Inventory, Improvement (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

Fang Shuwen slowly retracted his fist, his knuckles stained with blood—he couldn't tell if it was his own or his opponent's.

He glanced down at the man in grey lying on the ground; the man's chest had collapsed inward, and he was dead beyond any doubt.

"Whew, I never expected that in less than a month, I'd go from a completely ignorant ordinary person to killing a Bright Force martial arts master!"

Fang Shuwen sighed, then crouched down to start searching the man in grey.

Life is hard; one cannot afford to pass up any opportunity to make money.

Let's just call it compensation for emotional distress.

Soon, he fished a leather wallet from the man's waist. Opening it, he found a dozen silver dollars and a piece of yellowed parchment.

He pulled the paper out and unfolded it under the moonlight.

The paper featured several diagrams of the human body, with tiny, fly-head-sized characters written beside each illustration.

"Is this a body-tempering technique?"

By the dim light, Fang Shuwen caught sight of words like "tempering," "copper skin," and so on.

In an instant, he realized this was actually a body-tempering technique.

Unfortunately, it appeared incomplete—a mere fragment.

The timing was wrong; now was not the time for study.

Fang Shuwen folded the paper and tucked it into his shirt.

He continued to rummage through the man's belongings, finding nothing but a box of matches and half a pack of cigarettes.

Then, he pulled out a blue-covered work ID.

"Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division, Wang Jiu."

So, it really was them.

That Lin Xiu had acted polite and courteous while taking his leave, only to turn around and send a Bright Force martial artist to intercept him.

What exactly was that Soaring Serpent scale?

Why would it be important enough for the Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division to value it so highly?

Fang Shuwen pondered in his heart.

The information he had was too scarce to grasp the underlying reasons.

Yet, it weighed heavily on his mind; given the current situation, if Lin Xiu and his people found out that he was the one who took the Soaring Serpent scale and had even absorbed the strange power within it, he had no idea what might befall him.

But as things stood, if this matter were exposed, given the modus operandi of the Folklore and Antiquities Investigation Division, he certainly wouldn't meet a good end.

Therefore, no one could know; it had to be buried deep within his heart.

"I must keep a low profile for a while and not show any abnormalities."

With his mind made up, Fang Shuwen shoved the ID back into Wang Jiu's clothes, stood up, and scanned the ruins.

The night wind blew in through the half-collapsed roof, carrying the choking scent of blood and lime dust.

He bent down, grabbed the ankle of Wang Jiu's corpse, and dragged it to the deepest corner of the ruins.

There was a dry well there, its mouth mostly blocked by rubble, leaving a dark hole just large enough for a person to pass through.

Fang Shuwen pushed the body down and piled a few more stones over the opening to make the scene look like a natural collapse.

Having finished, he dusted off his hands, turned, and vanished into the night.

He did not return directly to the Zhao Estate.

Instead, he took seven or eight turns through the small alleys of the county town, confirming there were no tails behind him, before heading toward the Zhao Estate.

In the backyard of the Zhao Estate.

The light was still on in Old Fang's room, and through the paper window, one could see a hunched figure sitting by the table.

When Fang Shuwen pushed the door open, Old Fang was nodding off, his head bobbing up and down.

Hearing the movement, Old Fang jerked his head up, a flash of relief crossing his cloudy eyes.

"Shuwen, you're back? Are you hungry? Hu Da left some food for you; shall I heat it up?"

"I've already eaten, Dad. You should get some sleep."

Fang Shuwen replied, walked into the inner room, and pulled the curtain shut.

He sat down on the bed in the inner room, and the halo of the oil lamp spilled through the curtain, casting a dim, yellowish light onto the blue-brick floor.

Fang Shuwen took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

The entire battle, from being tracked to the counter-kill, had taken no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

But only he knew the true peril involved.

If that pouch of lime powder hadn't delayed Wang Jiu for even a split second.

If the opponent hadn't been careless, never expecting him to suddenly advance to Bright Force.

Then, The one lying in that dry well right now would likely be himself.

"A Bright Force martial artist..."

Fang Shuwen looked down at his own hands.

His palms were a size larger than before, his knuckles thick and sturdy, the muscles at the web of his thumbs bulging, with the traces of surging blood and qi faintly visible beneath his skin.

He clenched his fists, and his joints crackled.

It wasn't the crisp, sharp sound from before, but a dull, rumbling noise like muffled thunder.

One sound.

Only one sound.

The bone cracks from his feet, waist, and shoulders had merged into one.

This was the true Three-Sound Bone Crack, the integration of force into the body.

Fang Shuwen slowly loosened his fists and summoned the Martial Dao Panel once more.

The light screen unfolded before his eyes, text emerging like flowing water.

[Name: Fang Shuwen]

[Attack: 10; Defense: 8; Vitality: 6; Spirit: 3]

[Technique: Soaring Snake Fist (Great Success)]

[Special Effect: Snake Form]

[Skill Points: 22]

Fang Shuwen's gaze swept across the panel line by line, his pupils dilating slightly.

Attack had jumped from 7 to 10, Defense had risen from 6 to 8, Vitality had leaped from 5 to 6, and Spirit remained unchanged.

This time, the improvement from Mastery to Great Success in Soaring Snake Fist brought an attribute boost far exceeding any previous one.

A single attribute had increased by three points; though it seemed like only three points, his strength had nearly doubled.

Although he hadn't tested it yet, based on his own intuition, it was at least around twelve hundred jin.

Defense had increased by two points, and his skin felt much rougher to the touch, like touching cowhide.

I wonder if it can defend against cold weapons.

Fang Shuwen thought for a moment and picked up a small knife from the table.

He then drew it across his arm, leaving only a shallow white mark; it hadn't even broken the skin.

Fang Shuwen was slightly stunned and applied a bit more force.

The blade pressed into his skin but still failed to cut through, leaving only a deeper indentation that quickly faded away.

"Is this the effect of Defense 8?"

Fang Shuwen muttered, increasing the force again, using about a hundred jin of pressure.

This time, it finally broke the skin, and a faint trace of blood seeped out.

Seeing this, Fang Shuwen put the knife away.

He had a clear idea now.

It wouldn't be easy for ordinary people to hurt him with cold weapons anymore.

As for firearms...

Fang Shuwen shook his head; that was something on an entirely different level.

Defense 8 still couldn't block those.

"Vitality only increased by one point, and Spirit still hasn't changed..."

Fang Shuwen's gaze fell back to the panel, his brows knitting slightly.

The Spirit attribute remained at 3 points; aside from the time he gained the talent for comprehension, it hadn't moved at all during the subsequent improvements.

Looking further down, there were 22 skill points.

"Hmm? This improvement only cost 15 skill points, even less than the consumption from Proficiency to Mastery?"

Fang Shuwen was slightly dazed. According to how the panel worked, the higher the martial arts realm, the more skill points it should require.

But why had the cost decreased for this improvement?

He stared at the numbers on the panel, his mind racing.

15 points.

It had only taken 15 points to go from Mastery to Great Success.

Yet, the previous jump from Proficiency to Mastery had cost 20 points.

Could it be related to the pointers Lord Zheng gave me today?