Savage Bull Strength Minor Accomplishment!

Chapter 9: Savage Bull Strength. Minor Success!

"Did you bring the things in?"

Upon returning to the military camp, Jiang Che immediately sought out Geng Dabiao. The man was quite honest, and Jiang Che had no intention of swindling him; he planned to give him the remaining silver.

"Mhm."

Jiang Che nodded. He had already inspected the items in the package and confirmed there were no issues.

Hearing Jiang Che's affirmative reply, Geng Dabiao's last shred of doubt about him completely vanished, and he believed Jiang Che's previous explanation.

After all, Geng Dabiao could send messages out, but he couldn't bring things in. If Jiang Che could do it, it proved he truly had connections and capabilities.

"Here's the remaining silver."

Jiang Che placed a handful of silver fragments into Geng Dabiao's hand.

However, Geng Dabiao didn't accept it immediately. He lowered his head, a thoughtful expression on his face. In the end, he didn't take it and instead returned it to Jiang Che.

"What do you mean?"

Jiang Che stared at him.

"Only now do I believe you have the ability to get me transferred out of the Auxiliary Barracks. I know this isn't easy, so consider this silver as my way of greasing the wheels. I just ask that you truly get me out of my military service."

Clearly, Geng Dabiao had a bit of his own cunning.

As long as he could leave the Auxiliary Barracks and avoid certain death on the frontier, this silver was worth it.

Jiang Che rubbed the silver fragments between his fingers and finally accepted them. He had only been bluffing Geng Dabiao before, but now... he genuinely had the thought.

This fellow was an honest man. Taking him under his command might prove very useful.

Of course, that was assuming he could truly master Savage Bull Strength within the time limit.

Only then would he truly have value in Liu Zhi's eyes.

"I will do my best on this matter."

"I believe you."

"Take the Savage Bull Strength manual first. You can return it to me tomorrow, alright?"

"I've studied before and can read. One night is enough for me to memorize it."

After talking with Geng Dabiao, Jiang Che returned to his tent with a calm expression. His bedding had already been prepared for him, and several Auxiliary Soldiers with smiles plastered on their faces came over to curry favor.

The Auxiliary Soldiers were about to break camp, and given Jiang Che's connections and performance, he might end up in charge of them in the future. Courting favor now might mean less suffering and a greater chance of survival later.

However, their plans were ultimately destined to fail.

Because Jiang Che had no intention of going to the frontier to die in the first place.

After casually replying a few times, Jiang Che used exhaustion as an excuse, took off his shoes, and prepared to sleep. But as soon as he got onto the bed, Xu San'er leaned over, looking like he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to.

"Brother Xu, is something wrong?"

Jiang Che noticed his odd behavior and asked directly.

"That... that, I think there's something I need to tell you." Xu San'er rubbed his hands together.

"Brother Xu, please speak your mind."

Jiang Che sat up straighter.

Xu San'er glanced at the other Auxiliary Soldiers nearby and lowered his voice:

"These past few days, I've seen you interacting with Geng Dabiao, Wu Changfeng, Li Erxian, and a few others, and I've naturally paid attention. Just now, I went out to pee and saw Wu Changfeng whispering with someone, I don't know what they were talking about.

Oh, right, the person I saw looked like one of the guys who came with Scarface to cause trouble for you a few days ago. So I thought I should give you a heads-up."

Jiang Che's expression remained unchanged. He thought, Those damn followers of Gou Buyi are really paying attention to me. However, he had been mentally prepared for this and still expressed his gratitude to Xu San'er:

"This is indeed quite important. Thank you for the reminder, Brother Xu."

"Ah, what's there to thank? We're all from the same hometown... hehe." Xu San'er scratched the back of his head, a smile spreading across his face. He thought those guys were just trying to suck up to Jiang Che.

They didn't even consider if they had the standing for Jiang Che to care about them.

He himself was the truly smart one.

The dim night deepened, and snores echoed from within the tents. But Jiang Che, lying in the middle, slowly opened his eyes, his pupils exceptionally bright.

Even if Gou Buyi and his gang made a move because of this, as long as he could gain Liu Zhi's favor, none of that would matter!

Silently leaving the tent, Jiang Che headed straight for the stables against the cold wind. Confirming no one was around, Jiang Che covered his nose and climbed in. After calming the warhorse, he sat cross-legged on the dry grass and slowly closed his eyes.

[Sacrifice Target: Accelerate Savage Bull Strength cultivation.]

[Sacrifice Cost: Two taels of sinew, ten jin of bone, twenty jin of blood, thirty jin of meat. Reduce lifespan by half. Proceed with sacrifice?]

The small text inscribed on the Heavenly Stele remained the same as before, but unlike last time, this time a pile of prepared offerings was placed before the stone tablet.

With the experience from last time, Jiang Che didn't hesitate at all.

With a thought.

Just like last time, the blood-red patterns on the Heavenly Stele quickly lit up. Then, a wisp of gray light emanated from the stone tablet, enveloping the offerings of ox blood, ox bones, and other items. Afterward, all the offerings vanished without a trace in an instant.

At that very moment, Jiang Che clearly felt as if something had been drawn out of him, leaving him feeling somewhat hollow. However, he quickly reacted, knowing that this was the price of the sacrifice – half a year of his lifespan.

The instant the offering vanished, two beams of light, one red and one green, emerged from the stone tablet and circled around Jiang Che.

The green light moved first, drilling into Jiang Che's spiritual platform.

A set of memories, both unfamiliar and familiar, merged with his own.

As if in a trance, he saw a blurry figure repeatedly and profoundly demonstrating the twenty-eight stances of Savage Bull Strength, along with a matching set of Savage Bull Fist techniques.

As the memories transitioned from unfamiliar to completely integrated, Jiang Che subconsciously straightened his back.

A moment later, the red light that had been encircling Jiang Che also stirred, surging directly into his chest. A warm current of energy continued to spread throughout his limbs and bones.

His emaciated frame seemed to grow sturdier in a blur. At this moment, he felt as if he were undergoing a complete transformation; his blood and qi boiled, flushing his body a deep red, with wisps of steam rising from his head.

It was as if he were being steamed like water being boiled.

Swish!

Jiang Che's eyes snapped open, a fierce aura unconsciously emanating from him. Clenching his fists, Jiang Che could feel a power far exceeding his previous strength. His veins bulged, filled with the beauty of raw power.

Hoo!

Hoo!

Hoo!

Jiang Che practiced the Savage Bull Fist techniques with great vigor. His legs were taut, his stance incredibly stable, as if he had been training for many years. The memories in his mind were also being gradually digested and integrated into himself.

After a short while, Jiang Che finished his practice. He placed his palms against his chest, then flipped them downwards, exhaling a breath of white mist. A smile touched his lips.

If he had possessed this kind of strength during sparring, not only could he have defeated Wu Da Bala, but he could have taken down those veteran soldiers who had tried to break up the fight, all at once.

At his current level, he had far surpassed the introductory stage set by Liu Zhi.

With one sacrifice, Savage Bull Strength had immediately reached minor accomplishment.

Tomorrow, he would continue to increase his efforts and give Liu Zhi a surprise.

If they didn't even keep such a martial arts prodigy, they must be blind!