Evil Spirits

White Ape Martial Hall.

After lunch, Jiang Chen returned to his grueling training regimen.

As the monotonous practice dragged on, evening arrived in the blink of an eye.

[Cultivation: Blood-Qi Second Pass · Early Stage (11%)]

After dinner, Jiang Chen resumed his arduous training as usual.

His boundless stamina made many other disciples at the Blood-Qi Second Pass deeply envious.

Time slipped away.

By the end of the Hour of the Boar, the night had grown dark and heavy.

The training grounds were now completely deserted.

"That should be enough."

Having recovered his strength and blood-qi, Jiang Chen did not continue training. Instead, he donned his prepared disguise and quietly scaled the wall to leave the martial hall.

About thirty minutes later.

He arrived outside a dark alley in Willow Catkin Ward, concealing himself within the shadows.

Passing through this alley would lead to a district of vice, filled with brothels, theaters, gambling dens, and money shops.

Before he had awakened his spiritual wisdom, Zheng Hao and his cronies had frequently dragged him here.

Naturally, he was the one paying every time—a classic sucker.

His purpose for coming under the cover of night was to ambush and kill Zheng Hao and the others.

As the saying goes, a dog cannot change its habit of eating filth.

Even if Zheng Hao and his gang were short on cash, they would still wander over here whenever they had the chance.

All he had to do was wait patiently.

As he waited for the prey to come to him, the lonely moon hung in the night sky, nearing the stroke of midnight.

"It seems there is no hope for tonight."

Jiang Chen glanced at the moonlight and slipped away quietly.

Although he had come up empty-handed this time, as long as he waited a few more days, he would eventually catch them.

And once he caught them, it would be their time to die.

"Hm?"

While passing through a street, Jiang Chen suddenly felt a strange chill, as if something, like a ferocious beast, had glanced at him from the depths of the street.

Adhering to the principle that a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, he detoured without hesitation.

"That chill just now... why does it feel somewhat familiar?"

After returning to the martial hall, Jiang Chen finally felt a bit more at ease, then fell into deep thought.

He felt as though he had experienced that eerie chill somewhere before.

Was it from an ancient ruin in his past life?

"Forget it."

After pondering for a long time without a clue, Jiang Chen stopped wasting time and went to the training grounds to practice.

It was not until the stroke of the Hour of the Ox, around two in the morning, that he bathed and went to sleep.

[Cultivation: Blood-Qi Second Pass · Early Stage (15%)]

The next day, at the Hour of the Rabbit.

The sound of the dawn watchman's gong echoed through the air.

Jiang Chen rose at the sound.

The others in the room were startled awake, and upon hearing the watchman, they marveled even more at Jiang Chen's stamina.

He had rested so late yesterday, yet he was up so early today.

His stamina was truly ferocious.

It was no wonder Jiang Chen's cultivation had been progressing so rapidly lately.

There was simply no comparing to him.

At the start of the Hour of the Rabbit.

The eastern horizon glowed faintly. Having already completed one round of training, Jiang Chen headed to the cafeteria to eat, filled his stomach, and after recovering his strength, resumed his grueling practice.

At the start of the Hour of the Dragon.

Drenched in sweat after his second round of training, Jiang Chen retracted his fists and stood tall.

[Cultivation: Blood and Qi Stage 2 · Early (17%)]

"Junior Brother Jiang, the Five Elements Pill has been acquired."

While Jiang Chen was resting, Sun Wu approached and handed over a porcelain bottle.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Sun!"

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. He opened the bottle, and a medicinal fragrance rushed toward him.

Compared to the Five Elements Pill sold on the market, this fragrance was significantly more potent.

Gulp.

Jiang Chen immediately swallowed one and stood in a horse stance to look within.

Once the pill entered his stomach, it transformed into pure medicinal power that diffused outward. Both the rate of dissolution and the volume of the medicinal force far exceeded that of an ordinary Five Elements Pill.

"Judging by this potency, the effect is likely fifty percent stronger."

Jiang Chen felt a surge of joy.

A fifty percent increase in efficacy meant his cultivation speed would also increase by fifty percent.

Previously, he could only improve by 1% per hour, but now, by taking this high-quality Five Elements Pill, it was possible to reach 1.5%.

First, he had extended his daily cultivation time.

Then, the high-quality pill had boosted his cultivation efficiency.

At this rate, he would likely reach the perfection of the Blood and Qi Stage 2 in just over ten days.

Compared to before, this was more than twice as fast.

With the cultivation time for the Blood and Qi Stage 2 shortened, he would have more than enough time to prepare for the Martial Exam.

Hoo!

Once the medicinal effect took hold and his stamina and blood-qi were restored, Jiang Chen immediately began to practice.

"Junior Brother Jiang not only has extraordinary comprehension but his constitution is also quite fierce."

This scene made Sun Wu think even more highly of Jiang Chen.

