"Whoosh, whoosh..."
That night, Chen Xia sat cross-legged in the bathtub with his eyes closed, his entire body covered in white foamy medicinal liquid. The last drop of Moon Spirit Essence had been used.
Several strands of silvery moonlight shone through the window glass, falling across his handsome face.
His breathing was steady and deep, as though he had merged with the darkness around him.
The Eternal Night Blood Scripture was an exceedingly strange cultivation method. Its practitioner had to use their own blood as a catalyst to condense Blood Yang, thereby gaining formidable power.
Chen Xia softly recited the incantation, and the blood and qi within his body slowly began to circulate.
At first, it was merely a faint warm current winding through his meridians. But as he circulated his inner force, that current gradually turned scorching hot, surging through his body like magma and making every muscle twitch slightly.
He abruptly opened his eyes, a sharp gleam flashing through them. His fists slowly clenched, his knuckles cracking, and then the blood and qi within him suddenly erupted.
Sizzle!
As he continuously circulated his inner force, a faint blood-colored mist gradually emerged across the surface of his skin, shrouding his body. Within the blood mist, his figure flickered in and out of view, like a Demon God that had stepped out of hell.
"Blood mist takes form..."
Chen Xia softly recited the incantation. The blood mist around his body slowly began to rotate, flowing around him as though it possessed life.
His breathing grew rapid, and the blood and qi within him surged madly, as if they were about to burst his body apart. Yet he forcibly suppressed the violent energy within him and continued circulating the cultivation method.
As time passed, the blood mist gradually condensed into fine threads of blood. Like living creatures, these blood threads burrowed into his skin and merged into his flesh and blood, over and over again.
His body began to change. His muscles became tougher, his bones harder, and even his blood turned thick and heavy.
"So this is the Eternal Night Blood Scripture's body-tempering method. It really is powerful!"
Excitement flashed through Chen Xia's eyes.
Not long after, he slowly rose to his feet. The blood mist gradually dispersed with his movements, but his body remained shrouded in a faint red glow.
Chen Xia stepped out of the bathtub naked and quickly washed himself. Slightly defined pectorals and abs showed on his body—not exaggerated, but paired with his somewhat bronze skin, they made him look exceptionally healthy.
At this moment, he took out his Patrol Inspection Office alloy saber from the cabinet above the bathroom and tried circulating his energy through it.
Hum!
The qi within his body burst from his dantian into his arm, his fist, and the hilt. Finally, visible to the naked eye, a faint red glow began spreading across his long blade, illuminating the surroundings with an eerie, sinister light.
"It worked!"
Chen Xia narrowed his eyes slightly. Without the Eternal Night Blood Scripture, even with medicinal aid, he likely would not have been able to cover the entire blade yet; he would still have been far from reaching the required level. But with the Eternal Night Blood Scripture, he could actually coat the entire blade with qi energy.
With this, his strength had increased tremendously. If an enemy so much as touched it, the force of a slash could deliver terrifying penetration and wound their internal organs.
Chen Xia's saber was a captain-standard issue weapon exclusive to the Patrol Inspection Office, a type of Tang Dao known as a Hengdao.
A Hengdao referred mainly to a Tang horizontal saber with a guard and a non-buried hilt. It had been one of the Tang Dynasty military's primary standard weapons, carried by palace guards, yamen runners, constables, soldiers standing guard on city walls, and patrol soldiers.
This saber had a half-triangular cross-section at the tip, with the upper edge being the sharpest and cut with a slanted bevel. It was 3.2 centimeters wide and 110 centimeters long. It came with a wooden scabbard and was forged from alloy steel, making it exceptionally tough.
Whoosh, whoosh...
Holding the Tang Dao, Chen Xia went to the Second Floor living room and began to practice. He did not turn on the lights. Under only the faint moonlight, a figure darted about the room, producing low howling sounds as red glimmers flashed.
The Tang Dao in Chen Xia's hands danced so tightly that not even water could pass through. And because the Blood Yang within him was surging, he could maintain this explosive state for at least half an hour.
