123: Chapter 123 Cleansing the Marrow and Meridians, Gathering the Elixir
On the other side, after a full day of brewing, the secret catalyst for the third level of Dragon Gall Power was finally completed.
Li Qing poured out a pink, jelly-like object from the medicine pot. Its texture was hard, and Li Qing doubted whether he could swallow it.
He sniffed it; a strong, pungent smell shot straight to the top of his head, making him involuntarily cover his nose.
This smell was indeed different from the previous two times.
Li Qing pinched his nose and tossed it into his mouth in one go.
Even after entering his mouth, the secret catalyst did not dissolve, consistent with the description in Dragon Gall Power.
'It must be dissolved with inner power.'
Without hesitation, Li Qing mobilized all the inner power in his body and directed it into his abdomen. Immediately, he felt the secret catalyst begin to dissolve like ice and snow under a blazing sun, then transform into a scorching liquid.
Immediately afterward, this scorching heat began to flow through his bloodstream to every part of his body.
Li Qing promptly began using his inner power to guide the scorching heat, circulating it along the pathways prescribed for the third level of Dragon Gall Power.
A long time passed.
Ding!
[Dragon Gall Power +1]
[secret technique: Dragon Gall Power Third Level (1/4000)]
"Hoo~" Li Qing let out a long breath.
"Dragon Gall Power has finally reached the third level."
Li Qing carefully sensed its effects.
"My internal organs have all been tempered once."
It must be known that even for a Huajin Martial Artist, the internal organs are considered relatively fragile areas.
Therefore, generally speaking, internal-strengthening secret techniques like Dragon Gall Power are inherently more valuable than those like Three Vibrations Power that enhance combat power.
Usually, only government offices and major aristocratic families possess them, and they are often strictly forbidden from being passed on to outsiders.
One can imagine the preciousness of Dragon Gall Power.
With each breath, Li Qing could feel his internal organs brimming with vitality.
Moreover, this wasn't even its most crucial function.
"Let's give it a try!" Li Qing eagerly began his Cultivate.
As time passed, white smoke gradually emerged from the surface of his body, and black substances began to seep out.
Ding!
[Dragon Gall Power +1]
[Dragon Gall Power +1]
...
After a long while, Li Qing opened his eyes.
"My bone structure has indeed improved by a sliver!"
Marrow Cleansing!
This was the most important reason why the secret technique Dragon Gall Power far surpassed other secret techniques.
The third level of Dragon Gall Power could cleanse his marrow and tendons, improving his bone structure!
"This effect is negligible for Bai He because his bone structure was already excellent to begin with.
But I am different. My bone structure is medium to low, so the effect is particularly obvious. Just on the first day, my bone structure improved by a sliver."
Li Qing estimated that once he grinded Dragon Gall Power to Perfection, even if his bone structure didn't reach the upper grade, it would at least be medium to high, and it wouldn't hold him back anymore.
"However, this is the only chance."
Although Dragon Gall Power was an incomplete text, it still had a few brief lines introducing the subsequent levels.
The first three levels of Dragon Gall Power focused more on building a foundation. The subsequent levels emphasized enhancing combat power. Therefore, the good fortune of Marrow Cleansing was a one-time-only benefit.
"But it's enough."
With the proficiency panel in hand, what Li Qing lacked wasn't exceptionally high innate talent, but talent sufficient to meet the threshold for those Cultivation Techniques and secret techniques.
If he couldn't even get past the door, if martial arts couldn't be recorded on the panel, then it would be like a skilled housewife having no rice to cook—he could only gaze at the ocean and sigh, helpless.
For example, if Li Qing's bone structure had been low-grade Aptitude from the start, even worse than Chang Jin's.
Then he might not have been able to accumulate sufficient Qi and blood within three months, Breaking through the gateway to Entering the Force and becoming a Martial Artist.
In that case, after leaving the martial arts hall, he could have spent more time to achieve a Breakthrough, but it would have inevitably brought many more setbacks and hardships.
How could he be like he is now—a personal disciple of the martial arts hall, a Martial Arts Imperial Examination scholar, a Huajin Martial Artist—having gained the qualification to control his own destiny.
Li Qing kicked some dirt, burying the campfire.
