Three-Knock Blood Pass

"Hoo~~"

"At last, I've purged the toxins from my body. The intricacy of the Dragon Elephant Grand Stance was far beyond anything I imagined!"

"This trip beyond the city was truly perilous. Had it not been for the profundity of the stance, this little life of mine would have been lost..."

Wang Xuance secretly marveled to himself. In the future, he absolutely could not be so reckless again. At the very least, he had to wait until he stepped into the Martial Practitioner realm before leaving the city again.

Wealth and honor were sought amid danger!

After this ordeal, he could clearly feel the circulation of blood and qi within his body speeding up considerably. Especially after a bitter battle, it seemed his martial realm had improved somewhat!

He clenched his fist, recalling his fight against those three men just now.

Without exception, so long as he closed in on them, anyone who had not become a Martial Practitioner could have their tough skin and fascia smashed through with a single punch.

"My Vajra Fist has only just crossed into the beginner realm. Why is its power so ferocious?"

Unable to figure it out, Wang Xuance could only shake his head with a wry smile.

He had only been in this world, where martial strength reigned supreme, for a few months. Most of that time had been spent desperately "saving money" to enter a martial hall!

Thus, his understanding of martial arts had always been shallow. It was perfectly normal for there to be many things he did not know.

"Looks like I need to read some books about this world!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, he spread out the spoils from this near-death experience.

With a clatter, they covered the entire floor.

"There were thirteen bandits slain this time. Ten were merely bandits who knew some fist and foot techniques, while the other three had reached the One-Knock Blood Pass, or even the Two-Knock Blood Pass!"

After counting the silver, he found that in just two days, he had actually acquired over fifty taels of loose silver.

Adding the thirty taels of pure silver reward for exchanging those two heads, he had suddenly become quite well-off.

This amount was enough to support his martial cultivation for quite some time without worrying about money.

"Murder and arson bring golden belts. Once I advance to become a Martial Practitioner, I can make good use of that!"

As soon as the thought passed through Wang Xuance's mind, he turned toward the several dozen ores of varying sizes beside him.

Though he could not make heads or tails of them, fortunately, when he returned to the garrison tomorrow, there was a place specifically for storing books.

"I'll look up exactly what these ores are then!"

"Hoo~~"

"An unexpected windfall!"

He carefully unfolded the four sheets of thin silk. At first, his eyes showed surprise; then his brows knitted tightly together; finally, he let out a soft sigh.

These four silk scrolls were filled with writing in strokes like silver hooks and iron lines. Every character contained hidden mysteries, their meanings profound and abstruse.

After about the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Wang Xuance had more or less made out what was recorded in the silk text.

The Great Arm Scripture was a body-tempering martial art, though it could also be called a fist technique martial art.

Just as its name suggested, this martial art used a special circulation of blood and qi to continuously strike the acupoints in both arms, drastically increasing strength and improving the toughness of the skin.

It was roughly divided into four realms.

Copper, jade, mystic, and gang—the four levels of arm strength also reflected the degree to which the flesh and blood of both arms had been forged.

The higher the level, the more the toughness of the arm skin increased by geometric multiples. Once cultivated to great completion, even flying crossbows and hard-drawn bows would find it difficult to leave a scratch!

What surprised and delighted Wang Xuance was that as long as he cultivated one realm, a martial artist would gain an additional ten percent chance of breaking through to the next realm.

If all four levels were cultivated, that would be an extra forty percent for nothing.

The appearance of this martial art made countless amounts of Elixir-Stone Power seem utterly insignificant before it, pitifully small.

"To encounter such an opportunity on this trip outside the city was truly unexpected!"

"I wonder what that man's identity was. To possess such a martial art through some twist of fate was truly strange!"

"I wonder how such a formidable martial art compares with the Eightfold Heavenly Gang?"

The thought merely arose out of thin air in his heart. Unable to puzzle it out no matter how hard he thought, he could only tuck the silk text into the inner lining of his chest garment.

