Breakthrough

"I'll take it."

Li Gan made his decision.

Though he wanted to save up Contribution Points to exchange for Martial Arts manuals and the like later, at this stage, he first needed to raise his Cultivation Base to the Internal Qi level and become a Ranked Martial Artist.

As for Martial Arts manuals and such, he could think of a way later.

Without becoming a Ranked Martial Artist, he never felt safe.

Chen Yong, standing nearby, was quite surprised to see Li Gan spend ten Contribution Points on a bottle of Blood Vitality Pills. Menial Disciples who came here usually bought cultivation manuals, such as the Force Transformation Method.

It was something many Menial Disciples needed.

Even when Menial Disciples traded the Force Transformation Method among themselves, they still had to use the Black Market.

Because transferring Contribution Points between disciples was not permitted in principle.

Only the Black Market could make it happen.

It was clear that the Black Market itself had formed with the tacit approval of the Divine Sword Sect's upper ranks.

"Certainly."

The stall owner's tone shifted slightly, no longer as utterly flat as before.

He was quite satisfied to trade one bottle of Blood Vitality Pills for ten Contribution Points.

Menial Disciples were all shrewd. They usually chose to accumulate Contribution Points, and only a minority would actually exchange them for Medicinal Pills like Blood Vitality Pills.

Next, the stall owner packed up the items on his stand and led Li Gan into a room at the very back.

The lighting here was the brightest.

A portly middle-aged man sat inside.

"Deacon Li, please help us transfer the Contribution Points."

The stall owner wore a mask, apparently unwilling to let anyone know his true identity, yet there was a faintly fawning note in his voice when he spoke to the middle-aged man.

"Easy enough."

Deacon Li straightened in his chair. "Give me the Contribution Vouchers from both sides of the transaction."

Li Gan and the stall owner hurriedly took out their Contribution Tokens.

Their Contribution Tokens differed greatly in shape.

Li Gan became even more convinced that this man was an Official Disciple.

Though the Contribution Token looked simple, there was much more to it than met the eye. Inside was a tightly constructed miniature mechanism.

The entire wooden token fit together seamlessly, making it impossible to see what lay within.

Nor did anyone dare open it.

Once it was damaged, the Contribution Token would become useless, equivalent to all the Contribution Points stored within being reset to zero.

Deacon Li took out an exquisitely crafted key, inserted it into the top of the wooden token, and slowly turned it.

"The Contribution Points have been transferred. Once both of you sign here, it will officially take effect."

After returning the Contribution Tokens to the two of them, Deacon Li took out a register and had them write down their names.

Apart from the adjustments to the numbers on the Contribution Tokens, the Divine Sword Sect's relevant departments also kept strict records of Contribution Point usage.

The moment any discrepancy was found between the points on a Contribution Token and the records, an investigation would begin immediately.

This was handled with utmost strictness.

Within the Divine Sword Sect, Contribution Points were equivalent to a complete monetary system. If problems arose, the negative consequences were easy to imagine—it could even cause the Contribution Point system to collapse.

After completing the transaction, Li Gan and Chen Yong wandered around the Black Market for a while longer. There truly were quite a few good things there.

They even had Internal Cultivation Techniques.

However, these Internal Cultivation Techniques were not from the Divine Sword Sect, because the Divine Sword Sect strictly prohibited the sale and trade of its own Internal Cultivation Techniques.

Unfortunately, the Contribution Points required for those Internal Cultivation Techniques were far too high, easily reaching several thousand or even ten thousand.

A Menial Disciple like Li Gan would probably need several hundred years to save that much.

Clearly, such transactions were aimed at Official Disciples.

They were simply not something Menial Disciples could afford.

After leaving the Black Market, Chen Yong finally could not hold back any longer. "Brother Gan, why did you buy Blood Vitality Pills? Isn't that far too wasteful?"

"There was no other way. My progress in Sword Piercing Fist was too slow, so I was thinking of taking Blood Vitality Pills to see if I could speed things up a little."

Li Gan sighed.

