When he returned home, it was already deep into the night, and Zui'Er was already asleep.

Zhao Ya did not disturb her, but instead stood in the courtyard, letting the wind blow over him.

By this time, autumn had set in, and the night wind was turning chilly, but Zhao Ya didn't feel cold; instead, the cool breeze left him feeling refreshed and cleared of the alcohol's effects.

After standing for a moment, Zhao Ya began his practice.

First and foremost was the Eight Vajra Skills.

By now, every move of the Eight Vajra Skills had been engraved into Zhao Ya's muscle memory, becoming a kind of instinct.

Following the Eight Vajra Skills were the Five Tiger Fist, Gale Saber Technique, and Lightweight Body Technique.

After completing all his practice, Zhao Ya took out the small box given to him by Tan Ziwang and took a piece of cured Green Bamboo Snake, placing it into his mouth to chew.

The long-missed taste stirred Zhao Ya's stomach, unlike the domineering Blood Replenishing Powder; the qi and blood contained in the cured Green Bamboo Snake were much more balanced.

This was why most practitioners of martial arts first chose Exotic Beast Dried Meat as their source of qi and blood.

After all, not everyone can withstand the impact of medicinal tonics.

Of course, these problems were not problems for Zhao Ya at all.

His powerful stomach and the Water and Valley Essence Talent acquired after unlocking made his digestion capacity frightfully strong.

If not for efficiency, ordinary flesh could actually meet Zhao Ya's cultivation needs.

The condition being a sufficient quantity.

Zhao Ya calculated that roughly one piece of Earthworm Dried Meat was at least equivalent to one hundred catties of pork, and the cured Green Bamboo Snake was even double that.

Thinking in these terms, with Zhao Ya's current qi and blood needs, he would need to eat two or three pigs a day just to barely meet his requirements.

In that case, Zhao Ya wouldn't need to do anything else, just spending his entire day eating would keep him busy.

After eating one piece of cured Green Bamboo Snake, his stomach was still growling, so Zhao Ya had to swallow another to satisfy his needs.

Then Zhao Ya opened his attribute panel again.

Besides the slight increase in various martial arts skills, the heart unlock progress, which hadn't changed for a long time, finally showed some movement.

[Heart Unlock Progress: 82%]

In the Human Body Outline Map, the yellow aura in the heart area had become more pronounced.

Zhao Ya only felt with each heartbeat, powerful blood flow pumped to every corner of his body, gradually changing his body's functions.

This was an extremely slow transformation, but in the long run, his physical qualities were sure to ascend to a new level.

Moreover, Zhao Ya vaguely felt his fascia was refined a bit more.

Although the progress was slow, this was only relative. If others knew Zhao Ya's current progress, they would likely be stunned.

After all, it was just over half a year since he advanced to the Second Realm.

In that little time, if it were someone else, they would probably still be consolidating their Second Realm strength.

And Zhao Ya had already started to advance towards the Third Realm.

Though his strength was growing rapidly, Zhao Ya still felt an urgent sense of time slipping away.

Especially as the current situation was becoming increasingly chaotic.

The Hong Family in the Inner City had made it clear they wanted to dominate the area.

The other two families, Song and Yang, were unwilling to be controlled, also starting to gather forces.

This would undoubtedly make the already turbulent situation in Wuxiang City even more unstable.

Moreover, the Changlong Escort Agency's reputation was bound to decline with Meng Lei's serious injury, which naturally gave Zhao Ya a powerful sense of urgency.

Today, Tan Ziwang, representing the Song Family, had made an offer to Zhao Ya, which Zhao Ya had seriously considered.

There's no denying that the conditions offered by the Song Family were indeed generous, especially as they held exclusive techniques for breeding exotic beasts and had ample exotic beast resources at their disposal.

If he joined, he probably wouldn't have to worry about resources for a while.

But Zhao Ya still temporarily refused.

Because the Changlong Escort Agency had not completely collapsed yet, Zhao Ya didn't want to leave just like that.

After all, he had persevered through much hardship, and even in haste, he couldn't be hasty right now.

At least, he had to help Meng Lei handle all the affairs before leaving.

The next morning, Zhao Ya arrived early at the Escort Agency, as usual.

Compared to the bustling scene of the previous day, today the Escort Agency appeared much quieter.

Many people didn't even show up.

The previously lively martial arts practice field was completely devoid of people.

Zhao Ya furrowed his brow slightly, sighing inwardly.

He knew that the morale among the Escort Agency people had dissipated.

Once morale dissipates, it's tough to gather it back.

Zhao Ya went to the backyard to meet Meng Lei.

After a night's rest, Meng Lei's condition had improved slightly, at least he no longer looked as listless as the day before.

"Chief of the Escort!"

Meng Lei nodded, then picked up a box and handed it to Zhao Ya.

"Ya, this is for you."

Zhao Ya took the box, feeling its weight, and upon opening it, he was surprised to see a stack of gold leaves.

"Chief of the Escort, this is..."

"For this escort mission, you have been exceedingly meritorious. This is a reward for you, though unfortunately, I lack more means right now, otherwise, there could have been more."

Zhao Ya took a deep breath and was about to speak when Meng Lei waved his hand.

"Don't refuse, this little money won't save much, and rather than letting the Hong Family take it, it's better to give it to you."

Zhao Ya was taken aback, "Have the Hong Family people already been here?"

"Not yet, but I suspect they'll be here soon."

At these words, shouts and footsteps could be heard from the front yard.

"Is Meng Lei here?"

Meng Lei smiled wryly, "You hear that? No sooner spoken than arrived."

At that moment, a group of people barged into the back residence, leading them was a middle-aged man wearing a long robe with wide sleeves, sporting a goatee, looking like a strategist.

He was the very same person who had previously come on behalf of the Hong Family to recruit Meng Lei.

Upon seeing Meng Lei, the goateed man gave a mockingly polite gesture.

"Chief Meng, long time no see, I hope you're well!"

His words were extremely sarcastic.

After all, anyone who wasn't blind could see that Meng Lei had lost an arm.

Meng Lei stayed calm, only replying coolly, "Yuan Zhiwen, I didn't expect you to come again, it seems you must be quite favored."

"Haha, it's just that the Patriarch thinks I'm sharp, so he likes to send me out on errands. Let's not talk about being favored, but you..."

Yuan Zhiwen looked at Meng Lei, "I heard Chief Meng returned to the city the night before last, why haven't you gone to the Inner City to deliver the escort since then?"

At this, Yuan Zhiwen suddenly seemed to have a revelation, "Oh, I understand, Chief Meng, you couldn't have lost the escort, could you? Tsk tsk, that would be troublesome, by your agency's regulations..."

"According to our Escort Agency's regulations, any lost escort must be compensated at cost. Am I right?" Meng Lei interrupted Yuan Zhiwen's words with composure.

Yuan Zhiwen smiled faintly, "As expected of Chief Meng, you've clearly memorized the Escort Agency's regulations."

"Then, if that's the case, Chief Meng, please produce the funds to compensate at cost."

Meng Lei shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I have no money."

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