Chapter 9: Great River Blood-Fortifying Art at Perfection; Blood Qi Surging!

At night, during the Hour of the Boar, the southern part of the city bustled with life due to the thriving black market. Crowds flowed in every direction, yet many had concealed their faces with black scarves or masks.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Lu Changsheng was no exception, with a black scarf covering his face. After all, this was a black market, a place teeming with all sorts of people. Anyone who came here preferred not to reveal their identity, so disguises were commonplace.

He strolled leisurely through the market. The vendors here didn’t shout or hawk their goods; instead, they simply sat quietly by their stalls. Even so, the items on display were enough to make his heart jolt.

For instance, there were potent knock-out drugs and lethal poisons that killed as soon as they entered the bloodstream. These were forbidden items, the sort no herbal medicine shop would have dared to sell, yet here in the black market, they were laid out in the open. Many people passed by without so much as a glance, clearly long accustomed to such sights.

Before long, Lu Changsheng’s gaze fell upon a finely crafted dagger. He had long wanted one for self-defense, as his Tiger Pounce Strike was best paired with such weapons. Until now, he had never found the opportunity to go and acquire one, but now he could finally do so. Here, in the black market, weapons were the most common wares.

Lu Changsheng squatted in front of a stall and asked, "How much for this dagger?"

The owner was a weathered middle-aged man, a scar running across his face, his hands covered with calluses. "This dagger is forged from refined steel, so five silver taels, no bargaining."

"Five taels?" Lu Changsheng was taken aback.

Talk about expensive!

Still, he picked up the dagger and inspected the blade's edge. It didn't seem like it could slice through hair midair, but it was nonetheless razor sharp.

"Here, five silver taels. I'll take it."

Without further hesitation, Lu Changshen paid up. Since he needed a weapon for self-defense, something that would tip the balance between life and death, he naturally wanted something of quality.

With the dagger in hand, Lu Changsheng continued his search. What he sought now was martial arts manuals. In this vast black market, those who sold manuals were far and between. Even so, he eventually found one and stopped before a stall.

The vendor was a veiled woman. Though he couldn't see her face, Lu Changsheng could tell she was young based on her figure and clothing.

"All the techniques here are for the first stage of Body Tempering, namely Blood Strengthening. Do you have any for Bone Tempering or even Organ Refinement?" Lu Changsheng asked.

"Of course I have manuals for Bone-Tempering and Organ Refinement techniques," the woman said coolly, "but I'm not displaying them for everyone to see. If you're interested, I hope you got plenty of taels with you, cause they ain't cheap."

Lu Changsheng wasn't surprised. All martial techniques of that level were complex, and their high cost was the greatest barrier. Naturally, there was likely another reason as well for the steep price of these manuals; they had probably been acquired through questionable means.

"How much for these martial techniques?" Lu Changsheng asked.

"Ten silver taels per manual, no bargaining."

Ten silver taels?

Lu Changsheng couldn’t help but think that everything in the black market was absurdly overpriced.

He glanced over the manuals. Most were uncommon techniques such as Zhao’s Long Fist, Thirteen Leg Forms, and Iron Sand Palm. However, the more common ones were familiar to him. Still, much like Tiger Pounce Strike, once trained to the level of Perfection, many of those common techniques would only elevate his Perception by merely two points.

"You’ve got twenty-one martial techniques here, right? That’s two hundred and ten silver taels in total. I'm willing to give you two hundred for all of them. How about it?" Lu Changsheng offered.

"You want them all?" The vendor looked up in surprise and studied him closely. Though she had warned that she wouldn't allow him to bargain, a bulk purchase of this scale warranted special treatment.

After a brief pause, she said, "Fine, two hundred it is."

After all, these manuals weren't particularly rare, and such big spenders were hard to come by.

Lu Changsheng paid the two hundred silver taels on the spot, leaving himself with little remaining.

"Ugh, one trip to the black market and I'm already down over two hundred silver taels. Money flows like water." He sighed.

Lu Changsheng had spent nearly half of the five hundred or so silver taels he had retrieved from the cave in the mountains. On top of that, he had to keep buying the Eight Treasures Blood-Tonifying Concoction, which would ultimately cost him a small fortune. Still, all the money he had spent that day had gone to the edge of the saber.

The twenty-one manuals Lu Changsheng had purchased would be enough to keep him training for a long time. His Perception was bound to soar tremendously once he had perfected all twenty-one. When that day came, every tael would have been worth it.

However, no sooner had Lu Changsheng completed the purchase than he felt several pairs of eyes lock onto him.

