You're Not Dead Yet!

After leaving the transport company, Chen Jing returned home with some valuables and the property deeds.

He first tucked the items away securely and tidied up the house, waiting quietly for Chen Sanwu to return.

By evening, Chen Sanwu had finished house-hunting. As soon as he stepped through the door, he saw Chen Jing sitting in the courtyard waiting for him.

Chen Jing stood up to greet him, wiping the sweat from his father's brow while casually recounting the events at the transport company: "Dad, that scoundrel Wang Chi committed too many evils, so I took care of him."

"The transport company is ours now. You don't need to run that shop anymore; come with me to the company tomorrow and be the boss."

"What?!"

Hearing this, Chen Sanwu's eyes widened in shock. The towel in his hand dropped to the ground, and his voice cracked in disbelief: "You... you took care of Wang Chi? The transport company belongs to us?"

Chen Sanwu had spent half his life pulling rickshaws, suffering under Wang Chi's wage-gouging and enduring endless humiliation. He had never dreamed that he would one day turn his life around and become a transport company owner.

Chen Jing patiently explained the situation again. Only after confirming the details multiple times did Chen Sanwu let out a heavy sigh of relief. His eyes turned slightly red, and his voice choked with emotion: "Good, good lad!"

Chen Sanwu had been an honest, hardworking man his entire life, facing the soil and backing the sky, never imagining his family could reach such a state.

After the excitement subsided, Chen Sanwu hurriedly pulled Chen Jing aside, repeatedly urging him: "Jing'er, this is a massive matter. You must be cautious in your actions from now on and never be too flashy. Tall trees catch the wind; it is best if we stay safe and sound."

"Dad, I have it under control."

"When you become the boss, don't be like Wang Chi. If the rickshaw pullers deserve a share of the profits, give it to them."

Chen Jing nodded, agreeing to appease Chen Sanwu's nerves.

Chen Sanwu quickly responded: "That goes without saying. I was a puller myself; how could I forget my roots now that I'm the boss?"

Afterward, the father and son had a simple dinner. Chen Sanwu was in high spirits, drank a couple of cups of wine, and went to bed early.

During this time, Chen Jing continued his fist training.

When the Hour of the Bo arrived, Chen Jing pulled the black mask Zhuang Tao had given him from under the bed.

He donned the mask, slipped out silently, and headed toward the Ghost Market outside the city.

The Ghost Market was just as it had been during his last visit—brightly lit under the night sky, bustling with noise, and guarded by several men at the entrance.

Chen Jing walked to the entrance, paid the entry fee to the guards, and walked straight in.

Last time he visited the Ghost Market, Chen Jing was just an ordinary person who had not yet entered the Blood Creek Realm. He could only sense the strange, alien atmosphere and remained oblivious to the auras of those around him.

But now, Chen Jing was a Second Blood Martial Artist with stable blood energy and keen perception. As soon as he stepped into the Ghost Market, he took in the fluctuations of blood energy from everyone around him.

Scanning the area, he found that most people here were quasi-martial artists with thin blood energy who had yet to break through to First Blood. Occasionally, there were a few who had reached First Blood, but their energy was chaotic and their strength mediocre.

As for other Second Blood Martial Artists, there wasn't a single one besides himself.

This feeling of overwhelming strength gave Chen Jing more confidence as he wandered through the Ghost Market.

His gaze swept over the stalls on both sides, mostly filled with weapons, medicinal pills, and various items of unknown origin. Nothing caught his eye.

Before long, Chen Jing arrived at the stall where he had previously purchased the Five Harms Technique.

The stall owner was still the same old man in tattered black robes wearing a skull mask, dozing behind his stall. Hearing footsteps, he slowly raised his head.

When the stall owner's gaze landed on the mask Chen Jing was wearing, the eyes behind the skull mask's hollow sockets suddenly constricted. It was as if he had seen an impossible ghost, and his breathing even stalled for a moment.

"Young... Young Hero?"

The stall owner's voice carried a trace of imperceptible trembling as he tentatively asked: "You... you practiced the Five Harms Technique. It's been two months—how are you still alive?"

As soon as the stall owner spoke, several passersby instinctively stopped and looked at Chen Jing with curiosity.

After all, everyone in the Ghost Market knew the Five Harms Technique was an evil art; most practitioners didn't live past a month. It was truly miraculous that this person had practiced it for two months and was still alive.

The stall owner stared at Chen Jing with intense curiosity.

It wasn't as if others hadn't been tempted by the Five Harms Technique's ability to rapidly condense blood energy and bought it from him, but those people never returned to the Ghost Market. It didn't take a genius to figure out that their training had gone awry and their internal organs had been destroyed.

Yet, this young man before him was not only alive, but his aura was also much steadier than it had been during his last visit. This completely overturned the old man's understanding!

Chen Jing sensed the shock in the stall owner's tone and replied calmly: "I'm quite afraid of death. After I got the manual, I barely used it, so I've managed to survive until now by sheer luck."

"Barely used it?"

The stall owner was stunned for a moment, then nodded in realization.

That made sense. The backlash of the Five Harms Technique was extremely strong; if one didn't use it, naturally, nothing would go wrong.

The stall owner let out a sigh of relief, but his eyes became even more eager as he hurriedly asked: "Then, Young Hero, what kind of manual are you looking for this time?"

