Gate Knocking Breakthrough Attempt

County Yamen, Central Ward Office.

Fang Xing sat in a Grandmaster Chair while Xu Zhengxiong stood nearby, reporting on the recent situation.

After listening to Xu Zhengxiong's report, Fang Xing remained calm.

"Uncle Xu, what do you make of this?"

Xu Zhengxiong frowned and pondered for a while before looking at Fang Xing. "I feel there's something fishy about the destruction of these factions."

"Oh?" Fang Xing raised a brow, looking at Xu Zhengxiong with interest. "Let's hear it."

"So many factions have been wiped out one after another within a single month. Although these factions often had conflicts before, everything stayed within certain rules. Even when they fought, it never went too far."

"But now, all these factions have been destroyed. Clearly, this wasn't the work of any ordinary force. There are rumors outside that the five major powers made their move, intending to bring all medium and large factions under their command."

At this point, Xu Zhengxiong paused, looked at Fang Xing, and continued, "But I don't think it has anything to do with the five major powers."

"Why?"

Fang Xing looked at him and asked.

Xu Zhengxiong pondered for a moment before saying, "The reason is simple. It's easier to fish in muddy waters."

"The existence of these factions is muddy water to the five major powers."

"No matter which side it is, they all benefit from it. Over the years, the five major powers have kept one another in check and reached a tacit understanding."

"If only a few had been wiped out, that would be normal. But with so many factions destroyed, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits for either the three great families or the two great gangs."

Listening to Xu Zhengxiong's analysis, Fang Xing calmly took a sip of tea. "Then who do you think did this?"

Xu Zhengxiong looked at him and thought for a moment. "I think an evil cult is more likely."

"An evil cult..."

Fang Xing's gaze flickered. "Is there any information about that?"

Xu Zhengxiong shook his head. "Nothing has been found for now. There are only many rumors."

"I think it's necessary to strengthen patrols. The situation outside is getting more and more chaotic. We should take precautions."

Hearing this, Fang Xing fell silent for a moment before looking at Xu Zhengxiong. "Mm, patrols can be strengthened appropriately. Keep a closer watch. Do as you suggest, and notify the other constables as well."

Xu Zhengxiong nodded, then turned and left.

Watching Xu Zhengxiong's departing back, Fang Xing held his teacup and quietly took another sip. With a thought, the panel appeared before his eyes.

Name: Fang Xing

Cultivation: Dark Force Peak

Enhancement Level: Two Stars (1%)

Enhancement Points: 4,958

"Nearly five thousand points..."

"Most of the harvesting is done. I'll consider the rest after breaking through to Transformation Force."

Looking at the Enhancement Points on the panel, Fang Xing mused inwardly.

Over this past month, the accumulation of Enhancement Points had reached an unprecedented peak.

Even after deducting his daily cultivation expenses, he still had nearly five thousand Enhancement Points left.

The cleanup plan had gone perfectly.

It was an absolute bumper harvest!

But Fang Xing also understood that after this round of harvesting, he had reached a critical point.

He could no longer act in secret.

In the current Qingshan County, every remaining faction was on edge, seeing soldiers in every tree and hearing war drums in every gust of wind!

Any development could cause a stir.

The attention of the five great giants had surely been focused on this.

If he acted again, he would be in great danger. Once exposed, even if the five major powers did not make a move against him openly, they would certainly take action in the shadows.

That was no different from courting death.

It was easy to dodge an open spear, hard to guard against an arrow from the dark.

His current strength had yet to reach the level where he could contend with the five great giants.

With nearly five thousand Enhancement Points, crossing the Dragon Gate of Transformation Force was no longer much of a problem for him.

This past month, aside from the cleanup plan, he had not neglected his cultivation either.

Of his two superior martial arts, the Demon Subduing Technique had reached the pinnacle of perfection, while the Wind God Step had also reached a level of consummate mastery.

With daily food supplements and medicinal supplements, his accumulation had far surpassed that of ordinary Dark Force Peak martial artists.

His control and comprehension of force had also shown the faint signs of a breakthrough.

He had grasped the union of hardness and softness. Only one step remained before he could achieve perfect primordial unity.

Closing the panel, Fang Xing finished his tea, rose, and left the Central Ward Office.

After taking a stroll outside, Fang Xing returned home.

As usual, he practiced the Demon Subduing Technique and the Wind God Step once each. Before long, the sky darkened.

Looking at the heavens, Fang Xing felt his surging qi and blood as the force within him coursed through his limbs and bones.

I wonder if I can break through today...

Fang Xing's gaze flickered. After that round of practice, he seemed to sense an opportunity.

It was an indescribably mysterious feeling.

"Time waits for no one. I'll give it a try."

