Today's Upheaval

He rose to his feet and practiced briefly in the room, only to quickly discover a problem!

Without Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs to assist him, relying solely on meals and daily rest to accumulate the energy needed for cultivation was far too slow compared to when he had Qi-Blood Soup.

The Body Tempering, Third Heaven placed an enormous burden on the body. Ordinary food could no longer meet the demands of such intense cultivation.

He frowned and stopped moving.

It seemed he still had to visit the pharmacy and buy more.

He had received one hundred taels from Wang Batian, and together with what remained from before, he still had over two hundred taels in total.

Though he could no longer buy High-Grade Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs in batches of ten or twenty portions as he had before, he could still afford a few more if he used them sparingly.

He stepped out of his room and glanced toward the room where Lin Qing'er was cultivating.

Inside, Lin Qing'er was earnestly holding the Tiger Fist Stance. Her posture was already far more proper than when she had first begun.

He smiled but did not make a sound to disturb her. Lightly pushing open the courtyard gate, he headed down the alley into Green Mountain Town, making for Hundred Herbs Hall.

Inside the Wang Clan Martial Hall.

The two Martial Masters who had escaped came scrambling and tumbling into the inner hall.

Bloodstains on their bodies had yet to dry, and their faces were caked with sweat and mud. The moment they entered, they dropped to their knees with a thud, their voices trembling as they reported every detail of Wang Batian's fate to the hall master, Wang Tianlong.

Wang Tianlong was seated upright in a grand chair, holding a teacup. At the news, his five fingers clenched fiercely, crushing the green porcelain cup alive in his grip. Shards and scalding tea streamed through his fingers and spilled across the floor.

He shot to his feet. The flesh on his face swelled purple beneath the blaze of his fury, and the vigorous Blood-Qi of the Body Tempering, Fourth Heaven erupted without restraint. The candle flames throughout the hall all shrank by half.

"What? Someone dared to ambush a member of my Wang Family!"

His voice was like a muffled drum beaten from the deepest part of his chest, shaking dust from the rafters in a steady shower.

He snatched the Nine-Ring Broadsword hanging on the wall. The iron rings along its spine clattered together, flashing with cold light.

"Come, follow me and seize that bastard!"

"Yes, Hall Master!"

The instructors and disciples throughout the hall shouted in unison. Grabbing their weapons, they surged out of the martial hall around Wang Tianlong.

The thunderous clatter of hooves and footsteps made the entire South Street hum and tremble.

The news swiftly spread through every force in Green Mountain Town.

Within the Zhao Clan Martial Academy, Hall Master Zhao stroked his beard and narrowed his eyes, ordering his men to quickly investigate exactly what loss the Wang Family had suffered.

At the Black Tiger Gang's hall, several leaders gathered together in quiet discussion. Their faces bore gleeful, gloating smiles, yet their eyes concealed a measure of apprehension!

Wang Tianlong had not personally acted for years. For him to personally lead men out of town this time, the Wang Family must have taken no small blow.

On the surface, Green Mountain Town remained packed with people and as noisy as ever. Yet in the shadows, spies and informants from every side had already set out, all wanting to learn what exactly had happened.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Feng Chen arrived outside Hundred Herbs Hall.

From afar, he could see a sizeable crowd gathered at the pharmacy entrance!

Herb gatherers with bamboo baskets on their backs, idlers dressed in short work clothes, and ordinary townsfolk carrying bundles all stood at the door, craning their necks to peer inside and whispering among themselves.

Feng Chen approached in puzzlement and heard them chattering all at once.

"A reward of ten taels of silver isn't low, and there isn't just one task."

"Exactly. I counted them. The notice lists dozens of medicinal herbs in dense writing, and the lowest reward starts at five taels."

"Come on, let's head into the mountains too. If we really find those herbs, it'll be quite a haul."

"Of course. It's better than loafing around town. But be careful—don't venture too deep into the mountains. The Black Mountain Range isn't a place to fool around in."

After discussing it, the people left one by one with excited expressions, walking off briskly.

Feng Chen grew even more curious. Squeezing through the crowd and moving closer, he finally saw a large notice pasted on the outer wall of Hundred Herbs Hall. Neat brushstrokes listed a long string of needed medicinal herbs, with a reward beside each one. The lowest was ten taels, while the highest was thirty.

The notice bore Hundred Herbs Hall's seal at the bottom, making it appear extremely formal.

He carefully read the notice from beginning to end, silently memorizing every herb listed and its corresponding reward.

If he gathered all the medicinal herbs listed there, he could earn at least a hundred taels of silver. For a Martial Artist, that counted as quite a decent income.

Although he still had some money left, he could not rely forever on the dead money he had taken from Liu Dagang and Wang Batian. Sooner or later, it would run out.

He did not yet have any stable source of income, and if he wanted to continue cultivating and growing stronger, he needed a constant stream of silver!

Without money, he could not buy Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs. Without medicinal herbs, rapid breakthroughs were out of the question.

He had to find a positive cycle—make money generate money, and strength generate money.

Only a Martial Artist who could earn money could travel farther down the road.

