In a small courtyard in the east of the Outer City, after eating his fill, Zhao An told Li Gou'er and the other man not to disturb him, then returned to the inner room.
Inside, five large bowls of Red Blood Root decoction were lined up on the table.
There were also Earth Origin Pills. He had poured five of them out of the bottle.
Besides that, a large bathing tub stood beside the table, filled with a medicinal mixture prepared for him to soak in.
After recently reading many medical texts and books on herbs, he had come up with a new way to replenish his energy: medicinal baths.
Relying only on pills and Red Blood Root decoction to supply the energy his bodily changes required would put considerable strain on his organs and digestive system.
Soaking his whole body in a medicinal bath eased that burden to some extent.
And using both methods at once could also help each period of bodily change end sooner.
He stripped off all his clothes, then—
[Soul Slave Chen Song's twenty-year term of servitude has ended. Extract Karma Fruit?]
"Extract."
The next instant, a flood of cultivation memories surfaced and swiftly flashed through his mind.
The memories were tedious and monotonous, almost entirely unchanged from one moment to the next.
As he absorbed them, his body began to change without a sound.
His blood coursed faster, and his heart beat harder and more rapidly, like a great drum pounding.
His qi and blood surged through his body. His skin turned scalding hot, and his muscles grew sore and swollen.
He felt as though he had become a vast furnace.
The food he had just eaten was consumed in an instant inside that furnace.
Hunger washed over him.
Zhao An had prepared for this. He swallowed an Earth Origin Pill from the table, drained a bowl of Red Blood Root decoction, then climbed into the tub, leaving only his head above the water.
The medicinal mixture in the tub was highly concentrated.
Some of the precious herbs had been gifts from the great clans of the Inner City. He had used them in this bath.
He could feel the skin all over his body, like parched earth finally blessed with rain, as his pores gaped open and greedily drank in the bath's nourishment.
Now that he had an energy supply, however, his muscles only grew more sore.
Yet amid the soreness, threads of new strength kept sprouting.
His skin grew tougher, like oxhide that no blade could cut!
Only after the herbs in the tub had been completely absorbed, he had eaten three Earth Origin Pills, and drained all five bowls of Red Blood Root decoction did his body's transformation finally begin to subside.
Zhao An let out a long breath and slowly climbed out of the tub. Barefoot, he stood on the floor and studied himself.
"Training in this hard-body art always consumes the most energy..." he murmured.
Without the money and pills gifted by the great clans of the Inner City, he really couldn't have afforded it.
He clenched his fist. The muscles in his arm bulged with it, hard as iron!
He punched out. The force of his fist swept through everything in its path, driving forward like an iron pillar!
That punch was hard as could be!
The air cracked like firecrackers. Before his fist even landed, the candle on the table went out.
"My strength has increased by far more than fifty percent! Reaching the second realm of this hard-body art makes it this powerful!"
Zhao An was overjoyed.
The art he had made Soul Slave Chen Song practice was the eighth-grade Hard Bone Skill.
Though it was a slow, laborious art, Chen Song had not only powered through the first realm but completed the second as well.
The first realm trained the skin; the second trained the flesh!
His muscles were now extraordinarily dense. Every part, every tiny patch of them, hid more explosive strength than anyone else's!
The second realm focused above all on tempering raw strength!
Zhao An had already been stronger than most. Now, a slight swing of his arm felt as though he wielded the might of ten thousand jun!
"Even martial artists with stronger Internal Breath than mine probably can't match my strength!" Zhao An said with a laugh. He was thoroughly satisfied with the results of his Soul Slave's cultivation.
The art had failed to show its true power in the hands of the Martial Academy instructor. In Zhao An's hands, however, it was like a tiger given wings. Its effects were extraordinary!
He raised his hand and threw another punch, using Mountain-Shaking Heaven-Opening against a wooden post in the room.
The post was as thick around as an ordinary man's waist, like a barrel. When Zhao An's punch struck it, it shattered into pieces in an instant!
His fist, meanwhile, showed no sign of even a scrape.
If that punch had hit someone's head, the result would probably have been the same.
"It's a shame I have only one Martial Master Soul Slave left." Zhao An looked at the number of Soul Slaves drifting in the Soul Pool. There were far fewer than before.
Only one Martial Master Soul Slave remained unused.
Guo Fenglin, the strongest martial artist among them in life, had a term of servitude lasting thirty years, longer than the others'. Zhao An had put him to work on finger techniques.
After a moment's thought, Zhao An sent the last Martial Master Soul Slave to practice the Hard Bone Skill. He resolved to keep improving his physical strength and push for the third realm!
The next day.
The County Magistrate held a banquet at his residence, inviting the twenty people whose names had appeared on this year's lists to drink.
There was a saying among the people: it was both an official banquet and a Toast to Success, held by the County Magistrate every year.
Zhao An was among them. It was the first time in his life he had ever entered the County Magistrate's residence.
