Body Refining Method

After Wang Sheng beheaded the burly man, he wrapped the man's head in his clothes, immediately retreated, and feigned exhaustion.

Although he still had more than half his strength left, in this kind of gangland brawl, he could not reveal too much or stand out too conspicuously. Otherwise, it would easily invite trouble.

Moreover, in ordinary gang fights, seriously injuring an expert of the same rank and making him lose his fighting strength was already a record worth showing off.

Wang Sheng had now successfully slain an enemy Ming Jin Martial Artist. Among all the experts, he was the first to kill an enemy, and it could be said that he had dealt a direct blow to the Earth Dragon Gang's morale.

If either side had one more Ming Jin Martial Artist and let him loose among the ordinary gang members, it would be no different from a tiger entering a flock of sheep—a one-sided massacre.

So even if Wang Sheng merely stood to one side, regulating his breath and recovering without making another move, he remained an enormous threat to both the Earth Dragon Gang's ordinary members and its Ming Jin Martial Artists.

Before long,

"Martial Artist Dong has been killed!"

"What? He died that quickly?"

"If he charges over here, what do we do?"

Because of Wang Sheng's presence, many ordinary Earth Dragon Gang members became distracted and flustered. They were either hacked to death by their opponents or wounded and sent fleeing in panic.

"Damn it, this Dong Xu really lived up to his name—so damn weak. He got butchered that fast!"

"We can't fight this anymore. Dong Xu died too quickly. They have one more Ming Jin fighter now; the threat is too great."

The other Earth Dragon Gang Ming Jin Martial Artists also had no choice but to keep part of their attention on Wang Sheng, afraid that he might suddenly join in and turn it into two against one.

This gradually made the Earth Dragon Gang's defeat all the more obvious.

A little while later,

Hun Shui Long's several underhanded tricks failed to succeed. Ox Cyclone beat him into a grievously injured state, and he fled in disarray.

The Earth Dragon Gang immediately scattered like birds and beasts, some surrendering, others fleeing.

"Hahahahaha! From today onward, Loach Street belongs to my Golden Bull Gang as well!"

Ox Cyclone planted his long axe on the ground, gasping for breath as he watched the Earth Dragon Gang retreat in defeat, then burst into triumphant laughter.

"Congratulations, Gang Leader!"

Wang Sheng and the others quickly cupped their fists and spoke in unison.

"Our Golden Bull Gang has reached this day through the efforts of every one of you."

Ox Cyclone smiled as he swept his gaze across the crowd, finally letting it settle on Wang Sheng.

"I, Old Ox, am not blind. Protector Wang, you rendered great service this time. Not only did you kill one of their top men, you also unsettled the hearts of everyone in the Earth Dragon Gang."

"I have decided to reward Protector Wang with three hundred taels of silver."

Ox Cyclone shouted loudly.

Over the course of the entire battle, aside from the wounded, two Ming Jin Martial Artists had truly died. Wang Sheng had killed one alone. The other had been jointly surrounded and killed by two Golden Bull Gang protectors while the Earth Dragon Gang was retreating.

"Thank you, Gang Leader. It was only what I should have done!"

Wang Sheng cupped his fists again, lowered his head, and spoke.

"Long live the Gang Leader! Long live the Gang Leader..."

The other Golden Bull Gang members also shouted with joy on their faces.

Since Protector Wang had received a reward, the others would surely receive the rewards the Gang Leader had promised before the battle.

"Hmph, this Protector Wang has some skill!"

Golden Bull Gang Protector Li Wu snorted coldly.

"We should find a chance to invite Brother Wang out. He's only holding a nominal post, so why is he fighting so desperately? Isn't he making the rest of us look bad?"

Protector Zhao Tun, his face covered in fierce flesh, nodded as he spoke.

Ox Cyclone began assigning people to maintain order on Loach Street. Most importantly, they had to notify the households on Loach Street to hurry up and pay their protection fees.

After receiving the three hundred taels of silver from Ox Cyclone, Wang Sheng hurriedly left.

He was badly in need of money.

Those three hundred taels of silver had been a tremendous help to him.

Before long, Wang Sheng spent two hundred taels at several medicine shops and bought twenty Premium Blood Replenishing Pills.