At this point, the stall owner changed his tone, lowering his voice with a hint of temptation: "However, Young Hero, since you've already practiced the Five Harms Technique, to be blunt, even if you don't use it now, the hidden dangers are already buried in your body. They will flare up sooner or later. Your days are numbered."

"Why not practice some other evil arts? Since you're going to die anyway, you might as well improve your strength while you're still alive. It's better than dying like a coward, don't you think?"

Hearing this, Chen Jing felt a slight stir in his heart, though he deliberately feigned a look of shock on his face.

He had been wondering how to give the stall owner a reason to offer up more evil arts without raising suspicion.

He hadn't expected the stall owner to offer them up himself, perfectly aligning with his own intentions.

However, Chen Jing did not agree immediately. Instead, he pretended to ponder, his brows furrowed as if he were seriously considering the proposal or hesitating whether to accept.

Seeing Chen Jing remain silent, the stall owner feared he might change his mind and quickly urged: "Young Hero, you're a regular customer of mine. I won't cheat you. If you really want to buy, I'll give you a discount!"

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping even lower: "Besides, young hero, you practice the Five Harms Technique. At the fastest, you'll be dead with your five internal organs destroyed in half a month; at the slowest, within a year. You simply won't live long."

"Money is something you can't bring with you when you're born and can't take with you when you die. It's a waste to just keep it, so why not use it to trade with an old man like me for some life-saving strength? Wouldn't you agree?"

As he finished speaking, the stall owner's mouth curled slightly beneath his mask, revealing a few yellowed teeth, his eyes filled with greed and calculation.

Watching the old man, Chen Jing sneered inwardly, though he slowly relaxed his brow on the surface and asked: "I can consider evil techniques, but I'm currently more in need of defensive and movement arts. Do you have anything suitable?"

"I do! Of course I do!"

Hearing that there was a chance for a deal, the stall owner's eyes lit up instantly. He replied hurriedly, bending down to pull six yellowed booklets from a wooden crate beneath his stall, arranging them neatly in front of Chen Jing.

"Take a look, young hero. These three are defensive techniques, and these three are movement arts. They are all the best things I have at the bottom of my chest; they'll definitely suit you!"

The stall owner rubbed his hands together, the greed on his face deliberately suppressed and replaced with an enthusiastic expression as he pointed to the six booklets and introduced them to Chen Jing one by one.

"Look closely, young hero! These three defensive techniques each have their own merits!"

The stall owner first picked up the booklet on the far left, which featured a turtle shell on the cover, and patted the binding: "This one is called the Turtle Molt Body-Devouring Technique. Once mastered, a layer of dark golden turtle shell patterns will condense on your skin. Ordinary blades cannot cut it, and a First Blood Martial Artist can withstand the full-force strike of a Second Blood Martial Artist!"

At this point, the stall owner changed his tone, his voice dropping lower: "But the price... this technique consumes blood energy as you practice it. Furthermore, when practiced to a deep level, your body becomes as clumsy as a mysterious turtle, and your movement speed will drop by thirty percent. It's hard to ever get fast again."

Chen Jing's gaze flickered, but he remained silent, signaling for him to continue.

The stall owner then picked up the middle booklet, which was wrapped in a circle of coarse hemp rope and felt very rough to the touch: "This Black Iron Skin-Refining Scripture is easier to practice than the Turtle Molt Body-Devouring Technique, and the results are faster! Within half a month, you can reach the point of being impervious to blades and spears, and it doesn't affect your movement!"

He chuckled, revealing a hint of cunning: "It's just that this technique is overbearing. You have to use iron sand mixed with medicinal soup to temper your body every day. That feeling is like being skinned and having your tendons pulled; few people can endure it. What's worse is that once you practice this, you have to soak in medicinal soup for the rest of your life. If you stop the medicine, the iron cloth on your body will slowly dissipate, and you'll be left with the root of blood energy deficiency."

The cover of the last defensive technique was the most worn, with its edges frayed: "This Essence Blood Body-Covering Technique is also an evil path! No body tempering, no consumption of blood energy; as long as you use your own essence blood as a guide, you can condense a layer of blood-colored energy covering your body. Likewise, a First Blood Martial Artist can withstand the full-force strike of a Second Blood Martial Artist!"

The stall owner's voice dropped extremely low, carrying a hint of eeriness: "As for the price? It consumes essence blood! Use it once, and you lose half a month of hard cultivation. Use it too much, and you will damage your foundation and shorten your lifespan! Moreover, this technique is addictive; the more you use it, the higher the level of attacks you can withstand."

Chen Jing raised an eyebrow after listening.

The three defensive techniques were indeed a mix of fortune and misfortune; none of them were free benefits.

Among these three techniques, the one that interested Chen Jing the most was the Essence Blood Body-Covering Technique.

The stall owner made it clear that this technique used essence blood as a guide, and the more it was used, the more proficient one became in controlling that essence blood, allowing one to withstand even stronger attacks.

Others might fear the cost of consuming essence blood and shortening their lifespan.

But he was different; he had the Exemption Bead, so he could completely ignore the risk of the technique backfiring.

As long as he had enough essence blood to support it, he could recklessly activate the Essence Blood Body-Covering Technique and push the power of this evil art to its absolute limit!

Thinking of this, Chen Jing did not answer immediately, but instead turned to look at the stall owner's other three techniques and asked: "Then what are these three techniques?"