Chapter 037: [Something's Wrong]

This question was on everyone’s mind. Yet, they all knew that even if they asked, the short, stout man wouldn’t answer. The black market was the least constrained, yet it upheld its own rules most strictly. No one would press too deeply about the short man’s origins, how he obtained his information, or who his upstream suppliers were; at best, they would probe lightly.

Once the probing ended, bargaining resumed, or those uninterested simply moved on. Twenty thousand Great Yu coins for a silencer device—clearly an inflated price meant to draw attention. Now that a crowd had gathered before the stall, the short man naturally lowered his price. Even so, each device still cost seven or eight thousand Great Yu coins. According to him, this was nearly at cost price. A silencer device could be used about ten times, so buying one wouldn’t be a loss.

Whether it was a loss depended on individual circumstances. Su Jingxing had no need to buy; he didn’t have enough Great Yu coins anyway. So, after lingering a while at the stall, he turned and left, exiting the black market.

Back at his small courtyard, Su Jingxing began gathering internal force at a single point, stimulating his dantian, striving for the seventh tier. He practiced repeatedly until he mastered the process, mapped out the steps, and then prepared to take the Breakthrough Pill. During this period, when it was his turn to be on duty, he worked diligently, calmly moving corpses. After work, he returned to his courtyard and continued to stimulate his dantian.

In Qinghe City, following the appearance of the barbarians, official investigations were launched. Not only the Martial Guard Bureau and the Security Team, but even the Central Yao Prefecture Army entered the city, conducting surprise raids in various places. As for what these operations yielded, Su Jingxing had no idea. Whether the city’s defenses were loose on the outside and tight within, or the reverse, he paid no attention. All he knew was that, under the joint efforts of the Martial Guard Bureau, Security Team, and Prefecture Army, deaths in Qinghe City had sharply decreased. No more killings, murders, assassinations, or accidental deaths occurred. Only those who died of illness continued to be sent to the crematorium.

With fewer corpses, the work for Su Jingxing, Kong Dabao, and others became much easier. Most of their shifts were spent playing cards and games. The number of cards Su Jingxing collected dropped accordingly. He wasn’t worried about this, though—his goal now was to reach the seventh tier. Everything else could wait.

After more than ten days of repeated attempts, Su Jingxing finally mastered the process and decided to take the Breakthrough Pill. He chose to make his attempt in the second half of the night, after midnight, when the world was at its quietest. He took out the Breakthrough Pill and set it aside, then skillfully gathered internal force at his dantian. At a certain moment, sensing the internal force shift, he quickly swallowed the Breakthrough Pill.

A special, pure energy entered his abdomen, instantly transforming into a warm current that merged with the ball of internal force. As they intertwined, a vortex formed, enveloping the dantian, washing over it again and again.

Until—

“Hoo—”

Suddenly, it felt as if a hole had appeared below his lower abdomen, and a stream of energy emerged from it, blending with the vortex. It surged outward, then inward, traversing not only the surface of his dantian, but also his organs, limbs, and even his brain in an instant.

As this force washed through him, impurities and toxins within his body were driven to the surface of his skin. Finally, the stream of energy returned to the dantian and settled into silence. The ball of internal force resumed its original form, once again filling his entire body.

Of course, compared to before, the total internal force had diminished by nearly ninety percent, leaving only about a tenth. Though it was less, he had successfully entered the seventh tier. The breakthrough was perfect!

Without guidance, to reach the seventh tier in a single attempt—Su Jingxing was deeply satisfied. The grime on his skin amounted, in some ways, to a cleansing of his body. It was said that when a martial artist reached the third tier, they underwent a total transformation. This meant that the stronger and higher a martial artist’s realm, the more attractive their appearance. Correspondingly, their aging slowed.

Su Jingxing had never met any martial artists of the third tier or above, so he couldn’t verify this. At his age, he didn’t need to worry about such matters yet. He went to the bathroom to bathe, then changed into clean clothes.

He took out the True Qi Card, ready to unlock it and store the energy in his dantian. The dantian had now been opened, so it naturally needed True Qi to swirl within. Yet, just before unlocking the card, he suddenly stopped.

“Wait!”

Su Jingxing’s heart jolted, as if struck by lightning, and he set the True Qi Card down.

“Something’s wrong! There’s a problem here!”

It wasn’t a problem with the dantian or the True Qi Card—it was with himself. To enter the sixth tier from the seventh was one of the three major thresholds in martial cultivation. Could Su Jingxing cross it directly with a single True Qi Card, stepping into the sixth tier? Something was off!

It was almost certain something was wrong—it couldn’t be that simple.

Ordinary people becoming martial artists and growing stronger followed a clear progression. First, through specialized internal techniques, all their energy and blood were concentrated and transformed into internal force.

With internal force, one became a quasi-martial artist. Internal force nourished the body, boosting strength to a thousand catties, which was the ninth tier. Simply put, the source of internal force was the essence of the person. It required eating plenty of meat and nourishing foods to provide sufficient energy. Thus, those without money found it hard to become martial artists.

This step had been successfully replaced by Essence Pills, Power Pills, and Internal Force Cards. Su Jingxing had encountered no problems so far. But entering the sixth tier was different.

Su Jingxing had researched online: three conditions must be met to enter the sixth tier.

First, just as with internal force, one must possess a unique internal technique capable of cultivating True Qi.

Second, one must find a place abundant with world energy to serve as the origin of True Qi.

Indeed, the source of True Qi was no longer the body’s essence, but an invisible energy permeating the world. This energy was one of the fundamental differences between this planet and Earth, and the root of all martial artists’ strength. Without it, the highest realm attainable would be the seventh tier!

During the transition to the sixth tier, the key step was absorbing world energy. This step carried certain dangers. Thus, a protector, or sufficiently strong willpower and exceptional talent, was needed to complete it alone.

All three conditions were indispensable.

Su Jingxing possessed none of them—how could a single True Qi Card allow him to advance? Impossible!

Though he didn’t know exactly what was wrong, his intuition was clear: if he unlocked the True Qi Card now, it would be wasted.

Three years’ worth of True Qi cultivation—if used correctly, it would be a powerful trump card. Wasting it would be a real pity.

With this in mind, Su Jingxing took a deep breath and carefully put the True Qi Card away.

Up to now, he had reached the seventh tier on his own. From here onward, he would need to plan his path carefully. One wrong step could lead him astray, and in severe cases, even cause him to lose control.

This was the disadvantage of having no master or elders—no one to guide him, and no way to know if he was on the wrong path!