Chapter 51: Chapter 51: Gone Before It Was Even Warm
Jiang Che was shocked. They even sold Black Beast Cubs here!
Seeing him staring at the cage, the stall owner said:
"A Profound Rabbit cub. It’s only at the Bull Skin Realm, but they breed quickly once they’re grown. Only five hundred silver!"
"I’m not buying. Just browsing," Jiang Che said before walking away.
’I can’t believe Black Beast Cubs are so valuable...’
Jiang Che began to calculate in his head.
’A single Bull Skin Realm Black Beast cub is actually worth as much as a Black Crystal from a Stone Skin Realm Black Beast.’
’If I could catch some Black Beast Cubs to sell, I’d be rich...’
However, he also knew that the Black Beast Cubs were all on the mountain, watched over by packs of adult Black Beasts.
If he so much as touched a cub, he would be instantly swarmed by dozens of Black Beasts.
This kind of hunt was usually a cooperative effort by dozens of Martial Artists.
Anyone below the Force Integration Realm who tried it alone would be on a one-way trip.
Jiang Che continued to wander around and suddenly noticed a stall that seemed to be selling poisons.
"Do you have any poisons effective against the Iron Skin Realm?" Jiang Che asked.
"Are you looking for an airborne poison, or one that works on contact with blood?" the vendor asked.
The man was elderly, his hair completely white. The number on his silver mask was thirty-eight.
’They actually have some!’ Jiang Che was surprised.
"What about the airborne one?"
The old man took out a small white porcelain bottle.
"Decaying Firefly Powder. Three uses. Three thousand silver."
"That expensive?!"
Jiang Che sucked in a sharp breath.
The price was far beyond his expectations.
He had thought his one thousand silver was a lot of money.
But after coming here, he realized he was still just a poor kid!
"What about the one that needs contact with blood?"
The old man took out another small bottle, this one black.
"Bone-Dissolving Water. You can apply it to a weapon. Also three uses, five hundred silver."
This price was a bit more acceptable to Jiang Che, but he couldn’t afford it right now. He would have to wait until his next visit.
Jiang Che kept walking and finally saw a small stall selling Secret Manuals.
"Boss, do you have any Martial Arts that don’t require Qi Blood?" Jiang Che asked.
These kinds of techniques could be mastered the fastest, making them perfect for stacking various Talent Skills.
"Basic Martial Arts? I have them, but they’re too cheap to sell on their own. You have to buy a Qi Blood Martial Art too, then I can sell one to you." The vendor was a burly man with a rough voice.
"Then do you have any Iron Body Class Qi Blood Martial Arts?"
"I do. Iron Armor Skill, comes with the Secret Medicine formula. Only five thousand silver." The vendor picked up a small booklet.
"Do you have any without the Secret Medicine formula?" Jiang Che asked.
Five thousand silver was far too expensive.
Besides, he could refine Qi Blood by meditating in his Heart Stream State without any Secret Medicine, so he had no need to buy a Secret Manual that required it.
"Oh? Training forcibly without the Secret Medicine can cause problems. You really want to buy it?" The vendor found this strange.
"I’m not going to practice it. I just want to study it for its concepts," Jiang Che said.
"I happen to have one. Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen. It’s said to be a Buddhist Sect Martial Art from the Western Regions. It’s missing the Secret Medicine, but the training methods are all there. I’ll give it to you for five hundred silver." The man pulled out a small booklet with a yellow cover.
’Five hundred silver... that’s acceptable.’
Jiang Che nodded. "Alright, I’ll buy it. Can I also see those Martial Arts that don’t need Qi Blood?"
"Sure."
The vendor then pulled out a bundle of small booklets tied together with hemp rope.
"These are all twenty silver a piece. Which one do you want? I have Fist Techniques, Swordsmanship, Saber Techniques, Iron Body, and so on. I have them all."
"How many do you have in total?"
The vendor was taken aback when he heard Jiang Che’s question.
"In total? Are you planning to practice them yourself? It’s best not to mix them. A person’s Qi Blood is limited. If you try to practice everything, you’ll never master any of them."
"Thanks for the reminder, but I’m not practicing them myself. I just want to look them over and find some inspiration," Jiang Che explained.
"Alright, let me count... two, four, six, eight... twelve in total," the vendor said.
"Okay, I’ll take them all. Please wrap them up for me."
"You got it! Seven hundred and forty silver in total!"
The vendor was in a good mood.
Of course, these Secret Manuals weren’t one-of-a-kind originals that would be gone once sold; they were copies he had transcribed himself.
Even though Jiang Che hadn’t bought the Qi Blood Martial Dao with the Secret Medicine, seven hundred and forty silver was still a good sale.
He took out a piece of cloth, carefully wrapped the booklets, and handed the bundle to Jiang Che.