"Brother Gan, I heard from a senior brother that Blood Vitality Pills should only be used when breaking through a barrier. Taking them during ordinary cultivation creates a great deal of dependence. Once you stop taking them later, your cultivation progress will become even slower."

Chen Yong said.

"I know that."

Li Gan nodded.

Elder Song had already told him about this.

When using Medicinal Pills to assist cultivation, one had to maintain a certain rhythm. Even with ample pill resources, one could not take them too frequently, or pill dependence would form and become extremely detrimental to later cultivation.

Chen Yong seemed to realize that Li Gan had not taken the warning to heart, so he said nothing more.

After parting with Chen Yong, Li Gan headed straight for the Bell Tower.

Compared to the brightly lit foothills, the mountain was pitch-black.

Fortunately, there was moonlight.

When Li Gan returned to the Bell Tower and opened the door, his brows suddenly furrowed. The strand of hair he had tied across the door had snapped.

"Someone came in again?"

His heart stirred.

In fact, over the past few months, every time he went down the mountain, a mysterious person would secretly sneak into the Bell Tower.

He had merely pretended nothing had happened.

Yet it also gave him a sense of urgency.

For now, the other party was only sneaking in and searching for something. But if they lost patience, would they directly make a move against him?

That was precisely why he so desperately wanted to cultivate Internal Qi as soon as possible and become a Ranked Martial Artist.

At the very least, it would improve his ability to protect himself.

"Forget it. The sooner I take the medicine, the sooner I'll break through and become a Ranked Martial Artist."

A sharp gleam flashed in Li Gan's eyes. After returning to his room and locking the door, he lay down and went to sleep.

The next morning.

Before striking the bell, Li Gan swallowed a Blood Vitality Pill.

The pill did not taste very good. It carried a sharp, spicy flavor.

Once it entered his stomach, it transformed into a warm current that surged forth and spread throughout his body, immediately making him feel scorching hot all over.

As the Hourglass was about to run out, he assumed his stance, gripped the Striking Pole, and swung it fiercely. As the Striking Pole slammed heavily into the Chen Bell, a clear, resonant Bell Sound rang out.

At that moment, he felt the Internal Force within him begin to boil.

He immediately began practicing Sword Piercing Fist atop the bell platform.

Once, twice, three times.

Taking a Blood Vitality Pill truly made a difference. His vitality and blood surged like an eruption, filling his body and causing the converted Internal Force to flow forth without end, vast and surging. Driven by his fist technique, it repeatedly battered the final Ren Meridian.

By the time the medicinal effect had been completely exhausted, Li Gan felt somewhat mentally weary.

Yet a trace of excitement appeared on his face.

Though the Ren Meridian had not yet been completely opened, the results were vastly better than before he took the Blood Vitality Pill.

At this efficiency, taking at most three to five Blood Vitality Pills would probably be enough to fully open the Ren Meridian.

When Chen Hour arrived, after striking the bell, Li Gan practiced Sword Piercing Fist again, but the effect was far worse.

Fortunately, under the influence of the Bell Sound, the mental weariness caused by his repeated cultivation earlier had eased considerably.

He did not dare take Blood Vitality Pills continuously within a single day.

He planned to take one each day.

Several days passed like this.

When Li Gan took the sixth Blood Vitality Pill, during his second round of Sword Piercing Fist, his surging Internal Force crashed fiercely against the Ren Meridian like storm-tossed waves.

After repeating this many times, Li Gan's entire body suddenly shuddered. A numbing sensation like an electric shock rose from the center of his abdomen and traveled straight to his chin.

Boom!

His head rang as though struck by thunder, and his consciousness seemed to fall into blankness for an instant. But he quickly recovered, his perception seeming to magnify a hundredfold as he keenly sensed the tremendous changes within his body.

After the surging Internal Force formed a complete Grand Heavenly Cycle, it began to undergo a strange transformation.

Internal Force transformed into Internal Qi.

Threads of airflow emerged, circulating before finally gathering within the Dantian in his abdomen.