Normally, there was no need to activate Blood Yang Energy.
When Chen Xia was in school, he had learned weapon techniques. Although he had not mastered any Martial Skill, even simple saber techniques could unleash terrifying killing power in his hands.
"Just the improvement from this Inner Method alone already lets me rival a Grade 2 martial warrior. And now that my physical attributes have greatly improved as well, my Martial Force should be even higher. I'll test my punching power tomorrow and see the results!"
The next morning.
Chen Xia went to a nearby Martial Arts Hall, found a testing machine in the corner, and threw three consecutive punches at it.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"2218 kg!" "2219 kg!" "2223 kg!"
As beeping sounds came from the testing machine, Chen Xia saw three lines of red data, jolting his heart.
His punching power had previously been 1625 kg. Compared to that, he had improved by 598 kg during this period. It was a huge leap.
The further a martial warrior advanced, the harder it became to break through. Even ten kilograms of additional strength could be the limit, yet Chen Xia had shattered that limit by several hundred kilograms with astonishing speed.
From Grade 1 to Nine Grades, every grade of martial warrior was divided into nine stages. A Grade 2 martial warrior possessed strength from 2000 kg to 4000 kg, with each stage increasing by roughly 222 kg.
Based on Chen Xia's data, he had risen from a Grade 1 Sixth Stage martial warrior to a Grade 2 First Stage martial warrior. If the people of the Martial Warrior Alliance learned of this progress, they would probably find it unbelievable.
After testing his punching power, Chen Xia tested his speed as well. On the track, he swept forward like a gust of wind, eventually reaching the end of the hundred-meter course as beeping sounds and test data rang out beside his ears.
"36 meters per second!"
Compared to a Grade 1 martial warrior's 25 meters per second, he had improved by 11 meters.
Increasing speed by even one or two meters was actually more difficult. If someone's speed doubled, their combat strength would not simply double.
That was why both speed and strength were important.
It was said that a Soaring Martial Master could reach speeds comparable to a high-speed train traveling at 300 kilometers per hour—83 meters per second. Usually, a Soaring Martial Master would be one or two meters per second faster than that.
A Great Martial Master at that realm could be said to chase down high-speed trains. They were dragons among men, fighter jets of the Human Race.
Though Chen Xia's current speed could not compare to that of a Soaring Martial Master, it had already surpassed a car traveling at 100 kilometers per hour, or 27.7 meters per second.
After testing himself, Chen Xia opened his panel.
[Name: Chen Xia] [Cultivation: Grade 2 Martial Warrior (Stage 1)] [Cultivation Methods: Seven Injuries Fist (Minor Completion), Eternal Night Blood Scripture (Beginner)] [Punching Power: 2223 kg] [Speed: 36 meters per second!]...
"The Eternal Night Blood Scripture has reached Beginner... The power of the Seven Injuries inside my body has already accumulated to a certain amount, yet it's only at Minor Completion. That means the Seven Injuries Fist still has plenty of room to grow."
Chen Xia was not surprised to see that the Seven Injuries Fist's level had not changed. The enhanced Seven Injuries Fist was no longer an ordinary cultivation method like the ones below.
If the inner force in his body were compared to a stream of water, then to reach Major Completion, it would need to become at least a pond.
Even so, Chen Xia's current strength was already enough for him to be promoted to the position of chief captain of a branch division, commanding an inspection force of more than six hundred people.
The old Chen Xia had only wanted to be a captain. Now, he no longer thought that way.
Throughout the High Martial Era, among the federations of various nations and the territories of the Outer Domain, too many astonishing experts, peerless geniuses, and high-ranking nobles had emerged. Looking upward, he was not even worth a sesame seed as an official, so the goal in his heart had risen greatly as well.
"Now that I've reached Grade 2 martial warrior, there's no need to rush to the Martial Warrior Alliance to upgrade my rank. There are still three days left. Within those three days, I need to find the Night God Sect's stronghold and obtain a new Spirit Technique!"
With that thought, Chen Xia casually cleared all the test data, then turned and left the Martial Arts Hall.
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