Jiang Che took it, then pulled out eight gold leaves and handed them over.
Watching the vendor give him sixty silver in change, Jiang Che sighed softly.
His one thousand silver was gone before it even had a chance to warm his pockets.
However, looking at the Secret Manuals in his hands, his mood improved again.
...
「Jiang Family.」
In his bedroom, the table was neatly covered with Martial Arts Secret Manuals.
Among these Secret Manuals:
One was an Iron Body Skill for the Qi Blood Realm, *Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen*.
The other twelve were Basic Martial Arts Secret Manuals that didn’t require Qi Blood.
They consisted of two Iron Body Martial Arts, three Saber Techniques, five Fist Techniques, one Swordsmanship, and one Qinggong.
Looking at the manuals, Jiang Che couldn’t help but smile.
Buying so many Martial Arts Secret Manuals at once was a huge haul.
The problem of having no Martial Arts to practice was finally solved.
’I, Old Jiang, have never fought such a rich man’s war in my life!’
He sat in his chair, picking one up, then looking at another.
There were so many Martial Arts Secret Manuals that he didn’t even know which one to start with.
’I’ll start with this *Mountain-Bashing Force*!’
He picked up a thread-bound booklet with a yellow cover and began to read it seriously.
The booklet wasn’t very long; he finished it in an hour.
’It seems Iron Body is basically the tank or heavy warrior class from the games in my past life...’
Jiang Che put the book down, thinking to himself.
Previously, he had only learned some of the most basic Iron Body training methods from Escort Sun.
But he had never truly understood Iron Body Skills.
Now, after reading through the manual, he finally got it.
To put it simply, Iron Body Skills were a type of Martial Art that focused on heavy defense and great base strength, but at the cost of being slightly slower.
As far as he knew, not many Martial Arts Halls taught Iron Body Skills.
As for the reason, for one, practicing Iron Body Skills was extremely arduous, and most people couldn’t endure it.
For another, most people were just trying to get by in the Jianghu or learn self-defense, not actually looking for life-or-death battles.
After all, the Jianghu was ultimately about the distribution of benefits, not about killing people.
Therefore, it was mainly people like escorts or those who lived on the edge who would practice Iron Body Skills.
Next, Jiang Che picked up a Saber Technique manual called *Wave-Breaking Saber*.
’Hmm... so this is the Furious Warrior class,’ Jiang Che thought to himself after finishing it.
Saber Techniques focused on offense while also providing some speed and defense, though neither was outstanding.
Their main feature was strong, sustained frontal combat ability, making them very ferocious.
Saber Techniques were also the most commonly learned among weapon-based Martial Arts.
This was partly because they were the most practical, and partly because the saber was the easiest weapon to start with.
Jiang Che then opened a Swordsmanship manual called *Long River Sword*.
’Swordsmen are basically Assassins.’
From what Jiang Che knew, swordsmanship was actually the least practiced.
It emphasized extreme offense with almost no defensive capability, relying solely on footwork for evasion.
It aimed for a single, decisive strike and was not suited for sustained combat.
Unless one was aiming to become a killer, very few people would learn the sword.
After all, it dealt piercing damage and could easily kill someone by accident, which would attract trouble.
As for Fist Techniques, Jiang Che was already proficient in them. He glanced at the other schools’ methods and found they were all largely the same.
Though called Fist Techniques, they actually included Palm Techniques as well.
Strictly speaking, it was a general term for unarmed combat Martial Arts.
It was a style that balanced offense, defense, and evasion.
It could do a bit of everything but excelled at nothing in particular—a jack-of-all-trades.
Of course, this was also what most people learned.
This was mainly because it was easy to pick up and required no weapon, making it quite convenient.
Jiang Che then looked at the last manual, a Qinggong technique called *Wave-Riding Step*.
’A Qinggong technique! Even though it’s a basic version that doesn’t need Qi Blood, this is still a great find!’ Jiang Che was delighted.
Qinggong, as the name implied, was a skill for increasing movement speed and improving one’s Body Technique in combat.
It had no offensive capabilities and generally needed to be paired with an offensive skill.
Of course, some people only practiced Qinggong, specializing as Scouts or thieves.
The reason Qinggong was rare was mainly because it was scarce, not because people didn’t want to learn it.
Pairing it with any other Martial Art could lead to a qualitative leap in ability.
However, most people would only practice Qinggong after hitting a bottleneck in their original Martial Art.
Otherwise, practicing multiple Martial Arts at the same time would cause them to interfere with each other. The already limited Qi Blood would be spread thin, meaning none of them would be mastered properly.
Only someone like Jiang Che, who had his Skill Proficiency Panel and could train at incredible speed, could afford to practice multiple Martial Arts.
’But which one should I practice first?’
Jiang Che was in a dilemma.