The sprawling official residence faced south, with its back to the north. It covered at least ten mu, with gray tiles, walls of blue brick, and several official banners fluttering atop the walls.
It had everything: vermilion gates, stone lions, and long flights of steps.
Four constables guarded the entrance, their bearing solemn and imposing.
Zhao An got out of the carriage and was led to the banquet hall.
The twenty people who had made the lists gathered there: ten scholars and ten burly martial artists, each with a different expression.
Some looked bright-eyed and brimming with confidence, others spoke with unstoppable eloquence. There were refined men smiling mildly, and rougher fellows who seemed rather uncouth.
Zhao An was quiet and said little, taking no part in most of the conversation.
Beside him sat Xu Hong, ranked second on the Martial List. Shen Pan, ranked third, sat beyond him.
All three were men of few words. They only sipped their wine and occasionally picked at the dishes.
The County Magistrate showed little official airs at the banquet. He kindly asked everyone about their circumstances and offered a few encouraging words.
As the banquet drew to a close, Tao Heng looked toward Zhao An and the young scholar who had placed first on the Civil List.
"You two came first in the civil and martial rankings. By the rules, after autumn you may skip the county school and go straight to the Prefecture Academy to study. Of course, whether you go is up to you."
The young scholar looked rather excited and hurriedly replied, "Of course I'll go. If I passed up such a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity, wouldn't I be a fool?"
Zhao An glanced at the young man, his gaze unfriendly.
He had also looked into the rules of the county examinations over the years and knew about this privilege granted to the county's top-ranked candidate.
He simply hadn't yet decided whether he wanted to go to the Prefecture Academy.
"Of course, if you don't go this year, you can still go next year," Tao Heng added, noticing that Zhao An didn't seem eager to go.
"Thank you for telling me, County Magistrate." Zhao An nodded.
Tao Heng smiled at him, raised his cup, and drank a few more rounds with the guests. Only then did the banquet end.
Watching Zhao An and the others leave, Tao Heng stood with his hands behind his back, lost in thought.
"Since you think so highly of Zhao An, my lord, why not bring him into your service?" Tao Jinyi, Tao Heng's guard, couldn't help asking.
At the banquet, Tao Heng hadn't shown much desire to recruit Zhao An. He had mostly just made ordinary conversation.
"That boy can't even be bothered to attend the Prefecture Academy. Do you think he'd accept if I tried to recruit him now?" Tao Heng said casually.
"My lord holds a position of great prestige. Zhao An is a mere nobody from the countryside. How would he dare refuse your generous offer?" Tao Jinyi replied.
Tao Heng smiled faintly and shook his head. "Though the boy comes from humble beginnings, I can tell he's proud as can be. He may not even take me seriously."
"We can't recruit him by ordinary means. We'll have to win him over gradually."
"My lord is giving him too much credit," Tao Jinyi said after a moment of silence.
"Whether I'm giving him too much credit, you'll find out in time. For now, I'm more concerned with the fighting across Xiding Province than recruiting talent!" Tao Heng's voice grew grave.
Elsewhere, Zhao An sat in the carriage, breathing out a little wine and gazing at the moonlit night outside.
His eyes were clear; he wasn't drunk in the least.
The carriage traveled through the cold, quiet streets. Once it turned the corner, his courtyard would come into view.
"Hmm?" Zhao An suddenly sensed something amiss. Strange sounds were coming from his courtyard.
He could faintly hear angry shouts.
Zhao An's expression changed at once. He snatched up the two sabers lying in the carriage and leaped down.
Meanwhile, in the courtyard—
Zhao Chunzi was clutching a small box, desperately curling himself around it.
Li Gou'er was sprawled beside him. Both of them were bruised and swollen.
Zhao Ke punched them again and again.
"Let go already, damn it!"
"Ch-Chunzi, just give it to him. We can earn more money, but once we're dead, we've got nothing left," Li Gou'er said weakly.
"This is big brother's money. No one's taking it!" Zhao Chunzi was stubborn to the end.
Zhao An had told him to guard the money, so he would hold on to it even if it killed him.
"Fine. I've had my fun beating you. Still won't let go? Then I'll chop off your hand and see how you'll protect it!" Zhao Ke straightened, calmly wiped the blood from the back of his hand, then drew the long saber at his waist.
Seeing Zhao Ke draw his saber, Li Gou'er grew even more frantic.
"Chunzi, hurry, give him the money! We'll talk it over after Brother Zhao gets back!"
Zhao Chunzi kept his eyes shut. Though his lips trembled, he showed no sign of letting go.
"What a loyal dog! My dear little brother didn't raise you for nothing!" Zhao Ke sneered and lifted his saber.
Just then, the disheveled man sitting at the stone table suddenly raised his head and looked toward the courtyard wall.
Zhao An flipped over the wall and landed in the courtyard. His gaze swept across the scene, his brows drawing tight, his eyes turning icy!
Killing intent rolled off him. He truly looked like a striped tiger driven into a rage!
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