Martial Saint: Starting with Accumulating Experience

A hint of displeasure flashed across Chen Feng's eyes.

He found the man extremely rude, but he didn't react. He simply took a half-step back, creating some distance between them.

Jingchen looked up at Chen Feng, but Jia Chang was still making suggestions to himself: "There are many mountains here and the roads are difficult to travel. Master, why don't you come with us? We still have spare carriages and horses."

His face was plastered with a fawning and eager smile, even his eyebrows and eyes curved into a flattering angle.

His tone was extremely respectful, but his eyes were full of self-interest—if he could get a high-ranking monk to join him, he wouldn't have to worry about the fox demon on the road.

In his eyes, Jingchen was already a hundred times more reliable than the other bodyguards.

In his eagerness, Jingchen was taken aback, then returned a polite smile and bowed slightly: "This humble monk is preparing to go to Cihang Temple."

"It's perfect timing, we're traveling the same way!" Jia Chang said enthusiastically, his voice booming. "The journey through the mountains is long and arduous, and bandits lurk there. If you don't mind, Master, you might as well travel with us, so we can look out for each other!"

Although Cihang Temple and Yongning Bay are indeed on the same route, since Cihang Temple is located in Yongning Bay.

But those around him knew perfectly well that Jia Chang was never one to act without a reason, and that he clearly had his eye on Jingchen's strength.

"This way, Master..."

Chen Feng watched as Jia Chang pulled Jing Chen away, then secretly gave Jing Chen a wink, signaling him to remember what he had just said.

Just then, Ye Jian walked over, patted Chen Feng on the shoulder, and whispered:

"Don't bother with this fat guy. That's how businessmen are. They're all about calculating profits. He could get you to invest before, but now he can just kick you to the curb and find someone else."

Chen Feng was both amused and exasperated, never expecting Ye Jian to come and comfort him.

"I won't hold a grudge over this; after all, the master saved us," Chen Feng said.

"That's good. It's not worth getting angry over this." After saying that, Ye Jian suddenly changed the subject and said, "Chen Lang, thank you."

Chen Feng raised an eyebrow.

Ye Jian continued, "Luckily you intervened last night, otherwise the boss would have slashed me instead."

Then Ye Jian's gaze swept over Chen Feng's empty waist and he said, "Your sword must have broken last night, right? When we get there, I'll find a blacksmith to buy you a new one."

"Need not......"

"Don't be shy, how can a swordsman be without a sword?" Ye Jian patted his chest. "It's not like I can't afford a sword."

Under the warm invitation, Chen Feng accepted his kindness, planning to just bring a fine iron sword as a token of his appreciation; it wouldn't be too expensive.

The caravan reorganized and set off again.

Jingchen couldn't ride a horse, but at Jia Chang's enthusiastic invitation, the two rode together in a carriage.

With Jingchen joining them, the atmosphere among everyone became noticeably more relaxed. The fact that no one was injured or killed during the fox demon attack was something they could boast about in the future.

Chen Feng was placed in the center of the group by Sun Xian, with the unarmed merchants, so he no longer had to participate in the guard work and could relax a bit.

In the following days.

The caravan traversed dense forests, crossed shallow streams, and climbed mountain ridges. They encountered attacks from wild beasts and were blocked by bandits, but the镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) dealt with them all with ease.

Chen Feng never made a move again.

As a monk, Jingchen was incredibly tolerant of all life forms except demons.

If you catch a wild animal, recite some scriptures and then release it; if you capture a bandit, reason with him and then let him go.

Although he never used his full strength, everyone could see that Jingchen was definitely among the strongest in the Bone Forging Realm, far surpassing Sun Xian in power.

In particular, his external martial arts skills allowed him to face the bandits' machetes without even flinching.

The guards' eyelids twitched at the sight, and they became even more convinced that Jingchen had single-handedly dealt with the fox demon.

In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.

We were only a short distance from Yongning Bay when a sudden downpour made the mountain path muddy and difficult to navigate, so we had to find a dilapidated temple to rest for the time being.

The torrential rain, mixed with the cold wind, lashed against the trees, causing the branches to sway and rustle, the sound reaching everyone's ears.

A cold autumn rain.

The martial artists were fine, as their vigorous blood and energy meant they weren't greatly affected, but the merchants suffered. After changing out of their wet clothes, some of them couldn't stand it.

