Chapter 209: Strength Breakthrough, Taking Another Step Forward!

Chapter 209: Strength Breakthrough, Taking Another Step Forward!

That night.

"It's a bit cold!"

After Jiang Ning finished his practice, he waited until his body temperature dropped, and he felt the autumn breeze blowing, causing him to tighten his clothing.

He could clearly feel that the temperature tonight was lower than the night before.

The perceived temperature was six or seven degrees cooler than the previous night.

The current temperature was undoubtedly below ten degrees.

And in the past two days, the weather seemed to still be in the midst of summer, with scorching temperatures reaching forty degrees, making it unbearable.

In less than two days.

From around forty degrees, the temperature plummeted, dropping directly to below ten degrees.

Coupled with the autumn breeze, even with Jiang Ning's physique, the thin clothing couldn't withstand such a drastic temperature change.

But as the autumn breeze blew, he still felt a slight chill.

This feeling of slight coldness was uncomfortable.

Indoors.

The candlelight flickered.

Xie Xiaojiu gazed at the outdoors, her face showing a contemplative expression.

Hooo—

The autumn wind outside the window blew, seeping into the room through the narrow gaps, causing goose bumps to appear on her arms.

At this moment, the night had already deepened.

The moonlight barely entered the room through the narrow gaps, leaving only a thin strip of moonlight inside.

After a moment.

Creak—

Xie Xiaojiu pushed open the window.

The autumn wind blowing in the courtyard brushed against her body, causing her loose dress to cling tightly to her figure.

Revealing her beautiful, youthful figure.

At this moment, the wind seemed to have taken shape.

"Sir!"

Xie Xiaojiu looked up and saw Jiang Ning lying across the roof.

"What, you're not asleep yet?" Jiang Ning turned his head and looked down, instantly catching a glimpse of her exquisite beauty.

"I can't sleep!" Xie Xiaojiu shook her head below.

Then she continued, "Sir, come and sleep in my room! It's cold outside, and it's not suitable for sleeping outdoors."

"You're not afraid?" Jiang Ning smiled at her words.

"I'm not afraid!" Xie Xiaojiu replied firmly.

"Do you trust me so much?" Jiang Ning jumped down from the roof.

Xie Xiaojiu looked at Jiang Ning seriously, "I trust your character."

Jiang Ning smiled again.

"Since that's the case, I won't be impolite!"

Creak—

Xie Xiaojiu opened the door to her room.

Stepping into Xie Xiaojiu's room, Jiang Ning instantly felt the temperature rise by several degrees.

He immediately understood that the wood used to build the room was extraordinary.

It was made from expensive wood with the effect of being warm in winter and cool in summer.

At the same time.

Xie Xiaojiu's heart suddenly tensed up.

In the quiet of the night, being alone in a room with another man made her especially nervous.

Especially since she was wearing only a thin house dress, a skirt and top, which she usually wore in the comfort of her own courtyard.

But now, it was completely different.

In her mind, various scenes kept flashing, some of which even made her blush and feel a warmth in her body.

After a moment.

Creak—

Xie Xiaojiu closed the door to her room, slowly shutting it.

Turning around, she saw Jiang Ning already seated, pouring himself a cup of tea.

"S-Sir," Xie Xiaojiu's voice trembled.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Ning picked up the tea and drank it, then asked.

Xie Xiaojiu composed herself and said, "Sir, my bed is a bit small, and you might feel uncomfortable later."

Jiang Ning smiled at her words, "I'm just borrowing your room for the night, how can I take over your bed?"

Saying so, Jiang Ning stood up and moved the stool next to the table, arranging it into a makeshift bed.

"I'll sleep here later!"

Seeing this, Xie Xiaojiu was momentarily stunned.

She realized that Jiang Ning had misunderstood her intention.

She had originally planned for them to squeeze together and share the bed.

Xie Xiaojiu opened her mouth but lacked the courage to say those words again.

"Don't just stand there!" Jiang Ning said, "It's late, time to sleep!"

"Okay!" Xie Xiaojiu hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Approaching her bed, Xie Xiaojiu kicked off her slippers and glanced at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning was already lying on the makeshift bed, his eyes closed.

She then slid her legs into the covers.

A moment later.

Xie Xiaojiu spoke up again, "Sir!"

"What's wrong?" Jiang Ning asked again.

Xie Xiaojiu said, "Sir, do you have a cleanliness obsession?"

"Commoners don't have such obsessions," Jiang Ning replied.

Hearing Jiang Ning's words,

Xie Xiaojiu immediately stood up, picked up her thick blanket, and walked towards Jiang Ning.

