Chapter 52: Chapter 52: A Bunch of Lunatics
Practicing different Martial Arts simultaneously would cause them to interfere with each other, leading to low efficiency.
Therefore, for Jiang Che, the most efficient method was to master one technique to Perfection before starting a second.
This way, he could also immediately unlock a new Talent Skill and gain combat strength.
’I’ll start with Mountain-Bashing Force!’
After some thought, Jiang Che decided to start with an Iron Body Skill that didn’t require Qi Blood.
After all, when he previously reached Perfection in Body Refinement, it had increased his Qi Blood by five percent in one go.
His Qi Blood was now at ninety-five percent.
Although he could wait for his Qi Blood to slowly grow until it was full, Jiang Che felt a persistent unease in his heart and wanted to gain combat strength as quickly as possible.
If his guess was correct, and mastering Iron Body Class Martial Arts to perfection could indeed increase his Qi Blood, then all he had to do was master this "Mountain-Bashing Force" to Perfection, and he would be able to break through to the Stone Skin Realm!
As for whether other types of Martial Arts could increase Qi Blood upon reaching Perfection, he wasn’t sure. He was inclined to think they couldn’t.
This was because when he had previously mastered White Cloud Fist to Perfection, Jiang Che hadn’t sensed any increase in his Qi Blood.
Of course, it was also possible that he simply hadn’t been able to sense his Qi Blood at the time.
But the situation was tense now, and he had no time to experiment.
As for "Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen," he would have to wait until after he broke through to the Stone Skin Realm to practice it.
After all, without enough Qi Blood, he could at most reach Minor Achievement, which wouldn’t be very useful.
Having made up his mind, Jiang Che went into the courtyard and began his Cultivation.
The concept behind "Mountain-Bashing Force" was actually quite similar to Body Refinement.
It also involved damaging the body, then taking Elixir Pills to recover, thereby gradually strengthening the physique.
However, "Mountain-Bashing Force" wasn’t about taking hits, but actively ramming into hard objects.
’Early-stage: ram trees. Mid Stage: ram walls. Late-stage: a Big Iron Bell... Forget it, I’ll just start with the Big Iron Bell!’
True to his word, Jiang Che went to a temple and bought a discarded Big Iron Bell.
Then he hired a few strong men to move it into his courtyard.
Jiang Che took off his shirt, revealing a body of powerful muscles, and then violently rammed into it.
"DONG!"
"DONG!"
"Brother, why are you hitting a bell?"
Jiang Ling ran out holding a bowl of some black, unidentifiable substance, looking at Jiang Che in astonishment.
"Uh... I’m training. Don’t worry about it."
"DONG!"
"When you’re done training, are you going to become a monk at a temple?"
"..."
"Brother, why aren’t you saying anything? Come and try my new Ink Gall Spring Snow Soup!"
...
In the following days, Jiang Che split his time between practicing Calligraphy at the Shao Mansion and training in "Mountain-Bashing Force."
His progress could be described as meteoric.
He reached Entry Level in a day, Minor Achievement in three, and Great Success in five.
There were two reasons for this.
First, he possessed the Rejuvenation Talent.
After injuring his skin and muscles during training, he didn’t need any recovery Elixir Pills at all.
He would be fully recovered in about an hour, allowing him to continue training. His efficiency was therefore far beyond that of others.
Second, he had the foundation from mastering Body Refinement to Perfection, so his skin and muscles were already incredibly tough.
As a result, he mastered the initial stages almost instantly.
However, after reaching Great Success, the Experience Points requirement increased, and his progress finally slowed down.
...
One day, upon returning from the Shao Mansion, Jiang Che unexpectedly ran into Chief Liu.
He was frowning, and his round face, which was usually all smiles and incredibly approachable, was now somewhat grim.
"Chief Liu!"
Jiang Che walked up and greeted him.
"You’re... Jiang Che?! How did you get so muscular? You’ve gotten a lot taller, too!"
Looking at Jiang Che, who was now a head taller than him, Liu Hai was a little shocked.
"It’s all thanks to that Qi Replenishing Pill you gave me, Chief Liu. After I took it, I guess I just accidentally bulked up a bit." Jiang Che casually made up an excuse.
