Blood-Qi Circulation Method

Jiang Ran hadn't expected to run into two people on this rooftop.

Based on the direction, he had originally come to the base of this building.

But there was nothing downstairs, so Jiang Ran began slowly making his way up...

He didn't find what he was looking for until he reached the rooftop.

It was one of the five monsters before him.

Seeing the two people ahead staring at him in surprise, Jiang Ran thought for a moment, then decided not to speak to them.

Instead, he picked up his compound bow without a word.

Before the monsters could turn around, he took the compound bow off his back with his right hand, drew a carbon arrow from his quiver with his left, nocked it, and pulled the string.

The whole motion flowed seamlessly.

When the bowstring was drawn to its full extent, the monster finally whipped around toward Jiang Ran.

But it was already too late.

An arrow from a 70-pound compound bow could reach a speed of 110 meters per second.

And the monster was less than twenty meters away from Jiang Ran.

It didn't have time to react. The arrow pierced its head and pinned it firmly to the ground.

Jiang Ran had no intention of stopping. After killing that monster, he turned and took aim at the others.

Just then...

"Help!"

Xia Xuan's low growl rang out.

The criminal investigation captain charged toward the nearest monster with his baton, almost as if forcing himself to do it.

Seeing him, Zou Yue gritted her teeth and followed. The two of them tried to hold the monster back from either side.

As criminal investigators, they had received systematic combat training and were far more capable than ordinary people.

But after nearly a whole night of fleeing and fighting,

they had already exhausted most of their strength, and their movements now clearly showed their fatigue.

On top of that, the difference in strength between them and the monsters was enormous.

The monsters' explosive power and resistance to blows far exceeded the limits of human beings.

For a moment, the two of them didn't know how to attack.

Fortunately, a figure swept past them just then.

A dragon's roar exploded beside their ears.

When they focused their eyes again,

Jiang Ran's fist had already slammed squarely into the monster's back.

Bang!

The muffled impact sounded like a war drum.

A bowl-sized hole burst open in the monster's back. Its spine shattered piece by piece, and the charging Xia Xuan was even splattered with flesh and blood.

The monster didn't even get a chance to scream before it pitched forward and lay motionless.

The fight was over.

From the moment Jiang Ran appeared to the deaths of all five monsters, less than two minutes had passed.

Xia Xuan and Zou Yue stood where they were, panting hard, blood still spattered across their faces as they stared fixedly at Jiang Ran.

Especially at his right hand, the one he had just punched with.

The power of that punch... wasn't something a human should have been capable of!

Jiang Ran, however, didn't seem to care.

He drew back his fist and exhaled, waiting for the warmth in his lower abdomen to gradually settle. Then he walked straight over to the monster that had been killed by the arrow first.

He crouched, pulled out his tactical knife, and skillfully cut open its head.

The tip of the knife prodded around in the brain matter. Soon, he teased out an object that gave off a gentle white glow.

Without a word, Jiang Ran put the White Light Orb into the tactical pouch at his waist.

Then he walked over to the other corpses, opened their heads one by one, and took out the Spirit Crystals inside.

Xia Xuan and Zou Yue exchanged a glance, both seeing complicated emotions in the other's eyes.

After a few seconds of silence, Xia Xuan took a deep breath and walked over to Jiang Ran.

"Thank you." His voice was still a little hoarse. "Without you, we probably would've..."

Jiang Ran was putting the last Spirit Crystal into a small cloth pouch.

At the sound of Xia Xuan's voice, he didn't even turn around. He simply waved a hand.

Xia Xuan frowned.

He had been a police officer for many years and had met all kinds of people, but the man before him had a very unusual air about him.

"My name is Xia Xuan." Xia Xuan hesitated, then continued. "I'm with the Feng City Criminal Investigation Detachment, and this is my colleague, Zou Yue. If you need help with anything later, you can come find me at the city bureau."

Jiang Ran paused slightly. He stood up and nodded to them without turning around, acknowledging that he had heard.

Then he picked up the cloth pouch and walked straight toward the rooftop door, his figure quickly disappearing into the shadows of the stairwell.

