Chapter 289: Half a Month Later, Improving Skills!

Chapter 289: Half a Month Later, Improving Skills!



In the days that followed, the weather took a turn, and heavy snow began to fall relentlessly.

The heavy snowfall blocked the mountain roads, making it impossible for ordinary people to venture out.

Even ordinary martial artists dared not leave their homes under such harsh conditions.

The extreme weather could easily lead to their deaths from freezing or starvation in the wilderness.

As a result, the entire Luoshui County fell into an unusual state of calm.

The only place with some activity was the Xie family.

During these days, Jiang Ning dedicated himself to practicing and cultivating his martial arts.

As time passed, his progress in the Five Animal Fist steadily increased, and the bones within his body gradually transformed into Jade Bones, reaching a completion rate of ninety percent.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

The bright moon hung high in the sky.

After completing a full cycle of bone tempering, Jiang Ning slowly retracted his fist.

[Five Animal Fist Experience: 4000/4000 (Attributes: Five Viscera Store Essence, Five Elements Spirit, Fist Technique Grandmaster)]



Seeing this prompt, Jiang Ning exhaled a breath of turbid air and then opened his panel to take a look.

[Yuan Energy: 173.66

Skills: Five Animal Fist (Fourth Limit Break 4000/4000) (Characteristics: Five Viscera Store Essence, Five Elements Spirit, Fist Technique Grandmaster)]



After viewing his panel, he shook his head and closed it.

A few days ago, he had already accumulated enough experience to break the fourth limit of the Five Animal Fist.

Therefore, no matter how much his experience in the Five Animal Fist increased over the past few days, there were no changes reflected on the panel.

To achieve the fourth limit break, he required 500 Yuan Energy points, but he currently had only a little over 100 points, leaving a significant gap.

After closing the panel, his gaze shifted to the Luoshui Lake outside the wall.

"Should I go to the Luoshui Lake now to search for heavenly treasures and increase my Yuan Energy points, or wait until later when the efficiency is higher?"

He pondered this question for only a moment before shaking his head.

The Luoshui Lake was simply too vast.

With his current strength, the efficiency of searching for treasures within the lake was still too low.

If his spiritual power could undergo another transformation, his perception range underwater would increase exponentially. Combined with an improvement in his Water Skill, it would be worth his while to search for heavenly treasures in the lake.

Otherwise, even if he spent several days and found more than ten heavenly treasures, what would it matter?

The combined value of ten or more heavenly treasures might not even exceed ten thousand taels of silver.

The resulting increase in Yuan Energy points would be limited.

It would be better to use this time to continue practicing his fist technique and tempering his bones, thereby enhancing his martial arts prowess.

After all, the heavenly treasures in the Luoshui Lake wouldn't run away, and as his skills and spiritual power improved, his efficiency in searching for treasures underwater would significantly increase.

This way, he could sharpen his skills without wasting time.

He then turned his inner gaze to examine his body's condition.

In an instant, he saw that the transformation of his bones into Jade Bones had reached ninety percent completion.

"Give me a few more days, and I'll be able to complete the casting of Jade Bones!"

Jiang Ning opened his eyes, his face filled with joy.

He then looked up at the moon hanging high above the treetops. The night had deepened, and the moon was already high in the sky.

Seeing this, he dismissed the idea of continuing his practice and cultivation.

"It's time to sleep. Tomorrow is the first day of work, and I need to go to the Inspection Office to see if that old lady from the Internal Affairs Department has arrived."

As he thought of this, his heart filled with anticipation.

As long as the old woman from the Internal Affairs Department was there, he could exchange the contribution points for the two Worshipping God Sect martial artists he had killed.

It was worth noting that they were both fifth-rank Inner Strength Realm experts from the Worshipping God Sect.

According to the rules previously announced by the Inspection Office, killing a sixth-rank martial artist from the Worshipping God Sect would earn five thousand contribution points.

Not to mention that he had killed a fifth-rank Inner Strength Realm expert, which would undoubtedly earn him even more contribution points.

Furthermore, he could also get a promotion tomorrow, thereby enhancing his authority within the Inspection Office and gaining access to martial arts knowledge and news of the fifth rank and above.

Understanding more about martial arts was extremely important for planning his future martial path.

Whether it was the matter of He Jin Yun's death, the Worshipping God Sect, or the future arrival of the Black Lotus Old Mother, all of these issues brought a faint sense of crisis to his heart.

None of these three matters were something he could handle with his current strength.

Regarding He Jin Yun's death, given He Jin Sheng's attitude, it was highly likely that he would be reported when he returned to provide an update. As a result, He Jin Yun's biological mother would most likely target him in the near future.

