Echoing Wraith!

Zhou Tian and Zhang Fang had just finished hearing the news and had not yet had time to rejoice when they heard another frightening piece of news.

"Someone else is dead. It was Old Zhao's son. He died in the old courtyard last night. They said he opened the door and walked out on his own, and by the time they found him, all that remained was a sheet of skin. When the courtyard gate was pushed open, the gust of wind it stirred up even lifted his son's skin and plastered it right onto Old Zhao's face. It scared half the life out of him too."

Zhou Tian's face was full of lament.

"Ah, what a poor thing. The Zhao family only had that one son."

Zhang Fang shook her head.

"I heard there's probably a powerful Mist Monster lurking in our Outer City, drawing some lesser Mist Monsters inside to attack people. As long as the big one is eliminated, everything should be fine."

Zhou Tian knew a little more than they did. Their boat boss was a capable man with well-connected sources of information. As he put on his straw hat and headed outside, he said, "All right, that's enough for now. I'm off to fish!"

He usually fished in the Black River near their city. The Black River came from the Black Mist, wound through the entire Outer City, and eventually flowed into the Inner City. It was extremely wide. There were twenty or thirty fishermen in all, working under the jurisdiction of the boat boss at the Fishery.

Fishing in the river also meant following many rules. For example, they could not look directly at their reflections in the water, any fish that could speak had to be thrown away as quickly as possible, and if the fishing net came into contact with blood, the entire net had to be discarded, among other things.

"Second Zhou, take a boat to the upper reaches of the Black River today."

The boat boss was a burly man with his shirt hanging open and a luxuriant mat of chest hair. Two tufts of nose hair stuck out of his nostrils. At that moment, he was speaking coldly to Zhou Tian, who had just arrived.

Zhou Tian, who had just arrived, froze. The upper reaches of the Black River bordered the Black Mist and were the most dangerous. He had only recently gone out there, so it should not be his turn again. It should have been Zhao Laosi, the short man.

But several people were clustered around the short man today, all smiling as they talked to him. After asking around, Zhou Tian learned that his son had become a formal Martial Warrior at Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall. Naturally, the boy's father received preferential treatment.

Even the boat boss came over and chatted with him amiably for a few moments. He assigned him the safest job, sorting the catch on the riverbank, and even brought him a black carp. The man accepted it, flattered and overwhelmed.

"All right."

Zhou Tian silently agreed. He cast the other man an envious glance, then went to gather his things and prepare to set sail.

At that moment, a bearded man standing nearby glanced at Zhou Tian and said with a grin, "Old Zhou, I heard you were saving money to send your son to a martial arts hall too. Has he gone yet?"

"He has. He just went yesterday. I scraped the money together from here and there, and I still owe quite a bit on credit."

"That's a good thing! If he really makes it, you'll be on equal footing with Zhao Laosi in the future. In our Fishery, no one will dare look down on you."

The bearded man's face was full of envy. Becoming a Martial Warrior meant defying fate and changing one's life. Their boat boss, for example, was a First-Rank Martial Warrior. Though he was old and his Blood Vitality had declined, he could still manage the Fishery for the Jia Family of the Outer City and oversee so many fishermen.

As for Zhao Laosi, even if his son could not advance very far along the martial path, he could still become a guard or a steward for wealthy households in the Outer City, just like their boat boss, and live without worries for the rest of his life.

"It's too difficult. I'm only letting him give it a try. Whether he succeeds or not, it's fine."

Zhou Tian truly did not have much hope. Become a Martial Warrior? Too difficult! Too difficult!

There were more than a dozen fishermen in their Fishery who had sent their sons to study martial arts, yet only Zhao Laosi's son had succeeded.

As a father with little ability himself, he naturally could not place too much hope in his son becoming extraordinary. He understood that point very clearly.

At noon, inside the small restaurant at Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall.

"You mean Mist Monsters? That's just a collective term for the monsters born from the Black Mist. The Mist Monster you described is the lowest level. It's called an Echoing Wraith, meaning 'answer the call and it comes; the wraith's shadow claims your life.' It has no fixed form and excels at imitating the voices and dreams of familiar people, calling your name from the darkness. If you answer, it will drain your vital essence and you'll die a violent death."

After finishing their training, Zhou Chen told Lian Taoze about what had happened the previous night while they ate. Lian Taoze clearly knew more about such things, so he explained it to him.

