Evil Technique

"This pill was precious. In theory, swallowing it directly would save me the trouble, but I had the Reversal Panel. It had taken so much effort to get this start-up capital; I should maximize my returns. I could cash it in and exchange it for four pills with the same effects but side effects, multiplying its value fourfold and helping me improve even more."

"Before that, I also had forty thousand yuan to help me break through."

At the thought, Chen Xia immediately closed the pill box, then looked around his room.

He went to the bed and lifted the mattress board. Only after he'd tucked the box beneath the wooden slats did he feel at ease.

People generally didn't touch mattress boards, so it was absolutely safe.

After putting it away, Chen Xia let out a long breath, then picked up the Qianyang Pill in his hand.

He focused, and the light screen appeared before him. The panel quickly detected the Qianyang Pill.

[Qianyang Pill detected. After consumption, increases the body's potential yang energy and stimulates Primal Qi and blood, producing an amplifying effect. Side effect: each dose shortens the lifespan by half a year. Long-term use leads to an early death.]

[Negative Reversal: After consumption, increases the body's potential yang energy and stimulates Primal Qi and blood, producing an amplifying effect. Each dose adds half a year to the lifespan. Long-term use leads to longevity.]

Chen Xia was quite pleased when he saw the reversed effect.

He looked at the pill in his hand. It was no different from an ordinary one, but its effects were another matter.

He wondered if this kind of pill would work for other people too.

Even if it did, Chen Xia wouldn't risk exposing his secret. He'd just use it himself.

Gulp!

Chen Xia put the slightly grayish-white pill in his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed.

Before long, heat spread through his body. He began practicing Seven Injuries Fist, his punches swift and forceful, his body moving with practiced precision. The room filled with the whoosh of wind.

Each gust was the unmistakable mark of real power. After an hour of practice, Chen Xia's face was flushed. He felt warmth rising between his dantian and his lungs, his blood surging through his body as his whole frame grew stronger.

The Primal Qi in his body was increasing too, though not by much.

If he had only one pill like this, another month of practice would probably be enough to break through to the ninth stage—in other words, Grade 1 martial artist.

But Chen Xia had forty thousand yuan. He could keep buying more, so he could become a martial artist in a short time.

He practiced until midnight, then washed off his sweat and crawled into bed for a good night's sleep.

The next day, as usual, he rode his bicycle to the Patrol Inspection Office.

He clocked in, greeted the colleagues he ran into, then went to have breakfast.

He had quite an appetite today, eating three bowls of noodles, six big steamed buns, and three fried dough sticks.

Seeing him, Zhang Feng laughed. "Were you just released from a prison cell, you glutton? How can you eat that much?"

"Can't help it. I've been burning a lot of energy practicing lately, so my appetite's grown too," Chen Xia said with a smile.

"That's a good thing. It means your body's getting stronger from martial arts. A healthy appetite is great," Zhang Feng said with a laugh, lowering his head to shovel down a big mouthful of noodles.

Not long after they finished eating, their phones suddenly buzzed with a message. The yellow light on the Electronic watches around their wrists flashed too.

In the High Martial Era, people had both phones and high-tech Electronic watches. The Patrol Inspection Office issued the watches to deliver urgent notices and keep in touch with contacts.

"The captain's calling us in. Let's go!"

After getting the message, the two hurried to gather in their squad room.

"Xingou Street, Eight Lane. Someone reported a fight there. Yang Hua, take your team and investigate the scene."

Captain Jiang Bing gave the order.

"Yes!" Yang Hua nodded, then called out to the others and led the Eighth Squad to the scene.

Everyone was used to this sort of thing and thought nothing of it, but Chen Xia's heart tightened. He kept his expression calm and followed the others into the patrol car.

The two cars drove straight to the place where Chen Xia and Yu Banshou had fought the previous night. He did his best to stay calm.

When they returned to the alley and began searching, Chen Xia and the others saw a corpse lying on the ground. It was Yu Banshou.

His body had lain there all night, unattended. Now Chen Xia followed everyone over to take a look.

To avoid arousing suspicion, Chen Xia acted as he always did. He even stood to one side and analyzed the scene:

"I think I've seen this man before. He's Yu Banshou from the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group."