Once he made up his mind, Fang Xing immediately entered the house and took out the Blood Spirit Ginseng.

Fang Xing had been saving this Blood Spirit Ginseng to consume during his breakthrough.

Now, he felt the time was right.

Entering the kitchen, Fang Xing cut the Blood Spirit Ginseng into sections and placed them in an earthen pot.

He added water and began to simmer it!

He used the entire Blood Spirit Ginseng.

The Blood Spirit Ginseng possessed potent medicinal power and could change the blood and cleanse the marrow. Using its medicinal power to knock on the gate could raise his chances of breaking through.

During a breakthrough, one's innate aptitude was extremely important!

Those with inferior aptitude had very little chance of knocking on the gate to reach Transformation Force.

Out of a hundred people, perhaps ninety-nine would fail. It was even possible for every single one to fail.

Innate aptitude primarily revealed itself in cultivation and breakthroughs.

The poorer one's aptitude, the greater the resources consumed and the lower the chances of breakthrough as one advanced. The gap could be severalfold, dozens of times, or even a hundredfold.

If those with superior aptitude had a ninety percent chance of breaking through to Transformation Force,

then those with inferior aptitude had only a ten percent chance.

That was why Shen Ye had offered him those conditions back then.

With inferior aptitude, the chances of breaking through were simply too low.

The Dragon Gate of Transformation Force could block ninety-nine percent of those with inferior aptitude.

Even those with average aptitude had only a thirty to forty percent chance of breaking through to Transformation Force.

If one's aptitude was poor, one could only make up for it in other ways.

By relying on resources to aid the assault and break through the gate.

A two-hundred-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng—if it were put out in the open, even Transformation Force martial artists would swarm toward it like ducks.

It could allow Transformation Force martial artists to climb another step. If a Transformation Force Peak martial artist with superior or top-tier aptitude consumed it, they might even have hope of transcending Transformation Force!

But for Fang Xing, as long as the Blood Spirit Ginseng could help him break through to Transformation Force, it would be entirely worthwhile.

The moon hung high in the middle of the sky.

In the kitchen, Fang Xing sat on a chair and watched the Blood Spirit Ginseng simmering before him.

There was also an art to simmering Spirit Ginseng.

The timing had to be exact.

It could not be too short, nor could it be too long!

Especially for precious Treasure Medicine Spirit Ginseng, the timing had to be even more precise.

Simmering medicinal liquid was much like refining pills.

It simply was not as risky as pill refinement. With the slightest carelessness in pill refinement, the cauldron could even explode.

Fang Xing had long since studied the relevant materials in advance.

A mature Blood Spirit Ginseng needed to be simmered for at least two hours before its medicinal essence could fully meld into the liquid.

This was not his first time simmering Spirit Ginseng. His experience could be called abundant.

Calculating the time, Fang Xing looked at the treasure-red medicinal liquid in the earthen pot, which was as scarlet as blood, and caught a refreshing medicinal fragrance.

"The medicinal fragrance has seeped into the heart. Mm, the time is about right."

Fang Xing rose, dampened a cloth, and removed the earthen pot from the heat. After waiting for it to cool,

he poured all the medicinal liquid into a prepared bowl.

It filled the bowl to the brim.

The medicinal liquid was scarlet as blood and gave off a rich medicinal fragrance.

Fang Xing lifted the bowl and drained it in one gulp.

He drank the entire large bowl of medicinal liquid clean, not wasting even a single drop.

The instant he finished it, Fang Xing felt the potent medicinal power within his body begin to take effect.

His face immediately turned bright red, and white vapor puffed from his breath.

The medicinal power melded with his flesh and blood. His five viscera and six bowels, even his blood, felt as though they were boiling.

Hot!

An intense, scorching heat swept through every inch of his flesh and skin.

His entire body turned as red as though it had been forged in a furnace.

Threads of white vapor rose from the top of his head.

The terrifying medicinal power swept through his entire body.

The medicinal power contained within a complete two-hundred-year-old Blood Spirit Ginseng was unimaginably immense.

Beyond imagination!

With a whoosh, Fang Xing sprang to his feet, swiftly stripped off his shirt, yet still felt unbearably hot.

Taking one step out of the kitchen, he immediately arrived in the courtyard.

It was late autumn, and the temperature deep into the night was low, with coldness permeating the air. Yet Fang Xing felt only scorching heat.

It was as if he stood within a blazing furnace, tempered by layer upon layer of raging flames!

He circulated the Demon Subduing Heart Method and paired it with the Demon Subduing Fist. Invisible currents of air swirled around his body.

Vast force surged through his body like floodwaters released from a dam.

It coursed through the meridians throughout his body!

An invisible field spread outward, and even the currents in the air seemed to answer its call, converging upon him.