Pharmacist Shen

The panel didn't respond.

Li Pingsheng tried again, but still got no response.

He wasn't particularly worried.

He'd just "borrowed" a hefty sum from the Black Water Gang.

He could use it to buy some ointments at the Black Market.

Having made up his mind, Li Pingsheng hid the monster beast meat and silver notes, changed into a gray cloth shirt, and left the martial hall.

Half an hour later.

At the Black Market entrance.

The guards at the alley entrance were gone, replaced by a dozen Black Water Gang thugs armed with steel sabers.

They glared fiercely at everyone coming and going.

It was obvious the Black Water Gang was gearing up for a fight with the Zhao Family.

Li Pingsheng lowered his head, slipped in among a group of merchants, and sneaked into the Black Market.

The Black Market's main thoroughfare was divided into two sides.

The east side was full of Black Water Gang members, all with their weapons drawn.

On the west side stood the Zhao Family's guards, all dressed alike.

The two groups faced off across a stone alley less than three feet wide.

Some lone customers and street vendors were caught in the middle, not daring to utter a peep.

"The Black Water Gang and the Zhao Family are about to fight. Isn't the City Lord's Mansion going to do something?"

"How could they? The powers in the Inner City are all tangled up together. The City Lord's Mansion doesn't want to get dragged into this mess."

Li Pingsheng avoided the crowds facing off and ducked into an unused drainage ditch nearby.

Before long, he found One-Eyed Dragon's stall, where he used to shop.

One-Eyed Dragon was frantically stuffing the goods on his stall into a large bundle, sweat covering his forehead.

Li Pingsheng stepped out of the shadows and was about to speak.

"Ah!?"

One-Eyed Dragon jumped in fright. When he looked up and saw Li Pingsheng, he grabbed him by the arm and dragged him behind the stall.

"Little brother, how are you still here? Hurry up and leave!"

"Something big is going down tonight! The Black Water Gang and the Zhao Family have sealed off all three exits. They're clearing everyone out! If you don't leave now, you won't get out!"

One-Eyed Dragon hadn't even finished speaking when—

"Kill them all!..."

Shouts of slaughter rang out from the far end of the alley, followed by the clang of weapons and people screaming.

The two sides had started fighting.

The melee spread in an instant.

People charged and crashed into one another in the alley, blood splattering across the walls.

Li Pingsheng turned around, intending to retrace his steps and get out.

He didn't want to get involved.

A Zhao Family death warrior was retreating down Li Pingsheng's alley, pursued by three Black Water Gang thugs trying to hack him down.

"Get out of my way!"

The death warrior's eyes were bloodshot as he wildly swung the steel saber in his hand.

He brought it down on an old white-haired man sprawled on the ground nearby.

The man's clothes were ragged, and he carried a medicine chest on his back. He was an itinerant physician.

There was nowhere for him to dodge.

Li Pingsheng could have avoided the blow.

But the moment he saw the old man, he thought of his grandfather back home.

The next second, Li Pingsheng raised his right hand and met the blade head-on.

He caught the steel saber in one hand.

His Tiger Bone specialty had made his palm as hard as a block of iron.

The blade ground desperately against his palm, even throwing off sparks, but it didn't leave so much as a white mark.

The Zhao Family death warrior hadn't even realized what had happened when Li Pingsheng twisted his wrist.

The steel saber snapped in two.

Without even looking at the death warrior, Li Pingsheng swung his arm and hurled the burly man away. He crashed into a distant wall, then slid to the ground and didn't move.

Li Pingsheng followed up with a kick.

A Black Water Gang thug who'd caught up to him took the blow square in the chest. His chest caved in as he flew backward, knocking two others over.

The whole thing had taken less than three seconds.

The alley fell silent.

Li Pingsheng turned and prepared to look for the other stallholders.

The white-haired old man he'd saved climbed to his feet and brushed the dust from his clothes.

He watched Li Pingsheng's retreating back.

"Young brother, wait."

Li Pingsheng didn't stop.

"The blood and qi in your body have already begun to flow backward."

The old man spoke again.

Only then did Li Pingsheng stop.

"If you don't get treated, you have three days at most."

"The moment you fight someone, your meridians won't be able to withstand that force. You'll burst apart from the inside out."

"By then, even the immortals won't be able to save you."

Li Pingsheng turned around and stared hard at the old man.

The old man met his gaze and pointed at Li Pingsheng's right hand.

"You looked like you barely exerted yourself just now, but you'd already reached your limit."