As Feng Chen quietly calculated in his heart, he lifted his foot and stepped into Hundred Herbs Hall.

The shop was especially crowded today. Several mountain folk carrying herb baskets were pouring freshly picked herbs onto the counter for the shopkeeper to assess. The air was filled with the distinctive mingled scent of fresh grass, soil, and the bitter fragrance of medicinal herbs.

Avoiding the crowd, Feng Chen walked straight to a shop assistant in the corner of the counter who was weighing medicinal powder with a small scale and asked, "Brother, do notices like the one outside usually get posted?"

The assistant was in his early twenties, tall and thin, wearing a faded blue cloth short shirt.

He set down the scale, looked Feng Chen over, and shook his head with a smile. "Not normally. Whenever the shop is short on medicinal herbs, the shopkeeper posts a notice outside with a list, asking independent customers and capable herb gatherers to look for them. It's faster than waiting for our regular suppliers to deliver them."

"If you're interested, you can try finding a few as well. As long as you have the goods, you can bring them to the counter and exchange them for silver at any time."

Feng Chen nodded, took out his silver pouch, and said he wanted to buy three portions of High-Grade Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs.

Three portions of high-grade medicinal herbs cost ninety taels.

The shop assistant's eyes lit up!

This was a decisive customer—he did not even ask the price!

The assistant quickly replied, "No problem, customer. Please wait a moment. I'll wrap them up for you right away."

He went to the medicine cabinets in the back, took out three oiled-paper packets, weighed out the portions, then carefully wrapped them and tied them with hemp string.

Before long, three hefty portions of High-Grade Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs were in Feng Chen's hands.

After paying ninety taels of silver, Feng Chen carried the medicine packets out the door.

He deliberately stood before the notice for another moment, reading through the dozens of herbs listed once more and engraving them carefully into his mind.

When he had time, perhaps he could take a trip around the outskirts of the Black Mountain Range. With his Perfection-level hunting and herb-gathering skills, he could search for all those valuable medicinal herbs.

Ten minutes later!

He returned to the residence.

When he pushed the gate open, Lin Qing'er had already finished cultivating. She was sitting beneath a tree, wiping sweat with her sleeve. At the sight of him, she smiled and ran over.

Feng Chen brought the newly purchased herbs into the kitchen, opened one portion, and placed it in a clay pot to simmer.

The glow of the stove fire lit up the kitchen once more, while the medicinal fragrance slowly spread through the room.

An hour later, the three portions of Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs had finished stewing.

Dark brown medicinal liquid burbled with tiny bubbles in the clay pot, and the rich herbal scent filled the entire kitchen.

As usual, Feng Chen ladled a small bowl for Lin Qing'er and placed it on the stove, telling her to drink it after it cooled before resuming her stance. Then he lifted the remaining medicinal liquid in the clay pot and tipped his head back, gulping it down.

The scorching liquid poured down his throat into his stomach, and the Blood-Qi within him was immediately stirred into a rolling boil, like a pot of water brought to the boil over a fierce fire.

Feng Chen immediately returned to his room, but this time, he did not practice the Giant Strength Stance!

That cultivation method had already reached Perfection. No matter how much he practiced it, there would be no further progress.

This time, he was going to practice the Great King Fist. The fist art had long been recorded by the template, yet he had never formally begun practicing it.

The Great King Fist was an internal fist art of the Wang Clan Martial Hall. It could be cultivated to the Body Tempering, Third Heaven, placing it a tier above the Tiger Fist.

And now that he was already at the Third Heaven, revisiting this fist art from the perspective of the Third Heaven should allow him to improve at tremendous speed.

In his room, he set the opening stance of the Great King Fist, sank his qi into his Dantian, and raised his fist frame. In an instant, his entire bearing became heavy and tyrannical.

When he threw a punch, the air gave a deep, muffled boom.

A minute later.

Ding! Great King Fist proficiency increased by one.

The notification sounded in his mind, and an insight into the force-generation techniques of the Great King Fist flowed into him.

Feng Chen did not stop and continued punching.

The fist techniques opened and closed in sweeping motions, fierce and overbearing. Every punch carried an irresistible crushing force.

An hour later.

Ding! The Great King Fist has reached the Minor Mastery Realm. Please check, Host.

Along with the talent notification, insights into the Minor Mastery Realm of the fist art surged through his mind.

The essential principles of the Great King Fist's four core moves—Overlord Lifts the Cauldron, Cleave Mount Hua, Sweep Through a Thousand Armies, and Sovereign Over All Under Heaven—were all polished and connected in full.

After digesting the insights, Feng Chen revealed a satisfied smile.

He could clearly feel that practicing this fist art at the Third Heaven allowed him to comprehend it far faster than when he had practiced the Tiger Fist at the First and Second Heavens.

Moreover, the three portions of Blood-Qi Medicinal Herbs he had just consumed were still boiling within him, constantly supplying cultivation energy. With the two combined, he should soon be able to push this fist art to Perfection.

Feng Chen did not pause. He withdrew his fist frame, spread it again, and continued tempering himself one punch at a time.