Taisui Meat!

Zhou Chen delivered the meat home, then turned back and headed to the martial hall.

The moment he entered today, quite a few Registered Disciples greeted him with smiles, their faces brimming with envy. After entering the inner courtyard, many senior brothers and sisters also smiled and greeted him. This was treatment he naturally could not have enjoyed before.

The feeling of finally having people look at you straight in the eye was indeed refreshing.

Of course, some remained unmoved. Zhang Shaojiu, for instance, was still practicing his punches. To him, the breakthrough of someone with such ordinary talent as Zhou Chen was merely an insignificant ripple on his road of martial arts, not worth his notice.

Zhou Chen casually found a wooden training dummy beneath some shade and practiced his punches for a while. Before long, he heard Lian Taoze striding over. With a hearty laugh, Lian Taoze punched Zhou Chen in the chest. "Well, well, you brat. You usually keep so quiet, but without a sound, you went and broke through!"

"Good luck, good luck. And it was all thanks to Master Zheng's bowl of Qi-Blood Soup."

Zhou Chen chuckled. Looking at Lian Taoze's two dark circles, he recalled how the atmosphere in the courtyard seemed much graver than usual today. In particular, those senior brothers and sisters from well-off families all seemed to be carrying worries in their hearts.

But on second thought, it made sense. Refugees from Azure City were flooding into Black City, bound to shake up the existing order. The more businesses a family owned, the more they feared making one wrong move and damaging their very bones and sinews.

"That's true, but it also has everything to do with your own diligence." Lian Taoze slung an arm around his shoulders and led him outside. "Come, come, let's talk somewhere else. You've just become a Martial Warrior, and there are plenty of things I need to fill you in on."

The two returned to that waterside pavilion. Along the way, they saw Shen Ao strolling with Sun Yingying. Seeing Zhou Chen and Lian Taoze in the pavilion, Shen Ao cast them a disdainful glance and sneered inwardly. Pathetic. He's only just broken through with inferior aptitude, yet he's worth bringing to the waterside pavilion for a serious explanation of martial cultivation? He calls himself the Lian Household's second young master, yet everything he does lowers his own standing!

Before others, Sun Yingying had always been sparing with words and fond of keeping a straight face. Yet now, her smile bloomed like a flower as she flattered him, "How could he compare to Senior Brother Shen? You found such fine talent in Junior Brother Zhang. He alone is worth more than the eldest senior brother recruiting over a dozen ordinary disciples like Zhou Chen. No, even over a dozen probably couldn't compare!"

"Of course!"

A self-satisfied expression surfaced on Shen Ao's face. "Junior Sister, you may not know this, but I obtained a fortuitous opportunity recently. Before long, I may be able to acquire Copper Sinew-Flesh!"

Ever since Lian Taoze had forged Copper Skin and broken through to the Second-Rank Martial Artist, gaining the upper hand over him, Shen Ao had felt miserable to this day. Especially since Lian Taoze was still attempting the Second-Rank Martial Artist's hurdle of Copper Sinew-Flesh, Shen Ao felt an enormous sense of crisis!

Yet he had entered the Second-Rank Martial Artist after cultivating Iron Skin. Logically, at the Second-Rank Martial Artist level, the utmost he could do was forge his sinews and flesh into Iron Sinew-Flesh. But who could have imagined that he was about to receive a fortuitous opportunity that could help him break open his shackles and attempt Copper Sinew-Flesh?

He could not help but boast about it.

"What?! There's such wonderful news? Then let me congratulate Senior Brother Shen in advance!"

Sun Yingying was greatly startled, then promptly offered her congratulations.

Laughing and chatting, the two left the area.

Naturally, Lian Taoze and Zhou Chen had not heard their conversation. Lian Taoze took two gulps of tea, set down his cup, and said gravely, "Junior Brother, now that you've become a Martial Warrior, there are some matters I ought to explain clearly to you, lest they delay your future."

At those words, Zhou Chen pricked up his ears.

Lian Taoze poured each of them a cup of tea. Then, holding his own cup, he put on the air of a sage beyond the mortal world and said, "Junior Brother, after becoming a Martial Warrior, have you felt that when your Blood Vitality circulates, it sometimes feels sluggish and obstructed?"

