The Martial Saint, starting with daily intelligence.

The Blood Refining Realm is actually not suitable for fighting and brawling with others.

Because they are easily injured.

It wasn't because someone else hit him, but because he used too much force, resulting in fractures or internal organ damage.

After condensing essence and blood, a person's strength will gradually increase. While the flesh and blood on the surface of the body do become stronger, the bones and internal organs deeper inside are no different from those of an ordinary person.

The amount of force you exert will inevitably result in a backlash from your body.

The flesh and blood can withstand it, but that doesn't mean the entire skeleton and internal organs can.

Once injured, it will definitely affect the previous training.

He must heal his injuries first before he can continue cultivating and refining his blood and essence.

Therefore, those in the Blood Refining Realm cultivate on their own; there is no such thing as sparring or teaching others techniques.

This is one of the reasons why, despite Zhong Ming's abundant qi and blood and great strength, others cannot see it.

To what extent has the standing meditation practice reached?

Only you know how many drops of essence and blood you've condensed; no one else could possibly know.

To see how much strength he has increased, he can lift the stone weights at the martial arts school, ranging from hundreds to thousands of kilograms.

You can fool others, but you can't fool yourself.

Once the stance training has reached a minor level of mastery, and thirty-six drops of essence and blood have been condensed, one can then begin bone forging.

  

The refined essence and blood are used to temper the bones throughout the body, while external forging, medicinal baths, and various tonics and medicinal diets are also used.

This bone-forging process needs to be repeated three times.

The first bone forging is the early stage of bone forging, the second is the middle stage, and the third is the late stage.

Only when a martial artist reaches the Bone Forging stage does he possess true combat power.

You no longer need to worry about breaking a bone while fighting someone.

Even if it's just the first time you complete bone forging, the effects will be enough to counteract the backlash from your own power.

In fact, the first bone forging is the most effective, and the combined effect of the second and third bone forging sessions cannot match that of the first one.

Therefore, at the Bone Forging Realm, there is not much essential difference in everyone's physical body.

In the later stages of bone forging, the body will definitely become harder, but strength will not increase much.

The key to victory lies in mastering martial arts skills and being able to use them flexibly.

Therefore, Zhong Ming was not worried about the unknown "flower thief".

Those who set their sights on a declining family like the Yang family are definitely not strong individuals; at most, they're at the Marrow Cleansing Realm, and might not even be at the Bone Forging Realm.

Besides, what if you really encounter an invincible opponent?

Zhong Ming would definitely say "sorry" and then run as far away as possible.

···

Around 5 p.m., the sun was setting.

The bell rang about an hour later than usual today.

Because I arrived two hours late in the morning, I practiced for an extra hour in the afternoon.

Around 6 p.m., people would start banging gongs to drive people out of the inner city gates of Tianjin. The gates would be officially closed at 6:30 p.m., and all people who did not live in the inner city had to leave at this time.

Residents of the inner city will also return before this time.

If they can't come back, they'll just be locked out.

Unless it is an extremely important person, it is absolutely impossible to reopen the city gates for him.

After the inner city gates are sealed, a restriction will be activated simultaneously to block the effects of the "Blood Moon" and "Ghost Moon" on people.

Once the city gates are opened, the sealing power will be interrupted, and more resources will be needed to reopen the restrictions.

Therefore, non-inner city residents should leave the inner city as soon as possible.

Otherwise, you should find an inn and get a temporary pass; otherwise, if you get caught, you could be fined or even imprisoned.

A lecherous thief is planning to visit the Yang family tonight, and Zhong Ming is ready to intervene.

Murder and arson bring wealth; illicit gains bring riches.

At the same time, minimize the impact of this event and gain some experience points.

Inside an inn.

"There are a total of forty rooms in the Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow categories, of which sixteen Yellow-level guest rooms are already full."

"If you wish to stay here, you will have to consider the Xuan-level guest room."

The innkeeper continued to explain.

"Of the twelve Xuan-level guest rooms, only three remain."

"There is still half an hour before the gates are sealed, which is one hour as the foreigners say. In one hour, the city gates will be completely sealed."

"At that time, even the Xuan-level guest rooms might not be able to be retained."

"If you wish to stay here, it is best to make your decision now; otherwise, you will have to go to other inns or choose more expensive lower-class rooms."

The innkeeper offered his advice.

"Then let's take one room, just for one night."

"Also, could you please do me a favor, shopkeeper? I need to get a temporary residence permit."

Manager Zhang nodded, while making notes in the booklet.

"Mysterious-level guest rooms cost 120 copper coins per day, excluding meals. However, our inn provides a midnight snack at midnight. If guests are still awake at this time, they are welcome to come down and have a treat. We will not wait for those who miss the midnight snack."

Manager Zhang placed a wooden plaque with the words "Xuan-11" written on it in front of Zhong Ming, next to which was a temporary voucher stamped with the inn's seal.

