Impact

Whoosh!

Jiang Chen immediately surged forward, shooting like an arrow toward the mole at the corner.

"Oh no!"

Seeing Jiang Chen suddenly charge at him, the mole nearly had his soul scared out of him. A strange surge of blood qi erupted inside him, and he turned to flee.

Thud.

But the instant he turned, a tremendous kick struck his back, sending him flying. He crashed heavily to the ground, vomiting blood.

"Spare me, young master!"

With a rush of wind, Jiang Chen appeared in his view, his expression cold.

"I'll give you one chance. Who sent you? What are you after?"

Jiang Chen planted a foot on the man's head.

His martial blood qi gathered, building up several hundred pounds of force.

One stomp would be enough to burst that head like a watermelon.

"The Azure Dragon Gang paid me to report on what happened in the household..."

Facing death, the man wasted no time. The information spilled out of him like beans from a tipped sack.

"So... I'm the target?"

After hearing him out, Jiang Chen quickly pieced everything together.

First, they had set the warehouse ablaze to lure his father out, then ambushed him along the way. Once the household's guards had been drawn away, they would finally make their move against Jiang Chen.

After all, he was the family's only son. Never mind a few shops—his parents would surely surrender their entire fortune for him.

Each link in this chain fit neatly into the next. Clearly, they had been planning this for a long time, waiting for him to return home on leave from the martial hall.

No wonder the Azure Dragon Gang's men had left so readily last time. They had come to scout the place and plant a mole.

"Who else did they buy off besides you?"

Jiang Chen pressed him.

"As far as I know, I'm the only one."

The mole answered.

"You'd better think carefully before you answer."

Jiang Chen pressed down with his foot, making the mole feel death's suffocating grip.

"Young master, I swear I'm not lying! Right, they're hiding in Back Alley. If you don't believe me, you can take some men and catch them!"

The mole spoke hurriedly, even revealing the exact meeting place.

"What's going on with your martial blood qi?"

Jiang Chen eased his foot slightly and asked another question.

If he remembered correctly, this mole had always been an ordinary person. How had he gained blood qi?

Normally, even someone with the aptitude for martial arts would have that potential sealed away after passing the proper age for training, leaving them unable to awaken primordial energy.

Moreover, the mole's blood qi fluctuations were extremely strange. They carried an indescribable bloody aura, nothing like normal martial blood qi.

"The Azure Dragon Gang gave me a treasure pill. Taking it made me a martial artist."

Like a fish on the chopping block, the mole dared not conceal anything.

"A treasure pill? Taking it makes you a martial artist?"

That answer caught Jiang Chen completely off guard.

Doesn't that mean they can manufacture martial artists?

If these pills can be mass-produced, couldn't everyone become a martial artist?

How does a gang possess such miraculous medicine?

Crack.

Having extracted the information, Jiang Chen sent the mole to his grave with a single, unhesitating stomp.

He never showed mercy to traitors who bit the hand that fed them.

[Evil cultivator subdued. Origin Source +1]

Just as Jiang Chen was about to head to the Ancestral Residence, a line of ethereal text appeared on the Myriad Dao Chart.

[Talent: Soul Seal · First Tier (7/10) +]

[Origin Source: 1 point]

Along with it came one additional point of Origin Source.

"Evil cultivator? Origin Source?"

As he looked at the mole whose head had burst like a watermelon, a gleam gradually rose in Jiang Chen's eyes.

Besides demons and evil spirits, killing evil cultivators gives primordial points too?

This discovery naturally delighted him.

Demons and evil spirits were too dangerous to provoke recklessly.

But these so-called evil cultivators were another matter.

Take this mole, for instance. At merely the first qi and blood gate, killing him was as easy as chopping melons and slicing vegetables.

If Jiang Chen could hunt down more evil cultivators, his Soul Seal would surely improve by leaps and bounds.

"Back Alley..."

After only a few seconds of thought, Jiang Chen made his decision.

He sent someone to tell his mother to head to the clan first, then changed into the mole's clothes and set off for Back Alley.

"Add the point."

On the way, he used the Origin Source he had just obtained to improve his Soul Seal.

[Talent: Soul Seal · First Tier (8/10)]

[Origin Source: 0 points]

Immediately, his Soul Seal strengthened. His soul force grew more abundant, and his perception became even clearer.