He hadn't said a single word from beginning to end.

Only after his footsteps had faded away did Zou Yue let out a long breath and slump to the ground.

"Captain Xia... Who was that man?"

Xia Xuan walked over to the monster whose back had been punched through and crouched to examine the wound carefully.

Its flesh was mangled, and its spine was completely shattered.

Even the organs inside its chest had been shaken to pieces.

"He's extremely accurate with a bow, his knife work is clean and efficient, and his fighting technique is clearly honed through real combat... And then there was that last punch..." Xia Xuan's voice was low. "There's no way a normal person could hit like that."

"You mean...?"

Xia Xuan lowered his voice. "Either he isn't an ordinary person at all, or... he found something here that we don't know about."

Zou Yue's expression changed slightly. "Like that bronze artifact we came across?"

"Maybe something more advanced." Xia Xuan looked in the direction Jiang Ran had gone. "Look at his equipment: a compound bow, a Tang Dao, a tactical pouch. He came prepared.

"If an ordinary person was suddenly pulled in here, how would they have time to get all that?"

Zou Yue thought for a moment, her expression changing. "Are you saying... he knew he'd be brought here in advance?"

"I'm not sure." Xia Xuan shook his head. "But at the very least, he's adapted much faster than we have."

The two fell silent.

Only the wind remained on the rooftop.

Six in the evening.

As the sky gradually darkened, deep purple twilight shrouded Feng City.

Streetlights flicked on one by one along both sides of the road, casting lonely pools of light across the deserted city.

Jiang Ran didn't choose to go back to the bank.

Instead, he returned to his apartment complex.

The mechanism for returning was still unclear. If the return point happened to be inside the building, then staying at the bank might leave him trapped.

His home was more familiar and would be easier to handle if anything unexpected happened.

The hallway was still quiet.

Jiang Ran carefully checked the lock, and only after confirming there were no signs of tampering did he open the door and go inside.

He locked it again, drew all the curtains, and switched on the living room lights.

Then he went into the bathroom, took off his bloodstained sweatshirt and pants, and changed into clean lounge clothes. Only then did Jiang Ran feel truly relaxed.

He went into the bedroom and took the White Light Orb out of his pouch.

Its glow swirled in his palm. It felt smooth and warm, like a piece of jade warmed by the sun.

"Activate," Jiang Ran silently thought.

The orb suddenly shone brightly, turning into countless tiny specks of light that surged into the space between his brows.

In an instant, a flood of information surfaced in his mind...

"Qi and Blood Circulation Method is the foundation of body tempering and the root of preserving life."

"Qi and blood are the essence of a person, the root of life. Circulation guides qi and blood to temper the bones and sinews, nourish the internal organs, and strengthen the meridians..."

"This method has three stages: first, Blood-Sensing; second, Blood-Circulating; third, Blood-Nourishing.

"Today, I pass on the first stage to you... the Blood-Sensing Chapter."

As the voice faded, a vast amount of information flooded Jiang Ran's mind.

Ten minutes later.

Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes, looking thoughtful.

Strictly speaking, this so-called cultivation method was really a breathing technique.

It simply required specific postures and the guidance of one's thoughts.

Its purpose was to sense and guide the qi and blood within the body.

If Dragon-Tiger Fist, a divine ability, was a transcendent technique, then this Blood-Qi Circulation Method was the true foundation of transcendence...

Jiang Ran didn't hesitate any longer.

He began to practice.

First, he calmed his mind and focused his thoughts, sinking them into his dantian before slowly spreading them through his limbs and bones.

He tried to sense the flow of qi and blood inside him.

For the first ten or so minutes,

all he could feel was his heartbeat and the blood flowing through his vessels.

But Jiang Ran had exceptional patience. His maxed-out focus from studying psychology made it easy for him to enter a deep state of concentration.

Twenty minutes later...

Hum.

A thread of heat rose from deep in his lower abdomen, then slowly crept upward along his spine.

I've found it... the root of my qi and blood.

Jiang Ran guided it with his thoughts, trying to lead that thread of heat along the route recorded in the method.

