In the bathing barrel, Chen Xun's entire body was submerged in crimson liquid.
Every so often, he surfaced for a breath before diving back under.
This [Iron Garment Art] cultivated the skin covering his body. It required him to strengthen every inch of skin, including that on his face and scalp, until it possessed defensive power comparable to iron skin.
As time passed, the crimson liquid in the barrel gradually faded.
With a splash, Chen Xun suddenly rose from the bathing barrel.
The next moment, he let out a low roar, and the skin all over his body turned the color of black iron.
With several clangs, Chen Xun slammed his fists together, producing the sound of metal striking metal. It was truly wondrous.
"Hahaha, Perfection! My Iron Garment Art has finally reached Perfection!"
Chen Xun burst into laughter, his voice even piercing through the room and reaching Ye Ying and Chen Qingqing outside.
"What happened to my brother?"
Chen Qingqing scratched her little head, her face full of confusion.
"I don't know. Maybe something good happened to him."
Ye Ying rubbed Chen Qingqing's head and smiled.
After his excitement subsided, Chen Xun quickly dried himself and got dressed.
He did not rush to deal with the water in the bathing barrel. Instead, he checked his status panel.
"Sure enough, the Universal Points section is finally no longer zero."
[Universal Points: 1 point]
As long as he cultivated a martial art recorded by the panel to Perfection, he could obtain 1 Universal Point.
This was Chen Xun's first time obtaining Universal Points, and he began considering where to use it.
"Increase the equipment slots?"
"No. Three equipment slots are enough for now."
"Increase Constitution?"
"I can give that a try."
"Increase Comprehension?"
"For now, the value for the cost is too low. As long as I can find a purple item, I can quickly cultivate a martial art to Perfection. I don't need exceptionally high Comprehension at all."
"Raise a martial art's realm?"
"The value for the cost is even lower. Right now, there aren't any martial arts whose realm I urgently need to raise."
After comparing and weighing his options, Chen Xun ultimately chose to add this Universal Point to his Constitution.
"Raise Constitution."
Chen Xun made his choice.
The next moment, his Universal Points returned to zero.
Then, a gentle yet powerful force poured into Chen Xun's body.
In less than ten seconds, that force vanished.
Chen Xun felt as though his body had suddenly become a little lighter.
The value under Constitution on the panel changed.
[Constitution: 5 points (Grade C, Middle Tier)]
His Constitution had indeed improved.
"My body doesn't seem to have changed much."
Chen Xun clenched his fist. "My strength hasn't changed."
Then he jumped and bounced around, but everything remained the same as before.
Until he looked inward at his Blood Pool Acupoints, and could not help freezing.
"This... improving Constitution can actually expand the Blood Pool Acupoints."
The two Blood Pool Acupoints that had already been filled with Blood Qi had both expanded somewhat. The "waterline" of Blood Qi had fallen.
By rough estimation, the space inside the Blood Pool Acupoints had expanded by around one-fifth.
"If the better one's Constitution, the larger one's Blood Pool Acupoints..."
"Then how large must the Blood Pool Acupoints of a Grade A genius be?"
At that thought, Chen Xun's scalp tingled. Much of his previous self-satisfaction dissipated.
"No wonder those geniuses from the rumors cultivate so quickly."
"So there was such a secret behind it."
Chen Xun could not help sighing.
Before this, he had heard others boast about how fast the Li Family's current greatest genius, the Eighth Young Master, cultivated.
In one year, he had gone from an ordinary person who was not a Martial Artist to the peak of the Blood-Qi Third Transformation.
Chen Xun had thought it was news deliberately spread by the Li Family to build up the Eighth Young Master's reputation.
After all, even with his golden finger, he did not dare guarantee that he could cultivate to the peak of the Blood-Qi Third Transformation within a year.
But now, he somewhat believed it.
"If that Eighth Young Master has Grade A talent, how large must the Blood Pool Acupoints inside his body be? Perhaps those rumors are all true."
"Fortunately, my Constitution can change. One day, perhaps I can possess Grade A talent as well."
Chen Xun could not help indulging in such fantasies.
After Chen Xun poured out the water from the bathing barrel, he swallowed a [Blood-Strengthening Pill] and began refining Blood Qi.
As he cultivated, Chen Xun discovered that his speed of refining Blood Qi had increased a little again.
Though insignificant, it had indeed increased.
"Is this also the effect of improving Constitution?"
"It seems using Universal Points to improve Constitution is a very good choice."
Time flowed swiftly during cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, night fell.
