Blood Origin Pill

Returning to the Martial Academy, although night had already fallen, a portion of the students were still training diligently, all hoping to achieve the status of a martial artist before early spring to participate in the Wolf God Ritual.

However, as Su Yuan and his companion approached, a scent of blood permeated the air, causing everyone to cast sidelong glances.

Huang Jiangyue, who had stepped forward to meet them, stopped abruptly and stammered, "Senior Brother Tie Niu, you... this is—?"

"Killed a few men," Tie Niu replied curtly, the aura of slaughter so intense it made the onlookers choke for breath.

Those who had experienced the chaotic brawl at the horse farm were fine, but many of the disciples with average aptitude had never faced such raw carnage before.

Chai Lang also approached at the commotion: "What happened?"

Tie Niu continued, "People from the Shan Family Martial Academy ambushed my brother and me."

His voice was resonant, carrying clearly into the inner chambers.

Chai Nian emerged, fanning himself as he gazed toward the distant glow of fires: "Tie Niu, tell me the details."

Tie Niu reported the events exactly as they had occurred, not even omitting how Su Yuan had managed to escape.

Chai Nian glanced at Su Yuan, whose clothes were still damp: "You brat, your luck isn't bad at all to have survived this. I have noted the matter."

Chai Lang also looked toward the clamor outside: "Second Young Master, shall we intervene?"

Chai Nian shook his head: "The Cloud-Striding Martial Hall has been silent for so long; since they dared to strike this time, they must be fully prepared. The Shan family might not necessarily gain the upper hand. After tonight, we can use Tie Niu's incident as a pretext to go to the Shan family and demand an explanation."

He turned to Tie Niu: "You did well today. Those people deserved to die. Come to my quarters to collect your reward."

With that, he led Tie Niu into the inner chambers.

Su Yuan remained ignored, so he had no choice but to return to the courtyard to continue his finger push-ups.

Now that he had become a martial artist, his progress in the Origin-Returning Finger would undoubtedly be faster.

The Shan family had already set their sights on him; he had no time to waste.

Chai Nian was right—fists were power.

Su Yuan's fists needed to become harder and larger.

Recalling the recent skirmish, Su Yuan felt he had been somewhat reckless, as he had not fought according to his original tactical plan.

But in a life-or-death struggle, the change in moves often happens in a split second, leaving no room for overthinking.

It was all because those two were too weak.

If Su Yuan's guess was correct, the martial arts taught in the academies established by these young masters were likely crude goods; they never intended to truly cultivate them.

The improvement to his physique from the Golden Horse-Head Technique he practiced was clearly far superior to theirs.

And what Tie Niu practiced was likely the true inheritance of the Chai Family, the Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist.

[Origin-Returning Finger: 202/500 (Minor Achievement)]

The others in the courtyard were still discussing Tie Niu's ferocity, with those led by Huang Jiangyue heaping endless praise upon him.

"If only I had a younger brother like Tie Niu," Huang Jiangyue sighed.

Lin Fan whispered from the side: "Senior Brother Huang, although we don't have such a brother, perhaps we could acknowledge Senior Brother Tie Niu as our eldest brother and become his subordinates."

Huang Jiangyue frowned, ultimately unable to let go of his pride as a youth from the inner city.

More importantly, if he acknowledged Tie Niu as his eldest brother, wouldn't he also have to treat Su Yuan as a brother?

This was something he found difficult to accept.

He had kept an eye on Su Yuan over the past half-month, but seeing that Su Yuan was often absent from the academy, what kind of progress could he possibly have made?

At this moment, Jiang Yu was still rubbing her reddened palms, not understanding why Tie Niu had used so much force.

The Jiang family's business had been struggling in recent years, and her primary reason for coming here to train was to get close to the Second Young Master Chai. If she could latch onto that connection, many of her family's problems would be solved.

But this young master seemed indifferent to women, and she had yet to find an opportunity.

Thus, she had to settle for second best; her family had instructed her to find a way to get close to the most talented martial artist in the academy.

Currently, there were fewer than ten Blood-Coagulation martial artists in the academy, and only the two instructors and Master Chai himself possessed Raw Strength and External Strength.

Those few Blood-Coagulation martial artists only had average aptitude; only Tie Niu possessed superior aptitude, making him the most dazzling genius in the academy and deeply valued by Master Chai.

Yet Tie Niu was kind to everyone, only showing a different attitude toward the young master and Su Yuan.

If I want to win over Tie Niu, I might need to start with Su Yuan. Remembering her family's instructions, Jiang Yu took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and walked to Su Yuan's side.

"Senior Brother Su Yuan, would you... be willing to spar with me?" Jiang Yu gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

For the past half-month, Su Yuan had indeed not pestered her, which had slightly improved her opinion of him.

Su Yuan looked down at her, his gaze sweeping over the young girl's flushed cheeks.

"Apologies, Senior Brother is currently busy. You should look for someone else," Su Yuan refused.

Sparring was common during martial arts training, but Su Yuan possessed a destiny trait, and at this stage, training alone was more effective.

