Chapter 86: Chapter 85: Either Getting Stronger, or on the Path to Getting Stronger

CLIP-CLOP, CLIP-CLOP~

Wu Chen, dressed in a form-fitting black shirt and tall boots, with a black-bladed saber at his waist, swayed gently atop a chestnut steed as he began his journey to Mountain Mist City.

But he figured that whether he arrived in Mountain Mist City a bit earlier or a bit later, no one would be handing him a Jade Bone Realm Martial Art on a silver platter.

Therefore, Wu Chen didn’t spur his horse into a gallop. Instead, he maintained a leisurely pace, enjoying the pleasantness of the journey.

Perhaps sensing its master’s good mood, the red-maned steed’s steps were light and its gait was steady, making the ride exceptionally comfortable.

On horseback, Wu Chen squinted his eyes, enjoying the cool wind on his face as he focused his attention on the panel:

[Deep Red Host] Wu Chen

[Martial Arts Realm] Jade Bone Realm, First Layer

(Qi Power: Wild Bull Shakes the Earth) (Vigor: Enduring Strength)

[Martial Arts & Cultivation Techniques] ’Bone-Eroding Wind Blade - Intent’, ’Spirit Swallow Leaf-Plucking Step - Intent’, ’Thunder Palm - Perfection’, ’Golden Ring Greatsaber - Perfection’...

Perhaps because he had accumulated enough Flesh Refining Realm Martial Arts, after he finished allocating points to all the Martial Arts from the yamen’s Arsenal.

Wu Chen had not only broken through the Meridian Passage Realm but had also reached the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts, the Jade Bone Realm.

Furthermore, on the panel, in addition to Qi Power, a new white "Vigor" entry had appeared.

’Enduring Strength?’

Wu Chen stroked his chin, lost in thought.

’Getting a new entry is naturally a good thing, but this one is too vague. It’s not nearly as straightforward as ’Wild Bull Shakes the Earth’.’

For example, with the Qi Power of Wild Bull Shakes the Earth, a light tap of his toe could shatter a stubborn rock and send the fragments flying.

And the flying rock fragments were no less effective than fired arrows.

But Vigor was different.

’The duration one can hold different postures will inevitably vary.’

’It seems I’ve gained a new entry, but it’s still difficult to intuitively grasp the effects of Vigor.’

It just made Wu Chen understand that his physique had undergone another transformation.

’In any case, this entry undoubtedly means I’ve become more durable. As for how much more durable, that will require further investigation.’

Wu Chen stroked his chin, his eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Regardless, the successive appearance of the ’Qi Power’ and ’Vigor’ entries clearly indicated that besides raising his realm, there were other areas where he could improve.

In short, no matter which aspect it was, he was clearly getting stronger, and the process was simple.

He needed Martial Arts. A massive amount of Martial Arts.

’Well, that makes things easy.’

’With my Jade Bone Realm cultivation, I might not necessarily be able to get my hands on Jade Bone Realm Martial Arts.’

’But with my Jade Bone Realm cultivation, getting a dozen or so Meridian Passage Realm manuals and a hundred-odd Flesh Refining Realm manuals shouldn’t be too difficult!’

During his trip to Fenglin County, Wu Chen discovered that Martial Arts of just the Third Realm of Martial Arts were mostly in the hands of prominent families.

He presumed that acquiring Martial Arts for the Fourth Realm of Martial Arts, the Jade Bone Realm, would be even more difficult.

However, the successive appearance of entries on his panel allowed Wu Chen to quickly figure out his next steps, preventing his strength from stagnating in an awkward state of plateau.

That was, to use his Jade Bone Realm cultivation to acquire lower-realm Martial Arts.

In short, if he couldn’t advance to a higher realm, Wu Chen planned to develop horizontally.

No matter what, he wouldn’t be at a disadvantage; he would always be on the path to becoming stronger.

’If I can stack the Vigor entries to the next transformation, with my current Jade Bone Realm strength, I should have at least a thirty percent chance of winning if I encounter an Initial Realm Organ Refining Realm expert again.’

He had been able to exchange a few simple moves with Master Xue Hongling when he was only at Three Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm. It made no sense that he wouldn’t even have a sliver of a chance now that he was in the Jade Bone Realm.

As for crushing an opponent a whole realm above him, Wu Chen immediately dismissed the thought as soon as it appeared.

From the two moves he had exchanged with Xue Hanyan that day, he could clearly feel that her recovery speed was extremely fast.

After taking a blade strike imbued with the Qi Power of Wild Bull Shakes the Earth, and one that even carried ’Intent’...

