Chapter Twelve: Fish-Dragon Precious Blood Was Useless? Training Iron Whip Leg, Robbery Gang's Zhang Sheng

"What's going on?"

Watching the Extreme Seal suddenly change, Shi Wen felt a surge of uncertainty.

He picked up the piece of Blessing Meat.

The few lines of text, floating in midair where only he could see them, disappeared. When he put the meat back, they reappeared.

By contrast, he tried using other objects.

Scraps of iron from the blacksmith's shop, a stone from the ground, a little stool, weeds...

The Extreme Seal didn't change at all.

Only that piece of Blessing Meat could trigger a change in the Extreme Seal.

But what did Evolution Branch mean...?

"Could it be that the Extreme Seal can remove the impurities from this meat and refine it into something called Fish-Dragon Precious Blood?"

"What even is Precious Blood?"

Shi Wen took a deep breath.

He wanted to see what would happen if that Hell Demon Black Skull Calamity Dragon Fish Meat and that Red-Flow Demon Flame Calamity Fire Dragon Fish Meat evolved.

But it would take too long.

A hundred years.

In this chaotic world, where life could be snuffed out at any moment, Shi Wen didn't even know if he'd live to see next year.

In the end, he chose Evolution Branch 1.

He put the meat in a basket, tore off a piece of oiled paper, and wrapped it separately for storage.

Watching the group walk away,

Shi Wen turned and went into the blacksmith's shop to ask the owner, "Do you know what those people are doing? Why are they handing out meat?"

"I'm not too sure, either. A group of people came to the city recently, saying they worship the Supreme Saint Immortal Mother. They often hand out meat in the streets to recruit followers, and now and then they call people to some kind of lecture. I hear anyone who goes can get half a catty of coarse rice for free. Quite a lot of people go every day."

The blacksmith shrugged. "I'm not eating meat I picked up for free. Who knows if there's something wrong with it?"

Shi Wen pondered this, then turned and went back to Peace Lane.

Once home, after eating his fill, he received a notification from the Extreme Seal.

The contaminated Blessing Meat had finished evolving!

After shutting the door, Shi Wen took the oiled paper out of the basket and opened it. He couldn't help being surprised.

The piece of meat, originally about the size of a red date, had turned into a single drop of bright crimson blood.

It was tiny—no bigger than a strand of hair, smaller than a sesame seed. If it weren't so vivid in color, Shi Wen would have thought the Blessing Meat had disappeared.

"Fish-Dragon Precious Blood? What is Precious Blood?"

"Can it really be eaten?"

Shi Wen pulled out a hair and poked the drop of crimson Precious Blood with its tip. He found that it bounced like jelly and was remarkably resilient.

Shi Wen tried all sorts of tests, but still couldn't figure out what the Precious Blood did.

He looked out the window and used a thin strip of dried meat to lure over a stray black cat.

He dipped the dried meat in a tiny bit of Precious Blood and used it to tempt the cat.

As the black cat ate it, Shi Wen grabbed it by the scruff.

The cat was terrified and struggled frantically with all its might. Only after it grew tired did it finally give up, letting all four legs dangle in resignation.

Shi Wen watched it for several minutes.

Aside from looking helpless while dangling in the air, the black cat showed no unusual signs.

"No problem. The cat didn't drop dead from such a small dose. I probably won't have any trouble eating it, either."

"I'll give it a try."

Shi Wen tossed the black cat out the window, swallowed the rest of the Precious Blood, then sat quietly and waited to feel something.

A long time passed, but nothing changed in his body.

After all that anticipation, he could only swallow his disappointment.

"Fish-Dragon Precious Blood—it's got the word 'dragon' in the name, at least. How can it do nothing?"

"Could there just be too little of it?"

"I'll get more Precious Blood tomorrow and try again."

Shi Wen waited a while longer. When he still couldn't feel any changes from the Fish-Dragon Precious Blood, he went to the backyard to practice Iron Whip Leg.

