Exemption Bead, Grant Me Exemption!

Feeling the Exemption Bead fully solidify within his mind, Chen Jing suppressed the excitement in his heart, casually told Zhuang Tao he was heading back to rest, and hurried out of the River-Breaking Martial Hall.

The martial hall was crowded and noisy, and Fei Feng in particular had exceptionally sharp hearing.

If he were to discover that Chen Jing intended to practice the Five Harms Technique, it might not just be expulsion from the sect; he might even lose his life.

Soon, Chen Jing passed through the bungalow district and arrived at the slums in the northwest.

He then headed toward his home, but before long, he saw three burly men walking side-by-side toward him.

These three men had blue strips of cloth tied around their right arms, clearly members of the nearby Blue Scarf Gang.

Watching the three approach, Chen Jing paused, his heart tightening, and he stepped aside to clear the path.

Although Chen Jing was currently learning martial arts at the hall, he was far from being able to confront gang thugs.

Furthermore, Chen Jing had always upheld the principle of neither looking for trouble nor fearing it, so he avoided most malicious situations whenever he could.

"Hmph!"

Seeing Chen Jing's evasive action, the scarred man in the lead glanced at him, let out a contemptuous snort, and grinned hideously: "You know your place. From now on, when you see Brother Tiger, you'd better greet me properly!"

Seeing this, the two lackeys beside him hurriedly chimed in with flattery: "Brother Tiger is as imposing as ever!"

"Even if this brat is learning martial arts at the hall, he still has to steer clear of you!"

Listening to their mockery, Chen Jing's expression remained calm, as if he hadn't heard a word.

Only after their backs had completely disappeared at the end of the alley did he knit his brows, pondering as he walked toward home.

Do they know I'm learning martial arts at the hall?

Did a neighbor say something?

Or is someone watching me?

After all, I have no connection to the Blue Scarf Gang; they shouldn't know who I am...

Could it be that they came here... specifically for me?

Or did Father offend the Blue Scarf Gang?

At this thought, Chen Jing's heart sank. No longer daring to overthink, he quickened his pace toward home.

Meanwhile, at the other end of the alley, the three men were hiding in the shadows, waiting.

After waiting for quite a while without seeing Chen Jing appear, Brother Tiger spat on the ground and said sharply: "Let's go, that brat didn't take the bait."

"I thought that since the kid had been practicing martial arts for a few days, he wouldn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, but he's actually quite sharp."

Clearly, the words Brother Tiger had spoken earlier were meant to provoke Chen Jing.

The lackey beside him hurriedly stood up to follow Brother Tiger, asking with a face full of confusion: "Brother Tiger, didn't we find out that this guy is really learning at the River-Breaking Martial Hall? Why provoke him at all!"

"What if he beats us all to the ground!"

Facing the inquiry from his two lackeys, Brother Tiger sneered: "You don't know a damn thing."

Brother Tiger then lowered his voice, his gaze cold: "The fact that this family could scrape together money to send him to the martial hall means there's still grease to be squeezed! Our gang is about to go to war with the Canal Gang; who knows who will win or lose? Naturally, we need to scrape up as much as we can now!"

"Otherwise, once it's over, there won't be anything left to squeeze!"

Hearing Brother Tiger's explanation, the lackey suddenly realized: "So that's it... you want to squeeze them dry!"

Brother Tiger nodded, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint: "Besides, I've already made inquiries. That kid has been training for a month and a half and still hasn't broken through to a First-Blood martial artist. He's basically a lost cause."

"A person like that is destined to be a loser for half his life. Since he didn't take the bait today, I'll deal with him another day."

As he spoke, he patted his own chest, looking confident: "Besides, I practiced martial arts in the past. Even though I didn't reach First-Blood, dealing with an entry-level brat like him? That's child's play!"

"Brother Tiger, you're truly impressive!"

"Indeed, no wonder you're the boss; your calculations are flawless!"

"Stupid, it's 'flawless as a chicken'!"

The three laughed as they left the area.

By the time Chen Jing returned home and pushed open the door, he saw Chen Sanwu sitting by the dilapidated low table, his brows locked in worry.

"Dad, I'm home."

Chen Jing walked forward, asking with concern in his tone: "I just saw people from the Blue Scarf Gang coming in from the alley... what happened?"