"It's normal that it targeted you. You just started practicing martial arts, so your Blood Vitality is abundant and your aura leaks out. That was what drew it to you. But you don't need to be afraid. An Echoing Wraith is merely the most worthless kind of Mist Monster. Once you become a Martial Warrior, the power of your Blood Vitality alone will be enough to intimidate it. One punch will reduce it to ashes."

After hearing Lian Taoze's explanation, Zhou Chen felt somewhat relieved.

"Ah, the Outer City has become increasingly disorderly lately. Junior Brother, you must be extra careful too. You don't need to fear these worthless Mist Monsters, but mid- and high-level Mist Monsters are terrifying beyond belief. If our master encountered a high-level Mist Monster, he could only run. All right, enough of that. If a Mist Monster of that level really came in, the Martial Warriors of the Inner City would take action."

This was the first time Zhou Chen had heard Mist Monsters classified by rank.

Mist Monsters were divided into low, middle, and high levels, corresponding to the three ranks of Martial Warriors.

"Are the Martial Warriors of the Inner City really that powerful?"

He pressed the question.

"Of course. They enjoy the best resources. It takes us three months just to reach Initiation, while the geniuses of the great clans can use resources to pile their way there in three days. If you walked along a road over there and casually threw a stone, whoever it hit would be a Second-Rank Martial Artist. They're even authorized to use heavy armor and repeating crossbows. Once heavy armor is worn, blades and swords can't hurt you, and after several volleys of crossbow fire, even our master would have to avoid their edge."

"Put it this way: if our master could wear heavy armor, become impervious to blades and spears, and gain immense strength, then no one in our city would be his match. That's why if someone from our Outer City is caught privately storing heavy armor or crossbows, they'll lose their head. If one suit is discovered, the entire family is executed. If two or three suits are hidden, the whole clan is exterminated!"

"So, the foremost principle of martial arts training is that you must never oppose anyone from the Inner City, and never oppose the great clans of the Inner City. All right, I won't keep you company anymore. I have to practice too. Keep working hard on your own."

Lian Taoze said he was going to practice martial arts, but in reality, he went off to gamble with crickets again.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Chen continued bitterly practicing the Coiling Python Stance Technique.

A month and a half passed in the blink of an eye. Every day, aside from eating and sleeping, Zhou Chen did nothing but bitterly practice his stance technique.

The benefits were astonishing!

The abundant meat transformed into surging Blood Vitality and energy, sparing him from becoming empty-stomached, dizzy, and bleary-eyed after only a few rounds like those impoverished disciples without dietary supplements.

And the Miasma Poison stored in the black meat steadily increased the length of the Mist Incense by roughly half an inch each day.

After so long, he had nurtured the Mist Incense to a length of one foot nine inches. But the more than one tael of silver he had earned through killing and robbery was nearly spent. Recently, when he went to buy meat, Zhang Ying had even asked him curiously why that dog's appetite, which had grown larger day by day before, had suddenly become smaller. She had also asked whether his senior brother's dog had a good appetite.

Zhou Chen had no idea how to answer her.

In the courtyard of Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall that afternoon, sweat dripped from Zhou Chen's chin. Yet the moment it hit the ground, the sun evaporated it. He panted heavily as he stared at the panel before him.

[Realm: First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm (Initiation) 613/1000]

"Whew—once the incense reaches two feet, I'll ignite it and cross the threshold of the First Grade in one go!"

Zhou Chen let out a long breath and pinched his arm. It felt like he was squeezing cowhide. Ordinary scrapes could no longer leave even the slightest mark. No wonder they said the first stage of martial arts training was Skin Tempering. The realm divisions were rather scientific.

"Chen! Stop practicing and come over for a rest!"

A broad-browed, big-eyed man called out to him.

The man calling him was named Du Song. He was honest and rather simple-minded, not tall, and had little guile. His family sold steamed flatbreads, and his father, Du Dalang, had scraped together enough money for the martial arts hall by carrying a shoulder pole through the streets and alleys to sell baked flatbreads.

He had gotten to know Du Song while sparring with him. Since the two of them came from similar backgrounds and had similar natural bone structures, they gradually became familiar with each other.

Zhou Chen smiled and walked over, then sat down beside him.