Jade Marrow

"I wonder how much my strength has increased?" Guan Ning secretly anticipated.

Guan Ning returned upstairs to shower and took the opportunity to check the logs on his communication watch. Sure enough, there was a pile of call requests and messages.

There were those he didn't recognize—invitations for him to join their factions. Guan Ning didn't even bother looking at them; he deleted them with one click and blocked the senders.

Then there were those he knew, like Uncle Zhong and Aunt Qian. They were concerned about his situation in the training camp. After all, Guan Ning could be considered to have betrayed a friend, and Uncle Zhong, in particular, had given him a thorough dressing down.

Forget it, I won't reply for now. I imagine Sister Ruo will help me out. I'll contact them in a few days.

Aside from some training camp members asking what was going on, the only remaining messages were from Chu Qiang and John McClane.

Seeing Chu Qiang's message, Guan Ning felt a surge of joy.

"Junior Brother Guan Ning, the Jade Marrow you requested will arrive tomorrow; I'll contact you then. Though, the way you handled this business was a bit underhanded."

Seeing Chu Qiang's words, Guan Ning had already guessed the situation he would be facing over the next few days, but it would pass soon enough.

If he felt pleasantly surprised by Chu Qiang's message, he felt completely baffled by John McClane's.

After receiving a warning from Nicole Berg on the 28th, John McClane had been hesitating over how to earn Guan Ning's forgiveness.

Although he knew that offering his time in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room would certainly work, he was reluctant to part with it and kept trying to think of something else that might sway Guan Ning.

However, when he saw that Guan Ning had betrayed Luo Feng and obtained the 100 billion bounty, his expression turned ghastly.

This Guan Ning can even betray Luo Feng, someone he was on good terms with. Is there anything he wouldn't do?

Clearly terrified, he hurriedly tried to call Guan Ning. When the call didn't go through, he sent a text message—

"Senior Brother Guan Ning, I was ignorant these past two days. You are a magnanimous person; I am willing to trade my trial tower time in the Ancient Civilization Gravity Room for this month in exchange for your forgiveness."

Guan Ning was completely confused by this. In his memory, his grudge with John had already been resolved, so why was he sending such a generous gift again?

If he had known about the conversation between Nicole Berg and John, he wouldn't have been so perplexed.

Though he didn't know the reason, there was no logic in refusing a gift delivered to his doorstep.

John was quite capable, ranked 91st, and possessed two hours of usage time. How could he pass up such a fat piece of meat?

He immediately sent a message agreeing to the deal.

After handling this, he put on his training suit and rushed toward the Nine-Story Tower.

Although it was past 1:00 AM, there were still people in the Nine-Story Tower. Except for the one hour at noon, the trial tower and gravity rooms were open at all times.

Guan Ning's target was the training room within the Nine-Story Tower. It contained machines specifically designed to test strength, capable of measuring even the power of a high-level War God. Guan Ning couldn't break them yet, and he was impatient to test his current strength.

The basement was currently a mess, but he had already called the training camp's cleaning department. They would scrub the basement clean, and all it cost Guan Ning was a small amount of money.

That's right, just a small amount. With the 100 billion from the "Hundred Billion Bounty" for the Dragon Blood and Jade Marrow, plus the 5 billion in activity funds provided by the Limit Martial Hall—minus the 1.5 billion spent on the Mist Sword—he still had a full 4 billion in funds. A mere hundred thousand or so was no longer worth his concern.

Indeed, just over a hundred thousand. The training camp emphasized self-reliance; if you wanted to hire the cleaning department for a private job, you couldn't even dream of it without spending at least that much.

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

Arriving at a training room on the third floor, he turned on the lights and stood before the Punch Strength Tester. He threw a punch like a cannonball, his fist striking the target at supersonic speeds, the resulting sonic boom arriving only a moment later.

"50,436kg!" Guan Ning looked at the reading, his face lighting up. "From 17,200 to 50,000 kilograms—an increase of 33,000 kilograms. It's almost tripled."

"If I add the Jade Marrow, reaching War God status will be a certainty. There are still three months until the life and death adventure; it's possible I could even reach mid-level War God. That will make the trip to Mist Island much safer."

"Bang, bang..."

Guan Ning was extremely excited, casually unleashing a flurry of left and right hooks at the target. Pow! Pow! Pow! A series of dull thuds echoed as a stream of numbers flashed across the screen of the Punch Strength Tester—"50,123kg, 50,439kg, 50,276kg, 50,389kg..."

Guan Ning threw dozens of punches in one breath before finally stopping.

The numbers fluctuated, but Guan Ning knew this was because his strength had increased too suddenly, resulting in a lack of fine control. As long as he continued to train hard, he would stabilize soon.

After confirming his strength, Guan Ning began practicing his sword techniques in the training room, using the practice to adapt to his suddenly surging power.

May 1st. Because Guan Ning had ranked 86th last month, he followed the same schedule as April: odd-numbered days for training in the camp, and even-numbered days for hunting monsters to earn merit points.

"Beep!"

Guan Ning was practicing his sword in the simulated gravity room when his communication watch rang.