"But the most beneficial thing was still this..."

As the thought arose, several lines of gilded characters on the transparent panel gave the youth a few more degrees of confidence.

[True Martial Qi: 300!]

These 300 strands of True Martial Qi were enough to directly push the Tortoise-Snake Great Stance into the great completion stage, leaving him only one step away from the Three-Knock Blood Pass.

And there were still nearly three months until the hundred-day deadline. There was still hope for everything.

Wang Xuance guided all 300 strands of True Martial Qi into the Tortoise-Snake Great Stance.

Immediately afterward, Wang Xuance saw several lines of emerald-green text appear behind the Tortoise-Snake Great Stance entry on the panel.

Before he could see them clearly, Wang Xuance suddenly threw back his head, and every muscle in his body erupted with explosive crack-crack-crack sounds.

A powerful force of blood and qi surged forward like a burst dam and collapsing mountain, wildly scouring the meridians and fascia within his body.

Layer after layer of blood-red mist circulated around him like dragons and pythons. Each circuit brought out countless streams of foul-smelling mucus, and after several rounds, his skin actually took on an unusual jade-like quality!

What followed was an ache that penetrated deep into his bones!

Pain like an iron bow snapping and shooting into his body!

Saliva spilled uncontrollably from the corners of his mouth, while hissing sii-sii roars escaped him like the cries of a wild beast.

The flesh and fascia around his spine twisted without end, as though ten thousand steel needles had pierced his body and were rapidly shifting about...

Bead-sized drops of sweat fell to the ground like a curtain of rain, pat-pat-pat.

The next moment, pumping glug-glug sounds came from within his body, and Wang Xuance's consciousness instantly sank into it.

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

"Swish, swish, swish..."

"Good heavens, where has this dragged me now?!"

Wang Xuance saw his consciousness floating high in the sky. Below him, upon a barren, desert-like slope, sat his own body in meditation.

Yet this body appeared exceptionally extraordinary, like a massive boulder seated alone atop a mountain slope—towering and solemn.

Its mottled black robe whipped freely in the wind, snapping loudly, as though wherever it stood, it was the center of all things.

A nearly invisible layer of blood and qi rose around it, trembling along with its black robe according to some special rhythm.

"Whoosh, whoosh—"

At times it turned gently like a stream; at times it surged with the force of crashing waves...

Abruptly, heaven and earth changed color. Countless yellow sands rose, spiraling upward as the sands rolled up to blot out the sky.

The gale swept up grains of yellow sand, transforming them into dragons and pythons that came killing over in a vast, surging tide, intent on destroying Wang Xuance's body.

"Humph!"

With a flick of the sleeve, the blood mist around the body moved as if driven by the momentum.

The blood and qi transformed into a palm shadow no larger than a fist and shot straight toward the dragons and pythons. The difference in their size was like that between an egg and a mountain boulder.

The instant they collided, the tiny blood palm seemed to possess the power to topple cities and split open the heavens, forcibly blasting the enormous dragons and pythons apart. Then the blood palm gave a slight pat!

Crack!

Every scene was smashed to powder by that single blood palm...

Sweat poured from Wang Xuance as though he had been immersed in seawater. He opened his eyes and looked around, only to find himself in his own small courtyard.

The vision from just now was gone!

He silently sensed the abundant blood and qi within his body, thick and heavy like liquid mercury.

But what startled him greatly was the loosened sensation coming from the Jiuwei Acupoint in his upper abdomen. That feeling was close to the Three-Knock Blood Pass.

The youth hurriedly shut his eyes, lightly stroking the acupoint with his fingertips while circulating his blood and qi slowly toward it.

"Only one of my two stance arts has just reached great completion. Why is the Jiuwei Acupoint already loosened to a degree close to perfection?"

"I'm only one kick away from the door, but the force needed for that kick is not something I can break through right now!"

