Red Trait! Mystic Ice Body!

Inside the house, Jiang Minghai's brows were knitted into a tight knot.

His already pale face flushed with an unnatural redness due to his anger.

"It's alright, I will go seek out the magistrate tomorrow; there will surely be a way."

"But didn't you say the magistrate was severely injured and has yet to wake up?" Bai Zhiruo's voice carried an irrepressible anxiety.

"He woke up this evening," Jiang Minghai said, gently patting the back of her hand. "It's just that I saw his injuries were quite serious, so I didn't bring it up. I will go speak with him tomorrow."

"Okay."

Bai Zhiruo nodded reluctantly, burying her face in her husband's chest.

Jiang Minghai pulled his wife into his arms, his grip tightening.

His eyes flickered constantly, as if he had made a certain resolution.

He planned to go find his comrade-in-arms Liu Zhuang tomorrow and have him take his disguised wife, child, and younger brother to break out of the city on the night he went to attend the banquet.

The Bai Family?

A letter sent from Blackwater County to the prefectural city would take at least a day to go back and forth. There was no time to wait.

At worst... he would just fight to the death.

The next morning, at the first light of dawn.

Jiang Minghai prepared to head out early to find his comrade Liu Zhuang. But who would have thought, before he could even step out of the courtyard gate, Liu Zhuang showed up at his door himself.

"Minghai! Minghai!"

"Something huge has happened!"

Liu Zhuang rushed into the courtyard, panting heavily. With one hand on his waist and the other gripping the doorframe, sweat streamed down his face and dripped off his chin.

For a Manifest Energy martial artist to be this exhausted, he must have been sprinting with everything he had on the way here...

Something huge!

Jiang Minghai's heart skipped a beat, and he lowered his voice to ask, "What is going on?"

Could it be that the Poison Wolf Gang had broken into the city?

That shouldn't be.

Although the Poison Wolf Gang was powerful, how could it be so easy for them to bypass the garrison troops outside the city and reach Blackwater County directly?

Besides, if they had really broken in, it would be impossible for there to be no commotion at all.

"Someone is dead!" Liu Zhuang wiped the sweat from his forehead, his voice filled with an indescribable mix of excitement and horror. "Li Kun is dead!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Jiang Minghai was stunned.

"Who... who did you say is dead?"

"Li Kun!" Liu Zhuang repeated loudly, his voice so boisterous he seemed to want the entire street to hear him.

"That Li Family young master, that total idiot!"

"Oh my god, you have no idea how miserable the sight was; his neck was practically beaten into minced meat! I reckon a Transformation Energy martial artist must have made a move..."

Jiang Minghai didn't hear a word of what followed.

He only knew one thing: the Li Kun who had forced him into a dead end was dead.

The enemy who had made him resolve to die, the one he was prepared to fight to the bitter end against, had just... died.

Jiang Minghai stood rooted to the spot, his lips trembling slightly, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Meanwhile, at the Five Animals Martial Hall.

Jiang Tian had arrived at the martial hall early in the morning. These days, he was basically the first one to arrive.

Ever since Zhou Mu had been frightened by him that day, he had lost his former diligence, practicing his punches lazily and often not arriving until the sun was high in the sky.

Jiang Tian finished a set of punches and picked up a bowl of cold boiled water, gulping it down as his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

His gaze flickered, his eyes wandering around the courtyard.

Sure enough, Li Batian did not come today.

He must be at home attending his elder brother's funeral.

Thinking of this, the corners of Jiang Tian's mouth curled up slightly, finding it somewhat amusing. This young master Li Batian probably never dreamed that he had been feeding Blood Vitality Pills for so long to the very person who killed his own brother.

While he was lost in thought, a soft, sweet voice drifted into his ears.

"Senior Brother Jiang, I spent several days, boiling it for a few hours each day, to make this sachet for you."

Jiang Tian cast a sidelong glance.

He saw Tan Hongyu holding a sachet in both hands, lifting it to her chest as if she were holding a rare treasure.

The sachet was embroidered with exquisite flower patterns, the stitches were fine and dense, the color scheme was elegant, and there was a neat, small "Jiang" character in the upper left corner.

"No need."

Jiang Tian was speechless.

How could this person be such a persistent nuisance?

He had assumed that since Tan Hongyu hadn't come looking for him these past few days, she had finally given up on the idea. He hadn't expected that she was actually just brewing up something bigger.

Sigh, it was truly hard to put into words.

Was this the mindset those girls in his past life had when dealing with desperate sycophants?

Annoyance, yet tinged with an indescribable sense of helplessness.

