[Hundred Benefits Fruit]: A fruit that can clear meridians, with remarkable healing effects for those with severe injuries, damaged, or blocked meridians.
[Death Worm]: A creature from Earth legends, a venomous insect that grows in the Gobi Desert. Blood-red and oddly shaped, it can spray corrosive venom from its mouth and emit strong electric currents from its eyes. It can also split its body.
"This...!" Su Hao's eyes lit up as he read the descriptions of the Hundred Benefits Fruit and Death Worm.
While the Hundred Benefits Fruit was useful, it wasn't extraordinary. The Death Worm, however, was something else entirely. Even in its larval stage, it was likely terrifying.
"These two Silver Cards were worth it!" Su Hao thought, pleased.
He then checked his techniques.
[Character] Su Hao [Realm] Human Realm, Seventh Level
[Techniques]: Golden Bell Shield: Level 4 (Can be upgraded to Level 5, costs 150 skill points) Great Strength Stone Splitting Hand: (Completed) Brahma Raging Flame Technique: (Beginner) (Can be upgraded to Level 1, costs 20 skill points) Consciousness Perception: 10-meter range (Can be upgraded to 50-meter range, costs 100 skill points) Muscle and Tendon Changing Classic: Level 1 (Recovers 10% of consumed energy per minute, resists weak poisons, repairs damaged meridians. Can be upgraded to Level 2, costs 100 skill points) Turtle Breathing Technique: Level 4 (Cannot be upgraded, concealment possible throughout Earth Realm)
Inventory: 1 Lower Ninja Three-Person Card (13 days remaining), half bottle of Truth-Telling Water, Phantom Yin Finger technique, various bank notes.
"Upgrade Brahma Raging Flame Technique," Su Hao thought.
[Consumed 20 skill points, Brahma Raging Flame Technique upgraded to Level 1, gained Raging Flame Hand skill. Consume 100 skill points to upgrade to Level 2?]
As the technique reached Level 1, Su Hao's internal flame energy doubled without consuming much blood essence. His eyes brightened instantly.
"I've reached Human Realm, Eighth Level with minimal blood essence consumption!" Su Hao muttered.
[Continue upgrading!]
[Consumed 100 skill points, Brahma Raging Flame Technique upgraded to Level 2. Consume 200 skill points to upgrade to Level 3?]
As the technique reached Level 2, Su Hao's strength smoothly advanced to Human Realm, Ninth Level.
"If I continue upgrading, I might reach the early Earth Realm!" Su Hao's eyes sparkled with excitement.
"Upgrade to Level 3!"
As skill points disappeared, fiery energy surged through Su Hao's body, circulating rapidly. His blood essence began visibly depleting.
Su Hao immediately communicated with the Blood-Devouring Vine in his palm, requesting sufficient blood essence support.
With the vine's blood essence replenishment, Su Hao's fiery energy continued to generate and circulate through his meridians, eventually gathering in his dantian.
The dantian, the root of energy, once opened, marks the beginning of the Earth Realm.
"I'm about to break through to the Earth Realm!" Su Hao observed his internal energy flow excitedly.
Boom! The energy entered his dantian, slowly rotating and expanding its range, forming a hazy nebula.
"My dantian seems extraordinary!" Su Hao thought, noting its size, which represented internal energy capacity and determined the duration and power of a martial artist's energy use.
Su Hao tested his Raging Flame Hand technique, instantly gathering energy from his dantian to his palm, which became covered in flames. He struck a nearby wooden table, burning a large hole through it.
"Not bad!" Su Hao retracted the flame energy, the fire disappearing from his hand.
Checking his dantian, he found minimal energy consumption, estimating he could perform dozens of such strikes without issue.
"Hmm! My current strength could probably defeat even an Earth Realm Third Level opponent!" Su Hao assessed his power.
"I still have 81 skill points left. They're depleting quickly!" Su Hao shook his head, noting the Phantom Yin Finger technique in his inventory required 80 points to learn.
[Consumed 80 points, learned Phantom Yin Finger technique.]
After consuming the skill points, Su Hao felt as if he had practiced the technique for years, instantly mastering it.
"No need for further upgrades, I can use Phantom Yin Finger directly. Very convenient," Su Hao thought.
With only one skill point remaining, he decided to rest, preparing for his visit to the constabulary the next day.
Meanwhile, at the Clear Spring County government office...
In the inner courtyard, County Magistrate Li Nantian was discussing matters with his advisor in a pavilion, with food and wine on the stone table.
"Magistrate, the new constabulary chief should have arrived today, but our people report that Su Hao didn't show up at the constabulary," said the advisor, Fang Heng, a pale-faced man with a small goatee.
"Didn't come? Even if he's from the Su family, a playboy is still a playboy!" Li Nantian snorted coldly, dismissive of Su Hao.
"Magistrate, we shouldn't underestimate Su Hao. He's still the Su family's third young master," Fang Heng said softly.
"The Su family? They may dominate Fu City, but they're not the strongest in the prefecture. Once our leader emerges, our Blood Darkness Cult will officially appear in the prefecture. What's there to fear from the Su family then?" Li Nantian said coldly.
Suddenly, a black bird landed on Fang Heng's hand. He retrieved a paper from its leg, his face turning pale as he read it.
"Brother, our Qingyu Stronghold has been destroyed!"
"What? Our Qingyu Stronghold destroyed?" Li Nantian grabbed the note, his expression changing dramatically as he read it.
"What happened? How could our stronghold be destroyed?"
Despite his shock, Li Nantian quickly composed himself.
Li Nantian's real name was Du Gu Fan, the leader of Qingyu Stronghold and an altar master in the Blood Darkness Cult. His position in the cult's northwest branch was high, directly under Duan Mu Ming, with strength at Earth Realm Seventh Level, far surpassing the old ghost in Fu City.
Years ago, when the previous Clear Spring County Magistrate was traveling through Qingyu Stronghold, Du Gu Fan killed him and used his skin to create a mask, impersonating Li Nantian to become the county magistrate.
After becoming magistrate, he learned Li Nantian was from the Qin family, so he secretly had Qingyu Stronghold join the Qin family, becoming a force under their control.
The advisor, Fang Heng, was formerly his advisor at Qingyu Stronghold.
"Fang Heng, return to Qingyu Stronghold immediately and investigate who destroyed it," Li Nantian ordered.
"Yes, I'll go investigate right away!" Fang Heng, eager to know what happened, bowed and quickly left the pavilion, disappearing from the government office.