Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm

by Little Merger

Rejuvenation of spiritual energy, prevalence of martial arts, and extraordinary awakening, Jiang He said that he didn’t panic at all. With a farm system, farming can become stronger. What should I do if I practice too slowly? Don’t panic, plant some cucumbers to eat. Cucumber effects: clearing away heat and detoxification (relieving hundreds of toxins), strengthening the brain a

2. 33

Read Everybody is Kung Fu Fighting, While I Started a Farm Chapter 33 online for free - NovelFull

"No, wait. There's no way the farm could produce fakes, right?"

Jian He took out another qi pellet and studied it carefully. In appearance, the qi pellet resembled one of those Hawthorn Pills—appetite supplements—and was dark maroon in color, like red dates.

"Eh? Maroon?"

Jiang He fished out another qi pellet from his pocket—the one he found on Cordo's body. The shape of that pellet was deformed, but both its color and scent was no different from the qi pellet in his hands.

"Well, turns out that this was a qi pellet as well. What a waste… I wouldn't have spent a million bucks buying qi pellets from Mu Wanqiu if I knew what it was…" complained Jiang He.

But that was fine, since he would start growing them eventually. Nonetheless, what he grew could not be recycled as seeds, which was why the six normal qi pellets that remained had to be used as seeds.

Returning to his room, Jiang He gulped down another one of the qi pellets he grew. But even before he could assume a meditative pose to cultivate his Strengthened Nine Yang Techniques, he had already digested the qi pellet.

Still, Jiang He monitored his internal organs this time. Noticing that faint vapors of True Qi were added to his already-abundant stores, he understood something right then.

"It seems that the qi pellets aren't fake, but the ones I've grown are a little special."

After all, the qi pellets he grew melted away as soon as he put them in his mouth, directly converting to True Qi cultivation. Normal qi pellets, on the other hand, would require quiet meditation, and would take up to four days for a rank-four martial-artist to fully digest.

"Argh…" Jiang He breathed a long sigh, downing another qi pellet as he lay down on his bed and mumbled, "Though I'm spared the effort of cultivation, downing pills like this is soulless…"

Whipping out his phone to browse the Internet, he continued to eat a qi pellet every three to five minutes. Since it also had a nice sweet and sour taste, it was a much better snack than chocolate.

Then, after around twenty qi pellets…

Boom!

The qi in Jiang He's body suddenly surged.

"Rank-four Advanced, just like that?"

Putting his phone down, Jiang He took out a cucumber. The golden cucumber was palpating a faint sweet scent, and yet when he smelled it, he felt like… vomiting.

How many cucumbers had he eaten recently? Even exotic delicacies got boring if one were to eat them every day. Nonetheless, scowling and steeling himself, Jiang He took a bite.

"Damn it, I'll have one before I sleep every night. Everything can wait until after I've awakened!"

There was immeasurable resolve in Jiang He's eyes. He was a man after all, so he should be hard on himself. Since when was everything smooth sailing on the path of cultivation anyway?

Only after he finished the cucumber did Jiang He go to sleep, and he slept all the way until noon. He then headed to a small diner at the entrance to the village, had some spicy soup to cleanse his palate, and bought a bag of carrot seeds before leisurely heading home.

When he returned to the village, he saw Wang Zhong coming towards him. That head of his was quite reflective under the sun.

"Where are you going, Chief Wang?" asked Jiang He.

Wang Zhong was wearing a suit and had a briefcase squeezed beneath his armpit. He was also walking quite fast, but paused when he heard Jiang He calling out to him.

"I have a meeting in the city. By the way, I've told the higher-ups about your house's condition. After my meeting, I'll head over to the civil department and see if I can bring forward your old house renovation funding."

Jiang He quickly waved him off. "Don't trouble yourself."

Though Jiang He enjoyed teasing Wang Zhong, he had actually done much for the village since he took the post as village chief. And while he may be rich, he wouldn't try to embezzle from the village for some spare change.

Not to mention, he used the connections he gained through his previous work as a contractor to help the village. For example, the village only gained a proper tarred road after he became chief. As a matter of fact, that road extended from the eastern end down to every house in the village.

After musing to himself for a moment, Jiang He said, "Chief Wang, I heard from Siyu that your son's construction team is returning tomorrow, right? Incidentally, I have some spare cash on hand, and I could use them building me a mansion."

"What airs are you putting on, brat? Do you think I don't know how much money your family has?" scolded Wang Zhong. "And don't Siyu here, Siyu there—my daughter has a name!"

"Alright, Chief Wang. I'll discuss that with Siyu," replied Jiang He in a chipper tone. With that, he strutted away.

"That brat…"

Wang Zhong stroked his bald spot while watching Jiang He from behind, breaking into a smile despite his insult. They were from the same village after all, and Wang Zhong knew Jiang He down to his roots.

"He has quite the mouth on him, but he's a good lad, I guess. Since he is all that's left of his family, Wang Siyu won't have to worry about a grandmother-in-law's cold shoulder or a mother-in-law's bullying if she does get together with him…

Back home, Jiang He planted the carrot seeds over the ashes of the qi pellet tree. After he was done, he whipped out his phone and started to once again search online for more martial art manuals.

"I can plant one more manual before the farm reaches level three… I'll have to think carefully about what to plant… I guess I don't need anymore defensive arts."

"My Indestructible Diamond is not weak in the first place, and the True Qi cultivated from the Nine Yang Technique provides a strong protection to my body too. Cordo's blade didn't really work against me, and he was a rank-four pinnacle. Perhaps only individuals who are rank-five pinnacle or above can hurt me."

"As for offensive martial arts… I have over a thousand farm points now, so I can learn two more styles out of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms. Blade? Sword? Spear? I am quite keen on blades, but I don't have any blade weapons…"

Jiang He eventually decided to learn a martial art based on posture or movement.

"What a pity that my farm level is too low to grow some sage techniques, or I would have planted some Six Path of Reincarnation Fists or Heaven Devouring Mastery to pluck stars and bring down moons."

After all, this was a world of martial arts.

It was not too good to plant those stuff. Jiang He would have to wait until he reached a higher martial arts ranks before learning those martial arts that would overturn world views and petrify others.

As a matter of fact, Jiang He did try to plant the Scripture of Ethics (1), but that did not work. Still, there was no need to think too much when it comes to posture martial arts.

"Throughout the history of Wuxia, the most famous posture martial art would probably be Treading Over Ripples. That said, the most one awesome would still be Wei Yixiao's Qinggong…"

However, after scrounging through the web for half a day, Jiang He realized that…

Wei Yixiao's Qinggong didn't have a name.

Awkward.

"Forget it then, I'll just make up a name. Baidu says that his Qinggong moves are like a bat or a phantom, coming and going without leaving a trail as if he were merely a breeze or smoke. Well, then, it shall be named…"

Lifting his pen, Jiang He wrote down the name of the cultivation manual: Breezing Smoke Flight.

"Okay, that's a good name, and now comes the mnemonic rhyming… eh?"

Jiang He ran into another problem. If the name of the marital art was not even available on the Internet, how was he supposed to get any mnemonic chants?

"Whatever! I'll just have to make something up. Worst case scenario, it'll just be a failed attempt at planting!"

Groaning, Jiang He was about to start writing again when a red Porsche stopped outside his gates, and out stepped Mu Wanqiu. She was still wearing leather spandex, but unlike before, she had grown…

Though she was not yet a D cup, she was at least a C cup now, which was a far cry from before when she was flat enough to be a writing board. Now, she walked tall with a confidence-filled stride.

Translator's note:

1. Scripture of Ethics, also known as the Tao Te Ching or the Daodejing, is a fundamental text for religious or philosophical Taoism.

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Chapter 34: Creating A Cultivation Manual

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Yo! It actually works?" Jiang He stared at that particular area of Mu Wanqiu's body, nodding as he praised, "Not bad, there is quite a bit of growth… What are you doing shielding them? I only have the heart of a healer and no other thoughts. That said, you could undress later and I'll help you set up a detailed second puberty plan."

Mu Wanqiu kept her hands over her breasts in response, gritting her teeth while a spark ignited over fingertips.

Jiang He laughed. "It's just a joke. You don't have to be that annoyed, do you?" He then brought a stool to her and sat down himself. "How many more corncobs you need? Well, I'd personally suggest two more. If they get too big, they might affect you in a fight, and they'll droop easily too."

Mu Wanqiu clenched her fists. She had the feeling Jiang He was using her to spew lewd jokes, and yet… he was somehow speaking reason.

She mused to herself for a few seconds before saying, "Jiang He, aside from buying those corncobs, I've come today to discuss something with you."

"I know what you mean." Jiang He had an 'all according to my plan' look on his face and smiled. "My corn is wonderful for the ladies. It's so large and thick, and its taste is amazing. A woman like Miss Mu could hardly resist it."

Clenching her teeth, Mu Wanqiu finally couldn't hold back from exclaiming angrily, "What are you talking about, Jiang He?"

"You've misunderstood, Miss Mu. I have no intention of mocking your flatness."

"What…" Taking a deep breath, Mu Wanqiu ran her hand along her breast and tried her best to make herself look calm. "Jiang He, how many of these corns do you have? Would you allow the National Superpower Research Department to sell them on your behalf?"

"Sure," replied Jiang He. "I found these in a cornfield out in the wild so there aren't many. I can only provide you with sixty, and I'll sell them to you for the base price of five hundred thousand dollars. That said, I could also directly sell all sixty corns to you, and it's your own business how you'll handle that."

"Sixty…" Mu Wanqiu's eyes sparkled. "Alright. I'll make a call to gather the money. You should ready the corns."

Jiang He pretended as if he was returning to his room to take out all sixty corns he had left in his System backpack. As he put them on the floor, he noticed that Mu Wanqiu was reading the cultivation manual he wrote.

"Breezing Smoke Flight?" Lowering the paper, she quickly added, "Sorry, Jiang He. I didn't know you were copying martial arts.

Jiang He walked up to her and started writing once more, smiling. "It's fine. I thought about creating a cultivation manual on a whim. You are quite knowledgable, Miss Mu, why not give me your opinions for reference?"

Mu Wanqiu was left confused. Seemingly unable to hear what Jiang He said clearly, she muttered, "Creating a cultivation manual?"

Jiang He did not answer, and continued to write. "Move like a bat, a phantom's form that comes and goes without leaving a trace, like smoke taking flight over a breeze…"

And then…

Writer's block.

Taking out a qi pellet and throwing it down his mouth, Jiang He turned on his phone and went on Baidu.

"Why did you stop writing?" exclaimed Mu Wanqiu in surprise.

"Checking some information."

Mu Wanqiu was blue with shock and left speechless. "Jiang He, martial arts and cultivation must not be fabricated on whims. If it goes wrong, one would break their own mind if it was a minor case, or die when they hurt their essence in serious cases."

"It's fine."

Jiang He ate another qi pellet. One might describe it as being addictive. Like having sunflower seeds in your pockets, you would take a few out to chew on from time to time.

Beside him, Mu Wanqiu was left stunned once again. "Jiang He… A-are you eating qi pellets? Those are very rare, and consuming each pellet requires meticulous refinement. Not only would eating them continuously diminish their medical value, having too many would easily develop excess that complicates cultivation."

Jiang He said nothing. Meanwhile, he scrounged around on Baidu but couldn't find any qinggong mnemonic chants, although he did find a news article about a Shaolin monk's experience in practicing the 'Walking On Water' qinggong.

"I'm Liang of Reason Interpretation. My old name is Wu Xiaoliang, a monk of Quanzhou's Shaolin Temple. I started training in Walking On Water when I was twenty-three years old, and after five years of secret training, I ran a record hundred and twenty-five meters on water with a one-centimeter thick plywood…"

Jiang He knew that it was nonsense when he saw the description.

Sure, there were real martial arts legends in this world, but they rarely showed themselves to normal people before the Revival of Qi, let alone be interviewed or captured on camera. Those who often make public appearances, such as Tai Chi masters and those who claim they can punch things across thin air, were just a bunch of liars.

Still, nonsense or whatnot was fine—Jiang He was also making things up anyway. So, why not copy away since that was much easier, instead of having to rack his brains himself?

Hence, Jiang He began to copy the Shaolin monk's words on paper, "Qinggong is another term for parkour, and it refers to leaping higher and jumping further."

'Are you toying with me?' Jiang He complained inwardly even as he continued copying.

"The body is light when the qi is clear; the body is heavy when the qi is turbid. Such is the measure dictated by Laozi, one of the three pure ones."

"The form is light as a swallow and a lotus; mastery permits perching over branches and other different developments. Weights are light as if it were nothing, while the exceeding incorporeal forms is like a godly stride."

"Remember to develop the limbs and understand balance by observing dragonflies; a wave of true qi lifts the chest, permitting you to leap into the air and turn with the tips of your toes; the leaves of the reed crosses the river, but it all depends on the divine effectiveness of balance."

Jiang He couldn't stop laughing out loud even as he copied.

Beside him, Mu Wanqiu was at an utter loss for words. Creating a cultivation method?

It looked more like Jiang He was bamboozling himself… but it didn't look like he was just practicing calligraphy either, since who would do that with a pencil? Most importantly, his writing was no more than just scribbles.

Holding back his laughter, Jiang He continued browsing through articles related to the 'Shaolin monk'. "Eh? He even divided qinggong into six folds? Time to copy it down!"

"Qingong is the heavens in six folds, each fold a threshold of the skies."

"The first fold, walking over water, requires wooden planks and the mnemonic chant: All life was once born divine, but as the mind and spirit pulls all down to the mortal realm, only feats would pull one up again."

"The second fold, flight over grass, requires rope and the mnemonic chant: Above humans is Buddha and the gods. Every animal and plant desires progress, while humans are mostly in the middle."

"The third fold, flight over trees, requires wires and the mnemonic chant—"

"Damn it, I can't write this down!" yelled Jiang He, flinging his pencil away.

Mu Wanqiu did a double take. "Why not?"

Glowering, Jiang He barked, "How am I supposed to write it down? Look at this fool: the fourth fold of his qinggong is called flying amongst clouds, but it requires a parachute! Most importantly, the mnemonic chant may be artistic, but it is just blind ramblings, yet it still gives me a profound feeling!"

Mu Wanqiu glanced at the phone screen and found that it read, "Being above or beneath the heaves within a thought, but an empty mind transcends the heavens and all thresholds, completely connecting a body to the universe."

"The fifth fold, the so-called cosmos dance, is even more ridiculous. You have to use a space shuttle, and the mnemonic chant is 'daily ascetic permits ascendancy to a being of grand moral feats. The universe is insignificant to such existences, for the light hangs upon their horizons'," said Jiang He.

Cursing, he turned to the sixth fold. Called the 'dance of the three pure ones', it was much more normal.

Like the others, it relied on one's vigor and a mnemonic chant… although the childish chant read as thus: 'Seek the release from the mundane and the sentimental to leap beyond the three worlds and five elements. How would thresholds and heaves compare to that!'

Mu Wanqiu was laughing herself silly, while Jiang He quietly made his conclusion about the six folds.

"Luckily, there are only six folds. Wouldn't it be the Blind Princess' Eighth Practices if it were eight?!"

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Chapter 35: Blind Princess' Eight Practices, Planted Successfully!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After seeing off Mu Wanqiu, Jiang He continued to copy more cultivation manuals. When he finished copying the six folds of qinggong dictated by the Shaolin monk, he fabricated the seventh and eighth folds himself out of his twisted sense of humor.

"I wonder if I can grow the cultivation method I made up. It would be interesting if I could."

Jiang He ordered Dumbo to dig a hole and planted the Breezing Smoke Flight, before going to the spot where the ashes of his qi pellet tree were spread. There were not actually much ashes—they only covered around five squared meters of ground.

Just two hours after sprinkling his bag of carrot seeds over it, dense formations of sprouts had already appeared on the ground. He would probably be able to harvest them in the evening.

"I wonder if the carrots will have any special effects…"

As Jiang He forced himself to eat a cucumber, he turned towards the spot where he planted Breezing Smoke Flight to find that a small shoot had grown out of the ground.

It was a weird shoot, since it looked like a thick, short wooden chopping block. A bundle of catkin that was the size of a cotton-candy hung over it, and it only drooped when it continued growing up to over a meter in diameter.

"Planting Breezing Smoke Flight is a success!"

Delighted, Jiang He went up and parted the catkin to find an aged book with a blue cover lying silently inside.

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points]

There were four golden words stamped on the cover. Curved like a dragon, its golden nooks were pronounced like steel, and its presence extraordinary. And yet, Jiang He almost flung it away after a glance at its actual title.

"Blind! Princess! Eight… Practices?"

Stumbling a few steps back and clutching his chest, Jiang He scowled as he muttered, "I only added two extra folds as a twisted joke. How did it become the Blind Princess' Eight Practices?"

How was he to explain it to others if he really learned it?

'Wow, your qinggong is so cool! What is that martial arts, bro?"

'Blind Princess' Eight Practices."

Just imagining that scene was enough to make Jiang He shudder.

"Forget it. Everything can wait until after I've learned it. I can just avoid letting on that it's the Blind Princess' Eight Practices in the future."

[Ding!]

[Intermediate-level posture—Blind Princess' Eight Practices—detected in farm. Host, would you like to consume 1,000 Farm Points to learn it?]

"A thousand points? That much?" complained Jiang Fei. "Fine, learn."

A crisp System notification sounded in his head once more.

[-1,000 Farm Points]

[Congratulations, Host. You have gained Mastery over the first fold of the Blind Princess' Eight Practices.]

Jiang He shuddered. He felt everything… all the information surging into his mind.

"The first fold of the Blind Princess' Eight Practices? Cultivated up to Mastery, and I can tread over water… isn't that just Walking Over Water?"

Jiang He was overjoyed. Fortunately, his cultivation didn't require wooden planks, or he would have to prepare one before fighting in the future.

He took a step.

Whoosh!

In just a split second, he had moved more than ten meters. In the next instant, Jiang He's figure moved again, twirling and bounding in the yard, leaving afterimages in his wake. His body was like a phantom—extremely agile. Indeed, he almost resembled the Bat King Wei Yixiao whenever he used his qinggong.

"Not bad, not bad. My fighting ability will rise to the next level with this posture. But I'm still a far cry from being able to kill a rank-seven Feral… I must get a weapon before that!"

With that thought, Jiang He whipped out another qi pellet and swallowed it. He had to develop himself while he still could endure it, and he couldn't afford any delay in improving his cultivation. While downing pills was soulless and dull, Jiang He felt a craving if he didn't down the pellets.

"I still have that Moonblade from Cordo, although I'm not a fan of that design… I should take a trip to the Bureau and see if I can get a combat knife, since it would be much more devastating against Ferals compared to being unarmed."

After having a few words with Dumbo and Trumbo, Jiang He then called Duan Tianhe and asked for his address before leaving.

Old Jiancai, Linzhou City.

Three years ago, after Jiancai had moved location within Linzhou City, the nation had implemented new projects and restructuring at this spot. Now, there were over a dozen towering buildings here, and surveillance systems were installed everywhere, with martial artists taking the role of guards outside the buildings.

And just recently, a signboard reading 'Linzhou City Martial Arts Department' was put up outside the entrance to Old Linzhou. When Jiang He got out of his taxi, he couldn't help frowning as he studied the signboard.

"Even the signboard is already up. Looks like it won't be long now before the country makes the announcement…"

One could imagine how the entire country would be affected once the Revival of Qi was announced. No, it would not just be the Hua Nation—the whole world would be shocked. It was only natural.

A tall woman greeted Jiang He when he reached the building, although he felt uninterested after a glance at her. Those huge things must be from plastic surgery, right? What a pity. He could have promoted his corn.

The woman was a little on the older side, probably in her late thirties or so. But at this age, she would be known as mature, having sensed the vicissitudes of life.

She walked over to Jiang He, offering him a handshake and a smile. "Greetings, Mister Jiang. I'm Bai Feifei, team leader Duan has asked me to escort you."

"Oh, Bai Feifei?" Jiang He shook her hand, smiling. "Wang Siyu has mentioned you. You're her master, right?"

Baifeifei quickly waved him off, saying, "I've only guided her to the Bureau at best. I wouldn't claim the title of master."

After all, she is from the martial arts world, a place where the title of 'master' was not so easily given.

As they walked towards a building, Jiang He asked about the Martial Arts Department, to which Bai Feifei replied, "There has been movement up top to change the Bureau's name to the Martial Arts Department. Our task is to fight Ferals and protect the citizens, while also looking for martial arts elites or superhumans amongst the public. After all, not every martial artist or superhuman would show their powers after their Awakening, and those sly foxes are a much greater hidden threat than Ferals…"

Jiang He had a weird look on his face as Bai Feifei rambled on casually.

Was he imagining things?

He must be.

But why did he feel like she was talking about him when she said 'sly fox'?

"By the way, Mister Jiang…" said Bai Feifei, lowering her voice, "With the opening of the Martial Arts Department in Linzhou City, the higher-ups have sent a martial artist. He's a disciple of the Eight Trigrams School and is close to Su Zhe… He has a short temper, and he isn't happy about how you beat up Su Zhe, which was why team leader Duan had me take you to look around first…"

"Hmmm?" Jiang He's eyes twitched as he asked, "A disciple of the Eight Trigrams School? Is he good?"

"Rank-six pinnacle. A martial arts elite of the same level as team leader Duan."

It seemed that Bai Feifei didn't know that Duan Tianhe was rank-seven now.

Jiang He's eyes sparkled, but soon quickly shook his head and muttered to himself, "Nope. I'm probably a few qi pellets away from rank-four pinnacle, and at least fifty away from ascending up to rank-five. Wouldn't a rank-six pinnacle wipe the floor with me?"

Smiling, he then said, "Alright. This Martial Arts Department is quite vast, and I'm thinking about taking a good look for myself."

Even as he spoke, he took out a qi pellet and ate it.

Uh-huh, he should have more.

He would probably be a rank-five after his visit was completed.

When that was done, he would look for the disciple of the Eight Trigrams School and spar with him, just to test if he could kill a rank-six Feral.

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Chapter 36: I Heard You Have A Bone To Pick With Me?

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Martial Arts Department.

The chief's office.

Duan Tianhe was standing beside the window and looking downwards. He could see Bai Feifei and Jiang He from there. Beside him was a middle-aged man wearing a Chinese tunic suit, who was frowning and at a loss of words.

"Team leader Duan… no, I should call you Chief Duan now. Are you really having me challenge a small fry? Do you think I can still show my face anywhere if words of that gets out?" complained the man before pompously taking a seat. "Why don't you fight instead?"

Glancing at him, Duan Tianhe flashed a pained smile.

"I'm the chief of this Martial Arts Department. How can I fight so easily? The kid also instakilled Cordo, a rank-four pinnacle, so I have a feeling that his cultivation isn't just rank-four pinnacle. But he's not saying a thing even though I asked. And as you well know, things are bad over here in Linzhou. The Feral incidents at Mount Dadong haven't been pacified, and the Sky Demons Cult are watching in secret."

Handing the middle-aged man a cup of tea, Duan Tianhe grinned. "Old Cheng, help me test the kid, and I'll treat you to a meal afterwards."

"Hold on… what does anything you say have to do with testing him?" asked the man.

"I'm just curious," said Duan Tianhe, still grinning. "How could I not be curious when someone like that suddenly pops up in my domain?"

"I've checked his background so there probably won't be any problems, but there is just no telling about his actual ability. The policy set by the higher-ups is to groom all civilian martial artists and Awakened, so if the kid really put in some eye-catching performance, wouldn't I be able to apply for more resources from our higher-ups?" he added.

"I know shame even if you don't. I can't do something like fighting a junior!"

"One bottle of qi pellets."

"I can see that you have a fine crew too. Some of them are even rank-five pinnacle, why not ask them?"

"Two bottles!"

"I…"

"Three bottles!"

The middle-aged man promptly slammed his hand on the table, gritting his teeth even as he spoke vindictively, "I'm born in Xibei too. In the name of developing Xibei's martial arts scene, I shall have to put aside my pride for this day."

Heh.

Duan Tianhe chuckled.

Why are you acting serious in front of me? The great rank-six pinnacle martial artist was selling himself for three bottles of qi pellets!

Still, that was really in line with Cheng Dongfeng's typical behavior.

Of course, Duan Tian only kept those thoughts in his head, with that grin still plastered on his face. "Old Cheng, many thanks for this. Moreover, wouldn't you have every reason to do this since the kid beat up your fellow disciple? Don't worry, I'll immediately give you the qi pellets when you're done."

The middle-aged man waved him off. "Do I not know you after a dozen years? Give me the qi pellets right now, or I walk even if there's one pellet short."

"Mister Jiang, this is the main hall where Awakened and martial artists will be received in the future. There will be labs designed specifically to assess them upstairs as well, and they will be offered great support according to the nation's planning, even granted certain special rights."

"That tower over there has been sold to the National Superpower Research Department. It's where they will establish a Feral materials trade department."

Even as Bai Feifei spoke, she couldn't help watching Jiang He.

What the hell?

He had been eating from the very start.

She was not too concerned at first, but now the look in her eyes changed.

What was he eating?

Qi pellets?!

Being a rank-four martial artist and having had qi pellets herself, Bai Feifei could see that what Jiang He was eating was almost the same in appearance, color, and scent to qi pellets. That being said, one pellet was well worth over a hundred thousand, and even an employee like herself had to buy them at a hundred and fifty thousand.

On the other hand, hasn't that fellow eaten over ten of those pellets by now?

'No, it can't be qi pellets… And a rank-six martial artist needs at least a day to digest one, let alone a rank-four,' thought Bai Feifei.

But even as that thought crossed her mind, she noticed a change in Jiang He's aura. It was a virtually instantaneous change that soon withdrew, which left Bai Feifei thinking that she imagined it.

"Mister Jiang, this way please… the building up ahead is the mission center, and every martial artist who has passed the assessment can accept missions here… Eh? Mister Jiang, You're eating…?"

"Qi pellets," said Jiang He, putting one in his mouth and swallowing it after chewing a few times. Smiling, he then took out another and put it in his mouth. "By the way, Miss Bai, could you tell me about the elite from the Eight Trigrams School?"

Dropping her mouth open in surprise, Bai Feifei exclaimed, "You're such a joker, Mister Jiang. How could you down qi pellets like that?"

That's right!

Those definitely aren't qi pellets!

Perhaps, it's just chocolate… that looks and smells like qi pellets?

Jiang He ate another qi pellet, but did not offer any explanation. "Miss Bai, let's go meet team leader Duan. We can talk about that elite on the way."

He was already a rank-four pinnacle now, and if he ate two qi pellets with each helping on the way, he would be rank five by the time they met Duan Tianhe.

"The Eight Trigrams School was founded by Grandmaster Dong Haichuan back in the Qing Dynasty. He is one of the most powerful individuals of the Hua Nation now, having surpassed rank-nine even before the Revival of Qi…"

"What the heck? Dong Haichuan is not dead yet!?"

Jiang He's eyes widened, and he forgot to chew the two qi pellets he just put into his mouth.

Dong Haichuan?

He seemed to have heard about him in his past life… he was the founder of the Eight Trigrams Palm, but he is still alive???