As soon as Jiang Tian spoke, Tan Hongyu's eyes instantly turned red, filling with tears as if she had suffered some immense grievance.

"Senior Brother Jiang... I spent such a long time embroidering this, you..."

Before she could finish, Jiang Tian coldly interrupted, "Do not hinder my martial arts practice."

Tan Hongyu refused to give up; she reached out and tried to shove the sachet into Jiang Tian's arms, her movements hurried as if she were afraid of being rejected.

Jiang Tian was so angry he laughed.

He swatted the sachet to the ground. With a snap, the sachet bounced off the bluestone floor and rolled half a foot away.

He immediately turned and walked away without looking back.

Tan Hongyu stood frozen on the spot, her hands twisting in front of her, her shoulders heaving as low sobs escaped her nose.

Tears finally fell, splashing onto the bluestone floor drop by drop.

This scene, witnessed by the other disciples of the Martial Arts Hall, immediately sparked a round of hushed discussion.

"After all, it was her heartfelt gesture. Isn't it a bit too much for Senior Brother Jiang Tian to act like this?"

"It is a bit."

"What are you two blathering about? You've been here for so many days, don't you know what kind of person Tan Hongyu is?"

Whispers rose and fell; some shook their heads, some curled their lips, and some watched with a hint of schadenfreude.

There were also those who, seeing Tan Hongyu in such a state, felt their hearts soften and wanted to step forward to comfort her.

Zhou Mu's eyes flickered as he stood at the edge of the crowd.

He had completely abandoned any thought of competing with Jiang Tian.

Someone like that was simply on a different level; he might never be able to compare to him in this lifetime.

However, seeing Tan Hongyu's tear-streaked, delicate appearance, his heart couldn't help but itch.

Since Jiang Tian didn't care for Tan Hongyu, if he went to comfort her, wouldn't he be able to win the beauty over by taking advantage of the situation?

Thus, Zhou Mu walked up, bent down to pick up the sachet, and gently brushed the dust off it.

When he saw the character "Jiang" embroidered on the sachet, he paused for a moment before returning to normal.

He leaned in toward Tan Hongyu and spoke softly, his tone gentle, "Senior Sister Tan, since Senior Brother Jiang doesn't appreciate you, why must you persist with him?"

He paused, his voice softening even further, as if coaxing a child, "Why not give this sachet to me? I will certainly treasure it and keep it with me always..."

Before he could finish, the sachet was snatched away.

Tan Hongyu glared at him viciously. There was no trace of fragility in those teary eyes, only disgust and malice.

Her voice was sharp:

"Get lost!"

"I'd rather give it to a dog than to you!"

Having dropped those words, she turned and left, her pace fast and hurried, as if something filthy were chasing her.

Zhou Mu stood stunned, his mouth slightly agape, unable to utter a single word.

Immediately after, snickers erupted from all directions, crawling into his ears like countless ants.

His face turned red in a flash, deepening to a purplish hue, and even his neck and ears burned with heat.

He hadn't expected that not only would Tan Hongyu refuse to give it to him, but she would also humiliate him like this!

Tan Hongyu!!!

Zhou Mu clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, his teeth grinding together with a creak.

Not far away, Jiang Tian took in the entire scene, the corners of his mouth twitching with a desire to laugh.

Back in his past life during school, he hated two types of people the most.

One was the "green tea" type.

This was the reason he didn't even want to spare a glance for Tan Hongyu.

As for the other type...

Naturally, it was the sycophant.

He shook his head and was about to continue practicing his punches when his peripheral vision caught a figure emerging from the inner courtyard.

Yuan Manzhi hadn't come out of her room all morning; he wondered what she had been doing.

At this moment, she finally pushed the door open and stepped out, dressed in a simple Martial Arts Hall uniform, the sash at her waist cinching her slender frame, her long hair tied loosely behind her head with a few stray strands falling by her ears.

Sunlight struck her.

Jiang Tian's eyes were momentarily dazzled.

It wasn't because she was beautiful.

Although she was indeed beautiful.

It was because, hovering above her head, was a translucent system panel, and the color of the panel... was a piercing red!

A red entry!

Jiang Tian's pupils suddenly constricted.

In the many days since he had awakened the system, the highest-tier entry he had ever seen was purple.

Red—this was a first!

[Name: Yuan Manzhi]
[Realm: Manifest Energy]
[Entry: Mystic Ice Body (Red)]

Jiang Tian's heart skipped a beat.

Without a moment's hesitation, he recited in his mind.

"Extract!"

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