Chapter 177 - 175: Qi Refining Expert
The scorching summer gradually passed, and Heaven was somewhat merciful, not adding insult to injury in this year of wars and chaos.
The drought, which had not occurred for years, allowed common folks to barely have a hot meal, preventing them from reaching complete desperation.
In August, the weather began to cool down, and Song Changming bought more clothes for Song’s Mother to prevent her from catching a cold during the seasonal change.
On this day, in the courtyard.
Song Changming, bare-chested and covered in sweat, finished his daily body refinement routine.
Suddenly he exerted force, continuously punching into the air.
The extremely high kinetic energy caused explosive fist winds in the air, buzzing like a blower at work.
After throwing out a dozen punches in succession, Song Changming finally stopped, feeling quite satisfied with the terrifying power he had just unleashed.
"The new trait talent, the development progress is not bad..."
The upper limit of his physical strength continually increased due to these physical traits.
In his daily life, as long as he engaged in body refinement cultivation, he could continually tap into the potential of these physical traits.
The more diligent he was, the faster the rate of trait development.
Especially in the early stages of acquiring new physical traits, he could almost feel his body getting stronger every day, evolving in increasingly astonishing ways, moving forward at an incredible pace.
Compared to last month, in terms of both strength and speed bursts, he had made a small advancement.
His reaction speed was faster, his coordination improved, his five senses became sharper, and the toughness of his skin and flesh kept changing and strengthening.
This was due to the development of his three high-grade physical traits and the gradual refinement of his spiritual power.
Additionally, his Qi refining cultivation was steadily accumulating and consolidating.
Now, one could say that Song Changming was in a period of rapid improvement in strength, thoroughly enjoying the sense of accomplishment brought by continuous enhancement of his abilities.
Just as Song Changming was preparing to practice his sword technique, Song Ping’an quickly returned from outside the door.
"Brother Song, I’ve bought the Crimson Jade Marrow you wanted, two pieces in total, along with some other medicinal herbs..."
As he spoke, Song Ping’an took down the large medicine box containing all the herbs and took out a medicine case from it.
"Hmm, well done," Song Changming nodded.
Upon hearing that the appraisal event in the port town had reopened and many fine body refining materials were available, he sent Song Ping’an to take a trip, handling the purchasing affair.
Opening the medicine case, he found two pieces of bright red, glossy Jade Marrow inside, with a clear and transparent texture.
Song Changming took out these two pieces of top-grade Jade Marrow, worth a thousand silver in value, and swallowed them like one would pop candy into their mouth.
"Ah, Brother Song, but these are two pieces of Crimson Jade Marrow, are you sure it’s okay to eat them like this..." Song Ping’an was startled and couldn’t help but ask worriedly.
The high quality of Crimson Jade Marrow meant its medicinal power was potent and fierce; even an Extreme Realm Martial Artist would take a month to digest one piece.
To eat two pieces was almost inconceivable.
"It’s fine," Song Changming waved nonchalantly.
In the past, when he consumed Crimson Jade Marrow, it was akin to taking strong medicine, consuming at most one piece per month without daring to be greedy.
But now that his physical body was strong to a certain extent, a single piece of the highest quality Crimson Jade Marrow did not have much of an effect on him.
This forced him to eat an extra piece, and though some medicinal power might be wasted, he only pursued cultivation efficiency, and the question of waste didn’t concern him as he was not short of money.
Of course, the prerequisite for taking top-grade medicine like this was having a powerful physique like his to withstand the doubled medicinal power.
Otherwise, such behavior would indeed be akin to courting death.
"By the way, I encountered a martial artist named Jiang Maocai on my way back, who delivered a battle challenge," Song Ping’an suddenly remembered and took out the battle challenge note.
"Another one?" Song Changming was somewhat surprised.
Since last month, when he fought seven matches in succession and won all seven, earning seventy Han Gold, the challengers had quieted down.
He thought these martial artists recognized his strength and dared not challenge him again.
Unexpectedly, barely into August, the challenges had resumed.
"Just tell them I’m in seclusion and not accepting any challenges," Song Changming directly refused.
He had just swallowed two pieces of top-grade Jade Marrow worth a combined value of twenty Han Gold; he couldn’t waste the medicinal power to spar with some unknown martial artist.
"Alright," Song Ping’an nodded.
The following evening, after dinner.
After having dinner, Song’s Mother went to rest early, leaving only Song Changming and Song Ping’an in the courtyard.
A chess board and a pot of clear wine were placed on the stone table.
