Mission

After eliminating the enemies, Chen Xun searched their bodies and unexpectedly found two masks on them—one pig, one tiger.

"Good heavens, so it was those two."

Chen Xun immediately recognized them.

"Looks like I showed my wealth back then, which stirred up their greed."

Besides the two masks, Chen Xun also found over a dozen taels of silver on them, which somewhat made up for his losses.

After searching the corpses, Chen Xun left the two bodies behind and departed at once.

Before long, he arrived at a market outside the city walls.

There were several inns in the market. Chen Xun casually chose one, rented a room, and moved in.

The reason he had not entered the city was that the gates closed at night, leaving no way in.

"Waiter, bring me three meat dishes, and give me an extra-large serving of rice."

"Right away, sir. I'll bring it over shortly. Please wait a moment."

Once the door was closed, Chen Xun flicked his hand, and a bottle of Blood-Strength Powder appeared in his palm. He poured a little red powder into his mouth, and as the medicine took effect, a surge of warmth rose within him.

Chen Xun began refining his Blood Qi and strengthening his body.

The so-called First Blood-Qi Transformation meant continuously using Blood Qi to strengthen the body, greatly improving one's physical condition.

Depending on one's Constitution, the strength gained upon reaching the First Blood-Qi Transformation Limit varied.

Those born with divine strength could possess a thousand jin of Great Strength at the First Blood-Qi Transformation Limit.

For ordinary people, the limit of the First Blood-Qi Transformation was only five or six hundred jin, nearly half as much.

Martial Artists with good Constitutions had a higher upper limit of strength than ordinary people, though they were still slightly inferior to those born with divine strength.

Upon reaching the Qi-Blood Second Transformation, one needed to open up a Blood Pool Acupoint within the body.

After the Blood Pool Acupoint was opened, it could contain Blood Qi, allowing it to be stored without dissipating.

Without a Blood Pool Acupoint to contain it, once Blood Qi was produced within the body, if it was not used promptly, it would gradually disperse on its own.

Usually, that time was only one day.

With a Blood Pool Acupoint, a Martial Artist could manipulate Blood Qi to empower their fists and feet, greatly increasing the power of their attacks.

At the same time, various martial techniques could also consume Blood Qi to enhance their power.

After cultivating for quite some time, there came a knock on the door.

The waiter delivered the food. Chen Xun enjoyed a hearty meal, and after filling his stomach, he continued cultivating.

This kind of cultivation, where progress was visible as long as he worked hard, left him somewhat intoxicated.

Early the next morning, Chen Xun rose at dawn, checked out of the inn, mingled with the crowd, and entered Cloudflow County through the city gates.

After returning to Li Estate, Chen Xun immediately went to the Martial Repository Pavilion and nervously handed in the forged Iron Garment Art manual.

After a period of waiting that was short yet especially agonizing, the result came out.

"Confirmed. No issues."

They accepted it.

Chen Xun heaved a tremendous sigh of relief, his face breaking into a brilliant smile.

"I got through it. Wonderful."

After returning the manual, Chen Xun hurried without pause toward the Medicine Escort Team's base.

By the time he arrived, more than half the members of the Third Medicinal Escort Squad had already come.

"Chen Xun is here."

"Hello, Brother Sun."

"Hello, Brother Zheng."

Chen Xun replied to each of them.

Other than that, the rest merely glanced at Chen Xun without greeting him.

Including Captain Luo Shan, the Third Medicinal Escort Squad had ten members at full strength.

Three days after joining the squad, Luo Shan had arranged a gathering for the old members to get acquainted with the newcomers. It was then that Chen Xun learned the names of every member of the Third Squad.

At the gathering, Luo Shan had been warm toward Sun Peng but cold toward Chen Xun, prompting many people to draw their own conclusions.

Before Chen Xun and the other newcomer had arrived, two members of the Third Medicinal Escort Squad had applied to join the Hunting Team and been approved.

Both were Qi-Blood Second Transformation Martial Artists. With their departure, the Third Medicinal Escort Squad's strength had dropped considerably.

