Li Che's eyes suddenly narrowed as he heard the words, a chill swept through his entire body, starting from his scalp and spreading down his spine to his limbs and bones!
"This arrest officer from the government office, Zhao Chuanxiong... has issues?!"
Li Che took a deep breath.
Old Chen, holding Xi Xi with a grave expression, shook his head, "Of course, we can't exclude the possibility that he got the information from somewhere else, but I feel like there's something off about this Zhao Chuanxiong."
"With his status as an arrest officer, such an obvious flaw isn't likely to be shown so openly, it's more like…" Old Chen said, squinting involuntarily.
"Just like those members of the Spirit Infant Sect who placed the Spirit Infant statue at your doorstep, it's part of a ritual..."
Old Chen's words weighed heavily on Li Che's heart, and a surge of intense killing intent bubbled forth in an instant.
According to what Old Chen said, does that mean Zhao Chuanxiong might be involved with the Spirit Infant Sect?
"An arrest officer from the government office... could also be involved with the Spirit Infant Sect?"
Li Che asked in a grave voice.
Upon hearing this, Old Chen burst into laughter, "What you're saying... There are rumors that the Prime Minister of Great Vista now worships the Divine Buddha. Why couldn't an ordinary arrest officer be involved with the Spirit Infant Sect?"
After speaking, Old Chen's expression became solemn, "The Spirit Infant Sect originates from the Mysterious Temple... They possess the Divine Method, which is a major temptation for many martial artists and cultivators."
"The waters of the Spirit Infant Sect are much deeper than you can imagine."
Divine Method?
Li Che shuddered upon hearing this.
"However, you'll be safer staying at Xu's Wood Carving Shop, these people wouldn't dare to mess around. I'm living next door, too, and I'll keep an eye out for you at all times."
"Spirit Baby, ah..." Old Chen shook his head, looking at Xi Xi cradled in his arms with a pitying gaze.
"Having too much spirit is not a good thing... it's the source of sins and disasters."
The wind howled furiously, swirling between heaven and earth.
Li Che stood erect, looking towards Zhao Chuanxiong who had disappeared into the blizzard.
The Dao Fruit [Dragon Elephant Vajra] within his chest was throbbing vigorously, as if there were dragons chanting and elephants trumpeting!
"Old Chen, this Zhao Chuanxiong... what is his cultivation?"
Li Che narrowed his eyes and asked.
Old Chen, holding Xi Xi, was momentarily stunned. This scene seemed... familiar.
In the past, Li Che seemed to have asked about Sun Changbiao's cultivation.
However, he didn't question further, for he had witnessed Li Che's cultivation with his own eyes.
"Zhao Chuanxiong, as an arrest officer of the Outskirts Government Office, is not weak in cultivation. He should be in the Bone Tempering Realm, and as for Inner Strength, during the brief encounter earlier, it was roughly at the level of the Three Heavens. In the Outer City, he is absolutely considered a top fighter."
"As for whether he has cultivated the Divinity, that I do not know," Old Chen said with a serious and grave complexion. Zhao Chuanxiong's cultivation was indeed not weak; if he were to be enhanced by Divinity, even Old Chen himself feared he would not be able to defeat him.
Li Che nodded slightly and let out a small breath.
It seemed that killing Zhao Chuanxiong immediately was going to be... a bit difficult.
Of course, what Old Chen had said before was merely conjecture. So, next, the first thing to do was to find out whether Zhao Chuanxiong was indeed related to the Spirit Infant Sect.
If related...
Then he must be killed.
Having such a strong figure always coveting his precious daughter Xi Xi was like sitting on pins and needles.
"Old Chen, didn't you say you have Internal Strength Techniques for sale? Sell me one..."
...
...
In the wood carving shop, within the workshop.
Xu Beihu had someone move the timber prepared by the Si Family's son into his workshop.
It was a piece of high-quality Phoebe nanmu, not young in age.
Knowing that Li Che was not highly cultivated and had not developed Inner Strength, Xu Beihu had long arranged for the timber to be dried with Inner Strength so that Li Che could immediately start carving.
Li Che sat in the chair and took out the pattern Xu Beihu had given him—it was the "Nine-Headed Guanyin Frowning and Crying Ghost Suppressing Painting." The intricate pattern was even more complex than he had imagined.
A month's time seemed rushed for the task at hand.
He closely observed the pattern. Guanyin had nine heads, and each head depicted a state of sorrowful crying. Although each was different, they all revolved around a theme of grief.
The longer he looked, the more Li Che felt his emotions being affected—his nose tingled, and he felt an urge to cry.
Astonished, Li Che's eyes contracted sharply.
"Divinity... Divinity... It's indeed eerie and terrifying."
As Old Chen described it, the most profound and terrifying Divine Cultivation, Li Che finally got a taste of it.
