Chapter 9, Second Realm: Strengthening Muscles and Bones!

"Patriarch Zheng, I noticed that when your son moves, his bones and sinews resonate in unison, and he has immense stamina. I fear he is not far from the Viscera Realm, is he?"

Chi Yong's posture was somewhat humble when facing Zheng Yao.

This Patriarch of the Zheng family was a Fourth Realm Martial Artist who had opened his Qi Sea, while he himself was only in the Third Realm Viscera. Even though he was a Green Uniform Head Constable of the Six Doors, he dared not be too presumptuous.

There was a hint of worry between Zheng Yao's brows, though he still felt a sense of pride when speaking of his son.

"Indeed! The cultivation Aptitude of this child, Jianhao, is far superior to my own. He is currently working on training his viscera and will likely be able to advance into the Third Realm this year."

"Oh? He can advance into the Third Realm this year? As far as I know, your son is not yet twenty-five, is he?"

"Heh heh, I won't hide it from you, Officer Chi. My son just celebrated his twenty-third birthday not long ago."

"Hiss—" Chi Yong gasped, sighing that, as expected of a prominent family from the prefecture city, their Aptitude was truly extraordinary.

At the other's age, he was still muddling along in the First Realm, struggling bitterly every day just to save up a few resources for cultivation.

Speaking of his son, Zheng Yao's face glowed, as if he had an endless supply of topics to discuss.

"This child just recently joined the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect and was taken in as a Disciple by Elder Jin Ming of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect. Originally, I did not intend for him to come this time, but upon learning that the flower-plucking thief dared to abduct my daughter, Shilan, he decided to personally slay the villain and traveled all the way back from the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect."

"The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect?!" Chi Yong was truly shocked this time.

The Flowing Cloud Sword Sect was one of the Five Surnames and Three Sects in Cangzhou Prefecture, with a Grandmaster presiding. It was a major Sect that he could never hope to touch. Even if he were to break through to the Fourth Realm one day, it would remain out of reach. He never expected that Zheng Jianhao would actually be able to join it.

It seemed his Aptitude was even beyond his imagination.

"Then, Patriarch Zheng, are you not afraid that your son might encounter danger?" Chi Yong asked hesitantly.

Zheng Yao's tone was slightly disdainful. "That Hua Feifei is merely a petty flower-plucking thief; how could he be a match for my son?"

...

Hundreds of miles away from the two men.

A group of Jianghu figures was rushing chaotically through the mountain forest. The leader had sword-like eyebrows and star-like eyes, looking quite handsome, though his eyes carried a faint trace of arrogance. It was none other than the Young Master of the Zheng family, Zheng Jianhao.

The others were also Martial Artists who had entered the Realm, and several were even experts of the bone and sinew refinement stage; all were prominent figures in the vicinity of Pingyang City.

"Young Master Zheng, scouts from my Tiger King Gang have reported that the flower-plucking thief headed east towards Eagle Beak Cliff." Tiger King Gang Leader, Tiger Cai, spoke up.

"Indeed, my Azure Dragon Gang's people saw it too!"

"Eagle Beak Cliff, that seems to be the direction of the Black Wind Stockade, right?"

"Indeed! Eagle Beak Cliff is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Du Heixiong occupied the mountain as king there several years ago and established the Black Wind Stockade; to this day, no one has been able to breach it."

"Could that flower-plucking thief have a connection with the Black Wind Stockade? Why would he run there? Should we pursue him?"

The crowd chattered and debated, all taking Zheng Jianhao as their leader, having temporarily formed an Alliance to eliminate the flower-plucker.

Since the other party was now an Outer Sect Disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, everyone wanted to seize this opportunity to build a connection with him.

"Hmph!" Zheng Jianhao said with surging Killing Intent, "Thieves and bandits of the world are all the same, none of them are good things. Today, this Young Master will raze the Black Wind Stockade as well!"

"As for that flower-plucking thief, Hua Feifei, if I catch him, I will definitely castrate him, then peel his skin and stuff it with straw, letting him know the consequences of offending my Zheng family!"

At this moment, Zheng Jianhao was suppressing boundless rage in his heart.

You god-forsaken flower-plucking thief! Why abduct anyone else? You dared to abduct my most beloved sister!

He had only just made a promise with his sister a while ago that when he returned from the Flowing Cloud Sword Sect, he would personally help her forge her bones. He never expected to hear this tragic news.

His sister belonged to him; other than him, whoever touched her would die!

...

Yan Chu returned along the path he came, but not long after, he was blocked on the road.

"Stop! You old man, who are you!"

More than twenty Jianghu figures wearing sabers and swords leaped down from the trees, looking fierce and staring at Yan Chu like hungry tigers.

"Gentlemen, this old man is Chu Xiong, here to search for the trail of the flower-plucking thief, Hua Feifei, for the Zheng family's bounty."

Yan Chu took one look and discovered that the arrivals were all wearing Gang uniforms. They were all local Gangs from Pingyang City, including the Azure Dragon Gang, the Tiger King Gang, and members of the Pingyang Chamber of Commerce, just like Steward Ding.

"Oh? You are also here to track Hua Feifei's trail? Which faction do you belong to?"

"This old man... has no Gang or Sect!"

"No Sect or Gang?"

The leaders of the three factions heard this, exchanged glances, and revealed malicious smiles.

Right now, this place was occupied by the three major factions of Pingyang City and people from the Six Doors. Anyone without a Sect or Gang was either killed or robbed of their wealth and driven away.