"May I ask if this is Mr. Guan Ning?" A deep, resonant voice spoke.

"I am. Who is this?" Seeing an unfamiliar number and hearing a pure Huaxia accent, Guan Ning had his suspicions.

"Mr. Guan, hello. I am the person in charge of the Huaxia Military here in Hongning Base City. The items you purchased have been delivered to the gate. We cannot enter, so please let us know when you can come to pick them up."

The deep voice grew noticeably more passionate. He had guessed what was inside the safe. The events of last night had caused such a stir that basically every martial artist knew about it; the contents of that safe were surely the Jade Marrow worth 30 billion.

Thinking of the Jade Marrow inside, he couldn't help but feel excited. It wasn't that he hadn't felt a flicker of greed, but with a War God present by his side, he dared not act rashly.

"I understand. I'll be there immediately." Knowing the Jade Marrow had arrived, Guan Ning's eyes burned with intensity. He hurriedly wiped away his sweat, threw on his training suit, and ran out.

"Isn't that Guan Ning? Why is he in such a rush?"

"Who cares what he's doing? It's better to stay away from someone who stabs people in the back."

"True. I never expected him to be that kind of person. You really can't judge a book by its cover!"

Those who saw him along the way whispered and gossiped, each harboring their own thoughts, but those who had originally intended to strike up a conversation with Guan Ning all extinguished that notion.

Guan Ning heard their chatter as well. Regarding this keep-your-distance attitude, he could only offer a wry smile before dismissing it; in a few days, all such talk would be completely silenced.

Moving at high speed, he soon arrived at the main gate, where two men were already waiting. One was stout and corpulent, his eyes flashing with occasional cunning, while the other, though thin and seemingly frail enough to be blown over by the wind, radiated an aura on par with his teacher Feng Mu—he was clearly a War God-level martial artist.

"Mr. Guan, hello. I am Hua Wenqing, and the man beside me is the 'Sick Blade' War God Jia Xing. He is responsible for escorting the cargo."

The stout middle-aged man introduced them.

"Team Leader Hua, War God Jia Xing, thank you for the trouble," Guan Ning said politely.

"Mr. Guan Ning is too kind. It is my honor to be of service to you."

Hua Wenqing was clearly a man who knew how to handle social situations; his words were as refreshing as a spring breeze, a skill one couldn't help but admire.

War God Jia Xing said nothing more; he handed the briefcase to Guan Ning and walked away immediately.

Guan Ning was left stunned.

"Mr. Guan, please don't mind him. War God Jia Xing is a bit reclusive by nature. My apologies, my apologies."

Seeing Jia Xing walk away without looking back, Fatty Hua cursed inwardly, but he still had to offer an explanation. He couldn't afford for this genius before him to develop any resentment toward him or the Huaxia organization.

"It's fine. I feel bad enough that War God Jia Xing had to make the trip. Team Leader Hua, please remember to pass on my thanks to him."

Guan Ning didn't mind; after all, everyone had their own personality, and he wouldn't dare demand that everyone revolve around him.

"I will certainly remember. In that case, Mr. Guan, we won't disturb you any further."

Fatty Hua said with a chuckle.

"Team Leader Hua, take care." Guan Ning nodded politely.

In the basement, Guan Ning opened the small briefcase. Inside was a wooden box, and within that, a test tube secured by foam. It contained a single drop of milky-white liquid, crystalline like jade.

Though it was called a drop, if poured out, it was actually the size of a knuckle.

"So this is Jade Marrow?"

Although the original text mentioned Jade Marrow many times, it never specified its effects or usage, which was why Guan Ning was so interested in it.

Opening the manual on the side, he saw that Jade Marrow was meant to be taken directly; one simply had to drink it.

"I wonder how much strength this Jade Marrow will increase for me?"

Guan Ning thought to himself and downed the Jade Marrow in one gulp.

The Jade Marrow was as smooth as jelly; not a trace remained in the test tube as it all slid into his mouth.

As it traveled down his digestive tract, waves of heat erupted from his lower abdomen, immediately sweeping through his entire body.

This heat was not the scorching, flame-like sensation of Dragon Blood, but rather like sunlight in winter—warm, gentle, and slowly tempering his body.

The power of the Jade Marrow slowly merged into Guan Ning's body, and black impurities gradually began to surface on his skin.

Two hours later.

The power of the Jade Marrow had finally been completely absorbed. Guan Ning hurried to take a shower to wash his body clean, then headed to a small training hall in the Nine-Story Tower.

He clenched his fists, immediately feeling the astonishing power surging within his body.

"My strength has increased quite a bit. I wonder if I've had a breakthrough?"

"Huh? This Jade Marrow even has the function of improving skin quality!"

Guan Ning raised his hand to examine it closely. He discovered that his body had undergone further changes; his bronze skin, already modified by the Dragon Blood, looked even darker and more powerful, yet now it shimmered with a delicate luster, as smooth as water.

"This is really... well, at least I didn't turn into a pretty boy."

Looking at the changes on his body, Guan Ning didn't know whether to call it a good thing or a bad thing!