What You Still Have Plenty to Learn!

At the entrance of Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall, disciples who had finished their lessons streamed out in twos and threes. A young man in black martial attire stood before the doors, silver eagle patterns embroidered on his cuffs. His expression was gloomy, his eyes long and narrow, radiating a sinister air as he questioned several people.

"You didn't see my sister come back this afternoon either?"

"No, Third Senior Brother!"

The two disciples being questioned shook their heads in unison.

The man before them was none other than one of the Direct Disciples of Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall, Jiang Tianming. He possessed Second-Rank Martial Artist Minor Accomplishment strength. Although he was not among the strongest of the Direct Disciples, he was petty-minded, so no one dared slight him.

"What about Lin Xuan?"

"Didn't see him either! But I did see Senior Brother Lin and Junior Sister Jiang leave the city together this morning. They haven't come back yet?"

One of them scratched his head and spoke.

"They haven't returned. Maybe they haven't sold everything yet. I'll go check the city gate."

Jiang Tianming nodded and started toward the city gate.

A few days ago, he had heard from his sister that she planned to go outside the city with Lin Xuan to hunt a Blood-Horned Bear. She had even prepared the beast bait several days in advance.

With the two of them joining forces, besieging a Blood-Horned Bear would be dangerous, but they should not have been unable even to escape. Something must have delayed them.

When he reached the city gate, Jiang Tianming walked straight toward the Martial Warriors guarding it, cupped his fists, and asked about everyone who had entered or left the city that day.

After a few exchanges, he soon asked with an extremely ugly expression, "Are you two sure you didn't see wrong?"

"We didn't." The bearded man replied in a deep, rumbling voice. "Two people wearing Flying Eagle Martial Arts Hall uniforms did leave this morning, but we didn't see them return tonight. Sixty-eight people left the city today, and sixty-five came back. We've been guarding this place until now and haven't heard any cries for help or knocking from outside the city gate. But even if we heard someone calling for help, we couldn't open the gate. The Night Patrol Bureau has given orders—some Mist Monsters are skilled at bewiching people's minds and can imitate the voices of those close to you to call at the gate."

"Thank you both for telling me."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Tianming felt as though a heavy hammer had smashed into him. His vision blurred for an instant. He clenched his fist, then slowly released it.

The last sliver of hope in his heart vanished.

He was now certain that his sister and Lin Xuan had most likely met with disaster outside the city!

He had doted on his little sister excessively ever since childhood. This time, he had also wanted her to gain some experience by venturing outside the city.

Who could have imagined... that something would actually go wrong!

But it was not out of the question that someone had targeted his sister!

He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. A chill and fury flashed through their depths!

If that was truly the case, he would crush that person's bones inch by inch and make him wish he were dead!

"By the way, did either of you see anyone bring a Blood-Horned Bear back?"

As though he had suddenly remembered something, Jiang Tianming asked again.

The bearded man shook his head. "I don't know. There are plenty of Martial Warriors coming and going, and most meat is brought back already butchered. We didn't pay attention."

"Thank you."

Jiang Tianming nodded and asked no further questions. He drew a deep breath, turned around, and left.

After Jiang Tianming departed, the young man behind the bearded man finally asked in confusion, "Captain, didn't you see someone bring back Blood-Horned Bear meat? Why didn't you tell him the truth?"

"Why bring it up? Who knows what kind of backing that person has? If I run my mouth and sell him out, then Jiang Tianming fails to get revenge and turns around to cause trouble for us. Who'll take responsibility then? We weren't the only ones who saw it. Let him ask around himself. We only need to guard this gate properly. Don't meddle in anything else."

The big man rubbed the stubble on his chin and snorted. "Boy, you still have plenty to learn!"

The young man nodded thoughtfully.

On the other side, Jiang Tianming muttered to himself with a face full of venom, "So many Martial Warriors left the city. If someone really brought Blood-Horned Bear meat back, someone must have seen it. If I ask one by one, I'll definitely find some clues!"

If no one had brought Blood-Horned Bear meat back, then so be it. It would merely mean that useless Lin Xuan had failed to protect his sister. At worst, he would slaughter Lin Xuan's entire family to offer as a sacrifice to his sister's spirit in heaven!

But if someone had brought Blood-Horned Bear meat back, then they definitely had something to do with his sister's disappearance!