It passed through the Gate of Life, up between the shoulder blades, over the Jade Pillow, and to the Crown of the Head. Then it descended from the forehead, passed through the chest, and returned to the dantian.

One complete cycle.

The instant the circuit closed, the pores all over his body opened slightly. A warm current seeped out from deep within his bones and merged with that thread of qi and blood.

It had clearly grown stronger.

"It works."

Jiang Ran opened his eyes and took a Spirit Crystal from the cloth pouch.

The white crystal gave off a faint glow in his palm and felt cool to the touch.

He closed his eyes again, gripped the Spirit Crystal, and circulated his qi and blood once more.

This time, the change was immediate.

The cool energy from the Spirit Crystal met the hot qi and blood in his body. Like cold water hitting hot oil, it boiled in an instant.

One, then two.

By the time the third Spirit Crystal had completely turned into gray-white powder, Jiang Ran was soaked in sweat, and even a faint white mist was rising from the top of his head.

But he could feel it...

His strength was growing.

It was real strength, rooted in his flesh, blood, and bones.

Jiang Ran slowly ended his practice. The hot qi and blood sank into his dantian, turning into a warm furnace that continued to nourish his entire body.

Then he stood up and walked to the mirror.

There wasn't much visible difference in his appearance, but his eyes held a contained brilliance.

He clenched his fist.

Crack, crack...

His knuckles popped, and the muscles in his arm bulged slightly, their contours tighter than before.

His raw physical strength had increased by at least fifty percent.

More importantly, he could feel that mass of qi and blood burning steadily inside him, continuously feeding his bones, muscles, and organs.

And the strength felt perfectly natural, as if it were an instinct he had been born with.

This is a path truly suited to combat...

Then Jiang Ran's thoughts stirred, and a translucent panel appeared before him:

[Name: Jiang Ran]

[Age: 24]

[Profession: Martial Monk (Transcendent), Teacher, Artifact Appraiser, Mixed Martial Artist...]

[Skills: Qi and Blood Circulation Method (Incomplete) Lv.1 (0/100)]

When he saw the skill entry, he froze for a moment.

This was the first time he had unlocked a skill on his personal panel.

The skills he had unlocked before had all appeared on the panels for his various professions.

"A skill... and it has levels."

Jiang Ran murmured under his breath, unable to stop a thought from surfacing.

Did this mean... he could also level it up with Profession Points?

The idea warmed his heart.

If the Qi and Blood Circulation Method could be rapidly improved through the panel system,

its effects would be far beyond what he could achieve by practicing slowly on his own.

For now, however, Jiang Ran could only set aside this untested theory.

Because his Profession points were now at zero.

Jiang Ran exhaled softly.

He walked to the window and lifted a corner of the curtain.

The street was still deserted, but the world seemed clearer to him now.

His five senses had improved again.

Jiang Ran let the curtain fall and walked back to the center of the bedroom.

He was just about to see how many complete Dragon-Tiger Fist moves he could perform now when he noticed that the computer screen was still on.

Jiang Ran paused, then suddenly thought of something.

Since the internet and signal in this world still worked...

Could people be communicating online?

As the thought crossed his mind, Jiang Ran immediately sat down at the computer and opened Mouhu, the country's largest forum.

But when he saw the first post...

He couldn't help freezing...

There really was one.

The post had a video attached, and its title read...

[Guys, I saw a dragon!!!]

What surprised Jiang Ran even more was that it already had over five thousand replies.

And the number was still climbing rapidly.

Judging by the world's total population, it seemed that quite a few people had made it here.

Jiang Ran opened the post.

The original post contained a cell-phone video. The image was somewhat blurry, and the person filming was obviously shaking.

The scene showed a gray, overcast sky, with clouds rolling in the distance.

A few seconds later, a slender blue-green figure emerged from the clouds.

A body covered in golden-green scales, four claws barely visible, two horns atop its head, long whiskers beneath its jaw...

It was a dragon.

The dragon of myth and legend, who summoned clouds and rain and roamed the nine heavens.