"Is it because of the Dragon Elephant Grand Stance? Or..."

As though he had thought of something, his consciousness instantly sank into the transparent panel.

[Name: Wang Xuance]

[Martial Talent: Low-Grade Bones]

[Martial Arts]

[Dragon Elephant Grand Stance: 100/3000 (Beginner)]

[Tortoise-Snake Great Stance: 0/6000 (Great Completion)]

[Crane Form Grand Stance: 0/1000 (Beginner)]

[Vajra Fist: 430/4000 (Proficient)]

[Great Arm Scripture: 0/2000 (Beginner)]

[True Martial Qi: 0]

A line of ink-colored text appeared at the very bottom of the panel.

[Martial Talent: Cultivation speed for basic martial arts increased by ten percent!]

"So it seems this improved my comprehension, but not my aptitude!"

"Huh!"

Wang Xuance saw a faint green plus sign appear behind the Crane Form Grand Stance entry, flickering in and out of sight.

With a light touch from his consciousness, there came a humming tremor.

[Detected that the host has cultivated one basic stance art to great completion. Cultivate another stance art to great completion, and you may enter the Three-Knock Blood Pass!]

"Haha, it truly is a good thing. My peerless talent really cannot be underestimated..."

"Thinking about it this way, if I cultivate the Crane Form Grand Stance to great completion, it will take half a month at the fastest, or one month at the slowest..."

At that thought, joy filled his heart.

He suddenly slapped the ground, launching himself into the air, then followed the momentum with a punch at the iron stake standing not far away.

His fist force rolled forth, its fierce and unyielding power striking out in an instant.

With a muffled thud, a fist mark an inch deep was forcibly stamped into the Iron-Wood Stake.

This stake had been carved from thirty-year-old hemlock and could withstand the full-force strike of a true Martial Practitioner.

"The force of my punch can already leave a mark on an iron stake. If I face someone at the Three-Knock Blood Pass, I can fight them to a draw!"

"Winning outright would not be difficult either!"

Under the bright moonlight, the gnarled, twisting branches of the peach tree in the courtyard shone brilliantly beneath the faint starlight.

"Ha!"

His heroic spirit surged, and he assumed a fighting stance to begin practicing!

Weituo Presents the Pestle!

Dispersing Clouds, Scattering Snow!

Eight-Armed Vajra!

The next day, White Light Grand Training Ground, Mountain Sea Guard assembly area.

Wang Xuance looked doubtfully toward the drill platform. Chen Feng's usual spot was now empty, with only the deputy squad leader surnamed He standing atop the platform.

"Your squad leader, Chen Feng, is pressed for time in breaking through, so the entire squad will now follow my orders!"

"There are still three months left. Some of you will remain, and some of you will not!"

"If you want to change your fate, then enter the Three-Knock Blood Pass in three months! Do you understand?!"

"Understood!"

"Good! Begin training!"

Wang Xuance remained as before, alone in a corner. He swept his gaze around the training ground and saw everyone nearby setting up their stances to practice. He could not help but sigh.

"Martial halls, noble families, and the army all allow people to practice martial arts, but the army provides the most. As long as one is willing to risk one's life, there may not be no good future ahead!"

"Noble families have far too many restrictions, and one's freedom is tied down tightly!"

"As for martial halls, I'm already past their age limit for taking disciples. Otherwise, a martial hall would have been my first choice!"

Having come to this world, the pressure he felt was no less than in his previous life, when he had to buy a house, buy a carriage, and marry a wife!

Strength—he still needed powerful strength!

Wang Xuance secretly swore to himself. At that moment, a figure surfaced in his mind.

"What Chen Linger said was indeed true. Tsk, tsk, it seems her appointment with me was also within her plans!"

"No, I must break through into the Three-Knock Blood Pass before then. Otherwise, I'll already be standing beneath a crumbling wall!"