Beside him, Bai Feifei's face dropped and she quickly started speaking in a hushed tone, "Mister Jiang, be careful. You shouldn't mention this in public. If word gets out, some martial arts elites might come at you, or perhaps even the disciples of the Eight Trigrams School. Those champions are basically the country's nuclear deterrents, but also a greater threat to Ferals than a nuclear bomb. Don't speak without discretion."

"Sorry," said Jiang He, collecting himself even though his thoughts shifted.

Soon, he entered a building with Bai Feifei.

"This will be the Martial Arts Department's office. There are nine floors here, and Chief Duan's office is at the topmost floor."

"Chief Duan?"

"That's right. With the Linzhou Martial Arts Department becoming official, team leader Duan has been named chief."

They entered the elevator, and soon moved up to the ninth floor.

Bai Feifei knocked on Duan Tianhe's office door. "Chief Duan, Mister Jiang has arrived."

"He's here?"

Duan Tianhe opened the door and made a face at Jiang He, gesturing for him to go first… One must give a complete performance if they were putting up an act, after all.

Behind him, Cheng Dongfeng said flatly, "Jiang He? The one who beat up my fellow disciple?" He walked up to Jiang He, putting his burly form in front of him and smirking. "You are a bold one, Jiang He. You dare beat up a disciple of the Eight Trigrams School?"

Jiang He studied Cheng Dengfeng. A middle-aged face, dressed in a Chinese tunic suit and old cloth shoes. He did look the part of a martial artist.

"Are you the elite from the Eight Trigrams School?" Jiang He smiled. "I heard you have a bone to pick with me… but wait a moment, let me have this pellet…"

After all, he had made a mistake in his calculations! He was probably three qi pellets away from reaching rank-five. To avoid not ascending, Jiang He promptly took out five pellets and gobbled them all up.

What!!!

Cheng Dengfeng's eyes almost popped out.

What in the name of…

He had to bend himself backwards for just three bottles of qi pellets.

On the other hand, this brat was downing five pellets in one go???

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Chapter 37: You Should Have Fought at Full Power

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The room was completely silent.

Behind Jiang He, Bai Feifei and Cheng Dongfeng were left utterly confused. The latter turned to Duan Tianhe by instinct, and realized that he was a little confused as well.

What the heck?

This isn't how things were supposed to go, was it?

You're a rank-four martial artist. Who gave you the confidence to look for a rank-six pinnacle martial artist for a spar?

"Hmmm…" Suddenly, Duan Tianhe's eyes tightened and he couldn't help exclaiming, "Are you about to ascend?"

Ooom!

In the next split second, Jiang He's aura burst out as he immediately rose from rank-four pinnacle to rank-five novice. Abundant and powerful True Qi rolled within his body and surged like waves.

Jiang He let out a long, drawn-out breath and muttered, "This crappy ascension method requires too much energy! It's lucky I had a few qi pellets or it wouldn't have been so smooth."

"Wait…" Duan Tianhe was at a loss for words. "You've ascended, Jiang He? Weren't you only rank-four yesterday?"

"Yep," answered Jiang He. "I was popping pills, that's why I've ascended so quickly."

Even though he was stunned, Duan Tianhe was still a martial arts grandmaster. He therefore quickly recovered and smiled. "You shouldn't excessively rely on medicinal pellets for your martial arts cultivation, or your foundation will be shaky, and it could affect your ascension to grandmaster in the future."

Inwardly, however, Duan Tianhe was thinking, 'what the hell'?

Popping pills?

Who would believe that?

No way popping pills would improve a person from rank-four to rank-five in just a day.

'This kid must have gained some sort of grand opportunity.'

In the ten years since the Revival of Qi, there were many individuals who gained such opportunities. Without these, there wouldn't be a group of elites who developed so quickly. Of course, Ferals had even more opportunities in that respect. Otherwise, would there have been so many powerful Ferals prowling around?

As he looked at Jiang He, Duan Tianhe's eyes brightened even more.

If Jiang He were to be properly groomed, another martial arts grandmaster may just rise in Linzhou. Even if Jiang he didn't want to join the Martial Arts Department, having another grandmaster stationed at Duan Tianhe's jurisdiction would still be a great help.

Meanwhile, Cheng Dongfeng did a double take before recovering.

He smirked after one look at Jiang He. At first, he had been prepared to fight for two reasons: Duan Tianhe's request, and his own keenness to test the kid since Duan Tianhe held him in such high esteem.

And of course, the three bottles of qi pellets were the most important thing here.

Now, however, Cheng Dongfeng was left enraged, and he said quietly, "You are a feisty one, kid, but I, Cheng Dongfeng, like young men of your personality. You have just ascended, so I will give you an hour to strengthen your threshold, and the martial arts world won't scorn me for bullying a kid like you when word gets out."

"Strengthen my threshold?" asked Jiang He.

Taking out three qi pellets, he stuffed them into his mouth, quickly crunching and swallowing them. However, the pellets converted to pure medicine as soon as they reached his stomach.

"Urgh… well, popping pills are less effective after reaching rank-five," mumbled Jiang He, before looking up to smile at Cheng Dongfeng. "But I think I've strengthened my threshold… oh, right. Master Cheng, I'm not too sure about the rules in the martial arts world—should I send a challenge letter or anything like that before we spar?"

Cheng Dongfeng's mouth twitched as he watched Jiang He down another three pills. "No need. We are just having a casual sparring session, so there's no need to be so formal."

Standing up, Cheng Dongfeng clasped his hands behind his back as the air around him stirred, his aura as a rank-six pinnacle individual extending.

"Jiang He, I'll go easy on you because you're a junior. I will hold back my threshold and fight you on equal footing. If you win, I'll forget that you beat up my fellow disciple."

His aura rapidly diminished, and was soon restrained at rank-five novice.

"That's… not quite right, is it?"

Jiang He gave a blank look.

How is this a proper sparring session? My intention was to check if I can defeat a rank-six individual with my ability. How am I supposed to test myself if you hold back?

And as for beating up Su Zhe…

So what if you keep holding a grudge? Even Su Zhe himself was utterly respectful to me afterwards. If he's still upset, I'll just have to beat him up again.

Duan Tianhe quietly said, "Don't be reckless, Jiang He. Cheng Dongfeng is an elite of the Eight Trigrams School, and once received instruction from Grandmaster Dong himself. There are no more than ten rank-six pinnacle individuals in the whole world who can best him. Even with his cultivation repressed to rank-five novice, he is still a force to be reckoned with."

"Oh?" Jiang He's eyes twinkled as he nodded. "That's good. And here I was afraid that Master Cheng would be too weak after repressing his cultivation."

Boom!

He firmly charged his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, the abundant True Qi churning in his body and faintly echoing like a surging river. A great sun seemed to hover over his head—a phenomenon of the first Nine Yang Technique being released.

"The heck…"

Although he appeared composed just a moment ago, the look on Cheng Dongfeng's face changed completely as he muttered 'Oh, shoot' inwardly.

Was that… a rank-five novice who ascended just a moment ago?

What rank-five novice could be that brutally powerful? It wouldn't be a far cry from labelling him an average rank-six!

"Hold on…"

But before Cheng Dongfeng could finish his sentence, Jiang He moved.

At the moment, Jiang He only knew two techniques: The Mighty Dragon Shows Penance and the Dragon Soars in the Skies, the first and second styles of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

Moreover, he had just learnt the Dragon Soars in the Skies while coming up here in the elevator… He could not help it, since he felt pressured after hearing about Cheng Dongfeng from Bai Feifei. Surely he couldn't only stick to Mighty Dragon Shows Penance while sparring, could he?

He should at least be able switch between two styles…

Rawr!

A draconic roar suddenly boomed, its resounding echoes unfurling across every direction. With a crisp crack, all the glass in the corridors and offices of the ninth floor shattered, as the golden silhouette of a dragon leapt out of Jiang He's palm and lunged towards Cheng Dongfeng.

What the shit!!!

Cheng Dongfeng's face dropped as he exclaimed in expletives. No longer caring to hold back, his rank-six pinnacle aura burst away instantly, his True Qi surging as he released an ultimate technique of the Eight Trigrams School. Only then was he able to nullify Jiang He's strike.

Then, the two men's True Qi collided, which burst away and stiffly cracked rifts on the walls of the tower.

Rawr!

The draconic roar echoed once more.

Waving his hands, Jiang He followed up his first attack with Dragon Soars In The Sky. For Cheng Dongfeng, it took another burst of his full strength to stop it. And yet, Jiang He continued with another strike of Mighty Dragon Shows Penance.

Then, he continued switching between both styles for a total of five strikes. As the rumblings continued, the cracks on the wall of the building widened… and the entire tower began to shake.

'Wh… What the heck… Is a rank-five novice martial artist supposed to be that powerful?'

It was only then that Duan Tianhe came to a realization. No longer caring to hold back his true strength, he burst out with the power of a rank-seven grandmaster. Moving to stand between Cheng Dongfeng and Jiang He in a single stride, he waved his hands to dispel both men's moves.

"Stop, or my tower is going to collapse."

However, he couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or cry.

Blargh!

At the same time, Cheng Dongfeng vomited a mouthful of blood. Pale-faced, he leaned limply against the wall. "What the hell, kid? Don't you have other moves?" he muttered.

Jiang He quickly came to him. "Are you alright, Master Cheng? Why are you puking blood, Master Cheng?" His tone became more meaningful as he continued, "Why act strong if you can't block? You should fight with your full power, so that when I do as well, I just might be able to trade a few blows against yours evenly."

"Wha…"

Cheng Dongfeng vomited another mouthful of blood the moment he opened his mouth.

Full power, my foot! I'm already at my limit, whereas each of your strikes is stronger like the next, as if your palms are turning into dragons of unimaginable power!

I'm a rank-six pinnacle, but my True Qi is left boiling and my blood is churning after taking ten consecutive blows. It took me great difficulty to stop my impulse to puke blood, only for you to frustrate me until I did!

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Chapter 38: I Have Yet To Use My Advantage!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Footsteps echoed from the staircases, and the buttons of the elevator lit up. After all, the commotion on the ninth floor had startled many people.

Cheng Dongfeng quickly give Duan Tianhe a look, who merely quietly raised one finger in return. It meant: I'll help you settle this matter, but you'll only get one out of the three promised bottles of qi pellets!

Nonetheless, he went to help Cheng Dongfeng up after he saw him promptly shut his eyes with a face filled with agony. As he did so, Duan Tianhe discreetly released several breaths of True Qi with his palm to help Cheng Dongfeng steady his boiling body and blood.

When Cheng Dongfeng's complexion recovered, he laughed out loud. "Not bad, not bad! Jiang He, you could hold your own against me while I was holding back, and that ability of yours makes you the best youth in Xibei."

Even as he spoke…

Whoosh!

Several figures rushed up from the stairs and out of the elevator. When they heard what Cheng Dongfeng said, they all stared at Jiang He in astonishment.

Where did this kid come from?

He can actually fight Master Cheng as an equal? And the building almost crumbled because of that?

What is this?

Jiang He scratched the back of his head, muttering inwardly, 'Just because I could make you vomit blood, you say that I can fight you as an equal? You may have misunderstood the meaning of 'equal'…'

'That said, my own shortcomings are obvious, since I only know those two moves, and both require abundant True Qi to charge. Even though I cultivated the Nine Yang technique, and possess ten times the amount of True Qi compared to a person of my own level, I would at best, be able to switch between those two moves five times…'

'Well… I just might be able to manage a few more cycles if I pushed myself further, but doesn't that mean that I'm finished if my opponent can block all my blows?'

Jiang He began to sum things up. 'Still, I can pop some pills while I release my Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and as long as I have enough pills, I'll be able to fight for a whole day…'

He then casted a doubtful look at Cheng Dongfeng. Because he had been too preoccupied with releasing his blows, he had only faintly sensed that the middle-aged man's aura had risen above rank-six pinnacle… was he imagining things?

'That must be it. Duan Tianhe did say that Cheng Dongfeng is peerless at rank-six, and no more than ten rank-six individuals across the globe can best him. There's no way a rank-five like me could be that powerful now, right?'

'And he also said himself that he had repressed his cultivation… A senior of martial arts wouldn't be that shameless now, would he?'

Nonetheless, Jiang He was not actually that slow on the uptake.

The truth was that the strength he unleashed when he released Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse and Dragon Soars in the Sky was exceedingly violent, and the surge of True Qi obscured a part of his senses. But most importantly, Jiang He had little experience in fighting, and he could only pay attention to his strength release whilst not noticing anything else.

Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe barked, "Alright, back to work, everyone."

The Martial Arts Department employees who come to enjoy the liveliness soon left. Bai Feifei was about to follow suit when a voice spoke, "Bai Feifei, please wait. By the way, don't mention anything about my ascension or what happened just now.

Bai Feifei nodded stiffly. She was feeling light-headed.

What the hell am I looking at?

Jiang He, a rank-five novice, beating Master Cheng until he vomits blood?

Her gossiping heart was ablaze and she couldn't wait to spread the news. And yet, when she remembered Duan Tianhe's reminder…

'You've ascended, Chief?', she wondered. Bai Feifei only recovered then, seemingly more shocked that Duan Tianhe had risen beyond grandmaster, than the fact that Jiang He had defeated Cheng Dongfeng.

When the crowd left, Cheng Dongfeng glanced towards Jiang He and couldn't help showing a pained smile.

Jiang He, meanwhile, appeared distracted and slightly upset, murmuring, "A pity."

"What's a pity?" Cheng Dongfeng couldn't help asking.

"Master Cheng," replied Jiang He, "This place is too small and you can't really release your skills here, but I saw an open field behind the Martial Arts Department on the way here. Should we head over there for another bout?"

He then mused to himself, saying, "I feel that I didn't do my skills justice. All I did was stand there and throw my palms at you without playing to my strengths. If I could use the advantages of my postures, I would first release a Mighty Dragon Shows Penance directly at you, and when you parry, I would slip behind your back and release a Dragon Soars in the Sky from above. You would definitely have a hard time stopping it…"

Cheng Dongfeng's eyes widened, but quickly spurred his posture to hold down his True Qi when he felt it going amok again. At the same time, he acted unconcerned, clasping his hands behind his back.

"Aren't you underestimating elites, Jiang He?" he said impassively. "Your posture is your advantage? Who gave you such confidence that you would dare speak like this to a disciple of the Eight Trigrams School? The Grandmaster himself personally developed the Eight Trigrams Vanishing Steps… Eh?"

Even before Cheng Dongfeng finished, he suddenly felt his shoulder sink and promptly turned, finding Jiang He, who had appeared behind him to clap him on his shoulder, before returning to his previous spot.

Cheng Dongfeng was taken aback and at a loss for words. "What posture was that?"

It's here! The question did come!

Jiang He was laughing in pain inside, well aware that this would happen if he used the Blind Princess' Eight Practices. Still, he was already prepared and smiled faintly.

"Breezing Smoke Flight," said Jiang He.

"Breezing Smoke Flight, Breezing Smoke Flight…" Cheng Dongfeng quietly repeated the name of posture and chuckled in disbelief. His spirit seemed to be completely drained dry, and he seemed to have aged over a dozen years old in an instant…

And he had just been consoling himself that Jiang He was only strong because his palms were exceedingly powerful. If they were fighting in the open and not in a cramped space like this one, he could evade Jiang He with his Eight Trigrams Vanishing Steps.

He would wait until Jiang He unleashed a full barrage and had no more True Qi left, and then he would win without lifting a finger. Now, however, it was proven that he was daydreaming.

Looking up, he leveled a vicious glare at Duan Tianhe. The bastard had toyed with him to death today!

It's fortunate that the kid named Jiang He was understanding enough to hold back from embarrassing Cheng Dongfeng, and did not directly expose him for bursting out with rank-six pinnacle ability.

"Well, whatever. I won't nitpick with him for the sake of one bottle of qi pellets. Still…"

Cheng Dongfeng glanced at Jiang He again.

Why did he get the feeling that the kid wasn't purposefully choosing not to expose him, but it was because the kid wasn't able to tell that Cheng Dongfeng had burst out with his full strength? If that was the case, he just needed Duan Tianhe keep his mouth shut…

And if it comes down to it, couldn't he just pretend like he had been repressing his cultivation from the very start?

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Chapter 39: Growing A Blade

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

"Where's Jiang He?"

"He left!"

"Really?!"

It was past six when Cheng Dongfeng returned to Duan Tianhe's office, poking his head in through the doorway and taking a look around before entering. Sighing, he plonked himself down on the sofa. "Young people are quite something these days… By the way, Old Duan, Jiang He hasn't said anything, has he?"

Duan Tianhe, who was organizing some data, did not even look up as he replied, "He said that your martial arts skills are wonderful, Master Cheng. He would like to spar with you when he has the time, and he requests that you do not hold back your cultivation when that time comes."

What the heck…

Cheng Dongfeng clenched his teeth, but was reluctant to press the matter further. Instead, he walked up to Duan Tianhe's desk and knocked on it. In response, Duan Tianhe took out two bottles of qi pellets and put it on the desk.

"Huh?" Although Cheng Dongfeng quickly pocketed the two bottles of qi pellets, he frowned. "What are you playing at, Old Duan? Didn't we agree on four bottles, and now you're only giving me two? I risked my old a*s to help you test Jiang He, and you want to con me out of my qi pellets?"

"Hold on…" Duan Tianhe looked up, taken aback. "Old Cheng, didn't we agree on three bottles?"

"That's right!" exclaimed Cheng Dongfeng. "We promised that I would fight him in exchange for three bottles. But when I fell, puking blood, didn't you put up a finger while helping me up, meaning that you're throwing in another bottle as compensation?"

Duan Tianhe was at a loss for words.

Screw me!!!

It could be understood like that too?

Nonetheless, he took out another two bottles of qi pellets and put it on the desk, but extended his hand to stop Cheng Dongfeng when he reached towards it.

"Old Cheng, I need your help. I'm planning to head over to Mount Dadong in two days, and you've gotta help me watch over things in Lingzhou City."

Jiang He did not actually go straight home after leaving the Martial Arts Department. Instead, he went to Auto City. As he had money now, he was considering buying a car so that he wouldn't have to walk everywhere.

When he arrived at a 4S Shop (1), a beautiful, fair-skinned lady immediately greeted him with a smile. "What vehicles are you interested in, sir?"

Looking around, Jiang He found that the shop he was in was quite bleak. Though it was vast, there was no one other than him looking at the cars in there. And the few workers there were just sitting around listlessly. Under such circumstances, it was impossible to expect some typical drama tropes to unfold.

"What's the problem? Has business been bad lately?" asked Jiang He while looking at the cars.

Lowering her voice, the lady replied, "There have been a lot of rumours out there lately, saying that the world is ending. Who would buy cars when the whole world is panicking?"

"The world is ending?" Not knowing how to follow-up on that, Jiang He simply said, "Um… I'm not exactly well-versed in cars, so please recommend something for me."

"No problem, sir. May I ask about your job? How many people will be using the car you buy? And what would its general function be?"

Jiang He thought about it for a while before answering honestly, "I'm a farmer and I'll be the only one using the car. My work usually involves caring for my farm and researching new types of crops. The main reason I'm getting the car is to transport stuff."

Suddenly remembering something, he added, "I remember there's a model called a Raptor pickup or something like that. Do you have it here?"

"Sir, I believe you must be referring to the Ford Raptor. Apologies, but we are a BYD dealer…"

Jiang He awkwardly but politely left the BYD dealer. Nonetheless, there were many 4S Shops in Auto City, and Jiang He soon found himself a red F150 Ford Raptor. The young employee there passionately told Jiang He all about the vehicle's performance, specs, and so forth, but Jiang He waved him off.

"Save it…" he said, slapping the boot of the pickup truck. "How many tons can this thing hold? I also feel that it's a little short… is welding possible?" He paused, eyeing the employee doubtfully. "I can tell from that confused look of yours that you never properly memorized all that data…"

Jiang He shook his head. The young man was also clearly not as easy on the eyes as the fair-skinned lady just now.

He whipped out his card and said, "Whatever, I'll get the hang of it myself. Help me with the formalities."

Still, one must say that 4S Shops were highly efficient. There was only one problem left—Jiang He was bored by all the formalities.

"Sir, you may take the car, but do come by soon when it's convenient for you, so that we can arrange for someone to legally set up your insurance account…" said the employee.

Nonetheless, Jiang He was able to speed off with his new vehicle before long. As he drove, he nodded in satisfaction at the Raptor's performance as well as the purr of its engine. "Soon, when I go out hunting Ferals, I can load them on this truck…"

However, something soon came to mind, which left Jiang He bothered. He hadn't managed to get his hands on a blade.

It was not that the Martial Arts Department had no blades, but Jiang He simply didn't like them. In fact, their alloy combat knives were poor in quality and design. The edge of one of their D-grade blades had even shattered when he used it to cut his own wrist.

To avoid making things difficult for Bai Feifei, he did not immediately confront her about the knife's subpar quality, and instead sneakily put it back.

"I have only mastered palm techniques, not swordplay, so there's no need to rush for a blade. And according to Bai Feifei, the Martial Arts Department's inventory was only recently established, and they don't have high-quality alloy weapons available yet. Although, I suppose I could put in an order for an A-grade or S-grade weapon if necessary… Still, they're pretty pricey, what with an S-grade costing up to eighty million dollars," complained Jiang He to himself.

It was too difficult after all. He just wanted a blade, was he supposed to spend eight million dollars on an alloy combat knife, only to use it as a 'seed'?

"Instead of spending so much money, I should just grow the cleaver in my house… eh?"

Jiang He's eyes twinkled just then.

A cleaver?

Slamming his foot down on the pedal, he rushed home. As soon as he arrived, he searched his kitchen for his cleaver before coming out to the yard. Dumbo and Trumbo's fur bristled when they saw Jiang He holding the cleaver in his hand.

"Alright, stop screaming for nothing. Dumbo, get over here and dig a hole…" scolded Jiang He.

Dumbo breathed out a long sigh, putting a paw over its belly and looking relieved. It then smugly ran over to Jiang He and started pawing at the ground in front of his feet with its rump raised, as it assumed a doggy… digging style. A small hole soon appeared under its two paws.

Placing the cleaver inside the hole, Jiang He exchanged his points for a nitrogen fertilizer and watered it symbolically, before covering up the hole.

"The old saying is quite true: you reap what you sow. Although the one who said it definitely didn't know that it applies to blades too…." Jiang He's thoughts then started to stray, "If I dig a hole and buried a chick…"

Translator's Note:

1. 4S Shops are automobile service and retail centers that provide the four aspects of sales, survey, service, and spare parts.

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Chapter 40: Wonderful Carrots

"No way, planting a chick is illegal!" exclaimed Jiang He. "But what if it's a fake? Like a mannequin or a doll or something like that…"

Taking a look at the time, he realized that the skies had already darkened. He hadn't even had dinner yet. Turning towards another corner in the yard, he saw that the leaves of the carrot tree were a lush green under the moonlight, and the tree itself was as tall as a person!

"It's time to harvest some carrots, right? I'll have some for dinner."

Jiang He walked there and pulled out a carrot.

[Ding!]

[Farm Points 2]

A System notification jingled in his head. It also seems that the EXP gained from sowing any crops had increased a little after Jiang He's farm leveled up.

[Carrot]

[Effect: Improves liver function and eyesight, clears body heat, detoxes.]

[Attribute: An 18cm long carrot as thick as a child's hand.]

"Eh?"

Jiang He's eyes twinkled.

Clears body heat, detoxes… that effect overlapped with the cucumber's, but that was fine, since eating too many cucumbers for too long gets dull. What if he happened to get poisoned and couldn't bear to have a cucumber just then? Incidentally, he could change his palate a bit.

"What is this 'improves liver function and eyesight' effect, though?"

After plucking every carrot in the yard, Jiang He counted that there were 300 of them, earning him 600 Farm Points and 60 EXP. Nonetheless, he felt hurt when he turned to the System panel and saw that his EXP had exceeded the bar.

It was a pity that his farm was still at level two, and worse still, the surplus EXP would be gone soon…

"Nope! I must hurry and level up my farm, or these 100 EXP would be wasted. It's like losing blood!"

He then looked down at the spot where he 'planted' his cleaver.

No reaction at all.

Did his attempt to sow it fail?

"No, the System would have notified me if it was a failure. Maybe cleavers have a longer growth cycle… Whatever. I'm having dinner."

Returning to his house, Jiang He washed three carrots. He dumped one each to Dumbo and Trumbo, and had one himself. Thanks to his humongous appetite, he easily finished the 18cm carrot. When that was done, he swiped through his phone, only to unexpectedly stumble upon a news post…

[Shock! A certain island nation was under attack, with an entire isle sunk…]

Jiang He shuddered, but he couldn't find more related news anywhere else, and the earlier post was 404ed as well. Still, his mind couldn't help churning.

"The Revival of Qi has evolved all wild beasts to a certain extent… but when it comes to numbers, would land animals ever be a match to marine animals? Even before the Revival of Qi, there are many animals in the sea that are powerful and devastating… If those things evolved with Qi, they really would have the power to destroy islands… Hold on… Which island nation was that?"

But that was the instant when the lights of his house flickered and went out.

"The circuit breaker tripped again?"

Jiang He sat up on his bed, but he was used to blackouts like this. The circuitry in his house often developed such issues due to its old age. Rising to open the circuit box, Jiang He suddenly did a double take. Flicking out a shot of True Qi with his fingers to blow up the lightbulbs, he then turned to study his room.

That was when he realized that he could still see the layout of his own room.

"Rank-five martial artists may have vision that surpasses the average person, but it shouldn't reach such extent now, should it? Could it be…"

Jiang He suddenly got the idea.

The carrot.

Improves liver function and eyesight!

To prove his theory, Jiang He whipped out another carrot and crunched away at it. As he expected, his vision immediately improved a little.

"Awesome. Won't I have night vision if I eat a dozen more? When that happens, there'll be no difference between darkness and light to me…"

Jiang He was delighted. Still, it was a pity that he was rather stuffed after eating two carrots, or he would have another. As for the broken lightbulb…

"Huh… I could only see for a brief time after the lights went out, but that's fine. I should look for Wang Siyu's brother tomorrow and discuss about building a house. But before that, I have to prove another theory of mine."

When he had grown the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the neighbors never noticed a thing, even though the draconic roars were thunderous in his farm.

Indeed, no one noticed that he had been planting all sorts of weird items over the past few days. And now, Jiang He suspected that what he was growing can't be seen by outsiders, just like his System panel.

If that really was the case, much trouble could be spared. But that could wait for tomorrow. Returning to his bed, he slept.

It was nine in the morning when Jiang He woke up the next day. After washing up, he took out ten qi pellets for breakfast, and only went to the yard when he was done eating.

There, a tree shoot that was now over two meters tall had sprung from the spot where he planted the cleaver. The tree was entirely dark. When Jiang He knocked on it with his hand, a dull thud sounded, as if it was metal, although its flower was silver.

A metal tree with a silver blossom!

There was only a single silver flower. When Jiang He looked carefully, at the center of the petals was a tiny… cleaver.

Jiang He was dumbstruck.

What the heck?

Why was it still in the shape of a cleaver?

"But I want a dragon-slaying sword…"

Even as he complained to himself, he could hear Wang Siyu's voice outside his gates. He went out to find her and her brother there.

"Big Onion Bro, you're back?" said Jiang He.

Siyu's brother, Wang Sizhen, nicknamed Big Onion, takes after their father, especially at the hairline, which was receding despite his youth. And being from the same village, he was acquainted with Jiang He as well, having played around together as children.