Now, in the entire Third Medicinal Escort Squad, only Captain Luo Shan was a Blood-Qi Third Transformation Martial Artist. There were two Qi-Blood Second Transformation Martial Artists, while everyone else was at the First Blood-Qi Transformation.

Previously, the Third Medicinal Escort Squad had been able to vie for first or second place among the four squads. Now, it had fallen straight to the bottom of the heap.

Because of that, quite a few members of the squad did not think much of the two newcomers, especially Chen Xun.

Not long after Chen Xun arrived, Li Peng hurried over almost immediately afterward.

"Li Peng is here."

"Li Peng, you nearly arrived late. If the captain finds out, you probably won't escape a scolding."

In contrast to the mere two people who had greeted Chen Xun, Li Peng's arrival prompted most people to speak up and welcome him.

"Sorry, I cultivated too late last night and nearly couldn't get up this morning."

Li Peng hurriedly explained.

"This Li Peng is a good lad. He cultivates diligently—I'd say he has a promising future."

Someone immediately flattered him.

Those words made Li Peng beam with delight.

Only then did he seem to notice Chen Xun, calling out loudly, "Chen Xun, where did you go last night? Why didn't you return to the estate again? Don't tell me you went to play around in that sort of place."

As soon as he said this, everyone looked toward Chen Xun. Some frowned, while others raised their brows with expressions that said they were fellow travelers on the same road.

"I went home. Do I need to report that to you too?"

Chen Xun replied calmly.

He did not explain, because there was no good way to explain it. Was he supposed to tell them the truth—that he had gone to the Black Market last night?

Hearing that, Li Peng wanted to say more, but someone shouted, "The captain is here."

At once, the previously noisy crowd fell silent.

This alone showed Luo Shan's prestige in the hearts of the Third Medicinal Escort Squad's members.

"Is everyone here?"

Luo Shan appeared before them, his tiger eyes sweeping across the group as his voice rang out loud and clear.

"Captain, everyone is here."

One person hurriedly replied. He was the vice-captain of the Third Medicinal Escort Squad, named Ke Jun.

"Since everyone is here, let's set off."

"Yes."

Everyone cupped their fists and answered in unison.

As he passed Li Peng, Luo Shan casually said, "You're new. Stay with me later and don't run around."

"Yes, Captain."

Li Peng was overjoyed.

When he passed Chen Xun, Luo Shan merely gave him an indifferent glance. He said nothing and did not pause.

Luo Shan's attitude could not have been clearer.

The others could not help becoming even friendlier toward Li Peng, while treating Chen Xun as though he were invisible.

"Chen Xun, you were given a chance, but you couldn't make use of it."

As Li Peng passed Chen Xun, he whispered smugly.

"You're wrong. I seized the real stroke of fortune."

Chen Xun thought to himself. His expression remained unchanged, and he did not take Li Peng's words to heart.

"Putting on airs. I don't believe you aren't regretting it inside."

Li Peng grumbled irritably to himself.

Led by Luo Shan, all the members of the Third Squad left their base, departed Flowing Cloud City, and arrived at a large farmstead outside the city.

The farmstead was called Hundred Medicines Estate, one of the most valuable farmsteads under the Li Family.

The farmers here were all herb farmers and important assets of the Li Family.

The Li Family had even established a ten-man Martial Artist squad here to protect the safety of these medicinal fields.

"Captain Luo, you've arrived."

The farmstead's steward came forward at once to welcome them.

"Steward Li Fei."

Captain Luo greeted him, then got straight to the point. "Have all the medicinal herbs been loaded onto the carts?"

"They're all loaded. We were just waiting for you."

"Alright, leave it to us."

Luo Shan swiftly led his people to take over the herbs. There were three large carts in total, each harnessed to two donkeys. They had also prepared a fine horse for him.

Luo Shan swung himself onto the horse and said to Li Fei:

"Steward Li Fei, it's getting late. We'll be setting out."

"Alright. Go early and return early."

Thus, the Third Medicinal Escort Squad escorted the three large carts of medicinal herbs and headed toward Blackwater Town.