A New Purple Item

"Hello, everyone."

Fourth Master Li Tiangang waved to the crowd, utterly without airs.

At once, the newcomers could not help developing a favorable impression of Li Tiangang.

"Most of you may have heard of me, but you have never met me and do not know what kind of person I am."

"But that is all right. We will be spending some time together from now on. By then, you will know what kind of man I am, and whether I am worthy of your trust."

Li Tiangang's words carried a distinctly martial-world flavor.

"I will not say much more. Today, we are simply meeting each other and getting acquainted."

With that, Li Tiangang waved and left.

After Li Tiangang departed, Yang Feng and Xie Xiong took over the group.

"Starting today, you are to report here every day."

"In the mornings, we will train you in how to encircle and hunt Mutant Beasts, teach you about them, introduce the various Mutant Beasts we have encountered, and explain their weaknesses."

"In the afternoons, you are free to do as you please. You may stay here or return home."

After Yang Feng finished, Xie Xiong continued.

"Oh, and a reminder to some of you."

"Those of you still at the First Transformation Limit had better break through to the Qi-Blood Second Transformation within a month."

"If you cannot do it, then roll up your bedding and get out."

The moment he said this, the few Martial Artists in the group at the First Transformation Limit subtly changed expression, a sense of urgency rising within them.

Afterward, Yang Feng and Li Tiangang moved to the side, yielding their places to the other two.

"My name is Wu Zhen. From now on, you will learn the methods of encirclement hunting from me."

"You little bastards, remember this: my name is Zheng Hu. From now on, you will follow me in getting familiar with all kinds of Mutant Beasts."

Wu Zhen was lean, with a faint, ever-present smile on his face and a kind demeanor.

Zheng Hu was tall and broad, with tiger eyes and a thick beard. Every other word out of his mouth was profanity, and his temper was explosive.

The two taught for two hours each, and the entire morning passed just like that.

"Whew, it is finally over. My head feels like it is spinning."

"I am starving. Is anyone going to the cafeteria?"

"Me, I am going."

"Count me in."

"I am going too. My stomach is practically flattened from hunger."

For a time, much of the initial unfamiliarity between them faded away, and they gradually became acquainted.

This was the result of their morning of study.

By drilling together and learning together, they quickly grew familiar with one another.

Before long, the entire group headed to the cafeteria together.

"What do you think of them?"

Yang Feng watched Chen Xun and the others' retreating backs and asked Xie Xiong beside him.

"They have not yet taken shape. We cannot count on them for now."

Xie Xiong spoke frankly.

"Oh, right. Has that thing been sent away?"

As he said this, Yang Feng suddenly lowered his voice until it was nearly inaudible.

Xie Xiong stood very close to Yang Feng. Though Yang Feng's voice was low, it still fell clearly into his ears.

"I do not know. Do not ask about it again in the future."

"This is a Li Family secret. It absolutely must not be leaked."

Xie Xiong's voice was stern.

"My mistake. I will not ask again."

After saying that, Yang Feng could not help coughing.

Xie Xiong gave Yang Feng a helpless glance, then patted his back with his broad palm to ease his coughing.

"How is your injury? So many days have passed—why has it not improved?"

"Nothing serious, nothing serious. It just left behind a bit of a cough."

Liu Feng answered with a chuckle.

Yet his right hand hanging at his side was clenched tightly. Looking closely through the gaps between his fingers, one could vaguely see specks of dark red.

Clearly, his injury was not as minor as he made it sound.

That afternoon, some of the newcomers, including Chen Xun, trained at the Dragon-Tiger Grounds, while others went back to train.

Chen Xun chose to remain at the Dragon-Tiger Grounds.

However, he did not begin training immediately. Instead, he went to find Yang Feng.

"Brother Feng, does the storeroom have tiger bones and Mutant Beast meat?"

Chen Xun asked directly.

"As for Mutant Beast meat, there are still over a hundred pounds refrigerated in the cold storage."

"As for tiger bones, I do not know. I will go check in a moment."

Yang Feng was the manager of the Hunting Team's storeroom.

"Right, what do you need tiger bones for? They do make a pretty good soup."

Hearing this, Chen Xun's heart ached. "What a waste of heaven's gifts! You are actually using tiger bones to make soup?"

Chen Xun suddenly had the urge to hit someone.