After making his move, Song Ping’an, seeing that the game was about to be irretrievably lost, scratched his head anxiously.
"Think slowly, no rush," Song Changming laughed, pouring himself a drink and savoring it leisurely.
Since his old chess friend Liu Dingsheng had left, he entertained himself at home by teaching Song Ping’an to play chess in his spare time.
Seeing Song Ping’an struggling in frustration under his chess skills, Song Changming finally understood why Liu Dingsheng enjoyed playing chess with him.
No denying it, crushing a weaker player really was stress-relieving and satisfying.
"Brother Song, you’re truly incredible, I’ve lost again," Song Ping’an shook his head repeatedly.
"Haha," Song Changming chuckled, intending to have one more round before calling it a night.
At this moment, Dahuang and White, who were dozing after a big meal by his feet, suddenly raised their heads, and perked up their ears, looking outside the courtyard wall.
"Hmm?" Song Ping’an noticed the dogs’ unusual behavior and his expression grew tense.
The dogs’ sense of smell and hearing were far beyond that of humans, comparable to live radars; they clearly sensed something and were immediately alerted.
In such situations, it was often because some blind thief came to the door or other uninvited guests paid a late-night visit.
"Brother Song!" Song Ping’an looked over.
Song Changming also sensed something and had already put down his wine cup, "White."
After swallowing the Dragon Transformation Pearl, White was exceptionally intelligent, so much so that it didn’t even need Song Changming to say much and went indoors to bring out Song Changming’s Dragon Pattern Saber.
Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the courtyard wall.
The individual wore a conical hat, dressed in the guise of a Jianghu person, and carried a long-handled big saber on his back.
The saber was wide, straight, and long, simply wrapped with a heap of patched-up cloth pieces.
"It’s you!" Song Ping’an recognized this unwelcome guest, immediately explaining to Song Changming, "This is the person who delivered the battle challenge yesterday."
Alongside them, Dahuang was already growling with a low, threatening sound, ready to pounce and tear the adversary at any moment.
The intense reaction from Dahuang indicated it obviously sensed malice and a threat emanating from the opponent.
"My friend, climbing walls at night is not the act of a gentleman," Song Changming said with a frown.
"I’m no gentleman, you didn’t accept the challenge, so I had to come find you myself," Jiang Maocai replied slowly, all the while unwrapping the long saber on his back from the patchwork of cloth.
His voice wasn’t loud, slightly deep, sounding like someone not young.
"Forcing your way in late at night doesn’t seem like you’re here to fight me, who sent you?" Song Changming’s voice grew colder.
Jiang Maocai sneered, "Not dumb. Initially, I wanted to use the duel to kill you, but you didn’t give me the chance, and I don’t have much patience to wait, so I had to come tonight."
As he spoke, he had already unwrapped the cloth, revealing a blood-stained long saber, emanating a chilling glow under the moonlight.
An unusual energy fluctuation surrounded him, disturbing the nocturnal breeze around them.
Song Changming observed, his expression turning more serious.
The fluctuation around him was the energy of spiritual power.
Having opened the Nether Sea and understanding the use of spiritual power indicated that this person was likely a Qi Refining Martial Artist!
Previously, he thought Qi Refining Martial Artists were extremely rare in Jianghu, but now one suddenly appeared.
And his name was obscure; Song Changming had never heard of Jiang Maocai nor knew his reputation in Jianghu.
Or perhaps this Jiang Maocai was just an alias.
The information about this person was limited, and his origin was mysterious, but this did not prevent Song Changming from making deductions.
"Were you sent by the Second Prince?" Song Changming inquired, not eager to make a move; getting some clarity was preferable.
"..." Jiang Maocai remained silent.
"This prince holding a high position of power, why the particular interest in me, a mere nobody of Jianghu?" Song Changming continued his psychological probing.
"Why he’s interested in you, you should know in your heart," Jiang Maocai coldly snorted.
This statement almost confirmed the origins of this Qi Refining expert, specifically sent by the Second Prince to target Song Changming as a Jianghu guest.
"Since you could defeat Xue Boyan, it proves you’ve also reached Qi Cultivation Realm, no need for more words, let’s do this," Jiang Maocai stood with his saber in hand on the courtyard wall, overlooking Song Changming while saying this.
He did not have the slightest underestimation of Song Changming.
The world may not know, but he was well aware of the weight of Song Changming’s battle when he killed Xue Boyan; hence, he would not show any negligence when facing him.