Evil Spirit

White Ape Martial Hall.

After lunch, Jiang Chen once again entered a state of bitter cultivation.

In the dull routine of training, the afternoon slipped by in a flash.

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

After dinner, Jiang Chen carried on with his usual bitter cultivation.

His seemingly boundless stamina made quite a few disciples at the Second Blood Qi Gate green with envy.

In the blink of an eye.

Late in Hai Hour, the night was dark and heavy.

The Practice Field was already deserted.

"About time."

Jiang Chen had recovered his strength and Blood Qi, but he did not resume training. Instead, carrying the clothes he had prepared for his disguise, he quietly climbed over the wall and left the martial hall.

A little over two quarters of an hour later.

He reached a dark alley in Willow Catkin Ward and hid in the shadows nearby.

Beyond the alley lay a district of pleasure-seeking, with brothels, theaters, gambling dens, money houses, and the like.

Before he had awakened his spiritual wisdom, Zheng Hao and the others had often brought him here to have fun.

Of course, he had paid every time—a classic sucker.

He had come under cover of night to lie in wait and kill Zheng Hao and the others.

As the saying went, a dog couldn't stop eating shit.

Even when they were short on cash, Zheng Hao and the others would still find an excuse to wander over.

All he had to do was wait patiently.

As he waited for the rabbit to run into the stump, the lone moon hung in the night sky. It was nearly midnight.

"Looks like there's no hope tonight."

Jiang Chen glanced at the moonlight and slipped away quietly.

Though he had come up empty this time, if he waited a few more days, he would catch them sooner or later.

And once he did, their days would be numbered.

"Hm?"

As he passed a street, Jiang Chen suddenly felt a trace of eerie cold. It was as if some ferocious beast deep down the street had glanced his way.

Keeping in mind that a wise man did not stand beneath a crumbling wall, he turned aside without hesitation.

"That chill just now... why did it feel so familiar?"

Only after returning to the martial hall did Jiang Chen feel somewhat at ease. He then fell into thought.

He seemed to have felt that kind of eerie chill somewhere before.

Was it in an ancient ruin in his previous life?

"Forget it."

After thinking it over for a long while without coming up with anything, Jiang Chen stopped wasting time and went to the Practice Field to train.

He kept at it until Chou Hour, around two in the morning. Only then did he bathe and go to bed.

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

The next day, at Mao Hour.

The dawn watchman's clapper sounded.

Jiang Chen rose at the sound.

The others in the room were woken too. Hearing the watchman, they were even more amazed by Jiang Chen's stamina.

He had gone to bed so late the night before, yet now he was up so early.

That stamina was truly ferocious.

No wonder Jiang Chen's cultivation had advanced so quickly lately.

There was just no keeping up with him.

At the start of Mao Hour.

A faint light appeared on the eastern horizon. Jiang Chen had already finished one round of training. He went to the dining hall to eat, fill his stomach, and recover his strength, then continued his bitter cultivation.

At the start of Chen Hour.

Jiang Chen was drenched in sweat. After finishing his second round of training, he lowered his fists and straightened up.

[Cultivation: Second Blood Qi Gate · Early Stage (17%)]

"Junior Brother Jiang, I got the Five Elements Pills."

As Jiang Chen rested, Sun Wu came over and handed him a porcelain bottle.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Sun!"

Jiang Chen's eyes lit up. He opened the bottle, and a medicinal fragrance wafted out.

The scent was clearly much richer than that of Five Elements Pills sold on the market.

Gulp.

Jiang Chen immediately swallowed one, then stood in a stance and looked inward.

After entering his stomach, the pill dissolved into pure medicinal energy that spread through him. Both the speed at which it dissolved and the amount of energy it contained far surpassed those of ordinary Five Elements Pills.

"Judging by this medicinal energy, it's probably fifty percent more effective."

Jiang Chen was delighted.

A fifty-percent boost in medicinal efficacy meant his cultivation speed would rise by the same amount.

Before, he could only improve by 1% in an hour. Now, with high-quality Five Elements Pills, he might reach 1.5%.

First, he had extended his daily training time.

Then, high-quality pills had improved the results of his training.

At this rate, he would probably need only a little over ten days to reach perfection at the Second Blood Qi Gate.

That was more than twice as fast as before.

With the time needed to cultivate at the Second Blood Qi Gate cut short, he would have much more time to prepare for the Martial Exam.

Hoo!

Once the medicine took effect and his strength and Blood Qi had recovered, Jiang Chen immediately resumed training.

"Junior Brother Jiang has exceptional comprehension, and his constitution is formidable too."

This sight made Sun Wu even more confident in Jiang Chen.