"Jiang He!"

Wang Sizhen went up and punched Jiang He's chest—a special, warm greeting between men.

However…

Thud!

There was a dull crack and Wang Sizhen cried out in pain, clutching his fist. "What the hell… Jiang He, do you have metal plates on your chest?'

"Huh?" After a beat, Jiang He realized what happened and quickly exclaimed, "Are you alright, Big Onion Bro? I'm protected by my Indestructible Diamond technique so I'm harder than steel, though it's my fault for forgetting to dispel it. I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Wang Sizhen's eyes widened, and he only recovered after a while. He hence followed Jiang He around, grumbling loudly about wanting him to teach him kung fu.

"Jiang He, if you teach me real kung fu, I'll build you a house for free! Jiang He!"

Seeing that Jiang He was unmoved, Wang Sizhen gritted his teeth and turned to glance at his sister, who was playing around with the dog nearby.

Lowering his voice, he said, "Jiang He, what do you think about my sister? As long as you promise to teach me kung fu, my sister will be a member of your family from now on!"

Blargh!

Jiang He almost spat out blood.

He promptly took a qi pellet to calm his shock before continuing, "Let me think about it, Big Onion Bro, since I only learned it myself and don't know how to teach others. So, how about we discuss the house first? I'm thinking I want to tear down these few buildings I have and build a small mansion. If you work at top speed, how soon can it be completed?"

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Chapter 41: Guard-Breaking Golden Blade

Putting his desire to train in martial arts aside, Wang Sizhen confidently tapped on his chest. "You've come to the right person, Jiang He. We are professionals when it comes to building stuff. You want speed and quality? You could try a mild-steel mansion."

"Mild-steel mansion?" asked Jiang He, shaking his head to indicate that he hadn't heard about it.

Wang Sizhen smiled. "The usage of mild-steel as structural steel is a recent innovation in the country. Compared to traditional mansions, mild-steel mansions are low cost and more quickly completed. But the key is that their performance doesn't lose out their traditional counterparts. In fact, they are better than concrete mansions when it comes to heating, as well as prevention against fire, flood, and earthquakes. Not to mention, they last a long time too."

"Alright, let's go with your idea."

"Ah, yes. I have some design drafts for the mansion as well. Everything depends entirely on your style preference. There's minimalistic, Northern European, or antique-style…"

Wang Sizhen was clearly prepared. He had brought along a tablet PC which had much data on construction plans, since he made a living off that line of work.

Jiang He picked an antiquated, small two-floor mansion. "Let's go with this one. Big Onion Bro, do some calculations to check the cost and how long it'll take. I'm also counting on you for the interior design after the house is built, so you can just name me a price."

Wang Sizhen then asked Jiang He about some details, such as the mansion's dimensions. Taking out a pen and paper, he sketched away for thirty minutes before saying, "Like I said, mild-steel mansions are low cost, and will only need around three hundred thousand bucks to build. Furnishing will depend on the materials you want, but there's no rush for that since we can wait until the mansion is completed."

"Alright," said Jiang He. "I'll transfer the money to you soon. Call up your crew to start work as early as possible since I might be busy soon. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on things, Big Onion Bro."

Wang Sizhen laughed out loud. "We are family, Jiang He—there's no need to be so polite. I'll call up the laborers and prepare the materials then."

"What do you mean you're family?" asked Wang Siyu.

She walked up to them, looking at her brother as she used her mind-reading ability on him. Hearing his thoughts, she immediately gritted her teeth. "Are you supposed to be my brother? You're actually trading me for a cultivation method!" she yelled.

Wang Sizhen promptly turned and ran away.

Once he was outside the gates and saw that Wang Siyu wasn't giving chase, he stood by the wall, poking his head over it and calling out to Jiang He, "Tidy up the stuff in your house, Jiang He. I'll arrange for some men to come by in the afternoon to tear down the collapsed houses."

As a matter of fact, Jiang He had no precious belongings in those collapsed buildings, although it would be a waste to just throw everything such as the kitchen utensils away…

Wang Siyu was rolling up her sleeves and ready to help, but Jiang He merely sat down to bask in the sun. "You don't have to do anything. Come sit over here, I something to ask you. Just leave the menial work to Dumbo and Trumbo," he said lazily.

At the same time, both the cat and dog stood up on their rear paws like humans, and started moving some bowls, plates, and chopsticks out of the house.

Wang Siyu was left stunned and muttered, "I really envy you beast-tamers."

"Haha," Jiang He chuckled but said nothing.

Beast tamer? Who, me? Even now, I still don't know how to tame a beast.

Nonetheless, Jiang He pointed at the metal tree with a silver flower and asked, "Wang Siyu, do you know what type of tree that is?"

"Tree? What tree?" Wang Siyu looked taken aback, finding nothing where Jiang he was pointing. "Did you plant a tree?"

"Nope. Just kidding," replied Jiang He, although he was secretly very satisfied.

His hunch was right—no one else could see the special 'crops' in his farm… And he had almost forgotten to harvest today's money. That said, the hundred-dollar bills dangling on the money-growing tree was quite a pleasant sight as they swayed in the wind.

After chatting for a while, Wang Siyu recevied a call and left in a hurry. Jiang He remained outside, enjoying the sun and downing qi pellets while instructing Dumbo and Trumbo at their labor.

It was only later in the afternoon that the cleaver he planted bore fruit. The silver flower had withered, and was replaced by a cleaver dangling on the tip of a branch, gleaming in golden luster.

Jiang He took it by the hilt and plucked it when…

[Ding!]

[500 Farm Points]

"Hmmm?" Jing He couldn't help shifting his eyes as the System notification jingled in his head. "The Blind Princess' Eight Practices earned me five hundred points too. Doesn't that mean this golden cleaver is equal in value to that cultivation manual?" he muttered.

As he stared at the cleaver in his hand, lines of data popped up before his eyes.

[Golden Blade]

[A gold-color cleaver forged from a meteorite.]

[Attribute: Sharp, has certain chance of guard-break in physical attacks.]

Sharp? Ignores defense?

Golden sparks danced as Jiang He ran his finger over the cleaver. Rolling up his sleeves, he lightly slid the edge of the cleaver on his arm.

Screech!

Despite the piercing sound of a knife cutting into steel, only a red mark appeared over his arm.

"Not bad. This blade is at least sharper than the D-class alloy weapon the Martial Arts Department could offer. Still, what does it mean by 'certain chance of guard-break'? Does it ignore a person's defense like in video games?"

Jiang He slid the cleaver over his arm again, but he was still fine. He slid it a third time.

Snikt!

What the hell!

Jiang He quickly flung the cleaver away and clutched his arm, but blood was still flowing freely through his fingers. Gritting his teeth as his lips contorted, he inhaled in pain and cursed, "This is ridiculous! I am protected by Indestructible Diamond, and yet the knife cuts through it like it was nothing, piercing my cultivation and even hurting my arm?"

So, this was guard-break? It really does ignore defense!

Washing his wound with some water, Jiang He was about to get Dumbo to buy him some plasters when he noticed that the wound was beginning to heal.

In the first place, the True Qi of Nine Yang was divine healing. The effect was even better since Jiang He had cultivated a strengthened version of Nine Yang. Combined with the heightened regeneration of Indestructible Diamond, the gash healed in just a dozen minutes.

After over half an hour, there were no signs of him ever getting hurt. Jiang He beamed as he put the Golden Blade away.

"Not bad, not bad. This thing will be devastating if used well… When I get my hands on enough Feral materials, I'll plant a swordplay manual and it'll be perfect."

"Hmmm… but which manual? The Three Edges of Avici? The Crimson Sword? Or perhaps that demon sword that can cut through air over forty meters? I remember the Ninefold Thunderblade mentioned in that novel I read was pretty amazing too."

Meanwhile, at the Martial Arts Department at Linzhou City.

In the vast conference room, Duan Tianhe, Cheng Dongfeng, and a crowd of department workers were all present, including Wang Siyu who had just arrived on the scene. A stack of photocopied documents was distrubited to each of them.

Holding nothing back, Duan Tianhe announced, "Perhaps everyone knows the reason you were all called here today. Our nation has been laying the groundwork since the Revival of Qi ten years ago, including setting up thirty-six martial arts academies across the country…"

"Now, our nation is prepared to start these academies, recruiting learners and instructors from across the country to firmly develop martial artists. We will use this opportunity to move things along in tandem so that we can make the Revival of Qi public knowledge."

"In other words, our own martial arts academy here in Linzhou is making its debut as well. Bai Feifei, contact the journalists and the media—we will announce this to the public at noon tomorrow!"

For some reason, Duan Tianhe suddenly felt relieved.

He obviously knew that the entire nation would be shocked once things were out in the open… but the citizens were not foolish, and would have an inkling of certain matters already.

There was just no hiding from them.

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Chapter 42: Duan Tianhe, Sentimental And Righteous

It was not just Linzhou City—every part of the country was starting to move.

On the fourth of September, all regions held a press conference at virtually the same time, and announced the matter of martial arts academies. The news spread rapidly, leaving countless shocked.

Reports and theories revolving around the martial arts academies appeared everywhere all at once. Moreover, with paranormal incidents caused by the Revival of Qi occurring in quick succession, many had soon put two and two together, just as all social opinions blew up instantly.

Meanwhile, at Jinyintan Village, work was starting on Jiang He's mansion.

The collapsed houses had been demolished yesterday afternoon, while the construction materials were brought in and the building foundation was established by nightfall. Jiang He had spoken—the construction must be finished as soon as possible with quality assurance!

As the workers would be working in three continuous shifts, their wages were tripled too. Jiang He even forked out another twenty thousand dollars to treat them, filling his Raptor pickup truck with cigarettes, beverages, and chicken.

"Big Onion Bro, please pass these smokes and drinks to the workers. And when it's time to eat, distribute the chicken so that each pair can share one. I'll call for some delivery if there's not enough."

Jiang He proceed to lay down on his backseat and take a nap. He had to give it to the Ford Raptor's vast interior space—it was comfortable even lying down.

As he swiped through his phone to read through the news online, he found that over a single day, various posts had popped up like mushrooms after the rain. The government had also eased their prohibition considerably, and only banned certain unrealistic rumors or reports.

"Martial arts academy…"

"It seems that the country is going strong with their efforts to popularize martial arts. If my hunch is right, the thirty-six academies were only experimental. Still, after a few years of development, martial arts might become a nine-year mandatory educational program, and the era where every citizen is trained in martial arts will dawn upon the whole world."

"When the time comes, the country will abandon remote cities and villages, gathering the population whilst building bases and citadels, and hence progress the age of conflict against Ferals!"

Yup.

That was how it was written in most novels, and it was inevitable.

As the Ferals continued to evolve and breed, they would only increase in numbers and strength. That was why a centralized population was necessary to maintain the spark of humanity. If the population was still sparse like it was now, would help ever come in time if towns and villages were attacked by Ferals?

How would they withstand waves of attacking Ferals?

"Forget it. Why am I thinking so much about it? I'm just an average newbie in martial arts who wants nothing more than to peacefully cultivate my eight-hundred and eighty-eight squared meters farm…"

Still, Jiang He was quite troubled when he remembered his farm. It was time to level it up. The sooner he could improve it to level 3, the sooner he could gather his EXP.

He glanced at his System panel.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Rank Five Intermediate]

[Ability: None]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Initiate ), Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms(), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (First Tier ), Blind Princess' Eight Practices (First Practice )]

[Owned Land: 888m]

[Farm Level: 2 (EXP 500/500)]

[System Backpack: 6 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 1,163]

The EXP in his farm level was full, but he did not meet the level-up conditions.

"Fifty kilograms of rank-seven Feral flesh. Two portions of rank-six Feral flesh, each a hundred kilograms, along with ten liters of rank-six Feral blood…"

Jiang He stared at the System panel for half a day, and tried but failed to improve his Indestructible Diamond technique. Improving it to Beginner required 2,000 farm points, and he simply did not have enough.

'I have eleven hundred farm points now, so I can learn two more moves from the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms. Still, that won't improve my ability by much… it'll be better if I stick to popping pills,' thought Jiang He even as he ate his qi pellets.

Its effect of improving his cultivation was clearly weaker after he reached rank-five.

It took him a day of popping pills to reach rank-five intermediate, and it would at take him until at least tonight to finally reach rank-five advanced… Of course, Jiang He had set aside time to have carrots and cucumbers as well. Otherwise, rank-five advanced would have to wait until tomorrow afternoon.

Since carrots strengthened his vision like a hawk's and made darkness as clear as day, it was not an ability that could be left out. As for the cucumbers… Jiang He recently noticed that he was becoming spirited with each cucumber he ate, as if the energy in his head was about to overflow.

It was perhaps a sign of Awakening.

Therefore, even though he was about to puke from having cucumbers, Jiang He forced himself to finish two sticks every day.

"I am still too weak! I only managed to make Cheng Dongfeng vomit blood after he held back his cultivation to rank-five. It'll be challenging to fight a rank-six Feral, but after I've cultivated up to rank-five advanced, I can hunt them to get some flesh and blood…"

"As for rank-seven… the difference between rank six and seven is like a grandmaster versus a rank-six martial artist. Hmm… come to think of it, how powerful is a rank-seven grandmaster? Should I test myself against Duan Tianhe?"

"Forget it, it would be impolite to spar against him. It'll be better to just ask him how to kill a grandmaster or a rank-seven Feral!"

After musing to himself for half a day, Jiang He eventually decided to dial Duan Tianhe's number. Duan Tianhe was slow to answer. The call was only connected after the dial tone rang for over twenty seconds.

However, Jiang He stuttered when the call was connected. Embarrassed to speak out, he talked about nothing important until Duan Tianhe finally asked on his own, "Is there something you want to ask me, Jiang He?"

"Yes, there is," said Jiang He. "Chief Duan, I heard that your Martial Arts Department has an intelligence branch… so can I ask if there are any rank-six Ferals near Linzhou City?"

"Rank-six Ferals? There aren't any near Linzhou City for now, but there'll probably be some if you head a few dozen miles eastward from the Changliushui scenic route."

"Eastward from Changliushui?" Jiang He frowned. "Isn't that the Ningdong Mines?"

"That's right," replied Duan Tianhe. "The mines are closed at the moment after a Feral attack a month ago. The Ferals retreated into the mountains after the military intervened… By the way, why are you asking about it?

"Haha! It's nothing, I'm just asking… By the way, Chief Duan, since you are a grandmaster and a senior in martial arts, there is a general knowledge question about martial arts I wanted to ask you."

"Oh?" Over at the chief's office in the Martial Arts Department, Duan Tianhe suddenly became interested and smiled faintly. "Just ask. As long as I know the answer, I will tell you everything I know."

"Hmmm… isn't that a little bad?" said Jiang He.

"There's nothing bad about it. This isn't an age of feudal warlords, and things must be shared for the martial arts world to develop rapidly. So tell me, what did you want to ask?"

Even so, Jiang He was a little embarrassed. But since Duan Tianhe had put it that way, he promptly asked, "So, the question I wanted to ask is, how can a rank-five martial artist kill a martial arts grandmaster? Of course, it doesn't matter if I can't kill them, but I need to carve out some flesh at least."

"Hello? Hello…? Can you hear me, Chief Duan?"

Beep-beep-beep-beep!!!

Jiang He was a little speechless. Why did Duan Tianhe hang up when the conversation was just getting good? And he was the one who said that he would tell Jiang He everything he knew.

To think that I really believed that you were sentimental and righteous!

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Chapter 43: Jiang He Awakens!

At the chief's office of the Martial Arts Department.

Duan Tianhe was scowling and saying nothing.

Nearby, Cheng Dongfeng had his head lowered whilst holding a hand over his mouth so that he would not laugh out loud. However, his whole body was shaking without end, and eventually he snickered and broke into wild laughter.

"Haha! Didn't you say that you would tell him everything? Why did you hang up on him?"

Duan Tianhe shot him a look and smirked. "That brat is still obsessed about you, you know. He wants a rematch with you fighting at full power. Should I tell him the truth… that you were already using your full power that day?"

Cheng Dongfeng promptly quieted and stopped laughing, grimacing as if he had been forced to eat dung. "Don't hit below the belt," he muttered. "You're too much, Old Duan!"

Duan Tianhe ignored him in his awe. "Still, the kid is really too arrogant. He already asked me that same question back when he was rank four, and how he's asking it again. Does he really take grandmasters for ornaments?"

And what are his intentions?

I myself just made breakthrough to become a rank-seven grandmaster days ago. And yet you keep asking me about how to kill one… Do you have something against me?

After complaining inwardly, Duan Tianhe threw that matter aside and said, "Anyway, about Linzhou's martial arts academy, you are definitely getting the job of director, Old Cheng. Don't try to excuse yourself."

"You're having me become director?" Cheng Dongfeng shook his head. "I'm old and uncultured, having left school to train in martial arts with my master since early middle school. Wouldn't you be miseducating the students if you have me as director? Why not let Jiang He try? The kid is an university student, and with his abilities, he would absolutely make a fine academy director."

"Jiang He?" Duan Tianhe chuckled sourly. "I was ready to recommend him myself… but I just have this feeling that he isn't too reliable…"

"Then take the job yourself. I'm not taking the job one way or another."

"Now that the martial arts academies are open, every level of society will turn their eyes there. Who knows if I can continue my cultivation with so many important things to see to everywhere?"

Gritting his teeth, Cheng Dongfeng spoke firmly, "After busying myself for a while, I'm immediately going into seclusion for a charge towards rank-seven. Otherwise, I am not fighting the kid if he challenges me again!"

"What the heck is Duan Tianhe doing? He said he would tell me everything, and now he hung up on me in the blink of an eye?"

Jiang He dialed Duan Tianhe's number several more times, but it just kept going straight to voicemail.

'The number you have dialed could not be reached at the moment.'

"Fine then, Old Duan…"

Cursing, Jiang He put away his mobile phone. He would stop calling him—because what good was it now? When he became a grandmaster himself, he would punch Duan Tianhe with his boulder-sized fist if he dared to hang up on him again!

In the meantime, he took a nap in his car. Then, after he woke up, he took a few qi pellets and ate one cucumber. After a few mouthfuls, his face changed. He could feel a special energy extending out of his brain and stirring his very spirit. It was an impact that left him simultaneously thrilled and in despair.

It hurt so badly. He felt as if his brain would explode. Enduring the pain, Jiang He tried to use his Strengthened Ning Yang Technique, but to no avail.

"It can't be… am I awakening soon?" With that sudden inspiration, Jiang He bit down with a crunch and tore off a mouthful of cucumber. "This must be an omen before Awakening… If my hunch is right, the so-called Awakening is a certain stimulation to the human brain, causing the spirit to mutate and form a power… It hurts so much right now… maybe my spirit is lacking!"

Crunch, crunch!

He clutched his head and shrieked bizarrely even as he chomped down on mouthfuls of cucumber.

Bang!

Bang!

The horrific agony made Jiang He unable to help clenching his fist and slamming it heavily on the car door.

The first punch deformed the car.

The second punch sent one of the car doors flying.

And then…

Boom!

There was a dull rumble in Jiang He's head that sounded like thunder, and his vision went black. He recovered in the next instant, however, and all the pain was gone. In fact, his mind was now supremely clear.

That was when Wang Sizhen, who was a part of the construction crew, ran out of the yard to him.

"What happened, Jiang He?"

He was taken aback when he saw the car door lying a dozen meters away. Jiang He waved him off, gesturing that he was fine.

He then studied Wang Sizhen from head to toe and asked in surprise, "Big Onion Bro, you're the boss, and yet you do the work yourself too?"

As a matter of fact, Wang Sizhen was wearing a pair of three-quarter pants and holding a big shovel, not to mention that his entire body was full of mud and cement.

"I thought I should help since I would be idling anyway." He chuckled, before lowering his voice, "Jiang He, about the thing I asked you before… have you made up your mind yet?"

Jiang He gave him a pained smile. "Go finish your work first, Big Onion Bro. I'll help you when I move into my mansion."

Taking the 'bait', Wang Sizhen delightedly skipped off to work, whereas Jiang He slowly closed his eyes and examined his own body with his inner vision. He scanned throughout his entire body, but did not pick up on any changes.

"Wait! I have Awakened, so what about my superpower?"

Getting inspired again, Jiang He focused his attention to his own mind.

In that very moment, he seemed to see an ocean. A vast ocean of swords. And in the middle of it, a single luminous blade hovered, palpating a stirring presence.

In the next instant, his head throbbed in pain, and he retreated from his inner vision.

"T-that's my superpower?" Jiang He's entire face showed shock. "With so many swords in my head, won't they puncture my brain if there was a sudden explosion?"

And though the ocean of swords appeared illusory, that single luminous blade was somehow very vivid.

Jiang He tried to link up to it.

Oom!

The sword itself seemed to shoot out of his head and hover before him.

With a single thought, the luminous blade danced as if wielded by his hand, and burst out in dazzling radiance. The gust that the sword cut through the air alone… blew up Jiang He's hundred-thousand-dollar pickup truck.

Still, Jiang He was not concerned with losing a few hundred thousand dollars. Instead, he was full of excitement. When Wang Siyu told him about superpowers, he'd heard that there were people who could control lightning or blades, and thought that she was exaggerating. He did not expect that to really happen to him.

But suddenly, Jiang He coughed out a splatter of fresh blood from the corner of his mouth. The luminous sword immediately became illusory and slipped back into his head.

Wiping away the blood, he worked his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique to restore himself like new while complaining, "What crappy power is this? I can't even use it for more than three seconds!"

What could he do in three seconds?

He couldn't even take off his own pants in that time!

And of course, superpowers were used for fights—taking off pants was not a factor.

Nonetheless, Jiang He soon chuckled. "Still, who could stop a slash out of the blue like this one in the middle of a fight? Moreover, I could feel that I'll be able to wield this blade longer when my cultivation improves and my spirit grows. The damage would also increase, meaning that it won't be impossible to cut off a head or unleash air blades over thousands of miles away!"

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Chapter 44: He Ran So Fast!

Nighttime, the 5th of September. Eastward of Changliushui.

It was the same familiar mountain ditch, although there were now several bonfires lit around it, with twenty-two people sitting in a circle surrounding them.

One of them, a geezer wearing rags who had been tapping his smoking pipe, coolly asked, "It's almost eleven. Why hasn't the Tranquil Heavenly General come back?"

But even as he spoke, a skinny figure appeared quietly out of the darkness and smirked. "Old Liu, why are you so impatient? Sure, the Tranquil Heavenly General himself may have told us that the operation starts at dawn tomorrow, but isn't that still a while to go?"

This man had been walking in the night, his figure appearing and vanishing—a rare shadow-type superpower. He then took a seat opposite Old Liu, his form extending and bending bizarrely amidst the flickering bonfire.

There were all sorts of characters in the Sky Demon Cult.

Some were criminals with nowhere to go like Cordo, while others were in it for the profit, and there were even some who had been straight-up brainwashed by the cult. Nonetheless, all of them shared a single common ground in their ruthlessness!

A number of them were extremely cruel in the first place, and the rest of them had gained a fearsome bloodlust following the repeated brainwashing of the Sky Demon Cult.

Suddenly, unusual sounds echoed. Ferals were emerging out of the night, one after the another. There was no lack of rank-five and rank-six Ferals amongst them, and the rank-three and rank-fours numbered over a hundred.

The Tranquil Heavenly General was seated atop of one of the Ferals.

"Tranquil Heavenly General!"

Everyone promptly rose and kowtowed.

The Tranquil Heavenly General leapt off the Feral and spoke flatly, "Up on your feet. I have spoken to that thing at Mount Dadong, and it will arrange for Ferals to attack Yuzhen, which is within the jurisdiction of Linzhou City. When that happens, Duan Tianhe will definitely send his people to help."

The others were not surprised at all. Being members of the Sky Demon Cult, they certainly knew that their holy faith was adept at communicating with Ferals. There were even rumors that their overlord had adopted a demon king as a pet!

"Most of you are coming with me to take out Duan Tianhe, and the rest of you… hold on, why are there only eight people left?" exclaimed the Tranquil Heavenly General after doing a quick head count.

He counted again—there were indeed eight people standing before him.

Not many Sky Demon Cult elites had been sent to infiltrate the Xibei province. Add that to the tight patrols of the Martial Arts Department, and the military which caused them several losses and prevented them from mobilizing several important double agents, the Sky Demon Cult had only managed to gather twenty-four of their members this time.

And yet, those twenty-four members were now reduced to twenty-two?

The Tranquil Heavenly General's scowled with killing intent. Taking a look at the time, he twitched and growled, "It's almost midnight. The operation at Mount Dadong will soon begin. Everyone, come with me to the ambush point to assassinate Duan Tianhe! Old Liu, prepare to move at one o'clock!"

Having arranged everything, the Tranquil Heavenly General roared lengthily and darted away. "Everyone, this shall be our finest hour. For the holy faith!"

Right behind him, the fourteen he had chosen were sprinting away as well. All of them were Sky Sage Faith elites and martial artists, with the weakest of them being rank-three or Awakened individuals with superstrength.

The other eight who remained were naturally not weak either.

Amongst them was the one who awakened shadow-type superpowers and the pipe-smoking Old Liu, the latter of whom was a B-class superstrength Awakened who would not lose out to rank-six martial artists.

Meanwhile, in Yuzhen, approximately forty miles from Mount Dadong.

All the residents had been evacuated two days ago, and all the nearby towns and villagers were empty too. Indeed, most of the villagers had left the mountains under the governments' ecomigration policies years ago.

Now, the only people in Yuzhen were the ones at a garrison stationed there, ready to build a military base to withstand the beasts coming from Mount Dadong.

Suddenly, a sentry cried out, "Ferals! Ferals are coming! P-prepare for battle…"

Around 12.20am, two off-road vehicles headed off from Linzhou City towards Yuzhen.

Duan Tianhe was resting his eyes in one of the cars, while the one sitting in the passenger's seat—a rank-four martial artist—was loudly urging the driver, "Hurry up, floor it. Put on the siren and ignore the red lights. We need to get to Yuzhen before one."

However, Duan Tianhe suddenly opened his eyes and chuckled from the backseat. "No need to hurry," he said. "All civilians in Yuzhen have been quietly evacuated last dawn, and the higher-ups have sent elite reinforcements. There is no threat unless the Graywolf King comes down from its mountain."

"Eh?" The rank-four martial artist was dumbfounded. "Then, what are we in a hurry for, Chief Duan?"

Duan Tianhe smiled and looked outside the window. "The nuclear bomb last time may not have killed the Graywolf King, but it certainly intimidated the Ferals. Would any of them dare to show up now?"

"The Sky Demon Cult believe that their movements are well-concealed, but they don't know that our people have already discovered their whereabouts. The reason they incited the Ferals of Mount Dadong to attack Yuzhen is simply to have them stir trouble. If I don't go along with their plan, would they have the gall to make their next move?"

"But… but…" The rank-four artist's expression changed, asking through clenched teeth, "What is the Sky Demon Cult trying to do then, Chief Duan?"

"Lure me to Yuzhen and assassinate me on the way there. Then, using the vacuum of power at Linzhou, they'll send their elites and Ferals to attack Linzhou City and cause a huge mess!"

"What?!" The rank-four martial artist couldn't help exclaiming in shock. "What should we do, Chief Duan? Do we turn back now?"