Hmph!

Blood-Horned Bears would absolutely not leave their caves in winter without beast bait. They would only stay inside and sleep. He did not believe that someone could coincidentally kill a Blood-Horned Bear and return on the very same day!

After Zhou Chen finished his patrol, he returned to his room and ate all the dried Blood Deer meat he had brought with him. Taking advantage of his abundant Blood Vitality, he began practicing his fist again.

The night watchman guarding outside had long since grown accustomed to the repeated muffled booms of air being shattered, yet he still could not help raising his head to glance once more at the tightly shut door.

Lord Zhou truly was a martial arts fanatic, practicing his fists until this hour every night without fail, regardless of wind or rain!

After finishing the dried Blood Deer meat, Zhou Chen switched to dried meat made from Blood-Horned Bear meat as his staple food. Blood-Horned Bears were active year-round in areas outside the city thick with Black Mist, so the Miasma Poison accumulated in their bodies far surpassed that of ordinary mutated beasts. The Blood Vitality contained within was also much richer; one bite was worth two or three bites of Blood Deer meat.

Time flowed like water. In the blink of an eye, more than twenty days passed.

Aside from patrolling, Zhou Chen would go outside the city whenever he had free time, accumulating a great deal of actual combat experience.

During this period, the turmoil in the Outer City had hardly stopped. The new city lord, Tian Xuanwu, led the Azure Guard under his command in wiping out several gangs in succession. The remaining gangs either disbanded on the spot or defected to the new city lord.

As for the two major gangs in the city, the Black Armor Gang had the Four-Family Alliance backing it, and its gang leader was a Third-Rank Martial Artist, so Tian Xuanwu had temporarily left it alone. The Money Gang, meanwhile, had surrendered to Tian Xuanwu long ago. Its gang leader, Yang Zhicheng, was indeed shrewd.

What disappointed Zhou Chen somewhat was that the Clear River Gang remained untouched. Supposedly protected by the Black Armor Gang, it had instead taken advantage of the upheaval to swallow several small gangs, expanding its territory by nearly half again.

For this entire month, he had eaten Black Meat containing even more Miasma Poison. Combined with his cultivation and activity outside the city, he had accumulated Mist Incense at twice his usual speed.

Now, after more than twenty days, the Mist Incense in his mind had grown to more than five feet long. Tonight was the night he would ignite it and use it to help himself break through to Major Accomplishment in his fist technique!

[Martial Art: Wild Bull Fist (Minor Accomplishment) 1196/2000]

[Realm: First-Rank Skin Tempering Realm (Major Accomplishment) 378/3000]

Zhou Chen looked at the panel before him. With a thought, the Black Incense ignited instantly. Black smoke entered through the Divine Statue's mouth and nose, and an eerie light immediately lit up in its eyes.

Zhou Chen felt the Blood Vitality in the meridians of both arms come alive in an instant. It surged along the circulation route of Wild Bull Fist, as though in this very moment, Wild Bull Fist had already circulated a thousand times, ten thousand times!

He began throwing punches, the wind of his fists tearing through the air!

The first punch—wind split apart, the stance unchanged.

The second punch—the fist edge slanted slightly, the force shifting by a hair's breadth.

The third punch, the fourth punch... every punch after that held something more than the one before it!

Until the final punch blasted out, tearing through the air with an explosive boom. In that instant, it was as though an invisible wild bull had raised its head and stepped out from the shadows of his fists, wind rising beneath its hooves as it swept across the grasslands.

[Martial Art: Wild Bull Fist (Major Accomplishment) 207/3000]

Zhou Chen withdrew his fist and stood upright. His chest rose and fell slightly, a thin sheen of sweat covering his brow, but his eyes were filled with delight.

First-Rank Martial Artists were everywhere, but within the entire Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall, he was the first person at this realm to cultivate a fist technique to Major Accomplishment!

He had reached this achievement through his own efforts and the slight assistance of the Divine Statue!

"Phew!"

Zhou Chen exhaled slowly and steadied his breathing. Then he looked toward the direction of the Clear River Gang.

With the strength in place, the killing intent naturally arose!

Better to act now than wait for a better day.

Tonight, he would take Yin Mengbo's dog life!!!

Swish!

Zhou Chen's figure vanished from the room.