Ultimate True Lord

That night, in the tent hut.

Jiang Ming lay on the floor, gazing quietly at the rooftop by the moonlight streaming through the window.

Tonight's final fight was a real test for him, a true real-world experience. His previous two murders were both ambushes; his opponents offered little resistance and he learned nothing from them.

But the man in gray was a seasoned fighter. The moment the lime was thrown at his face, he was able to dodge by turning his head. Later, he even exchanged blows with the man, fighting hard for several rounds.

If his right eye hadn't been ruined by lime before the battle, it would be hard to say who would win or lose today's fight.

"Therefore, weakening the opponent and strengthening oneself is really important in actual combat."

"I used lime to kill three times, which blinded the victim and effectively crippled most of their strength, making it easy for me to succeed."

"Otherwise, even if we win, it's not a problem if the opponent escapes." Jiang Ming's understanding of actual combat has become more profound.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any money right now, so I can only buy some lime from the lime shop to use as a surprise attack. When I have money in the future, I'll have to prepare some hidden weapons and poison powder on me, just in case."

He took a deep breath, turned over, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, Jiang Ming heard some rumors about the Gray-Clad Gang.

After losing two strong thugs last night, the Gray-Clad Gang realized something was wrong and began searching for the culprit.

However, the night was dark, and both murders occurred in remote corners, so there were no witnesses at all.

The Grey-Clad Gang, after much investigation, could only deduce from the cause of death that the perpetrator was likely a cunning and seasoned veteran of combat. The man's blindfolded groin kick was an example of ruthless and insidious methods.

Their investigation naturally shifted in focus.

The fact that someone from the Gray-Clad Gang had died was met with applause and cheers from the surrounding villagers. They hoped that the mysterious killer would slaughter more of these despicable bastards from the Gray-Clad Gang who bullied men and women and trafficked children.

"For now, they shouldn't be able to find me."

Jiang Ming carefully reviewed the murder process again, and after confirming that there was no mistake, he felt at ease and began to devote most of his energy back to cultivation.

Among last night's spoils were two martial arts techniques.

A martial arts technique called "Wind Step".

A boxing style called "Baoshiquan".

"Perhaps you can practice the Wind-Sweeping Step more. Footwork can be combined with most fist and palm techniques to unleash greater power."

For the next ten days or so, Jiang Ming practiced the Red Sand Palm while learning the Wind-Sweeping Step. His schedule was packed, with almost no free time. After working tirelessly, he finally mastered the Wind-Sweeping Step at the end of January. And almost a day later, his essence and blood were fully restored.

The two, one after the other, were fully prepared.

[Technique: Red Sand Palm (Beginner Level) - Can Be Enhanced]

On the surface of the original furnace, a row of words appeared, shimmering with a faint light.

"Use Red Sand Palm as the main technique, and Wind-Sweeping Step as a supplement, combining Red Sand Palm and Wind-Sweeping Step." Jiang Ming took a deep breath and silently chanted in his mind, "Strengthen."

Instantly, the Taotie pattern that had just filled the furnace body transformed into raging black-gold flames, engulfing the entire primitive furnace.

"Rumble..."

After a brief period of intense heat, the oven lid snapped open.

[The following Red Palm Enhancement Options are available]

Firstly: Increases the speed of practicing the Red Sand Palm by 50%! (Success rate: 99%)

Secondly: When breaking through the bottleneck of the Red Sand Palm realm, the difficulty is reduced to 30% of the original! (Success rate: 100%)

Thirdly: The hardness of the palm increases by 40% when using the Red Sand Palm! (Success rate: 90%)

The effects of enhancement one and enhancement three remained unchanged, but enhancement two showed a decrease in effectiveness.

Originally, when Jiang Ming first chose to enhance his equipment, it was to break through a bottleneck, which reduced the difficulty by 40%. Now, it's to break through a bottleneck again, and the difficulty has been reduced by another 30%.

"Does repeatedly selecting a certain enhancement option result in a diminishing effect compared to the previous selection, decreasing with each subsequent enhancement until it reaches its maximum potential?"

Based on the phenomenon, Jiang Ming made a guess in his mind.

"By the way, is the enhancement effect of the Primal Furnace related to the quality of the cultivation technique I provided? If the enhancement material this time wasn't the Wind-Sweeping Step, but some stronger martial art, perhaps the situation would be different."