"No need." Duan Tianhe laughed out loud. "Just like the Sky Demon Cult, I have my own schemes too. They wouldn't know that I had Cheng Dongfeng watch over Linzhou City as a diversion, or that I have already arranged for a group of elites to infiltrate the Changliushui scenic route. We will take them all out in one swift stroke once they show up!"

He then gave the rank-four martial artist a meaningful look, grinning. "They may be hard to find in the mountains, but they are easy to handle once they are out in the open."

There was sweat on the rank-four martial artist's brow, and his voice was hoarse and shaky as he asked, "Chief Duan, how did you learn about the Sky Demon Cult's plan? Was it a hunch?"

"No way," retorted Duan Tianhe. "Why would I depend on hunches when there are lives at stake?"

He suddenly reached out and pressed a hand on the rank-four martial artist's shoulder, chuckling.

"You may not know this, but I've arranged for an Awakened with hypnotic powers to entrance you. You were the one who told me everything about the Sky Demon Cult's movements, from their departure from the Changliushui scenic route, as well as their plan to kill their way from Baitugang Village into Linzhou city!"

Boom!

The martial artist unleashed his aura, attempting to blindside the driver, but was slapped to death by Duan Tianhe even before he could use his skills.

Handily dumping him out of the car, Duan Tianhe then calmly said, "Stop here. You and the others shall go to backup the elites at Changliushui. I myself have a date with the Tranquil Heavenly General!"

Bounding out, he sprinted along the highway at a speed that matched the cars on it. But after running for over thirty miles in no time at all, he suddenly paused.

His phone was ringing. Nobody would be calling him at such an hour if it wasn't important. He answered it, and a voice called out urgently from the other end—

"I'm sorry, Chief Duan, but someone has entered the mountain! I recognized him. He was that Jiang He you mentioned before… I tried to stop him but I couldn't because he ran so fast… He was gone before I could approach him!"

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Chapter 45: Catching Bullets Bare-Handed Feels Good

Whoosh~

A single figure was sprinting through the night like a phantom at rapid speeds.

"Haha! I guess the Blind Princess' Eight Practices is quite awesome! Who needs a pickup truck with this speed?"

It was Jiang He.

As the saying goes, the gods never let down those who work hard. After he downed qi pellets as if they were sunflower seeds, he finally managed to reach rank-five advanced in the evening, just as the luminous blade inside his head started to shine after a day of gestation.

That in turn afforded Jiang He a burst of confidence, and he quickly finished his supper to enter the mountains, ready to kill two rank-six Ferals to gather the materials needed for leveling up his farm.

He had departed from Jinyintan Village, hitching a ride from a car travelling on the same path to reach Baitugang Village, where he then released his Blind Princess' Eight Practices to dash all the way across the Changliushui scenic route and into the mountains.

"By the way… Why do I have the feeling that someone was calling my name when I was running through the Changliushui scenic route? Must be imagining things…"

He had run over twenty miles at once, crossing over eight mountains before he finally slowed down. Standing over a small hill, he looked out and saw that there were wind turbines on top of almost every mountain peak before him, but there was no sign of a single Feral.

"What's going on? Logically speaking, shouldn't there be more Ferals here in the mountains where there are fewer people around? Even Duan Tianhe confirmed that… eh?"

Suddenly, Jiang He's eyes moved towards the distance.

It was nighttime, with gloomy clouds hanging overhead, permitting no moonlight to pass. However, that was nothing for Jiang He who had some extent of night vision after eating carrots for days.

He turned, and found two men walking side-by-side at a nearby mountain path over eight hundred meters away.

The mountain path had been wide when it was first paved to build the wind turbines years ago, but gravel paths like these were easily damaged. Not to mention, flash floods frequently occurred in these hills. Just a few years without maintenance had caused these paths to be inaccessible to cars.

"Excuse me…" Jiang He called out, running towards the men with a smile. "Excuse me, may I know whether you two are going to hunt in the mountains?"

Both men were carrying guns, and there were some blades hanging from their hips too. They certainly looked the part of hunters…

"Hold on…" Jiang He's heart skipped a beat when he suddenly realized something. "Those blades are glinting faintly even in the night. They aren't normal blades… alloy weapons, perhaps?"

Snap!

The guns were cocked.

In the next second, two dark barrels were aimed straight at Jiang He.

"Who are you?" asked one of them coldly.

The aura around one of them—who turned out to be rank-four martial artist—was strong. His companion was bursting in vigor too, with a golden radiance glinting faintly off his head.

'An Awakened with Superstrength? And the shape of his head has changed… looks like a steel body?'

Getting the idea, Jiang He smiled and said, "No need to be so nervous, gents. I have no ill-intentions in mind. I'm just a normal farmer who came into the mountains to gather some fertilizer."

At his words, the golden-headed middle-aged man couldn't help turning to his partner to ask, "What should we do, Brother?"

"Kill him!" His companion sneered. "Why would a normal farmer come here in the middle of the night? Getting fertilizer… What, are you trying gather Feral dung for fertilizer? Only a kid would be fooled by such nonsense."

Shoving his gun forward until the barrel was less than one meter away from Jiang He's head, the man's eyes were cold as if he was staring at a corpse.

"Young man," he said evenly. "I would have spared you if it had been any other day, but not today. We have a big day ahead of us. What if you expose us? So… die!"

Bang!

The man pulled the trigger.

A spark shot out of the barrel dazzlingly in the night.

Through it all, Jiang He was staring tightly at the mouth of the barrel.

He noticed that he could clearly make out the trail where the sparks from the barrel sprayed, as well as the metallic bullet that shot out, spiraling away from it… That was why he reached out with his right hand and extended two fingers to try and catch the bullet.

And then…

He really caught it.

The man who fired the gun was dumbstruck. Beside him, the middle-aged man whose head was shining was also stunned, his mouth hanging open as he stared stupidly at Jiang He as if he was a monster.

What the heck!

Even Jiang He himself was taken aback. He could actually feel the scorching heat from the bullet… and yes, it was very hot. But fortunately, he had Indestructible Diamond, which meant that bit of heat wouldn't hurt him.

'What… catching bullets bare-handed? Not even soap operas would put that in their film. But I actually did it?'

Jiang He's surprise was followed by excitement, and he simply flung away the bullet with a smile. "Bro, come on. Shoot me again—catching bullets bare-handed feels good."

"Who… who are you!?"

The middle-aged man's face dropped, but when he remembered his holy faith's operation, he clenched his teeth and pulled the trigger again.

Bang-bang-bang!!!

It was rapid-firing this time.

Jiang He was about to evade by instinct, only to notice that he could clearly see the trail of the bullets once again. His hands danced, leaving afterimages around him as if he were Guan Yin with a thousand arms.

When the bullets stopped flying, he spread his palms to reveal the yellowed bullets on them. His palms were a little charred and smoked.

"Looks like normal guns are no threat to me. Even if I don't catch them, Indestructible Diamond would stop those bullets from scratching me," said Jiang He, blowing at his hands.

As a matter of fact, normal gunfire was definitely useless against martial artists above rank-four, although Jiang He had learned about armor-piercing bullets made of new composite metals. Still, those were expensive, worth millions per bullet. They were used against powerful Ferals, not to mention that they were capable of penetrating the defenses of elite martial artists.

But while he was relaxed, the other two men were scared witless.

The rank-four martial artist drew his blade, bursting out his rank-four True Qi and bore down at Jiang He. Beside him, the superstrength Awakened also drew his blade, crying out as he swung it towards Jiang He.

Jiang He stood his ground and did not move.

He energized his Nine Yang True Qi and Indestructible Diamond Technique. Soon, a vague silhouette of a golden bell flickered, and after two dull echoes of steel clashing, the weapons of the pair were promptly knocked out of their hands.

"I told you that I'm just an ordinary, innocent farmer passing by, and yet you two would come at me so ruthlessly. Did you assume that the Bodhisattva would never get angry?"

Jiang He raised his hands, killing the rank-four intermediate with Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse, right before moving his feet and releasing Blind Princess' Eight Practices to intercept the golden-headed man who had turned to run.

"So, what were you saying?" he asked calmly.

Meanwhile, deeper within the mountains, approximately twenty miles from where Jiang He was.

Old Liu, who was still smoking from his pipe, frowned. "What the heck are Zhang Shan and Li Si doing? The operation will begin soon, but they're still not here? The Heavenly General had even spoken… They are definitely going to get the Three Swords, Six Holes treatment…"

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Chapter 46: Bomb First, Talk Later!

Three Swords, Six Holes was a punishment that the Small Swords Society had invented for members of their guild who broke guild rules. They would be pierced with three blades in penance, with each piercing the victim's body all the way through, creating two holes from each side. That was how it earned the name of 'Three Swords, Six Holes'.

Of course, the Small Swords Society's blades were small and they only stabbed their members in the thigh. At worst, the victim would end up a cripple.

On the other hand, the Sky Demon Cult actually cut their meter-long knives into their victims' chests. Once the first blade pierced them and was pulled out, rarely anyone would survive to receive the second blade.

Old Liu checked his mobile phone.

It was a minute to one.

Huffing two mouthfuls of smoke, he cried, "Let's go. We stick to the schedule!"

He leapt atop a rank-six Feral. It was gray wolf that was up to eight meters in length. Rearing its head and howling at the heavens, all of its four paws clawed through the air as it bounded forward.

As a matter of fact, all the hundred-over Ferals there were gray wolfs. They were the strongest pack in these mountains, and had mutated after the Revival of Qi into an even stronger collective. Now, aside from the nest of snakes over at the mining area, no Ferals could stop the pack.

Beside Old Liu, the other seven members of the Sky Demon Cult all leapt on to their assigned wolves as well.

If they had dared to do so on any other day, the wolf pack would have attacked them, tearning them into pieces. However, this pack now obeyed the Sky Demon Cult—it was none of their concern how the Tranquil Heavenly General achieved that.

Howl!

The cries of the wolf pack echoed as each wolf dashed away. They moved rapidly, covering a hill in minutes.

"Who the hell are you?" gasped the golded-headed Awakened in a hysterial but weak voice.

He was lying prone on the ground, his head a little lopsided and his nose bleeding. It didn't look like he would make it.

"Are you alright in the head?"

Jiang He was a little speechless. I was just standing in front of you, and you would headbutt me? Did you really think that you have the Iron Head Technique?

Granted, he was a superstrength-type Awakened and had a body of steel, with his skull evolving in the process. It was much stronger than your usual Iron Head Technique, but because his Awakened standard was quite low, once his head knocked into Jiang He…

Jiang He's Indestructible Diamond was simply unaffected, while he himself ended up like that.

Watching as the man was about to die, Jiang He dropped to a crouch and asked with a frown, "Do you really not know me?"

Nonetheless, Jiang He himself came to a realization at those words.

Perhaps…

He really did not know him.

The reason the Sky Demon Cult was able to attack him in Jinyintan Village was not because they had identified him. The beast-tamer had merely used smell, tracking abilities, and whatnot to locate him.

And before he could give his cult that information, Jiang He had already killed him.

It ought to have been a good thing.

'But why do I get the feeling that I'm being belittled?'

Jiang He growled. "Talk. What is the Sky Demon Cult planning? Did you come here in the middle of the night to kill me?"

Who the hell wants to kill you?

Li Si was about to cry.

That was when…

Hooowl!!!

Waves of unusual cries echoed from the distant night, growing louder by the moment. Whatever it was, it was clearly getting closer.

'That howl sounds like Dumbo's when he loses it… no, it's a wolf's howl!'

Even as Jiang He came to a realization, the Awakened beside him suddenly broke into laughter. As if time reversed for him, he sat up, his dented skull shining in golden light once again as he roared, "The holy faith lives eternal!"

After that, he promptly croaked.

Is he crazy?

Jiang He was a little speechless. These lunatics from the Sky Demon Cult were really heavily brainwashed. If you are dying, just die—what would you achieve by saying something before you die?

Passing a message?

Still, as the man's roar resounded into the distance, waves of echoes returned. In the next split second, the distant wolf cries reverberated over the mountains. With his night vision, Jiang He could vaguely see waves of massive figures darting towards him from the faraway mountaintops.

"Wolf! No, wolf pack! Though I can't see how many wolves there actually are."

Jiang He appeared somber. Having night vision didn't mean that he was omnipotent, not to mention that he hadn't eaten enough carrots yet… But why had that golden-headed man called out before he died? Had he drawn the wolves here?

"Well, it's good. Saves me the trouble of searching for Ferals over the mountains."

The saying 'things are further than they really look' was quite appropriate here. As quick as the wolf pack was, it would still take another eight minutes for them to reach Jiang He. Incidentally, he could take that time to seach the two Sky Demon Cult idiots to see what valuable items they had. It was spiritual reparation for trying to intimidate him with guns and that headbutt.

"Two alloy weapons, probably D-grade and worth around two hundred thousand. Just over ten thousand dollars in cash. Bank cards… but they are useless if I can't make a withdrawal! Begone! Are Sky Demon cultists that poor? These two are worse than Cordo—they don't even have qi pellets!" complained Jiang He.

Looking up, he saw that the wolf pack was getting closer. They were already at the foot of the mountain and still charging towards him rapidly. The wolves in the lead were over eight meters long and three meters tall, each of them striding powerfully forward like a truck.

And they were actually rank-six!

"Rank-six Ferals? Doesn't feel like it. Why do they feel weaker than Cheng Dongfeng after he suppressed his cultivation? Eh? There are people riding the wolves too?" Jiang He narrowed his eyes. "These animals from the Sky Demon Cult… they can control the wolves now? Wait… what are they packing so much heat for?"

With a flip of his hand, Jiang He promptly took out over twenty pea bombs with a single grab, and threw them all in their direction with a swing of his hand.

Who cares what they want?

Bomb first, talk later.

And he would follow up on any who survived.

Beneath the mountain.

Riding a wolf, Old Liu yelled, "Li Si's voice came from here… Eh? There's someone on the mountain!"

He had no night vision, and could only vaguely make out a figure when he reached the ledge of the mountain. That was when a shower of peas tore through the night sky.

"Careful! He's armed!" bellowed Old Liu.

But even as he uttered those words…

Boom!

Dazzling fireworks erupted ten meters away from him! The world shook right then, and more fireworks erupted in the dark night as a dozen peas blew up instantly!

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Chapter 47: Poisoned!

Howl~ Howl~ Howl~

The wolves' cries echoed, accompanied by waves of screams and curses from the Sky Demon cultists.

Back at the mountaintop, Jiang He threw himself down on the ground, clutching his head a split second after throwing the pea bombs.

Just as expected, the System's explanation was as useful as it was unreasonable. The terrific explosion caused by the pea bombs left even the mountain quaking, with the terrible shockwave and rush of air kicking up a ton of dirt.

Even so, Jiang He felt nothing from his spot on the ground. Only getting up once the shockwave faded, he took out a pea and studied it closely.

[Pea]

[Inedible, extremely destructive.]

[Usage: Throw from long-distances.]

[Gentle reminder: It is suggested that the Host drop to the ground and clutch his head with both hands after throwing to stay immune from damage.]

"Immune, yes… but it's immunity from damage!"

Jiang He only noticed that little detail then!

Immunity from damage meant that even if the pea detonated inside his pants, he would be absolutely protected and not lose a single hair if he could drop down and clutch his head fast enough. He was about to take off his pants to test that theory, but eventually…

He held back!

"I can just throw it in front of me if I want to test it. Wouldn't it be bad if my junk gets blown off?"

Meanwhile, the wolves' howling had died down as one giant wolf after another lunged up the mountain, spreading out when they arrived at the peak. They surrounded Jiang He, each of them baring their teeth and snarling viciously.

The Sky Demon cultists were still astride the wolves. However, only four of them had survived. Aside from Old Liu, there was another rank-five pinnacle martial artist and an earth-type superhuman. As for Tong Nan, the shadow-type superhuman, he was still lurking in the shadows and had yet to show up.

Jiang He turned in shock. "I am surprised… So many actually survived."

Still, after giving it some thought, he figured that it made sense.

The pea bomb's power was limited. Pair that with the Ferals' strong instincts against danger, it was clear that some of the wolves dodged away when Jiang He threw the pea bombs. Most importantly, the wolves were not weak—there were up to sixty of them in front of him now, and the weakest of them were rank-four.

In addition, the defense level of such Ferals would be considerable, and it would be difficult to kill them as long as they were not caught in the center of the pea bomb's blast.

As for the rank three and rank two wolves, they had been mostly blown away in the wave of bombs.

After all, Jiang He had only thrown the normal peas because he was reluctant to use the strengthened ones…

Meanwhile, Old Liu and the others were outraged. They had been ambushed, and their mission left a mess! And once their holy faith pinned the blame on them, no one would be able to escape from the Three Swords, Six Holes punishment.

"Who on earth are you?" asked Old Liu.

He stepped forward, his skinny form suddenly fleshing out and becoming burly and robust, and he even grew a few inches taller. He had B-class superstrength, and his Qi would not lose out to a rank-six advanced martial artist!

His voice was hoarse and his eyes fully red as he stared ferociously at Jiang He, gritting his teeth. "The Tranquil Heavenly General prepared everything for us ahead of tonight's plan. So, who are you, and how did you learn about our plan?"

Jiang He had a blank look on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What plan?"

I'm just here to hunt and gather some rank-six or rank-seven Feral flesh and blood to sprinkle over my tiny farm. Why would I know about your plan?

The other two Sky Demon cultists approached Jiang He as well.

The rank-five pinnacle martial artist was bursting with True Qi, and his aura was overflowing. He drew out the three-section staff he had hanging over his hip, and soon each section connected into a single silver alloy staff.

At the same time, the earth-type superhuman's body was surrounded by a cloudy mud luster. He was merely waiting for Old Liu to give the order, and he would unleash his superpower to kill Jiang He.

And in the darkness of the night behind Jiang He, Tong Nan, the shadow-type superhuman, was quietly approaching, dagger in hand. It glinted in a faint blue light, showing that it was clearly laced in poison.

Though Old Liu kept his eyes fixed on Jiang He, he also quickly glanced at Tong Nan from the corner of his eye.

"Brat! It doesn't matter who you are. Only death awaits those who interfere with the plans of our holy faith!" he growled sinisterly. "Well, whatever. After we kill you, we will attack Linzhou City without further delaying the Tranquil Heavenly General's plan."

And out of the blue, he barked dozens of decibels louder, "Do it!"

Whoosh!

The sound of something cutting through the air echoed behind Jiang He, almost at the same split second when Old Liu called out.

Ding!

There was the sound of metals colliding.

However, Jiang He only felt an ache and an icy touch over his neck. The feeling was like being stung by a mosquito. He promptly turned around but found nothing there.

Touching his neck, Jiang He cursed, "What was that? A mutated mosquito?"

Tong Nan, who had fused as one with the darkness, stared bewilderedly at the dagger that was half a notch shorter now.

What the hell.

What was going on?

His C-grade alloy dagger… broke?

He was physically impressive even though he was an Awakened, and would not lose out to rank-two or rank-three martial artists. Indeed, the dagger he had could pierce steel plates or even stone.

So…

Why did the dagger snap?

That brat wasn't even wearing armor either!

Still, Tong Nan was careful. Once his single-strike failed, he promptly retreated and melted into the darkness again.

"I may have only scratched his skin, but that was enough… The venom on my dagger was extracted from a mutated spider, provided by the poison master of the holy faith. One drop could kill an elephant! Even in powerful martial artists, the venom will trigger in half a minute. His strength will fade and his body will stiffen…"

Over on the other side, Old Liu was already charging at Jiang He. His short and small smoking pipe turned out to weigh hundreds of catties, rumbling through the air as it was smashed down from above.

At the same time, with a point of the earth-type Awakened's finger, the ground beneath Jiang He began to creep up his thigh, as if it were alive. With a loud cry, the rank-five martial artist also bounded towards him, metal staff in hand.

"For the holy faith…"

What the…

Hell!

Jiang He scowled. A fight is a fight. Why chant your slogans?

He released a blow of Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse. A deafening draconic roar resounded as the golden silhouette of a dragon flew away, shooting towards Old Liu.

Bang!

Old Liu, who was just two meters away from Jiang He and about to smash his smoking pipe on his head, was sent flying even before he could reach out his hand.

At the same time, Jiang He charged himself with Nine Yang Technique, causing a quake of True Qi that shattered the ground that had wrapped around his feet.

Following up with a Dragon Soars in the Sky, Jiang He sent the rank-five martial artist flying too, because his slogan-chanting made him extremely uncomfortable. Afterwards, he fired another Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse, and the martial artist was dead before he hit the ground.

That was when Jiang He's body wobbled. He felt an agonizing pain from where the 'mosquito' had stung him earlier, and soon his entire body became numb.

"Oh, no! I've been poisoned!"

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Chapter 48: What Foolery Is This?

"Haha! Didn't expect that, did you?"

Laughter could be heard in the darkness as Tong Nan appeared just a dozen meters in front of Jiang He, smirking. "You are powerful, but with that spider venom inside your bloodstream, your strength will leave you and your body will become numb. How much power can you release then?"

Frowning in realization, Jiang He exclaimed, "You ambushed me?"

At the same time, he could feel his strength leaving him, as well as a numbing sensation that crept down from his neck. If this continued, he would be immobile in minutes.

He fired up his Nine Yang Technique and soon felt much better.

He fired it up again…

And then…

He felt completely fine now?

"The Nine Yang Technique may cure poison, but just to be sure…"

With a flip of his hands, a golden cucumber appeared in Jiang He's left palm, while an 18cm carrot appeared in his right. He took a bite out of each one, offering his appraisal while he ate.

"You're an Awakened, aren't you? So, superpowers can actually include something like invisibility. It's a good ability to have as an assassin, but the problem is that you're too weak. If you were strong enough, you could have struck straight through my heart, and I would definitely be dead."

On the other side, Tong Nan was left dumbstruck.

What was going on?

You were poisoned. You were bloody poisoned!

And yet here you are being so nonchalant in front of me and dozens of Feral wolves, to the point that you started eating a carrot and a cucumber?

Did those stuff work as antidotes?

Meanwhile, the earth-type Awakened had quietly moved beside Tong Nan. On the ground, Old Liu twitched several times before leaping to his feet as well. His clothes were left in pieces after Jiang He's Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse struck him. However, a faint metallic luster had also appeared over his chest, which thudded when he tapped at it twice.

"Brat," said Old Liu hoarsely. "Who on earth are you? What was that technique just now? If I didn't have a Diamond Body, that palm of yours would have killed me."

Upset, Jiang He frowned.

Diamond Body?

He promptly put away his half-eaten carrot and cucumber and moved his feet, appearing like a phantom in front of Old Liu, and slamming another Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse on his chest.

Thud!

A dull crack.

Old Liu's body flew into the air once again.

Even as he hovered, there was astonishment in his eyes… What speed was that? Just as he reacted and was about to move, he was struck again, his pupils reflecting the silhouettes of several golden dragons as his body rose into the air.

It was as if Jiang He's hands were dancing as he switched between Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse and Dragon Soars in the Sky at a blazing speed. In under three barrages, blood was splattering out of Old Liu's chest.

Only then did Jiang He stop and sneer. "You dare call yourself Diamond Body when that's all you can do?"

Bang!

Old Liu's body slammed heavily on the ground. His eyes glared one last time before all signs of life left his body.

Tong Nan cried out in surprise, "Old Liu!"

Jiang He moved so quickly that he had killed Old Liu before he realized.

Meanwhile, the earth-type Awakened was moving sand and dust to raise one earth rampart after another, pressing towards Jiang He from every direction. Laughing out loud, Jiang He smashed the hard-as-marble ramparts with one strike of Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse.

And as the earth-type Awakened looked on in astonishment, he slammed another palm at him, ending his life!

"Too weak! You Sky Demon cultists are too weak. Even Cheng Dongfeng with his suppressed cultivation is stronger than you!"

He had killed three people in quick succession without any signs of being poisoned, while his aura was becoming stronger instead.

That was why Tong Nan, who had already hidden himself in the shadows once more, couldn't help exclaiming, "No way! I spent so much money on that spider venom from the poison master! It should be effective even if used on a rank-seven grandmaster!"

His voice fluctuated, echoing closely from the left one moment, and faraway from the right on the next, making him hard to position.

"Kill! Kill him!" he shrieked, and the dozens of Feral wolves finally moved.

Each of those colossal Ferals lunged towards Jiang He. There were over fifty of them, and the weakest was at least rank-four, along with over a dozen rank-fives and a handful of rank-sixes. Even a rank-seven martial arts grandmaster would be left troubled!

Even so, Jiang He was not concerned at all. With a flip of his hand, three larger-sized pea bombs appeared in his palm. He threw them at his feet, before dropping to the ground and clutching his head at top speed!

If he could do that quick enough, the bombs would not touch him!

In that instant, Tong Nan, who had been spurring the wolf pack on from the darkness, was left utterly bamboozled.

What?

What was he doing?

What foolery was that supposed to be this time?!

So many Ferals are lunging at you, so what the heck are you doing dropping to the ground?

Even so, the thought only managed to cross his mind all-too-briefly.

In the next second—

Boom!

All three pea bombs detonated, and the scene seemed to freeze for an instant.

The closest Feral wolf had been just ten centimeters away from Jiang He and about to claw his brains out, but that paw was fated to never land.

The blinding, scorching fiery light burst out instantly, illuminating the dark night.

Boooom!!!!

The earth moved.

The wolves shrieked.

"What…"

Though hidden in the darkness, Tong Nan could not even manage to get the full curse out before feeling his lurking ability vanish.

As a matter of fact, it had not actually vanished. The shockwave from the blast had merely extended across every direction, and it knocked Tong Nan into the air like a ragdoll, just before fire and light consumed him…

Directly reducing him to ashes.

It was only after half-a-minute that Jiang He got to his feet. His first reaction was to check whether he had been hurt. He touched his handsome cheeks and his lower body… and realized that he was completely unscathed, aside from some dirt from when he was prone on the ground.

He then turned to look around.

What the hell!

He was taken aback as a burnt scent permeated the air around him. There were piles of wolf corpses laid out over the ground, and the handful of Feral wolves closest to the epicenter were utterly deformed. Moreover, the entire mountaintop seemed to have sunk by four meters.

"The Strengthened Pea Bomb is that powerful?" mumbled Jiang He. But soon, he stared cursing at himself, "Argh, I'm so stupid. Why did I use the pea bomb? It would have been troublesome to kill the wolf pack with my abilities, but it wouldn't have wasted too much of my strength… Now I've really done it, and there's no telling whether burnt Feral wolf flesh can be used to level up my farm."

Flipping over one of the Feral wolf corpses, he drew out his cleaver and cut off some charred flesh, before digging deeper to get a piece that looked relatively better. Even so, it was already cooked.

He hence took a bite. Hey, this taste isn't that bad!

On a mountain around forty kilometers away from Mount Dadong, the Tranquil Heavenly General was hiding along with a dozen Sky Demon Cult elites.

Their location was called Dalangding, where a single highway cut through a whole mountain. It was the only route to get from Linzhou City to Yuzhen.

Be that as it may…

After waiting for a long time, the Tranquil Heavenly General frowned and muttered, "Why hasn't Duan Tianhe arrived yet?"

