In the days that followed, news of the Black Dragon Gang's destruction of the Wild Wolf Gang spread throughout Zhaojiang City, sending every gang in the city into an uproar.
Some who had once coveted the Black Dragon Gang broke out in cold sweats!
"The Black Dragon Gang's leader... truly is no creature of a shallow pond!"
The Changle Gang's leader sighed, still shaken and deeply relieved.
He, too, had wondered whether the Black Dragon Gang was bluffing, and had considered testing them.
Fortunately, he had ultimately held back!
Otherwise, their fate might have been the same as the Wild Wolf Gang's!
"Feng Sheng really did find himself a good leader. Now the Black Dragon Gang controls three gangs. With the three united, their influence is greater and their income has grown..."
Feng Sheng's friend, Yang Hao, was green with envy.
He had never expected Feng Sheng, who had recently suffered the anguish of seeing his gang destroyed and narrowly escaped, to end up seeking refuge under someone else's roof.
Now, though, Feng Sheng had gone from misfortune to good fortune, turning disaster into a blessing. His position had already surpassed Yang Hao's, and his future looked boundless!
Liu Chu paid no heed to the uproar among Zhaojiang City's gangs.
At that moment, he was throwing himself into breaking through the Yanglian Technique's bottleneck!
"I'm just one step away from perfecting the Yanglian Technique!"
As Liu Chu practiced the Nourishing Stake Practice, he felt the abundant Blood Vitality within him circulate again and again, washing over every tendon in his body!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
His Blood Vitality surged within him like an endless river. Four streams of it surged with mighty force, battering his tendons until they rang like steel, trembling without pause.
At that moment, both his Blood Vitality and tendons were on the verge of breaking through. His Blood Vitality boiled and churned, while his tendons thrummed like strings, as though the two were weaving together a song of clashing spears and charging warhorses!
His boiling Blood Vitality grew ever more violent, like towering waves before a storm, washing over his body without cease.
Then, at a certain moment, Liu Chu felt a sudden jolt within him!
Boom!!
A muffled crash rang out. It was as though the long-awaited storm had finally arrived amid rolling thunder, accompanied by a surging tide of violent Blood Vitality.
Liu Chu felt incomparably refreshed.
Four more streams of Blood Vitality formed within him, bringing the total to eight. They gathered together like eight galloping flood dragons, coiling around one another and roaring without end.
"Eight streams of Blood Vitality... the Yanglian Technique is perfected!"
Feeling the abundant, deep reserves of Blood Vitality within him, Liu Chu felt as though he were overflowing with power. He clenched his fist, eager to unleash that savage strength.
But he held back.
"The tendon barrier is just one step from breaking through, too. Break through for me!"
A brilliant light flashed in Liu Chu's eyes. He directed the eight streams of Blood Vitality, like flood dragons, toward the tendon barrier.
The Yanglian Technique had just reached perfection, and the eight streams of Blood Vitality had surged forth. The tendons, already on the brink of breaking through, had taken a tremendous blow, and their bottleneck was swaying precariously!
Now, with his mind clear of all distractions, he focused his whole being and drove the eight streams of Blood Vitality forward like roaring flood dragons, smashing into the realm bottleneck with the speed and force of thunder!
Buzz, buzz, buzz!
The tendons in Liu Chu's body trembled like countless strings, ringing together as if they might snap. Yet their incredible resilience held firm. On a microscopic level, destruction and renewal unfolded without cease, melding with his Blood Vitality and tempering them through countless trials.
At a certain moment!
"Boom!!"
A muffled sound like a bursting dam erupted within him. It was as though a shackle had been shattered in an instant.
"Eighth-Rank Tendon Refining Realm—achieved!"
Liu Chu's eyes shone brightly, as if purple lightning had flashed through them. He spread his fingers and clenched his fists, suddenly feeling boundless strength burst from his tendons.
He slowly rose and stretched his muscles and bones. His tendons and skin felt like a taut bow, ready to unleash terrifying force.