He had searched all over Cloudflow County for tiger bones and had not found even a single genuine one.

Now that he suddenly heard someone was using the stuff to make soup, how could he possibly feel balanced?

"Brother Feng, you know I practice the Iron Garment Art."

Suppressing his frustration, Chen Xun explained calmly, "One of its medicinal baths requires tiger bones as a catalyst. I have looked everywhere and could not find any."

"Oh, the Iron Skin Art. Xie Xiong seems to have practiced that technique as well."

"If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask him. He is cold on the outside but warm at heart, and he will not refuse you."

"Thank you for the guidance, Brother Feng. I will seek his advice when I get the chance."

Yang Feng nodded at that and continued, "As for tiger bones, few people need them. I do not know whether there are any left in the storeroom, but I will check for you."

Yang Feng then hurried away. Chen Xun did not stand there foolishly waiting. Instead, he casually approached a stone lock, squatted down, and picked it up as though preparing to temper his strength.

In truth, he was intently studying the item's entries.

[Primordial Stance Technique · Stone Lock (Purple)]

[Entry: Stake Training Bonus (Purple)]

[Entry: Primordial Unity Stance · Perfection (Purple)]

[Entry: Great Strength (Blue)]

[Entry: Gravity (Blue)]

[A stone lock carved and polished from iron ore. It once witnessed the rapid rise of a genius and, by a twist of fate, also ended that genius's life.]

"What is going on here?"

Chen Xun had initially been thrilled to see four entries.

But upon seeing the final line of description, his face darkened.

"This stone lock actually killed a martial genius?"

"No wonder it alone is purple. The other stone locks are not even gray items."

Chen Xun then carefully examined the pitch-black, heavy stone lock. Sure enough, in an inconspicuous spot on its bottom, he discovered a patch of even darker blackish-purple.

Moreover, that spot was missing a small piece.

"So it is real."

Chen Xun could not help pondering. "Which genius did this stone lock kill?"

"Forget it. There is no use thinking too much about it."

Chen Xun shook his head, no longer dwelling on it, much less daring to investigate.

The murderer might still be alive. If that person noticed someone investigating the matter, Chen Xun would be in danger.

"With this purple stone lock item, my Primordial Unity Stance will probably reach Perfection very soon."

"And this Gravity entry... I wonder whether it can affect the Blood Qi in my body."

Thinking of something, Chen Xun's breathing grew a little rapid.

"If it really works, then my cultivation speed in the Qi-Blood Second Transformation realm will undergo a tremendous leap."

Chen Xun looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he quickly carried the stone lock in his hand to a corner and directly stored it in the item inventory.

At once, a vast flood of information poured into Chen Xun's mind.

However, because Chen Xun's [Primordial Stance Technique] had already reached Minor Accomplishment, he absorbed this information extremely quickly and without the slightest discomfort.

"So this movement can actually exert force like this."

"These two movements can actually be linked together to exert force."

After swiftly digesting the information, many of Chen Xun's doubts regarding the [Primordial Stance Technique] were instantly resolved, filling him with satisfaction.

And just as he finished digesting that information, the progress of his Stake Stance silently increased by quite a bit.

Originally, Chen Xun's Stake Stance progress was—[Primordial Unity Stance (Minor Accomplishment 180/300)].

His current progress was—[Primordial Unity Stance (Minor Accomplishment 240/300)].

It was estimated that in just a few days, with the boosts from [Primordial Unity Stance at Perfection] and [Stake Training Bonus (Purple)], Chen Xun would be able to rapidly advance [Primordial Unity Stance] to Major Accomplishment.

Raising the realm of [Primordial Unity Stance] could accelerate Chen Xun's speed of condensing Blood Qi and absorbing medicinal power.

Yet [Primordial Unity Stance] was easy to learn but difficult to master. Many Martial Artists had already reached Minor Accomplishment in [Primordial Unity Stance] when they first became Martial Artists.

But even after several years had passed, there were countless Martial Artists whose [Primordial Unity Stance] remained at Minor Accomplishment.

After digesting the experience of [Primordial Unity Stance at Perfection], Chen Xun began testing the effects of the [Great Strength] and [Gravity] entries.

[Great Strength]: Increases strength by one thousand jin.

[Gravity]: Can apply a Gravity effect of no more than one times to oneself.