The medicines refined by Heart-nourishing Masters were divided into four attributes—Yin Attribute, Yang Attribute, Yin-yang Attribute, and Hybrid Attribute.
A martial artist's blood vessels were similarly divided into four attributes—Yin Attribute, Yang Attribute, Yin-yang Attribute, and Hybrid Attribute.
Besides medicines of the Hybrid Attribute, medicines of other attributes were not interchangeable when used by martial artists.
Yin-Attribute Heart-Nourishing Liquid could only be given to martial artists with blood vessels of either the Yin-Attribute or the Yin-yang Attribute.
Yang-Attribute Heart-Nourishing Liquid could only be given to martial artists with blood vessels of either the Yang-Attribute or the Yin-yang Attribute.
Yin-yang Attribute Heart-Nourishing Liquid could only be given to martial artists with blood vessels of only the Yin-yang Attribute.
Ning Xiaochuan had analyzed this problem before and thought that the reason why medicines refined by Heart-Nourishing Masters had four attributes was due to the influence of their blood vessels, thus causing the entire situation.
Hence, Ning Xiaochuan had realized that these four attributes actually corresponded to the four blood types that a human could possess—type A, type B, type AB, and type O.
Why was it that mysterious medicines could only be absorbed by martial artists after Heart-nourishing Masters had refined them?
That was because Heart-nourishing Masters had used their hearts and blood to refine the mysterious medicines, thus eliminating all foreign matters within them. However, this process also produced a medicine that had been converted into the Heart-nourishing Master's blood vessel attribute, which made it only possible to be consumed by martial artists of the same blood vessel attribute.
The Hybrid Attribute represented type O blood and Heart-nourishing Masters of the Hybrid Attribute were actually "Universal Donors".
Therefore, although Heart-nourishing Masters of the Hybrid Attribute were still Heart-nourishing Masters, all the same, they still had the highest value and highest status.
Heart-nourishing Masters of the other attributes possessed a certain limitation and thus a majority of them attached themselves to Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall. However, Hybrid Attribute Heart-nourishing Masters could survive anywhere and deal with any powerhouse.
Naturally, Hybrid Attribute Heart-nourishing Liquid was more expensive than the Heart-nourishing Liquid of other attributes.
Yu Qianqian was even more elated. She had actually recruited Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall's first Hybrid Attribute Heart-nourishing Master, this was truly a wealthy blessing. He had already produced Heart-nourishing Liquid of the purest quality despite being so young, so his potential was limitless!
Yu Qianqian was very generous and immediately bought Ning Xiaochuan's three drops of Heart-nourishing Liquid at ten thousand copper coins each, amounting to a total of thirty thousand copper coins.
Having made his cost back in an instant, Ning Xiaochuan was of course over the moon.
The next thing was the test to be a Junior Heart-nourishing Master, which was simple—refining a single stalk of high-grade Heart-nourishing Herb.
This was as easy as ABC to Ning Xiaochuan, who passed the test easily and became an actual Junior Heart-nourishing Master.
After receiving his Junior Heart-nourishing robe and token, he quickly signed a Heart-nourishing Master contract with Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall!
When Ning Xiaochuan left Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, the sky was completely dark.
The streets of the imperial city were lit up with bright lights as people and vehicles bustled about. Martial artists from all over had gathered here for this was a world where great, undiscovered talents lay hidden. As long as one had the potential, they could become a king of kings and be revered by many!
"Clack clack!"
A giant golden lion, which was five or six times larger than any lion Ning Xiaochuan had seen before, ran towards him pulling a purple sandalwood carriage. The lion was almost like an elephant with golden fur, though it was much fiercer than an elephant. The teeth in its jaw were as big as his hand and as sharp as a sword. It was truly a frightening sight.
It was a Mystical Beast—the "Howling Moon's Golden Lion".
The purple sandalwood carriage stopped before Ning Xiaochuan. A slender hand pulled the curtains back, revealing a delicate and beautiful fairy-like face, laughing. "Mister Ning, where do you live? Perhaps Qianqian can send you home?"
Ning Xiaochuan smiled in return. "There's no need. I stay just right in front."
Yu Qianqian glanced at the street extending forwards and could faintly see the gate to Marquise Jiange's Residence. Everything immediately clicked into place in her mind and she smiled back earnestly. "Very well! See you soon."
The curtain fell back into place and the Howling Moon's Golden Lion tracked off with the red sandalwood carriage in tow.
Yu Qianqian sat within, her eyes glimmering like stars, and the corners of her luscious red lips quirked up slightly. She mumbled to herself, "Marquise Jiange's Residence is truly coming forward with a lot of outstanding people!"
Ning Xiaochuan did not know Yu Qianqian's identity, of course, but he could piece together that she was from a wealthy family. In the imperial city, there were many that had the background, the influential power, and the wealth, so descendants of Nobles with a difficult life like Ning Xiaochuan were few and far in between.
Why a difficult life?
Ning Xiaochuan had nothing to his name.
The monthly pay of five hundred thousand copper coins from Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall would not be given to him until next month. He had also used the thirty thousand copper coins he had received from selling the Heart-nourishing Liquid to buy ten stalks of top-grade Heart-nourishing Herb and ten stalks of Blood-increasing Herb.
As a Junior Heart-nourishing Master of Jinpeng Heart-nourishing Hall, he was able to buy these Mystical Medicines at a cheap price. Otherwise, thirty thousand copper coins would have been far from enough!
However, Ning Xiaochuan was an ambitious person. As long as he could refine these Heart-nourishing Herbs and Blood-increasing Herbs into Heart-nourishing Liquid and Blood-nourishing Liquid respectively, he would be earning a fortune in return of his cost!
Once he thought about this, his heart jumped in elation.