"Heh, look how much he's bought in one go. I bet he still has silver on him," someone snickered.

"Yeah. If he can afford to spend two hundred taels on martial techniques, surely he's got plenty more on him."

"Let’s keep an eye on this big spender," another muttered.

Several shifty figures trailed after Lu Changsheng. He remained alert, a faint sense of unease prickling at the back of his mind. He was certain someone had set their sights on him.

After all, the black market was a gathering place for all sorts, from the upright to the unsavory. And as the saying goes, wealth should not be flaunted. After spending so much silver taels, it was inevitable he would draw unwanted attention. However, his pursuers wouldn't dare to make a move with so many people around.

Lu Changsheng took a winding route, turning corner after corner until he finally shook them off and disappeared into the night.

A few figures in the shadows watched him vanish and cursed in frustration. "Damn it! That brat’s sharp. He slipped away."

"Finally found a big spender, and the prize slipped through our fingers. Such bullshit!"

"Call it his lucky day. Next time, be more careful not to let the mark get away."

With that, the group quickly returned to the black market.

"

Whew...

"

Lu Changsheng had run back to Miaoshou Garden.

"No way they followed me here..." he muttered under his breath. “The black market is too dangerous. I should avoid that place as much as possible."

As he confirmed that he had shaken off his pursuers, Lu Changsheng began to reflect.

I need to push the Great River Blood Fortification Art to the third layer as quickly as I can. By then, my blood qi will be formidable, and my strength will soar. If danger comes, I won’t be helpless. Fortunately, these twenty-one techniques will keep me occupied for quite some time...

Lu Changsheng took off his black scarf and stepped back into Miaoshou Garden.

Once home, he settled into a steady routine. He rose early each morning to practice martial arts. Throughout the day, he kept up with his reading under Master Mo's guidance and followed Old Wen around to identify medicinal herbs. After dusk, he resumed his practice of the martial techniques. His days were packed to the brim, leaving him almost no free time. However, this busy schedule filled him with a sense of fulfillment.

As Lu Changsheng maintained this routine, his Great River Blood Fortification Art advanced rapidly, and his blood qi grew stronger with each passing day.

In the blink of an eye, three months had passed.

On his monthly day off, Lu Changsheng was circulating his blood qi in his room when a sound echoed from his body.

Boom!

His blood qi surged explosively, visible to the naked eye. It multiplied several times over, rolling through him like a great tide and suffusing the entire room with warmth.

Whoosh.

Lu Changsheng opened his eyes.

Great River Blood Fortification Art at Perfection. Perception +3.

A small line of text emerged before his eyes.

The Great River Blood Fortification Art had finally reached the third layer, with no further room for advancement. With a three-point increase in Perception, it was clear this was no ordinary set of techniques; it was a third-tier martial art.

This so-called "third-tier" classification was determined based on Lu Changsheng's level of Perception within his system. He had learned that the increase in Perception brought on by Perfection depended on the complexity of the technique.

For instance, the Basic Fist, Basic Saber, and Basic Sword Techniques each added only one point, placing them in the first tier. The Tiger Pounce Strike, Thirteen Leg Forms, and Iron Thread Fist each added two points, making them second-tier. As for the Great River Blood Fortification Art, the three-point increase made it a third-tier martial art.

So far, the Great River Blood Fortification Art was the only third-tier martial art Lu Changsheng had experienced. He had previously assumed that it was an unremarkable martial art practiced widely in Miaoshou Garden, and now he realized he had underestimated it.

Pushing this art to Perfection had made his blood qi immensely powerful, yet Lu Changsheng could still sense it wasn’t enough. He recalled the words of Master Meng from the Crane Martial Arts Centre.

"The stronger the foundation in the three stages of Body Tempering, the greater the chance of replacing one’s marrow and advancing to the Divine Strength Realm."

Although his blood qi had grown through the practice of Great River Blood Fortification Art, it had yet to reach its limit. There was still much room for improvement.

Lu Changsheng muttered, "Miaoshou Garden might have top-grade Blood Strengthening techniques, but they won’t be given to apprentices."

He thought about it for a moment.

Even as an apothecary’s apprentice, I can’t access their core arts. If I want to keep increasing my blood qi, I’ll need another way, preferably to train in a superior Blood Strengthening art. Last time at the black market, that woman was selling Bone-Tempering and Organ Refinement techniques. If those are available in the market, I should be able to find top-tier Blood Strengthening techniques as well.

As Lu Changsheng realized he would have to make another trip to the black market, a glint flashed in his eyes.