He Jin Yun's biological mother was the Palace Master of the Dongling County Water Moon Sword Palace, a title that implied she was the most likely candidate to achieve the Martial Grandmaster realm in Dongling County.

This blood relationship meant that he would have to face the Water Moon Sword Palace Palace Master, an elderly woman who was unlikely to be reasonable or follow the rules, especially one of advanced age.

As for the second matter, it was even more troublesome.

The Worshipping God Sect worshipped a deity known as the Flesh-and-Blood Deity.

Whether it was due to power or the previous conflicts, Jiang Ning had a significant clash with the Worshipping God Sect, especially with the Flesh-and-Blood Deity, leading to a power struggle.

With their equal power, based on Jiang Ning's understanding of ancient times from books, in such a situation, only one of the two deities would survive.

Therefore, in this matter, Jiang Ning and the Flesh-and-Blood Deity were natural archenemies.

As it was a power struggle, only one could prevail.

The only fortunate thing for Jiang Ning was that he was in the shadows, while the Flesh-and-Blood Deity was in the open.

Moreover, according to the Black Lotus Elder, Jiang Ning also learned that due to environmental reasons, deities could not descend upon the mortal realm yet.

However, what troubled Jiang Ning the most was the third matter.

On New Year's Eve, he had scared the Black Lotus Elder.

But this also meant that when the Elder could descend, she would come to seek him out to apologize.

Once she discovered the truth, the Black Lotus Elder would likely be furious.

From his understanding, although both the Flesh-and-Blood Deity and the Black Lotus Elder were deities, they were likely very different. The Black Lotus Elder's strength and divine status far surpassed that of the Flesh-and-Blood Deity.

Not to mention anything else, just their titles were enough to show the difference.

The Black Lotus Elder was a deity with a renowned title.

On the other hand, the Flesh-and-Blood Deity worshipped by the Worshipping God Sect only had a title related to power and lacked a proper name.

In Jiang Ning's opinion, if the Black Lotus Elder came to confront him and saw through his true identity, she would undoubtedly be furious.

This would be a calamity for him.

Thinking of all this, Jiang Ning couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"I hope the old woman from the Internal Affairs Office, the one whom Hong Minghu called White Granny, arrives early and doesn't get stuck on the road like the others!"

With this thought, Jiang Ning climbed over the tall courtyard wall, stepped onto the icy lake surface, shattering the ice, and entered the lake to wash away the fatigue and sweat from his martial arts practice.

The next day.

"Today's weather is indeed great!"

Looking at the cloudless sky outside the window and the bright moon still hanging in the east, a faint smile appeared on Jiang Ning's face.

A clear day meant that his Inner Essence Nourishing Art had made further progress.

With this, he was one step closer to reaching the level where his inner breath would be as solid as primal energy.

Thinking of this, he glanced at his status panel.

[Skills]: Inner Essence Nourishing Art (Minor Accomplishment 2013/5000)



The experience points for Inner Essence Nourishing Art had already exceeded two thousand, and he was less than three thousand points away from completing the art and reaching the level where his inner breath would be as solid as primal energy.

With his current efficiency, it would take less than a month to accumulate those three thousand points.

After that, he threw off his blanket and walked outside in shorts and a t-shirt.

As he pushed open the door, a blast of cold air hit his face.

However, Jiang Ning remained unfazed.

At this point, he had truly become impervious to the cold and heat.

He looked up at the sky again.

Winter nights always seemed to last a little longer.

The sky was slightly brighter, with a grayish hue.

But the bright moon hanging in the east clearly indicated that it was a clear day with not a single cloud in the sky.

Since he was accustomed to waking up early, the sky was always slightly brighter when he got up.

On clear days, one could always see the bright moon.

So, he wasn't surprised to see the moon in the morning.

After that.

He began his daily routine of washing up in the courtyard.

At the same time, he heard the sound of vigorous punches and kicks coming from the neighboring courtyard.

It was Lu Yi practicing her martial arts.

A moment later.

"Young Master!" Lu Yi appeared before Jiang Ning, her forehead covered in sweat, as she heard the sound of him brushing his teeth.

Jiang Ning glanced at her.

"How long have you been up?"

"Less than two hours!" Lu Yi replied, lowering her head.

"That's too intense!" Jiang Ning shook his head.

"Young Master gave me the opportunity to practice martial arts. I must grasp it well!" Lu Yi said, and then she went to fetch a basin of water and a towel for Jiang Ning to wash up.

After finishing his morning routine.

Jiang Ning looked at her, "You can start skin refinement now!"

"Later, you can go to Ten Thousand Flowers Tower yourself and buy the resources needed for skin refinement."

"Use my money!" Jiang Ning added.