Iron Whip Leg wasn't difficult. He just had to keep at it.

He'd bought the worn-out wooden post from someone.

He started practicing his footwork, kicking the post.

Unfortunately, he hadn't trained for even an hour before Aunt Chen and several neighbors from next door came knocking. They told him not to make noise at night, since everyone had to work the next day and the racket was keeping them awake.

With no other choice, Shi Wen had to put his training on hold.

After night fell, he carried the wooden post out of the house and headed for Ghost Lane.

Ghost Lane had always seen few passersby. Ever since Chen Shuisheng had been killed by an "evil ghost," even fewer people went there.

Shi Wen found a concealed spot in Ghost Lane with an easy escape route and began practicing Iron Whip Leg.

He practiced footwork, kicked the post, drilled his moves, and ate dried meat to replenish his strength...

He continued until deep into the night, when he felt fatigue creeping through his body. Only then did he stop and stash the wooden post in a concealed corner.

He crouched in the corner, chewing dried meat to regain his strength.

His gaze fell on his palm.

[Extreme Seal]

[Baji Fist Introductory Foundation: Minor Achievement (12/100), Trait: Penetrating Momentum]

[Iron Whip Leg: Beginner (17/30)]

"I trained too late tonight. Maybe if I stay up all night, I can get Iron Whip Leg to Minor Achievement."

"It takes so much energy, though. I've only been at it for a little while, and I've already eaten seven strips of dried meat. Martial artists are bottomless money pits. Sigh."

Shi Wen looked away.

He turned to leave, but sensed a group of people rapidly approaching nearby. There were definitely a lot of them.

"Could I have alerted the Robbery Gang?"

Shi Wen frowned inwardly. The people entering the alley came in with heavy footsteps.

"Brother, I've been listening to you train outside for a long time. You're the one who killed Chen Shuisheng, right?"

"Chen Shuisheng was my enemy. I'm Zhang Sheng of the Robbery Gang. You did me a huge favor by killing him."

"Since you're already in Peace Lane, why not come out and meet me? I mean no harm. I just want to make a friend!"

Shi Wen silently tore off a piece of cloth and covered his face.

Only then did he step out from the corner.

Robbery Gang members surrounded every exit in every direction, and rows of torches lit up Ghost Lane.

Shi Wen studied Zhang Sheng. The man wasn't tall, perhaps around five foot eight, but his arms were long and thick. He was probably an expert in hand techniques.

Zhang Sheng was also sizing up the masked man.

He couldn't make out Shi Wen's style.

The man before him was about the same height as Zhang Sheng, but looked weak and thin. His limbs didn't seem particularly strong, no different from an ordinary person's. Could someone like this really have killed Chen Shuisheng?

Or had he got the wrong man?

Shi Wen stayed silent, watching the people around him as he considered his escape route.

Zhang Sheng spoke first with a hearty laugh. "Brother, you've helped me get rid of a thorn in my side. You must be quite skilled. Would you mind exchanging a couple of moves?"

Shi Wen still didn't answer. His gaze simply grew colder as he quickly adjusted his breathing.

He knew a fierce battle was unavoidable.

His body began trembling slightly again, and his fingers shook uncontrollably.

"A rookie? Did I get the wrong guy?"

Zhang Sheng was puzzled, too.

Only someone who'd never been in a fight would react like this from extreme nervousness.

The man across from him didn't seem to have any signs of training, either. Could Zhang Sheng have made a mistake?

Feeling much more at ease, Zhang Sheng strode toward Shi Wen, loosening up his muscles as he went.

He'd find out if it was true once they fought. After all, he and Chen Shuisheng hadn't been that far apart in strength. Chen Shuisheng's only advantage was that his leg techniques countered Zhang Sheng's!

No matter how formidable this guy was, he couldn't be that strong.

Maybe he'd just taken Chen Shuisheng by surprise while he was poisoned.

As Zhang Sheng entered his attack range,

Shi Wen moved!