An Arduous Journey
Chapter 168

Polishing up a patina

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On the fourth night, the people of Red Pine rested, but early the next morning, Luo Xi drove Kenpa and Manna back to Red Pine.

Now that they have samples, they definitely need to collect more inspection and testing methods; Daiqisi is already running out of ideas.

Such secret matters cannot be communicated through a wristwatch; one must personally return to Red Pine to learn about the various methods.

"You take over," Daiqisi offered, suggesting that Wu Youren take the job.

"What could I possibly understand?" The boy could only try it out with the Ironwood Weird-Repelling Jue Jade, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference, Weird-Repelling Jue was slightly damaged.

However, there is also good news: those infected are reacting rather strongly to the Weird-Repelling Jue.

Even when tightly bound, the infected person remains in a deep coma, struggling violently and screaming.

Wu Youren felt that this was more like the authentic "murder in a dream".

Seeing this, the male archer also tried it with his own Weird-Repelling Jue, and the result made him feel a little sorry for himself.

The damage from the Weird-Repelling Jue, it wasn't very significant.

"What a pity," he said with a pained expression, turning Weird-Repelling Jue and giving Daiqisi a disapproving look. "No wonder you didn't use your own test; you tricked people!"

"I already said, Little Wu's Weird-Repelling Jue is better," Daiqisi said, indicating she wouldn't take the blame. "It's just that you insist on disagreeing."

gas!"

The female archer looked thoughtfully at the boy, "That's not the Jin style; it should be your spoils of war. Everyone present knows how it was modified. Wu Youren looks like just Knight Apprentice, but his combat strength is comparable to that of Knight."

In particular, this guy once tricked and killed a barbarian Great Knight, so it's perfectly normal for him to have some spoils of war.

The male archer's Weird-Repelling Jue already quite good, but the boy's is even stronger, which is clearly for a reason.

"Make changes?" The boy thought for a moment before replying, "I don't have that ability. I just like to polish it more often, trying to get a patina."

"Patina?" The others said they had never heard of it.

But the other person's answer came out without hesitation, so it shouldn't be a made-up word. "What is this thing?"

Wu Youren explained again, then said, "Don't infuse it with Battle Qi Battle Qi; at most, let it adhere to the surface of your skin."

"Envelop yourself in Battle Qi and then Weird-Repelling Jue for a long time," some people's comprehension is truly strong, "I've never heard of this before."

Among the lower and middle-level martial artists in Liang, the Ironwood Weird-Repelling Jue is quite common, but that's because ironwood is tough and not easily damaged.

Few people would infuse their Battle Qi into the Weird-Repelling Jue), because that would be a pure waste of resources.

There are definitely people who have plenty of money, and they've tried it before, but without a doubt, it won't work at all.

Otherwise, rumors would have already spread, and everyone would have started to follow suit.

However, as it turns out, various unexpected things did happen, and the male archer stated confidently, "I do this all the time, and it doesn't work!"

He wasn't just arguing for the sake of arguing; as an archer, he needed to remain calm, especially in the face of battle.

To keep his hands flexible and stable, he habitually manipulated the Weird-Repelling Jue ) to soothe his emotions.

It's impossible to have absolutely no Battle Qi during this process, but it's absolutely guaranteed that Weird-Repelling Jue won't be harmed.

The boy blinked twice, then shook his head. "I really don't know. I've never thought about this before."

However, when you are powerful enough, you will have great scholars to debate with you.

Daiqisi asked directly, "What kind of cultivation technique do you practice?"

Male archers train in the West Wind Force, while Knight also train in the Startling Wind. It's not very common, but it's the standard setup for the archer path.

" Little Wu practices the Gale," the female archer said, clearly having done her research. "Perhaps it's due to different techniques."

To.

"We can figure this out slowly," Daiqisi, better at grasping the key points than others. "The crucial thing is that this is really useful; sell me this one."

"Sister, you're too kind," the boy smiled shyly, "Alright then, I'll give you a 15% discount!"

Daiqisi rolled her eyes at him. "I thought you were going to give me—just for touching my hand for free?"

"Then let's go for 10% off," Wu Youren chuckled again. "Do you think I enjoy touching sandpaper? One more touch and it'll be 10.5% off."

"Haha," Ranxue into laughter, " Little Wu, touch her a few more times, and charge her double!"

The atmosphere was harmonious, but everyone had their own little schemes.

That evening, the disciplinary inspector stated that he wanted to test some content privately and hoped that everyone would not stand by and watch.

Daiqisi said there was no problem, but after you finished testing, I also need to test it privately for a while.

The boy watched quietly, showing no sign of being moved.

But Daiqisi didn't let him off the hook. After the test was completed in the early morning, she asked him, "Don't you have some ideas too? Give it a try."

"Let's wait a couple of days," the boy said calmly. " Little Ha hasn't had much of an appetite lately, I need to take care of him first."

"That's a must," everyone nodded in unison.

Everyone has made outstanding contributions recently, and the reason for it all is Little Snowhawk. We must take good care of this little rascal.

The next day at noon, after resting all morning, the group went out to sweep the streets again.

I used to always sweep the streets at night, Ranxue I think I should change things up a bit. A fixed pattern is easy for people to figure out.

