Black Crow Fire-Qi Demon-Subduing True Power Technique! Alien Source? A Sudden Twist: Beheading at the Execution Ground?

Inside the ramshackle house.

Shi Wen sorted through the beast meat and other supplies.

Delight spread across his face.

Though he had somehow gotten into a fight and brought all this trouble down on himself, the haul was considerable.

Ordinary beast meat, including what he had bought: 200 jin.

Special Snake-Pattern Meat: around 30 jin.

One Dragon-Tiger True Blood Pill, plus roughly four hundred Blood-Nourishing Pills, Spring-Returning Pills, and other pills he had bought. Enough to keep him training for a long time!

For the next month or two,

he probably would not have to worry about nourishment at all!

"Next, I train like mad and bring every martial art I know to perfection. Only then will I have some power to protect myself in Black Cloud County!"

"The next goal: the Origin Blood Realm."

Shi Wen silently set his goal.

He opened Ning Da's money pouch.

A stack of banknotes, mostly in denominations of ten and fifty taels, with several hundred-tael notes mixed in. He did not know whether Ning Da had gotten them by robbing people along the way or taken money the Xingshui Gang had yet to hand over after wiping them out.

He counted them.

Around 1,400 taels.

Together with the rest of his silver, he now had about 1,700 taels on him!

"I've struck it rich!"

Shi Wen steadied his breathing, shock flashing through his eyes.

Seventeen hundred taels might not be much, but the stack of banknotes in his hand was more than many people could save in a lifetime!!

"With 1,700 taels, buying a house in the Inner City shouldn't be a problem. Tomorrow—tomorrow I'll go to the Real Estate Agency and ask about prices there!"

"The Outer City is getting more and more chaotic."

"Even all the gangs and trades can't keep the refugees streaming in from Tiannan Prefecture under control. Why hasn't the County Office restricted their entry? Doesn't the imperial court care? More and more martial artists are roaming the city."

"If I find a suitable house in the next few days, we'll move to the Inner City!"

Unease flashed through Shi Wen's eyes.

He could feel Black Cloud County sinking deeper into chaos.

Even on his way home tonight, several groups had tried to rob him, including a Blood Tempering martial artist from out of town who had blocked his path.

When even martial artists were out robbing people, it showed just how bad things had become in Black Cloud County!

He could handle them easily enough.

But when he was not around, who knew whether some accident might cost his parents their lives?

"I'll tell the Harmony and Prosperity Union to keep watch over Peace Lane later. They can't let outsiders come in and cause trouble."

Shi Wen put away the banknotes.

From the pile, he pulled out a striking sheet of unusual hide-paper.

As he read the words on it,

his heart could not help beating a little faster!

"Black Crow Fire-Qi Demon-Subduing True Power Technique?"

Shi Wen's heart gave a small leap.

He studied the sheet, which stretched over a meter long and half a meter wide when spread out, scanning every word and the breakdown of movements in every illustration.

His head immediately began to ache.

It was intricate, complicated, crammed with too many martial principles and techniques.

At last,

Shi Wen turned his gaze to the True Power Diagram.

The diagram was only the size of his palm.

It depicted a dark, blood-red sky and a black crow in flight!

Flames burned beneath the crow's feet, while the trail behind it flickered like a meteor.

The longer he looked, the more the crow and the flames beneath it seemed to stir before his eyes, vivid as life!

When the crow moved, it seemed to tug at his consciousness,

leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

But the moment Shi Wen blinked, the Black Crow Emblem went still.

"Hiss... What level of martial art is this?"

"Damn it, I think I really have gotten myself into something huge."

"Fuck, who shoved this martial art onto me?"

Shi Wen flipped the Black Crow Emblem facedown on the bed.

He rubbed his temples, his head aching.

Forget it. When you were covered in lice, one more bite meant nothing. The Prosperity Society, the Extreme Yang Society, and now the Border Army too—let them come.

All he had ever wanted was to live quietly as an ordinary person, earn some money, and support his family. As long as these people did not force his hand, that was enough.

By the time Shi Wen had finished reading the Black Crow Fire-Qi Demon-Subduing True Power Technique,

he could not help drawing a sharp breath.

He felt certain now: he had been dragged into a serious storm!

This martial art was far more heaven-defying than he had imagined, its grade leagues beyond anything he had learned.

Though it bore the black crow's name, it held the power of unyielding, blazing yang, striking down demons through sheer violence.

That was right. Striking down demons...

Of all the martial arts Shi Wen had practiced, this was the first time he had encountered those words.

Under a clear sky in this fine age, where in the world would he find demons?

Shi Wen gave a self-mocking smile, then studied the art carefully.