"These three men each belonged to three different martial arts halls, and they all happened to be rival halls. In the coming days, I'll just lay low and Cultivate at home."
Li Qing reckoned that those families would lay low for a while.
As for avenging Hu Ye and the other two?
Now, apart from the already dead Hu Ye, no one knew he had mastered 'Three Vibrations'. They would only think Zhuang Jin had returned.
Those families probably wouldn't dare to even step outside their doors, let alone cause trouble for Liuhe Martial Arts Hall.
As for the possibility of those families using the martial arts hall or its techniques as bait to lure Zhuang Jin out, Li Qing had also considered that.
But Zhuang Jin truly hadn't returned. Even if those families really stormed the martial arts hall, they wouldn't dare harm it as long as Zhuang Jin didn't appear.
An Extreme Realm Martial Artist with no attachments whatsoever was someone even those Core Formation aristocratic families didn't want to provoke.
Swish!
Li Qing vanished from the spot, leaving only a faint smell of burnt meat, which attracted some birds to clean up the scene.
...
In the secret chamber.
Candles were lit, illuminating the five figures around.
"Chen Guanshi, why have you called us here?" the leader of the Black River Bandits said bluntly.
The leader of the Black River Bandits was named Tu Shan. He was a dark-skinned bald man with a tattoo on his face depicting a ferocious beast of unknown species.
The others also silently watched the silver-haired old man with the strongest Aura, whose posture was as straight as a divine spear.
Chen Guanshi, over seventy years old, had been famous for over fifty years. He had achieved the Core Formation for more than thirty years, and over a decade ago, he reached the Middle Stage of Baodan. Combined with his sharp spear techniques, which surpassed even Ji Taimei's skilled swordsmanship, his strength was the greatest among those present!
However, apart from the expressionless Ji Taimei and the masked Bai Lian, Tu Shan and Ma Tou both looked at Chen Guanshi with a hint of amusement in their eyes.
No other reason.
The Chen Family had suffered successive misfortunes these days.
First, the Chen Family's golden son-in-law, the illustrious Martial Imperial Examination tanhua Wei Tu, who originally had boundless prospects and the potential to reach their level in the future, was crippled by the aftermath.
Then, for some unknown reason, Wei Tu went mad, killed the Third Young Miss of the Chen Family, Chen Ningzhen, and fled to who knows where.
The vast river would take the Chen Family thirty years to search and still not find him!
And Chen Guanshi himself, while the oldest among them—though he still had decades to live—apart from him, the Chen Family had abruptly plummeted from a flourishing, prosperous situation to one that now seemed somewhat lacking in successors.
And Wei Tu, who was originally meant to become the mainstay of the Chen Family, had instead pulled the family down further.
It was as if all the Chen Family's Luck had been stripped away by Chen Guanshi. This sense of decline, like the sun setting in the west, was also lamentable.
Sensing the unusual looks from everyone, Chen Guanshi tilted his head slightly and fixed his gaze fiercely on Ma Tou.
If it weren't for this man, Wei Tu wouldn't have been crippled. If Wei Tu hadn't been crippled, regardless of his future prospects, Chen Ningzhen wouldn't have died.
Ma Tou instantly felt his hairs stand on end, as if facing a great enemy. "Brother Chen, we're all grasshoppers tied to the same rope."
Knowing he was in the wrong, Ma Tou added, "Besides, I've already given compensation."
However, his voice grew softer and softer.
Chen Guanshi remained silent, but his intimidating presence abruptly receded.
The others all felt a pang of tension.
Had Chen Guanshi's strength improved again?
Everyone maintained their silence like this.
A long time passed.
Tap, tap, tap.
The sound of footsteps slowly approached the group. Among them, Ji Taimei's expression changed, and he assumed a stance as if to draw his sword.
Three breaths later, a figure appeared within the candlelight.
This was an extremely young man compared to those present, looking no older than twenty or thirty, holding a long sword.
The Black River Bandits leader wore a face full of wariness and uttered three words: "Zheng Xuntian!"
It was none other than the Old Ancestor of the Zheng Family's youngest son, who had been studying martial arts at the Star River Sword Sect in Tan Tian Prefecture, and had now returned.
Bringing with him the cultivation of the Core Formation, and...
Ji Taimei exclaimed in shock, "Sword Aura!"