Before long, Jiang Chen climbed over a wall into Back Alley.

Partly covering his face, he walked with his head lowered, looking furtive. In truth, he was extending his Soul Force Perception to its fullest reach.

Found them!

Soon, Jiang Chen sensed those peculiar blood qi fluctuations.

Just as the mole had said, there were only two blood qi martial artists.

Both, however, had reached the three qi and blood gates.

"What took you so long? What's happening at the Jiang Clan?"

Hearing footsteps, the two poked their heads out to look. At the sight of the familiar clothes, they immediately jogged over, complaining as they questioned him.

They were still waiting for definite news so they could report back.

Whoosh!

The instant both entered his attack range, Jiang Chen struck. His movements were as swift and fierce as a beast springing from ambush.

Squelch!

In the next instant, blood blossomed in rapid succession.

The two had barely sensed anything amiss before suffering fatal strikes. Blood sprayed from their hearts, throats, and temples, while their faces visibly turned a livid blue-black.

It was the heart-slaying poison Jiang Chen had been studying!

"You..."

Both collapsed like heaps of mud, blood spreading beneath them. Only in their final moments did they finally see Jiang Chen's face clearly, but by then, it was too late.

[Evil cultivator subdued. Origin Source +1]

[Evil cultivator subdued. Origin Source +1]

As the two breathed their last, another two lines of ethereal text drifted across the Myriad Dao Chart.

"Only one point of Origin Source, even at the three qi and blood gates?"

Jiang Chen deftly moved the bodies away, inwardly puzzled.

The mole had only been at the first qi and blood gate, yet he had yielded one point of Origin Source.

Now these two evil cultivators at the three qi and blood gates had also yielded only one point each?

Could every evil cultivator in the blood qi realm be worth just one point of Origin Source?

"Add the points!"

Of course, Jiang Chen did not dwell on it. He immediately raised his Soul Seal's tier.

With all ten points of Origin Source gathered, his Soul Seal could advance to the second tier.

The first-tier Soul Seal had already benefited him greatly. At the second tier, it would surely be even stronger.

Hum!

The Myriad Dao Chart shone with radiant Dao light, and an immortal resonance of the Dao rang through his soul sea.

[Myriad Dao Chart]

[Dao Master: Jiang Chen]

[Cultivation method: White Ape Breathing Method · Perfection]

[Cultivation: Three qi and blood gates · Third Aperture 0%]

[Martial arts: White Ape Combat Method · Perfection]

[Talent: Soul Seal · Second Tier (0/20)]

[Origin Source: 0 points]

Under the talent entry, his Soul Seal underwent a transformation.

Mysterious, profound information emerged from the Soul Seal and merged into his soul sea.

"Soul Force Impact?!"

Soon, Jiang Chen absorbed that profound information.

Just as he had expected, each tier of the Soul Seal granted a new ability.

At the first tier, it was Soul Force Perception, which could scan like divine sense.

At the second tier, it was Soul Force Impact.

As its name suggested, he could concentrate his soul force to unleash an invisible impact.

This impact would not harm the physical body. Instead, it would strike the soul directly, just like that Soul Demon!

"This is a real killing move!"

Once he understood the Soul Seal's second-tier ability, delight surged in Jiang Chen's eyes.

Soul Force Impact!

This ability is devastating!

Never mind someone at the three qi and blood gates—even someone at the true martial third layer could be killed in a single strike!

With such a terrifying trump card, I can swagger through Prefecture City unchallenged from now on!

How could he not be excited?

Tap, tap, tap.

Just then, brisk footsteps came from the far end of Back Alley.

"This aura... the true martial realm?!"

Jiang Chen immediately noticed it and determined the approaching person's cultivation in an instant.

After reaching the second tier, his Soul Seal had not only unlocked Soul Seal Impact but also strengthened his Soul Force Perception.

First was its range, which had increased from five meters at the first tier to ten meters.

Second was its density, which had gradually shifted from its original transparency toward something tangible.

An image of the person's appearance even surfaced in his mind.

Perfect timing!

Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, eagerness flashing within them.

I'll test the Soul Seal's new ability on this true martial realm fellow!