Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique

Seeing Zhao Zonglin's corpse lying on the ground, Chen Jing didn't approach right away. He silently walked over, bent down, and picked up a fist-sized rock.

Then—smash!!

Chen Jing brought it down without hesitation.

Zhao Zonglin's head jolted violently, blood spraying everywhere.

Chen Jing didn't even blink. He picked up another rock.

Smash!

Smash!!

He kept going until Zhao Zonglin's skull caved in and warped, blood seeped from the cracks, and his brains were faintly visible. Only when the man was dead beyond any doubt did Chen Jing finally stop.

He dropped the rock, calmly dusted off his hands, then walked over and crouched to search the body with practiced ease.

Before long, Chen Jing had recovered the money pouch he'd handed over earlier. He also found ten taels of silver and a crumpled little notebook tucked against Zhao Zonglin's waist.

After searching everything, Chen Jing first hacked at the wounds with his blade. Then he picked out a patch of relatively soft ground nearby, dug a shallow pit with his bare hands, and stuffed the corpse inside.

He covered it with dirt and dead grass, then stamped the ground with his foot until it was uneven, doing his best to make it look like the surrounding terrain.

The area was desolate. Zhao Zonglin's body was unlikely to be discovered here.

And even if it was found...

Who would ever suspect that a kid who had only just become a martial artist could kill a famous constable?

Once he had finished everything and confirmed there were no footprints, bloodstains, or suspicious objects at the scene, Chen Jing picked up his things and hurried away.

After leaving the wasteland, Chen Jing didn't head straight back to the slums. Instead, he took a roundabout route to the banks of Cold River, stripped off all his clothes, and pinned them beneath a rock. Then he plunged into the river's bone-chilling water.

The icy water quickly washed away the smell of blood, sweat, and mud.

After washing, Chen Jing changed into dry clothes and followed the stone path along the river back to the slums.

The night wind was as cold as a knife, yet Chen Jing felt calmer than ever.

First, Brother Tiger and his two companions. Then Xie Chong. And now Zhao Zonglin.

Without realizing it, he had already taken five lives.

"No wonder Yan Peng felt nothing when he beat me to death before."

"I'm only a First Blood Martial Artist, and already I've started treating human lives like weeds."

Feeling how much his state of mind had changed, Chen Jing couldn't help but sigh.

When Chen Jing reached his front door, he froze.

The lamp inside his home was still lit.

Candles were expensive in the slums. Chen Sanwu and Chen Chunmiao had never been willing to light one at night before.

But now the room was lit. Something had clearly happened!

At the thought, Chen Jing's heart tightened. He quickened his pace and pushed open the door.

As soon as he stepped inside, he saw Chen Sanwu and Chen Chunmiao sitting on chairs, their faces clouded with worry.

"Little brother, you... you're all right, aren't you?"

The moment Chen Chunmiao saw Chen Jing come in, she jumped up and hurried over to him.

Chen Sanwu didn't say anything, but his eyes were full of concern for Chen Jing.

"I'm fine."

Chen Jing waved a hand casually, his voice as steady as if he'd just gone out to buy groceries. "He asked me a few questions, then let me go. After that, he went to look for someone else."

Hearing this, Chen Sanwu and Chen Chunmiao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good... as long as you're all right..."

Chen Chunmiao patted her chest, her expression finally easing.

Chen Jing looked around the room, then suddenly said, "Dad, I have money now. Why don't you find a different job? Hauling carts is exhausting and dangerous, and the slums aren't safe either... Once I get paid next month, we can move out and rent a better place."

Chen Sanwu was stunned. After a long while, he gave a wry smile. "Find a different job? I've been hauling carts for half my life. What else could I do?"

"Anything."

Chen Jing spoke earnestly. "I'm a martial artist now, and I can go hunting too. The money I earn each month will be enough to support the family. You don't have to keep working so hard."

Chen Sanwu fell silent for a long time before finally nodding slightly. "I'll think about it... We should move to a better place, though."

Chen Sanwu had already heard all about Zhao Zonglin kicking in the door from Chen Chunmiao.

If they hadn't lived in a place like this, Zhao Zonglin wouldn't have dared to act so brazenly.

