Tiger-Leopard-Bear Essence

Twenty-three.

Yang Feng curled his lip.

"My name is Yang Feng, from the Yang Family of the prefectural city. You may not have heard of us, but my Yang Family has been passed down for centuries. Even in the prefectural city, we are among the few great aristocratic clans."

"Tell me, what exactly has Zhou Baishan been doing during all this time he's been gone?"

His gaze bore down on Zhao Hong.

Zhao Hong forced a bitter smile. "Lord Yang, I'm from a village in the mountains. I happened to encounter Lord Zhou on the road, and he saved me. I don't know."

Yang Feng frowned.

Seeing Zhao Hong tremble as though he was not lying, he did not dwell on it.

If Zhou Baishan truly had some special purpose, or had done something, how could he have let someone he had rescued on the road know about it?

A twenty-three-year-old Copper Bell Guard.

With no background whatsoever.

He was not even worthy of a second glance from him.

"If you obtain any valuable information in the future, tell me. I'll give you benefits beyond anything you can imagine."

Yang Feng gave a cold laugh and left directly.

Zhao Hong shifted slightly aside. Watching Yang Feng depart, he sneered.

A scion of an aristocratic family?

Pah!

Disgusting.

If he pledged himself to someone like that, he would have to worry about being sold out someday.

After that little interruption, Zhao Hong finally entered the courtyard.

There was only one person in charge, and he was merely a Copper Bell Guard.

After all, this was only a temporary outpost.

After presenting his identity token, Zhao Hong stated his purpose.

Buying resources with silver within the Judge's Office was actually somewhat cheaper than outside.

Of course, resources that could be exchanged with merit were all extraordinary.

"Hundred-Forged Bloodforce Pill and Tiger-Leopard-Bear Essence Pill. Those are the only two I can use right now."

He had made thorough preparations before coming.

He still had not used the Tiger-Leopard-Bear Essence Pill on him.

It was enough to support cultivation until Bloodforce perfection.

There was also the Hundred-Forged Bloodforce Pill, a top-grade Bloodforce Pill.

Outside, even wealthy clans without sufficient foundations could not refine it. It required an alchemist of extremely high skill.

The prices of both pills were naturally steep.

Exchanging them with merit cost one minor merit point per pill.

But with silver, they cost three hundred taels each.

He had only fifteen hundred taels on him.

He could buy five.

"Three Hundred-Forged Bloodforce Pills and two Tiger-Leopard-Bear Essence Pills."

Together with the one he already had, that made three of each.

"You're only a Copper Bell Guard, yet you're buying pills for Bloodforce realm cultivation?" The Copper Bell Guard in charge was slightly stunned.

Zhao Hong smiled. "I'm buying them for my superior."

"Oh."

The other man did not think much of it.

It was perfectly normal.

This was not a merit exchange, which required the person himself to come.

He took the silver and handed the five pills to Zhao Hong.

His entire fortune was instantly wiped out.

And those five pills would not last long, either.

Zhao Hong could not help sighing at the cost of martial cultivation. It was a terrifying bottomless pit—the stronger one became, the poorer one felt.

With the pills tucked away, he walked out of the courtyard while pondering to himself.

"Six pills in total."

"Once I use them all, even if I can't reach Bloodforce, I shouldn't be far off."

Then, with a little more hard cultivation.

Breaking through to the Bloodforce realm would not be particularly difficult.

For the first three realms of martial cultivation, as long as one had some talent and decent bones, along with sufficient resources, the difficulty was not great.

But reaching the Mysterious Embryo realm after that became exponentially more difficult.

It was said that a special method was required as well.

"Once my cultivation reaches Bloodforce, even if I can't defeat a Mysterious Embryo expert head-on, I'll at least have a chance to run."

With such strength, Zhao Hong felt that after first joining the Judge's Office, it should temporarily be enough to deal with quite a few unexpected incidents.

As for Mysterious Embryo experts.

Everything that gray-robed man had displayed remained vivid in his memory.

He was truly terrifying.

If he really encountered one, he would still need to be careful.

But Mysterious Embryo experts were not so common. Around here, they were Golden Bell Guards at the very highest level.

Leaving the outpost, Zhao Hong hurried toward Liu Zheng, who was waiting nearby.

"Brother Liu, I'm done."

"Let's go."

Liu Zheng waved his hand.

