Early morning.
In an area of low-rise houses, on the second floor of a small supermarket facing the street.
Inside, Chen Xia sat cross-legged, dressed in thermal underwear with a quilt wrapped around his legs. He had been sitting there all night.
Before, Chen Xia had lain down to rest every night. But last night, as he cultivated the Eternal Night Blood Scripture, the technique's circulation stimulated the blood in his body and left him warm all over. His Spiritual Power increased, bringing a pleasant clarity to his mind, and before he knew it, the whole night had passed.
"So clear..."
When he opened his eyes, the cramped room seemed to have grown brighter. Everything looked clearer than before—even the twisting veins on the green leaves of a tree ten meters away by the window stood out sharply, as if magnified before his eyes.
Even the birdsong reaching his ears sounded crisper and louder, chirping away against his eardrums. It was as if the entire world had taken shape inside his mind.
"The Eternal Night Blood Scripture really can improve Spiritual Power. And compared to the original version, cultivating this one feels just like sleeping. There's no pain at all, but the effects are twice as good."
Chen Xia's eyes shone with vigor. He could feel that there was much more Internal Energy in his dantian than before. He extended his right hand and channeled the energy into his fist. A wisp of eerie, bright-red blood mist appeared around it.
"So this is Blood Yang. It's warm..."
Chen Xia murmured. The blood mist around his fist wasn't thick or abundant; it was quite transparent. But it had already reached the point where it was visible to the naked eye.
At this rate, once blood mist rose throughout his body, it would spread over him and condense into astral energy.
But that would be a long process. Condensing it into astral energy was no easy feat. Still, with enough Blood Yang in the early stages, he could use a Spirit Technique to conjure a bat-shaped blood shadow.
"No wonder the Night God Sect has spread so widely. With a cultivation method like this, plenty of people would be willing to join them. It really is much faster."
For ordinary people in the Federation, becoming a martial artist was difficult. If they were born with a weak constitution and had no medicinal liquids to take, they might not even break the thousand-kilogram punch-force threshold after a lifetime of cultivation.
But the Eternal Night Blood Scripture could bring an ordinary person to that level within a few years.
With even a little talent, they could progress faster. And those who already had a cultivation foundation but had been stuck for a long time could make progress with this technique.
For now, the Seven Injuries Fist and the Eternal Night Blood Scripture were enough for Chen Xia.
He needed to master both techniques completely first, so he could build a solid foundation.
"Time to go to work!"
Chen Xia got up and exercised for a while. After washing up, he went to the Patrol Inspection Office. Once he had clocked in, he headed to a nearby pharmacy.
He now had more than seven hundred thousand yuan, so he could stock up again.
After browsing the pharmacy, he finally bought three Lingpo Pills, two tubes of Life Source Liquid, one tube of Moon Spirit Essence, and thirty-one Qianyang Pills.
He spent almost all his money, leaving himself with just a thousand yuan.
Although cultivating the Eternal Night Blood Scripture wouldn't give Chen Xia any side effects or turn him into a Blood Slave, extracting Blood Yang from his vital energy still consumed nutrients, which he needed to replenish.
So he had deliberately spent a high price on plenty of supplements.
Life Source Liquid came in glass tubes and was a green liquid filled with green essence. Under the sunlight, it shimmered like stars, dazzling to behold.
It was an essence extracted from an ancient tree in the Outer Domain, a species brimming with life. It contained powerful life energy.
It could quickly repair bodily damage and increase the body's vitality and yang energy. It also enhanced the internal organs, muscles, and Primal Qi. Each bottle cost over a hundred thousand, and he had bought two.
As for the tube of Moon Spirit Essence, there had once been an ancient term called Essence of the Sun and Moon. With the development of modern technology, the Green God Group had successfully used advanced methods to collect a type of ray from inside the moon at a lunar base, then condense it into a solid. Moonlight flowed like water; using it enhanced the body's life functions and vital energy, and helped restore both body and mind.
However, Moon Spirit Essence couldn't be taken orally. It was used in medicinal baths. Just one drop was needed each time. When the user circulated their cultivation technique to absorb it, it would seep in through the pores on its own, tempering the skin and muscles.
