Ultimate True Lord

the other side.

In the dimly lit alley, a dark figure moved swiftly, heading north towards Fenghepu by the hazy moonlight.

Jiang Ming remained calm, stopped, and glanced back at the direction where the three had just fought fiercely.

Before each attack on the Gray-Clad Gang, Jiang Ming would prepare in advance and plan his escape route. After all, Jiang Ming had always felt that the Gray-Clad Gang was not simple and might be working for some other force.

Therefore, just to be on the safe side, he would plan his retreat route before taking action, such as that dark path full of animal traps.

If ambushed or caught in an emergency, Jiang Ming can instantly slip into a side path and use various traps to hinder his opponent's pursuit. If the enemy is injured as a result, he can use this opportunity to turn the tables and kill them.

It's a bit of a hassle, but it's definitely effective.

"His strength and power are fully developed, and his punches are indeed fierce."

Jiang Ming turned his head and glanced at his left shoulder, where he felt a faint throbbing pain; the skin and flesh were probably already red and swollen.

"However, he wasn't feeling well either, after taking a claw strike from me."

He took a deep breath, realizing that his strength was still insufficient. If he had the cultivation of soft energy now, he wouldn't need to retreat or flee; he could easily kill the two men who were lying in ambush.

"We need to break through to the level of soft strength as soon as possible!"

"In the entire Fenghepu area, there are not many, but there are still quite a few, strong martial artists. There are more than a dozen formal disciples at the Hongsha Martial Arts School, and even low-level gangs like the Gray-Clad Gang have two."

"However, soft strength is completely different. There are only two or three people with it in the entire Red Sand Martial Arts School, and their status is worlds apart."

"Someone like the second senior brother, Wang Zheng, could even become the head镖师 (bodyguard/escort) of the Weiyuan镖局 (escort agency), managing more than a dozen镖师 (bodyguards/escorts) who are skilled in martial arts."

With these thoughts in mind, Jiang Ming took another step. He vanished into the darkness once more, heading towards his new home.

……

……

Starting in mid-October, Jiang Ming devoted himself to seclusion, constantly practicing the three newly acquired martial arts techniques. He stayed at home, practicing diligently day and night.

Meanwhile, the Gray-Clad Gang finally had some information about their target and began to track down the real culprit. The gang dispatched members to inquire in various locations.

Through layers of screening and comparison, the scope of the investigation was gradually narrowed down.

One day in early November.

Jiang Ming finally mastered the last martial arts technique. His bare, powerful upper body was covered in sweat, and his bronze muscles were taut, looking as if they had been coated with tung oil.

He slowly exhaled a breath of hot air, his eyes narrowing.

On the original furnace, three doors, displaying the powerful martial arts of beginners, fell into the slots and remained motionless.

"Buzz..."

A line of black and gold text quickly appeared.

[The following is the next enhancement for Red Sand Palm]

Secondly: When breaking through all the bottlenecks of the Red Sand Palm realm, the difficulty is reduced to half of the original! (Success rate: 100%) (Insufficient essence and blood)

Thirdly: The hardness of the palm when using Red Sand Palm increases by 30%! (Success rate: 100%)

Fourthly: When Red Sand Palm is cultivated to the Brown Sand level or above, it will generate a martial arts trait called "Bone-Penetrating Strength"! (Success Rate: 99%) (Special Enhancement)

Jiang Ming's gaze swept quickly across the area, finally settling on the last enhancement without any pause.

He attacked the Gray-Clad Gang, setting his minimum goal as obtaining the three martial arts manuals, all for the purpose of strengthening this particular martial art's unique characteristics.

Since improving his cultivation aptitude, Jiang Ming has been working hard for several months and is now very close to achieving the Great Perfection of the Powerful Force.

Once he breaks through to the peak of hardness and masters it for a period of time, he can immediately try to break through to softness.

Jiang Ming's bottleneck in cultivating the Red Sand Palm is now only 10% complete, which is a tremendous advantage. Previously, when his Red Sand Palm bottleneck was down to 30%, Jiang Ming felt that he could break through to the Hard Force realm in a short period of time through his own efforts.

However, since the ten months were almost up, he chose to further reduce the bottleneck of the Red Sand Palm as a precaution.

Not to mention, the bottleneck of Red Sand Palm is now only ten percent complete. Jiang Ming is extremely confident in breaking through the soft force; as long as he accumulates enough power, he cannot fail.

Therefore, the final enhancement of martial arts traits is not far off for Jiang Ming.

By choosing this enhancement, once he enters the realm of Soft Power, not only will his cultivation level leap forward, but his combat strength will also increase by leaps and bounds. With Soft Power combined with Bone-Penetrating Power, his strength will definitely skyrocket instantly.

"The main technique is Red Sand Palm, with other techniques as supplementary methods."

"Primal Furnace, Enhance!"

Jiang Ming did not hesitate for a moment; with a thought and a focused mind, he acted.

Instantly, the raging black-gold flames distorted the air around his left hand, and a hazy sense of power rapidly began to gather.

"Click!"

The furnace lid was lifted, and the mysterious fluctuations ceased.

"Choose, Enhancement Four!"

A bolt of lightning merged into Jiang Ming's body, silently accumulating a power that would only erupt in the future.

[Technique: Red Sand Palm, White Sand]

Enhancement 1: When breaking through the bottleneck of Red Sand Palm, the difficulty is reduced to 10% of the original!

Enhancement 2: The speed of practicing Red Sand Palm has been doubled!

Enhancement 3: Increases the hardness of the palm when using Red Sand Palm by 40%!

Enhancement Four: When Red Sand Palm is cultivated to the Brown Sand level or higher, it will generate a martial arts trait called "Bone-Penetrating Strength"!

Unbeknownst to him, the Red Sand Palm had accumulated multiple enhancements. Its effects and abilities were vastly different from the original Red Sand Palm.

"Next, it's time to focus all our efforts on developing softness!"

"I have almost saved up enough money to buy half a plant of red medicine from the Wen family to further accelerate the nourishment of my qi and blood."

"If everything goes smoothly, we should be able to break through in no more than two months!"

Once Jiang Ming made up his mind, he continued the tedious and relentless training of the Red Sand Palm. He devoted himself entirely to the arduous practice.

Time flies, and another month and a half has passed.

As the weather gradually turns colder, leaves fall one after another, and many of the once vibrant flowers and plants in the courtyard have withered during this period.

Mid-December.

Jiang Ming carried a pound of fresh meat wrapped in oil paper as he slowly walked from the market back to his new home. He turned and stepped into the familiar street, where a few thugs seemed to be squatting scattered in the shadows of the alleys on both sides.

Some chatted idly with each other, while others leaned casually against the wall and swayed back and forth.

They seemed to be doing nothing, but as soon as Jiang Ming walked into the street, these people subtly glanced at him out of the corner of their eyes, watching him slyly.

On the road, he calmly and expressionlessly pushed open his courtyard gate and went inside.

These thugs suddenly appeared on Baishui Street about three or four days ago. A few days ago, he was spotted by two members of the gray-clad gang when he was going home.

After that, some suspicious-looking people appeared on Baishui Street. They weren't members of the Gray Clothes Gang, but they acted as their informants, subtly monitoring Jiang Ming's new home.

In the courtyard.

Jiang Ming took a deep breath. He knew that the Gray-Clad Gang had already investigated him and listed him as one of the suspects.