The two hurried toward the northeast.

"The entire Clawfang Mountain region has currently been divided into four sections."

"This is a map. It encircles the Azure Cloud Mountains in a ring. At the very front is the beast claw, the area crossed by the Cloud Ridge Trade Route. Two Golden Bell Guards lead men there to garrison it, keep watch, and escort travelers for part of the route."

Liu Zheng handed Zhao Hong a map and casually pointed to the four marked points on it.

"From there, a team is stationed about every fifty li, extending all the way to the beast-fang-shaped tail end."

"The area we're responsible for is the second section behind the beast claw."

"There's one Golden Bell Guard, six Silver Bell Guards, and over twenty Copper Bell Guards."

"Now that the Judge's Office has been established and is carrying out a large-scale purge, those merchant caravans are delighted. They've all taken the chance to increase the frequency of their journeys."

"Although vicious criminals and monsters occasionally appear, things have been fairly stable. There isn't much danger."

Two hours later.

They arrived at a crude outpost with only a few wooden huts.

"Only two empty rooms are left. Pick one yourself. There are thirty people here in total, divided into three shifts. Each shift is led by two Silver Bell Guards. You won't need to go out for the next two days. Once everyone returns later, I'll introduce you."

"I'll follow your lead, Brother Liu."

Zhao Hong was thoroughly respectful.

After all, his relationship with Liu Zheng was nothing like the close bond he had formed with Zhou Baishan after facing life and death together.

He could not neglect the proper attitude.

Liu Zheng smiled faintly and patted his shoulder.

"If there's anything you don't understand, ask me. I'm going out for a look around."

Watching Liu Zheng leave, Zhao Hong surveyed his surroundings, his heart burning with excitement.

Joining the Judge's Office, his life was gradually getting on track.

"I hope everything goes smoothly for Brother Zhou."

Then, he entered the room and took out the bell and all the manuals.

First was the method for refining the bell.

It was very simple.

He only needed to use his qi and blood to refine it and leave his imprint behind, then he could control it with ease.

Next came the Demon-Subduing Saber Art.

He gave it a rough look. Once mastered, this saber art was quite powerful, but in terms of profundity, it was far inferior to the Six Harmonies Saber Art.

That was understandable, however.

The saber art given upon first entering the Judge's Office naturally could not be too formidable.

"I'll practice it when I have time."

He truly did not have the time to specifically study and painstakingly cultivate it.

Stele-Splitting Hand, Mighty Vajra Finger, Cloud-Breaking Flash, and Six Harmonies Saber Art—these four were the foundations he currently relied upon.

None of them had yet reached great mastery. Dividing his attention to practice the Demon-Subduing Saber Art would definitely not be a wise choice.

Clang—

Zhao Hong flicked the bell with his finger, sending a trace of force into it.

The bell trembled slightly and let out a crisp, low chime.

For requests for support or help, the signals were divided by severity into three short chimes and one long chime, or three short chimes and three long chimes. There was also a summons order: three long chimes and two short chimes.

A Copper Bell could transmit within roughly ten li, a Silver Bell within roughly thirty li, and a Golden Bell within roughly eighty li.

Naturally, that was only if there were colleagues within that range.

Not to mention the space inside, the bell had quite a few other uses.

For example, it could collect demonic aura from monsters. Within a certain range, one could also use the bell to track them.

This bell alone demonstrated the formidable nature of the Judge's Office.

After familiarizing himself with it.

Zhao Hong stored all the miscellaneous items inside. His expression turned solemn as he began cultivating.

He took out a Tiger-Leopard-Bear Essence Pill and swallowed it.

Gulp!

The pill melted the instant it entered his throat.

An abnormally violent and savage force spread through his limbs and bones. The impact made him grunt at once, his expression twisting.

Its medicinal power was more than several times that of a Tenfold Bloodforce Pill.

Even with his Inner Force at perfection, strength not much weaker than Bloodforce perfection, his entire body became unstable. His qi, blood, and inner force were battered into disarray.

This force was fierce and violent.

It was as though tigers, leopards, and bears were charging through his limbs and bones, the commotion of their rampage resembling beastly roars.

Zhao Hong was overjoyed. I have Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones. This sort of tiger-leopard-bear essence power is exactly what I like—strong and abundant.

"Good stuff."

"Three hundred taels well spent."