By then, Chen Xun was no longer at his residence. He had arrived at Green Bamboo Ward, beside the Gale Gang.
As soon as he arrived, Chen Xun saw the Gale Gang festooned with lanterns and colored decorations, bustling with excitement.
He casually found someone to ask and learned that it was the Gale Gang leader's first wife's fortieth birthday.
Using the celebration as an excuse, the Gale Gang was forcibly collecting gift money throughout Green Bamboo Ward, demanding that no one pay less than the required amount.
"Well now, they're even collecting gift money."
"They really never stop."
Chen Xun shook his head with a sigh.
With such a skin-flaying tyrant hanging over them, the people of Green Bamboo Ward likely did not have easy lives.
Looking at the lively Gale Gang, Chen Xun did not act immediately. Instead, he kept moving about and gathering more information.
In the end, Chen Xun even took the opportunity to replace a Gale Gang member and infiltrate the birthday banquet.
By the time he entered, the feast was nearly over.
But several tables were still drinking and boasting. Chen Xun looked closely and spotted Zhao Tong at one of them.
As a branch leader, Zhao Tong sat in the seat of honor at that table. His face was flushed red from drinking, and he looked exhilarated.
Chen Xun did not stare at him openly. Instead, he proactively took over the task of gathering rubbish and clearing away leftover food.
"Brother, you look unfamiliar. New here?"
A Gale Gang member directing Chen Xun's work suddenly asked.
"Yeah. Otherwise, why would I be doing this kind of work?"
Chen Xun did not reveal any nervousness. Instead, he answered in a complaining tone.
"Haha, newcomers doing more work is good for you."
The other man hastily laughed it off and did not linger.
After dismissing him, Chen Xun slacked off while observing Zhao Tong's movements.
At last, Zhao Tong's table broke up.
Supported by one of his subordinates, Zhao Tong headed outside.
Chen Xun's eyes shifted. Using the excuse of going to the latrine, he hurriedly followed.
Like this, Chen Xun followed Zhao Tong all the way to his home.
Zhao Tong's home was a residence with a small courtyard, located a hundred meters from the Gale Gang.
"Boss Zhao, I'm leaving."
"Don't go, don't go. Have another couple of drinks with me."
In the end, the subordinate handed Zhao Tong over to his family before turning and leaving.
"Drink, drink, drink. You drink every day. Why don't you drink yourself to death?"
Zhao Tong's wife glared angrily at the man, who had already started snoring.
In the end, she could only helplessly have the household servants carry Zhao Tong into the bedroom. After wiping him down, she went out to brew a sobering soup.
While she was away, Chen Xun slipped inside.
"And here I made so many preparations."
Looking at Zhao Tong, who was sleeping like a dead pig, Chen Xun shook his head in displeasure.
Then he took out silver needles and began inserting them into Zhao Tong's body.
After covering Zhao Tong in needles, Chen Xun began removing them again.
Throughout the insertion and removal, Zhao Tong showed no reaction. Nor would he ever react again.
After finishing this, Chen Xun began carefully searching the room for valuables.
Halfway through, footsteps sounded outside, and Chen Xun hurriedly hid beneath the bed.
"Zhao Tong, get up and drink the sobering soup."
But no matter how Zhao Tong's wife patted him, he showed no reaction.
"Why is he sleeping so deeply this time?"
After muttering a couple of words, Zhao Tong's wife did not think much of it. She left the sobering soup behind. "Drink it yourself when you wake up."
Without caring whether Zhao Tong heard her or not, she left.
After Zhao Tong's wife departed, Chen Xun crawled out from beneath the bed and continued searching for valuables.
In the end, he found only a little over ten taels of silver.
"Just this much? That's far too little."
Chen Xun frowned as he weighed the silver in his hand. "Looks like I'll have to search a few more places."
So he left the room and slipped into the other rooms to plunder them.
If there were people in a room, he used incense he had made himself to drug them unconscious.
In the end, Chen Xun found a money box hidden atop a roof beam in Zhao Tong's wife's room. It contained a full hundred taels of silver.
"Now this is more like it."
For her to have saved so much money, Zhao Tong's wife was probably skilled at managing the household.
Otherwise, with Zhao Tong's character, he would likely have squandered whatever money he had with a lavish hand.
"Thank you."
Chen Xun thanked Zhao Tong's wife, who lay unconscious on the bed, then left Zhao Tong's home.
It was not until noon the next day that Zhao Tong's wife discovered something had happened to him. She immediately let out a piercing scream that shattered the Gale Gang's peace.