"When you crushed that steel saber, didn't your fingertips turn blue and purple?"

"After you threw that man, didn't your palm twitch?"

The old man continued, "That's a sign your blood and qi are blocked and your meridians can't hold on. Your condition is already serious."

The old man had hit the nail on the head.

Li Pingsheng grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into an unused warehouse nearby, out of the chaos raging outside.

"Who are you? How did you know?"

"Cough, cough..." The old man coughed twice, but didn't panic. "I'm Shen Tong, a pharmacist. As for how I knew... I could tell."

"You have a good foundation. But have you recently swallowed the blood essence of a high-tier monster beast that was beyond what your body could handle?"

Pharmacist Shen explained, "Your blood and qi increased too quickly, and your meridians couldn't strengthen fast enough to keep up. They can't contain this power. In the end, they'll burst."

That was exactly what Li Pingsheng had thought.

"What do I do?" he pressed.

"Fixing it is both easy and difficult."

Pharmacist Shen said, "You'll need a second-tier medicinal herb called Red Marrow Vine as the main ingredient, along with a few other herbs, to refine a Meridian Clearing Pill. The pill can widen and strengthen your meridians."

"Where can I find Red Marrow Vine?"

"That's the difficult part."

Pharmacist Shen shook his head. "It grows in a treacherous place. You might find it deep in Black Mist Forest, thirty miles outside the city."

"Black Mist Forest?"

The name rang a bell for Li Pingsheng.

"That's right." Pharmacist Shen's face turned grave. "The place is shrouded in poisonous black mist all year round. The forest is crawling with venomous insects and monster beasts. An ordinary martial artist who goes in is as good as dead. That's why they call it a forbidden zone."

Li Pingsheng's heart sank.

The Martial Hall Grand Exam was fast approaching.

If he couldn't fix his meridians before then, he wouldn't be able to fight at full strength during the exam. He might even burst from his qi and blood going berserk while fighting Zhao Ming.

If that happened, all the schemes he'd been laying over the past few days would go to waste.

Pharmacist Shen saw the worry on Li Pingsheng's face.

"Young brother, you saved my life. I can't just stand by and let you die."

As he spoke, he took a set of silver needles from the medicine chest on his back and said to Li Pingsheng, "Sit down. I'll use the needles to clear your blood and qi. It should hold it back for a while."

Li Pingsheng said nothing and sat cross-legged.

Pharmacist Shen's technique was deft. Dozens of silver needles went in, and a stream of energy flowed along Li Pingsheng's meridians. The feeling of swelling and pain eased considerably.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Pharmacist Shen put away the needles, his forehead slick with sweat.

"That should do it. But it's only temporary."

He looked at Li Pingsheng, whose complexion had improved a little. "In exchange, you have to get me out of here safely."

"Sure." Li Pingsheng nodded.

He stopped holding back and led Pharmacist Shen through the chaos of the Black Market.

Anyone blocking their way, whether from the Black Water Gang or the Zhao Family, was sent flying with a single punch.

No one could so much as slow him down.

Following behind him, Pharmacist Shen watched the young man's back, his eyes full of astonishment.

Before long, the two of them broke through the encirclement around the Black Market.

Before leaving, Pharmacist Shen handed Li Pingsheng a bamboo tube.

"Young brother, words can't express my gratitude."

"There are three Pulse-Suppressing Pills inside. Take one a day, and they'll help keep your blood and qi in check. But remember, their effects will last three days at most."

"You have to bring back the Red Marrow Vine within three days."

Pharmacist Shen glanced at him.

"If you manage to get the herb back alive, come find me in Dry Well Alley, in the west of the city. I'll be waiting for you there."

With that, the old man turned and disappeared.

Li Pingsheng took the bamboo tube back to the martial hall courtyard.

He shut the door, tipped out a black Pulse-Suppressing Pill, and swallowed it.

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth. Its medicinal power spread through his body, and the swelling pain in his chest and meridians receded at once.

His body felt much lighter.

But he knew it was only temporary.

[Potential Points: 1]

He had potential points to spare, but he couldn't use them.

He'd thought he could cultivate in peace and astonish everyone at the Grand Exam.

But now, all his plans had fallen apart.

Three days.

He had only three days.

He had to sneak out of the city alone tonight or tomorrow night, enter Black Mist Forest, that hellhole crawling with monster beasts, and seize the Red Marrow Vine.

He had to deal with this before the Grand Exam and unlock his fourth specialty!