Another month passed unconsciously.
Su Que had already purchased all the potions from the martial arts halls in the city.
He found that the medicinal effects from the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall were the best.
It seems the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall is indeed the largest martial arts hall in the city.
One night, after drinking a bowl of potion bought from the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, Su Que immediately used the medicinal power to practice the Seven Injuries Fist outside the city.
Every time he practiced the Seven Injuries Fist, it was also the time to temper his five viscera.
As the Seven Injuries Fist Force was activated, his five viscera were warm, as if there was a power massaging them, extremely comfortable.
The five viscera, are the places where spirit, blood, and soul are stored.
The toughness of the five viscera also brings an improvement in physical fitness.
After practicing the Seven Injuries Fist, not only did he improve his fist power, his steps, stamina, and so on also improved.
Although he had not learned a lightweight skill, his stamina and fast steps made it such that, when running, even a swift deer could be quickly caught up by him.
Bang bang bang!
Su Que's fists struck the air one after another, with ripples undulating, and loud booming sounds echoed.
He felt a force was about to burst out from within.
"About to break through..."
Su Que continued swinging his fists, shadow boxing as a fierce gust surrounded his body.
Immediately afterwards, as he expected, that force suddenly burst out from within!
Instantly, he felt his whole body was comfortable, like a hot spring flowing through his entire body in a moment.
Inside his body, the five viscera trembled, and his muscles and bones resonated!
A thought crossed his mind, and he summoned his attributes, with four lines of small characters appearing before his eyes.
Name: Su Que (17 years old)
Lifespan: 62
Talent Value: 10
Martial Arts: Seven Injuries Fist (4th Realm Elite 1%), Five Animals Qigong (1st Realm Initial Insight 1%)
After advancing a realm, his lifespan increased by 12 years compared to the beginning of the 3rd Realm, and after passing the nodes of 55 and 60 years old, the Talent Value increased by 2 points.
After the breakthrough in the Seven Injuries Fist, Su Que practiced a little more, finding that the medicinal power was consumed much faster than before.
After practicing for about two more hours, the medicinal power within was completely depleted.
If he practiced again tomorrow morning without the benefits of medicinal power, the progress would definitely be much slower.
Moreover, this past month, due to frequently buying potions, his wallet was basically empty, barely balancing income and expenses.
If he took potions more frequently, it is estimated that in seven or eight days, he would run out of money to buy potions.
"Where to get money?"
Su Que began to ponder.
Join a gang? Become a henchman? Fight underground fights? Work as a bodyguard...
Many fast money-making methods popped into his mind.
But doing these jobs, if he covered his face and people didn't know his background, they might very well not hire him.
In this turbulent world, he absolutely could not expose his identity.
"Tomorrow, I'll explore the city to see if there's a more stable way to make money..."
Thinking this, Su Que put on his shirt and ran back home.
...
Early the next morning, Su Que left home with a bundle, found a secluded corner, and disguised himself as a brawny man nearly nine feet tall, heading towards the martial arts hall in the east of the city.
Since he had already bought a potion from the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall yesterday afternoon, if he bought it again this morning, it would arouse the suspicion of the disciples of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall.
Although he had thought of using an excuse like "I'm buying it for a friend,"
But this might also arouse the suspicion and attention of the disciples of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, which seemed a bit risky.
Therefore, he found another martial arts hall with slightly less effective potions than the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall and bought a bowl of potion.
After drinking it, Su Que took advantage of the medicinal power to practice the Seven Injuries Fist outside the city.
After practicing for more than an hour, he felt his muscles, bones, skin, and even his five viscera and six bowels were warm and comfortable to the extreme.
And the medicinal power within was once again completely refined.
"Now I need to drink two bowls of potion a day to support my cultivation!"
Seeing the medicinal power was exhausted and his progress was slow, Su Que went to the Jade River to wash, washed his dirty clothes, and put on clean clothes.
After drying his clothes at home, he had breakfast and then headed to the learning hall.
Unconsciously, four days had passed, and while buying potions, Su Que also wandered the city, looking for a money-earning job.
After wandering around, he found that there were no jobs where he would not have to expose his identity.
He also saw members of the White Lotus Sect throwing money on the street, propagating doctrines and enticing others to join the sect.
Watching the White Lotus Sect members grab a handful of copper coins from a sack and scatter them like a celestial maiden scattering flowers,
At that moment, he thought, the White Lotus Sect must have a lot of silver coins.
Immediately, a thought arose to secretly follow these White Lotus Sect members and rob them of their silver coins.
However, since he hadn't seen these sect members make a move, he wasn't sure about their strength compared to his own, or even the White Lotus Sect members' strength in the stronghold compared to his own, so he suppressed this thought.
As he pondered, he headed towards the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, ready to buy a bowl of potion and start his training for the night.
"Master, give me a bowl of potion."
Su Que came to the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall every four days, and the disciples of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall recognized this hooded brawny man.
