"Why do I remember Miss Shao having one just like this?" Jiang Che asked with a frown.

The middle-aged woman’s expression changed slightly. She lowered her voice and said,

"To be honest with you, Young Master, this *is* that very same one! Miss Shao sold it back a few days ago!"

"Sold it back? Isn’t the Shao Mansion very wealthy?" Jiang Che was a bit surprised.

Seeing no one else around, the middle-aged woman leaned in and said,

"There’s something you may not know, Young Master. The Shao Mansion... it’s on its last legs!"

Jiang Che’s expression remained unchanged. "What do you mean?"

"I’ve heard that many of the Shao Family’s businesses have been absorbed by the Zhao Family. They say the Shao Family’s backer in the Court has fallen, and they’re already planning to leave Lin Yuan City!"

"Is that true?"

"That’s just what I heard. But the Shao’s Inn up the street had its sign changed a few days ago. It’s called Zhao’s Inn now."

Jiang Che nodded and didn’t ask any more questions.

He looked at the jewelry for a little longer but left without buying anything.

The middle-aged woman rolled her eyes at Jiang Che’s retreating back.

’This guy looks the part, but he’s just another cheapskate,’ she thought.

After leaving the jewelry shop, Jiang Che went to the inn across the street.

He looked up and saw that it was, indeed, labeled "Zhao’s Inn."

’Could the Shao Mansion really be in trouble?’

A faint sense of worry grew in Jiang Che’s heart.

The Shao Mansion had been very generous to him, especially his Second Senior Brother, who had sponsored him with a considerable amount of Silver Coins.

Now that the Shao Mansion was in trouble, he had no idea how he could help.

Jiang Che sighed. Having lost his mood for strolling, he headed home.

Once in the courtyard, he began to practice the Rock-Splitting Fist.

With the buff from his upgraded Heart Stream, this Martial Arts technique was now just a step away from Perfection.

Two hours later, Jiang Che slowly concluded his practice.

[Rock-Splitting Fist Perfection]

[Talent Acquired: Mountain Collaps]

[Mountain Collaps: Passive Skill, permanent attribute enhancement type.]

[Description: Permanently increases base strength by 25%.] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

’It didn’t activate Omen? Instead, it’s Mountain Collaps, which increases strength?’

Jiang Che fell into thought.

’It seems that, unlike Iron Body Skills, the Talents activated by Fist Techniques aren’t fixed.’

He thought about it for a moment and began to understand.

The ultimate goal of all Iron Body Skills was essentially the same.

That is, to increase the body’s resistance to blows.

Therefore, they would always activate[Rejuvenation].

After all, it was the Talent Skill that best complemented damage resistance.

The White Cloud Fist, on the other hand, was a more nimble Fist Technique, adept at finding opportunities.

Therefore, Sensing the flow of qi was particularly important.

Jiang Che guessed this might be why it could activate[Omen].

As for the Rock-Splitting Fist, although it was also a Fist Technique,

it followed a hard and ferocious path.

Thus, it activated[Mountain Collaps].

’A 25% increase in strength...’

Jiang Che clenched his fists, feeling a distinct surge in his power.

He walked up to the Big Iron Bell, circulated his Qi Blood, and threw a punch.

DONG!

A shallow Fist Seal actually appeared on the surface of the Big Iron Bell!

’This...’

Jiang Che was stunned.

He hadn’t even used his Transformation, yet he could leave a Fist Seal on a huge chunk of iron with a single punch!

If he transformed, he would probably be even stronger!

Jiang Che returned to his room and summoned his status panel.

[Name: Jiang Che]

[Age: 17]

[Realm: Qi Blood Second Realm·Mid-stage Stone Skin Realm]

[Qi Blood Martial Dao: Cloud-Stacking Fist Minor Achievement (185/200), Flying Swallow Step Minor Achievement (176/200)]

[Skills: Calligraphy Perfection, Mountain-Bashing Force Perfection, Iron Wood Body Perfection, Body Refinement Perfection, White Cloud Fist Perfection, Iron Elephant Stance Perfection, Wave-Stealing Step Perfection, Rock-Splitting Fist Perfection]

[Talent: Divine Movement, Heart Stream, Omen, Rejuvenation, Mountain Collaps]

[Divine Abilities: Heart of the Black Abyss]

’Even though I haven’t practiced Cloud-Stacking Fist and Flying Swallow Step much, I’ve gained a lot of experience from all the fighting these past few days. They’re almost maxed out...’

Jiang Che thought to himself.

He then pulled out the Secret Manuals he had yet to cultivate from under his bed.

Among them were two Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts Secret Manuals: the "Prison-Suppressing Saber" and the "Eight Sufferings Vajra Zen".

There were also eight Basic Martial Arts Secret Manuals.

These included three Saber Techniques, four Fist Techniques, and one Swordsmanship manual.

’I might as well train Cloud-Stacking Fist and Flying Swallow Step to Great Success first. Then I can go back and master all the Basic Martial Arts to unlock all their Talents.’

Jiang Che formed a rough plan.

In terms of Qi Blood, his progress was actually quite fast.

As long as the Heart of the Black Abyss didn’t siphon away his Qi Blood, he was eating Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat daily and receiving potent Qi Blood-replenishing medicine from Zhang Jinghuai every day.

He estimated that in another two months, he could accumulate a full reserve of Qi Blood and instantly step into the Iron Skin Realm!

He hadn’t even touched his Top-Grade Exotic Beast Meat yet.

’To think I’m already about to reach the Iron Skin Realm without even realizing it...’

Jiang Che recalled how hard he had trained just to achieve the initial Sensing of his Qi Blood, and couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.

He put away the Secret Manuals, returned to the courtyard, and resumed his training.

His recovery ability had now reached an astonishing level, and he was consuming large amounts of Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat every day.

He could train almost tirelessly.

Plus, with his upgraded Heart Stream—a divine technique for grinding experience—

Jiang Che felt that it might only take a few months to max out all of his Martial Arts.

’I wonder how strong I’ll be by then...’

’A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I’ll start by maxing out Cloud-Stacking Fist and Flying Swallow Step!’

...

「A few days later.」

Jiang Che’s figure flickered continuously in the courtyard, his speed incredibly fast.

Suddenly, with a light tap of his toes, he came to a stop on one foot atop a thin, round pillar.

Although the pillar was only as wide as half his sole, he stood on it with perfect stability, his body not wobbling in the slightest.

’Flying Swallow Step is maxed out, too...’

He saw a line of small text float before his eyes.

[Flying Swallow Step Great Success (1/400)]

Not long before, he had already trained his Cloud-Stacking Fist to Great Success.