"Sir, the temperature is dropping further tonight, and this blanket is thicker. Let me cover you with it."

As she spoke, she reached Jiang Ning's side.

"Sir, lie down, and I'll cover you."

Hearing Xie Xiaojiu's words, Jiang Ning found it amusing and nodded, then lay down.

Xie Xiaojiu immediately covered Jiang Ning with the blanket she was holding.

After tidying up, she asked nervously, "Sir, does this blanket have any strange smells?"

Jiang Ning lowered his head to sniff, and a scent as alluring as musk and orchid instantly filled his senses. Then he spoke.

Hearing Jiang Ning's direct answer, Xie Xiaojiu's hanging heart finally settled.

After that, she took a blanket from the wardrobe and spread it on her bed.

The two of them quickly fell asleep.

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

During these three days, Jiang Ning toiled tirelessly, day and night, refining the Dragon Tiger Sinew Pill.

With the support of this precious pill, his strength had been rapidly improving.

"According to records, the human body's major sinews are classified into four levels: bull, tiger, dragon, and serpent."

"When the major sinews reach the level of bull sinews, one enters the Seventh Stage of Martial Dao, and can increase explosive power by thirty percent."

"Upon reaching tiger sinews, one can double their explosive power."

"At the level of dragon sinews, one can increase explosive power by twofold."

"And finally, at the dragon sinew level, one can increase explosive power fivefold."

Jiang Ning then flexed his major sinews, activating the power throughout his body.

Crack—

The air suddenly exploded.

With this movement, he saw white mist flowing from his fingers, even in the darkness of the night.

"This explosive power should be just a step away from the dragon sinew level!"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

His heart couldn't help but feel a surge of joy.

In just a few days, his strength had skyrocketed, reaching a level just shy of the dragon sinew from the bull sinew.

All of this was the effect of the Dragon Tiger Sinew Pill.

"This is probably the power of money!" Jiang Ning couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

After personally experiencing the Dragon Tiger Sinew Pill, he had a deeper understanding of a crucial point.

In this world, the difficulty of martial arts is only relative to the poor and to martial artists from smaller regions.

A few tens of thousands of silver taels could bring him such an improvement.

Although it seemed to consume a lot of wealth, it was only significant for him.

The Great Xia had nearly a thousand years of history.

Centuries-old aristocratic families were countless.

Millennial noble families were not just legends.

And there were also those thousand-year-old sects.

For these powers, a few tens of thousands of silver taels were merely a few dozen gold taels, perhaps not even a drop in the ocean for them.

The inheritors of such powers would undoubtedly enjoy extremely luxurious resources from a young age.

"No wonder there are armies composed of Seventh and Eighth Stage Martial Artists in Great Xia!"

After these few days, he thoroughly understood the power of wealth.

Not to mention the deeper aspects of martial arts.

At least at the level of flesh, muscles, and bones, martial resources had a significant impact.

As long as there were sufficient resources, perhaps these steps would not be difficult.

"Even innate talent and bone structure can be altered through acquired means."

"So, what does this mean?"

Jiang Ning's heart had some enlightenment.

【Source Energy】: 677.49

Glancing at his status panel, he thought, "Tomorrow, my Source Energy should be able to break through the 700 threshold."

"With the Source Energy points after breaking through the 700 threshold, I can perform the second and third limit breaks for my Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique."

"With this, even if Liu Lintang comes knocking on my door, I should have the power to fight back!"

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

Over these three days, while the Bamboo Gang secretly kept an eye on him, he also became well-informed about the Yellow Heaven Sect's activities.

After the Yellow Heaven Sect displayed their miraculous powers, their followers zealously spread the word.

In just a few days, in the Eastern District of the outer city, thirty percent of the residents became devout followers of the Yellow Heaven Sect.

Especially after yesterday's news that if there were enough devout followers of the Yellow Heaven Sect in Luoshui County, the Heavenly King would visit next spring to pray for rain, ensuring a bountiful harvest.

This news further ignited the enthusiasm of the residents.

Meanwhile, Jiang Ning also gained a good grasp of Liu Lintang's condition.

After several days of treatment, Liu Lintang's eye injury was healing. Liu Lintang had even visited Ye Qiu yesterday.

This action immediately made Jiang Ning consider a possibility.

That Liu Lintang, like Jiang Ning had predicted, still didn't know who had attacked him that night.

Visiting Ye Qiu might be an attempt to use the Heavenly Eye to investigate the identity of his attacker.

With his increased strength, Jiang Ning no longer felt the anxiety he had in the previous days.

The improvement in his strength gave him more confidence.