With a low shout, he suddenly punched!
In an instant, his bones and tendons rang together. The eight streams of Blood Vitality surged like flood dragons, gathering in his arm and fist. Amid a thunderous crack, the air rippled around them.
"My strength has improved tremendously again. If I faced the Wild Wolf Gang's leader once more, I could cut him down with a single slash!"
Liu Chu's lips curled upward. Feeling how much stronger he had become, he was quite satisfied.
He opened the Attribute Panel:
Host: Liu Chu Comprehension Multiplier: 4x (Can be sacrificed: 30 Treasure Fish / 300 taels of silver, 10 years of lifespan) Dragon-Tiger Nourishing Practice (Perfected) Dragon-Tiger Combat Technique (Perfected) Dragon-Tiger Blade-Breaking Technique (Perfected) Thunderclap Blade Technique (Minor Accomplishment Realm, 39%) ...
Seeing the three neatly aligned entries marked "Perfected" on the Attribute Panel, Liu Chu found the sight immensely pleasing.
"Before I knew it, I'd perfected three techniques!"
Liu Chu was filled with emotion.
Looking back, he realized that he had already perfected the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall's Yanglian Technique, Combat Technique, and blade technique!
"I wonder if I can keep practicing the Rolling Thunder Nourishing Practice and Jintao Yanglian Technique to cultivate more Blood Vitality..."
Liu Chu fell into thought.
From the Green Tiger Gang's and Wild Wolf Gang's hall masters, he had obtained two Yanglian Techniques as well as a blade technique.
The blade technique was a martial skill, so of course he could practice it freely!
In fact, blade techniques were the most common martial skills in the External Training Realm, for a simple reason: they were easy to learn and powerful.
As the saying went, "A month for the staff, a year for the saber, ten years for the sword, and a hundred years to master the spear!"
Both swordsmanship and spear techniques were harder to learn than blade techniques.
And though the staff was easy to pick up, it lacked the blade's power!
That was why gangs and martial arts halls alike focused on blade techniques. Only martial lineages and sects with long histories, strong finances, and the means to train disciples from childhood gradually took up a greater share of sword and spear techniques.
Liu Chu now had three blade techniques. If he could perfect them all, few in the Lower Three Grades of External Training would be able to match him!
Yanglian Techniques were different, however. They were fundamental cultivation methods for advancing one's realm, and were harder to perfect than martial skills.
Liu Chu wasn't sure whether he could continue practicing Yanglian Techniques.
"The Blood Qi Profound Sound Technique requires ten streams of Blood Vitality. But even after perfecting a Yanglian Technique, I only have eight—two short."
"There must be another way to keep increasing my Blood Vitality. Otherwise, this secret technique wouldn't be merely useless—it would be completely worthless."
As Liu Chu pondered, he felt he should be able to keep practicing other Yanglian Techniques.
"But to be safe, I should ask the hall master. It's also been a while since I visited the martial arts hall."
Liu Chu didn't dwell on it. He went straight to the Dragon Tiger Martial Arts Hall to ask its hall master, Yang Wenhuai.
Hall Master Yang Wenhuai had spent many years in the Bone Refining Realm and was widely experienced. He would surely know the answer.
"I wonder if the hall master has finished dealing with everything."
Liu Chu thought of how the hall master and Senior Brother Lin Bei had been busy with the technique leak. It had been some time, and he didn't know how things had turned out.
"Hmm? What happened at the martial arts hall?"
When Liu Chu arrived, he saw the senior brothers gathered in the Inner Court, each looking indignant.
He stepped closer to take a look, then cried out in surprise, "Senior Brother Lin Bei?!"
Lin Bei was lying on a stretcher, his breathing weak, his face pale, and his lips blue-black. He looked not only gravely injured but possibly poisoned as well!
Hall Master Yang Wenhuai was tending to him nearby, his face livid as he struggled to contain his anger.
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