Little Beggar Injured

While the other party was making change.

Su Xinghe swiftly took the wooden box and opened it for inspection.

Inside the large wooden box, ten brand-new small porcelain bottles were neatly arranged in a ring of wheat straw. The wax seals were intact, and the writing on the labels was tidy.

This was probably the Martial Dao Bureau's standard packaging. He could tell at a glance that they were genuine.

He then took them out one by one, judging the weight of the pills inside. None were missing. He randomly opened one bottle of "Bone-Forging Pills" as well, and the quantity was correct.

He gave them a sniff. They were icy-cool, pungent, and spicy.

He then put on a show by pouring out one pill from the two bottles of "Qi-Nourishing Pill" in the small wooden box and sniffing it too.

A rich, sweet fragrance wafted out, carrying a faint herbal scent.

Su Xinghe suspected it might be Liuwei Dihuang Pills, but he had no proof.

Once the goods had been checked, the banknotes and the two wooden boxes vanished beneath his cloak.

"Farewell!"

He cupped his fists at the other party and turned to leave.

The moment he stepped outside, several furtive gazes settled on him.

Warning bells rang wildly in Su Xinghe's heart. He pushed the "Listening to Tides Art" to its limit. Within twenty zhang, every suspicious person's glances and conversations entered his senses.

Fortunately, this was the black market. Those people had no idea what he had bought.

Beneath his cloak, he held a short sword in one hand and a steel chisel in the other, hurrying toward the black market's exit.

Several groups of tails quietly followed him along the way.

They just did not know that Su Xinghe possessed spiritual perception, with a range of twenty zhang in every direction. Forget fluctuations of qi and blood—even the number of hairs on their bodies was nearly exposed to him.

A pack of little fools. Some had not even condensed the power of qi and blood.

But Su Xinghe had no intention of showing off and slapping faces, or playing the pig to eat the tiger. After all, he was only a slightly sturdier Ninth Rank martial artist. If he failed to show off, he might end up getting screwed instead.

Once he left the valley, he sprinted madly toward Lin County.

"Boss, that guy stayed with the Mountain-Chasing Gang for a quarter of an hour. He's definitely carrying goods!"

Sure enough, the moment he left the black market.

The people tailing him inside had companions lying in ambush outside to receive them.

"Damn!"

"Not good, he's running so fast!"

"Stop chasing. At that speed, he's either at the peak of Ninth Rank or an Eighth Rank powerhouse."

Fortunately, this black market was not high-level enough for Grade-Eight Martial Artists to fall into banditry. With his sharp perception and the speed granted by a burst of seven or eight thousand jin of force, he made it back to the west side of the city without danger.

Only, the soles of his feet felt chilly. His straw sandals were practically ruined.

And because he had run too fast, his old cloak had become strips of cloth.

By now, he was basically safe. After all, few people knew Tongzi Ward better than he did.

But he could not abandon the caution he ought to have. He wound his way through countless turns.

Another half hour later, he finally arrived at Narcissus Street.

Su Xinghe put away his things and quietly sensed the breathing in the rear courtyard. Everything upstairs and downstairs was fine.

He took out a bottle of "Qi-Replenishing Pill," thought for a moment, then swapped it for "Bone-Forging Pills."

His Body Tempering was complete. He wanted to see how effective the "Bone-Forging Pills" would be for cultivation in the Bone-Forging Realm.

"Let's train!"

For the first round, he used no pills.

Ten minutes later.

A large mass of qi and blood had already condensed in his chest.

He controlled it and blasted it toward the toe bones of his right foot.

Boom!

"Diligence Makes Up for Dullness, a hundred practices a day."

"'Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art,' experience +2."

An intense pain shot through his toes, lasting roughly ten breaths. Then came unbearable numbness and itching, making him want to dig at them with his hands.

He focused his mind on the Fate Panel.

"Su Xinghe: White Ape Martial Academy (Inner Disciple)"

"Martial Dao: Ninth Grade Realm (Bone Forging 1%)"

"Fate: Diligence Makes Up for Dullness"

"Trait 1: Water-Tight, Unyielding"

"Trait 2: Many Grains Make a Tower, Success Follows Naturally"

"Dripping Water Swordsmanship (First Glimpse of the Path) 0/100"

"Listening to Tides Art (Transcendent Mastery) 1582/100000"

"Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art (Perfect Mastery) 3272/10000"

"Ascending Dragon Stance (Hall-Entering) 566/1000"

"Incomplete Red Lotus Treasure Vase Qi 0/10000"

The progress was less than one percent.