The period of explosive growth, with ten points of progress gained every day, began once more.

And as Wang Sheng's qi and blood grew increasingly abundant and his mind became full of vigor, practicing the Great Tablet Shattering Hand for several hours every day was enough for him to fully bring out the pills' medicinal effects.

Thus, Wang Sheng had ample time to ponder other matters and find ways to increase his strength before the chaotic times arrived.

The rebel army in Southern Ridge Prefecture had already grown into a force, while the great army of Han Country in the north had already occupied an entire prefecture of Great Jing.

Jiangling Prefecture, where Ershui City was located, was surrounded by powerful enemies. It had long since begun drilling troops and preparing for war, seizing able-bodied men everywhere and levying taxes, leaving people anxious and unsettled while prices rose higher by the day.

Many refugees from neighboring prefectures, unwilling to be conscripted into the army, had only just settled down when they caused all sorts of trouble and bloodshed.

Only at a time like this did the importance of Martial Artists truly show itself. Many forces were scattering silver far and wide, recruiting Martial Artists on a grand scale to strengthen themselves, hoping to carve out a bloody path through the future chaos.

Once the chaotic times came, those without strength could only let others butcher them at will.

"The first layer of the Blood Stacking Technique is complete. The second layer requires a Body Refiner to practice. I wonder whether the body-refining technique I bought from Ox Cyclone for fifty taels was worth it!"

At the Zhao Family Martial Arts Academy, Wang Sheng sat in a corner, flipping through the yellowed, even stained booklet in his hand: the Forging Gold Technique.

The Forging Gold Technique was indeed a body-refining method, but it was badly incomplete. It only contained half, and at most could be cultivated to the initial stage of Dark Jin. The latter half bore old traces of having been torn away.

"Open the panel!"

With a thought from Wang Sheng,

[Heaven Rewards Diligence: What is learned will surely bear fruit.]

[Cultivation: Mid-stage Ming Jin]

[Great Tablet Shattering Hand: Minor Accomplishment (435/1000)]

[Forging Gold Technique: Not Yet Initiated (35/100)]

[Blood Stacking Technique: First Layer]

[Stone Stance Technique: Minor Accomplishment (389/1000)]

"Although Ming Jin cultivation supports it, and internal force tempers the body, I still can't even enter the method quickly. Body refinement truly is difficult."

Wang Sheng sighed.

He realized that once one entered a body-refining method, the physical body of a Body Refiner who had yet to produce internal force was still far stronger than that of a Ming Jin Martial Artist.

If a Ming Jin Martial Artist exhausted his internal force, he might even be beaten to death alive by a Body Refiner who had entered the martial path but had not yet produced internal force.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother, I heard that Senior Brother Wu An is determined to obtain the Bone Strengthening Pill Master mentioned. He's desperately making a final push, hoping to produce internal force."

Ge Xiaogu called out "Senior Brother" twice. Only after seeing Wang Sheng look up did he step closer and share the news he had learned.

"Mm."

Wang Sheng nodded casually.

If he wanted the Bone Strengthening Pill, he could reveal his internal force at any time.

But he could not be hasty. He had to proceed slowly.

He worried that Lin Shu still carried too much weight in Zhao Jie's heart and that it had not yet faded. If Zhao Jie became suspicious of him then, it would be troublesome.

Seeing that Wang Sheng did not care about this, Ge Xiaogu immediately changed the subject. "Senior Brother, marriage is becoming popular in the city lately. I heard that with war and chaos approaching, many families want to marry their daughters to Martial Artists so they can gain a Martial Artist's protection. Martial Artists also want to marry and have children, leaving behind their bloodlines."

"The key is that quite a few wealthy families are contacting Master now, hoping to choose husbands from among disciples like you who have entered the school."

"Senior Brother, this is an opportunity. If you can marry into a wealthy household, they will surely be willing to spend money nurturing a Martial Artist at a time like this."

"The young ladies of those wealthy households are all raised delicate and fair-skinned, beautiful as can be. Otherwise, they would not be trying to win over Martial Artists. If you put in some effort and show yourself off, you might just embrace a beauty in your arms and return home—and your strength could soar as well!"