"Junior Brother Jiang."
"Senior Brother Jiang."
After entering the martial hall, quite a few disciples greeted him along the way. Jiang Chen returned their greetings and headed straight for the Inner Courtyard.
"Senior Brother Sun."
After finding Sun Wu, Jiang Chen took out six thousand taels' worth of banknotes.
Besides the six thousand taels for the pills, his parents had also given him another thousand taels as a reserve.
"I've already contacted the Ghost Market. There should be stock tonight."
Sun Wu accepted the banknotes and said with a smile.
Although a suspected genius with Superior Bone Aptitude had suddenly appeared today, drawing the entire martial hall's attention,
Sun Wu cared more about Jiang Chen than Tang Mu.
That was not to say Jiang Chen's talent surpassed Tang Mu's.
Quite the opposite.
A genius on Tang Mu's level was simply too far beyond the norm. He was destined to stand on a different level from them; they could only look up at him.
Jiang Chen, on the other hand, was far more down-to-earth.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Sun."
After leaving the Inner Courtyard, Jiang Chen did not go cultivate. Instead, he went to the apothecaries on the streets and bought various poisonous materials in batches.
He intended to prepare poison for self-defense.
What had happened with the Azure Dragon Gang gave him an even stronger sense of urgency.
With Soul Seal Perception helping him, Blood Qi Realm cultivators basically posed no threat to him.
But the True Martial Realm was different.
Judging from his earlier exchange with Sun Wu, martial Blood Qi before Martial True Qi was like a cat before a tiger.
There was an essential difference between the two.
Therefore, if he wanted to deal with True Martial Realm cultivators, he had to rely on external means.
The poison arts he had studied in his previous life were the most suitable such means.
With his poison-preparing methods, as long as he broke through their defenses and drew blood, even immortals would be powerless to save them.
As dusk gradually fell, Jiang Chen returned to the martial hall with the materials.
He came to an open space in the rear courtyard and began grinding the medicinal ingredients and measuring their proportions.
When refining poison in his previous life, he had needed instruments to precisely control the ratios. But now, with Soul Seal Perception, preparing it was much easier.
Time slipped away quietly.
"It's done!"
When a waning moon hung across the sky and the distant sound of a night watchman drifted over, Jiang Chen took out a dagger.
A faint gray layer had appeared upon the dagger, which had originally gleamed with chilling sharpness.
That gray substance was the Heart-Slaying Poison he had carefully concocted.
Once it touched someone, its toxicity would swiftly invade their heart.
Even a True Martial Realm cultivator would absolutely find it hard to escape death.
The next day, at Chen Hour.
"Junior Brother Jiang, these are the Aperture Breaking Pills."
As Jiang Chen sat cross-legged in meditation, Sun Wu came over with three bottles of pills.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Sun."
Jiang Chen opened a bottle and poured out a round pill.
An invigorating medicinal fragrance immediately spread through the air. From that scent alone, it was clear that its medicinal potency far exceeded that of the Five Elements Pill.
Gulp.
After Jiang Chen swallowed it, he felt nothing unusual within his body.
Only when he looked inward with his mind did he discover that the pill was slowly dissolving into a special energy, silently merging with his martial Blood Qi.
"Let's see how effective it is."
Once the medicinal power had completely fused, Jiang Chen went to a quiet corner and sat down cross-legged.
As his breathing technique rose and fell, martial Blood Qi surged toward the First Aperture in rhythm with it.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
The martial Blood Qi that had once been like scraping with a dull blade, empowered by the medicine, seemed to transform into knives and axes. As it hacked and cleaved, faint cutting sounds rang out.
Marks continuously appeared on the First Aperture's seemingly indestructible shell.
The more marks there were, the greater the First Aperture's wear.
"No wonder it's called an Aperture Breaking Pill."
Seeing the wear on the First Aperture, Jiang Chen was in high spirits.
The special medicinal properties contained in the Aperture Breaking Pill were specifically meant to break through the shell.
At this rate, he would probably be able to officially break open the aperture in just seven days.
You really got what you paid for.
Without the help of high-quality Aperture Breaking Pills, with his bone aptitude, he likely would not have been able to budge the First Aperture's gate even after several months.
Time passed.
At Si Hour, in the Practice Field.
"Senior Brother Sun, Master asked us to go to the inner hall."
A personal disciple came over and spoke to Sun Wu.
"Have the results of Junior Brother Tang's bone aptitude test come out?"
Sun Wu's expression shifted.
After Tang Mu had entered the Inner Courtyard yesterday, his master had personally examined his bones.
Unfortunately, even his master could not accurately determine Tang Mu's bone aptitude, so he had taken Tang Mu to the Zhou Clan.
Yet now, they had been summoned together to the Inner Courtyard.