It could be said that apart from his innate bone structure, Jiang Chen was a genius in every other aspect.

Even if he couldn't catch up to this year's Martial Exam, his future achievements would not be low.

At noon, the sun hung high.

[Cultivation: Blood and Qi Stage 2 · Early (20%)]

Drenched in sweat, Jiang Chen exhaled a long, hot breath.

On the Myriad Dao Chart, his cultivation progress was exactly as expected: a 1.5% increase in one hour.

This put Jiang Chen in a great mood.

By the time he cultivated to the perfection of the Blood and Qi Stage 2, it would be difficult for him not to attract attention.

After all, ever since he awakened his spiritual wisdom, he had been advancing by leaps and bounds; the Martial Arts Hall had every reason to cultivate him as a priority.

Over the next few days, he only slept for three hours a day.

The rest of the time, aside from eating, sleeping, and standing in his horse stance, was spent practicing the White Ape Fist.

His cultivation experience improved methodically.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Boom!

That night, while Jiang Chen was practicing, drenched in sweat, his movements suddenly paused.

A scorching energy diffused from his five viscera, merging into his martial blood-qi.

Immediately, his martial blood-qi underwent a transformation; impurities were constantly purged, and a formidable aura swept outward, causing quite a shock.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Technique: White Ape Fist · Perfection]

[Cultivation: Blood and Qi Stage 2 · Mid (0%)]

[Martial Art: Stone Moving Method · Perfection]

On the Myriad Dao Chart, the cultivation column had changed, reaching the mid-stage of the Blood and Qi Stage 2.

Seven nights ago, he had just stepped into the early stage of the Blood and Qi Stage 2, and now, he had successfully entered the mid-stage.

This cultivation speed could truly be described as advancing a thousand miles a day.

The comprehension bonus from the Myriad Dao Chart and the Dao Fruit Eternal, combined with the high-quality pills, were enough to bridge the gap between ordinary bone structure and medium-grade bone structure.

No, even those with ordinary medium-grade bone structure could no longer be compared to him.

Bang!

Jiang Chen arrived before the wooden stake and threw a punch with explosive, surging vitality.

An indentation about five inches deep appeared on the Iron Wood Stake.

"Five hundred jin of force!"

Feeling the transformation of his martial vitality, Jiang Chen could not hide his smile.

To be honest.

This feeling of becoming stronger simply by putting in the effort was satisfying to the very marrow of his bones.

"I hope I don't come up empty-handed tonight."

After his cultivation breakthrough, Jiang Chen changed his clothes, disguised himself, and quietly scaled the wall to leave the Martial Arts Hall.

Once he reached the dark alley, he lay in wait, silent as a hunting beast.

"This voice..."

At the hour of the Rat, just as Jiang Chen thought he would miss out again, his ears suddenly twitched.

He heard a familiar voice.

The prey had arrived!

In the shadows, Jiang Chen's eyes glinted with cold light.

After waiting for several days, he had finally caught them.

Hard work truly pays off.

"My luck is really good today; I won every single bet."

"Luck is one thing, but the real hero is Brother Zheng."

"That's right, if Brother Zheng hadn't gone all-in every time, we wouldn't have won so much."

"Finally, we don't have to worry about our debts..."

In the dark alley, those veteran disciples crowded around Zheng Hao, their faces full of excitement.

"I'm in a good mood today, let's head to the Spring Fragrance Pavilion to have some fun."

Zheng Hao was full of bravado, ready to indulge himself.

Whoosh!

Just as they passed a corner, Jiang Chen, who had been waiting, lunged out at high speed.

Rip!

Zheng Hao, who was in the lead, only felt a dark shadow flash before his eyes, followed by a sharp pain in his heart, and his consciousness plunged into total darkness.

"You..."

Seeing Zheng Hao killed in a single exchange, the others stood frozen, their legs turning to jelly, completely stunned by fear.

A bunch of rookies!

Jiang Chen would never miss such a perfect opportunity; he drew his blade cleanly and lunged forward with the ferocity of a wild beast.

Squelch...

Accompanied by the cold flash of the blade cutting through the air.

Fatal wounds appeared on all of them.

In less than two breaths, they were all dead.

His combat experience from his past life was displayed to the fullest at this moment.

After skillfully looting the bodies, Jiang Chen left quickly with the money bags.

As for the corpses of Zheng Hao and the others, he did not bother to dispose of them.

This area was chaotic, and dead bodies were a common occurrence.

"Hm?"

On his way back to the Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Chen's footsteps faltered.

The dark, empty street ahead was permeated with an eerie and familiar chill, the same sense of danger as if being watched by a vicious beast, surging into his heart once again.

"This is... that haunted house?!"

This time, Jiang Chen finally remembered.

He had felt the source of that familiar chill in that haunted house.

So, had he encountered an evil spirit?

He couldn't be that unlucky, could he?