A Small Improvement

Seeing this, Chen Xia's face wore a smile, but inwardly he was indifferent.

His cousin had previously called his family a bunch of poor devils and rarely addressed him as "older brother." His second aunt's husband never pressured him, though his second aunt had mentioned it. But Zhu He would always give a perfunctory reply. It was already good that he wasn't lectured to his face, let alone looked down upon by Chen Xia's family.

If it weren't for his second aunt treating their family well, Chen Xia wouldn't have bothered with this matter. As for his second aunt's husband, his attitude towards their family was even more obvious.

The relationship between the two families could be said to depend entirely on his second aunt.

Of course, all that was in the past. It was a good thing that his second aunt's son was out. After all, there was no deep-seated hatred that would lead to such a strained relationship.

"Chen Xia, we really have you to thank for Zhu He's situation this time. Otherwise, Zhu He probably wouldn't have gotten out. Here... have a cigarette!"

His uncle's face was full of smiles. As he spoke, he took out a pack of Dahua cigarettes from his pocket and offered Chen Xia a cigarette. However, Chen Xia didn't smoke.

His uncle smiled. He knew Chen Xia didn't smoke; the gesture was enough. Anyway, their son was out, and their family was relieved, having resolved a major problem.

Thinking about his son's situation, he still felt a lingering fear.

When they had first approached Chen Xia, Zhu He hadn't been released. But his second aunt had given money, which made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

However, a few days later, when they went to see their son, Zhu He told them that his living conditions had inexplicably improved, and he had even been moved from the collective detention to a single room.

At that time, his second aunt's husband realized Chen Xia had played some role. But since Zhu He wasn't released, he was still worried. Later, he sought help from many people, but none of them could make any connections or achieve anything.

People were afraid to accept money without a clear reason. Thus, the matter was at a standstill, and the family was extremely worried. It wasn't until yesterday that they received a call informing them their son had been released.

Even then, he didn't think it was because of Chen Xia. It was only later that Zhu He told them he was released because of Chen Xia.

Upon hearing this news, his second aunt's husband finally understood. When they picked up their son, the person in charge of the detention had told him that his son was lucky. No one involved with the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group had ever been released. If they hadn't had Chen Xia's connection, Zhu He would have likely been dead by now.

That person also told him that Chen Xia was a Martial Warrior, had killed wanted criminals, and had been promoted to captain, receiving special attention from Headquarters. Because of Chen Xia, an official procedure had been followed, deeming him unrelated to the Blazing Fire Mercenary Group, and he was released.

At that moment, his second aunt's husband was deeply shocked. A captain in the Patrol Inspection Office, a favored person in Headquarters? This... Although a captain wasn't a high-ranking official in Yijiang City, his family had never produced any powerful figures. Both the Chen family and his Zhu family were ordinary people. A position like a Patrol Inspection Office captain was already astonishing. Moreover, Chen Xia had also advanced to become a Martial Warrior and killed wanted criminals? This was simply unbelievable. A Martial Warrior...

Later, after the family received Zhu He, the couple prepared for a day and then visited Chen Xia with gifts.

Thinking of this, his uncle looked at Wang Xin and smiled, "Big Sister, your Xia'er has really made something of himself now. He's become a Martial Warrior and even a captain in the Patrol Inspection Office. It's different now. You'll have a good life to enjoy in the future."

"I always knew your Chen Xia was a talented and capable person. Cough cough... Zhu He, why aren't you saying a few words to your older brother?" His second aunt's husband glanced at his son, who was standing, and gestured.

"Brother, thank you. That place was truly unbearable. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have gotten out," Zhu He said gratefully.

"It's good that you're out. Don't get involved with people from mercenary groups in the future, and you'll be fine."

Chen Xia nodded. If Zhu He encountered this situation again, he could only blame himself.

Hearing this, Zhu He nodded repeatedly, "Older brother is right. I won't drink with those people again."

"You must remember what your older brother said. Don't go around causing trouble! If it weren't for your older brother this time, the consequences would have been severe!" His uncle quickly chimed in.

His second aunt's family offered a lot of thanks, of course, mainly praising Chen Xia and speaking well of him. One part was sincere, as Chen Xia had indeed saved their son. The second part was to seek his help if any trouble arose in the future.

As for his uncle, his smile hadn't faded since he entered. He didn't dare to put on airs with Chen Xia now.

After chatting for a while, they felt it was inappropriate to stay too long and took their leave.

After his second aunt's family left, they got into a luxurious sedan. They rolled down the window and waved for a long time before stepping on the accelerator and driving away.

Watching his second aunt's family depart, Chen Xia and his mother returned to the small shop.

A large pile of items was placed on the floor at home, including cigarettes and alcohol, along with a stack of money, totaling eighty thousand.

Chen Xia told his mother to accept it with peace of mind. His second aunt wouldn't take the money back, and she shouldn't be so busy anymore. The family's financial situation had improved significantly, so she didn't need to work so hard.

His mother also wiped away a tear and nodded...

After helping his family tidy up, Chen Xia went up to his room on the second floor to continue training.

He had been busy drinking these past few days, and Chen Xia had neglected the investigation into the cult. However, he hadn't missed his daily training.

Over the past ten days, he had consumed ten Qianyang Pills and one Lingpo Pill. All of them had been reversed, causing Chen Xia's blood and primal qi to continuously increase.

Especially when combined with the Seven Injuries Fist, it made his whole body feel hot, and the primal qi in his dantian became even more abundant.

The next morning, he went out and headed directly to a nearby martial arts hall. He found a testing machine in the corner and threw three consecutive punches.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

"1622kg!" "1621kg!" "1625kg!"

Seeing these figures, Chen Xia's expression turned serious. If he remembered correctly, his previous strength was 1444kg. In less than half a month, he had increased his strength by over two hundred kilograms.

This rate of improvement was far beyond that of a normal person.

This was understandable, as Chen Xia's medication costs were relatively low, and combined with the body-tempering effects of the Seven Injuries Fist, his growth rate was naturally considerable.

With this punching power, Chen Xia had advanced from Grade 1, Stage 4 to Stage 6.

Thinking of this, he opened his status panel to check.

[Name: Chen Xia] [Cultivation: Grade 1 Martial Warrior (Stage 6)] [Technique: Seven Injuries Fist (Minor Completion)] [Punching Power: 1625kg]...

In the martial arts hall, Chen Xia did not test his speed or movement techniques. With the increase in strength, other aspects had improved synchronously, and the gap would not be too large. He would only pay attention to these data during assessments. Currently, Chen Xia had not yet reached the Grade 2 level, so it didn't matter much.

After testing his strength, Chen Xia did not leave but continued to practice a set of Seven Injuries Fist. This boxing technique greatly benefited him, and he practiced it whenever he had time.

Practicing the five viscera and the body, his essence, qi, and spirit were all improving. He could clearly feel the primal qi between heaven and earth pouring into his body. Furthermore, Chen Xia's vision, hearing, and intuition had become much sharper than before.

Bang! Suddenly, he threw a punch, circulating the qi energy within his body to his fist, producing a rumbling sound. He then tried to take out the hanging knife at his waist and perform a slash, striving to channel the qi energy into the knife.

It was said that some Martial Warriors could channel their internal qi energy to the knife's edge. If they could do so, their knife techniques would become even more powerful, and they could even condense a sharp blade.