There was no need to ask. Tang Mu's talent was almost certainly Superior Bone Aptitude.
If it had been Medium Bone Aptitude, there would have been no need for such a grand display.
"Judging from Master's expression, Superior Bone Aptitude is practically certain."
That disciple said excitedly.
With such a genius appearing in the martial hall, the Zhou Clan would surely increase its investment of resources into it.
As personal disciples, they would naturally benefit as well.
"Let's go."
Not long after, the two arrived at the Inner Courtyard's main hall.
Dozens of high-spirited figures had gathered in the spacious, simple core hall.
Whether personal disciples or elite disciples, all those qualified to enter this hall possessed Medium Bone Aptitude and had boundless prospects ahead of them.
As for those with Ordinary Bone Aptitude, even if they entered the Inner Courtyard, they were not qualified to come to this core hall.
That was the difference in treatment brought by bone aptitude!
"Senior Brother Sun!"
"Senior Brother Sun!"
"Junior Brother Sun!"
The Inner Courtyard disciples all greeted him.
It could be said that the vast majority of the Inner Courtyard disciples had received Sun Wu's guidance.
The only ones with higher standing than Sun Wu were Meng Wentao, Zhou Yuqing, and a few others at the very front.
Tap, tap, tap.
At that moment, a set of brisk footsteps sounded.
A dignified middle-aged man with a beaming smile emerged from the inner hall, leading Tang Mu, whose skin was dark and whose expression was bashful.
"Master!"
All the gathered disciples respectfully bowed.
That middle-aged man was Zhou Rongfeng, the master of the White Ape Martial Hall. His cultivation was extraordinarily formidable and had long surpassed the True Martial Realm.
Even in the Prefecture City, Zhou Rongfeng counted as a formidable expert in his own right.
"I called you here to announce something."
"Starting today, Tang Mu will enter my tutelage and become a personal disciple!"
Zhou Rongfeng acted decisively and got straight to the point without wasting words.
"Disciple Tang Mu greets Master!"
Tang Mu immediately knelt and performed the ceremony of becoming a personal disciple, then offered his apprenticeship tea.
"Good, good, good!"
After Zhou Rongfeng drank the apprenticeship tea, his face bloomed like a flower, wholly lacking his usual majesty.
A genius with Superior Bone Aptitude was rare not only in White Cloud County, but even across all of Anning Prefecture—only a few might appear in an entire year.
With Tang Mu's talent, barring any mishaps, he would not only enter the True Sun Sect, but become one of its absolute core members.
Having taken in such an extraordinary talent, Zhou Rongfeng was naturally elated.
"Congratulations, Master, on gaining such a fine disciple!"
Seeing how highly Zhou Rongfeng valued Tang Mu, all the Inner Courtyard disciples offered their congratulations.
They knew very well that the situation among the Inner Courtyard disciples was about to change.
From now on, Tang Mu would surpass personal disciples such as Meng Wentao and become the martial hall's chief disciple. Even Zhou Yuqing would have to step aside.
In the martial world, talent and bone aptitude mattered more than bloodline!
"All right, disperse. Mu'er, come with me."
Zhou Rongfeng waved his hand and left with Tang Mu, smiling broadly.
The reason he had gathered the Inner Courtyard disciples today was to establish Tang Mu's status.
"Junior Sister Zhou, just how far has Junior Brother Tang's talent reached?"
After Zhou Rongfeng and Tang Mu left, the burly Meng Wentao spoke up.
Personal disciples such as Sun Wu and elite disciples such as Jiang Xuan all turned to look at Zhou Yuqing.
They had only heard of geniuses with Superior Bone Aptitude before; today was their first time seeing one in the flesh.
Naturally, they were extremely curious about just how powerful Superior Bone Aptitude truly was.
"I don't know the specifics either, but I heard my father say that with Junior Brother Tang's talent, he can reach the Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month. Within a month, he may enter the True Martial Realm."
Zhou Yuqing did not hide anything.
The Zhou Clan was an aristocratic powerhouse, a true old-established overlord in White Cloud County.
With someone possessing Superior Bone Aptitude under their banner, there was no need to conceal it. They had to publicize it far and wide instead.
Especially now that the Upper Sect had just taken over the Prefecture City, the Zhou Clan needed to stand out even more.
The more strength the Zhou Clan displayed, the more importance the True Sun Sect would place on them.
"The Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month?!"
"A chance to enter the True Martial Realm in one month?!"
Hearing Zhou Yuqing's words, both the True Martial Realm personal disciples and the elite disciples at the Three Qi and Blood Gates sucked in sharp breaths.
They had guessed that Superior Bone Aptitude would be extraordinarily powerful, but they had not expected it to be this terrifying.
The Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month!
A chance to enter the True Martial Realm in one month!
It was simply enough to leave them choking on dust!
Before you continue