...her trembling hand had visibly steadied after only a dozen or so breaths, a clear sign that her internal injuries were being suppressed and repaired.

’So this is the miracle of the Organ Refining Realm?’

’After perfecting the four gates of skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, one reaches the Fifth Realm and can fight, endure, and recover...’

’I wonder what kind of scenery the Sixth Realm holds.’

Wu Chen’s eyes flickered. Although the Fifth Realm was a far cry from regenerating from a single drop of blood or regrowing flesh on bare bone...

...from this realm onward, the extraordinary nature of a Martial Artist’s physique truly began to show.

At the same time, he secretly warned himself to be more prudent after arriving in Mountain Mist City.

This world was never lacking in experts, and he needed some time.

After pondering matters of his cultivation realm, Wu Chen reached into the inner lining of his shirt.

There lay a Qiankun Bag, a gift from Lin Gaoyuan.

Upon taking it out, he could see two reddish banknotes inside, a gift from Lord Liu, the magistrate of Fenglin County, before his death.

There were also eight slightly smaller, brilliant yellow banknotes, five of which had been given to him by Lin Gaoyuan along with the storage bag.

In total, it was two thousand eight hundred taels of silver.

’Hmm, still a little ways off from being a ten-thousand-tael man.’

Looking at these banknotes, Wu Chen’s heart filled with a sense of security.

This trip to Fenglin County could be said to have far exceeded his expectations.

He had originally thought that reaching the seventh or eighth meridian of the Meridian Passage Realm would be the limit of his gains from this trip to Fenglin County.

But he never expected to jump directly from the Three Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm all the way to the Jade Bone Realm.

On top of that, the silver in his pocket had also multiplied several times over, reaching the staggering sum of two thousand eight hundred taels.

’This much money should be enough for me to settle down in a quiet corner, start a small business, and live out my life in leisure.’

Wu Chen smiled, but then quickly shook his head with conviction, resolutely dismissing the thought.

In this world, Martial Arts reigned supreme. Whoever had the biggest fist had the right to speak.

If his own strength wasn’t great enough, no matter how big his business grew or how much money he earned, in the end, he would only be paving the way for someone else.

He was crystal clear on this point and began to plan for the near future:

’It’s inevitable that the Jade Bone Realm Martial Arts I need now will be hard to obtain, but I can’t let even a single opportunity slip by.’

’Seven or eight hundred taels of silver should, by rights, be the upper limit for the value of such a Martial Art.’

’I don’t need to be frugal with the silver banknotes. If I can buy a Jade Bone Realm Martial Art, even if the price goes up to one thousand taels of silver, it would be acceptable.’

Wu Chen glanced at the silver banknotes. Two thousand eight hundred taels. Even at the most expensive price, it was enough to support his advancement to the Third Layer of the Jade Bone Realm.

With this reassurance, he released his grip on the Qiankun Bag and didn’t bother examining the other items inside.

Besides the two thousand eight hundred taels in silver banknotes, the bag contained some clothes, food, Antitoxic Pills, and a poison-proof face mask.

There was also a flint for starting fires, along with some seasonings.

It could be said that the small bag held quite a lot.

Swaying gently with the horse’s gait, he left Fenglin County and proceeded southeast along a winding road.

After traveling for about twenty or thirty li, the surroundings grew desolate.

Weeds grew rampant, and the foliage was dense.

As the sun dipped westward, the light along the road began to dim.

From the woods on both sides, the strange cries of birds echoed from time to time, reverberating through the empty forest and sending chills down the spine of anyone who heard them.

"Whoa—"

Wu Chen, however, seemed oblivious. Just before nightfall, he reached a relatively flat patch of woodland and pulled on the reins.

The steed beneath him understood and came to an immediate halt.

Wu Chen swung himself off the horse, preparing to chop some firewood, eat something, and rest for the night before continuing to Mountain Mist City.

But before he could even walk toward the woods by the roadside, the quiet horse suddenly became agitated, its hooves stamping restlessly, signaling to its master that danger was approaching.

Wu Chen knew something was wrong. The moment he dismounted, he caught a faint, foul stench of decay spreading through the air.

"Damn, do they hold a grudge this bad?!"

He was all too familiar with this stench.

He looked up and, just as he expected, saw eerie, jade-green eyes blinking like will-o’-the-wisps in the forest.

As they moved, they left behind wisps of afterimages.

What else could they be but Demon Corpses!

Wu Chen swept his gaze around and saw that a considerable number of Demon Corpses had followed him—at least thirty of them.

Looking at their size and shape, every single one was elite-class!

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