The three of them chatted a little longer, then Chen Sanwu and Chen Chunmiao went to bed.

Gradually, the room fell quiet.

Moonlight slipped through a crack in the window and fell faintly across the table.

Chen Jing sat beneath the lamp and opened the little notebook he'd found on Zhao Zonglin, laying it flat to examine it carefully.

On the first page, he found the densely written details of a bizarre and peculiar technique: the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique.

The more Chen Jing read, the more shocked he became.

It turned out the core of the technique was to use a special method to stir up one's inner breath and forcibly burn the latent potential of one's meridians.

The potential of the meridians was the foundation that allowed a martial artist to continue growing stronger.

A normal martial artist's meridians were like river channels. Over the course of decades, they would gradually widen and strengthen, allowing vital energy and true force to flow without end.

But this technique took the meridians that would naturally widen over the next few decades and set them alight all at once, burning away their potential and forcibly drawing everything usable—and unusable—into the present!

This achieved a temporary peak in strength, allowing one to break through a bottleneck.

It was like walking a lifetime's road in a single day.

The price was clearly written down: once the potential of the meridians was exhausted, they could never be widened again.

After breaking through, one's cultivation would be locked forever, never advancing another inch.

When Chen Jing reached the last page, he suddenly understood.

No wonder Zhao Zonglin had never managed to break through to Second Blood after becoming a First Blood Martial Artist.

His meridians' potential had already been burned away.

He must have relied on the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique to force his breakthrough after spending three months trying to become a First Blood Martial Artist.

Without this technique, someone in Zhao Zonglin's condition might never have reached First Blood in his entire life.

At the thought, Chen Jing tightened his grip on the notebook, his eyes shining with an almost frightening intensity.

"So that's how it is..."

"For everyone else, it's like drinking poison to quench their thirst. For me, it's a treasure trove."

For others, burning their meridians meant their progress would end for the rest of their lives.

But Chen Jing was different.

He had the Exemption Bead!

As long as he exempted himself from the price, the technique would become a divine art that let him break through without harm.

At that moment, Chen Jing's heart began racing faster and faster, and his breathing grew heavy without him realizing it.

"This technique... can take me straight through a bottleneck."

"One breakthrough, and I can force my way into Second Blood."

Under normal circumstances, even a genius would need to prepare carefully before breaking through to Second Blood.

Ordinary people might need to prepare four or five times and spend massive amounts of resources and effort before they had any chance of reaching Second Blood.

But what about him?

He only needed to circulate this technique once to break through.

And in the future, he might even be able to use the same method to force his way into Third Blood!

At the thought of what the future might hold, Chen Jing felt the blood in his veins begin to boil. An unprecedented ambition and longing burst open in his chest.

Chen Jing took a deep breath, set the notebook aside, then bowed his head and committed every detail to memory, word by word: the technique's pathways, instructions, acupoint sequence, rhythm of circulation...

Only after he had memorized everything did he slowly sit cross-legged and attempt to circulate it for the first time.

The moment the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique began, Chen Jing felt his meridians tighten violently.

It was as if countless red-hot irons were scorching their way through his body. Numbness and tearing pain erupted at once.

"Hss..."

Chen Jing was in so much pain that sweat sprang from his skin instantly.

This wasn't the pain of normal cultivation. It was the burning of his potential, a searing agony that came from deep within his marrow.

Anyone else would probably have stopped as soon as they began, overwhelmed by the pain.

But Chen Jing didn't stop. He focused all his attention deep within his mind, turning it toward the Exemption Bead floating there in silence.

"Exemption Bead..."

"Exempt me!!"

The next instant, the Exemption Bead trembled slightly.

Humm!

A faint glow spread out from the bead.

In an instant, a warm force like spring water flowed from his chest to every limb and bone, erasing the burning pain, the tearing sensation, and the consequences of burning through his meridian potential, layer by layer.

It was as if someone were gently smoothing a hand over his meridians, reversing and nullifying the damage of the burning the very moment it took shape.

In that instant, the most lethal price of the Burning Pulse Breakthrough Technique was completely exempted!