Chen Sanwu looked up, silent for a moment as if weighing his words, before finally sighing: "Just now... the Blue Scarf Gang came by."

"They said we owe security fees and told me to be ready for them to collect the day after tomorrow."

"But our family... we just paid the security fees half a month ago, why is there another one to pay?"

"And... we're struggling just to afford food, where would we get extra for them?"

By the end, his voice was filled with obvious grievance and helplessness.

After listening, Chen Jing finally understood everything.

The Blue Scarf Gang—they were here to shake us down!

At the same time, Chen Jing understood why Brother Tiger had started mocking him the moment he arrived.

It was clear he wanted to provoke Chen Jing into making a move, then use that as an excuse to extort a hefty sum!

He had to admit, as a gang leader, his tactics were incredibly slick.

Chen Jing took a deep breath, suppressing the rising anger in his chest, and spoke to comfort him: "Father, it's fine."

"I still have some money; we'll just have to scrape by for now."

He wasn't a First Blood martial artist yet, so he would have to swallow this insult for the time being!

Once he could break through to become a First Blood martial artist with the help of the Five Harms Technique, every cent Brother Tiger had taken from their home would be returned tenfold!

Hearing Chen Jing's concern, Chen Sanwu waved his hand dismissively, then asked with care: "Right, Jing'er, why are you back so early today?"

Chen Jing replied casually: "I came back to grab something."

"Then go back to your training."

Chen Sanwu nodded, stood up, rubbed his aching legs, and said: "Eat dinner without me. I'm going to pull the cart for a few more trips today."

"Don't waste that money of yours; save it to nourish your body."

With that, he pushed the door open and left.

Chen Jing stared in the direction Chen Sanwu had departed, his knuckles tightening slightly.

The next second, Chen Jing took a deep breath, crouched down, pulled the thin Five Harms Technique manual from under the bed, and spread it out on the table once more.

Although he had long since memorized the contents by heart, evil arts were different from ordinary techniques; a single error in execution could lead to severe injury at best, or instant death at worst.

He had to verify it one more time.

After confirming everything, Chen Jing sat cross-legged.

The night wind blew in through the broken window, causing the candle flame to flicker.

Chen Jing began to circulate his blood and qi according to the technique's mantra: "Blood as kindling, organs as the furnace, five qi deviate, a path of ten thousand calamities. Forcefully urge the primal yang to break the true body; when the technique succeeds, the bones rot and the path becomes nothing."

In the next instant, the blood and qi within Chen Jing's body shook violently!

He could clearly feel that his blood and qi, which had remained stagnant for days, were suddenly rising again!

But the good times didn't last.

In less than ten breaths, his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys began to ache with a needle-like pain!

This was clearly the price of the Five Harms Technique beginning to manifest—using the damage to his five organs as fuel to forcibly accelerate the growth of his blood and qi!

Anyone else would have been forced to stop immediately, or else they would end up half-crippled or dead.

But Chen Jing did not. Instead, he squeezed his eyes shut, sank his consciousness into his sea of consciousness, and locked his focus onto the fully formed Exemption Bead.

"Exemption Bead... grant me exemption!!"

The moment his thought fell, the Exemption Bead flared with light!

The blood-colored radiance that should have shrouded him suddenly dissipated, and a stream of warmth, gentle to the extreme, spread from his sea of consciousness, pouring directly through his meridians into his five viscera and six bowels.

Heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys... all of them felt an unprecedented sense of relief.

The next moment, Chen Jing steeled his resolve, and the blood and qi circulation of the Five Harms Technique accelerated instantly.

This time, his five organs remained... completely free of pain!

Clearly, every cost of the Five Harms Technique had been completely erased by the Exemption Bead!

In an instant, Chen Jing felt his blood and qi growing at several times their original speed.

If his previous blood and qi progression had been like struggling to run through muddy ground, then the muddy path had now been replaced by a forest trail; while he couldn't sprint, it was already far better than before!

"Haha... it worked!"

Feeling his own condition, Chen Jing couldn't help but grin. Even the cold wind blowing in couldn't dampen the surging excitement in his chest.

Now, with the support of the Five Harms Technique and the Exemption Bead, Chen Jing could clearly feel that he was...

Not far from breaking through to become a First Blood martial artist!