Astonishing Defensive Power

After becoming a Martial Master of the Blood Refining Stage.

Jiang Jingnian found everything around him instantly much clearer.

It was like a nearsighted person who had worn glasses for years, seeing the world around him as a blur, only for one day his eyes to not only lose their nearsightedness, but become exceptionally sharp.

"My eyesight has improved. Even in the dead of night, I can still see."

He looked at the spider climbing and spinning its web in the corner of the window, then slowly withdrew his gaze.

There were no candles or oil lamps in the room. It was pitch-black, yet he could still see everything clearly.

Though it could not compare to broad daylight, it far surpassed what he had been capable of before.

Jiang Jingnian stretched out his hands and looked at them. Because he had previously cultivated the Tai Chi Nourishing Life Technique, his skin was much fairer than that of an ordinary laborer, without that sun-darkened complexion from wind and exposure.

Now that he had advanced into a Martial Master, he could sense the terrifying explosive force contained within his arms.

Besides that.

His skin seemed to carry a layer of bronze luster.

"The Vajra Art seems to possess astonishing defense. I wonder just how far that defensive power can go. Can it render me impervious to blades and bullets?"

"Or... can it withstand bullets from foreign guns?"

While pulling rickshaws on the streets, Jiang Jingnian had secretly observed the firearms holstered at the waists of foreign patrolmen.

They were all pistols.

Similar to the Mauser Military Pistols of his previous life's old era, also known as Mauser Pistols or Box Cannons.

In the modern world of his previous life, such things had long since been phased out, replaced by pistols that were more efficient, lighter, and safer.

However.

To ordinary people, no matter what kind of pistol it was, a few shots were enough to kill. If a vital spot was hit, then one bullet was enough to send someone into an infant-like sleep.

Thinking of this.

Jiang Jingnian bent down and pulled a kitchen knife from beneath the wooden bed. This had been the only "weapon" he could get when he had first transmigrated here last month.

Controlled weapons from the concessions—broadswords, daggers, military spikes, and the like—were not things a common laborer could obtain at will.

Even though he could buy them through the black market or Stockade channels as long as he paid enough, after weighing the pros and cons, he had not risked himself for a mere cold weapon.

"Let's test the strength of my body now."

Holding the somewhat sharp kitchen knife in his right hand, Jiang Jingnian exerted a little force and slashed the back of his left hand.

It felt slightly painful.

The skin had broken a little.

But it was not serious. Only a few beads of blood emerged, and the wound would heal quickly.

The defensive power was ordinary, but his healing ability truly was much stronger than before.

This result did not meet Jiang Jingnian's expectations.

"Again."

"At the Blood Refining Stage of the Tai Chi Vajra Art, one's qi and blood are like mercury slurry, dense and abundant. Its killing power comes second; its defensive power is strongest."

"Only upon reaching the Marrow Tempering Stage can one drive the essence qi within the bone marrow and unleash the Tai Chi Vajra Art's strongest ultimate technique, the Tai Chi Golden Bell Shield. But even at the Blood Refining Stage, one can activate the Blood Core and multiply one's defensive power."

Jiang Jingnian changed his method of testing.

He no longer relied solely on his body's inherent strength.

Instead, he activated the rotating solid Blood Core within his Cinnabar Field. This was the unique power gained after advancing into a Martial Master.

The Blood Core was formed from highly concentrated, compressed qi and blood. It constantly circulated and breathed in and out, causing the qi and blood within Jiang Jingnian's body to flow endlessly along the Greater and Lesser Celestial Circuit routes of the Tai Chi Vajra Art.

This time, he stirred the Blood Core. As his heart willed it, the surging Blood Core qi instantly covered his entire left hand.

The bronze sheen of his skin became several shades deeper.

The kitchen knife in his right hand fell, repeating the old trick as it continued to cut across his left hand.

This time, apart from not infusing the knife in his right hand with Blood Core qi and blood, he had used nearly all his strength.

Clang—

A dull groan like metal striking iron came from where the kitchen knife met the back of his hand.

This time.

Where the knife had passed, there was only a faint white mark, forming a sharp contrast with the nearby spot that was still red and beaded with blood.

Seeing this, delight surged through Jiang Jingnian's heart.

Though he had no confidence when it came to resisting foreign guns and cannons, he was quite certain of himself against cold weapons.

This meant that.

Aside from Martial Masters of the same level, ordinary gang hooligans, thieves, and bandits should pose little threat to him, so long as they did not swarm him in groups of dozens or hundreds.

This way, in these troubled times, he could barely be said to possess some ability to protect himself.

"Without using the Blood Core's power, my natural physical strength and healing ability should already surpass those of ordinary people."

"But once I use the Blood Core's power, my defense increases by several times over. Ordinary cold weapons should find it difficult to inflict direct harm on me."

"In a life-and-death battle, that difference is as vast as heaven and earth."

Jiang Jingnian was overjoyed. The invisible burden pressing on his heart seemed to have eased considerably.

Becoming a Martial Master did not merely provide some assurance of safety. More importantly, it would allow him to escape his current plight at the bottom rung of society, and he would be able to earn more money in the future to repay Fifth Uncle's family.

He put the kitchen knife back beneath the bed.

Then, after tidying up the room, he lay directly on the bed and slept without taking off his clothes.

The following afternoon.

Under a friend's introduction, Qu Yuzhi arrived at a martial hall in Nanpu District, Peace City.

On the plaque above its gate were four bold characters, written like dragons soaring and serpents racing.

"Intent Fist Academy."

The martial hall was not large, much smaller than the several major martial halls Qu Yuzhi had visited before. But upon entering, he saw that it still had two training halls, one large and one small.

Only, the buildings looked somewhat old, and climbing vines densely covered the sides of the outer walls.

"Brother Qu, come with me."

Qu Yuzhi's friend was named Li Zhongru, a middle-aged man with considerable artistic flair. He wore a black-and-white plaid shirt paired with straight-cut trousers made from imported woolen fabric, giving him the relaxed air of someone who had returned from studying abroad.

He was entirely different in style from Qu Yuzhi beside him, who wore a felt hat and a long gown with a mandarin jacket.

The two went one after the other toward the smaller training hall beside them.

A man with the appearance of a legal adviser sat in a rattan reclining chair, fanning himself while instructing several apprentices nearby in their boxing practice.

When he saw Li Zhongru arrive, he merely smiled faintly. Then he said to the apprentices beside him, "Keep practicing here. Do not slack off!"

He then rose from the reclining chair and walked over, casually cupping his hands toward the two of them. "Brother Li, greetings! This must be the Brother Qu you mentioned, yes?"

"Brother Chen, good day!"

Li Zhongru smiled and nodded, making the gesture of a foreign church at his chest.

Meanwhile, Qu Yuzhi removed his hat and bowed with clasped hands. "Brother Chen, a pleasure, a pleasure!"

Before coming here.

His friend had told him that this Brother Chen was the manager capable of deciding the martial hall's apprentice slots.

Thus, he was meticulous with his courtesy.

After the three exchanged a few pleasantries, Manager Chen got straight to the point. "Brother Qu, you brought the documents, yes?"

"I did. They are all here."

Qu Yuzhi carefully took the documents from inside his clothes, along with a wrapped kraft-paper envelope.

Inside the kraft-paper envelope were banknotes jointly issued by Ning City Bank and Shenghua Bank. Each was worth one hundred silver dollars, and there were three in total.