Compared to that night, his abilities had improved tremendously, increasing by at least twofold.

Not only had he completed the first limit break for his Wind and Thunder Arrow Technique, but he was also just a step away from the dragon sinew level, capable of unleashing nearly twice the explosive power he had before.

When he had attacked Liu Lintang that night, he was only at the bull sinew level, able to increase his explosive power by only thirty percent.

And in these days, his sword aura has once again broken through its limits, allowing him to harness the power of heaven and earth by utilizing his sword aura.

The improvement of the three has given him some confidence.

His current strength cannot be simply assessed by a Martial Dao rank.

After all, he has now mastered Inner Breath, a skill that only a Fifth Rank Inner Fortitude Realm practitioner can possess.

With these cumulative advantages, Jiang Ning doesn't say that he can compete with a Fifth Rank Inner Fortitude Realm expert, but at least he is not afraid of facing a Sixth Rank one.

With the addition of favorable timing and terrain, challenging a Fifth Rank expert is not entirely impossible.

A moment later.

Jiang Ning pushed open the door and stepped into Xie Xiaojiu's room.

"Sir!" Xie Xiaojiu sat on the bed, with the blanket barely covering her thighs. She put down the sword manual in her hand and greeted Jiang Ning.

"You don't have to wait for me!" Jiang Ning spoke to Xie Xiaojiu.

Xie Xiaojiu showed a faint smile.

She stretched out her leg from under the blanket and then got out of bed, wearing cotton shoes.

In these days, the temperature has dropped further.

Even when staying at home in the evening, Xie Xiaojiu no longer wears thin robes.

Instead, she puts on a white fox fur dress, with soft fox fur on both the inner and outer sides.

The thick fox fur dress also covers some of her beauty, only revealing her round and slender calves, thin shoulders, and snow-white arms.

The most breathtaking view is hidden by the thick dress, leaving Jiang Ning with a slight regret that he couldn't appreciate the beauty of the mortal world.

Coming to the table.

Xie Xiaojiu picked up the teapot and poured water into the cup.

Gurgle—

The hot tea poured from the spout of the teapot into the cup, and a little mist rose.

"Sir, it's cold outside. Have a cup of hot tea to warm up before sleeping!"

"Thank you!" Jiang Ning smiled and took a small sip of the hot tea.

The teapot had been sitting for a while, and the water temperature was clearly not very high.

Jiang Ning gently tested the water temperature and then drank it all in a few sips.

With the hot tea in his stomach, the slight chill on his body instantly dissipated.

Although the temperature drop in these days is not as intense as before, it continues to get colder.

It is already very close to the winter temperature in his previous life in the south.

Due to the proximity to the Luo River, the humidity is severe, and the bone-chilling dampness is felt once again, even with his extraordinary physique, Jiang Ning still finds this weather uncomfortable.

"Go to sleep! Don't worry about me!" Jiang Ning looked at Xie Xiaojiu standing in front of him and urged her.

"Sir, it's very cold today." Xie Xiaojiu's heart suddenly started pounding, and she hesitated before speaking, "Why don't... why don't you sleep on the bed?"

Xie Xiaojiu repeated the same words she had said a few days ago.

"I'll sleep on the bed, where will you sleep?" Jiang Ning smiled and patted the blanket placed beside him, continuing, "Don't worry! With the blanket you gave me, I'll be fine! I'm a Seventh Rank Martial Artist!"

Looking at Jiang Ning, Xie Xiaojiu opened her mouth, but her breath escaped.

"Then, sir, I'll go to sleep first!"

She took two steps in three and quickly climbed into her bed.

Jiang Ning watched her back and shook his head with a chuckle.

Then.

Jiang Ning assembled a makeshift sleeping area, spread the blanket over himself, and quickly fell asleep.

The next day.

"Sir, you're awake!" Jiang Ning opened his eyes and saw Xie Xiaojiu washing her face beside him.

With the wetness of the water, her hair stuck to her ears and forehead.

From Jiang Ning's perspective, he could clearly see the fine fuzz on Xie Xiaojiu's face.

Jiang Ning sat down to calm his body's reaction."

At the age of surging blood, every morning is always so uncomfortable.

Especially seeing Xie Xiaojiu's beautiful figure, Jiang Ning needed some time to suppress his body's reaction.

Jiang Ning's gaze fell on the panel, and his heart secretly thrilled.

The Source Energy Points had surpassed seven hundred points, giving him more options.

Whether to choose breaking the limits of the Firewood Chopping Sword Technique or the secondary and tertiary breakthroughs of the Gale Thunder Arrow Art, it was all up to his decision.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end