Extreme Profound Scripture

"Hiccup~"

As night fell, the two of them walked out of Yunxiang Restaurant, full and satisfied, both letting out a synchronized burp.

"Brother Shen, when do you think we'll be able to become real members of the Firewood Gang?"

Luo Tao rubbed his slightly distended belly, unable to help but sigh with emotion.

Wang Jin was merely a member of the Firewood Gang, yet he could afford to live a life of luxury, eating meat and fish every day; it was clear just how lucrative the Firewood Gang's resources were.

This made Luo Tao yearn for such a life.

"Once you become a Blood-Forging First Realm martial artist and join the Firewood Gang, you'll be able to live just like Brother Wang," Shen Mu said with a smile, glancing at Luo Tao.

In the martial arts cultivation system, the Body-Forging stage is known as the Boiling Blood period, divided into nine realms in total. Only by reaching the ninth realm of Boiling Blood can one prepare for the subsequent entry into the graded ranks.

Once one enters the Boiling Blood period, they have already transcended the category of ordinary people; ten average men would be no match for them.

Luo Tao's family background was slightly better than his, but only slightly.

In Cloud Dragon County, truly wealthy people who wanted their younger generation to become martial artists usually spent money to send them to martial arts schools to learn.

However, the cost of studying at a martial arts school was not low, requiring at least several dozen taels of silver per year.

Luo Tao's father could not afford this sum, so he gritted his teeth and spent ten taels of silver to send Luo Tao to the Firewood Gang as an outer member. As for whether he could eventually become a martial artist, that would depend entirely on his own fortune.

"Boiling Blood First Realm?"

Luo Tao couldn't help but shake his head, sighing, "Brother Shen, reaching the Boiling Blood First Realm isn't that simple..."

The Firewood Gang had over five hundred outer members, and among them, many had been there for years without ever managing to step into the Boiling Blood First Realm.

Wang Jin was just like them once, having started as an outer member. He had reached the Boiling Blood First Realm five years ago, and now, five years later, he still hadn't stepped into the second realm...

Shen Mu couldn't help but sigh softly; he certainly understood that reaching the Boiling Blood First Realm was no easy feat.

"Alright, we're both exhausted today. Let's head back early to rest. We'll meet here first thing tomorrow morning and head to the gang headquarters together..."

Shen Mu proposed.

"Right... Brother Shen, watch out!"

Luo Tao had just nodded in agreement when he suddenly seemed to notice something and let out a sharp shout.

Shen Mu followed Luo Tao's gaze, his scalp instantly tingling, and he instinctively lunged several steps to his left.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a loud explosion, Shen Mu felt the hair on his entire body stand on end, a flash of relief at having survived a brush with death crossing his eyes.

He saw that the spot where he had been standing was now occupied by a long blade radiating a chilling light. The blade had plunged into the bluestone floor, causing the entire slab to crack into a spiderweb pattern.

"That was close!"

Shen Mu felt a lingering fear; if not for Luo Tao's warning, which gave him a split second to react, that blade would have been enough to cut him in two on the spot.

"Brother Shen, are you alright?"

Luo Tao hurried over, asking with concern.

"I... I'm fine."

Shen Mu shook his head, his face deathly pale. "Taozi, if you hadn't warned me just now, I reckon my life would have been forfeit."

Luo Tao scratched his head and laughed, "Heh, I just happened to see a blade flying toward you..."

At this moment, movement finally came from the distance. Under the night sky, two figures were leaping and shifting across the rooftops. Their speed was so fast that the naked eye could barely track them, and every time the two figures collided, a violent explosion would erupt.

Clearly, this chilling long blade was the weapon of one of them, lost during the heat of battle...

"Graded martial artists?"

Shen Mu and Luo Tao exchanged a glance, their expressions filled with shock, immediately realizing that both figures were true martial artists who had entered the ranks.

Only by passing through the Boiling Blood period and successfully stepping into the Ninth Grade of Tendon-Changing could one be considered a genuine martial artist.

The two locked in this fierce struggle must have both reached this realm.

"Is this what a graded martial artist is like?"

Watching the thunderous sounds triggered by every strike and the power displayed by the blade piercing the bluestone floor, Shen Mu couldn't help but feel a sense of yearning. A man should be like this.

This was his first time seeing a graded martial artist fight, and the commotion it caused undoubtedly overturned his understanding, leaving him with a deep desire to one day become a true martial artist himself.

By now, passersby on the street had also noticed the commotion, all looking toward the direction of the sound in unison.

"This is no place to linger, let's go!"

Seeing the crowd craning their necks in anticipation, some even wanting to get closer to watch the show, Shen Mu immediately grabbed Luo Tao and left.

"Brother Shen, this is a battle between graded martial artists! Can't we watch a bit more of the excitement?"

Luo Tao was dragged along by Shen Mu, looking back from time to time, clearly unwilling to miss the fight between the two experts.

"If you don't want to die, don't stay here."

Shen Mu's expression was grave.

Luo Tao had just saved his life, so he naturally did not want Luo Tao to die in the aftermath of a battle between two Ranked Martial Artists just for the sake of watching the spectacle.

It was not until the two had walked a mile away and could barely hear any movement that Shen Mu finally stopped.

"Brother Shen, those Ranked Martial Artists are truly formidable."

Recalling the scene of the two fighters, Luo Tao said with lingering excitement, "By the way, Brother Shen, why did you pull me away?"

"Battles between Ranked Martial Artists are rare; so many people were standing there watching."

Shen Mu said sternly, "If you lost your life just to watch the excitement, would you still think it was worth seeing?"

"That wouldn't do; no amount of excitement is more important than my own life."

Upon hearing this, Luo Tao immediately shook his head.

"If you hadn't warned me, I would have died under that blade just now."

Shen Mu sighed, "Battles between such Ranked Martial Artists are extremely dangerous for people like us. If one is accidentally caught in the crossfire, dying would be for nothing. Martial artists roam the world, and even the government finds it difficult to bring them to justice..."

Losing one's life just to satisfy curiosity was hardly worth the cost.

Luo Tao nodded in deep agreement, his expression solemn as he said, "Brother Shen, you are right. I was wrong just now."

Watching more and more people rushing toward the direction of the commotion, Shen Mu frowned and asked, "What is going on lately? Why have so many martial artists appeared in Cloud Dragon County?"

Nowadays, there were battles between martial artists in Cloud Dragon County almost every day, and it was common for these fights to spill over and affect ordinary civilians.

By integrating the memories of his predecessor, he knew that before his consciousness had inhabited this body, conflicts between martial artists were rare in Cloud Dragon County.

"Brother Shen, I did hear a rumor, though I don't know if it's true."

As if remembering something, Luo Tao said, "I heard that a guy named Gu Yunfan accidentally obtained a manual called the Extreme Profound Scripture. The news leaked out, drawing the pursuit of many in the martial arts world."

"It is said that this Gu Yunfan was severely wounded and fled all the way to our Cloud Province. Many martial artists heard the news and chased him here, hoping to get their hands on the Extreme Profound Scripture..."

"Extreme Profound Scripture?"

Shen Mu was taken aback, asking in surprise, "Does that thing actually exist?"