"You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin replied verbally, but his mind was already completely captivated by the gloves. He carefully put them on.

The snakeskin gloves were extremely elastic, soft yet tough. They fit the contours of his hands perfectly, and wearing them felt completely natural, like a second skin.

At the tip of each pinky finger was a hidden clasp the size of a grain of rice. He flicked it lightly, and with a soft CLICK—

A fine, sharp blade instantly sprang from the edge of each of Fu Juemin’s palms. As he moved his hands, the blades, composed of countless snake scales, rippled like waves. It reminded him of how the Black-Scaled Snake Demon’s cheek membranes had flared open back in Taohuang Village.

He held his palm out like a blade and made a sweeping slash forward.

SWISH—

A streak of green light flashed through the air before him.

"Are you satisfied?"

Fu Guoping asked with a smile.

"Very satisfied."

Fu Juemin nodded slowly.

The Pharmacist Master Purifying Light Saber technique required a short blade or a Hand Blade to perform. These Snake Scale Gloves, with their own built-in blades, seemed as if they were tailor-made for him.

Fu Juemin experimented with several different attack forms while wearing the gloves before he took them off, unable to part with them, and placed them back in the box.

"Thank you, Second Uncle."

Fu Juemin thanked Fu Guoping again.

Fu Guoping waved his hand. "Let’s talk business.

That fellow you had me put a tail on, Zhao Xinhua..."

Fu Guoping paused. "It couldn’t be because of that girl from the Xu Family, could it?"

"Of course not."

Fu Juemin shook his head and proceeded to give Fu Guoping a rough account of the conversation he had previously eavesdropped on using [Yao Ling].

He only said that one of his men had overheard it by chance, assuring him the source was reliable.

"Marshal Huo... Marshal Ming..."

After listening, Fu Guoping’s sharp brows furrowed. He pondered for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Those sound like titles commonly used within the Fire Cloud Army from the Southwest..."

"The Southwest Fire Cloud Army?"

"Mhm."

Fu Guoping explained, "After the great disaster in the Southwest, many militias and rebel factions emerged. One of them, the Fire Cloud Army, is the most powerful.

They’ve been pushing south, conquering cities and counties. The higher-ups have sent troops to quell the rebellion several times, but they’ve all been repelled.

I’ve heard the Fire Cloud Army is divided into more than a dozen banners. It’s possible the ones you happened to hear about are part of one of them..."

Hearing Fu Guoping’s description, Fu Juemin’s expression turned grave. "Second Uncle, if it really is the Fire Cloud Army.

By planting spies and colluding with a cult, their scheme might be targeting the entire Luan River County, right? Or maybe... even more."

"It’s hard to say."

Fu Guoping’s frown deepened. "This matter is too significant. We must handle it with caution.

As for that Zhao Xinhua, I’ll have Wu Pozhou personally assign people to watch him. We’ll see if we can follow the trail to its source..."

"The Xu Family must also be closely monitored."

Fu Juemin interjected abruptly. "This Zhao Xinhua returned from Shenghai with Xu Leyi. Who knows if the Xu Family is secretly colluding with the Fire Cloud Army...

If the Xu Family is acting as the Fire Cloud Army’s inside contact in Luan River, then our Fu Family will be the first to bear the brunt of it."

Fu Guoping gave Fu Juemin a peculiar look, then gradually nodded in satisfaction. "You’re right.

I’ll arrange for people to watch the Xu Family as well.

However, about this matter..."

Fu Guoping thought for a moment. "Don’t let your father know yet. After all, this is all just speculation for now."

"I understand."

The two then started talking about the original reason for Fu Guoping’s visit.

Only after Fu Guoping explained did Fu Juemin learn that Hu Fulai, the County Magistrate Hu of Luan River County, was planning to host a banquet at his residence in a few days. Invitations had been sent to all the prominent families in Luan River County. He was likely going to discuss the so-called "disaster relief fundraising."

After listening to Fu Guoping curse Hu Fulai’s name a few times, Fu Juemin suddenly changed the subject. "Second Uncle, how much do you know about Uncle Tong?"

"Why are you asking about that?"

Fu Guoping, who had been in the middle of cursing Hu Fulai’s ancestors, was taken aback.

"Just curious."

Fu Juemin replied casually, his expression unchanged. "As you know, I’ve been learning martial arts from him."

"As for Li Tong, I don’t really know much about him."