Unbeknownst to them, the mindset of this small team is now aligning with that of the hostage from the State of Jin.

There was no other way; they lacked the strength, but still held considerable leverage. After the incident with Marquis Who Pursues the North, everyone became cautious.

They caught nothing that day and returned before midnight.

The next day, Manna and her two companions returned from Red Pine, bringing with them several new plans.

They tested all night again, but still without any significant results.

The next day, Keluoge couldn't hold back any longer and came over to ask, "Any results?"

Daiqisi was already prepared, and handed him a piece of ironwood Weird-Repelling Jue, saying, "This is a good item, but it costs extra."

"This... is a good thing?" The bearded man took out his Weird-Repelling Jue amulet and shook it. "Are you sure?"

His Weird-Repelling Jue crystal clear and obviously not an ordinary item.

The piece the other party produced still had faint scratches on it, and although it was shiny, it was covered with a layer of mist.

It seems to be an old item, and its condition is just so-so.

"You don't want it, do you?" The female instructor was becoming increasingly audacious with the Great Knight.

However, Keluoge couldn't argue with that; the situation was beyond his control. "Couldn't you at least explain something?"

"Take that infected host with you," Manna stepped forward. "Go back and test it yourself."

"We've been studying it for a few days without any progress. Let's go catch another one."

Keluoge tested it and came back in the evening to ask, "How did you get that Weird-Repelling Jue?"

"Now you know the benefits?" Daiqisi asked with a half-smile.

The bearded man looked pained. "You've ruined one of our Weird-Repelling Jue. Even if we can use it through official channels—it's still a loss."

The male archer laughed upon hearing this, "There will always be those who don't believe in superstition."

Seeing that others also suffered losses made him feel much more at ease.

"I want to polish it," the female archer replied seriously, "Until it develops a patina."

Keluoge's mouth opened slightly, and after a few seconds he spoke, "Can we not use coded language?"

"It's not slang," Manna explained, still maintaining a certain level of respect for the man.

The Great Knight, well-informed and experienced, thought for a moment, then hesitantly shook his head, "I feel—I've never heard of this before?"

As the deputy director of the Tianjing City Guard Bureau, there's no reason he wouldn't have heard of such an effective method.

"I recognize people, and I also recognize the techniques they use," Manna replied casually.

There's no standard template right now; providing this information is already quite helpful. You'll have to figure it out yourselves.

She absolutely could not tell the other party that this was caused by the cultivation method of the hostage prince of Jin, otherwise the chain of interests would collapse.

The people of Liang were not unfamiliar with the Raging Gale Cultivation Technique, which was generally recognized as a mid-to-high-level martial arts technique in Jin, and some practitioners had even defected to Liang.

But they had never heard of Gale producing such an effect before.

Therefore, this phenomenon should still be related to the person and may not be so much related to the practice.

In fact, although no one said it, everyone tended to believe that Little Wu had the potential to Ability User and would awaken it sooner or later.

Individual differences objectively exist, so it's reasonable that the Weird-Repelling Jue crafted by Ability User have other effects, right?

As I said before, nobody believed that a hostage from the State of Jin could create a completely new path of cultivation; it wouldn't be surprising if he went astray and became possessed by a demon.

Upon hearing this, Keluoge took out the Weird-Repelling Jue again, examined it, pondered for a moment, and nodded.

"No wonder it was a bit smooth and foggy, so that's why—it really is."

However, after a moment's hesitation, he asked suspiciously, "Won't this cause me to lose the Weird-Repelling Jue again?"

"You're Great Knight now, how could you not control this?" Manna spread her hands.

"If you're really worried, find a piece of wood to practice on first."

"Ahem," Keluoge coughed twice, deciding to drop the pretense, "Who put this on display? Give me a recommendation, I'd love to learn from them at a high price."

The eight Knight of Red Pine all looked at him, speechless.

It's absolutely impossible to expect them to reveal Wu Youren.

The boy has only taken out three "patina-covered" Weird-Repelling Jue, which are not enough for them to share among themselves. Of course, it must be someone who paid for them. If it weren't for wanting to continue researching Parasitic Weird, Daiqisi would never have given one to Keluoge!

Manna hesitated for a moment before saying, "How about you find Ability User to help analyze this? Just don't tell anyone."

This is also the speculation of the Eight Knight of Red Pine. In any case, the Weird-Repelling Jue itself was created by Ability User!

" Ability User— " Keluoge hesitated for a moment, then shook his head, "Why should I? I'm perfectly content with having my own!"

"Then let's not talk about it," Manna shook her head. "We still have to go sweeping the streets in a while."

Although they couldn't find a breakthrough with the previous host, the differences objectively exist. What if the next one does?

Three days later, in the afternoon, they kidnapped someone in the street. Luckily, they were riding motorcycles belonging to the City Guard Bureau, and all they had to do was say, "Catch the suspect!"

The host captured this time was clearly from a later stage; the Ranxue Technique and even the family's Weird-Repelling Jue were damaged.

However, after a day of testing, everyone realized that it seemed they could only determine the severity of the situation.

The next evening, as the boy was teasing Little Ha with a field mouse, Manna came over and said, "Why don't you give it a try?"

(Updated to: Calling for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendation votes.)

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