Liu Hai stared at his corded muscles and his chest, which was as broad as a wall.
’Qi Replenishing Pills have this effect? How come I never knew?!’
Liu Hai’s mouth fell open, and he was at a loss for words.
However, he didn’t press for details.
After all, everyone had their own secrets.
Although it seemed Jiang Che had a few more secrets than the average person...
Okay, a lot more.
But he believed Jiang Che wasn’t the type to commit crimes.
As a Chief Constable with many years of experience, he was confident in his ability to judge character.
"Chief Liu, you look troubled. Is something on your mind?" Jiang Che asked.
"Sigh, it’s a long story..." Liu Hai sighed.
"Are you free right now, Chief Liu? I know a great noodle house nearby. Why don’t we eat and talk?"
Jiang Che suddenly realized he was a bit hungry.
This was the price of practicing Iron Body Skills—he got hungry too easily. He now had to eat six meals a day.
...
「Hou’s Noodle House.」
Although it was dinnertime, the noodle house was empty.
’Strange, there’s usually a wait at this time. Why are there so few people?’
Jiang Che found it odd.
The two of them found a table, sat down, and each ordered a bowl of noodles and two side dishes.
"By the way, Young Master Jiang, the price of the beef noodles has gone up. It’s fifty wen a bowl now. Sigh... the price of flour and beef in the city has gone up recently. There’s nothing I can do," Master Hou sighed.
"That’s fine."
Jiang Che nodded. A few dozen wen was a negligible amount for him now.
But the news of rising prices in the city weighed heavily on his heart.
’I hope it’s not what I think it is...’
After all, a major feature of chaotic times was the scarcity of resources, leading to skyrocketing prices and vicious inflation.
"By the way, Chief Liu, what happened? Could it be... the Wuxiang Alliance is here?"
Recalling Liu Hai’s grim expression from earlier, Jiang Che asked in a hushed voice.
Liu Hai shook his head and replied in an equally low voice:
"It’s not the Wuxiang Alliance. Recently, there’s been this... well, a mysterious figure, who has caused me to lose several of my brothers!
"Sigh... If they had just died in battle, it would be one thing. In our line of work, we’re always prepared to die.
"But that beast is skilled at ambushes and even tore out my men’s hearts and lungs. It’s just too cruel. I can’t bear it!"
As he finished speaking, Liu Hai slammed his fist on his thigh, his face filled with resentment.
"Tore out their hearts and lungs... I heard something like that happened in the South District before." Jiang Che couldn’t help but recall the green-eyed monster he had encountered.
"Yes, and now it’s come to our East District..." Liu Hai shook his head.
"It’s in the East District?!" Jiang Che was alarmed.
"Hmm? Does Little Brother Jiang know something?"
As a Chief Constable of many years, Liu Hai keenly noticed that Jiang Che’s expression was a little unnatural and voiced his question.
Jiang Che knew he couldn’t hide it, so he told him about his previous encounter with the green-eyed monster.
"That’s the beast!" Liu Hai said through clenched teeth.
"What exactly is it?" Jiang Che was very curious.
"Uh... This thing is called a Blood Sacrifice. It’s a monster created by those scumbags from the Blood Spirit Sect!" Liu Hai hesitated for a moment before explaining.
Since Jiang Che had seen it with his own eyes, he decided not to hide it any longer.
Besides, Jiang Che’s strength was extraordinary; perhaps he could even help.
"The Blood Spirit Sect?" This was the first time Jiang Che had heard of them.
"That’s right. They’re a group of lunatics who worship the Black Abyss Evil God. Their life’s pursuit is to bring about the descent of their god!
"And that Blood Sacrifice is the body being prepared for this Black Abyss Evil God! They make them from living people!"
"The Blood Sacrifice is made from living people?" Jiang Che was shocked.
"That’s right. They somehow got their hands on something they call Black Abyss Flesh and implant it into a living person’s body, transforming them into a monster!"
Liu Hai gritted his teeth. "The Blood Sacrifice needs to devour the internal organs of the living, so they capture people everywhere to feed it! Those bastards!"
"Something like that exists? Then what will happen if that... Black Abyss Evil God... successfully descends?"
Jiang Che grew tense. This didn’t sound good at all.
