Chapter 287: Martial Dao Progress, Opportunities Knocking at the Door!

Chapter 287: Martial Dao Progress, Opportunities Knocking at the Door!



The next day, Jiang Ning opened the door to a cloudless sky, filling him with joy.

This perfect weather indicated further improvement in his Inner Essence Nourishing Art and an increase in his Inner Breath.

Taking advantage of the early morning, he began practicing and cultivating in the courtyard.

[Five Animal Fist Experience +2]



[Five Animal Fist Experience +1]



[Five Animal Fist Experience +3]



[.]



With each repetition of the fist technique, his experience in the Five Animal Fist rapidly increased.

Simultaneously, he continuously manipulated his Vital Energy within, tempering his bones.

Boom—

Boom—

Boom—

Each boom reverberated within his body.

Every strike sent tremors through his entire body, as if he were about to teleport, with his Vital Energy surging relentlessly.

But as he felt the impurities in his bones being gradually purged, Jiang Ning's satisfaction knew no bounds.

Strength was the foundation of survival.

Especially after the events of the previous night, he dared not slack off.

The information leaked by the Black Lotus Elder revealed a significant message: one day, the Black Lotus Elder would descend upon Daxia.

At that time, the danger would not only come from the Black Lotus Elder but also from the changing situation.

This signified the return of the so-called Deities.

When that time came, Daxia would undoubtedly face great turmoil, and without strength, one would be like a floating reed in the wind, with no foundation for survival.

With this in mind, Jiang Ning continued his practice and cultivation.

He knew that with his current abilities, as long as he took one step at a time, he would eventually reach a level comparable to the Martial Sage.

In the blink of an eye, the morning sun dyed the sky red.

Jiang Ning exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly retracted his fist formation.

After several hours of continuous fist practice and bone tempering, he felt his body nearly depleted, and his Vital Energy was almost exhausted.

He quickly swallowed the Jade Marrow Pill.

As the cool Jade Marrow Liquid entered his body, it instantly transformed into a misty cloud-like state in his abdomen, then silently merged into each of his bones.

After completing the final step of bone forging, he closed his eyes and observed his inner state.

In an instant, he saw that among his two hundred and six bones, approximately three-tenths of them had now reached the Jade Bone state, emitting a sacred aura.

These bones were located in crucial positions throughout his body, protecting his vital areas.

This significantly reduced his physical vulnerabilities.

For instance, the bones in his neck, after his deliberate tempering, had completely transformed into Jade Bones.

Now, even if a blade were to slash at his neck, it might cut through his skin and flesh, but it would be difficult to sever the Jade Bone in his neck.

His defenses at such vital points had undoubtedly improved tremendously.

Just like the neck, other less critical areas were still in the Dark Bone state, filled with black bones resembling obsidian, shimmering with light.

So, he wasn't in a hurry and chose to forge ahead one step at a time.

"The progress of Jade Bones has exceeded three-tenths, and with my current efficiency, I estimate that reaching the Jade Bone state before spring will be no problem at all!"

Jiang Ning observed the distribution of Jade Bones within his body while silently speaking to himself.

After examining his body, Jiang Ning opened his eyes and looked at his panel.

【Skills】: Five Animal Fist (3rd Limit Break 703/4000) (Attributes: Five Viscera Store Essence, Five Elements Spirit, Master of Fist Techniques)



"Over 700 experience points, not bad!" Jiang Ning nodded, muttering to himself, "At this rate, in ten days or half a month, the experience points for my Five Animal Fist will be full, and I can complete the fourth limit break."

"But the real problem is the Essence Energy points."

【Essence Energy】: 133.74

Glancing at the Essence Energy points on his panel, Jiang Ning shook his head.

With just over a hundred Essence Energy points, he couldn't do much.

The fourth limit break for Five Animal Fist required a full 500 Essence Energy points, and his other skills were also ready for another limit break.

The only thing lacking was Essence Energy points.

Thinking of this, he took another look at his panel.

