"Excuse me, excuse me. Please make way."

He pushed aside the people blocking his path and walked up to Liu Hai, smiling. "Chief Liu, I’m here to claim my prize."

Though everyone was mad with jealousy, there was nothing they could do.

After all, he had picked up this windfall fair and square. No one could say a single word against it.

They could only watch helplessly as Jiang Che followed Liu Hai inside.

Xiong Hui couldn’t bear to stay any longer.

He walked up to the constable in charge of tallying, tossed over the few beast ears he had, and exchanged them for a few dozen taels of silver. Then, under a barrage of scornful and mocking glares, he fled the Government Office in disgrace without a single look back.

The others lost interest as well. They chatted in small groups about the mysterious Black-armored Giant, and after exchanging their own points, they also left one after another.

Before leaving, Yin Yingying, the thin, dark-skinned youth, and the female disciple made a point to stay behind.

"Jiang Che, we waited for you outside the forest for over an hour, but we never saw you. We were so worried that we came back first. It’s a good thing you’re all right!" Yin Yingying said, looking at Jiang Che as he came out of the room. Her face showed a mix of lingering fear and concern.

"That’s right, Senior Brother Jiang," the thin, dark-skinned youth added sincerely. "Thank you! If it weren’t for you, we definitely wouldn’t have gotten anything today, and we might have even ended up in trouble just like them."

Jiang Che smiled and said, "It was nothing, I was happy to help."

The three of them solemnly thanked Jiang Che once more before leaving together. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Watching them leave, Jiang Che felt a faint warmth in his heart.

He didn’t linger either. After bidding farewell to Liu Hai, he slung his bountiful spoils over his back and headed for home.

...

「Jiang Che’s Home.」

Jiang Che gazed at the items laid out on his table: twenty Black Crystals, a pile of gold leaves, and a Qi Blood Realm Saber Technique manual titled *Prison-Suppressing Saber*.

He couldn’t help but feel his spirits soar.

This haul was incredibly bountiful!

’The points from the beast ears totaled one hundred and eighty-eight, which I exchanged for one thousand eight hundred and eighty taels of silver.’

’Adding the slightly more than two thousand taels I had saved up before, I now have a total of... three thousand nine hundred taels!’

Jiang Che did a quick calculation and was shocked to realize he had so much money.

’This should be enough to buy quite a few things...’

He planned to visit the Xuanji Secret Market again in a few days to buy some items and give his personal strength another boost.

Although he no longer feared Iron Skin Realm experts, if he encountered a Force Integration Expert, it would be very difficult to handle.

As for the Black Crystals, he decided not to sell them.

Even though they could be exchanged for a huge amount of money, they could also be used to feed his Heart of the Black Abyss.

He didn’t know if there would be hidden dangers after the Heart of the Black Abyss grew stronger.

But right now, he had no other choice.

For one, a stronger Heart of the Black Abyss would directly increase the power of his Black Abyss Form transformation.

This was currently his strongest trump card.

For another, once the Heart of the Black Abyss was sated, it wouldn’t siphon away his Qi Blood.

That way, he could continue to advance his Realm.

Otherwise, he would be stuck in the Stone Skin Realm for a long time.

And without strength, everything he now possessed could be destroyed by others at any moment.

Therefore, even at the risk of hidden dangers, he could only desperately crave more power.

While mapping out his future plans, Jiang Che casually picked up the Qi Blood Saber Technique manual titled *Prison-Suppressing Saber*.

He had originally wanted to exchange his points for an Iron Body or Qinggong manual.

Faster speed or stronger defense would undoubtedly raise his self-preservation ability another notch.

However, he discovered that the Government Office’s secret manual repository only contained Fist Techniques, Palm Techniques, and Saber Techniques.

Fist Techniques and Palm Techniques were both Hand-to-Hand Combat Techniques.

Though convenient, they were mediocre in all aspects.

Besides, he already knew Cloud-Stacking Fist.

Therefore, he decided to learn a Saber Technique as well.

Although this would require him to get a good saber forged, in terms of combat, a Saber Technique would undoubtedly provide higher damage output.

It was actually the best match for his Iron Body constitution.

Especially when it was inconvenient for him to transform, a Saber Technique would give him much stronger killing power!

"Prison-Suppressing Saber, use the body as a prison to suppress evil... master this Saber Technique to Perfection, and one can comprehend Saber Intent. This Saber Intent is as violent as the hellfire of a prison, capable of incinerating all filth..."

Jiang Che muttered to himself as he looked at the *Prison-Suppressing Saber* manual.

’Sounds pretty impressive. Is this really a Qi Blood Saber Technique?’

Jiang Che was a bit skeptical.

He had heard of Saber Intent.

It was said that some top-tier saber users could imbue their blades with their own powerful will.

This will, when fused with their Saber Technique, became Saber Intent.

A Saber Technique like that was not only incredibly mighty, but it could also crush an opponent’s spirit!

It was just that the description of the *Prison-Suppressing Saber*’s Saber Intent was so exaggerated that he found it hard to believe.

’It’s probably just boasting... In any case, I’ll see if it’s true when I master it to Perfection.’

Jiang Che shook his head and put the secret manual down.

’I should probably continue practicing Basic Martial Arts first.’

Although these Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts all looked very good, he was currently only at the Stone Skin Realm, so he could only practice Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts to the Great Success stage at most.

Without reaching Perfection, he couldn’t activate the additional Talent.

In that respect, they were inferior to the Basic Martial Arts that he could practice to Perfection.

Besides, with the help of Heart Stream, he could master those Basic Martial Arts to Perfection in half a month at most.

It wouldn’t take too long to finish practicing the whole stack of secret manuals he bought last time.

He could also awaken a bunch of Talent Skills, making it an extremely cost-effective endeavor.

He took out the secret manuals, glanced through each one, and finally chose a Fist Technique called *Rock-Splitting Fist*.

He opened it and took a look.

He found that this Fist Technique was different from White Cloud Fist.

White Cloud Fist was more graceful and agile overall, emphasizing a single, lethal strike.

This Fist Technique, however, was primarily hard and fierce.

Still, since they were both fist styles, the underlying principles were connected, and Jiang Che understood them quickly.

He went into the courtyard, practiced it a few times, and a line of small text floated into his vision.

[Rock-Splitting Fist Entry Level (1/100)]

’It seems that even without the Skill Proficiency Panel, I can now instantly learn these basic Fist Techniques.’

The day-after-day of bitter training and his sufficiently high level in Fist Techniques had allowed him to faintly rival those true geniuses.

He shook his head, stopped overthinking, and began to focus on his training.

...

...

...

「Lin Yuan City, City Gate.」

A stooped, white-haired old man was followed by a burly man with an exaggerated build and a young woman.

All three were dressed in coarse cloth and looked travel-worn.

"Officer, this is my son and my daughter-in-law. We’ve come to Lin Yuan City to seek refuge with relatives. Here are our travel permits."

As the old man spoke, he handed a thin, thread-bound booklet to the guard while discreetly slipping him a piece of silver of a respectable size.

The guard, a middle-aged man, impassively accepted the silver, then flipped open the travel permit. Finding nothing out of the ordinary, he let them pass.

"Thank you, Officer! Thank you, Officer!"

The old man thanked him profusely, then beckoned for the burly man and the young woman behind him to enter the city.

The trio hadn’t gone far before they suddenly ducked into a small grove on the side of the road.

Seeing no one else around, the old man straightened his stooped back.

"Sacrificial Envoy Li, what’s our next move?"

the burly man asked in a rough voice.