The technique comprised three major parts: Force-Condensing, Martial Arts, and True Strength.

Force-Condensing meant drawing a faint wisp of Flame Force qi into the body through the energy cultivated within, then using it to transform that energy into Flame Force qi until scorching force mingled with every drop of blood. Flesh, sinews, and bones would then be tempered at all times!

Once the Black Crow Fire-Force was formed, it could increase the body's toughness dozens of times over. When unleashed, its heat could exceed a thousand degrees,

enough to melt any iron or stone,

blast powerful foes apart, and crush evil demons!!

The Force-Condensing Chapter included methods for tempering the body, cultivation, condensing force, breathing, and stance training, along with specific requirements. When circulating the technique, every step had to be performed at the same time, without a single mistake.

In sheer complexity,

nothing he had ever seen ranked above it. No other martial art even dared claim first place!

The Force-Condensing Chapter was the core, the foundation of everything.

The Martial Arts Chapter covered five broad areas: fists, palms, force, movement, and killing moves. It encompassed a vast range of techniques, but only Black Crow Fire-Force could bring out their true killing power.

Training in the True Strength Chapter, meanwhile, required studying the True Power Diagram.

Though Shi Wen did not know what the diagram did, he still found it terrifying.

Once he had carefully read all three parts,

new entries appeared on the Extreme Seal.

[Black Crow Fireforce Chapter: Not initiated (0/500)]

[Black Crow Martial Arts Chapter: Not initiated (0/500)]

[Black Crow True Strength Chapter: Not initiated (0/500)]

"Hiss..."

Shi Wen drew in another sharp breath.

Five hundred proficiency points just to get started?

Of every martial art he had seen, this one had the highest threshold for entry. Nothing else came close!

"Five hundred just to begin? When will I ever bring it to perfection?"

"But everything in these chapters is tempting. Take the Dark Night Crow Shadow Step in the Martial Arts Chapter: you drift unpredictably like a crow in the night, moving like a shadow. For a short time, your speed can surge dozens of times over, and when you unleash it, you can form nine shadows to attack alongside you. Each shadow has sixty percent of your own power."

"Or the killing move Demon-Subduing True Power. Gather all your true power and Black Crow Fire-Force into one palm, and you can destroy anything in your path—strike barehanded with the force to topple a mountain!"

"This is beyond ordinary martial arts, isn't it?"

"If I bring the Black Crow Fire-Qi Demon-Subduing True Power Technique to perfection, I'll be able to walk sideways through Black Cloud County!"

Shi Wen was thrilled.

This martial art really was incredible.

An ordinary person would probably need years upon years of practice to master even one part.

But if he succeeded, his strength would soar by who knew how many levels!

"It'll take a long time, but at least there's something to aim for."

"Once I bring my other martial arts to perfection, I can focus on the Black Crow Fire-Qi Demon-Subduing True Power Technique. I won't need to search everywhere for new arts to practice."

"This one is enough!"

Shi Wen folded up the martial art and put it away.

Only then did he look at the last small pouch,

his face full of curiosity.

Earlier, Ning Da had suspected Shi Wen had accomplices lying in ambush nearby. He had called the thing in this pouch an "Alien Source"

and offered it in exchange for his life.

Anything valuable enough to buy a chance at survival could not be simple.

"Strange. Why is there a pair of sunglasses, too? Are these really sunglasses? Am I seeing things?"

"They look completely out of place."

Something wooden that closely resembled sunglasses was tied to the outside of the pouch.

Shi Wen set the sunglasses aside.

He tipped the contents of the pouch out, and his pupils contracted sharply.

What rolled out was an eyeball!!

It was the size of a fist, dull gray and shot through with blood vessels. Nerves still trailed from its back, coated in wet mucus.

Stranger still, the eyeball was alive.

The moment it tumbled out,

it rotated in place, as though searching for a target.

Suddenly,

it turned and stared straight into Shi Wen's eyes.

Boom!

A chill raced across Shi Wen's scalp. His mind went instantly hazy.

In the next instant,

the ramshackle house vanished. In its place, he found himself bound hand and foot, kneeling on the ground.

He seemed to be at an execution ground, about to be put to death!

Below the platform stood figure after figure with blurred faces.

They pointed at him and whispered.

Though he could not make out their features, their clothing clearly resembled the Republican-era styles he knew.

And beside him,

a row of people dressed in old-fashioned robes like his own knelt on the ground, trussed up tightly.

On both sides of the platform, and below it keeping order, stood soldiers armed with identical Type 88 Rifles. They wore blue-gray uniforms and leather boots, and killing intent rolled off them!

The sight left Shi Wen stunned.

What was going on?

Where the hell had he ended up?