【Skills】: Firewood Splitting Blade Art (5th Limit Break 6000/6000) (Attributes: Touching Classes Through, Blade Like Gale, Wield Blade Like God, Man and Blade as One, Innate Blade Bone)



Water Skill (6th Limit Break 7000/7000) (Attributes: Underwater Breathing, Water Control Technique+, Water Spirit Affinity, Cloud Formation and Rainmaking, Water Spirit Body)



The experience points required for these two skills to reach their next limit break had been fulfilled many days ago.

However, the lack of Essence Energy points remained a significant issue.

To achieve the sixth limit break for Firewood Splitting Blade Art, he needed a full 500 Essence Energy points.

According to Jiang Ning's estimation, achieving the seventh limit break for Water Skill would require an even greater amount of 1000 Essence Energy points.

The gap in Essence Energy points was indeed substantial.

After looking at his panel for a long time, he closed it after a moment of thought.

"I still need money!" After pondering for a while, this was the only solution he could think of.

With money, he could purchase all sorts of precious medicinal ingredients, heavenly treasures, and immortal treasures.

By consuming these items, his body would absorb their benefits, and his Essence Energy points would surge.

At this moment, he also thought of the remaining immortal treasures in the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower.

One was the Five Elements Spirit Fruit, with five fruits of different elemental attributes.

There were also two other immortal treasures: Starlight Grass and Thousandwood Core.

These three immortal treasures were all extremely valuable.

Especially the Five Elements Spirit Fruit, which was priced at a staggering 100,000 silver taels in the Ten Thousand Flowers Tower.

This amount was a considerable fortune for any power in Luoshui County.

"Only the three major families could gather such wealth in a short time!" Jiang Ning shook his head slightly, temporarily setting aside this problem without any clues.

Then, he climbed over the high wall and stepped onto the icy surface of the rocky beach.

With a casual stomp, he shattered the thick layer of ice, and his entire body instantly sank into the bone-chilling lake water.

However, he felt an indescribable comfort and enjoyment as soon as he entered the water.

In just the time it takes to brew a cup of tea.

He revived in a full-health state and resurfaced on the icy surface.

At this moment, he also washed away the sweat from his recent cultivation, feeling refreshed.

With a thought, his clothes became dry, and there was no trace of moisture left on his body.

After that.

He returned to his room, where Lu Yi helped him change into new clothes for the new year.

"Young Master, I'm done!" Lu Yi spoke, looking at Jiang Ning's reflection in the bronze mirror, her face showing great satisfaction.

At this moment, with Lu Yi's assistance, Jiang Ning's hair was neatly combed and tied at the top with a black headband.

He wore a long robe with red and white stripes, and the threads of the fabric shimmered in the sunlight streaming in from outside.

At the same time.

Xie Zhengtian, the head of the Xie family, had arrived at Jiang Ning's mansion.

He adjusted his clothes and turned to look at the black-faced man behind him.

"Second Brother, are the preparations done?"

"Yes, all ready!" The black-faced man nodded.

"Good!" Xie Zhengtian nodded slightly.

Then, he straightened his clothes and knocked on the front gate.

After a few breaths.

"So early?" A surprised voice came from the front yard, followed by hurried footsteps.

East Yard.

"Young Master, the head of the Xie family has come to pay his respects and wishes to meet with you."

"So early?" Jiang Ning was astonished.

He put down the book in his hand and stood up.

"Let's go! Let's meet him!"

As he walked, Jiang Ning was curious as to why the head of the Xie family wanted to meet him, clearly indicating that he had something to discuss.

But what could they possibly talk about?

With some doubts in his mind, Jiang Ning headed towards the front yard's hall.

A moment later, Jiang Ning and Xie Zhengtian sat at a tea table.

Suddenly, Xie Zhengtian stood up, his expression solemn as he said, "Commander Jiang!!!"

"Does Lord Xie have something to say?" Jiang Ning asked.

