By good fortune, he still hadn't used the Virtue Fruit he'd obtained earlier.
Almost unconsciously, he flipped his hand over.
Little White Fruit appeared in his palm.
"Make a wish: Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger!" Holding the ancient medical text in one hand and the Little White Fruit in the other, he murmured the words.
That was the name of the finger technique.
After making his wish, Zhao An kept his eyes fixed on the Little White Fruit.
Suddenly, the fruit reacted. Smoke churned within it, and a secret manual slowly took shape.
The words Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger were clearly written on its cover!
But just as the wish was about to come true, the smoke dispersed, and the Virtue Fruit fell still.
The wish had failed.
Even so, Zhao An was thrilled!
The wish had failed only because the Virtue Fruit wasn't high enough in quality.
If he could even wish for something that had been lost to history, then surely many legendary items preserved only in ancient texts might also be within reach—he could wish for them and bring them back into the world!
He suddenly felt that this was the proper way to use the Virtue Fruit to make wishes!
What was the point of wishing for pills that were already available on the market? He could just buy them with silver.
"Heavenly Profound Pulse-Severing Finger..."
His gaze fell once more on the brilliant white name above Meng Wanyi's head.
To this day, she still had the deepest Virtue Fruit he had ever seen.
If he could obtain her Virtue Fruit, perhaps he could wish for this legendary finger technique that could alter life and death!
Unfortunately, he had been looking for an opportunity lately, but had yet to find the right moment to obtain the Virtue Fruit from Meng Wanyi.
There was no rushing this. He certainly couldn't force it.
Several more days passed.
During that time, another Soul Slave who had been training in Fierce Tiger Blade Art reached the end of his five-year enslavement and became a Karma Fruit, which Zhao An absorbed.
The blade art, which had already been on the verge of the Third Realm's peak, broke into the Fourth Realm as he had hoped.
At this realm, Zhao An's strokes flowed with greater ease and finesse. He no longer pursued the sharpest edge; instead, his style had gained a steadier, more defensive quality.
Like a great tiger crouched in the forest, he could attack and defend in equal measure. His movements already carried a touch of the supernatural!
The Soul Slaves had taken turns toiling at this blade art in the Soul Pool for more than twenty years. At last, it had reached a level of mastery.
Only the final realm remained: perfect, without flaw, and at the pinnacle of its art.
So Zhao An selected two more Soul Slaves, each with a seven-year enslavement period, to train in the blade art together and strive for that final perfection.
As for Internal Breath, he gained another twenty strands, bringing his total to one hundred and fifty. His cultivation improved a little further.
The medical texts at the clinic recorded that a thousand strands of Internal Breath could be condensed into one stream.
He was still a long way from condensing a single stream.
The Soul Slaves could grind away at their training over time, and their progress in martial arts was fairly quick.
But when it came to internal cultivation, he didn't know whether it was because they lacked physical bodies or because they lacked supplements like rare treasures and miraculous pills. Their Internal Breath grew far more slowly than their martial arts realm.
Of course, "slowly" was only relative.
Compared with other martial artists, he was still advancing at a startling pace, his strength soaring.
Besides that, the Soul Slave he'd assigned to train in Silver Snake Hand had also made progress.
After Zhao An absorbed him, his Internal Breath increased by another twenty strands!
The palm art Silver Snake Hand had also reached the First Realm, making him an initiate.
Unlike the five realms of the blade art, this ninth-grade palm art had only three levels. It focused on grappling, particularly techniques that twisted bones and tore apart muscles.
Its strikes were vicious and unpredictable, with considerable power.
Learning Silver Snake Hand had made up for the weaknesses in his unarmed combat.
The next time he fought someone, even without his blade, he'd be able to hold his own!
Still, not everything had gone smoothly over the past few days. He'd discovered that Soul Slaves weren't all-powerful.
Even after consuming two more Soul Slaves, he still hadn't grasped the martial art from Golden Scale Mountain.
He suspected the Soul Slaves from the Python Gang lacked the aptitude and insight—or perhaps their martial arts cultivation in life hadn't been high enough to meet the minimum requirements for comprehending this technique.
It was like expecting a child who had only learned simple addition and subtraction to solve advanced mathematics problems.
So he'd put Soul Slave Xu Donglai to work comprehending this martial art from a great sect.
As a Martial Master, Xu Donglai had a better chance of figuring it out.
That day.
In an old neighborhood stood a stone house with drafts whistling through every crack.
"These few volumes of military texts were passed down by my great-grandfather. Master Zhao, you may borrow them..." A frail young man opened a wooden box. Inside lay several thick bamboo scrolls, all seemingly well preserved.
Before he could finish speaking, the young man covered his mouth and began coughing. His face was pale.
Zhao An flipped through a few pages and, after confirming they were military texts, nodded in satisfaction. Zhao Chunzi took the box from the young man and handed him a purse.
"No, I don't want money. I only ask that you remember to return them. Please don't damage the scrolls." The young man shook his head and refused.
"Take it. I'll return the books, of course. Use the money to see a doctor. You're practically at death's door—what good is holding on to a little pride?" Zhao An said, leaving no room for argument.
The young man hesitated, then accepted the silver.
He truly needed the money to keep himself alive. Otherwise, he feared he wouldn't even live to sit this year's imperial examinations.
For a poor scholar like him, the examinations were practically his only path to survival and a better life.
Even though the court was in decline and the Great Wu Dynasty was beset by storms, a place on the rolls still carried enormous weight.
"Thank you, Master Zhao." Feeling the heavy purse in his hand, the young man bowed to Zhao An, his emotions in turmoil.
At the same time, a streak of white light rose from the young man's head and turned into a Virtue Fruit in Zhao An's hand.
Zhao An felt a sudden stirring of understanding. He sensed that if he hadn't given the man the money, the poor young scholar named Li Tianhuai would likely have died of his illness.
He had turned Li Tianhuai's death sentence around, and so he had received the man's Virtue Fruit.
"Don't mention it. If you're unfamiliar with the doctors in the Outer City, you can go to Bright Moon Clinic. The doctors there are kind, and they'll let poor scholars like you pay later."
That was all Zhao An had to say. He and Zhao Chunzi had just left the alley when they saw a crowd of people gathering on the main road by the city gate, craning their necks to look.
"Brother Zhao, those are County Soldiers!" Zhao Chunzi pointed.
Zhao An looked over. Several hundred armored troops were gathering at the city gate, carrying blades, spears, and shields, with bows and crossbows at their sides. They looked well trained.
They were the County Soldiers of Lianjiang City!
At their head rode a man on a tall, shaggy-maned horse. His silver armor stood out brilliantly.
He was the current County Commandant, He Zhang.
He commanded the County Soldiers and constables, wielding enormous power. He was effectively the second-in-command of all Lianjiang County!
He was also a martial artist of unfathomable strength, famous throughout the Inner and Outer Cities!
Even Zhao An knew plenty about him.
Compared with He Zhang's outstanding military achievements, Zhao An's lone-handed slaughter of the Python Gang was hardly worth mentioning.
He had appeared with so many County Soldiers under his command, and it looked like they were preparing to leave the city.
Something major was clearly about to happen.
After asking around, Zhao An quickly understood.
They were heading out of the city to suppress bandits!
Before you continue