Fire Venom Palm Technique

The Black-Mane Horse galloped at full speed, its three riders pressed tightly together.

With every jolt, Dong Jia's faint body fragrance drifted into his nostrils, and her long hair occasionally brushed across his cheek. Heat surged in Lu Shaolin's lower abdomen!

"Sir, at a time like this, how could you..."

Dong Jia turned to look at Lu Shaolin, her eyes rippling like spring water, her face flushed with shy charm.

"My apologies. Natural reaction, natural reaction!"

Lu Shaolin could only smile bitterly.

He truly could not be blamed for this. In such circumstances, any man would react, not to mention that he was a martial artist with vigorous blood and raging fire—far harder to keep under control.

Dong Jia turned her lovely head away and said nothing more, though her body trembled from time to time.

Upon reaching the county town, Lu Shaolin went straight to its largest inn: the Fortunate Arrival Inn.

The Fortunate Arrival Inn was a Blackwater Gang property, so its safety was guaranteed.

Leaping down from the horse, Lu Shaolin supported Dong Jia's slender waist and carried her down, then scooped Dong Linger down as well.

Dong Jia's face flushed crimson, and she did not dare look at Lu Shaolin.

Lu Shaolin smiled and led the two sisters into the inn.

He took out his token and rented a superior room. After settling the sisters inside and giving Dong Jia ten taels of silver, telling her to wait for him to come get them, Lu Shaolin left the inn and headed straight for the Water Fortress!

Upon arriving at the Water Fortress, he entered the External Affairs Hall, where the steward Zhao Anguo happened to be present.

"Brother Lu, what brings you here today?"

Zhao Anguo rose with a beaming smile.

"I had nothing to do, so I came by for a look."

Lu Shaolin replied with a smile.

After the two chatted casually for a few more moments, Lu Shaolin finally asked, "Brother Zhao, how does our External Affairs Hall deal with Vengeful Souls?"

"Vengeful Souls are rather troublesome. They do not reveal themselves, so they cannot be seen. Usually, once a Vengeful Soul is discovered, it is handed over to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

"If they cannot be seen, then how can one discover a Vengeful Soul?"

"The Demon Suppression Bureau distributes Clear-Eye Liquid. Whenever there is an incident suspected to involve a Vengeful Soul, the gang members sent to investigate are given a bottle of Clear-Eye Liquid."

"Oh... could I receive a bottle?"

"Brother Lu, have you encountered a Vengeful Soul?"

Zhao Anguo asked suspiciously.

"It is always best to be prepared."

Lu Shaolin laughed heartily.

"Ordinarily, that would not be allowed. But Brother Lu is one of us, so I will give you a bottle."

Zhao Anguo rose and walked behind the counter.

"Here! Brother Lu, this Clear-Eye Liquid can only be used once every twelve hours. Just drip it into your eyes. Do not use too much, or it will damage them."

Zhao Anguo handed him a small porcelain bottle and cautioned him.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao!"

Lu Shaolin accepted it with cupped hands.

"Could it be that aside from the lords of the Demon Suppression Bureau, ordinary martial artists are helpless against Vengeful Souls?"

Lu Shaolin asked again.

"Not necessarily. Ordinary martial artists can injure Vengeful Souls if they cultivate techniques or martial skills with a yang-fire attribute. Weapons forged from Fire-Pattern Steel can also harm them."

"Fire-Pattern Steel? What is that?"

"It is steel refined from Flame-Pattern Ore, containing the qi of yang fire!"

"Where is it sold?"

"This is government-controlled steel, supplied exclusively to the Demon Suppression Bureau and the army. Very little of it makes its way outside. Jin Prefecture's city may have some, but there is no need to even think about finding it in our county town."

"I see. What if one knows no yang-fire techniques or martial skills and has no weapon forged from Fire-Pattern Steel?"

"Then it becomes very troublesome. You must rely on your own blood. Martial artists' blood contains righteous yang qi. Smear it on a weapon or your hands, and strike the Vengeful Soul before the blood coagulates and its righteous yang qi dissipates. That will injure it."

"But relying on blood alone to kill a Vengeful Soul is exceedingly difficult. Before the Vengeful Soul dies, you will likely bleed to death first!"

"So that is how it is! Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Brother Zhao."

Lu Shaolin thanked him with cupped hands.

The two then chatted about other matters for a while before Lu Shaolin took his leave.

After leaving the External Affairs Hall, Lu Shaolin quickly rushed up to the second floor and arrived at the Martial Arts Pavilion.