This tube, too, cost over a hundred thousand.
These were purely supplements, and fairly expensive ones at that. Since this sort of tubed product usually had few side effects, Chen Xia had spent a long time choosing and settled on these two. As for the others, even those with only mild side effects were all Grade Three or higher—and far too expensive.
The lower-end products had little effect, so the only things Chen Xia had with side effects were the Lingpo Pills and the thirty-one Qianyang Pills.
But that wasn't important. Rather than waste time picking through them, Chen Xia could improve his strength, then find an Evil Cult hideout and make another killing.
After picking up the medicine, Chen Xia rode his bike, heading for the Patrol Inspection Office.
"Chen Xia, have you found any leads on the Evil Cult you were asked to investigate?"
Just then, a voice came through his Electronic watch.
It was a Feixun message. Jiang Xinglan's profile picture was flashing.
Jiang Xinglan's profile picture was the Federation National Emblem.
It was a blue design in the shape of an ancient shield, formed from the emblems of several countries. Two ears of wheat curved upward around the bottom, while a Blue Star hung high above the shield. The image as a whole represented peace, prosperity, honor, and dignity. The Blue Star symbolized the authority of a united Federation, and its radiance stood for hope and light.
Hearing Jiang Xinglan's voice, rich with feminine magnetism, Chen Xia thought for a moment. He decided not to hide anything and replied, "Director Jiang... there are members of the Night God Sect in the South District. They've been secretly supporting the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group and have kidnapped many young women."
"The person above them is called Edel. He's a missionary who controls the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group."
"Next, the Night God Sect should be holding some kind of ceremony to summon the Blood God, but I'm not sure what it's for."
Not long after he sent the message, Jiang Xinglan's profile picture flashed again. "Oh? ... I'm glad you managed to find that much."
"There have been several disappearances in the South District recently, and the situation reflects poorly on us. If you can find the Evil Cult's hideout, let me know. I'll send people to wipe it out and maintain public order in Yijiang City. You'll earn merit for this, too, which will help prepare you for a promotion."
"Director, can I still be promoted?"
Chen Xia was a little stunned. He had only just been promoted recently.
Jiang Xinglan's magnetic voice came through. "With your strength, you're more than qualified to be a Mid-level Captain. If you find the hideout this time, I'll lead the arrest and give you a major commendation. Then I'll arrange a position for you."
"Once you've done this, when you've finished Tempering Bones, I'll find a way to transfer you to the Chief Office. But if you find the Evil Cult's hideout, don't make a move. Leave them to me."
"Thank you for looking out for me, Director Jiang..."
After seeing Jiang Xinglan's message, Chen Xia was actually a little puzzled.
Although he had killed Hu Biao, that alone didn't seem enough to warrant such attention from the Chief Office.
But Jiang Xinglan didn't see it that way.
Chen Xia had killed Hu Biao. That was a real achievement.
When Hu Biao let loose, he had come close to reaching Grade Two. And a Grade Two martial artist could serve as a Chief Captain in the South District.
A Grade Two martial artist already surpassed a great many people.
Jiang Xinglan believed Chen Xia had the potential to reach Grade Two, or even go further. Even in the Chief Office, someone who reached Grade Two wouldn't be a low-level staff member.
Helping someone with that kind of potential wouldn't cost her anything. Even if Chen Xia's eventual ceiling wasn't very high, Jiang Xinglan wouldn't lose out.
"Director Jiang, I wanted to ask: what level of strength do missionaries from the Night God Sect usually have? Compared to martial artists, I mean."
Chen Xia had only fought people working under Edel before. They had seemed rather sinister, but he didn't know how strong Edel himself was if he had to face the missionary.
Hearing this, Jiang Xinglan replied, "It depends on their rank. Since he's been assigned to preach in Old Town, in your part of the South District, he should be about as strong as a Grade Two martial artist. But people like him know Evil Cult Spirit Techniques, and even a Grade Two martial artist might not be able to catch him. If they're unlucky, they could even be killed instead. Why do you ask? Are you thinking of taking on the missionary?"
"No. I just want to learn more," Chen Xia replied.
Before you continue