Since Su Que came every four days, the frequency was normal, and they only thought Su Que might have some personal feud outside and was temporarily taking refuge in Jade Water City as an ordinary martial artist.
"Friend, there's been a problem, and the price of potion has gone up; it'll be three taels per bowl."
A disciple of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall stepped forward, cupping his fist at Su Que, and said.
"How could this happen?"
The face hidden beneath Su Que's hood furrowed with concern.
He had only two taels in his pocket, not even enough to pay for a bowl of medicinal soup.
A disciple of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall said, "I trust that this friend has been in Jade Water City long enough to have seen the White Lotus Sect."
Su Que nodded slightly.
"After the White Lotus Sect came to Jade Water City, they've successively taken over several local gangs, both large and small."
"First, they took over the Cao Gang. Yesterday, the Medicine Gang."
"Originally, we bought our medicinal ingredients from the Medicine Gang at a reasonable price."
"But now, with the White Lotus Sect managing the Medicine Gang, it seems their frontline military expenses are tight, so they're relying on local strongholds for support and have raised prices accordingly."
"We spent a lot of Silver Coins to buy our medicine, so naturally, the price of medicinal soup has increased as well."
The disciple of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall explained to Su Que.
"It's the White Lotus Sect again..."
Underneath the hood, Su Que let out a small sigh.
Even though the price has risen, medicinal herbs are still necessary.
He turned away from the Martial Arts Hall, planning to hunt first and then use the Silver Coins earned from selling pelts to buy medicine.
Su Que moved swiftly, soon reaching White Tiger Forest, thirty miles outside Jade Water City.
White Tiger Forest is a sizable woodland area and a junction for routes connecting several counties.
To travel from one county to another, a route through White Tiger Forest would be much shorter.
However, due to the dangerous beasts within, only martial artists dare to take this path.
Ordinary citizens, for safety, would skirt around White Tiger Forest.
Su Que sped through the forest rapidly, and in just a little over an incense stick's worth of time, he had killed three wolves.
He tied the three wolves with hemp rope, dragging them behind him as he continued deeper into White Tiger Forest.
After another incense stick's time, the setting sun sank low, and darkness enveloped the sky.
In his training of the Seven Injuries Fist, Su Que nourished the Five Viscera.
Among the Five Viscera is the liver.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, the liver governs the eyes; a healthy liver results in clear vision.
Su Que's Seven Injuries Fist had reached the level of the 4th Realm Elite.
For others, this would have significantly damaged the liver meridian.
But for Su Que, his liver was nourished to a level that might surpass even some esteemed wellness masters.
Even in the pitch black night, he could still see clearly.
After walking a bit further, he spotted a graceful figure bounding out in the distance.
It was a wild deer.
Su Que felt a surge of joy, immediately pushing his foot against the muddy ground, swiftly leaping toward the deer.
The deer quickly recognized Su Que's presence, and with a kick of its hind legs, dashed sideways in an attempt to escape.
"Thinking of running?"
Su Que's footwork was extremely swift; in an instant, he'd gained considerable ground on the deer.
Catching up to the deer was likely a matter of ten breaths or so.
Suddenly, after two breaths!
He witnessed the wild deer dash into a bush and emit a pitiful scream, its body stiffening as it collapsed straight to the ground.
Su Que's eyes slightly narrowed.
Just now, he had seen a flicker of cold light in the darkness.
Someone seemed to be hiding in the bushes, using a weapon to kill the deer as it ran by.
...
In the bushes, a man dressed in martial attire, face masked, withdrew a blade from the deer's belly.
Then swiftly struck once more, severing the deer's head.
The once struggling deer instantly ceased to move.
"Damn, lucky this deer didn't appear when the White Lotus Sect's medicine cart was passing by, or else we'd be exposed!"
The masked man kicked the deer's corpse aside as he sheathed his blade and spoke.
Alongside the masked man, there were about a dozen others hiding in the bushes.
All were dressed in martial attire, faces shrouded.
"Who knows, maybe more beasts will come our way?" another masked man said.
"Yeah, damn it, we should have prepared some beast traps and set them up here!" another masked man whispered.
"It's not like we have the experience! If not for the White Lotus Sect, we'd never resort to highway robbery!"
These masked men were from three Martial Arts Academies within Jade Water City and specialized respectively in the blade, spear, and hook.
Frustrated with the White Lotus Sect's high-priced medicine, they agreed to gather here, planning to rob the Sect's convoy.
Around Jade Water City, there are only a few places suitable for cultivating medicinal ingredients.
They calculated that for the White Lotus Sect to transport the ingredients back to Jade Water City, it would have to pass through this place to minimize the journey.
Previously, the Medicine Gang, fearing robbery, typically avoided this route and dispersed the shipments.
But the White Lotus Sect, arrogant and assuming no one dared provoke them, might very well pass through here.
"Master Luo, should we buy some beast traps before coming back to stake out?" one masked man asked.
The masked man called "Master Luo" immediately responded:
"No need! Position someone five paces behind us to guard, and if any beast approaches, kill it immediately."