Aside from his Ordinary Bone Aptitude, Jiang Chen was a genius in every respect.

Even if he couldn't make this year's Martial Exam, he would still go far.

At noon, the sun blazed overhead.

[Cultivation: Second Blood Qi Gate · Early Stage (20%)]

Drenched in sweat, Jiang Chen let out a long breath.

His progress on the Myriad Dao Chart was just as he had expected: 1.5% in an hour.

That put Jiang Chen in an excellent mood.

Once he reached perfection at the Second Blood Qi Gate, he wouldn't be able to avoid drawing attention even if he wanted to.

After all, ever since awakening his spiritual wisdom, he had advanced by leaps and bounds. The martial hall had no reason not to focus on cultivating him.

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

Other than eating, sleeping, and standing in a stance, he spent all his time practicing the White Ape Fist.

His cultivation experience rose steadily.

In the blink of an eye, five days passed.

Boom!

That night, as Jiang Chen trained, drenched in sweat, his movements suddenly stopped.

A scorching energy spread from his five viscera and flowed into his martial Blood Qi.

At once, his martial Blood Qi transformed. Impurities were steadily purified, and a powerful aura swept outward, enough to make anyone's heart skip a beat.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Technique: White Ape Fist · Perfect]

[Cultivation: Second Blood Qi Gate · Middle Stage (0%)]

[Martial Skill: Stone Moving Method · Perfect]

The cultivation entry on the Myriad Dao Chart had changed. He had reached the middle stage of the Second Blood Qi Gate.

Seven days ago, he had only just entered the Second Blood Qi Gate. Now he had smoothly advanced to its middle stage.

This rate of cultivation could easily be called a thousand-mile journey in a single day.

The Myriad Dao Chart's boost to his comprehension, Dao Fruit Eternal, and the high-quality pills were enough to make up for the gap between Ordinary Bone Aptitude and Medium Bone Aptitude.

No, even people with ordinary Medium Bone Aptitude could no longer compare to him.

Bang!

Jiang Chen went to the wooden stake and suddenly drove a punch into it, his powerful Blood Qi bursting forth.

A fist mark about five inches across appeared on the Iron Wood Stake.

"Five hundred jin of force!"

Feeling his martial Blood Qi transform, Jiang Chen couldn't hide his smile.

Honestly.

The feeling of growing stronger just by putting in the effort was downright intoxicating.

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

After his breakthrough, Jiang Chen changed clothes, put on his disguise, and quietly climbed over the wall to leave the martial hall.

Once he reached the dark alley, he lay in wait in silence, like a beast on the hunt.

"That voice..."

At midnight, just as Jiang Chen thought he was about to come up empty again, his ears suddenly twitched.

He had heard a familiar voice.

The prey had arrived!

In the shadows, a cold glint filled Jiang Chen's eyes.

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

Hard work had paid off.

"We've been on a winning streak tonight. We've guessed right several times in a row."

"We've been lucky, sure, but Brother Zheng deserves most of the credit."

"That's right. If Brother Zheng hadn't bet everything every time, we wouldn't have won so much."

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

In the alley, several older disciples clustered around Zheng Hao, all of them beaming with excitement.

"I'm in a good mood tonight. Let's go have some fun at the Spring Fragrance Pavilion."

Zheng Hao was feeling generous and ready to indulge himself.

Whoosh!

As they passed a corner, Jiang Chen, who had been waiting all this time, lunged out at full speed.

Slash!

Zheng Hao, who was leading the group, saw a dark blur flash before his eyes. A moment later, a sharp pain struck his heart, and his consciousness plunged into darkness.

"You..."

Seeing Zheng Hao killed in an instant, the others froze in place. Their legs went weak, and they were completely stunned.

A bunch of rookies!

Jiang Chen wasn't about to let such a perfect opportunity slip by. He drew his blade without hesitation and pounced like a savage beast.

Pfft, pfft...

As the icy blade flashed through the air,

each of them suffered a fatal wound.

In less than two breaths, they were all dead.

His practical combat experience from his previous life was on full display.

After searching the bodies with practiced ease, Jiang Chen snatched up the money pouches and hurried away.

He didn't bother dealing with Zheng Hao and the others' corpses.

This district was a den of chaos. Dead bodies were nothing unusual.

"Hm?"

On his way back to the martial hall, Jiang Chen suddenly stopped.

A strange yet familiar chill filled the pitch-black, deserted street ahead. The same dangerous feeling of being watched by a ferocious beast rose in his heart once more.

"Could this be... that Cursed House?!"

This time, Jiang Chen finally remembered.

He had felt that familiar chill inside that Cursed House.

So had he run into an evil spirit?

Could he really be this unlucky?