But it was only natural that Duan Tianhe was not there. After receiving that call earlier, he had mused to himself for a moment before turning back. With the elites stationed there, there would be no problems in Yuzhen, wheras he could not afford to have anything happen to Jiang He.

Dashing all the way to the Changliushui scenic route, he kept dialing Jiang He's number, only to be redirected to voicemail.

'The number you have dialed could not be reached at the moment.'

A thought crept into Duan Tianhe's mind.

Perhaps…

Jiang He had blocked his number?

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Chapter 49: Why Are You So Sure?

Over at the mountain top.

Having eaten over two catties of wolf meat in a single meal, Jiang He patted his belly happily before becoming troubled again.

So many Feral wolf corpses…

How was he supposed to take them off the mountatin?

After all, even weakest specimens in the droves of wolf corpses here were rank-four. Even if they had been utterly blown to pieces, they were still worth a lot of money. Not to mention, there were still hundreds of rank-two and rank-three Feral wolves that were killed earlier at the foot of the mountain.

He glanced at his System Backpack.

It was full.

At the moment, his System Backpack only offered six boxes: one for qi pellets, one for cucumbers, one for normal pea bombs, one for strengthened pea bombs, one for his cleaver, and the last one was for carrots.

He had no place to put his corn, although there were just a handful left, so those were placed at a corner of his garden.

Drawing out his cleaver, Jiang He tried to shove the Feral wolf corpses into his System Backpack, and realized that he could put multiple corpses in a single box. Still, there was a limitation. After he put two rank-six Feral wolf corpses into the box, the backpack displayed a wolf's head icon, marked with a '6' on top and a '*2' beneath.

Later, he found that he could not put in any rank-five Feral wolf corpses, perhaps because corpses of different ranks were unable to be placed in the same box.

Looking around, Jiang He found a total of four rank-six Feral wolf corpses, and stuffed them all into his System Backpack.

"But isn't this backpack a little lame? Others would have storage that's like a warehouse of vast dimensions, and they'd be able to put in however many things they wanted…" he complained.

Still, the size of his System Backpack would increase with his farm's level, and expansion would continue when he became richer in harvest.

"I'll tell Mu Wanqiu about the other corpses… She'll have to come and pick them up if I sell them to the Superpower Research Department, right?"

Whipping out his phone, Jiang He was ready to dial Mu Wanqiu's number when his phone rang instead. It was an unfamiliar number, and the voice that spoke from the other end was almost bellowing at him.

"Where are you, Jiang He? Why weren't you answering my calls?"

Duan Tianhe?

Jiang He sneered.

I blocked you when you hung up on me mysteriously last time. And now you actually use another number to call me? That shameless, huh?

Crack!

He promptly hung up.

Changliushui Scenic Route.

"Damn it!" cursed Duan Tianhe, gritting his teeth. "That brat blocked me and now he hung up on me?!"

He'd suspected it before, but it was proven now. After he had dialed Jiang He's number eight times, only to be sent straight to voicemail each time, he'd finally managed to get through by borrowing Pudgy Jiang's phone.

Pudgy Jiang was not a martial artist from Linzhou City, but he was affiliated to the Special Case Bureau and rather well known in the Western Xia Province. Just like Duan Tianhe, Pudgy Jiang had also previously been put in charge of a special squad.

However, because Linzhou City's location was rather special, Pudgy Jiang's position was lower than Duan Tianhe's. Moreover, being vast, filled with resources and having many elites at their disposal, the recently established Martial Arts Department of Linzhou City had also become the 'head office' of the Western Xia province. The Martial Arts Department of Western Xia paled in comparison.

Of course, Pudgy Jiang had nothing against that.

After all, the uninhabited-for-miles Mount Dadong was only three hundred miles east of Linzhou City. There was no lack of King Ferals and inestimable ranks of powerful Ferals in that area, including the Graywolf King itself. Given that many Ferals stalked the mountains of the Changliushui scenic route as well, there was a lot more pressure on Duan Tianhe than on Pudgy Jiang.

As such, when Duan Tianhe called for his help, Pudgy Jiang did not say a word as he led a dozen elites, three sets of M61 Vulcans, two Barrett M82A1 anti-materiel sniper rifles, and several rocket launchers to Linzhou City.

But though he submitted to Duan Tianhe, Pudgy Jiang was still a motormouth, and couldn't help dissing him several times when they met.

However, just as he was about mock him, he switched gears when he saw the dark look on Duan Tianhe's face. "What's up, Old Duan? You've always been prudent, but you didn't tell Jiang He about such an important plan?"

Duan Tianhe's was a little speechless at that. Jiang He was not associated with the Martial Arts Department and was not part of this operation. There was no need to tell him, was there?

Most importantly, who the heck would run deep into the mountains in the middle of the night?Moreover, they should have been able to stop anyone else from running in there under normal circumstances.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "Pudgy Jiang, didn't you glorify yourself as the most agile fatso? You've also claimed that your physical arts are unmatched, that even Old Cheng only ever eats your dust despite his Eight Trigram Steps. So, why didn't you stop Jiang He?"

"You're blaming that on me too?" Pudgy Jiang shot back furiously. "We saw two Sky Demon cultists enter the mountain and did not go in recklessly because we were being careful. When we realized that it was him, he was already too far for us to catch up."

"And isn't he a rank-four? How could he run so fast? Oh, right!" Pudgy Jiang's tone changed and became solemn then, "There was a boom from the mountains before you arrived that sounded like a bomb detonating, but it somehow didn't sound exactly like one either… It came from about forty miles away from here. Could Jiang He have run into Sky Demon cultists?"

The look on Duan Tianhe's face changed once again.

Remembering the dozens of Ferals that were blasted to hell by Jiang He back at Jinyintan Village, he promptly took Pudgy Jiang's phone to dial Jiang He's number again.

And then…

"Sorry, the number you have dialed could not be reached at the moment."

Bang!

Duan Tianhe promptly smashed the phone into the ground.

Pudgy Jiang gaped at him, muttering, "That's my phone…"

"You don't have to be so worried. Since your previous call went through, the kid is clearly fine. With his physical arts, other than a grandmaster, no average person could keep up," he added.

Duan Tianhe was relieved at that, and asked one of Pudgy Jiang's subordinates for a phone to call Jiang He again. It rang for half a minute before it finally connected.

Over on the other end, Jiang He said lazily, "It's so late, Chief Duan. What's up? You're still so persistent even after I've blocked you?"

Duan Tianhe had been very worried for Jiang He, but now suddenly felt an impulse to punch him at those words.

It was fine if he had blocked him. Did he have to say it out loud?

Don't you feel embarrassed at all?

After taking a deep breath, Duan Tianhe growled, "Jiang He, are you in the mountains right now? Get out immediately! I have news that the Sky Demon Cult has gathered a flock of Ferals and are ready to launch a night raid on Linzhou City!"

Gasp!

Over at the peak, Jiang He inhaled sharply.

A night raid on Linzhou City?

No wonder the Sky Demon cultists kept mentioning that 'plan' of theirs.

They had brought along over a hundred Ferals, most of which ranged between rank-four to rank-six. Add that to the number of imbeciles who kept shouting 'for the holy faith', there was no telling how many would have died.

"Those mindless animals!" Jiang He couldn't help cursing through his teeth. "There were over a hundred Ferals, and over fifty of them were rank-four or five. Who knows how many would have been killed if they reached Linzhou City!"

"As long as you get the idea," replied Duan Tianhe. "Hurry back, or I won't fancy your chances if you run into the Sky Demon Cult… Hold on, why are you so certain?"

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Chapter 50: Simply Throwing A Few Bombs

Duan Tianhe was stunned. Could Jiang He have ran into the Sky Demon cultists?

According to Pudgy Jiang's information, there had been a detonation in the mountains… But if Jiang He had really been caught up in it, how could he still fool around with Duan Tianhe right now?

Oh, right!

He was very quick, and might have made it out!

With that thought, Duan Tianhe quickly asked, "Jiang He, did you run into the Sky Demon Cult?"

"Yep," Jiang He replied truthfully without denying it. "It was a long night and I couldn't sleep, so while I was looking for fertilizer for my farm, I ran into two Sky Demon cultists… and then they brought in more cultists and a wolf pack."

Duan Tianhe breathed a long sigh of relief and laughed. "It's more or less what I thought, but it's good as long as you're fine. Ignore the cultists and the wolf pack—they could never hurt you with the physical arts you have. Moreover, I've laid out an inescapable trap. If the try to attack Linzhou City, they'll be walking to their own deaths!"

Even over at the other end, Jiang He could feel the great confidence Duan Tianhe possessed.

Nevertheless…

Jiang He mused to himself for a while before saying, "You've got it wrong, Chief Duan. The Sky Demon cultists and the wolf pack are never going to attack Linzhou City now."

"True! The Sky Demon Cult is extremely careful. They wouldn't recklessly attack now that you've exposed their plans, but that's fine. I'll call up every elite once the sun rises and enter the mountains to wipe them all out."

"About that… There's no need for it now, I think?"

While they were talking, Jiang He had run a lap around the mountaintop. Every wolf up there was dead, along with the Sky Demon cultists he had killed with his bare hands.

Still, there were a dozen lucky wolves at the foot of the mountain that had survived the dozens of bombs Jiang He threw down there, killing most of their pack. They were merely heavily injured, and had fled with their mangled bodies.

As for the Sky Demon cultists who were with them…

With his night vision, Jiang He could vaguely make out their equally torn up bodies lying amongst the bushes.

"Chief Duan, I've killed most of the Sky Demon cultists, although a dozen out of the hundred-over wolves managed to flee. Why not bring your people in to wipe them out? You can help me transport the Feral wolf corpses as well."

"Eh?"

"Chief Duan?"

"Are you listening, Chief Duan?"

"Chief Duan???"

Jiang He shouted a few times, but since he did not get any response at all, he hung up while cursing. What the heck was Duan Tianhe doing, disappearing halfway through a conversation?

Pocketing his phone, Jiang He rubbed his temples, scowling. "I managed to get four rank-six Feral corpses, and two are only three-quarters cooked since they were further away from the blast. So, I can check off the two portions of rank-six Feral flesh and the ten liters of rank-six Feral blood… but where am I gonna find rank-seven Feral flesh?"

Back at the Changliushui scenic route.

Duan Tianhe was standing motionlessly as if thunderstruck.

He did not know that the mobile phone he was holding had slipped through his fingers, and nearby, Pudgy Jiang had heard every word of his conversation because of how close he was. His rounded face appeared as if he had seen a ghost.

What the hell! What the hell! What the hell!

"Am I hearing that right, Old Duan? Jiang He managed to wipe out the wolf pack and the Sky Demon cultists?"

Duan Tianhe's eyes were leveled straight at Pudgy Jiang as he muttered, "The mountain…" In the next second, he recovered and bellowed, "We're going in! We'll know whether it's true when we get to the mountain!"

The group of elites picked up their Barrett sniper rifles, Vulcan miniguns, rocket launchers, and other weapons to stride imposingly up the mountains.

They were either martial artists or superhumans whose physicality surpassed most. One of them, a burly Awakened with superstrength, was holding a Vulcan in his left hand whilst carrying a Barrett rifle over his right shoulder as he sprinted away, moving quicker than Bolt along the mountain path.

Be that as it may, it still took over twenty minutes for them to cover the over thirty miles of distance.

"That way!"

In the night, someone exclaimed and gasped—

"Woah! That mountain is half a notch lower… all the wind turbines on top of it have been blown away!"

The one shouting was one of Pudgy Jiang's subordinates, who had awakened the superpower of 'all-seeing eye'. Of course, that might be an exaggeration, but his vision was at least ten times that of the average person. Not even a rank-seven grandmaster like Duan Tianhe could match him in that respect.

On the other hand, Jiang He also caught sight of Duan Tianhe and the others. However, he could only make out their silhouettes since he had not eaten enough carrots yet, and only managed to identify them when they came closer.

Whoosh!

At the moment, Duan Tianhe was bounding up the mountains at stunning speeds, which prompted Jiang He's eyes to tighten as he muttered, "Is that the power of a martial arts grandmaster? His speed… it's not that different from my Blind Princess' Eight Practices at full power!"

The mountains in Xibei were not especially tall, especially the chains of hills around here that were only several hundred meters tall. Since they were not too sloping either, Duan Tianhe soon darted atop.

He landed on the edge of the mountain, and then…

Was left dumbfounded.

Pudgy Jiang came up behind him as well, and soon, the rest of the reinforcements from Western Xia's Martial Arts Department all arrived at the mountaintop.

When Pudgy Jiang saw the wolf corpses all around and the flattened mountaintop, his eyes widened as he exclaimed, "What the hell… what bomb was this?"

Being well-versed in munitions and explosives, he could not help running around in circles close to the ground, even though he could not make out what bomb could have been so devastating.

Checking the wolf corpses after that, he frowned. "It looks like some kind of aerosol bomb did this. These wolves have been struck by a tremendous shockwave and scorching heat in a split second, which is why most of them are charred. The problem here is that aerosol bombs last a long time, and it has been less than an hour from the moment I heard the explosion…"

Being a fuel-air explosive, aerosol bombs would release terrific heat after a spontaneous explosion that incinerated everything. The fires could not be extinguished even if a person was caught with a tinder, and on top of this mountain, the resulting fire should have lasted hours.

And yet, there were no signs of burning here at ground zero.

Pudgy Jiang ran a lap around the mountaintop again, before finally turning his eyes to Jiang He. "You're Jiang He, right? Were you the one who detonated the bomb?" he asked in confusion.

"You know me?" Jiang He smiled, studying Pudgy Jiang in return. "You are quite agile and accomplished at physical arts for a rotund person. And yes, I detonated the bomb that killed all these Feral wolves."

Pudgy Jiang was utterly bewildered at that, and pressed, "How did you draw the wolf pack up here and blow them up? You would have needed a boosted launcher for a bomb of such power."

"A boosted launcher? What's that supposed to be?" asked Jiang He, shaking his head.

He knew nothing about explosives, only the general stuff such as hand grenades, landmines and hydrogen bombs.

"I didn't lure the wolf pack," he explained. "I was standing right here when the wolves surrounded me. I thought that it would be a hassle to kill them one by one, which wastes time and strength… So I simply threw a few bombs at my feet. Then, boom! Everything was blown to smithereens."

As Pudgy Jiang glanced at the spot where Jiang He pointed, his small eyes narrowed. He could not hold back from exclaiming, "That's impossible! From what I can tell by the aftermath and devastation, this would have been the center of the detonation, and even rank-seven grandmasters wouldn't have survived a blast of such magnitude!"

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Chapter 51: I Work Very Hard In Cultivation!

Everyone was looking at Jiang He, leaving him at a loss for words.

"Why the stares?" he asked. "Are bombs I throw supposed to blow me up too?"

The absolute defense of dropping to the ground while clutching his head should never be mentioned, as no one would believe him and just take him for an idiot… After all, who would believe you if you show them a pea and call that a bomb?

Indeed, Jiang He was not bothered to craft lies—he just had to refrain from explaining things, and allow the others to imagine what they want.

As a matter of fact, Pudgy Jiang's eyes was glinting in curiosity, but he did not press the matter. After all, with the Revival of Qi that created superhumans with no end of unique powers, who would not have a few secrets?

Someone cried out, "Chief Jiang, Chief Duan, we've found droves of Feral wolf corpses over here!"

It was the superhuman with the all-seeing eye. His voice was so loud that he seemed to be shouting during conversations. It was a side-effect of his superpower—the better his sight was, the worse his hearing became. That was why he would speak loudly to others, and others would have to speak loudly in return for him to hear them.

Pudgy Jiang went down the mountain to take a look. Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe walked around the mountaintop to find three human corpses.

There was nothing left of the physically weak Tong Nan who had been too close to the explosion. But even though Zhang Shan, Li Si, and the earth-type Awakened had died earlier, they were still reduced to ashes in the blast.

Nothing could be identified from the three charred corpses.

Still, Jiang He walked up, identified them by the outlines of their remains, and pointed at one of them. "That old man had a smoking pipe for a weapon. He was an Awakened with B-class superstrength, and his chest was shining with golden flashes. He claimed to have Diamond Body but that is just nonsense. Look at the chest wound, it blew up after I hit him a few times."

"Awakened with B-class superstrength? Golden light on his chest… and a smoking pipe for a weapon?" Duan Tianhe eye's tightened as he said quietly, "That's Liu Laosan. We have some information about him. He is powerful, being no weaker than rank-six advanced martial artists."

"Is he that strong?" exclaimed Jiang He in surprise. "But I thought that he was quite weak and couldn't take a beating. He was much weaker than Master Cheng who held back his cultivation… There was an earth-type Awakened with him, as well as a rank-five pinnacle martial artist. They were all so weak."

Even as he spoke, Jiang he came to a realization and muttered, "Looks to me it's not because they're weak, but Master Cheng was too strong…"

Hiss!

Jiang He gasped as he rubbed his palms together. "If Master Cheng is that powerful when he holds back his cultivation at rank-five novice, how powerful would he be at full power? What a coincidence—I have improved a lot over the last few days, so I'll spar with him for real when I get back."

Duan Tianhe's face went red from holding back his laughter.

"You're getting ahead of yourself, young man!" exclaimed Pudgy Jiang, having came back up the mountain after checking the situation at the foot.

He could not help retorting against what Jiang He said when he heard him just then, "Though the fact that you wiped out the wolf pack by yourself with bombs does earn my respect, you are still a little short of challenging Master Cheng!"

Clasping his hands behind his back, he strode up to Jiang He, keeping his eyes fixed on him as he flatly said, "It is better for you to face facts, young man, and always remember not to exceed your own reach. A rank-four like you, challenge Old Cheng?"

Those words should have been imposing, but it was funny for Pudgy Jiang to say them, because he was just so fat. With his hands behind him, he looked just like a round ball. Still, Jiang He did not underestimate him.

Instead, he held him in high regard, because he had seen how fast Pudgy Jiang was! He was so quick that he was just two or three notches slower than Jiang He!

Still, high regard notwithstanding, being a young man himself, Jiang He couldn't help frowning when he heard Pudgy Jiang's tone of seniority. "Who are you?" he asked. "You know who I am?"

Jiang He had already asked Pudgy Jiang for his name previously.

But before Pudgy Jiang could peak, Duan Tianhe quickly smiled and said, "Jiang He, this is Chief Jiang of the Martial Arts Department in this province."

Even as he spoke, he discreetly communicated with Jiang He, 'Don't pay him too much mind. Pudgy Jiang always runs his mouth.'

Pudgy Jiang frowned. Why did it feel like Duan Tianhe was treating the kid not as a junior, but as an equal?

Meanwhile, Jiang He chuckled and wrapped a palm over a fist. "So, you are Chief Jiang… forgive my manners. That said, though you might be unaware, but I'm already rank-five advanced."

But since Duan Tianhe had spoken with Secret Acoustics, Jiang He could not afford a direct outburst.

"Hmmm?" Pudgy Jiang studied Jiang He for a few more seconds before turning around to Duan Tianhe, barking, "Old Duan, did you feed me fake information before? Didn't the data say that he is rank-four novice?"

However, Duan Tianhe's eyes were widened as he stared at Jiang He too. He had already been stunned by Jiang He's accomplishments and had not noticed his rank.

After taking a look at Jiang He, he exclaimed in shock, "Rank-five advanced? Really?"

"Yep. Rank-five advanced!" said Jiang He, nodding.

Duan Tianhe was utterly mystified.

What the heck?

Could you stick to normal cultivation, please? You were just rank-four a few days ago, then became rank-five in the blink of an eye and made Cheng Dongfeng puke blood with a few palms. And now, after just a few days, you're telling me that you are already rank-five advanced?

He stared at Jiang He for a long time and could not help mumbling, "I really want to dissect you for research, Jiang He… How do you even go about your cultivation? Even rockets aren't that fast."

Jiang He scratched the back of his head as he thought carefully about it. "Maybe I work harder in my cultivation. Aside from sleeping and going to the toilet, I cultivate twenty-four seven. In fact, I'm doing my cultivation even when I'm eating, watching web dramas, and swiping through video clips."

Yes!

His cultivation was too hard!

Recently, he had been eating cucumbers, qi pellets, and carrots for all his three daily meals, and felt like he could vomit. Aside from having a bowl of spicy soup, the only other thing he had eaten was the two catties worth of wolf meat just now…

What, that's not cultivation?

"To me, that is cultivation!" Jiang He whispered to himself. "I gave up on the joys of cultivation to improve my ability, forcing myself eat to a pile of things that are tasty but I've gotten sick of. It should count as cultivation… right?"

Beside him, Duan He had a 'who-do-you-think-you-are-kidding?' look on his face.

What is all this nonsense?

He almost believed it… but the cultivation of martial artists is not something to be done half-heartedly. When you circulate your True Qi, being disturbed or surprised would easily steer you down the wrong path.

And yet you would tell me that you did that while watching web dramas and swiping through video clips? Still, Duan Tianhe could not be bothered to get entangled with that problem.

"These mountains are dangerous. You'll reach the Ningdong Mines if you go any further east, not to mention that a Leopard Python was spotted there. You've done well this time, but don't try anything like this again. I've already notified Mu Wanqiu. She'll send someone over," he growled.

Jiang He, however, did not hear the rest of what Duan Tianhe had to say.

His eyes were twinkling in delight. "Chief Duan, did you just say that there's a rank-seven Feral in these mountains?"

"What are you thinking of?" Duan Tianhe started to get nervous. "Jiang He, rank-seven Ferals and rank-seven grandmasters are equal in power. You better not get any funny ideas about the snake before you become a grandmaster!" he said solemly.

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Chapter 52: Leopard Python, Rank-Seven Feral

'Are rank-seven Ferals that powerful?' wondered Jiang He.

He thoughtfully looked at Duan Tianhe from head to toe. If rank-seven grandmasters were an equal match against rank-seven Ferals, wouldn't he know the gap in power if he sparred against Duan Tianhe?

At the same time, Duan Tianhe scowled. What was the kid planning?

With a long face, he went down to the foot of the mountain before whipping out his phone to ask about the situation at Yuzhen. They talked for ten whole minutes before he hung up and called his higher-ups to make a report.

By the time he hung up, Jiang He was already nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Jiang He?" asked Duan Tianhe with a sinking feeling.

"You looking for him? He went over there," Pudgy Jiang's subordinate—the one with the all-seeing eye—answered loudly.

He was pointing far east, where the Ningdong Mines were just dozens of miles away.

And the Leopard Python lived at the edge of that area.

"Damn it…" Duan Tianhe slapped himself and exclaimed in regret, "Why the heck did I tell him that stuff?"

Confused, the all-seeing-eye subordinate asked, "Why are you hitting yourself, Chief Duan?"

As usual, his voice was as loud as a shout, and everyone promptly turned towards them.

Speechless for a moment, Duan Tianhe then asked, "When did he leave?"

"I haven't eaten anything."

"I'm asking you when did he leave!" repeated Duan Tianhe, raising his voice by several decibels.

Only then did the all-seeing-eye subordinate reply, "Oh, oh… probably ten, twenty minutes."

Ignoring everything else, Duan Tianhe turned and dashed into the distance. However, before he could reach the peak of the next mountain, he made a sharp turn southeast.

A sinister presence was rapidly closing in from that direction.

It was the Tranquil Heavenly General, turning back because his ambush on Duan Tianhe had failed.

…

"Leopard Python… Leopard Python… Where is it?"

Jian He was dashing all the way, pushing his Blind Princess' Eight Practices to the limit and soon arriving around the Ningdong Mines area. Standing atop a mountain and looking ahead, he found the outline of several buildings over ten miles away.

There had been over a dozen coal mines and chemical factories at the Ningdong Mines that were now abandoned and unoccupied. Jiang He looked around and spotted something that made his eyes sparkle.

Dashing for a while more, he soon reached a narrow gulley. It was shallow and winding.

Jiang He could not help getting excited after taking a closer look. "No, this isn't a gulley. It's a sign that the python has been moving through here frequently!"

The mountaintops at loess highlands had no rocks, and had a layer of thick, loose soil instead. It would not be too ridiculous for a giant snake to leave a gulley in its wake after slithering over it.

Jiang He moved along the winding gulley, and stopped after five kilometers.

The gulley was gone.

His ears pricked up, and he caught the rustling sound of the winds in the night. Looking up ahead, he found a weird landscape: several small hills were joined together in a small valley. The rustling sound was coming from there.

At first, the sound was erratic, but soon became louder. Soon, massive pythons could be seen moving around the valley, their scarlet tongues poking in and out as they surrounded Jiang He.

Each of them was around four meters long, with the longer ones being over ten meters long, and their skulls the size of tricycles. In fact, the front half of a few of them could measure up to a two-floor building.

"That many snakes?"

Jiang He promptly pulled back, golden light flashing in his hand as he cut a python lunging at him in two. Even so, more pythons lunged towards him in the next split second. Using his Blind Princess' Eight Practices to dance between their ranks, he sliced through a snake each time he slashed out with his golden cleaver.

"What a pity! I don't know any swordplay, which really limits my progress in killing snakes. This cleaver is really awesome though. But that said, it's too small… I would kill more if I had a long, broad blade."

Jiang He hence made up his mind to get an imposing combat blade and plant it when he went home. He would also learn some impressive swordplay. It would be best if it was something that could cut things dozens of meters away, as well as unleash fire and thunder. It sounded so awesome just thinking about it!

Meanwhile, after killing more than twenty pythons, a loud crash echoed, soon followed by a draconic roar that resounded over the mountains.

Rustle…

The pythons that were attacking Jian He all retreated and lowered their heads in the direction of the valley as if worshipping it.

At the same time, a small hill was rising from the mountain.

Jiang He charged his Nine Yang technique. A bright sun rose up behind him and illuminated his surroundings. He could not stop himself from gasping when he looked out with his night vision and the light.

"Wow! That is a big snake!"

The slowly rising 'hill' was not a hill at all, but the head of python. Its skull was larger than a car, and was over twenty-meters long when it reared up the front half of its body, not to mention that its very presence left Jiang He palpating.

"Rank-seven Ferals really are different from your average Ferals… It's too unrealistic for me to kill it, but I don't have to since all I need is fifty kilograms of its flesh."

Roar!

That was when the giant python opened its maw, releasing a pungent breath that left Jiang He's clothes flapping.

Jiang He almost puked! That one big breath was no different from a biohazard weapon. Soon, his face dropped as well.

"Oh no, the breath is poisonous… Wait, I'm alright?"

Even as the thought of being poisoned came to mind, Jiang He soon felt nothing, as his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique was too strong in curbing poisons. But to avoid any surprises, Jiang he took out the half-eaten carrot and cucumber from before.

Crunch, crunch.

He took a few bites, but the python surprisingly did not attack. It seemed that the rank-seven Feral was smarter than the average adult, and could sense danger from Jiang He. It bellowed a few times, flicking its tongue while its fangs glimmered under the faint light until…

A voice echoed beside Jiang He's ears, "You have some guts, human. You dare kill my children?"

Jiang He forgot about his cucumber.

What was going on?

A rank-seven Feral was capable of Secret Acoustics just like a rank-seven martial artist?

No, Ferals were different from humans because they could not cultivate True Qi… but how was this one able to do this?

'I'll have to study more information about Ferals when I get back. I can't just loaf around as a martial arts newbie… I need to improve myself…'

With that thought, Jiang He saluted the Leopard Python and said, "Bro snake, it is my fault for intruding carelessly… but may I ask for around three hundred catties of your flesh? You're so huge, so that amount would be peanuts to you."