He patted the large piece of Phoebe nanmu on the table, touching every part, forming a spatial pattern in his mind, planning out proportions, measurements, angles, and so on.
Then, he took the ink brush and began to outline the design on the wood.
After the shape was set, it was time to take out the carving knife, focus sharply, calm the heart, and start with the first cut.
...
...
Three days later.
In a courtyard in the outer city.
Snowflakes fluttered down from the high sky, but before they could get close to Li Che's body, they were torn into powder by a forceful vigor and blood energy.
Li Che maintained a strange posture, his waist twisted nearly ninety degrees, arms crossed, blood qi circulating in a unique pattern.
Invisible air currents seemed to roar around his body, rumbling like the tide of a great river!
Li Che did not stimulate the "Dragon Elephant Vajra," entering the state of Vajra Transformation, he simply didn't suppress his cultivation, venting the blood qi and strength accumulated in the Dao Fruit.
"Xu Family's Nine Tendon Technique."
The Tendon Activation Technique that Li Che found in the marketplace.
It belonged to the middle vehicle of Tendon Techniques, slightly better than the lower vehicle common goods that sold for twenty or thirty taels.
For example, Xu Ji's Tendon Techniques that they could impart to him were generally of this quality.
And naturally, Xu Ji possessed superior Tendon Techniques of higher quality, which were reserved for their own family members to cultivate and were not to be divulged or leaked.
In the marketplace outside, such techniques were practically priceless unless a noble family collapsed and their Body Refinement Techniques leaked out; otherwise, they were not for sale at all.
And a superior Tendon Technique alone would be worth more than a thousand taels.
This was just for Tendon Techniques; if it were for subsequent methods like Bone Tempering or Blood Exchange, their value would be even higher!
Whirr—!
The main tendons were taut as if they were bowstrings, emitting a buzzing, crackling sound.
Below the reddened skin membrane, a large tendon rose up like a coiling dragon, undulating and pulsating, containing surging, powerful strength.
Gradually, the body relaxed.
He took a deep breath, hot as fire, melting the falling snowflakes.
"Opened one main meridian, it's just an entry to Tendon Activation... my strength has grown much more than when I was at the Skin Refinement phase."
A smile formed on Li Che's lips.
His eyes lit up.
[Dao Fruit: Dragon Elephant Vajra (lv1, 10%)]
The prompt appeared.
When the Tendon Activation was successful, the maturity of the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit increased by 5% instantly, reaching 10%!
That is to say, opening one main meridian resulted in a 5% increase in the maturity of the Dao Fruit; the Xu Family Tendon Technique required opening nine meridians in total.
When the maturity of the Dao Fruit reached 50%, he would achieve complete Tendon Activation!
Li Che's eyes sparkled, his mood improved significantly.
And as long as he diligently cultivated every day, tempering his body, the maturity of the Dao Fruit would increase by 1%...
"In other words, if I rigorously cultivate for forty days..."
"I can achieve complete Tendon Activation!"
In order to hide his cultivation, Li Che deliberately rented a spacious courtyard outside the wood carving shop, for his cultivation.
After all, with many prying eyes at Xu Ji's training field, it was not convenient for Li Che to perform his best.
Stimulating the Dao Fruit, blood qi flowed out in an instant, and his skin turned red as his body rose and writhed, his spine roaring like a dragon.
Li Che felt the Vajra Transformation after breaking through Tendon Activation...
"The strength is even greater, almost double than before. If previously one punch had the power of a thousand jin, my punch now... has approximately two thousand jin of power."
"Reaction and speed have both enhanced, overall it's roughly a twofold improvement."
A smile spread across Li Che's lips, after testing he could finally confirm that the Vajra Transformation was related to his own cultivation.
The stronger his own cultivation, the greater the enhancement provided by the Dao Fruit!
"Two thousand jin of power is at the Minor Accomplishment level in the Bone Tempering Realm. It is said that those with Great Achievement in Bone Tempering have five thousand jin of immense strength, and Bone Tempering Completion allows one to reach ten thousand jin! The burst is incredibly terrifying..."
"Additionally, the 'Si Snake Inner Strength Method' I bought from Old Chen has also successfully cultivated a strand of Inner Strength... With my Dao Fruit 'Dragon Elephant Vajra,' horizontal refinement is unparalleled, and the speed of martial arts cultivation is extremely fast!"
Li Che's face brightened with a smile, raising his hand, in his palm a whirling, invisible current like a small snake in a pond holding explosive power.
With a clench of his fingers, the surge of energy vanished without a trace.
Li Che's eyes flickered, his burly and robust body cloaked in a loose garment and capped with a wide-brimmed hat.
He slapped on the Cute Cow wood carving mask, and in an instant, his entire demeanor transformed, becoming the ferocious criminal, Bull Demon, as offered by the bounty at the government office!
Violence surged, an extraordinary ferocity emanated.
In the snowy night, the Bull Demon did tread.