Northern Underworld Body Protection Art

In Tianshui City, at Xia Ping's home, the sun shone through the window the next morning, soft and gentle.

"Hoo!"

Xia Ping sat upright on the large bed in his bedroom, exhaling a long breath that almost condensed into a physical white streak. The true qi within his body surged like the tides of the ocean, filling his frame with explosive power.

He snapped his eyes open, shooting out a startling golden light. Mysterious power flickered deep within his pupils, as if piercing through the void. After a night of cultivation, aided by a bottle of Golden Potion, the true qi in his body had increased significantly. He was stronger than the day before; his strength was growing with every passing moment.

As expected of the Golden Potion. The energy contained within is incredibly pure and vast; it's simply incomparable to ordinary energy potions. Xia Ping's eyes glinted with satisfaction.

Last night, he had absorbed a bottle of Golden Potion to assist his cultivation while circulating the Pure Yang Indestructible Art. The result was rapid progress—a single night's work was equivalent to three months of past training.

One could imagine just how immense the help provided by the Golden Potion was.

However, the price was also exorbitant. A single bottle cost 500,000 Federal Coins. Such a price was simply unaffordable for ordinary people; only super-rich individuals could consume them at will.

"It's fortunate that this trip to Black Moon City allowed me to obtain forty bottles of Golden Potion. I've really hit the jackpot this time." Xia Ping smiled slightly. He had originally gone to Black Moon City just to purchase the Golden Potion.

But who could have foreseen that such a dangerous accident would occur? He had nearly died in that city of sin. Fortunately, he had returned safely, even obtaining Golden Potion worth twenty million Federal Coins.

This was a massive sum of money; even the income from the novels he wrote probably wouldn't accumulate this quickly.

Of course, this was also a windfall—stolen goods that could not see the light of day.

Once exposed, the people from the Black Bear Company would likely come knocking, and even government departments would hold him accountable and pursue legal action. He would be in grave danger then.

But regardless, he had returned safely and even gained great benefits. From the outcome, it was a good thing.

"If I consume another three or four bottles of Golden Potion and spend a month, I estimate I can open the sixth meridian and break through to the Martial Apprentice Sixth Heaven." Xia Ping clenched his fists.

The reason it would take a month was that one could not consume the Golden Potion continuously. As the saying goes, too much is as bad as too little; the body's absorption capacity had its limits.

For every bottle of Golden Potion he consumed, he needed to spend a week tempering his physique to thoroughly digest and absorb the energy, consolidating his martial foundation.

If he consumed too much at once, it would not only be useless to his body but would even damage his martial foundation, leading to instability. If that happened, it would be very difficult to advance to the Martial Artist realm, or even higher.

However, is there really no way to increase the efficiency of the body's energy absorption? Xia Ping's eyes flickered. Although breaking through to the Martial Apprentice Sixth Heaven in a month was already very fast, he felt it still wasn't enough.

After all, there were only four months left until the college entrance examination. If he didn't increase his cultivation as quickly as possible, he wouldn't be able to get a good score or enter a prestigious university.

Suddenly, the system's voice rang out: "Host, there is a way."

What?!

Xia Ping was startled. He hadn't expected the system to suddenly chime in, but he quickly calmed down and immediately asked, "What is the method? Speak!"

"There is a cultivation technique called the Northern Underworld Body Protection Art."

The system replied: "It is a supreme defensive technique, extremely formidable. It can absorb the power, energy, and the like from an enemy's attacks and convert it into energy for one's own use."

"Furthermore, through the enemy's attacks and beatings, the cells, muscle tissue, and bones of one's body are damaged. By circulating the mysterious life energy to constantly repair these damaged tissues, one can greatly increase the speed at which the body absorbs energy, and the physique will also become much tougher."

"If the host practices this defensive technique and constantly spars with others, getting beaten up, you can rapidly digest excess energy and continuously grow stronger."

Northern Underworld Body Protection Art?!

Xia Ping's eyes lit up immediately. Being beaten up could make him stronger and increase his energy absorption efficiency? What a convenient auxiliary technique—it was simply inconceivable.

Even on Yanhuang Planet, he had never heard of such a profound technique. However, if this technique were real, it would be the best possible auxiliary skill for him.

Yet, he still calmed himself down: "How much Hatred Value is required for this technique?" He knew there was no such thing as a free lunch, especially when it came to the system he possessed.

"The total cost to exchange for the manual is one million Hatred Value," the system replied.

Xia Ping's mouth twitched: "As expected, I knew such a powerful technique wouldn't be cheap. The Hatred Value I have probably isn't even enough for the tip of the iceberg." His expression was somewhat helpless.

"No, no, no."

The system said: "That is the price for the entire manual, but the host can choose to exchange for only the first layer. The rest can be exchanged later. This is a special offer for the host."

It can even be done this way? Isn't this just an installment plan? Xia Ping's eyes brightened. Given his current martial realm, exchanging for the entire manual would be a bit extravagant. The secrets of the first layer alone were sufficient for his current cultivation.

"Tell me, how much to exchange for the first layer?"

The system said: "Exchanging for the first layer requires three thousand Hatred Value."

Three thousand Hatred Value?!

Xia Ping asked: "Is my current Hatred Value enough?"

"The host currently possesses a total of two thousand six hundred Hatred Value. You are still short by four hundred," the system stated honestly.

Still short by four hundred?!

Xia Ping felt a bit regretful. Back in Black Moon City, he had killed many members of the Black Bear Company and caused a massive catastrophe. Many people from the Black Bear Company hated him, which had brought him quite a bit of Hatred Value. Not only did he recoup the loss of the Invisibility Pill, but he also made a small profit and gained some benefits.

But he hadn't expected it to still be insufficient—he was short by four hundred.

"Right, tomorrow."

Xia Ping suddenly remembered something, and his eyes lit up: "Tomorrow is Monday, the day of the School Fighting Tournament. I'll be representing my class in the matches, and countless students will be watching from the stands. This is the best opportunity to farm Hatred Value."

To gain Hatred Value, the more people, the better, and tomorrow was the perfect chance. He believed that with his talent for attracting hatred, earning four hundred Hatred Value would be a piece of cake.

"And Zhou Tai'an."

Xia Ping clenched his fists: "I must properly repay him for what happened last time." His eyes burned with a fierce, raging fire.