Even as he spoke, he studied the Leopard Python and finally understood how it got its name—the markings over its scales were identical to a leopard's spots.

"You seek death!"

Roar!

Thoroughly enraged, the python bellowed, kicking up a wild gust that extended miles away, just as a dark shadow descended from the skies with a rumble. Muttering "oh, no!" to himself, Jiang He moved to evade, and soon saw that the snake's colossal tail had smashed a huge crater into the ground where he stood just a moment ago.

Scowling, he clenched his teeth and yelled, "You're being so unreasonable, snake! I've only killed a dozen of your kids, and I was just asking for just a few hundred catties of snake soup… I mean flesh, and you're already trying to kill me? Damn it!"

Before he could finish, the serpent's tail came whipping towards him again. It would blow up a small hill, let alone Jiang He's physical body if it were to hit him. Even so, he did not dodge.

With a mere thought…

Oom!

The luminous blade in his mind moved.

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Chapter 53: In The Presence Of Giants

Oom!

The hum of a sword echoed, and the skies brightened in the next second.

The luminous blade shot out of Jiang He's brow, cutting through the wind with the presence of a dragon, shining and leaving the night sky in whiteness!

Splatter.

Fresh blood splashed out.

The snake's tail was sliced through by the luminous blade.

Roar!

The Leopard Python bellowed shrilly with some degree of terror, dragging its serpentine body as it retreated into the valley.

Meanwhile, Jiang He's body wobbled, his face a little pale and his head a little dazed—a sign of exhaustion in his spirit. A terrible ache extended through his head, and the luminous blade rapidly turned pale, shrunk, and returned inside.

"Damn it! My superpower may be awesome, but doesn't it take a huge toll, too? I would probably have fainted directly from using too much of my spirit with that level of burst, and it could have killed me if it happened three times."

Jiang He was a little frightened after the fact. It was too obvious that he would become weak after using his power, just as he did not fancy his chances if the snake had not run away and turned around to attack him instead.

Taking a look at the valley, Jiang He chose not to pursue it. He ate his half-eaten cucumber to revitalize his spirit, and after most of his dizziness had eased, he picked up the snake tail that had been sliced off and headed back.

"Cucumbers do replenish and improve spirit, but its effect on me as I am now… Let's see if I can get the seeds of something that helps with that after my farm levels up!"

"And it seems that cultivation improves with spirit…"

"I'll keep my power as a trump card until my spirit is strong enough to support its extensive usage. That said, it wouldn't be difficult for me to cut down a rank-seven grandmaster if there are no surprises."

Feeling better after having a cucumber, Jiang Fei felt out the weight of the snake tail over his shoulder.

"This half-notch of snake tail is up to four meters long and weighs around a thousand catties. Since the farm only needs fifty kilograms to level up, the rest can be used to make a tasty snake soup!"

For Jiang He, carrying that thousand-catties object was no different from carrying something that only weighed a few dozen catties. Still, it was bleeding away, not to mention it was thick and long, making it not easy to carry.

He glanced at his System Backpack and saw that there were less than twenty qi pellets left, as he had eated most of them over the last few days. And so, he took every remaining pellet out and stuffed the snake tail inside the backpack instead. Hurrying back while eating more qi pellets, he had finished them all by the time he got back.

"I'll call up Mu Wanqiu to see if she has some higher-grade qi pellets… eh?"

After arriving at the previous mountaintop, Jiang He looked around and asked in surprise, "I was just away for a moment, and you all ended up like this?"

Duan Tianhe was sitting cross-legged, his aura weakened as a coldness swirled around him. Nearby, Pudgy Jiang had his face beaten swollen. All of his lackeys were also sitting around, more or less wounded.

That was when someone laughed out loud. "Delightful, that felt so delightful! We may have fought the dogs of the Sky Demon Cult many times, but it never felt this good!"

From a corner, the rather mild-mannered man with the all-seeing eye shouted in response, "What a shame we could not hold down the Tranquil Heavenly General. If we could kill even one of their seventy-two fiendish Heavenly Generals, it would be a major blow to the Sky Demon Cult!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" barked Pudgy Jiang. "The Tranquil Heavenly General was so powerful and had a special True Qi. If I didn't help, Old Duan might not have defeated him… Eh? Where have you been, Jiang He?"

He looked upset to see Jiang He. "If you had been here, we would have been able to hold down the Tranquil Heavenly General."

"The Tranquil Heavenly General?" Jiang He frowned. "What's going on?"

That was when Duan Tianhe opened his eyes. He breathed out extensively, spitting out chilly air as if he were a waterfall. When that breath reached a nearby charred wolf corpse, it immediately froze up into an ice cube.

"Are you alright, Old Duan?" Pudgy Jiang ran to him, appearing worried although his words were mocking, "You don't cut it as a grandmaster, Old Duan. How could you not withstand the Tranquil Heavenly General's True Qi of Frost when I can?"

"If I didn't directly take that blow for you, do you think you'll still be able to talk to me now?" retorted Duan Tianhe with a scowl.

Jiang He understood then.

After he had left, the Tranquil Heavenly General must have returned with his lackeys after his plan to ambush and kill Duan Tianhe failed. A fierce battle would certainly have ensued when the two groups ran into each other, with the dozen or so Sky Demon cultists who were accompanying the Tranquil Heavenly General being killed, and the Tranquil Heavenly General himself escaping, albeit terribly wounded.

"What a pity!" cursed Jiang He in slight regret. "I wouldn't have run off if I knew that was going to happen. Still, I could maybe pick up your sloppy seconds and cut down that Tranquil Heavenly General."

Duan Tianhe smiled despite his irritation, but since Jiang He had returned unscathed, he probably had not encountered the Leopard Python.

He then felt that he should teach the kid about grandmasters. With him always talking about killing every now and then, what if he got killed by overestimating his power and running off to bother a rank-seven Feral?

After a brief musing, Duan Tianhe spoke, "Jiang He, martial arts grandmasters are not easy opponents. In martial arts cultivation, rank one to three develops the body, while four to six develops qi. What about rank seven then?"

"Even if it looks like rank-six is a step away from rank-seven, it is actually as different as heaven and earth. Rank-seven martial artists understand the world, comprehending the power which you feel but cannot explain. Every move of theirs is capable of moving the world itself, and their True Qi is infinitely abundant and not something rank-sixes can match."

Glancing at Pudgy Jiang, Duan Tianhe added, "Let's put it this way. Chief Jiang here is a rank-six intermediate and is considered a top elite, albeit just a little behind Cheng Dongfeng. However, not even ten Chief Jiangs could match one rank-seven grandmaster."

"What are you be talking about, Old Duan? Who are you belittling here?" barked an unhappy Pudgy Jiang.

Duan Tianhe simply ignored him.

Jiang He appeared thoughtful for a moment, before he said, "I get what you're saying, Chief Duan… but I don't think rank-sevens are as powerful as you say. Aren't you exaggerating a little?"

"Exaggerating?" Pudgy Jiang laughed coolly before Duan Tianhe could speak. "Kid, Old Duan's description may make me uncomfortable, but that is reality. Rank-six individuals are no match for even the weakest rank-seven grandmasters, so even if Cheng Dongfeng himself is considered the best rank-six individual of Xibei, he would not survive three hits from a rank-seven individual."

Jiang He frowned. He knew that Pudgy Jiang had quite a mouth and did not want to entertain him, but why were that old man's words always so annoying?

"What? Upset?" Pudgy Jiang shook his head when he saw Jiang He's frown. "You're just a rank-five advanced. Don't keep thinking about challenging rank-sevens."

"You're too weak. Against someone like you, I just need a single punch," said Jiang He.

Duan Tianhe immediately knew that things had gone wrong and was about to communicate to Jiang He with his Secret Acoustics, only to find Jiang He waving him off. At the same time, Jiang He's eyes were fixed on Pudgy Jiang, and his smile looked as if…

He stood amongst titans!

Chapter 54: Farm Level Up Again!

Boom!

The rank-five advanced cultivation was instantly released out of Jiang He's body. His abundant True Qi rumbled like a gushing river, a booming sound resounding as the illusion of a great sun rose behind him, illuminating Pudgy Jiang's bruised and bewildered face.

Roar!

A draconic bellow ensued, and the silhouette of a golden dragon blasted out of Jiang He's palm towards Pudgy Jiang.

"Woah!"

Pudgy Jiang only realized what happened just then, and promptly directed his True Qi's flow over his rounded figure, making it glow faintly and rapidly expand as if it were filled with gas.

And then…

Bang!

Poof~~

Jiang He's Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse slammed onto Pudgy Jiang's body, throwing him into the air upside down, shriveling just like a balloon losing gas. When he landed, the 200-catties worth of chubbiness was now a dried, skinny, middle-aged man, and his facial features even looked delicate and pretty now.

Grunting as he got up and vomiting a mouthful of blood, he glared widely at Jiang He and muttered, "Aren't… aren't you rank-five advanced? There's no way you're that powerful!"

Jiang He was confused too.

Wow!

What was going on?

Why did Chief Jiang feel weaker than Cheng Dongfeng, who repressed his cultivation?

"Did you hold back your cultivation too, Chief Jiang? By the way, why did you become like that?" asked Jiang He, glancing at his own palm in surprise.

Could the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms come with body-slimming and beautifying effects?

Pudgy Jiang's face turned green.

Duan Tianhe quickly came to calm things down. "Alright, it's just a spar, there's no need to go further… Jiang He, you really are much stronger than before."

Even as he spoke, he used Secret Acoustics to communicate with Pudgy Jiang, 'The kid is too abnormal. Don't use common sense to measure him.'

Then, he told Pudgy Jiang about what actually happened when Jiang He challenged Cheng Dongfeng. Pudgy Jiang's eyes lit up, while his mental state was utterly thrown off balance.

He hence walked up to Jiang He and threw an arm over his shoulder, chuckling. "Jiang He, so you've beat up that dog Cheng Dongfeng before? Come, do tell me about it…"

Jiang He was taken aback.

What?

Isn't your attitude changing a little too quickly?

And I've just beat you until you vomitted blood… or could you be thankful because my palm beautified you?

Unable to decide if he should laugh or cry, Duan Tianhe used Secret Acoustics again to say, 'Jiang He, that's what Pudgy Jiang is like. His mouth is like a knife, while his heart is tofu. He is just a little foul-mouthed…'

Soon, Linzhou City's Martial Arts Department (MAD) and Mu Wanqiu's people arrived.

The MAD awarded Jiang He 3,000 merit points for the Ferals and Sky Demon cultists he killed, which was equal to three hundred million dollars. And that was only because Jiang He had put aside four rank-six Feral wolf corpses, leaving them unaccounted for.

Each of them would have been 500 merit points, but Jiang He had no intentions to give them away. It was just a total of 2,000 merit points, and would he not expose the ability of his System Backpack if he took them out directly?

On the other hand, the Superpower Research Deparment's offered prices were low, and only afforded him two hundred million dollars for the corpses. After all, most of those corpses were mangled and burnt, and a lot of them were a pile of black ashes that served no research value.

Mu Wanqiu came to him after the trade concluded. "Jiang He, can I talk to you for a moment?"

They waked to the far side of the mountaintop, where Mu Wanqiu lowered her voice until it was like a mosquito's as she stuttered, "Jiang He… do you have any solutions to weaken the effect of your corns?"

She then looked around, before pulling Jiang He to the foot of the mountain to avoid everyone else, before unzipping her leather jacket. Jiang He's eyes sparkled as he looked at her carefully.

Woah!

How did they become so huge?

After a gasp, he then put on a serious look. "What are you doing, Miss Mu? Prudence should be observed between genders. Please put your clothes on."

Mu Wanqiu clenched her teeth.

Could you turn away when you say that?

Still, she let that slide and showed a pained smile. "Jiang He, I was a little greedy and drank the juice from two corns… and now I'm too huge. I'm a H-cup, and putting aside the fact that it's hard to walk around, dressing up is also difficult now."

'So H is that huge…'

Jiang He felt that he had gained knowledge in a certain respect and discreetly nodded in acclaim, before saying, "Miss Mu, I did tell you before that you shouldn't eat too many. Moreover, I did offer to check your size so as to draw up plan for a second puberty, but you declined. And now you come to me when there are problems?"

"Sorry!"

"I don't provide aftersales services."

Mu Wanqiu stamped her feet but said, "I'm not blaming you, Jiang He! I just want to ask if you have any ideas for me to… slim down."

Jiang He shook his head. "No. I told you before, I found the corns in the wild. They must have gained those special effects because they absorbed the Force for a special evolution, and I have no idea how to get you to slim down."

But even as he spoke, Jiang He's eyes twitched. Earlier, his palm had slimmed Pudgy Jiang, and beautified him too… Would the same effect be achieved if he used his palm on Mu Wanqiu's sinful mounds?

After some thought, he decided not to do it. They were just so huge. What if they blew up?

Nonetheless, Jiang He consoled Mu Wanqiu when he saw her scowl, "Miss Mu, you don't have to shrink them. I think they are fine as they are now, large but not sagging…"

Jiang He only returned to Jinyintan Village after keeping busy until sunrise.

Since his mansion had been worked on over the last twenty-four hours by workers working over three different shifts, progress was quick and one floor was already finished. Jiang He himself knew nothing about building houses at all, and he was not bothered to care since Wang Sizhen was keeping an eye on things.

So, he sought him out and said, "Big Onion Bro, let the workers rest for a day. I'll pay them as usual."

"What's up?" asked Wang Sizhen in surprise. "Didn't you say to work on it as fast as we could?"

"I have some stuff to do," replied Jiang He, deliberately being vague.

Nonetheless, the workers were quite pleased since they were getting paid even without working.

It was only after all the workers left that Jiang He went into his yard. With a flick of his hand, two rank-six Feral wolf corpses that were not so burnt appeared on the ground.

He took out his cleaver and chopped off 100kg worth of flesh off each of the corpses, and drained 10L of blood, burying them before taking out the piece of Leopard Python's tail. He simply chopped a little over 50kg off and buried it as well.

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! You have successfully improved your farm to level 3.]

[Additional rewards: Walnut seed x1, Bottle gourd seed x1, System Backpack 6]

The System's notifications jingled in his mind.

"Walnut seed? Bottle gourd seed?"

Staring at the bottle gourd seed that was fully golden, as thick as a thumb, and up to 6cm long, Jiang He became thoughtful.

Bottle gourd seed?

What the heck?

"Is this damn system trying to make me a geezer?"

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Chapter 55: The Bottle Gourd Brothers!

The sun was rising from the east. In his yard, Jiang He was holding a shovel, kicking away Dumbo who came to offer his services and humming a tune as he started digging.

"Dig a hole and bury it, counting one-two-three-four-five… My soil, my land, everything planted here is awesome!"

After making a small hole, Jiang He threw in the walnut seed that was the size of an adult's fist. Then, when he turned on his System Shop to redeem a nitrogen fertilizer, his eyes shifted when he noticed that there were more items available now.

[Phosphoric fertilizer: 100 farm points for one pellet.]

[Potassium fertilizer: 100 farm points for one pellet.]

[Composite fertilizer: 300 farm points for one pellet.]

[Mysterious Soil: 5,000 farm points for one bag.]

"Screw me… five thousand farm points for one bag? Why is the Mysterious Soil so expensive?" Jiang He was stunned, but calmed down when he remembered what the Mysterious Soil did.

It was not expensive. Not expensive at all!

That stuff strengthened crops, as evident with his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique, Three-Tailed Demon Cat, and Strengthened Pea Bombs. Glancing at the System, however, Jiang He realized that he only had around 1,000 farm points left, a far cry from 5,000.

'Perhaps I could delay planting my next cultivation manual. It won't be too late even if I wait until I've gathered five thousand farm points.'

With that thought, Jiang He exchanged his points for a composite fertilizer from the System Shop. It was not too different from the nitrogen fertilizer in appearance, being fist-sized and crystalline.

[Composite fertilizer]

[Effect: Rich with various nutrients, adjusts the soil and the environment whilst promoting rapid growth of crops and increasing yield.]

It was an average introduction, and Jiang He did not study it further either. After all, with the composite fertilizer being worth 300 farm points per pellet and the nitrogen fertilizer being worth 100 farm points per pellet, there must be a reason for the difference in price.

Burying the composite fertilizer inside the hole with the walnut seed, Jiang He then gingerly took out… the bottle gourd seed.

"I worry too much. It's just a bottle gourd seed. There's no way the Bottle Gourd Brothers (1) would grow here!"

Digging another hole, Jiang He redeemed another composite fertilizer and planted it with the bottle gourd seed. Even though he had only just planted them, the walnut seed was already sprouting. A raw, green shoot had grown out the groud and was growing a visible speed.

Jiang He stared at the walnut sprout as a familiar rhythm rang beside his ears. He sang along by reflex, "Bottle Gourd Brothers, Bottle Gourd Brothers… Seven melons over a single vine! Fearing neither wind nor sleet nor snow… lalalalalala… Eh? Where did that music come from?"

Jiang He's eyes widened when he realized what had happened, and promptly turned to look at the spot where the bottle gourd seed was buried. He found a bottle gourd vine growing rapidly out of the ground, unsupported by wooden frames, and somehow hovering in the air on its own.

Most bizarrely, the leaves of the vines were dancing along with the wind and jingling in a musical tune.

What the hell!

Jiang He felt his scalp numbing as the outlook of his existence was completely turned on itself.

What was going on?

This was a farm, where there was soil and earth. The old saying 'you reap what you sow' was most fitting here, because he got a cleaver when he planted it, and though it went beyond common sense, there was no change in species.

As for the bottle gourd vine…

Jiang He stared intently at it, and only breathed a long sigh of relief after it began to blossom with seven differently colored flowers, which eventually turned into seven bottle gourds. It was fortunate that he reaped seven bottle gourds and not seven Bottle Gourd Brothers, or he would have lost his mind.

He was only in his twenties and had yet to marry—what if there really were seven kids running around every day, calling him gramps from behind?

Soon, the seven small bottle gourds stopped growing. They were quite curious, with each of them bearing a different hue of a rainbow. Jiang He reached out and plucked off the red bottle gourd.

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

The System notification echoed in his head.

Jiang He stared at the bottle gourd in his hand, and a line of data appeared before his eyes.

[Eldest Brother]

"Wait a minute!" Jiang He eyes narrowed and he did not bother to check the item's effects as he muttered, "This is clearly a bottle gourd. Why would the data display its name as 'Eldest Brother'?"

Something was not right here!

Seven bottle gourds, each having a different color…

Did that not match the Bottle Gourd Brothers?

Mustering his courage, Jiang He glanced at the bottle gourd in his hands again.

[Eldest Brother]

[Immeasurable strength, capable of turning into a giant.]

[Usage: Blow to use.]

[Gentle reminder: Remember to charge before use. Put it under the sun to charge.]

Jiang He felt like he was losing his mind. Nonetheless, he blew at the red bottle gourd in his hand as the data instructed—

Bang!

Red smoke burst out of the bottle gourd and landed on the ground, where it transformed into a fat child wearing a red dudou(2). He looked to be around seven or eight years old, and had a small hair knot which was decorated with an ornament in the shape of a small bottle gourd.

His cheeks were plump and well-rounded with a faint redness, while his eyes were black and large, and adorned by little brows shaped like crescent moons. The kid was so cute that he looked like he was made out of porcelain.

Still, those big, black eyes… looked a little dumb?

The kid skipped around on the ground, sucking on his thumb as he smiled and greeted Jiang He, "Gramps…"

Damn it!

Jiang He felt like his head was about to explode. He swung his leg at the little one, kicking him several meters away, sending him bouncing and rolling.

Even so, the kid was absolutely fine. He simply leapt to his feet and dumbly called out to Jiang He again, "Gramps."

'No! No bloody way!!!'

Jiang He clutched his chest, but before he could speak, Eldest Brother had turned towards Dumbo, who had been wagging its tail and studying him.

All at once, Eldest Brother's presence changed and he yelled, "Hey, demon! Take this!"

Boom!

With a powerful burst from his body, Eldest Brother's plump body rapidly expanded up to ten feet tall, lifting his feet to stomp on Dumbo.

Yip!

Dumbo turned and ran, yipping. Meanwhile, Jiang He was left gaping…

"This… this kid's aura is almost the same as the Leopard Python's!"

Be that as it may, before the kid's foot landed…

Plop!

The kid who had turned ten-feet tall landed straight down on the ground, turning back into red smoke that returned inside the bottle gourd Jiang He was holding. Jiang He watched as the bottle gourd shrunk by several centimeters, just as the red luster over it dimmed.

"Was… was that it?"

Putting the red bottle gourd under the sun, Jiang He took out a carrot and had a few mouthfuls to quell his shock. "Well, suddenly having a rank-seven grandchild isn't too bad?"

Still…

He already had grandchildren even before he asserted his dominance.

Moreover, a five hour-charge was needed for a two-minute usage?

Translator's note:

(1) The Bottle Gourd Brothers (or the Calabash Brothers or Hulu Brothers) was a Chinese animation series that was extremely popular when it aired on TV in 1986–1987.

(2) A dudou is a traditional Chinese form of the bodice, originally worn as an undershirt with medicinal properties.

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Chapter 56: Indestructible Diamond, Beginner Level

[Ding!]

[100 Farm Points]

[Ding…]

Jiang He plucked the remaining six bottle gourds and checked them one after another.

[Second Brother]

[All-seeing, all-hearing, adept at strategizing.]

[Usage: Blow to use.]

[Gentle reminder: Remember to charge before use. Put it under the sun to charge.]

[Third Brother]

[Body of steel, invincible against all weapons.]

[Usage: Blow to use.]

[Gentle reminder: Remember to charge before use. Put it under the sun to charge.]

[Fourth Brother]

….

"Just as I thought. These seven little bottle gourds are indeed the seven Bottle Gourd Brothers… In other words, I planted seven grandmaster-rank grandchildren with a single bottle gourd seed?"

"Blargh! What grandchildren? They are more like tools! That said, they do have a lot in common with the puppets in fantasy novels, although there's no telling how long it takes to charge them and how long they can be used."

Jiang He hence put all seven bottle gourds under the sun. He must say, doing that was a rather human method of charging.

He then turned towards the walnut tree. It had already matured, with walnuts growing all over its branches, each one looking average sized and showing nothing special.

[Ding!]

[10 Farm Points.]

Jiang He plucked a walnut and looked at it.

[Walnut]

[Effect: Contains rich proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, as well as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and many other micronutrients or minerals. Able to resist aging and strengthen brainpower.

[Gentle reminder: Improved effects when eaten with walnut shell.]

"Why do I have the feeling that the System is becoming less and less serious?"

Jiang He fell into deep thought. 'Resisting aging' was easy to understand, as it meant extending longevity, whereas 'strengthening brainpower' clearly meant that it improves spirit, which was exactly what Jiang He needed.

But the important thing here was this: What did it mean by 'improved effects when eaten with walnut shell'?

"Can the shell really be eaten?"

Holding the walnut in front of his nose, Jiang He took a sniff.

Weird.

The walnut which appeared unordinary actually had the scent of Dove's almond chocolate. He took a bite. It was not as hard as he imagined, but was quite crunchy instead. The walnut shell melted in his mouth, thickening the almond chocolate scent.

'The shell is so sweet!' Jiang He exclaimed inwardly, even as he crunched down on the walnut, eating it entirely along with its shell.

Carefully feeling himself when he was done eating, he could actually sense his spirit clearly improving by a small notch, with the sea of blades in his head stirring slightly. In fact, the luminous sword that hovered over that sea became a little brighter too.

Beside him, Dumbo and Trumbo were staring blankly at him. Their master actually ate walnuts like that?

Soon, Jiang He plucked every walnut on the tree. There were 300 of them, earning him 3,000 farm points—a grand harvest!

Boom!

Both the walnut tree and bottle gourd vine crumbled together into a pile of ashes. And without a word from Jiang He, Dumbo ran up voluntarily, picking up the shovel to spread out the ashes.

Jiang He threw him a cucumber offhandedly. Nonetheless, Dumbo proved charitable. When it accepted the cucumber, it cut the vegetable in two with its claw and painstakingly handed the other piece to Trumbo. Of course, the other piece of cucumber was only a tenth of its original size.

Jiang He was speechless. Still, cucumbers would not be effective for Trumbo since it was now close to rank-four, so having a smaller piece would not matter.

"It's a pity I finished all the qi pellets… I'll plant another tree later to groom Dumbo and Trumbo, as well as earn some farm points."

With that in mind, Jiang He turned to look at his System panel.

[Name: Jiang He]

[Cultivation: Rank-five advanced]

[Ability: Royal Sword]

[Martial Arts Cultivation: Indestructible Diamond (Initiate), Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms (), Blind Princess' Eight Practices (First Practice), Strengthened Nine Yang Technique (First Tier)]

[Owned Land: 888m]

[Farm Level: 3 (EXP 100/500)]

[System Backpack: 12 boxes]

[System Shop: Unlocked]

[Farm Points: 4,363 points]

"Oh? I've unwittingly gathered so many farm points? Still, that's not enough. My current abilities are too weak, and I need to earn more farm points to improve."

Suddenly inspired, he touched the '' symbol behind Indestructible Diamond.

[Ding!]

[Consume 2,000 farm points to improve Indestructible Diamond to Beginner?]

The System Notification sounded in his head, but Jiang He did not click 'yes'.

He checked his Blind Princess' Eight Practices instead, because physical arts were very important. In a fight, it would help him either flee or pursue his target, running circles around his opponent when his physical arts were up to standard.

[Ding!]

[Consume 5,000 farm points to improve Blind Princess' Eight Practices to Second Practice?]

Jiang He promptly scowled.

5,000 points?

Why don't you go rob a bank instead?

Moreover, if improving an intermediate martial art like the Blind Princess' Eight Practices already needed 5,000 points, how many points would be needed to improve a high-level martial art like the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique?

He checked it. Just as he expected, it would cost him 10,000 farm points to improve the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique to the Second Tier!

"I'll put aside the Strengthened Nine Yang Technique for now."

Jiang He hence set a short-term target for himself—Beginner for Indestructible Diamond, and Second Practice for Blind Princess' Eight Practices. He would then learn a few more styles from the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, before getting a cool sword and planting an awesome swordplay manual.

'The first objective can be completed right now…' thought Jiang He.

[Ding!]

[-2,000 farm points]

[Congratulations, Host. You have improved Indestructible Diamond to Beginner.]

In an instant, Jiang He felt a rushing sensation in his body, as if ten thousand horses were dashing away, and soon his muscles, blood, skin, and bones all strengthened rapidly. When he circulated his True Qi, the silhouette of a golden bell appeared, shrouding his whole body. He knocked on it. It gonged loudly and felt very solid.

Phew~~

Breathing out extensively, Jiang He muttered, "Just as I thought, it feels secure to have a strong defense. Now that I am a Beginner in Indestructible Diamond, I can sleep much easier… Next objective, Second Practice of the Blind Princess' Eight Practices!"

Jiang He studied his System Panel. He now had 2,363 farm points left, meaning that he needed more than 2,600 more farm points before he could improve his Blind Princess' Eight Practices to Second Practice.

With a turn of his hand, three qi pellets appeared in his palm, and he planted them. Since he could not leave the ashes of the walnut tree and bottle gourd vine unused either, he went to the edge of the village to buy a bag of pepper seeds and planted them too.