It was the first time Jiang Yu had been rejected; her cheeks turned bright red instantly, both embarrassed and annoyed: "Those with average aptitude, and even Senior Brother Tie Niu, are usually willing to spar with me. Hmph, you only have inferior aptitude, what right do you have to refuse?"

The more Jiang Yu thought about it, the angrier she became.

This person pretended to be diligent in the academy every time, but in reality, he spent the least amount of time in the courtyard of anyone.

Even Master Liu later shook her head, sighing that she had been fooled by that brat.

She walked off to the side alone, gloomily starting her finger push-ups; she could not rely on anyone else, only herself.

Qin Ming, however, stepped forward and said, "Junior Sister Jiang, I shall practice with you."

Seeing that Zhou Xun'er was not by her side—presumably off to rest—Jiang Yu shook her head. "No need, Senior Brother Qin. You have already switched to practicing the Flying Horse Leg, while I still wish to train in finger techniques."

Qin Ming and Zhou Xun'er had felt the Origin-Returning Finger progressed too slowly, so they switched to practicing the Flying Horse Leg.

Although one could technically treat one as primary and the other as secondary, in reality, no one practiced both; before the Wolf God Ritual, one might not even master a single technique, let alone have the energy to spare for a side branch.

The night passed in a flash, with explosions and shouts echoing from outside from time to time.

[Origin-Returning Finger: 225/500 (Minor Achievement)]

[Honing: 1674/2000 (Perfected)]

In one night, the progress had increased by more than 20 points; in another ten days or so, this technique could also advance to the Blood Refining stage.

At night, besides practicing, Su Yuan spent his time polishing that piece of back armor. It was extremely hard, and he intended to make a mask out of it—it would not only conceal his identity but also make it more convenient to ram into people while wearing it.

During the day, he still had to bitterly cultivate the Golden Horse-Head Technique.

[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 4/1000 (Second Layer)]

This technique was far more profound than what was taught in the courtyard, and he had to maintain the advantage of this head start.

However, the speed of this technique had slowed down; perfecting this layer would take at least half a year.

After becoming a Blood-Condensing martial artist, one still had to continuously accumulate and hone blood qi, condensing it until it reached a critical point where the blood qi generated force, allowing one to become a Savage-Force martial artist.

Practicing multiple techniques would allow him to accumulate more blood qi, and when the time came to participate in the Wolf God Ritual, his strength would undoubtedly be even greater.

"Brother Yuan! Time for breakfast."

Tie Niu brought over some meat—a bowl of thoroughly stewed tiger meat mixed with dark red monster beast meat. It was tough, rich, and mellow, warming his blood qi upon consumption.

While eating, Tie Niu took out a small bottle and handed it to Su Yuan. "Brother Yuan, this Blood Origin Pill is a newly developed medicine from the Chai Family. The Young Master rewarded it to me. It can make blood qi accumulate twice as fast. I was able to become a martial artist so quickly because of it. Keep it."

Su Yuan took the medicine bottle and opened it; inside was a black-red pill. "Tie Niu, this medicine is so potent—won't there be side effects? Are they using you to test the medicine?"

Tie Niu shook his head. "This medicine is easier to absorb than the Blood Qi Pill. Even for a beginner, it causes no major harm. However, it is similar to Great Liang martial arts; the blood qi it stimulates is relatively loose, which might affect future breakthroughs in bottlenecks. In a few days, the martial academy will sell this medicine in bulk. The Young Master has priced it at ten taels per pill."

"Ten taels a pill!" Su Yuan's entire net worth was only enough to buy five.

He pinched the pill, calculating in his mind: if it were truly as Tie Niu said and only affected bottleneck breakthroughs, then this medicine was perfect for him.

The thing he feared least was a bottleneck.

What's more, he was already a martial artist.

"If you can avoid it, Brother Yuan, it is better to take less. After all, your innate talent..." Tie Niu added in a low voice.

Su Yuan understood what he left unsaid; the quality of one's innate talent deeply affected bottleneck breakthroughs.

He just smiled slightly and tucked the pill into his robes. "Tie Niu, do you trust me?"

Tie Niu nodded heavily. "Brother Yuan, I have always trusted you."

After the two finished their meal, they saw Chai Nian walk out with a smile on his face. "The Shan Family has suffered a massive loss this time, haha! Tie Niu, Su Yuan, drive the carriage for me. Follow me to the Shan Family!"

"Yes!"

On the way, Su Yuan learned that the Shan Family had suffered heavy losses.

Not only had most of their family members been rescued, but they had also lost three External-Force martial artists. Shan Xi, who had blocked Su Yuan earlier, was among them.

They had all been careless while surrounding an External-Force martial artist from the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and were taken down by the opponent's secret technique in a mutual destruction.

Su Yuan was also shocked; he hadn't realized that Yun Xu's secret technique was so terrifying. No wonder she had been able to hold on until now.

But the fact that the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall could act so quickly was also beyond his expectations. It seemed the information he had passed on had indeed been useful.

Like to borrow a knife to kill? I can do that too, Su Yuan sneered inwardly, a bold idea forming in his mind.

He would maneuver between the Liang People, the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, and even the Great Jing, extracting resources from all sides to help himself climb step by step.

He would transform from a passive participant into the one pulling the strings from behind the scenes.