Deadly poison, Poison Resistance levels up

This guiding technique allowed the body to absorb the medicinal effects of consumed herbs to the fullest, drawing out every last bit of their potency.

Yet, impressive as the Guiding Technique was, it was the only real highlight of the entire art. In other words, its true core lay solely in the Blood Condensation section.

Although the art was likewise divided into three levels corresponding to a martial artist's first three realms, its effects on the second realm, Bone Tempering, and the Third Realm, Sinew Transformation, offered little of note.

"I wonder how it'll show up on the panel, and what it'll become after merging with the Five Poisons Art."

Since its core lay in the Guiding Technique, the panel changed after Zhao Er carefully read through the technique several times.

[Five Poisons Art (green) lv.1 (51/100)]

[Ginseng Spirit Art (green) lv.1 (1/100)]

"Green quality. That's about what I expected. Now that I have both arts, let's see whether skill points work. Skill... add points!"

Looking at the newly appeared Ginseng Spirit Art on the panel, Zhao Er chose to spend his points without hesitation.

[Merging "Five Poisons Art" and "Ginseng Spirit Art" requires 2 skill points. Yes/No]

"It really does cost exactly two skill points. If I were one short, wouldn't I have to go kill another Entry-Level Martial Artist? This probably depends on the arts' quality! Yes!"

Reading the prompt, Zhao Er once again started grumbling inwardly to ease his nerves, while his eyes remained glued to the panel.

[Art derivation and fusion in progress. Time required: three days. Please wait...]

"..."

Seeing his skill points disappear and the "please wait" message pop up, Zhao Er's mouth twitched. He badly wanted to swear.

"Forget it. The fusion won't stop me from cultivating anyway. Three days it is."

He hid the panel and exhaled, composing himself before opening the door and stepping outside.

"Dad, Mom, there's still some time. I'm heading up the mountain to collect the Heavenly Dragons."

After opening the door, Zhao Er still decided to make a trip up the mountain. For now, dried centipedes were not only his family's most important source of income, but also his main cultivation resource. He absolutely could not give them up.

He normally went up to collect them once every two days. Having visited County Town that morning, he needed to head up that afternoon; otherwise, the Heavenly Dragons would slaughter one another in the pottery jars if left too long, and that would be a waste.

He secured the ceramic jars for the centipedes and bait at his waist, then brought along the animal traps and iron chains he had bought in County Town, heading into the mountains beneath the blazing sun.

Zhao Er had taken the mountain path many times. He was especially familiar with the stretch where he had set his centipede traps.

His strength had improved considerably compared with two days earlier, but he did not dare let his guard down in the slightest. He always remembered that these were the outskirts of the Clear Radiance Mountains. Large predators, exotic beasts, miasma—any one of them could easily take his life.

First, he removed the centipedes from each of his three traps in turn.

The first centipede trap, the newest one, yielded eighteen centipedes. The second yielded fifteen, while the third had fewer, only six. Thirty-nine centipedes in total made this Zhao Er's smallest haul yet.

He first moved the third trap to an entirely new spot. Then, rather than heading straight down the mountain, he selected an animal trail and set several traps for wild beasts.

The forest teemed with wild animals, and Zhao Er had confidence in his trap-setting skills, but he had no idea whether he would catch anything.

After all, he only came up once every two days. Even if a trap caught something, another animal would most likely carry it off. But there was nothing he could do. Until he was strong enough, Zhao Er had no choice but to use this method.

Only after setting everything up did Zhao Er carefully retreat from the forest. He encountered two deer along the way, but they were extremely alert. He did not dare chase them and could only reluctantly give up.

Setting the animal traps had delayed him, and by the time Zhao Er was about to leave the outskirts of the Mountain Range, the sun was nearing the horizon.

Zhao Er glanced back. Mist had already begun spreading through the woods behind him, and a faint scent of sticky rice lingered beneath his nose.

At the slightest whiff of that fragrance, a searing burn flared in his lungs. Zhao Er's expression changed at once, and he turned and stumbled out of the dense forest.

Only once he was well away from the outskirts of the Mountain Range did a cool sensation rise within his body. At last, he could breathe freely, and the burning in his lungs and the dizziness clouding his vision vanished completely.

Text appeared before his eyes:

"Event ended. Calculating results!"

"Events assessed: hunting, poisoning"

"..."

"Poisoning: miasma (deadly poison)"

"Experience gained: traps +1, Poison Resistance +2"

"Poison Resistance (passive) lv.2 (1/500)"

"I thought the miasma I'd encountered in the woods before was all there was to it. I never imagined..."

Zhao Er turned to look at the mist-shrouded outskirts of the Mountain Range, his expression shifting again and again despite himself.

He had never expected that faint fragrance to contain such deadly poison. Just a trace had nearly taken his life.

Fortunately, misfortune had turned into a blessing. Deadly though the poison was, it had given him two points of Poison Resistance. He raised a hand to inspect his palm. The black discoloration, which had previously deepened, had now faded considerably. Without looking closely, he might not even have noticed it.

Seeing that the sun was about to sink below the horizon, Zhao Er dared not delay. Protecting the pottery jars at his waist, he hurried down the mountain.

"Zhao Er! You're back! How was today's haul?"

"Zhao Er, your family stewed meat today. Oh, that smell! You could catch it from miles away..."

"I heard you're going to start practicing martial arts. Is that true?"

"Of course it's true. Tiger's dad said those centipedes are called Heavenly Dragons at the medicine shop. They're worth a fortune."

"Grandpa Dazhu sure is something. His eldest son studies, his second son practices martial arts—won't he be enjoying a blessed old age!"

When he returned to the village and passed the large tree at its entrance, quite a few villagers were sitting beneath it to cool off. At the sight of Zhao Er, they began asking questions, but before he could answer, they were already talking over one another.

Zhao Er merely smiled at them, then hurried home.

Very little could stay secret in the village, whether it was Zhao Er catching centipedes in the mountains to earn money or his plans to begin practicing martial arts.

The villagers' thinking was simple. The aroma of meat stewing at Zhao Er's home had drifted far and wide that day. Unless someone was practicing martial arts, what family would bear the expense of stewing meat?

Besides, Zhao Er's elder brother worked in County Town and had married a daughter from a wealthy household. With a little support from that side, Zhao Er now earning money himself, and the family gritting their teeth to scrape together the rest, they might genuinely manage to raise a martial artist.

Zhao Er simply listened without offering much explanation. Besides, there was little to explain. Though his cultivation method followed an unorthodox path, as long as he could break through and become a martial artist, these ordinary villagers would still see him as a lofty martial master.