"Sluggish and obstructed?"

Zhou Chen froze. He had never experienced such a sensation. On the contrary, he felt incomparably invigorated.

Before he could speak, Lian Taoze sighed wistfully. "Senior Brother was right, wasn't he? Don't be in such a hurry to be surprised!"

"I'm not surprised..."

Zhou Chen remained silent, but in Lian Taoze's eyes, he looked like someone who had been completely struck dumb with shock after being called out.

"Don't panic, Junior Brother! Every Martial Warrior is like this! It isn't due to any other reason, but because of the Miasma Poison we consume in our daily food. Senior Brother told you this during Initiation, perhaps you didn't take it to heart, so I need to emphasize it to you now."

Lian Taoze picked up the teapot, covered its spout with his hand, and began pouring water onto the ground. "Our meridians are like this spout, while the Miasma Poison you consume is like my finger. The more Miasma Poison you take in, the more severely it gets blocked, and the less water can pour out!"

"The more Miasma Poison accumulates in your body, the less Blood Vitality can circulate through your meridians. At best, your cultivation will fall greatly. At worst, your meridians will rupture, and you may even die beyond all cure!"

"So the first thing Senior Brother must warn you about is this: never eat Black Meat, and eat Gray Meat as little as possible. Ideally, eat White Meat! Otherwise, once too much Miasma Poison accumulates in your body and blocks your meridians, you'll never have a chance to step into the Second-Rank Martial Artist realm in this lifetime!"

"I understand, Senior Brother."

Zhou Chen nodded. He had not expected Miasma Poison to affect Martial Warriors so severely. Only now did he realize just how formidable the Divine Statue in his mind truly was!

Lian Taoze coughed, then continued, "Do you know that beyond the Third-Rank Martial Artist, there are even higher realms?"

"What realm?" Zhou Chen's heart stirred.

"I don't know too clearly either. Master Zheng mentioned it vaguely once, but he said that in the Outer City, no one can break through beyond the Third-Rank Martial Artist in their entire lifetime, all because of Miasma Poison."

Lian Taoze's gaze darkened slightly. "The existence of Miasma Poison cuts off our chance of climbing higher. Even if we eat White Meat from childhood, the Miasma Poison accumulating in our bodies over the years is still terrifyingly abundant. Only the Inner City possesses a method to break through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Artist realm. Rumor has it that they have a way to expel most of the Miasma Poison from the body, allowing them to break through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Artist realm. That is also why the Inner City has been able to rule the Outer City for so long."

"Another reason is that some aristocratic families in the Inner City have their talented descendants primarily eat Taisui Meat from childhood, reducing the accumulation of Miasma Poison as much as possible. Such people cultivate at a terrifying speed and have an enormous chance of breaking through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Artist realm."

Lian Taoze lowered his voice for that final sentence.

"Taisui Meat?"

Zhou Chen caught that unfamiliar term.

Lian Taoze smiled and explained, "I forgot to tell you what Taisui Meat is. That Qi-Blood Soup you drank—do you know where it came from? It was made from White Taisui Meat cut from flesh. In the Taisui Manor that governs the Inner City, there is a Tai Sui Lord. Under his command is a Meat Field, known as the Taisui Meat Field. Just as the name suggests, it is a field that grows nothing but flesh. The meat comes in black and white grades. We needn't even think about Black Taisui Meat—a single jin costs ten thousand taels of silver."

"What?"

Zhou Chen's pupils contracted in shock.

One jin of Black Taisui Meat cost ten thousand taels of silver.

No wonder Old Zheng had lost his composure so thoroughly that day when he saw that box, even his breathing turning heavy.

Lian Taoze merely assumed he had been frightened by the price and burst out laughing. "That was my reaction too when I first found out."

Zhou Chen silently digested this information, only calming down after a long while.

Then he thought, keeping that thing in his own hands would only bring disaster. Master Zheng had not pocketed it for himself and had instead given Zhou Chen an opportunity to practice martial arts. That was already generous. A common man was innocent, but carrying jade made him guilty; he did not have the ability to protect such a treasure.

"Eldest Senior Brother, did Master Zheng buy this Taisui Meat?"

He asked again.