"Elder brother, you've finally returned. Something grave has happened." Ning Xiner was worried sick and was just about to go to the brothel to look for Ning Xiaochuan. However, just as she was about to walk out the gate of the residence, she saw Ning Xiaochuan returning with his bag and immediately heaved a sigh of relief.
Ning Xiaochuan asked, "What is it?"
"Ning Han's been murdered." Ning Xiner's expression was grave and solemn as she spoke.
Ning Xiaochuan squinted his eyes slightly in pretend shock as he said, "Someone dared to kill a descendant of Marquise Jiange's Residence?"
Ning Xiner nodded her head and replied, "Two servants were killed as well. Their bodies were discovered by Yulan Riverside, outside of the city. They have been brought back. Ning Han was Fourth Uncle's son, the entire residence is jittery with fright now. Elder brother, from now on…you must avoid leaving the residence as much as possible in case of anything happening…"
Footsteps resounded and a cold voice spoke.
"Hmph! He's just a sick man, a completely useless person. Even if someone is out to get people from Marquise Jiange's Residence, they wouldn't pick someone like him."
In the dark of the night, a man dressed in embroidered clothes, who seemed to be about twenty years old, walked toward them while surrounded by a group of servants.
Ning Hengqing was a direct descendant of one of the families in Marquise Jiange's Residence. He possessed high Cultivation and was already at Stage Eight of his Qi.
His high Cultivation naturally made him an arrogant person. Besides Ning Xiner and a few other powerhouses, he looked down upon everyone else.
Ning Hengqing stared at Ning Xiaochuan in disdain. "Fourth Master and First Master have called for all direct descendants of Marquise Jiange's Residence to gather outside Conference Hall. Sicken Ning, you're to go as well."
Ning Xiner coldly spat. "Ning Hengqing, do treat my elder brother respectfully."
Ning Hengqing chuckled coldly. "Respect refers to an attitude of the weak toward the strong. Your elder brother…is he worth it? Heh heh! When it comes to respect, it should come from a useless fellow like him toward a strong person like me. Look at him, look at him, does he have any respect for me in his gaze? Haha!"
Ning Xiner gritted her teeth, her delicate fists exploding with Combat Qi. "You're looking to die!"
Ning Xiaochuan tugged at Ning Xiner's wrist as he stared at Ning Hengqing to say, "Respect should be mutual. It isn't decided by status or Cultivation!"
These were words of awe-inspiring justice. It would have sounded natural if it had been spoken by a revered martial artist. Unfortunately, it was said by a sick man who had been constantly looked down upon, so the delivery left a strange aftertaste.
He had shocked everyone there, Ning Xiner included.
Although Ning Xiner wanted to make Ning Hengqing a disabled man, she could not refute his words because it was truly a world where the strong stood at the top. The word "respect" really only existed in the way the weak treated the strong. She had never seen a strong person showing respect to someone that was weaker than them.
"If you respect me, I'll naturally respect you in return. If you refuse to respect me, why should I respect you?" Ning Xiaochuan pulled Ning Xiner's hand towards him and the pair brushed past Ning Hengqing to head toward the Conference Hall.
Ning Hengqing was stunned in his movements for a brief moment before he let out a cold laugh, his eyes glazed over with ferocity. "He seems to have grown a backbone after experiencing death once. I think he'll start stepping over me if I don't give him a public lesson. Hmph! Let's go, we're going to the Conference Hall as well. There's going to be a show waiting for us tonight."
The Conference Hall was a significant place in Marquise Jiange's Residence and only the important figures of the residence were qualified to go there.
At the moment, three corpses lay on display outside the Conference Hall. One corpse was frozen while the other two corpses were dried up.
When Ning Xiaochuan and Ning Xiner arrived, a lot of the descendants of Marquise Jiange's Residence had already gathered at the hall, all surrounding the three corpses in a heated discussion.
Copper pillars filled with tung oil, which were burning brightly, stood around the Conference Hall. The flames illuminated the dark night and it was clear that thousands of people had gathered here. All of them were direct descendants of Marquise Jiange's Residence.
There were a total of eight bloodlines of direct descendants in Marquise Jiange's Residence, and the Old Marquise's bloodline was one of them.
The ones gathered here were only a small portion of the total. Many of the immediate descendants of the residence did not return. Some were on the outside fighting in the army, some were government officials, some were practicing their martial arts, and some were operating the shops under the Marquise Jiange's Residence.
'This is truly a Noble family, just look at its prosperity. If I include the descendants of the distant bloodlines, I'm afraid the numbers might increase tenfold, maybe even a hundredfold,' Ning Xiaochuan pondered in awe.
The ones in power in Marquise Jiange's Residence currently were powerhouses of the second and third generation, who were all inside the Conference Hall. The ones in discussion outside the Conference Hall were mainly the fourth-generation descendants of Marquise Jiange's Residence, so it was mainly young people.
"Look, Sicken Ning is actually here. He wasn't allowed to attend the previous assemblies of the direct descendants of the residence, so this is a strange sight."
"They didn't let him attend because they were worried he'll embarrass himself."
"Say, he's still the biological son of the Third Master, so why is his younger sister Ning Xiner so talented, yet he's so useless?"
"Who knows? I heard that terrible mother of his is actually from the Bloodthirsty Devil Sect, so she's a bloodthirsty woman! Heh heh!"
Many people cast looks of contempt at Ning Xiaochuan, their disdainful smirks pulling at their lips.
Ning Xiner was furious and immediately struck her palm out. With a loud smack, she had sent the teenager insulting her mother flying over ten meters away before he landed onto the ground while vomiting blood continuously.
Ning Xiaochuan did not stop her this time. In fact, he almost made a move himself. Even the nicest people had their limits, and these people were going overboard with their bullying.
When it was required, making them howl was unavoidable!