The white-haired old man in the Martial Arts Pavilion had a wine gourd between his teeth and was leering at a little picture book on the table.

"Ahem, ahem!"

Lu Shaolin coughed lightly twice.

"What is it?"

The old man removed the wine gourd from his mouth, slowly closed the book, lifted his eyelids, and asked.

"I wish to learn a martial skill!"

Lu Shaolin answered.

"Go pick one yourself. Once you have chosen, come out and pay five taels of silver."

The old man waved him off.

Lu Shaolin stepped into the Martial Arts Pavilion and went straight to the first row of bookshelves. He remembered there was a martial skill called Fire Venom Palm there.

After searching for a while, Lu Shaolin pulled out the red-covered Fire Venom Palm manual.

He flipped through it, only to find that its training method was horrifying beyond description!

First, one had to heat river sand in an iron pot, plunge one's hands into it, and absorb the fire venom. When it became unbearable, one withdrew one's hands, then repeated the process over and over. Later, the river sand had to be replaced with heated iron sand, and the hands still had to be plunged into it.

Before every training session, one had to apply a special medicinal oil to absorb the fire venom.

Once mastered, when the palm technique was circulated, one's palms would turn blackish-red. Even placing them over flames would cause no harm.

Holding the Fire Venom Palm manual, Lu Shaolin left the Martial Arts Pavilion and walked up to the white-haired old man's desk, handing the manual over.

"Token!"

The old man took the palm technique manual and spoke.

Lu Shaolin handed over his token, then took out five taels of silver and placed them on the table.

"Fire Venom Palm medicinal oil costs five taels per jar. One jar can be used three times. How many jars do you want?"

The old man said without even raising his head.

"Two jars!"

Lu Shaolin took out another ten taels of silver and placed them on the table.

After registering everything, the old man put away the silver and placed the manual and two jars of medicinal oil on the table. Without another word, he resumed reading his little picture book.

Lu Shaolin rubbed his nose, reached out to take the manual and medicinal oil, and left the Martial Arts Pavilion.

Going downstairs, he mounted the Black-Mane Horse, clamped its belly with his legs, and sped toward the county town like a bolt of lightning.

After arriving in the county town, he found a restaurant closest to the city gates and booked a private room.

He then ordered a table full of dishes and a basin of rice before taking out Fire Venom Palm and studying it carefully.

By the time he understood it, the dishes had all arrived. Lu Shaolin glanced at the System Panel and saw that "Fire Venom Palm, Not Initiated" had appeared under martial skills.

Lu Shaolin immediately began eating with abandon. Once full, he smeared the Fire Venom Palm medicinal oil over his palms, summoned the panel, and began clicking.

Half an hour later, when Lu Shaolin circulated Fire Venom Palm, his entire palm turned blackish-red.

He extended a finger and lightly pressed it against the tabletop. After waiting briefly, a wisp of green smoke rose from where his finger touched the table!

When he lifted his hand, a charred black fingerprint had appeared on the tabletop!

Hmph, hmph!

Lu Shaolin gave a cold laugh. Looking at the remaining Source Points on the panel, he simply went downstairs and fetched the Golden Body Art medicinal oil from his horse.

He called over a waiter and had him bring another table of dishes, then took out the Golden Body Art cultivation manual and began reading it.

Another half hour passed, and Lu Shaolin summoned the System Panel:

Name: Lu Shaolin

Source Points: 2.8

Martial Realm: Perfected Muscle Tempering

Cultivation Methods: Yellow Grade High-Tier—Reckless Bull Force (Full Level), Golden Body Art (Full Level)

Yellow Grade Mid-Tier—Savage Bear Skill (Full Level)

Martial Skills: Yellow Grade Mid-Tier—Mad Demon Staff Technique (Perfected), Fire Venom Palm (Perfected)

Unranked—Three Absolutes Spear (Perfected), Eight Extremes Fist (Minor Mastery).

Lu Shaolin's strength surged by another four hundred and fifty jin, reaching one thousand five hundred jin!

There was no obvious change in his physique, but his weight had increased, and his muscles had become denser and more compact!

His skin membrane had also become three layers thick!

As for his speed, although his five great tendons had become thicker and tougher once again, it had only increased by fifty percent. After all, as his weight increased, improving his speed would become ever more difficult.

Watching more than forty Source Points dwindle to just two, Lu Shaolin's heart ached terribly. From now on, he could no longer obtain Source Points as easily as before by "looting corpses."