the Iron Token Envoy, he wouldn't mind finding an opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, eliminate the Iron Token Envoy, and remove a future threat.

"The storm is coming. It's best to play it safe. It's time to inherit my talent."

Chu Ge closed the doors and windows of his room and sat down in the hall, looking at the Dragon Bell on his wrist.

Within the bell's heart lay the talent of the Red Scale Claw Fish, waiting quietly.

The inheritance of this talent depended on compatibility, and after inheritance, it required the expenditure of Exotic Power to maintain and use. Each time it was used, the bloodline power of the Spirit Fish would diminish by a fraction.

Chu Ge did not hesitate any further and quickly inherited this talent.

The next moment.

A cold energy flowed rapidly from the Dragon Bell on his wrist. It transformed into countless fine threads, like liquid, circulating rapidly between his hands.

Chu Ge felt this power spread through his arm meridians like lightning, causing an unbearable sensation as if his entire body was being bitten by venomous ants. His skin felt like it was about to split, and his body hair stood on end.

He looked down and saw his muscles bulging beneath the skin of his arms, like small black soybeans. As the Exotic Power from the Dragon Bell flowed in, his skin rapidly transformed into thick calluses, merging with his skin and forming patches of light red scales.

"Clang—"

His fingernails also extended, making a metallic sound, like sharp blades.

Although this seemed slow, it all happened in the span of a single breath.

Chu Ge raised his forearms, which were noticeably thicker and covered in light red scales. His expression was one of astonishment as he felt the immense, explosive power coursing through them.

The compatibility of this inherited talent seemed quite good, considered high compatibility, unlike the previous "Flying Fish Shark Fin," which was rather useless.

He stood up and walked to the wall. With a casual grab, without much effort, he easily pierced and shattered a hole in the stone wall beside him, stone powder falling from his hand like dregs.

During this process, the Exotic Power infused into his arms was depleted by an almost imperceptible amount.

With his current strength, he could already grind stones to dust and snap metal.

But it was absolutely not as easy as his arms becoming mutated like this.

These arms seemed to have become demonic, like the legendary demonic martial arts mutation state. Although it only strengthened his forearms and required the consumption of Exotic Power, it was still a very good trump card.

Next, Chu Ge tested the defensive power of the scale armor with his personal weapon.

The result made him very satisfied.

The scale armor was almost impervious to ordinary weapons; even with forceful slashes, it was difficult to leave a mark.

He had to know that even when he used the Hardened Tiger Skill to withstand the blades and weapons of Blood Change martial artists of the same realm, his skin and flesh would still be torn open.

"It's just that the Exotic Power consumption is quite large. Activating the innate mutation requires consuming a wisp of Exotic Power, and during the brief period of use just now, another wisp was consumed.

I wonder how much Exotic Power is needed to maintain the talent when not in use."

Chu Ge calculated carefully and clicked his tongue.

This inherited talent was truly a huge drain on Exotic Power.

However, any gain in strength required a price.

Relatively speaking, the cost-effectiveness of this talent was quite good.

In a real battle, the decisive moments often lasted only a few breaths, and not much Exotic Power would actually be consumed.

"I'll have to collect more old items later and refine more Exotic Power. My stock is running low."

Chu Ge glanced at the ninety-five wisps of Exotic Power remaining in the Dragon Bell and shook his head slightly.

He exited the talent state, and his hands quickly returned to normal. Only the cool sensation circulating in his arms represented the existence of this talent.

Soon, it was past noon.

Steward Fu arrived at the inn carrying a pile of embroidery materials, such as needles, thread, and cloth, that he had acquired.

While cultivating, Chu Ge planned to further study embroidery skills, so that he could personally create a batch of embroidered equipment for himself in the future to enhance his self-protection capabilities.

However, as soon as he received these items and before Steward Fu could sit down for a drink of water, shouts accompanied by the sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from the street outside, causing a chaotic commotion.

"Bad news! The Wang Family's merchant caravan outside the city was robbed at Ten Mile Slope! They're already fighting!"

"The messengers who came back to report are seriously injured and unconscious. It's probably too late!"

Chu Ge's expression changed slightly, and he quickly went to the balcony to look down.

He saw that the street was already quite chaotic, and some injured members of the merchant caravan seemed to have escaped back.

Just a moment ago, the Wang Family's guards had confidently escorted the numerous merchants' caravans away, and they had already suffered a setback so quickly.

"Young Master, this, this is too chaotic."

Steward Fu's skin twitched with nervousness as he saw the chaos, "Perhaps it's the right decision for you to sell off your assets now. Linyuan City is starting to get messy, and these bandits are truly audacious."

Chu Ge's brows furrowed, and he quickly looked down at the County Yamen not far away, "The Heaven and Earth Incense Cult's stronghold has really made a move. What is Tian Youji waiting for?"

He crossed his arms, feeling the Exotic Power of the Crimson Scale Claws circulating within him, and twitched his fingers.