Looking at the saber wounds on Yu Banshou's body and the sunken spot on his face, Zhang Feng crouched down and searched him, but found nothing.

"Clearly, we weren't the first ones here. Someone's gone through the body, and he fought hard before he died. That dent in his face looks like it came from a fist. A powerful one."

One of the squad members covered his nose and said, "For a squad leader to end up like this—he sure had rotten luck."

"The Gathering Justice Mercenary Group is too strong. The Blazing Fire Mercenary Group couldn't beat them. It's no surprise. They'll probably fall apart in a few days, and this area will belong to the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group," Zhang Feng added.

Yang Hua, standing nearby, objected. "That's not right. The biggest power around here is still the Patrol Inspection Office!"

"Captain Yang's right," Zhang Feng agreed.

Yang Hua nodded, looking rather pleased. He glanced at Yu Banshou's corpse and was about to have someone carry it away when his brow suddenly furrowed. "Huh... look at this wound."

"What is it?" Zhang Feng asked, puzzled.

Yang Hua crouched down and pulled apart the torn cloth around the saber wound. Everyone saw that the wound on Yu Banshou's chest looked different from the others.

The flesh around it had begun to rot.

It was visibly blackened, unlike the other wounds.

"This doesn't look like an ordinary saber technique. It looks more like an injury caused by Evil Sha."

Yang Hua had graduated from a prestigious university, after all, and knew a lot.

Chen Xia couldn't make much of it. Wounds like that were rare. Zhang Feng asked, "Captain Yang, are you saying... someone in the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group is practicing an Evil Technique?"

"It's just a guess." Yang Hua's eyes flickered. "This kind of wound is caused by channeling Primal Qi from the body into the blade, then cutting into the body and letting it spread."

"You'd need to be at least a Grade 1 martial artist at the fourth stage to do that. But an ordinary martial artist's attacks don't corrode flesh. So the other party must be practicing Evil Cultivation, which is much more lethal."

"Heh, the Federation Country bans Evil Cultivation, but plenty of people still practice Evil Techniques. No wonder they could beat the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group. Someone who knows Evil Cultivation is much stronger than an ordinary martial artist."

"I heard Evil Techniques have serious side effects. But in return, they make you stronger?" Chen Xia suddenly asked from the side.

Yang Hua glanced at Chen Xia and said:

"That's right. Evil Techniques don't follow the usual path. They help you improve quickly, making your cultivation surge in a short time. They can let an ordinary person reach heights they'd never attain in a lifetime, but they come with side effects!"

"Some techniques leave you in poor health when you get old and make you prone to an early death. Some require you to take medicine for years. Others sacrifice your future: you can only reach a certain stage before your meridians are damaged, cutting off any path forward."

"Chen Xia, are you thinking of practicing an Evil Technique?"

As he spoke, Yang Hua turned and gave Chen Xia a knowing, half-amused look.

He knew Chen Xia had always wanted to become a martial artist, but his body had reached its limit, making improvement difficult. Practicing an Evil Technique might make it possible.

Still, Yang Hua figured Chen Xia didn't have the nerve. Practicing one could easily get him killed.

Hearing that, Chen Xia's heart tightened. He smiled and said, "Of course not. I'd like to live a couple more years."

Seeing that, Yang Hua didn't ask anything else.

In truth, Yang Hua wasn't wrong. Chen Xia was most interested in this kind of thing.

If he could get his hands on an Evil Technique, his cultivation would definitely improve faster.

And judging by the wound, the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group had probably gotten its hands on a matching Evil Technique martial skill. Things like that weren't available on the ordinary market; they were illegal.

Of course, if someone really learned one, no one would care as long as they didn't go around killing people. But most sensible people wouldn't practice something like that.

As for mercenary groups, some were willing to take the risk so they could expand their territory and gain an edge in battle.

The Gathering Justice Mercenary Group...

A glimmer passed through Chen Xia's eyes. He thought that if he got the chance, he could find a book on Evil Cultivation himself.

The stronger the Evil Technique, the stronger Chen Xia would become.