"Yes!" Xie Zhengtian nodded solemnly.

Then he continued, "Commander Jiang, previously, my Xie family had some unruly members who brought harm to the local people. This is a self-examination of all 247 members of my Xie family."

After saying this, he took a roll of white paper that had been rolled up from the hands of the dark-faced man behind him.

"Commander Jiang, please take a look."

Then, he took out two silver notes with thin gold threads from his sleeve and continued, "Commander Jiang, thank you for protecting the safety of all the people in Luo Shui County last night. This is a small token of gratitude from the Xie family. Please accept it with a smile."

At this moment, Jiang Ning glanced at the roll of white paper that Xie Zhengtian had placed on the table, then looked at the silver notes with gold threads that Xie Zhengtian had pushed towards him, and couldn't help but smile.

He instantly understood Xie Zhengtian's intention.

It seemed that Xie Zhengtian had felt a sense of foreboding.

The fates of the Cao and Liu families had brought immense crisis to the Xie family.

That was why they had come to visit on the first day of the new year.

It was both a gesture of goodwill and a well-prepared move.

After self-examination and self-correction, they offered a grand gift.

Two silver notes with gold threads! Each of these silver notes represented ten thousand taels of silver.

At this moment, there were two silver notes on the table, indicating that twenty thousand taels of silver were to be given to Jiang Ning.

Then, he picked up the roll of white paper, tore off the sticky part, and instantly unrolled the paper in his hand.

After a moment, he gained one point of character recognition experience.

Another moment passed, and he gained another point of character recognition experience.

In less than half a cup of tea, he had read through several pages of information about the Xie family's self-examination and punishment.

By reading this information, he had barely gained two points of character recognition experience.

Subsequently, Jiang Ning put down the pages and, looking at Xie Zhengtian standing before him, spoke calmly.

"It's not enough!"

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhengtian was stunned.

Jiang Ning continued, "With Xie Xiaojiu's connection, I can consider letting your Xie family off. However, the punishment you've listed here is far from sufficient, and the crimes committed by your family's members are far more severe than this."

"I'll give you one more chance, one more opportunity to self-examine and correct yourselves."

"This is your only chance!"

"If your Xie family doesn't sincerely deal with those people, I won't mind making your family end up like the Liu family."

Hearing Jiang Ning's last sentence, Xie Zhengtian felt a chill run from head to toe, causing his heart to tremble.

He was well aware of what had happened to the Liu family and had no doubt that Jiang Ning possessed such capabilities.

The family meeting with the elders had gone smoothly due to this recent incident.

Those who had grown to this point were no fools.

They all understood that the family's survival must come first, and personal sacrifices were insignificant compared to the family's interests.

At this moment, the response from Jiang Ning made it clear that this matter had become complicated.

It was evident that Jiang Ning didn't intend to let the Xie family off so easily.

What troubled Xie Zhengtian the most was Jiang Ning's statement about this being their only chance.

Then, he respectfully replied, "Understood! Thank you, Commander Jiang, for giving my Xie family another chance."

After saying this, he pushed the two silver notes with gold threads towards Jiang Ning.

"Commander Jiang, please accept these!"

"Agreed!" Jiang Ning nodded and took the two silver notes that Xie Zhengtian had pushed towards him, "It's just that I'm short on money right now, so I'll take these two silver notes."

At the same time, Xie Zhengtian's eyes lit up when he heard these words.

Immediately, he didn't say more but bowed and took his leave.

After exiting the mansion, the dark-faced man finally dared to speak, "Big brother, what should we do?" Before entering, Xie Zhengtian, as the head of the Xie family, had instructed him not to utter a word.

Xie Zhengtian said, "It's clear that if our Xie family is willing to cut out the rotten parts, we can survive. If we're not willing, our fate may be no different from the Liu family."

As he spoke, a smile appeared on Xie Zhengtian's face.

"Fortunately, I just discovered a need of Commander Jiang's—he's short on money."

"My Xie family has money!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end