Chapter 295.1: Mixed and Pure Bloodlines
Qi Yuan said, "The punch is decent."
With the Exploding Bird-Slaying Fist, he could kill a bird with one punch.
He murmured to himself, "I can even kill someone of the same weight class with this punch alone..."
In fact, this level of power would be considered terrifying among martial artists. Xing Yu, though certified, couldn’t kill an equal with one punch. Without targeting a vital spot, such a feat was extremely rare for martial artists.
"However, in terms of martial arts alone, I’m still quite far from Yang Shan." Qi Yuan analyzed his strength internally.
While Qi Yuan’s technique exceeded Yang Shan’s, the veteran was superior in every other aspect. For instance, even if Qi Yuan knew how to block, he probably wouldn’t be able to react in time.
Of course, this was based purely on his physical condition. He had long been cursed, making him weaker than the average person. Cultivating only made him comparable to an ordinary person.
"Now that I’ve reached the seventh level, it’s time to take secret items."
***
The next day, sunlight streamed through the curtains, scattering fragmented shadows across the floor. Qi Yuan sat in the living room, eating breakfast prepared by Zero-One. As an intelligent robot, Zero-One could prepare simple breakfasts and standard meals.
Today, Qi Yuan’s meal was quite light. He was having plain porridge, a few shredded radish buns, and a salted egg.
He said casually, "Next time, add more meat. I’m a growing boy."
Although the house was filled with medicinal herbs and sea monsters, those were cultivation resources. Too much of them would become tiresome, and Qi Yuan already consumed a lot for his daily training.
Zero-One stored the new instruction. "Understood."
About ten minutes later, the dishes were cleared away.
Qi Yuan smiled. "This kind of robot is actually quite interesting. They are comparable to puppets."
Puppet-crafting existed in the Canglan World, yielding puppets far more intelligent than Zero-One. Some high-grade spiritual artifacts could even awaken sentience. His daughter, Qi Jianjun, could be considered a magical artifact in a sense.
Should I modify Zero-One? Not only is it a bit dull, its combat ability is basically zero. If I made ten thousand puppets and had them pretend to be humans working in factories, wouldn’t I make tens of millions a month?
He felt tempted, but then realized it wasn’t realistic. Ten thousand puppets would require an enormous amount of materials, which he couldn’t be bothered to make.
"Still, Zero-One alone could be upgraded a bit. With some combat ability, it could guard the house when I’m away."
The house gifted by Kuang Huan was filled with valuable plants and sea monsters. Unfortunately, Qi Yuan couldn’t create storage bags yet.
As he was thinking, the doorbell rang. "Come in."
The door opened, and Kuang Huan entered with a large box.
The viscount carried himself in an extremely courteous and polite manner, nothing like the domineering arms dealer he was outside. "I’ve brought the secret items you requested, Mr. Qi. Could you see if it’s enough?"
Before Qi Yuan, he showed no arrogance whatsoever. First, the cultivator had killed Zhao Renji in a strange and powerful way. Through investigation, the viscount determined that it couldn’t be achieved through ordinary means. Second, under Qi Yuan’s guidance, his immortal cultivation had finally shown progress.
In fact, just last night, Kuang Huan produced a small flame from his fingertip. Though weaker than a lighter and easily blown out, the flame was still his first success. He kept that joy hidden, not daring to share it. He claimed he hadn’t succeeded even when asked.
"Are these the secret items?" Qi Yuan opened the box. Inside were rows of glass containers, each containing what seemed like beef jerky. He immediately recognized the main ingredient. "Is this sea monster meat?"
No wonder martial arts training was so expensive. Xing Yu spent hundreds of thousands per month on secret items. If it was sea monster meat, it was indeed worth that price.
"You have a sharp eye, Mr. Qi. I investigated the secret items recently. Their main component is indeed sea monster meat."
Kuang Huan had only a basic understanding of martial arts before. He only looked deeper after Qi Yuan’s request, and what he found shocked him. It turned out secret items circulating in the martial world were prohibited sea monsters! This also answered many of his questions.
In the Qin Yuan Kingdom, martial artists either became influencers or entered government systems, most often the navy. Using prohibited sea monsters as secret items was something authorities condoned. Given that most martial artists were moderately wealthy, encouraging training expenses helped fuel the economy.
Perhaps the biggest producer of these "prohibited" substances was someone powerful within the system. After all, the profits from this industry were astronomical.
Qi Yuan picked up a dried piece and chewed slowly. "So martial arts are deeply connected to sea monsters."
It tasted like dried fruit meat, salty with a hint of sweetness. Clearly, many ingredients were added to it.
Soon, Qi Yuan felt his blood grow slightly warmer. "As expected... it’s blood."
Ordinary martial artists would’ve been oblivious to the change.
His understanding deepened further. "However, everyone’s bloodline origin differs. Ordinary secret items only add miscellaneous blood. Though it does improve cultivation, it also clogs oneself."
Yang Shan had said that in ancient times, besides innate martial techniques, powerful martial artists also had innate killing moves. Consuming all kinds of mixed substances caused bloodlines to become chaotic and impure, preventing the formation of unique innate killing moves.
With simple reasoning, Qi Yuan had almost completely deduced the martial arts path below innate killing moves.
Kuang Huan listened carefully but understood nothing.
Despite the mixed bloodlines, Qi Yuan continued eating. "It tastes good. Quite nutritious."
Martial cultivation depended heavily on these substances. Without strengthening the bloodline, progress was extremely difficult. To remain pure, one had to devour mutated sea monsters of the same origin, but they were extremely rare.
Nevertheless, Qi Yuan decided to worry about purity later, when his cultivation was a bit more advanced. Besides, with the Devouring Origin Body, his blood wouldn’t become corrupted.
Qi Yuan asked, "How’s your cultivation going?"
Kuang Huan said excitedly, "I can produce a flame!"
A tiny flame appeared in his hand, extremely weak.
Qi Yuan praised seriously, "Not bad. You finally have a skill. If you fall on hard times, you could work as a magician."
As expected, those who followed him had bright futures. Even if he eventually became unemployed, Kuang Huan could perform magic.