Fu Guoping recalled, "I only know that your father saved him from the side of the road over a decade ago.

He was heavily injured at the time. I thought your father had brought back a dead man.

Later, your father spent a fortune to have a doctor treat his wounds. He stayed with the Fu Family after that and has been loyal ever since..."

"Is his real name Li Tong, or did he change it later?"

"What do you mean by that?"

Fu Guoping narrowed his eyes at Fu Juemin.

"A few days ago, a friend mentioned seeing someone who looked a lot like Uncle Tong somewhere, but he had a different name."

Fu Juemin casually made up an excuse.

Fu Guoping didn’t press the matter, just laughed it off and shook his head. "That, I don’t know.

You’d be better off asking him directly, or ask your father."

"Alright."

A glint flickered in Fu Juemin’s eyes, but on his face, he wore an expression of slight regret, as if a good piece of gossip had gone nowhere. He shook his head with a soft sigh and dropped the topic.

.....

The night was cool as water.

Fu Juemin held a short saber, his upper body bare, standing silently on the floor of his room.

A night breeze gently brushed through his hair, and Fu Juemin’s body suddenly moved.

He brandished the short saber, executing one move after another within his room. The blade sliced sharp arcs through the air, each strike accompanied by a fierce WHOOSH.

He practiced for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, stopping only when a thin layer of sweat had formed on his skin. Then, Fu Juemin withdrew his Saber Momentum and stood still.

Fu Juemin turned on the light and walked over to a square, black box on a stand. He leaned in to look through the glass lens on the box.

The Magic Lantern box that Su Hui had given him had been simply modified to become his dedicated training box.

It now held the Secret Manual for the Pharmacist Buddha Sutra. After practicing a set of his Saber Technique, Fu Juemin would come back to compare his movements with the diagrams in the manual to see if he was making any mistakes in his Pharmacist Master Purifying Light Saber.

’After Blood Refining, my body’s coordination and my control over it have improved significantly.

Learning new martial arts is also much faster than before...’

Over the past few days, Fu Juemin had been learning the saber from Huang Fang and Cao Tian of the Eight Trigrams Saber during the day and practicing on his own at night. He had already become quite proficient in the dozens of moves of the Pharmacist Master Purifying Light Saber.

However, the techniques also involved various methods for channeling strength and circulating energy, as well as incorporating Buddhist Teachings, so he had not yet truly reached the Entry Level.

Fu Juemin wasn’t in a hurry. After all, the Pharmacist Master Purifying Light Saber originated from the top-tier Iron Body Strange Skills, the Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body. It was of a high grade, profound and complex. Since he was figuring it out on his own, he had long prepared himself with sufficient focus and patience.

After reviewing the contents of the Secret Manual, Fu Juemin practiced the set one more time, then walked to his bedside and pulled a hanging cord.

A clear DING-A-LING rang out, and shortly after, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Fu Juemin threw on a training robe as a group of servants filed in, each carrying various steaming hot dishes.

A table full of delicacies was quickly set up in front of Fu Juemin. He didn’t stand on ceremony and immediately sat down to feast.

He now ate seven meals a day, supplemented with various medicinal soups and tonics, all for the sake of rapidly nourishing his blood in the Blood Refining Realm.

Ever since his Blood Refining, the surging Qi Blood in Fu Juemin’s body had been continuously transforming him.

In just these few days, Fu Juemin’s [Attack] Attribute had risen by another point, reaching 15.

Almost every morning when he woke up, he could feel his strength and speed had increased.

This wonderful experience was expected to last for a week to half a month. It would only gradually stop once his body’s initial transformation by the Qi Blood was complete.

Of course, with his current routine of "feasting and frantically supplementing," even after this phase ended, his subsequent Qi Blood growth would still far exceed that of an ordinary Martial Artist. The slow increase of his [Attack] Attribute would continue.

The only thing that worried Fu Juemin was probably the issue of his weight.

After a few days, he already felt like he had bulked up a bit. If this continued, he was afraid he might one day develop a bear-like physique similar to his Second Uncle, Fu Guoping.

’I hope I’ll still be able to fit into a suit...’

After devouring the sumptuous and nourishing medicinal late-night meal like a whirlwind, he left the servants to clean up and strolled out of his room to aid his digestion.

He made his way to the terrace on the west side of the second floor. While seemingly admiring the night view, he had secretly activated his [Yao Ling] Talent, focusing all his concentration on the room below, where Li Tong lived with the other estate guards.