The leader of the Tiger King Gang was the Hall Master of the White Tiger Hall. He sneered, "With you being a lone individual without a Sect, you still want to claim the Zheng family's bounty? Everyone present here belongs to the major factions of Pingyang City; how could there be a share for you?"

"Oh, then what do you mean by this?"

"Heh heh, if you're sensible, hand over all the money on you. If we're in a good mood, we might spare your life. Otherwise, we'll see you buried in this valley, becoming food for the wild wolves!"

Yan Chu twitched the corner of his mouth.

He had been wondering why he saw so many corpses along the way; it turned out they were all killed by these people.

That made sense. The bounty could only be claimed by one person, so the others naturally had to find ways to gain something else, so as not to make the trip in vain.

Clang! The long saber was drawn from its sheath, and a great wind suddenly rose on the flat ground, kicking up countless earth and stones.

"Hey, you..."

The White Tiger Hall Master was caught off guard. He only saw a flash of saber light before his eyes, and the next second, he saw his own headless body.

His head rolled onto the ground, eyes wide open, still unable to believe that he had died just like that. His last thought before dying was that this old guy played dirty; his opening stance hadn't even begun yet.

[Slayed a villain attempting to rob you, settled grievances, Experience + 100]

Yan Chu spat, "Damn it, are you ever going to finish? Want to rob me? Do you have the strength for it?"

"Audacious! You dare to kill our Tiger King Gang Hall Master; you must be an accomplice of Hua Feifei! Everyone, attack together, kill him!"

Another Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artist from the Tiger King Gang was overjoyed; there was one less competitor in the Gang, and the next person in charge of the White Tiger Hall would be him. On the surface, however, he looked heartbroken and scolded mercilessly.

"Attack!"

More than twenty people swarmed up. Among them were at least seven or eight Qi and Blood Martial Artists. Their dense Qi and Blood gathered together, bringing an immense pressure that would cause even a bone and sinew Martial Artist to change color if facing it directly.

Not many people cared about the death of the White Tiger Hall Master. They would just loot his corpse later.

Swish! Swish! Yan Chu swept his saber horizontally, and the two ordinary Martial Artists who charged the fastest were cut into two halves.

[Slayed a villain attempting to rob you, settled grievances, Experience + 20]

[Slayed a villain attempting to rob you, settled grievances, Experience + 20]

Yan Chu fought while retreating. Those Martial Artists who had entered the Realm were very cunning, specifically letting ordinary Martial Artists go first to exhaust his stamina.

Although his saber strike just now was sudden, everyone saw how fast the blade was, and no one wanted to be the first bird to be shot.

Unfortunately, holding back in front of Yan Chu was destined to be these people's mistake.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten ordinary Martial Artists all fell into a pool of blood, and three Qi and Blood Martial Artists were also dead.

The canyon, just a few dozen meters long, was filled with headless corpses.

Only the last five Qi and Blood Realm Martial Artists remained, no longer daring to step forward, all feeling a chill in their hearts.

This man in front of them was too eerie. Their side had so many people surrounding and killing him, yet after so many people died, the opponent was still not flushed and not panting.

This health bar was just too thick!

"Gentlemen, you hold this old thing off first! I'll go find the President to deal with him!" A steward of the Pingyang Chamber of Commerce greased his soles and slipped away first.

"I also just remembered that the Gang Leader seems to be nearby; I'm going to find him now!" A Hall Master of the Azure Dragon Gang also started to retreat.

"Run!"

The remaining people dared not face Yan Chu again; this fellow was simply a Killing God. He was likely invincible in the Qi and Blood Realm.

"Want to leave?!" Yan Chu sneered, "Go to hell!"

The Qi and Blood cultivated by the Nine Yang Divine Art was incomparably thick. He directly used the saber in his hand as a hidden weapon and threw it with all his might. A sound of breaking through the air arose.

Pfft! Pfft! The cold iron long saber pierced through two First Realm Martial Artists in succession, deeply embedding into the mountain wall, the blade body still trembling incessantly.

Another two hundred experience points accounted for!

Unfortunately, the other three saw that the situation was bad and ran the fastest; from afar, only shadows could be seen.

"Looks like I need to find an opportunity to Cultivate a movement technique!"

Yan Chu's movement technique was currently his only weak point.

"Let's boost my strength again first!"

[host: Yan Chu]

[Cultivation: First Realm Qi and Blood Peak]

[Cultivation Technique: Nine Yang Divine Art (First Layer 1194/2000), Iron Cloth Shirt (Major Achievement)]

[Martial Skill: Rushing Thunder Palm (Major Achievement), Wind-Splashing Saber Technique (Minor Achievement 43/1500)]

[Secret Technique: Disguise Art (Minor Achievement 101/200)]

[Experience Points: 820]

"Consume all experience points, upgrade Nine Yang Divine Art!"

As the saying goes, practicing martial arts without practicing internal cultivation will leave you with nothing in old age.

The Nine Yang Divine Art was his foundation; if not for the lack of experience points, he would have really liked to upgrade the Nine Yang Divine Art to the highest Realm in one step.

As the experience points returned to zero, a massive energy, like never before, instantly surged into his body, washing over every one of his cells.

When his Qi and Blood reached the critical point, with a bang, like a volcanic eruption, the extremely condensed Qi and Blood began to crazily drill into the gaps between his bones.

Crack, crack, crack!

Yan Chu's whole body's bones emitted bursts of crisp sounds. Bone density increased, countless blood marrow flowed between the bones, and powerful strength surged in, at least a dozen times more than before.

Qi and Blood like a steamer, bones and sinews like iron bows!

Raising an arm carries a thousand jin of force, waving a hand kicks up a gale!

Second Realm, Forging Bones and Sinews!