He drew inferences from one instance to another and realized some of the rules of the primitive furnace.

"What I need most right now is to reduce the bottlenecks when making breakthroughs."

"The other two enhancements can be chosen later."

Jiang Ming had an idea and chose the second enhancement without hesitation.

"Buzz!"

[Technique: Red Sand Palm - Beginner's Guide]

Enhancement 1: When breaking through the bottleneck of Red Sand Palm, the difficulty is reduced to 30% of the original!

He could sense that the barrier he had overcome to break through from the Refining Technique to the White Sand level had weakened considerably, reducing the difficulty to less than a third of its original level. It seemed that with enough effort, he might be able to break through?

"If I can really break through, then I can use my remaining enhancement opportunity to speed up my cultivation."

Jiang Ming secretly pondered. Although his physical constitution was below average, he had been strengthened and weakened by the Primal Furnace twice, so he might actually have a chance to break through on his own.

the next day.

Jiang Ming headed to Mixiang Street, intending to buy some nourishing herbal soup from Wang's Pharmacy. This was one of the benefits of his part-time job as an accountant.

The amount of medicinal herbs needed and the cost of the Qi-nourishing soup prepared by the Hongsha Martial Arts School for its inner disciples must be recorded in the ledger.

Therefore, Jiang Ming can completely replicate the Chu Na Qi Tang himself.

The greatest effect of this Qi-Nourishing Soup is to invigorate blood and qi, which can slightly improve the efficiency of Red Sand Palm disciples in training their hands. Of course, Jiang Ming bought it for another reason: this medicinal soup can accelerate the recovery of essence and blood.

Although there were still more than three months until the October deadline, and his essence and blood would take about three months to recover, Jiang Ming did not want to leave any room for error.

Mixiang Street, Wang's Pharmacy.

He was dressed in black cloth, and when he looked up, his brows were slightly furrowed.

Wang's Pharmacy was tightly shut, with a thin layer of dust on the door, indicating that it had been closed for several days. Recently, the city had been in turmoil, the streets were deserted, and many shops were struggling to survive.

Jiang Ming turned to the shop owner next door and asked, only to find out that Wang's pharmacy had already closed down. He then asked if there were any other pharmacies nearby, and the owner told him that there was a Li's pharmacy not far away.

Jiang Ming thanked the other party and immediately turned around and rushed to Li's Pharmacy.

"despair."

He walked into the shop and immediately saw a shopkeeper in a blue robe standing behind the counter, holding a copper scale and carefully weighing the medicine.

Rows of wooden medicine cabinets stand on both sides of the shop, with densely packed drawers neatly arranged, and a faint herbal scent permeates the air.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

The shopkeeper looked up and put down his work.

"Two qian of Astragalus membranaceus, one and a half qian of Angelica sinensis, one qian of Atractylodes macrocephala, and five fen of roasted licorice root," Jiang Ming said as he walked in.

"How many sets would you like to buy, sir?"

The shopkeeper glanced at Jiang Ming's tall frame and understood that they were all medicinal herbs that nourished blood and qi.

"Give me twenty sets first."

"The price of medicinal herbs has risen sharply right now. A prescription like this costs seventy-five coins. Twenty prescriptions together will cost one tael and five mace of silver," the shopkeeper said.

Jiang Ming nodded and took out some loose silver. About four or five months ago, this medicine only cost a little over fifty coins, but now the price has increased by nearly 50%. One can imagine the situation of other prices in Wangyue City.

The shopkeeper opened the medicine cabinet drawer, frowned slightly, and turned to call out to his side, "Xiao Zhao, we're running low on medicine. Go to the medicine storeroom and get some more."

A pale-skinned young man with a somewhat wooden face and lifeless eyes silently pushed open the small door on the side of the counter and went to the back medicine cabinet to get medicine.

Jiang Ming glanced casually into the medicine storehouse.

Fifteen minutes later, he quickly left Li's Pharmacy, turned back and took a deep look at the signboard on the roof before his mood gradually calmed down.

Just now, Jiang Ming glanced from afar and was shocked to see a clay statue of a deity in the corner of the medicine storeroom of Li's Pharmacy, with an unusually strange shape.

Its appearance was remarkably similar to the strange clay sculptures that Aunt Chen and the other neighbors had been holding.

"Yuanzhen Sect..."