Lu Yi's expression became somewhat stubborn. "What use is this money of yours?" Jiang Ning shook his head and added, "If you don't quickly improve your Martial Dao strength, you won't even have the qualifications to follow me in the future."

"I understand!" Lu Yi nodded immediately upon hearing these words.

Jiang Ning then began practicing his Five Animal Fist and strengthening his bones in the courtyard.

[Five Animal Fist Experience +1]



[Five Animal Fist Experience +3]



[Five Animal Fist Experience +1]



.

As he repeatedly practiced his fist techniques and strengthened his bones, various prompts appeared one after another.

However, at this point, the progress of his Five Animal Fist was no longer visible on the panel.

But he could feel that with each repetition of the Five Animal Fist, as his experience increased, the power of Qi and Blood within his body became increasingly mighty.

These days, the Qi and Blood within his body would surge like a tsunami, resonating throughout his body.

In terms of quantity, compared to when he first achieved the state of Qi and Blood like the ocean, it had already nearly doubled.

Yet he could sense that he was still far from reaching the next step.

After more than three hours.

It was already the Third Hour.

He ate the meat porridge and a few white steamed buns prepared by Lu Yi, then continued his cultivation practice.

Soon, it was the Fifth Hour.

Since the weather was pleasant, with the warm sun lazily shining down on people, he wasn't in a hurry to go to the Inspection Office for work.

With his current identity, he could choose whether or not to go to the Inspection Office, unlike ordinary personnel who had to arrive punctually.

Even without any assigned tasks, when it was time to work, they could only cultivate their Martial Dao within the Inspection Office; they didn't have the freedom he had.

Sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the courtyard, Jiang Ning assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture and began absorbing the Great Sun Essence Energy.

On the other side.

Xie Zhengtian appeared at the entrance of the mansion again.

"Second Brother, are all the things prepared?" Xie Zhengtian turned to look at the dark-faced man behind him.

The dark-faced man nodded repeatedly and said in a deep voice, "Big Brother, rest assured. I have the sixty-six taels of gold with me!"

After saying this, he lifted the red wooden box in his hand and opened it slightly, revealing a slit.

Sunlight shone through the slit, and a golden light instantly shone from within.

Seeing this golden light, Xie Zhengtian felt a little more at ease.

He knew that this moment would determine the future of the Xie Family.

Sixty-six taels of gold, with each tael worth a thousand taels of silver, amounted to sixty-six thousand taels of silver.

In Great Xia, gold was a scarce and consumable item, so its actual value in private transactions was even higher than its official value.

If calculated based on its private value.

These sixty-six taels of gold could be worth at least seventy thousand taels of silver.

Ten thousand taels of silver was the wealth of a wealthy merchant.

Sixty-six taels of gold, even for the Xie Family, was a significant amount. It took them over ten days to gather this amount by selling off many of the clan's assets.

After that.

Xie Zhengtian straightened his appearance and then knocked on the main gate.

Knock, knock, knock—

A moment later.

Xie Zhengtian stood outside the eastern courtyard, quietly waiting for Jiang Ning to finish his cultivation.

The sun was at its peak, and standing under it, beads of sweat started to form on his forehead.

It was due to both the weather and his nervousness.

But at this moment, he didn't bother to wipe away the sweat on his forehead.

The closer they got to the critical moment, the more anxious he felt in his heart.

Because Jiang Ning had told him that he would only give him one chance.

Today's visit was the last chance for the Xie Family to continue.

In the eastern courtyard.

Jiang Ning continuously absorbed the Great Sun Essence Energy, and his progress in cultivating the Inner Essence Nourishing Art was steadily improving.

[Inner Essence Nourishing Art Experience +1]



[Inner Essence Nourishing Art Experience +1]



[Inner Essence Nourishing Art Experience +1]



.

With each absorption, strands of Inner Qi were refined and merged into his Dantian, making the phenomenon within his Dantian even more powerful.

Sometimes it was like a azure dragon soaring into the sky, winding through the clouds.

Sometimes it transformed into a surging river, rushing towards the distant horizon.

In the blink of an eye.

Two hours had passed.

[This session of absorbing and expelling the Great Sun Essence Energy has increased the Inner Essence Nourishing Art experience by a total of 115 points.]



Hoo—

Jiang Ning exhaled the last turbid breath that had accumulated in his abdomen and slowly opened his eyes.

[Skill]: Inner Essence Nourishing Art (Minor Accomplishment 2128/5000)



"I've taken another step towards changing the quality of my Inner Qi!"

A smile appeared on his face, and his gaze then turned towards the courtyard.

When he had just started absorbing the Great Sun Essence Energy, he had sensed the arrival of Xie Zhengtian, the head of the Xie Family.

"It seems he has made his choice!"

Jiang Ning smiled.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end