Zhong Ming nodded.

He took out a few copper coins from his pocket, counted them, and handed over one hundred and twenty copper coins.

In this world, one copper coin is not equal to one unit of copper coins.

Instead, look at the face value.

The mainstream copper coins were: one hundred copper coins, fifty copper coins, ten copper coins, five copper coins, and one copper coin.

It's similar to the paper money from my previous life.

However, due to the fact that many warlords and forces secretly minted copper and silver coins, coupled with the continuous influx of overseas silver into the Great Chu, the situation was complicated.

This has led to rising prices and currency devaluation.

Originally, the Great Chu Dynasty stipulated that one silver dollar was equal to one thousand copper coins, and one copper coin was equal to ten copper coins.

Nowadays, one silver dollar can only be exchanged for three hundred and sixty copper coins.

Furthermore, one copper coin can no longer be exchanged for ten copper coins; it can only be exchanged for three to five copper coins, and one silver dollar can only be exchanged for a little over a thousand copper coins.

Ordinary people only care about the copper and silver content.

Fortunately, some silver was mixed into the copper coins when they were made, even in the privately minted copper and silver coins.

Otherwise, copper coins would have been abandoned by the people long ago and would no longer be used.

If copper coins contained no silver and were made entirely of cheap copper, their value would only depreciate faster and faster, which would also be detrimental to the wealth accumulation of powerful families and warlords.

There are more than a dozen inns in the inner city that can provide overnight stays and issue vouchers, but not many are still willing to accept copper coins.

And Youjian Inn is one of them.

Nowadays, most inns only accept silver dollars; they don't even accept copper coins.

Moreover, those who can afford to spend money in the inner city are not ordinary people; they may not carry copper coins, and exchanging them would be troublesome.

The cost of living in the inner city was high, and the main currencies in circulation were silver dollars and silver notes. Copper coins were rarely used.

In addition, copper coins depreciated significantly, so even fewer people used them.

Zhong Ming chose this inn because it was close to the Yang family mansion on South Street.

After carefully putting away the inn's wooden sign and temporary pass, Zhong Ming, led by the servant, arrived at his room.

Xuan-11.

The environment is quite nice, with elegant and simple decor, and it's clean and dry.

The bedding was all new, and the room was free of dust, clearly indicating that it was regularly cleaned and maintained.

"If you need anything, please ring the bell by the bed. We will come when we hear it."

The servant stood to the side and said softly.

"Thank you very much, sir. May I ask your name?"

"My surname is Liu. I am the third-ranking servant in the shop. You can call me Liu San."

"Brother Liu, I wonder what time the inn closes? I'm going out for a bit and won't be back until after midnight at the latest."

Zhong Ming asked, while taking out three copper coins and stuffing them into the other person's hand.

"Don't worry, guests. Although the inn closes at 8:30, there are always people on duty at night, so even if you come back late, someone will open the door for you."

The servant Liu San's smile deepened.

"Thank you for informing me. I understand."

Liu San was also good at reading people's expressions. Seeing that Zhong Ming was alright, he said...

"Please rest, guest. If you need anything, just ring the bell and I'll be there shortly."

Zhong Ming nodded.

Liu San left the room and carefully closed the door.

In fact, Zhong Ming knew all the rules of the inn.

Although Youjian Inn is not a top-tier force spanning multiple continents, it is still a second-rate force with some reputation throughout Jizhou. It has branches in most cities.

It's similar to the six major martial arts schools, including Zhenyuan Martial Arts School.

The difference is that the inn is much smaller.

The six major martial arts schools are spread throughout the entire Great Chu Kingdom, while the influence of Youjian Inn is limited to the territory of Jizhou.

The reason Zhong Ming asked these pointless questions that he already knew the answers to was mainly because he wanted to give the servant a title of reward.

These servants are all very cunning; they might not harm you unless you give them some benefits.

But if there's any sign of trouble or danger, they certainly won't warn you.

Consider it a loss to avoid further trouble, and it brings peace of mind.

In times of chaos, one must be cautious and prudent in all things.

It was already dark when I left the inn.

Zhong Ming had dinner at the inn that night, which included a full five catties of beef, which he had brought over by a servant.

Liu San roughly guessed that Zhong Ming had something to do tonight, but he didn't show any surprise or say anything.

After delivering the food, Liu San accepted the ten copper coins given to him by Zhong Ming and left.

There was no hesitation or delay during the process.

He was already used to seeing these kinds of江湖客 (jianghu ke, people from all walks of life).

Martial artists, especially those at the Body Tempering Realm, expend a lot of energy and blood when fighting. It's best to eat some meat and fish beforehand to replenish their energy and blood.

We booked a guesthouse and agreed to return in the evening, but there were many nights when we couldn't make it back.