He sensed the toe bones in his right foot. Only the foremost segment had changed.

The proportion was roughly one-thousandth.

Again!

After three rounds of the technique, he could no longer condense any qi and blood in his chest.

He looked at the data on the panel. It still read "Bone Forging 1%."

But he had already tested the progress of Bone Forging. Every round of fist techniques increased it by roughly one-thousandth.

That was also because he had activated the "Dual Engines" in his Consciousness Space. Otherwise, each set of fist techniques would only have half a thousandth of the effect.

Su Xinghe took out a "Bone-Forging Pill" and swallowed it with water.

Three breaths later.

The power of qi and blood within his body suddenly surged violently.

"Holy shit!"

This pill really hit hard.

It felt several times stronger than the spoils from the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall last time.

I bought top-grade Bone-Forging Pills!

Su Xinghe thought to himself as he hurriedly circulated his qi and blood.

This time.

Within his Consciousness Space, he used the "Dual Engines" to perform the "Golden Ape Earth-Splitting Art" three times in a row, stopping only when his qi was depleted and his strength exhausted.

The panel data remained utterly motionless.

Something felt wrong when he thought about it.

With no other choice, he swallowed another "Bone-Forging Pill."

After another three rounds of fist techniques.

The Fate Panel finally changed, the number rising from 1% to 2%.

This time, the effects of the "Bone-Forging Pills" had finally been tested.

In the Bone-Forging Realm of the Upper Ninth Rank, one "Bone-Forging Pill" could support three rounds of fist techniques with the "Dual Engines" in the Consciousness Space. Its effect was three times that of training without pills.

The conclusion was.

He needed to practice the fist techniques nine hundred times in the Consciousness Space to break through to Eighth Rank. Without pills, even training three times a day would take a hundred days.

Without activating the "Dual Engines," it would take two hundred days.

And that was with his once-in-a-century talent. Ordinary people might not even break through to Eighth Rank in ten years.

And these top-grade pills he had bought at the black market—could anyone really withstand them? If not for the recovery granted by his Fate traits, he would probably have needed to rest for a long time.

Thinking of that, Su Xinghe no longer felt that this pace was slow.

The sky had yet to brighten. He continued swallowing pills.

With the "Listening to Tides Art" at the level of Transcendent Mastery, his mind was now remarkably vigorous.

After cultivating through the night, the progress bar rose by another large stretch.

Just as dawn broke.

Across from the White Ape Martial Academy on Narcissus Street.

Su Xinghe was replenishing himself at a wonton stall. As his Martial Dao advanced, the breakfast at home was no longer enough to sustain his morning's consumption.

Life at home had only just improved, and he was embarrassed to make his mother work herself to the bone so early in the morning.

A thin little figure limped over.

He looked up and saw that it was his little underling.

"Boss, those two skinny monkeys are trying to run!"

Little Beggar's voice had lost its usual crispness. It even sounded somewhat weak.

Su Xinghe hurriedly rose and strode over to meet him.

"What happened?"

The other boy's hair was disheveled, and several bruises marked his face. His left shoulder hung limply, while his right knee seemed unable to bend.

"Boss, hurry to Tofu Alley!"

As he spoke, he was already swaying on the verge of collapse.

Su Xinghe quickly caught him, rolled up his sleeve, and inspected him.

His knee was swollen, his shoulder might be dislocated, and the rest was not too bad.

He hoisted Little Beggar onto his back, then turned and placed a large coin on the wonton stall.

"Uncle, keep the change."

"Hey, young man, I'll save the extra for you..."

Su Xinghe felt warmth rise in his heart.

Tofu Alley was in the upper street of Tongzi Ward, even closer to the White Ape Martial Academy than Oil Seller Alley on the middle street. In less than two minutes, they arrived in the alley.

It was only just getting light. Though the sounds of washing and cooking could be heard in the alley, there were few pedestrians on the road.

At the very end of the alley stood a small courtyard with its gate half-open.

The moment Su Xinghe pushed open the gate, he saw a man in the corner of the courtyard wobbling as he tried to crawl to his feet.

Beside him lay another filthy figure, utterly motionless.

Seeing the two of them barge in, the man was greatly alarmed and collapsed weakly to the ground.

"Spare me, sir..."

"You're not dead!"

The two voices rang through the small courtyard at the same time.

Su Xinghe stepped forward with his left leg. Before it had even landed, his right leg had already kicked the other man in the lower abdomen.

Splat~