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Chapter 57: The Side Effects of Pepper

The three qi pellets sprouts were growing at a visible rate. The planted pepper seeds were starting to move as well, sprouting out of the soil in no time at all and growing two green leaves.

Now that the farm was at level 3, the crops were certainly growing much quicker. Jiang He estimated that the qi pellets could be harvested in an hour, whereas the pepper would be ready even earlier.

After a few more looks, Jiang He finally left the yard. It was already one in the afternoon, but he had not eaten anything yet.

"If I remember correctly, there should be a small grill rack in the house…"

Everything from inside his house had been moved out before the construction work began, and was now piled together in a heap. It took some digging around before Jiang He found the grill rack in the pile, along with several grill skewers and a few packets of condiments.

"I still need some sesame oil and pepper powder… There's no charcoal either, and I'll also need a small brush to oil my food."

He took another trip to the village mall, where he managed to get everything except the coal.

"No coal. What should I do?"

Jiang He stood at the village entrance with his bag of items. After toying with the idea of taking a trip to the city to get some coal, he eventually decided against it and jogged home.

There, he took out the snake tail. Cutting a large chunk of it, he washed it with clean water before cutting it into tiny pieces, and then did the same with a piece of wolf meat. After skewering them, he picked up the green bottle gourd that he had left under the sun.

[Fourth Brother]

[Breathes and absorbs fire.]

[Usage: Blow to use.]

[Gentle reminder: Remember to charge before use. Put it under the sun to charge.]

He blew a breath on the bottle gourd, and a green puff of smoke immediately landed on the ground and turned into a seven-year old boy. He was identical to the other boy, the only difference between them being that this boy's dudou was green, and the bottle gourd decoration on his hair knot was green too.

Once the Fourth Brother appeared, he dashed towards Jiang He, sucking on his thumb while acting cute. "Gramps! Gramps!"

"Such a cute little kid, but it somehow feels like there's no intelligence there… Alright, now help me grill this meat… Oh, and do remember to control the fire intensity… What the heck!!!"

Before Jiang He finished speaking, the Fourth Brother had already released a breath of flames.

Whoosh!

It was like magic.

A great fireball blasted away.

The scorching heat caused the air around it to crackle. Jiang He was so close that he had to use Indestructible Diamond to withstand it.

When the fire faded…

Grilled meat?

There was none.

Because even the skewers had melted.

"You brat!"

Jiang He caught the Fourth Brother and gave him a resounding spanking on the butt until the boy wailed, and only then did he stuff the Fourth Brother back into his bottle gourd in relief.

"The fire the Fourth Brother breathes is too hot. Perhaps not even rank-seven Ferals could withstand it… It definitely is no good for grilling."

Jiang He then turned towards Dumbo. The dog was whimpering and shuddering in a corner of the yard, and had dug itself a hole to hide in.

"That silly thing," said an amused Jiang He.

Skewering another dozen chunk of meat, he called out to his pets. Both Dumbo and Trumbo ran up to him. They had long since caught the scent of the meat, and were salivating while staring at the meat skewers.

"Fire," instructed Jiang He, pointing at the meat skewer.

Quickly understanding his master's order, Dumbo opened its jaws, releasing a gentle wave of flames. After grilling the meat for several minutes, Jiang He brushed oil on it. Then, he sprinkled on some cumin and pepper power before getting Dumbo to grill the meat again.

In ten or so minutes, the meat was ready.

"Good job, well done!" exclaimed Jiang He.

Chopping off another few catties of raw wolf meat, he threw it to Dumbo as a reward. After having a few mouthfuls of the skewers, Jiang He nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, not bad. The snake is really tasty. Putting aside the freshness, there is still substantial blood and qi in it. Average humans would just have to eat a few hundred grams per day to improve their bodies, and it might even be possible for them to become martial artists. On the other hand, the wolf meat is a little lacking. It is chewy, but the meat is too old and doesn't taste all that nice."

Jiang He threw the dozen wolf meat skewers to Dumbo. "I'll feed the dog with the remaining wolf meat then…" he said quietly.

It was fortunate that no one else heard him, or they would have died of jealousy. After all, was there anything more extravagant than feeding one's dog with rank-six Feral meat?

The complete corpse of one rank-six Feral was worth over a million dollars, and even burnt corpses were worth tens of thousands. With that in mind, what sort of family could afford to feed their dog with stuff worth millions?

Nonetheless, Jiang He himself was barely full even after feasting on five catties of snake meat. After becoming a martial artist and improving physically by leaps and bounds, his needs had certainly increased considerably as well.

"If grilled snake is that good, snake soup would be even more nourishing!"

After washing up the grill rack and putting away the condiments, Jiang He went to his yard and began leisurely harvesting qi pellets. The three qi pellet trees had borne a total of nine hundred qi pellets.

[Ding!]

[3 Farm Points.]

Jiang couldn't help being left stunned by the System Notification after plucking one qi pellet.

What was going on?

When the farm was at level 2, one qi pellet earned him 10 farm points. Why was it reduced to 3 points in the blink of an eye?

"This damn System! Could it work like a game, where the EXP gained from killing low level monsters decreases when the player's level increases?"

Jiang He understood that principle well, but he was still upset. He cursed at the System even as he plucked the qi pellets, and it took him over twenty minutes to empty all the trees.

Boom!

All three qi pellet trees crumbled into ashes.

Jiang He then turned towards the peppers in another corner of his farm. The pack of pepper seeds he'd bought earlier contained 200 seeds.

One should mention here that when growing peppers, tomatoes, or eggplants, normal farmers would plant sprouts instead of seeds. After all, seeds only had a small chance of growing, whereas sprouts could be nurtured and sold in greenhouses.

However, Jiang He's farm had no concept of chance. What do you mean by chance, when you could actually get a sprout from planting a cleaver?

Either way, his 200 pepper seeds bore 200 green bell pepper stalks, also known as 'Cow Heart Peppers' here at farms in the northwest. Each pepper stalk stood a meter tall, and their leaves were a lush green. The field of stalks looked green and oily, because they grew closely next to each other, and each stalk had three to five peppers on it.

Each bell pepper was the size of a fist, round and glistening, even appearing attractive with a faint hint of redness in its green.

Jiang He plucked one and held it in front of his eyes, carefully studying the row of data that popped up.

[Pepper]

[Attribute: Hot.]

The introduction was so short there may as well have been none. But given his corn's attributes, Jiang He felt he should test the pepper to ensure what effect the crop held. He took a bite. It was indeed hot, but delightfully so.

"It's crispy, and its skin is thick. Moreover, it has no seeds, and it feels like roasted leek to the bite…"

Jiang He was amused to get the taste of roast leek from a pepper.

Crunch, crunch.

He finished the entire bell pepper.

Then, he promptly felt a burning sensation rising from his belly's cinnabar fields that extended instantly all over his body. His face turned red from the neck-up too. The redness rapidly rose until white smoke puffed out of the back of his head.

Jiang He clenched his fists, causing the air to crackle. He felt a vigor all over his body that he could never use up, and extreme rage, promptly coming to a realization after feeling it…

"Pepper has the same effect as rampage potions—increasing one's power by half and sparking an impulse for destruction, plus fifty points of rage…"

The vigor only faded after ten minutes. Jiang He shook his head to dispel that uncontrollable urge.

Uh-huh.

There were side effects…

But that was not a serious problem.

Meanwhile, in one of the dilapidated buildings at the Ningdong Mines.

Blargh.

The Tranquil Heavenly General vomited a mouthful of blood when he opened his eyes. A wave of hatred surged out of his eyes. He then whipped out a satellite phone and made a call.

"Mission failed, Elder. Duan Tianhe is now a grandmaster, and he has rooted out one of our agents. However, the key reason for our failure is not Duan Tianhe… I have already notified our other agents to find out about that person as soon as possible."

After the call was finished, the frosty air around Tranquil Heavenly General burst out as he bellowed like a Feral, "Who are you? I, the Tranquil Heavenly General, shall cut you into a million pieces!"

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Chapter 58: Raging Sword Qi

The Martial Arts Department (MAD) of Lingzhou City.

Duan Tianhe only finished his work at two in the afternoon. Circulating his True Qi, he dispelled some fatigue off his body. He had neither rested nor slept for over ten days now.

After taking a moment to call for food delivery, he called his superior whist waiting and briefed him about the situation.

Carefree laughter echoed from the other end. "Didn't you mention that there aren't any suitable candidates for Director of Lingzhou City's Martial Arts Academy (MAA)? I think Jiang He fits the bill. He's young, competent, and driven to improve. Moreover, he has been to university, whereas us martial artists are ever uncivilized. You could have him try."

All fatigue promptly left Duan Tianhe's body as he straightened up. "That's not really acceptable… Jiang He… he… he's too young!"

What nonsense was that?

Let Jiang He become a MAA director?

Once he remembered what Jiang He had been doing recently…

Duan Tianhe was afraid that he would spirit away the entire academy somewhere unknown when he wasn't looking.

Although he did manage to come up with a suitable reason after stuttering for a while, a bellow echoed from the other end, "Duan Tianhe—"

Beep!

The call was cut off. Duan Tianhe, however, felt very relieved. That was fine.

Thud, thud, thud.

There was a knock on his door, and Bai Feifei entered with a dark look on her face.

"There has been a complication in the mission, Chief Duan," she said.

"What's up?" asked Duan Tianhe, frowning. "I've already sent some men to keep an eye on those three moles from the Sky Demon Cult. They are just one Awakened with D-class superstrength, one C-class water-type Awakened, and a rank-five novice martial artist. With Pudgy Jiang's men helping us, how can there be complications?"

Bai Feifei showed him a pained smile. "The D-class superstrength was executed on the spot, whereas the rank-five novice martial artist took his own wife and child hostage, and leapt into the Yellow River with the water-type Awakened near Yellow River Park."

"Only the animals of the Sky Demon Cult could do something like taking their own family hostage!" growled Duan Tianhe, his eyes flashing. "Spread the word and start a widespread search. Those two animals must be found. You know how savage the Sky Demon cultists are. When they come back to infiltrate Linzhou City again, they could cause major trouble."

His orders were hence relayed.

"Oh, right. Where is Cheng Dongfeng?" asked Duan Tianhe.

"Master Cheng locked himself in the cultivation chamber since ten o'clock yesterday. He said that he is not coming out until he reaches rank-seven," replied Bai Feifei.

Duan Tianhe laughed himself silly.

That old thing went into seclusion? Could he be afraid that Jiang He would nag at him, asking for another spar?

Still, this was a good thing. Cheng Dongfeng was one of their strongest and most talented rank-sixes, Lingzhou City would have a great addition to their strength if he could make a breakthrough.

Nonetheless, Duan Tianhe started to rub his temples, feeling bothered again.

"Old Cheng is a disciple of the Eight Trigrams School, even if he did join the MAD. He would probably be recalled to headquarters if he really ascended, so I have to come up with something to keep him here."

There were many concerns that surfaced with the establishment of the MAD, especially with the recent citizen migration projects implemented for citizens living deep in the mountains. It was in its last phase now, and the police, MAD, as well as the military had to work together.

In line with the higher-ups' planning, every population must be centralized within thirty kilometers of all major cities. They could neither manage nor protect them if the population was exceedingly sparse, not to mention that there was a chance for some of the remote cities to be abandoned where possible.

In addition, the government had called for a press conference on the eighth of September to announce the Revival of Qi!

On that day, the monumental news was spread all over the globe.

"It has been confirmed that the island nation attacked by a monster from the ocean has completely fallen, and is now a playground for Ferals."

Soon, more news began to spread.

Likewise, the Hua Nation's vast territory, abundant resources, and many untouched forests, lakes, and rivers led to the birth of many ferocious Ferals. Thus, incidents of Feral attacks on populated areas were on the rise.

To calm the public, a video was released on the afternoon of the ninth of September. The footage was captured at Jinghong City, which was close to the tropical ravine of the Yun Province. The city itself was in ruins, atop of which countless Ferals prowled.

One of them was an ape that stood over forty meters tall and was the size of a hill. Its fur was pitch-black, and its bellow left the world quaking in its wake. It was also using a tower as its weapon to devastating effect.

Nonetheless, a single figure stood before the ape.

The man was wearing a Chinese tunic suit. With a point of his finger, Sword Qi raged over heaven and earth before a single blade, over a thousand-meters in length, descended and promptly sliced through the black ape.

The video ended there. It was then followed by various articles about martial artists and superhumans.

Back at Jinyintan Village, Jiang He was left a little shocked in his own yard. He pocketed his phone, his mind filled with images of one blade…

So cool.

So powerful.

Eating a walnut whole with its shell and slightly improving his spirit, Jiang He looked inside himself at the luminous sword in his head…

"I don't have to envy him. It's not like I don't have swords. After confining myself in my own house to earn farm points, I finally achieved my second and third mini objectives."

His Blind Princess' Eight Practices was now at Second Practice, and he had mastered six out of the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

Two mini objectives left: Grow an impressive blade for fighting, as well as a cool and powerful swordplay manual!

He then took a look at his phone to check the time…

"What the heck? I have transmigrated for two weeks, haven't I? Why hasn't the gift pack for the second week been awarded yet?"

But even as Jiang He complained…

"Ding!"

A System Notification jingled in his head.

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Chapter 59: Catching Eels For You To Play With

[Ding!]

[Seven-day gift pack has been awarded to Host. Please check at your own leisure.]

The golden embroidered sack appeared as expected in Jiang He's empty System Backpack, and it opened with a thought from Jiang He.

[1,000 Farm Points. Congratulations, Host!]

Damn it!

Jiang He cursed.

It was not Mysterious Soil…

Even if a thousand farm points was a perfectly acceptable reward, Mysterious Soil was sold at the System Shop for five thousand farm points. As such, Jiang He was suffering a loss no matter how he saw it. Although, he did understand that with login rewards and seven-day gift packs, all the items he would get were random, so he must not hold too much hope.

Glancing at his System, he now had over 5,000 farm points left after planting a few qi pellets trees, before using their ashes to plant carrots and peppers. Including the 1,000 he got from the seven-day gift pack, he had over 6,000 farm points now.

"I'll go to the city and have someone forge me a war sword, and then plant a swordplay manual."

When he stepped out, Jiang He ran headlong into Wang Sizhen.

There had been no construction work for Jiang He's mansion over the last two days. After all, the Revival of Qi had caused too much of a stir. With everyone in the village left fearing for their lives, who would have the mood to work?

"Sorry, Jiang He. I've spoken to the workers and work will probably resume tomorrow… We've still got to make a living even if the world crumbles now, don't we? Anyway, your mansion is in the end phase of construction now, and I can arrange for the piping and wiring fellows to come in the day after tomorrow. By the way, you mentioned wanting to put up a wall around your yard, right? I've contacted someone to bring the bricks and start working on that tomorrow morning."

After thanking Wang Sizhen, Jiang He said, "How about this? You tell the workers that we'll change things up starting tomorrow—whoever can come, should come."

The rank-six Feral wolf corpses were massive, with each weighing at least a ton. Jiang He had decided to keep one to feed his dog, and use what remained to reward the workers.

Still, the cucumbers were more important. He still had over twenty of them, and he could use them to make coleslaw, while also melting dozens of qi pellets for tea. It might be able to change the physicality of most people, and even if someone were to suspect, he could just blame it on the Feral meat.

As for expanding…

That had never once crossed Jiang He's mind.

"I am not that grand. I just need to mind my little farm."

Sigh.

As Jiang He walked out into the alley, he found the villagers grouped together. They were all talking about the Revival of Qi, with some worried and others panicked, though most of them were just curious.

"Did you hear? Two Dog Li of the breeder's union is one of the Awakened mentioned on TV. He is so strong, he could punch a cow to death," said someone mysteriously, in a hushed whisper.

Curious, the others began to ask about it. Jiang He's mouth twitched. He suspected that Two Dog Li had spread that news himself.

"Oh, right… I haven't seen him in days. And knowing his character, he wouldn't be so discreet that he would stay home now, would he?"

Jiang He was a little regretful. He should have bought a few more cars back when he was in the city. Moreover, he himself wrecked his Raptor pickup truck even before it had a license plate or was driven more than thirty kilometers.

As he took a cab, Jiang He thought, 'I should go to town and buy up to eight cars, then modify a few so that they become bulletproof and explosion-proof… Eh?'

His eyes suddenly twinkled as he thought to himself, 'Since I can grow blades and pellets, why not try growing a car? I should get some Mysterious Soil to strengthen it, and then I just may get a Transformer.'

That was when the car slowed down. Looking forward, Jiang He saw that there was still another five hundred meters to go before the next traffic light, but there were other cars lined up all the way there.

"What's the matter, driver? Why is traffic stuck before we get to the city?"

The driver, a middle-aged man, flashed him a pained smile. "Why else other than the Revival of Qi? Since it's said that Ferals are eating people out there, and it's safer inside cities, many want to move. Moreover, there are some dangerous characters on the wanted list, so the authorities' searches have been quite tight."

Jiang He hence paid the driver and got out of the taxi. Since the crossroads at the streetlight right ahead led into the city, and traffic was so jammed, why not just walk there? Arriving at the crossroads, he found several armed police inspecting the oncoming vehicles, with people sent from the Martial Arts Department (MAD) assisting them.

Wang Siyu was there too, along with a baby-faced girl who had a stunning body. Jiang He remembered that her name was Liu Xue or something like that. Aside from them, he also saw another familiar face—Su Ze, who was having a boxed lunch while learning on a police car.

When he saw Jiang He, he first shuddered, before putting down his lunch and running up to him with a bright smile. "Why have you come, Mister Jiang?"

"Get lost!" barked Jiang He in irritation. He then smirked. "You dog. You actually got your martial uncle to bother me just because I slapped you twice?"

Su Ze's legs went weak, and he almost dropped to his knees. "Mister Jiang, that's a misunderstanding! This is all a misunderstanding caused by my pride. I did not take what happened between us seriously, nor did I mention it to my martial uncle…"

He was almost in tears. Moreover, how could he, Su Ze, not know that Jiang He had entered the mountains alone, wiping out a Feral wolf pack and ten Sky Demon cultists, when news of his feat had spread amongst the MAD?

"Oh?" Jiang He appeared doubtful. "Alright, go about your work. I'll just have to break your legs if I learn that you're up to no good again… By the way, where's your martial uncle?"

"He's in seclusion," said Su Ze, wiping the sweat off his brow. "He started three days ago, and he said he won't come out before he reaches rank-seven!"

Jiang He eyes twinkled.

Was Cheng Dongfeng going to make a breakthrough? That would be perfect timing, since Jiang He was looking to test himself against a martial arts grandmaster. He laughed, leaving Su Ze utterly perplexed.

What is going on? Why are you so excited about my martial uncle's secluded cultivation, when I, his martial nephew, am not?

Meanwhile, Wang Siyu and Liu Xue also came over to them.

"Brother Jiang He, have you caught me a Feral baby?" Liu Xue pouted coquettishly. "I really want one!"

Catch, my foot!

That tone of hers… left Jiang He really uncomfortable.

Still, he had good manners, and so he reached out and forced himself to pat Liu Xue's head. "Alright, I'll catch a few eels for you to play with next time."

Then, he turned to Wang Siyu. "Oh, right. Remember to come to my house for lunch tomorrow."

That was when she dragged him aside and whispered, "Be careful these days, Jiang He. Two Sky Demon cultists are on the run, and they might attack you if they learn that you were the one who ruined their plans."

Jiang He frowned.

Has the Sky Demon Cult always been so… persistent?

Nonetheless, he grinned. "Would they dare to show up with you searching for them with an army?"

Of course, it would be even better if they actually did dare to show up.

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Chapter 60: Murderous Intent Under The Rain!

After parting ways with Wang Siyu, Jiang He entered Lingzhou City on foot.

Meanwhile, at a crossroads five hundred meters away from the Martial Arts Department (MAD), Li Fei was wearing suit and shades, leaning on his BMW while having a cigarette. A middle-aged man—a rank-two martial artist—was standing beside him. Four policemen armed with guns were standing near them, inspecting the people and cars passing by.

Of course, the traffic flow here was smoother than outside the city. After all, they were right beside the MAD, and since traffic was busier inside the city, tighter checks would cause even heavier jams and even more trouble.

After entering the city, Jiang He weaved through wide avenues and small alleys to reach the MAD.

"Eh?" Even as he kept puffing on his cigarette, Two Dog Li took off his shades in surprise and greeted him, "You're here, Jiang He?"

Jiang He smiled. "I have something to do here at the MAD. That said, in the time that I haven't seen you… your face… "

There were a few scars on Two Dog Li's face that looked like claw marks.

Two Dog Li smiled bitterly and said, "A few days ago, a pet-turned-Feral went on a rampage in the city. I captured and tamed it with the beast-taming technique you taught me, although I had a little accident."

Jiang He did a double take in surprise. "Did I teach you beast-taming techniques?"

What was he on about? I don't even know how to tame a beast myself!

"Didn't you tell me before?" mumbled Li Fei. "It gets to live if it's obedient, killed if it's not. I communicated with that evolved pet just like you said… but I couldn't defeat it…"

Pfft!

Jiang He could not help laughing out loud, and only held back when he saw the scowl on Li Fei's face. "No, I'm not laughing at you… hahahaha!"

Li Fei scowled even harder.

Meanwhile, at a hotel near the junction.

Having only four floors, it was not an especially big building. Incidentally, the curtains in one of the rooms on the fourth floor were tightly shut.

Two ragged figures were sitting on the bed. One appeared to be middle-aged, being a rank-five novice martial artist with a burly figure and composed presence. The other man had sickly-white skin and looked to be around thirty.

These two were precisely the two Sky Demon cultists whom the MAD were scrounging the whole town for. As the saying goes, the most dangerous place was also the safest place. Over the last three days, the MAD had searched far and wide all over the city, and yet had neglected to search around the MAD itself.

"This won't do. We must leave this place!" growled the sickly-white man. "The MAD will eventually find this place, and we'll be killed when that happens!"

"No, they won't!" snarled the middle-aged man through gritted teeth. "I booked this place with an unaffiliated person's ID half a month ago. The MAD will never find us here."

Even so, the man was not showing much confidence.

After all, you would draw the attention of the hotel workers if you stay inside your hotel room for days without coming out… You would at least have to interact with the pizza boy if you call for delivery, wouldn't you?

But if they were recognized, they would hardly be able to escape. And so, the two men were left in utter apprehension.

Run? How were they supposed to do that when the MAD had spread their net all over the city?

Moreover, when they contacted the Tranquil Heavenly General recently, he merely ordered them to stay in hiding and wait for further orders. They would be disobeying a direct order if they ran, and would be punished for it! When it came to the Sky Demon Cult's punishments, it was better to end up dead than alive!

As the sickly-white man went to the window and carefully lifted the curtains to look outide, his eyes twinkled when he saw the dark clouds gathering over the skies.

"There will be rain soon," he said.

As a class-B, water-type Awakened, his ability could compare to the rank-five novice martial artist. However, on days with torrential rain, more measures would become available to him, and he could challenge even rank-six pinnacles.

Now, he kept his eyes fixed outside. With his water-type ability, he could feel the downpour brewing in the clouds.

"Eh?" His eyes narrowed just then, because he had caught sight of the youth who was talking to Li Fei over at the crossroads. "Jiang He?" he growled.

On the bed, the middle-age man woke with a start at that name, and replied by reflex, "Don't even mention that name. Our mission wouldn't have failed if not for him, while you and I would have earned our accomplishments with our holy faith!"

His words were utterly vicious as he seethed through clenched teeth, "Where did he even come from? If I, Zhang Yuzhong, got any leads on him, I would definitely take him down!"

Meanwhile, the pale man was staring intently at Jiang He. As an Awakened, he possessed above average physical abilities, even if he wasn't trained in martial arts, allowing him to clearly identify Jiang He's facial features even though he was 200 meters away.

Although they had no precise information about Jiang He, they at least knew what he looked like.

Hence, the pale man snarled, "Jiang He is right there!"

"What!?"

Zhang Yuzhong came to the window as well. When he saw their target, naked hostility was laid bare in his eyes, while murderous intent overflowed. Whipping out an encrypted satellite phone, he dialed the Tranquil Heavenly General's number and reported the situation.

Over the other end, the Tranquil Heavenly General was practically bellowing in his hoarse voice, "Kill him! Get out there right now and end his life, and then try to make a break from the east side of the city. I've already rallied with the Earth Demon Heavenly General, and we are coming to receive you right now!"

Over at the crossroads.

In the middle of his conversation with Li Fei, Jiang Fei suddenly frowned, glancing at that nearby hotel.

Puzzled, Li Fei questioned him, and Jiang He chuckled in response. "Might be imagining things… I just felt like someone was watching me."

His head, however, was lighting up.

Imagining things?

No way.

Having cultivated martial arts to this level, Jiang He had become sensitive towards all atmospheres and intents—like right now, when he could actually feel a murderous intent aimed at himself.

He threw the hotel another look and said, "Stick to your post, Li Fei. I have something to do over there."

Striding past the pedestrian crossing, he walked towards the hotel. The feeling of being spied upon came to Jiang He again then, and he stopped beneath the hotel to look up towards the skies.

The rolling dark clouds appeared within reach, and a gust kicked up in no time at all. Soon, it started drizzling. At first, the drizzle was intermittent, but a downpour ensued in just two minutes, forming puddles on the road, with raindrops making bubbles when they landed on the surface.

Jiang He lowered his head to look at his feet. He was standing on a relatively higher position, but the puddles of stagnant water nearby were now surging towards him.

Crash!

All of a sudden, the puddles on the ground churned wildly, turning into streaks of water arrows that bounded towards Jiang He.

"Die, Jiang He!"

A cry resounded overhead as Zhang Yuzhong leapt off the fourth floor. He was using some mysterious technique that was creating a dramatic display of lights and blood, carrying a magnified presence as he brought his short blade down to bear at Jiang He.

Using Indestructible Diamond, Jiang He materialized a golden bell silhouette around himself, and did not even bother to look at the water arrows that had reached his body. Behind him, the silhouette of a great sun appeared amidst the rain, vaporizing the sheet of water into substantial white vapor.

He then unleashed a strike of Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse, handily slapping the figure leaping off the fourth floor into the air again.

Zhang Yuzhong could not have been more dead when he slammed heavily into the ground.

Cling-cling-clang-clang!

Meanwhile, the water arrows that could pierce steel were hitting the golden bell silhouette with the sounds of clashing metals, just before splattering and bursting apart.

Another figure appeared amidst the rain—it was the pale-skinned Sky Demon cultist. He had been filled with murderous intent, but was left dumbstruck by the sight before him before his intent could burst out in full.

Too fast!

Everything had happened too fast!

There had been less than two seconds between the moment when he released his killing stroke, and the point when Zhang Yuzhong descended from above and was slapped to death by Jiang He.

The pale-skinned man's face, which had been overflowing with murderous intent, was now filled with utter confusion.

What should he do?

Buffering!

Clenching a sword he conjured out of rainwater, he simply did not know what he should do!

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Chapter 61: Outrageous Bullies!

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Should he scatter the rainsword in his hand, and greet Jiang He, pretending as if he were just passing by?

That certainly wouldn't fly.

Nonetheless, after blanking out for two seconds, the water-type Awakened recovered.