In fact, staying at the guesthouse was just a pretext; the real purpose was to obtain that temporary certificate.

The inner city was not subject to curfews, and a large portion of its residents were high-ranking officials and nobles, so constables frequently patrolled the area at night.

Without identification, one would be restricted in every way. Zhong Ming is not powerful enough to disregard the government; at least most martial artists cannot reach that level.

Even if one is not afraid of the government, it is not foolish to confront the government head-on, as it would be a losing proposition.

There were no streetlights in this era, but the nights were exceptionally bright.

Zhong Ming looked up and saw three moons hanging in the night sky.

One is a dark red moon, also called a red moon or blood moon, which is emitting an eerie red light at this moment. Just one glance at it will make you feel a strange palpitation and panic.

The other is a dark green moon, which locals call the Emerald Moon or Ghost Moon, and it emits an eerie green light.

The last moon was the normal moon, emitting a bright light, much like the moon in the previous life, and it was also the only normal moon in the night sky.

At this moment, a scene of three moons shining brightly together is unfolding in the night sky.

Green light, red light, and bright light alternated.

Zhong Ming had seen this scene many times before.

Sometimes there are two moons, sometimes three moons, and at most four moons.

The last full moon was a purple moon!

However, the scene of two moons shining brightly in April may only be seen once every few years, and the purple moon is rare, appearing only once or twice a month.

The most common are the bright moon, the blood moon, and the ghost moon.

The bright moon is harmless to people, and the day when the bright moon is full is also the night of the full moon.

Only one moon will appear, a bright moon, the only normal moon.

On this day, there is no Ghost Moon, Red Moon, or Purple Moon; it is a rare day for ordinary people to get a good night's sleep.

Therefore, in this world, the city generally does not enforce curfews during the full moon, and it only happens for about two days a month.

When a red moon appears and is enveloped in red light, ordinary people may feel inexplicably irritable, their blood may surge, and they may easily act impulsively.

Therefore, on the day of the blood moon, ordinary people often find it difficult to fall asleep peacefully and their bodies become inexplicably irritable.

On Ghost Month days, some noises will appear in people's minds, constantly whispering in their ears.

It is also known as ghostly sound or demonic sound, constantly bewitching people, causing them to fall into depravity and become evil spirits.

Of course, even if you are directly exposed to the light and are all alone, the probability of falling into evil is very low. However, there are still people who are bewitched and eventually become evil beings, unable to control their own lives.

On Ghost Month days, it's even more difficult to fall asleep peacefully.

It's like having a mosquito constantly buzzing around your ear, impossible to shoo away, and incredibly annoying.

This is why the city is under curfew except on the day of the full moon.

Moreover, blood moon, ghost moon, and purple moon are always full moons, while only the normal bright moon has phases.

Therefore, during periods other than a full moon, the moon's brightness is not as great as that of other moons.

When either a blood moon or a ghost moon appears, ordinary people will be affected, and accidents or conflicts are likely to occur.

Everyone is trying to get some rest as early as possible.

Compared to being directly exposed to red and green light.

Staying in the room can reduce the impact to some extent.

As for the Purple Moon, it doesn't have much impact on ordinary people.

It is said that the Purple Moon Day is a paradise exclusively for those at the Refining God Realm and above.

On the day of the Purple Moon, experts at the Refining Spirit Realm can obtain many benefits or opportunities.

Zhong Ming didn't know exactly what it was.

The Refining Spirit Realm was still too far away for him.

"Three moons shine together; tonight, the Blood Moon and the Ghost Moon appear simultaneously."

"No wonder I haven't heard much about flower thieves in the inner city."

"It seems that it was mostly influenced by the Blood Moon and Ghost Moon."

Blood moons and ghost moons affect ordinary people, and martial artists are no exception.

The Blood Moon, in particular, has a greater impact on martial artists.

A martial artist possesses abundant essence and blood, with vital energy at least ten times that of an ordinary person.

Ordinary people are at most impulsive and easily angered, but martial artists are more likely to suffer from qi deviation, causing their essence and blood to explode and die.

This is also why Zhong Ming goes to bed early every day after returning from the martial arts school.

Because we have no idea whether tonight is a blood moon.

The deeper the night, the brighter the moon, and the harder it is to fall asleep on a blood moon night, with the blood and qi surging even more intensely.

Zhong Ming took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down and let his slightly agitated blood and qi gradually subside.

"Fortunately, we are in the inner city, where there are restrictions left by martial arts masters that can reduce most of the effects of the Blood Moon and Ghost Moon on people."

For ordinary people, the Ghost Month and Blood Month have almost no effect on them.

However, for martial artists, the effects of the Blood Moon are still somewhat felt.

It's unlikely that they'll go astray, but their blood and energy will be very active, making them prone to outbursts, anger, and impulsiveness.