Wanted!

In the days that followed, Chen Xia took one Third Grade Lingpo Pill every day.

Its potent medicinal power tempered Chen Xia's body, meridians, and qi and blood, as well as the strength and quality of his dantian.

After taking several pills, Chen Xia's strength underwent another transformation.

One morning, half a month later.

He stood in his room with his feet planted like pillars and his arms held out before him. This was the Zhanzhuang Method, a basic exercise that went with the Seven Injuries Fist.

As Chen Xia opened his eyes, he threw a punch.

This time, an aura in his dantian, nearly twice as strong as before, surged up. It flowed through his meridians into his shoulder and arm, reached his wrist, and finally poured into his palm and extended to his five fingers.

His right fist looked no different from the outside. But with specialized optical scanning equipment, one could see a faint halo radiating from it. That was the Fist Force of the Seven Injuries Fist.

He'd done it!

With the medicinal power of Lingpo Pills worth several million and his recent hard training, Chen Xia had finally developed Fist Force.

He tried his left fist, too. He practiced again and again, and each time the force flowed without obstruction. The Primal Qi in his body had reached a level sufficient to channel it into his palm.

He just couldn't maintain it. He had to gather and direct the force each time, and could only unleash it once per effort. Still, it was already impressive.

With this, I can use Fist Force to injure my opponents in a fight. That's one of the Seven Injuries Fist's special traits!

Chen Xia was overjoyed. Developing Qi energy was rare even among martial warriors.

And the Seven Injuries Fist's ability to harm both oneself and one's enemy was rarer still.

After being reversed, the Seven Injuries Fist had no side effects. Its destructive power rivaled that of a high-level Superior Grade technique, and might even surpass it.

That was Chen Xia's confidence.

On top of that, the pills he'd taken over this period had greatly improved his physique and punching power.

Although the panel showed no increase in the Seven Injuries Fist's level, Chen Xia could feel the difference.

That noon, Chen Xia used his lunch break to go to the Martial Arts Hall and test his stats.

With three consecutive thuds, Chen Xia slammed his fist into the punching target, then checked the readings.

"1443 kg!" "1440 kg!" "1444 kg!"

Taking pills and practicing the Seven Injuries Fist had recently boosted Chen Xia's strength by nearly half. He'd expected it, but his pupils still shrank with excitement.

"For an ordinary person who's just become a Grade 1 martial warrior, reaching my punching power would take at least several years, maybe even longer."

"I took several million worth of medicine and used the Seven Injuries Fist to help. I did it in half a month. Sure enough, money comes first. Having money really does make things faster."

"But money wasn't the only factor. The reversed Seven Injuries Fist was important, too. Otherwise, I couldn't have progressed this fast!"

Chen Xia opened his panel for a look.

Cultivation: Rank 1 Martial Artist (Stage 4)

[Cultivation: Grade 1 Martial Warrior (Stage 4)]

Seeing his martial warrior rank, Chen Xia felt even more confident. The medicinal power of the Lingpo Pills he'd taken over this period had been completely absorbed by his body.

He still had 92,800 yuan, but Chen Xia had no plans to spend it for now. He'd taken too much medicine, and his body needed a break.

Next, Chen Xia had to think about his position.

He planned to report that he'd become a martial warrior.

Only with a higher status could his family's difficult circumstances improve. He also needed cultivation resources, and the higher his position, the wealthier he'd surely be.

Even with his panel, he still needed resources to build up his strength.

Of course, now that he was a martial warrior, he could also take on missions to earn money.

Thinking of this, Chen Xia opened his Electronic watch and looked around.

After joining the Martial Warrior Alliance, he could use facial recognition on his Identity Card to log into the Martial Warrior Alliance's official website.

He'd learned about this from a message on his Electronic watch when he advanced to martial warrior, but Chen Xia had been busy cultivating lately and hadn't looked into it much.

Now he needed to learn more.

After logging into the Martial Warrior Alliance's official website, Chen Xia saw that it listed many bounty missions for martial warriors.

Dangerous missions usually involved the official Patrol Inspection Office or City Guard Office. Some, however, were posted publicly—for instance, through the Martial Warrior Alliance—so martial warriors across the land could take them on themselves and complete them more efficiently.

Patrol Inspection Office squad leaders also had permission to check minor cases on the office's official website.

But they generally didn't get involved. Most cases involving danger were assigned to martial warrior squads set up by the Patrol Inspection Office.

Most low-ranking teams, meanwhile, only handled cases that civilians could manage.

Chen Xia took a look. There were quite a few missions listed. Recently, for example, young women had been mysteriously disappearing in the South District. Some people had gone out walking at night and never returned. Someone else had lost a cat and was offering a bounty of two thousand to catch it.

After looking through the list, he found that the missions were either too difficult, involving martial warriors of Grade 2 or higher, or too simple.

There were also suitable cases, but most were outside the South District, in other areas. They were too far away to be convenient for Chen Xia.

With that in mind, Chen Xia left the Martial Arts Hall and went back to work.

On the way, he sent his squad leader a message reporting that he'd broken through to martial warrior.

But the squad leader was probably busy. Even after Chen Xia had breakfast at the Patrol Inspection Office, there was no reply. He decided he'd tell him in person instead.

Someone would have to test him before they could confirm it anyway.

But as soon as he returned to the squad room, he saw Squad Leader Jiang Bing approaching with a grave expression and a file in his hand. He called everyone together for a meeting.

"Everyone, this is a wanted notice issued by the Chief Office!"

The Eighth Squad gathered around. Jiang Bing pointed to the picture on the file and said:

"The suspect, Hu Biao, has been committing crimes across Yijiang City for the past three months. He came here from neighboring Changmen City."

"This man is extremely vicious and cunning. He's now wanted throughout Yijiang and Changmen City. He's agile and skilled in disguise, impersonation, and hypnotism. He's dangerous."

"In the past three months, he's killed several civilians, raped women, and robbed people of their belongings. According to intelligence, he may be trying to pass through Yijiang City and head west to hide in the Dragon Mountain Forest Zone, evading the manhunt. The Chief Office has now ordered the entrance to the Dragon Mountain Zone sealed, trapping him inside the city. He's currently in the South District."

"In the past, the suspect Hu Biao was arrested for robbery and spent time in prison. Apparently, after he got out, he took a Gene Potion that drastically changed his temperament and turned him into a killing fiend."

"He's a Grade 1 martial warrior. The reward for locating him is ten thousand yuan. Capturing or killing him will earn you sixty thousand and two merit points."

"But your job is only to investigate suspicious people. Under no circumstances are you to confront him directly. That's a job for martial warriors," Squad Leader Jiang Bing warned them again and again.