Ultimate True Lord

The two entered the pharmacy one after the other and walked along the bluestone path.

The main road is lined with houses made of blue bricks and tiles. On the left are connected shops and medicine warehouses, and occasionally apprentices can be seen carrying medicine chests out. On the right are elegant side rooms, with large bamboo drying trays under the eaves, displaying various herbs.

As you walk deeper into the area, a wide-open space suddenly appears before you, revealing a plaza paved with bluestone.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard; the Wen family's herb-gathering team, which had gone out of town, was returning.

Seven or eight men carried tightly bound medicinal herbs in the middle, with several skilled thugs protecting them on both sides. At the very front was a leader with a calm demeanor and piercing eyes.

"Second Young Master." The martial artist stepped forward and bowed.

Wen Jin glanced at the medicinal herbs and casually asked a question.

"Zhou Cang, how's the harvest?"

Zhou Cang replied in a deep voice, "Second Young Master, we have plenty of licorice and atractylodes, and on the last day, we even found a red herb."

Wen Jin's eyes lit up immediately: "There are still red herbs in An Yun Mountain? This is quite a harvest."

Seeing this, Jiang Ming couldn't help but ask, "What is this red peony?"

Wen Jin glanced at him and explained, "Common medicinal herbs found in pharmacies are collectively called 'white medicine'."

"Red peony is extremely rare. Its main body, whether roots, stems, leaves, or fruits, is covered with fine, silky red veins, hence its name..."

"The denser and more numerous the silk threads, the more precious the red medicine."

He paused, then added.

"This medicine is a highly nourishing substance, extremely beneficial to martial artists. It can replenish qi and blood, and enhance strength. A complete red herb on the market is worth over a hundred taels of silver, something an ordinary person might never see in their entire life."

Not far away, Zhou Cang had already begun the handover with the pharmacy steward. He took out a long, narrow medicine box with ebony trim from his pocket and handed it to the other man.

The deacon took the box with both hands, opened the lid, glanced at it, and nodded.

Jiang Ming gazed into the distance and silently memorized the appearance of the strange plant with red patterns all over its body in the box.

A moment later, the group stopped in their tracks at a martial arts training ground inside Wenji Pharmacy.

Jiang Ming looked up and saw that the general scene here was not much different from the inner courtyard of the Red Sand Martial Arts School, except that there was a weapon rack in the corner of the courtyard. Next to the weapon rack, there were yellow sandbags hanging in mid-air.

"You saw the situation with the herb-gathering team just now."

Wen Jin looked at Jiang Ming and said, "Wangyue City is bordered by the Cangyan Mountains to the east. The Wen family's herb-gathering team usually gathers herbs in the surrounding area."

"The most dangerous things in the mountains are venomous snakes and wild beasts, followed by bandits. Also, you have to be wary of other medicine companies' herb-gathering teams, be careful they don't try anything underhanded."

"Overall, this job is more stable than working for a security escort agency, but it's more troublesome than being a constable in the city."

He was delighted that he had publicly humiliated Fang Heng today, so naturally he wouldn't neglect Jiang Ming.

Firstly, it was for Fang Heng to see, and secondly, it was because he was afraid that if word got out that he had treated someone unfairly, he would be seen as stingy and lose face.

He immediately described the terms of the offer in a very realistic way.

"The monthly allowance I'm giving you will definitely be more generous than that of an ordinary bodyguard. Five taels of silver a month, plus a shi of fine rice and fifteen jin of fresh meat."

"Each time there's a herb-gathering mission, you'll go into the mountains with the team and receive an additional 600 coins. If you find valuable herbs, there will be extra rewards."

"If you find a treasure like the Red Medicine yourself, my Wen family will buy it directly at market price. You can keep it for your own practice if you want, as long as you don't sell it to other pharmacies."

Jiang Ming nodded, knowing full well that Wen Jin's generosity was mostly for Fang Heng's sake; this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Not only was the job stable, but the pay far exceeded that of escorting goods—it was extremely generous.

Moreover, Wen Jin had previously promised that his remuneration could be directly exchanged for medicinal herbs at an internal price, which was essentially another kind of hidden benefit.

He immediately cupped his hands in greeting and said in a deep voice, "I will remember your kindness, Senior Brother."

"Haha, we're all fellow disciples, why say such things?"

Wen Jin waved her hand and smiled, striking a magnanimous pose.

"By the way, Junior Brother Jiang, you just entered the White Sand level today. You probably aren't very familiar with the Hard Force yet, are you?"

Jiang Ming replied truthfully, "I'm not really familiar with it. I just feel a hard force in my palms, like an invisible stream of water, spreading throughout."

Wen Jin was born into the Wen family, where there were already experts, so he naturally knew the principles of this matter long ago.

He slowly began to speak: "The so-called 'hardness' is the result of a martial artist tempering a certain part of his body to its extreme, then repeatedly nourishing and stimulating it with secret medicines, ultimately condensing into a hard and resilient qi and blood."

"The greatest characteristic of strength is that it makes heavy things seem light. Once the blood and qi surge and strength explodes, one can lift things that are normally impossible to move during this period of time."

"His palm strikes are fierce and powerful, unlike those of ordinary people."

Wen Jin pointed to the sandbags in the distance: "Want to give it a try?"

Jiang Ming immediately walked over and stood in front of a medium-sized sandbag. Without using any force, he simply unleashed a simple Red Sand Piercing Hand. The palm print struck the sandbag with a bang, jolted violently, and then drifted backward.

The sandbag swung up with a hum, rising slightly in a half-arc shape, but before it could reach vertical, it slowly fell back down.

He took a deep breath and waited for the sandbag to return to its normal position. In Jiang Ming's palm, an invisible, warm force, like a flowing stream, suddenly gathered. He felt his arm strength surge at that moment, and faint traces of white frost appeared on his palm.

He unleashed a fierce palm strike.

"Bang!"

A palm print was clearly dented in the center of the sandbag. The entire frame trembled slightly, and the sandbag suddenly arched backward and was violently flung, instantly soaring more than a meter high.

"The power in that instant could probably double!"

Jiang Ming was also secretly alarmed.

"Come on, practice with my junior brother."

Wen Jin clapped his hands, and immediately three thugs from the Wen family came over. They rushed towards Jiang Ming unarmed, clearly having practiced some martial arts; their movements were swift, and their eyes were sharp.

"Watch out!"

One of the bald men suddenly stepped forward and, without any probing, punched Jiang Ming straight in the shoulder.

"Bang."

Jiang Ming, with his keen senses, instinctively swung his right hand, deflecting the fist to the right.

He then quickly turned around, and two more men behind him threw punches at him simultaneously.

Jiang Ming grabbed with both hands, and with a muffled thud, he completely dissipated the force. His hands, which looked as if they were wearing thick leather gloves, were completely unharmed, without even a red mark on his palms.

"Try its strength."

His palms turned white again, and with a wave of his arms, he lightly lashed the shoulders of the three men who were rushing at him again, as if they were vines.

The three men groaned and collapsed to the ground, defeated in an instant.

"Junior Brother Chen Yu, go and practice with Junior Brother Jiang."

"It's a good opportunity to hone your skills and gain some practical experience." Wen Jin patted the shoulder of another formal disciple he had brought along, who was on his right.

Immediately, the tall young man dressed in plain clothes slowly walked towards Jiang Ming, who had just knocked down three people, and spoke.

"Junior Brother Jiang, I've only recently broken through to the 'Strength' level. Today, I'll spar with you a couple of times so we can get used to each other's strength."