"Die!"

He growled like a beast and launched the rainsword in his hand forward, stabbing it toward Jiang He. At the same time, raindrops around them splattered away, all of them surging toward Jiang He, clouding his vision.

"Dogs of the Sky Demon Cult!"

Furious, Jiang He charged his Strengthened Nine Yang Technique. The silhouette of the sun behind him hence became even more scorching, and the cascading rain was immediately cooked into white steam. Then, his hand slapped out, unleashing raging winds that cleared the steam away, just as a draconic silhouette leapt out of his palm and collided with the rainsword.

Crack.

The rainsword shattered, and the draconic silhouetted continued rumbling forward, striking toward the water-type Awakened who was left pale-white.

"What?!"

The water-type Awakened's face dropped and promptly tried to hide in the sheet of rain, but even as he tried to sneak off, he could only feel an aching pain as his body became light, and he was thrown high into the air.

"No way! Even rank-six pinnacles would have a hard time blocking sword! And he only felt to me like rank-five advanced, so why is he so powerful?"

"Still, it's a stormy day. Even if I can't win, not even rank-seven grandmasters could stop me if I want to flee!"

Nonetheless, even as those thought crossed his mind as his body hovered in the air, blood poured freely out of his mouth and he slammed heavily on the ground and over a puddle on the road. Then, a car came zooming in—unable to brake in time because of the slippery road, it ran over the Awakened with a loud bang.

The Sky Demon Cultist who was ready to use the puddle to cast a water-type skill and flee simply felt his vision turn dark, and promptly fainted.

"…"

Jiang He, who was in pursuit covered his eyes. Still, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw between his fingers that there was none of the mincemeat he expected to find, and only then did he call out, "Li Fei, come over here. Give me a hand."

Everything happened so quickly—pedestrians who were trying to rush home and get away from the rain, as well as the cars driving by had yet to realize what happened.

Even Li Fei and the others were left dumbstruck.

Meanwhile, inside the Martial Arts Department (MAD).

Whoosh!

A figure bounded out of the ninth floor, stepping over thin air as he darted toward Jiang He's direction.

He felt the bursts of auras just now.

Aside from Duan Tianhe, Pudgy Jiang and the other elites had sensed the violent auras of the clash too. All of them rushed to the scene as well, putting traffic at the crossroads on a standstill as all citizens nearby were left in shock.

"Three Waters Wei?"

Duan Tianhe was a little surprised by the face of the man, who was still unconscious and could well be dead.

Jiang He, on the other hand was staring straight at Duan Tianhe in astonishment. "Did you just… fly here?"

"I've just reached rank-seven—I can't fly, though I could use the landscape for short skips over the air, and it wouldn't have worked is the distance had been a little further." Duan Tianhe explained, before ordering his man to carry the corpses of Zhang Yu and Three Waters Wei back to the MAD.

Rising to his feet, he then said sonorously, "Everyone, please disperse!"

"We have apprehended the violent individuals, who were recently placed on the wanted list."

He spoke shortly, before instructing more of his men to help Li Fei and the others to help with traffic, and only then did he return to the MAD with Jiang He.

Just as they reached the building, Pudgy Jiang was already there with a thumb up and flattery. "Jiang He, this old man is definitely not doubting you now. Did you know how many resources and manpower we mobilized over the last few days to find these two scumbags? We certainly did not expect that the whole thing is resolved once you came."

Meanwhile, Jiang He was seated on the sofa in Duan Tianhe's office, looking out into the distance, appearing slightly disconcerted.

After what felt like half a day, he suddenly opened his mouth. "Bullies! Those outrageous bullies!"

Bang!

He smashed his fist downward, and the coffee table in Duan Tianhe's office was left in pieces with a loud crunch.

And yet, Jiang He did not even bother to look at it. He got to his feet, seething through gritted teeth, "The dogs of the Sky Demon Cult are all bullies! They did not even leave so much as a sign after hiding in the city for so long, and now they try to kill me when I just arrived?"

He was shaking with indignation.

Inside, he felt… an icy coldness!

What is going on with this world?

Was the Sky Demon Cult gunning for him just because of his good lucks?

Why weren't they making an attempt on other people?

And that really proved his worries before… even on the street, he would have to be wary against being stabbed in the back at any given moment!

As angry aura exuded from Jiang He and he clenched his fists until they were cracking, he turned toward Duan Tianhe and growled, "Chief Duan. Where is the lair of the Sky Demon Cult?"

"I don't know." Duan Tianhe said, shaking his head, and then flashed a pain smile. "If that was known, elites across every nation would have joined forces and went knocking down their doorstep. Moreover, they have countless elites lurking there, and rank-seven heavenly generals alone number up to seventy-two, corresponding to the seventy-two Fiends. Moreover, there is also the thirty-six Decans amongst them."

"The Decans are all rank-eight, and the Sky Demon Cult address them as the Grands."

"And ranking above the Decans is the Elder Guardian… and a divine champion beyond rank-nine!"

"They are that powerful?"

Jiang He did a double take.

Well…

He wouldn't win against them!

That was when someone rushed in the office whilst holding a satellite phone, saying, "Chief Duan, we found this phone on Three Waters Wei. He has regained consciousness, which was why we got an elite hypnotist to deal with him. Even so, he is still a class-B Awakened, and his spirit is too powerful to get him under."

"That said, we discovered from the call records of this phone that he contacted the Tranquil Heavenly General twenty-minutes ago. The signal was encrypted, however, so we can't determine the location of the other end right now."

"Oh?"

Jiang He walked up to the MAD officer and took the satellite phone, smiling. "It's easy if he's spirited. Beat him until he's half-dead until his spirit is wilted, and hypnotize him then."

But just as he took the phone, a call arrived.

Jiang He glanced at Duan Tianhe and answered it, putting it on loudspeaker.

A hoarse voice spoke from the other end. "Three Waters Wei, is Jiang He dead yet? Hurry eastward to escape the perimeter if you've succeeded. Earth Demon and I would receive you there."

"Doggone it. You were the one who sent them?" Jiang He exploded.

"Ye pissant! Here me gon' make yew dead!"

His northwestern accent was actually spilling out.

"…"

The caller seemed to be stunned for a moment, and soon hung up with a click. Jiang He promptly called him back, only to receive the response 'not within the service area'.

Pitter-patter.

Jiang He's fingers dashed over the keys as he sent message after message, all his texts filled with affection toward the Tranquil Heavenly General's ancestral line—specifically the women.

After sending eighteen messages in a single breath, the satellite phone eventually blacked out on its own.

"What's going on? Why is the phone suddenly dead?"

"Uh… some self-destructive sequence in it must have activated."

"What a shame…"

Jiang He breathed a long sigh. He had wanted to resend those eighteen texts another dozen times, and so simply threw the phone back to the officer.

He then barked, his face brimming with rage, "Lead the way. I have to give that bastard a taste of punishment!"

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Chapter 62: Forging A Dragon-Slaying Blade

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

At the Martial Arts Department (MAD).

Three Waters Wei was lying on the ice-cool floorboards of a depot, his body covered under half a sheet of white cloth.

"There's no chance of saving him even when he was brought in. I've checked: all his organs, veins and nerves had all been crushed by the monumental force a single palm, and rendered unconscious after he was run over by that Chevrolet Enjoy. We had tried to interrogate him through hypnosis after some simple touches, but his subconscious put up a violent resistance…"

Jiang He was a little let down.

Wasn't he dying a little too easily?

The many tortures he had thought of hadn't even been used yet.

Suddenly getting an idea, he asked, "Chief Duan, could you give me this corpse?"

"Why would you want a corpse?"

Duan Tianhe was extremely puzzled, but nodded nonetheless. "You were the one who killed him in the first place. I'll send someone to deliver it to you later."

Meanwhile, the downpour outside had eased considerably, but raindrops were still falling. Still, autumn rain had always lasted a long time in the northwest, and if the heavens were not being merciful, it would be perfectly normal if this rain lasted up to ten days.

Staring out of the window, Jiang He suddenly said, "By the way, didn't the person on the call just now mentioned that they would receive these perps in the east? Could that be the Ningdong mines?"

"That's very likely!"

Duan Tian He mused. "That area is uninhabited now. With the complex topography of factories and mining caves, as well as chains of mountains surrounding it, that place is definitely a perfect hiding spot for the Sky Demon Cult."

"And with two of their grandmasters hiding there, even the army would have a hard time wiping them out!"

He then glanced at Jiang He. Upon noticing the flash of killing intent in the other man's eyes, he quickly said, "Jiang He. The Tranquil Heavenly General is a rank-seven grandmaster with brutal abilities, and the Frost True Qi he cultivates make him a tough opponent. Moreover, he's now backed up by the Earth Demon Heavenly General, so don't even think about it."

"Am I that stupid?"

Jiang He was a little lost for words, adding, "I don't have the strength to fight against a rank-seven right now. I won't go to my death so stupidly."

In the very least…

He would have to wait, and only consider that after he grew his own blade, planted a swordplay and his ability improved.

But Duan Tianhe did not know what he was thinking.

Assuming that Jiang He listened to his advice, he said, "Things aren't that simple over at the Ningdong Mines. Both Tranquil and Earth Demon are martial arts grandmasters, and average Awakened or martial artists would never win against them. Let's wait until the situation at Mount Dadong had calmed down, and I'll then direct the one I placed at Mount Dadong to move out and take them both down."

"So, when would things calm down over at Mount Dadong?"

"In a month."

A month?

Jiang He's mouth twitched. Even coleslaws would turn hot from waiting for so long, and who knows if the Tranquil and Earth Demon might suddenly try to assassinate him. What, was he supposed to remain fearful and panicky every single day, and not even have a wink of peaceful sleep?

Stepping out of the depot, they returned to Duan Tianhe's office.

As they sat on the sofa again, Jiang He stared at Pudgy Jiang for several seconds before exclaiming in surprise, "Old Jiang… How did you get fat again?"

He did not realize that before, and only noticed it now.

Even though Pudgy Jiang had 'slimmed down' thanks to a single blow from Jiang He's Mighty Dragon Shows Remorse a few days ago, he was definitely a little fatter now, even if he was not as exceedingly fat as before.

Nonetheless, Pudgy Jiang laughed out loud. "What else could it be, other than the good food I keep getting from Old Duan? I ate myself fat again without noticing it."

Beside them, Duan Tianhe could not help retorting, "Don't listen to him—not even a pig would have gotten that fat in a few days. It's his cultivation: it's a rather unique form, and getting fat is a special state that keeps him alive during dire moments."

"I see."

Jiang He muttered thoughtfully. "He's like a bear then, storing thick, flabby fat in his body. Still, while bears use that to hibernate, Chief Jiang uses it as a form of protection."

He was not concerned even as Pudgy Jiang scowled and chuckled, "Chief Jiang, why not cultivate in another style? Look at me…"

Ooom!

The silhouette of a golden bell appeared over Jiang He's body, and he knocked on it with his hand, causing it to dong resoundingly. "My defensive technique is as powerful as it looks cool. Don't you think having to eat over three hundred catties to protect yourself is a little too ugly?"

"By the way, are you married, Chief Jiang? Got a girlfriend?"

Pudgy Jiang scowled even harder.

Meanwhile, Duan Tianhe was holding back his laughter until his face went red.

Jiang He, on the other hand, was laughing heartily.

Pudgy Jiang had made fun of him considerably last time and got his payback now. Still, he felt a little fortunate that he was careful enough not to use that technique on Mu Wanqiu.

Soon, Jiang He became serious and asked, "Actually, the reason I came is to ask you for help, Chief Duan… do you know any weaponsmith?"

"You want to forge weapons?"

Duan Tianhe smiled. "Our MAD do have an Awakened who could fashion weapons. He was a blacksmith before and ended up awakening a superpower connected to his job, although the class of his awakening is too low, and he couldn't create weapons of A or S-grade."

"Oh?"

Jiang He's eyes shone. "Anything works. It doesn't have to be A or S-grade."

A-grade alloy weapons cost upwards of dozen millions, whereas S-grade alloy weapons were around ten times that price. With that amount of cash, he could have fresh models queueing up to have fun with him until he gets old, so why bother doing anything else?

Either way, he only needed a seed for his forging—he did not need all that much.

Soon, he met the weaponsmith: an old man who looked plain and honest.

His back was hunched, with a large, blackened hammer hanging over his hip, and he spoke with a thick northwestern accent, "What'd you want? Daggers? Swords?"

"A battle blade, sir."

Whipping out his phone, Jiang He showed an image he handpicked out of the internet: it was a dark golden dragon-slaying blade, with a dragon's head crafted as its handle, appearing exceedingly imposing and overbearing.

The old man held Jiang He's phone and looked at it for half a day. "No problem. I promise it would look identical to that picture, although my ability is limited to B-grade alloy."

"How long would it take to forge it?"

The old man thought about it and held up three fingers.

Jiang He frowned and exclaimed, "Three months? I can't wait that long. Just make me something else instead."

The old man glared and scolded him, "You brat. Who do you think you're belittling? I'll be done in three hours!"

Beside them, Duan Tianhe had ordered some of his people to bring along some B-grade alloy plates.

The old man raised his hand in a summoning gesture, and the hammer flew from his hip up to his coarse fingers. A scorching energy hence surged, and the black hammer promptly unleashed a blaze.

He placed the hammer over the pile of B-grade alloys, and in just a dozen minutes, the metals began to soften and melt.

Gaping, Jiang He muttered, "This codger is impressive!"

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Chapter 63: A Toy Car That Transforms

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Feeling the surge of searing energy from the old man's body, Jiang He glanced at Duan Tianhe and could not help asking, "Old Duan, is he a B-class fire-type Awakened?"

"Not exactly—he could be considered a special-class of Awakened since his ability is not conjured out of thin air, but relies on that black hammer."

Jiang He turned to stare at the blazing black hammer. "That hammer is quite something… its fires burn so hotly that it melts B-grade alloys, but the hammer itself remains fine."

"Eh?"

Jiang He blinked then, and exclaimed in awe, "The hammer could change sizes?"

The black hammer, which was still melting the alloys was clearly one size larger than before."

"Of course it can—the hammer itself is a conjuration."

Duan Tianhe chuckled. "As a matter of fact, the old man did not awaken fire-type powers. Instead, it's the hammer, and the fire is just a power attached to the hammer."

Conjuration?

Jiang He appeared thoughtful.

The old man is quite something, to actually awaken that hammer.

Later, as they left the old man's weaponsmith room, Duan Tianhe grumbled about wanting to treat Jiang He to a meal, which Jiang He politely refused. "Chief Duan, you two should go eat. I've already had a meal before I came to the city, and I also made an appointment with Mu Wanqiu to discuss something."

However, Duan Tianhe suddenly became all-mysterious at the mention of Mu Wanqiu.

He looked around, and moved closer to Jiang He when he saw that there was no one else around, whispering, "Hey, is the rumors I heard true? That you… made Mu Wanqiu bigger?"

"…"

Jiang He was speechless.

Why did that sentence sound like it had another meaning to it?

Still, he nodded since there was nothing worth hiding about it. "I discovered a corn that evolved after absorbing the Universal Force, and it has been confirmed that it promotes second puberty in women, specifically on a certain anatomy of theirs."

Duan Tianhe stammered a little as if embarrassed then as he asked, "Could you sell me two of those corns? I heard that it's being sold at five hundred thousand a piece, but you don't have to give me a discount—I'll buy them at retail price!"

"I do have a few left, but…"

"Never mind. You could come by my house tomorrow to take them."

Jiang He gulped down the question that was at the tip of his tongue.

What else was there to ask about?

Duan Tianhe must have felt awkward to sought out Mu Wanqiu, and the reason he would want the corn would undoubtedly be fore his wife or his girlfriend, and it was nothing worth knowing.

Duan Tianhe watched as Jiang He left, before whipping his phone out with a delighted look on his face as he sent a voice message.

"Darling, sorry, I've been too busy to celebrate your birthday… but I have a surprise for you now!"

The department of 'Feral Materials Acquisition', which was affiliated to Superpower Research had been set up in the MAD as well, and established in a single building.

And the moment Jiang He walked into the building, someone quickly welcomed him.

It was a female martial artist with wheat-colored skin and a stunning figure.

"Mister Jiang, Miss Mu is waiting for you. This way, please."

Jiang He studied the woman, his gaze eventually reaching her chest.

"Have you used my products before?" He asked.

Slightly enraged, the woman snorted coldly. "Never."

"Impressive."

Jiang He chuckled. "Then you're a hundred-percent natural!"

Then, when he saw that the woman was clenching her teeth and shaking slightly, he added in concern, "Could you be ill, beautiful? You could tell me where Mu Wanqiu is and I'll go to her myself, while you sit somewhere and take a break."

"…"

The woman took a deep breath and mustered a smile. "I'm fine, Mister Jiang. I'll take you there.

Mu Wanqiu's office was on the top floor.

Compared to Duan Tianhe's office, Mu Wanqiu's office looked much more exquisite. Aside from a pot of devil's ivy, it also had a closet, a small bedroom, and a gym.

"Please take a seat, Mister Jiang."

The female martial artist gestured for Jiang He to sit and poured him a cup of tea, albeit slamming it irritably on the coffee table.

Clang.

The tea almost spilt out.

However, just as Jiang He was about to reprimand her, Mu Wanqiu stepped out of the gym.

She must have just finished training—she still had a white towel wrapped over her neck. Her sportswear was a matching black and white: black shorts, and a white singlet that was being pushed to its limit.

"Your figure is fantastic, Miss Mu."

Jiang He praised. "This is quite fine. Don't think about shrinking them now."

Beside them, the female martial artist's eyes went round in bulging.

Wow…

Was this Mister Jiang that ruthless?

The female martial artist was still fuming after being teased, but now it seemed that she was less than an appetizer to him, what with him daring to tease even Miss Mu. The last person who did that had her legs broken and her beautiful hair burnt off, leaving her bald.

She was a little expectant at that. Surely Miss Mu would go crazy now?

And yet, Mu Wanqiu did not.

Instead, she chuckled bitterly and looked helpless. "There's no helping it. I just have to accept things as it is."

Jiang He was speechless for a moment, before muttering, "Why didn't you say that when you were flatter than me?"

The air in the room turned weird then, and a flame actually popped up over Mu Wanqiu's head.

When he saw that Mu Wanqiu was about to go on a rampage, Jiang He promptly changed the conversation. "Miss Mu, I've actually came today because I've heard that your department has made a breakthrough on medicinal pellets, so I wanted to ask… do you have something better than qi pellets?"

Mu Wanqiu took a deep breath in return, and the flame over her head slowly faded. "You want to buy medicinal pellets that improve cultivation?"

"Superpower Research has indeed been developing a new medicinal pellet, but it's still on clinical trials. I'll inform you at once if there's any breakthrough—Xiao Zhu, see him off."

Indignation was showing all over her face as she returned to the gym.

Beside Jiang He, the female martial artist scowled. "Mister Jiang, please."

Jiang He himself was left completely baffled.

What the heck?

They were having a nice conversation. How could she cold shoulder him just like that?

Glaring at the female martial artist, Jiang He retorted in irritation, "You don't have to 'please'. I'll go."

Watching as Jiang He left, the female martial artist named Xiao Zhu could even hear Jiang He complain—

"Women. Always so unreasonable!"

It was nighttime, though it was still drizzling outside.

Jiang He was about to head over to Auto City, wanting to buy a car but soon changed his mind…

"Every shop in Auto City is probably closed now.

"And…

"Why would I buy a car?

"It's an entirely different thing from whether I could plant it. I should get myself a toy car to test it back home."

Hence, Jiang He walked the streets, searching through shops near various supermarkets.

His attention was then caught by an exquisitely detailed model car. It resembled a red Ferrari Enzo, although its lines were smoother than an actual Enzo.

The shop owner was a middle-aged woman, who approached Jiang He with a smile. "Buying a toy for your kid, young man?"

She then fidgeted with the toy car, after of which it turned into Transformer that stood over forty centimeters tall.

Then, she pressed on the remote.

Tsche-tsche-tk-tk-tk.

The Transformer reverted to its red sports car form.

"My son bought this toy car from a science exhibition. It is remote-controlled and could transform, and it has a top-quality finish. I'm selling it at a discounted price of 998 dollars."

Jiang He promptly took out a bunch of hundred-dollar bills from his System Backpack and slapped them on the table.

"I want it!"

Are you kidding me?

He was getting an Enzo for just 998 dollars. That was just too cheap!

And most importantly…

Jiang He put away the remote, picked up the toy car and left the supermarket, muttering, "The car could even transform. I wonder if that would still stick after I plant it!"

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Chapter 64: Planting A Transformer

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

After that, Jiang He returned to the Martial Arts Department (MAD), and headed straight to the old man's weapons workshop.

He was squatting around and puffing a cigarette.

When he saw Jiang He enter, he smiled, baring his rows of big, yellow teeth. "Your blade's done. Take a look to see if you're satisfied."

He reached out with his hands and scooped out something from a nearby water tank, drawing out a golden dragon-slaying blade that had yet to fully cool.

"I didn't control the temperature too well," the old man added, rather embarrassed. "That's why the hue is a little bit different from the image you showed."

It certainly was.

In Jiang He's image, the dragon-slaying blade was dull golden in color, whereas this was different.

It was fully gold, and would probably be reflective if held underneath the sun, not to mention its whole form was at once noble, extravagant, and looked as if it belonged to an upstart. Nonetheless, its design was identical to the dragon-slaying blade in the image, even appearing a little more vivid—in fact, the dragon-head hilt gave the impression that it would come to life at any given moment.

Jiang He injected True Qi into the blade tentatively.

Ring!

The blade shuddered, its golden radiance bursting forth.

"Wonderful, wonderful! This is a good blade!"

Jiang He laughed heartily, exclaiming, "Many thanks, old man. How much for forging this blade?"

"It's for free."

The old man waved him off, saying, "Chief Duan's orders. You won't be charged anything for any weapons-forging."

Jiang He did not insist on paying him either, and went out to buy the old man some cigarettes, who in turn accepted it with a broad grin that narrowed his eyes. "You're a good kid. Come find me if you have more weapons you need making—I'll craft it up to the finest quality."

After that, Jiang He hailed a cab, and it was ten in the evening by the time he reached home.

Then, when he saw his half-completed mansion, he felt a little pained.

Life is difficult.

The rain was not stopping yet, and there was no telling if work would resume on the mansion tomorrow. Where was he supposed to sleep?

"Forget it."

"I'll try planting a car first. If that works, I'll spend the night in my Ferrari Enzo."

Arriving at the center of his yard, Jiang He stamped on the ground.

It had been raining for hours, but the soil was actually no different from when it was not raining. The mud he expected did not form.

He called out to Dumbo, who promptly ran to him and started digging with all four paws.

The pup had been eating rank-six Feral Wolf meat, and its aura had reached rank-two pinnacle. It would probably ascend up to rank-three in days.

The Three-tails Demon Cat had an even better menu, having eaten over a dozen qi pellets to reach rank-four intermediate.

He then dumped the toy car into the hole. As Jiang He thought about it, he clenched his teeth and redeemed a pack of Mysterious Soil from the System Shop.

[Ding!]

[-5000 Farm Points]

There were only a thousand left of the Farm Points he had been accumulating for days.

Feeling a little pained after taking out a tenth of the Mysterious Soil, Jiang He muttered, "I'm losing so much if this doesn't work."

He buried the hole and watered it.

Jiang He then took out the dragon-slaying blade from his System Backpack and planted it too.

"One composite fertilizer…"

"And I'll divide the remaining Mysterious Soil in half."

After he sowed the blade, Jiang He dusted himself with a hopeful look. "It cost me a leg to plant you. If the blade that grows out is plain and normal…"

Just as that thought crossed his mind, a car honk echoed from outside his gates.

The car from the MAD has arrived, and Bai Feifei was in the driver's seat.

She entered the yard and found Jiang He standing there with a clump of dust on his body, therefore exclaiming in surprise, "Mister Jiang… that's…"

"Oh."

Jiang He stepped out from the orchard with a very serious look. "Wasn't it raining? I thought about it, and decided to plant some cabbages I could make salted veggies of."

"???"

Bai Feifei was left a little dumbstruck.

Salted… veggies?

She smiled awkwardly but politely. "You're very interesting, Mister Jiang."

"Oh, right. I've brought you Three Waters Wei's corpse… Su Ze, why aren't you carrying it here?"

In the car, Su Ze picked up Three Waters Wei's body.

His legs turned into jelly when he saw Jiang He, but he forced a smile and asked, "Mister Jiang, where should I put this corpse?"

"Over there."

Jiang He pointed with his finger, and Su Ze carried it into the yard.

But as he put down his corpse, he looked up to find a black cat and a big wolfdog crouching in front of him and studying him. As such, he could not help smiling.

In the next split second, his smile turned stiff.

Because both dog and cat were smiling at him too.

Soon, Su Ze felt the aura exuding from the creatures' bodies…

"Rank-two pinnacle, and rank-four?"

"Mister Jiang definitely deserves his title of beast tamer…"

Su Ze turned and returned to the car.

He was a little scared out of his wits.

As a rank-two advanced… he actually lost out to the dog in Jiang He's house?

Meanwhile, Bai Feifei had a few idle exchanges with Jiang He before smiling, "Mister Jiang, I still have certain matters to see too. I'll be going."

Jiang He escorted her to the car and grinned, "Drive slower, Sis Bai. It's dark, and the road is slippery."

Then, he returned to the yard and was given a fright.

"Wait a minute…"

"Where is Three Waters Wei's corpse?"

He had been talking with Bai Feifei for less than ten minutes, but the corpse was gone in the blink of an eye?

Still, over at a corner of the yard, there was a brand new… grave.

Both Dumbo and Trumbo were standing like humans, piling one brick after another on the grave.

"What the heck…"

Jiang He clutched his head, unsure what to say at once and eventually waved feebly. "Fine, do whatever you like…"

Right now, Jiang He was not confident that he could grow a person.

Still, though the grave looked a little warped, it was buried regardless.

He then turned towards the spot where he planted the toy car and the dragon-slaying blade, and each plant had two young leaves growing out of the soil.

However, the toy car was clearly growing quicker than the dragon-slaying blade.

And its leaves were a bright scarlet.

Soon, those leaves sprawled out over the ground, growing larger and longer until they finally came together into a single circular leaf, around three meters in diameter.

At the center of the leaf, a single flower bud rapidly blossomed, wilted and bore fruit: a small car, identical to the toy car Jiang He planted.

The car was thumb-sized at first, before it rapidly grew at a visible rate… and eventually became a red sports car.

Jiang He's eyes twinkled—there was no man who did not like sports cars.

Moreover, the car was identical in design to the toy car he had planted: similar to a Ferrari Enzo, although it appeared more streamlined and more comfortable.

Jiang He walked up to it and caressed its body, when an idea struck him.

"Does this car… need gas?" He muttered. "I heard sports car chugs oil, and I'll have to pump more in just around two hundred kilometers if I do not pump much on the first trip. And gas prices these days are expensive…"

"Oh, right!"

"The toy I planted could turn into a Transformer. And following the principle of 'you reap what you sow'… can this car transform?"

Even as that thought crossed his mind—

Tsche-tsche-tk-tk-tk.

The red sports car rapidly changed in front of his eyes, assuming the form of a Transformer that stood over three meters tall.

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