Jia Chang was already showing signs of catching a cold, but he still forced himself to listen to Jingchen chanting scriptures and preaching.

Throughout the journey, Jia Chang stayed by Jing Chen's side, as if he would face mortal danger if he were to leave Jing Chen's side even for a moment.

Other merchants who wanted to speak with Jingchen were all prevented by Jia Chang for various reasons.

Even though Jingchen had no distracting thoughts and wanted nothing, Jia Chang was still able to cater to his interests—listening attentively to Jingchen's explanations of Buddhist teachings.

Of all the people, only Jia Chang was able to persevere through those tedious scriptures.

Chen Feng admired Jia Chang's ability to curry favor to such an extent. If he had even half of Jia Chang's skills in his previous life, he wouldn't have failed to get promoted.

While Jingchen was giving his sermon, the bodyguards chatted on the other side, and another bonfire was lit.

Chen Feng stood in the corner of the open space, controlling the qi and blood in his body and improving his Five Elements Technique.

Adding points directly would make the changes too obvious, so he simply practiced on his own, allowing his Qi and blood to circulate along a specific path. Each time he completed a full cycle, he could break through the Qi Sea barrier, thereby expanding his Qi Sea.

Chen Feng's body trembled, his true energy surged, and the capacity of his Qi Sea increased several times.

"Phew... It's done." Chen Feng calmed down, and with a thought, he summoned the system panel and added some experience to the Five Elements Technique.

In an instant, his blood and qi surged slightly, and Chen Feng's body was strengthened, his muscle fibers becoming thicker and tougher.

The true energy instantly filled the newly expanded Qi Sea space, and unlike before when adding points, it did not forcibly tear and expand the Qi Sea.

Instead, it completely stabilized the somewhat unstable Qi Sea.

Because Chen Feng's experience was insufficient to achieve another breakthrough—this was something Chen Feng figured out when he was bored: first refine it himself, then leave the consolidation to the system.

Cultivation efficiency is greatly increased, and most importantly, the noise level is not too high.

In just a few breaths, comparable to Chen Feng's many days of honing his skills, his upper limit of true qi and total blood volume both increased slightly.

Feeling that he had made another step forward in his cultivation, Chen Feng was satisfied and returned to the campfire.

"Come, come, Chen Lang, you've come at the right time. You give your opinion: which gang is more powerful, the Cao Gang or the Canglang Gang?"

Ye Jian patted the empty space next to him, gesturing for Chen Feng to sit down.

"The Canglang Gang?" Chen Feng asked, puzzled.

"You're going to Yongning Bay, how come you don't even know about the Canglang Gang?" Ye Jian explained casually, "That's the number one gang in Yongning Bay."

"The waterways south of Yongning Bay are no longer under the jurisdiction of the Canglang Gang, and even the sea routes depend on the Canglang Gang's decision."

Chen Feng understood. It seemed that the Canglang Gang was the powerful force that had a grudge against the Cao Gang.

He actually just wanted to go to Yongning Bay to avoid trouble and cultivate in seclusion for a while, so he didn't know much about the local forces.

All I know is that there's a powerful force there that has a conflict with the Canal Gang, but the Canal Gang doesn't have any influence there.

"In my opinion, the Canglang Gang is much better than the Cao Gang. There are so many things in the sea, isn't that better than the Cao Gang intercepting people on the river and collecting tolls?" Ye Jian argued with another bodyguard.

"The Cao Gang has grandmasters, but does the Canglang Gang have any?" Another bodyguard shut Ye Jian down with just one question.

After condensing Qi comes opening the orifices, and above opening the orifices is the Grandmaster.

Grandmaster is an honorific title, indicating that the master's strength is sufficient to establish a sect. The true name of this realm is called the Transformation Realm.

The power of a Grandmaster is on a completely different level from that of a power without a Grandmaster.

Currently, Jiangzhou only has one Grandmaster, the Chief of the Canal Gang.

"Then why hasn't the Canglang Gang ever taken down the Canglang Gang? If they could really defeat them, would they have let go of Yongning Bay, such a lucrative prize?" Ye Jian asked after thinking for a long time.

"Idiot, of course it's because it's not easy for grandmasters to make a move. The old man is high above, how can he be like the people below who fight and kill all day long?"

Ye Jian was speechless.