Chapter 18: The Source of Potential Points

Looking at the newly appeared Iron Arm Fist, Qin Jiang's eyes were unreadable.

Does it not require personal practice? Can I add points just by reading through the martial art and gaining a certain understanding of it?

Thinking of this, he put down the manual and took out paper and pen from under the table.

*'The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.'*

A moment later, he put down the pen and spread the paper flat.

He looked at the Potential Panel.

【Current Martial Arts】

Longevity Five Qi Technique (First Layer) (2/250)

Iron Arm Fist (Not Yet Entered) (5/100)

Dao De Jing (Not Yet Entered) (1/1,000,000,000)

【Potential Points: 2.8】

*Hiss~* One billion! Ten million potential points! He rubbed his brow, recognized reality, hid the Dao De Jing from the panel, and focused his attention back on the Iron Arm Fist.

Just to enter it required 100 experience points, which showed the gap between it and the Five Animal Frolics.

He didn't rush to add points because, according to the manual, entering it wasn't actually too difficult and wasn't worth consuming potential points.

At the moment, potential points didn't have a stable source, so he had to ensure they were used where they mattered most.

For example, when nearing a breakthrough, using potential points to directly break through the bottleneck, or using them for the final deduction of a martial art.

He stood up and walked to the window. The night wind blew through his hair as he carefully recalled the battle with the two fox demons today.

Apart from being affected by the illusion at the very beginning, he hadn't done well enough during the actual fight. No, it was far from enough.

His blade work wasn't concise enough, and his attack angles relied more on feeling than on seeking out vital points.

If he could prioritize severing limbs instead of seeking a kill, it wouldn't have been so difficult after getting injured.

Furthermore, he hadn't anticipated or deduced the fox demons' attacks during the fight. If he could do that well, relying on the sharpness of Black Water, he might have been able to kill without injury.

He clenched his fist slightly. *'My combat awareness is too poor; I'm far from being able to fully exert my strength.'*

Thinking of this, his brow furrowed slightly. He knew that combat awareness could only be improved by experiencing enough battles.

And he, in reality, lacked this aspect; he didn't have many opportunities for actual combat.

Since that was the case, his goal at this stage should be to focus on improving his physical strength to increase his fault tolerance.

In other words, he had to practice the Iron Arm Fist diligently, using it in combination with the Longevity Five Qi Technique, so that even if he encountered someone stronger than himself, he would have enough to wear them down.

He closed the window, blew out the candle, and lay on the bed, pondering what exactly caused the increase in potential points.

As far as he could see, it could be roughly divided into two types. The first was when he killed that fox demon; potential points were added directly without an absorption process.

But the subsequent killing of the other fox demon and that shapeshifted fox demon showed that potential points didn't come from the fox demons themselves, but had another source, which he couldn't know yet.

The second type was the absorption type, where he absorbed them when touching tombstones, statues, and that scroll.

If there was a common point, it was that they were all dead objects; he didn't know the rest.

In short, there must be something in common between these two types of potential points, but he hadn't thought of it yet.

A moment later, he really couldn't figure it out, so he somewhat gloomily pulled the quilt over his navel.

The next morning, Qin Jiang arrived early at the Baiyun Medical Hall.

The Baiyun Medical Hall wasn't open today, and the old physician was sitting in front of the hall with a bundle on his back.

Seeing Qin Jiang arrive, he stood up and waved.

"You're here. Shall we go?"

Qin Jiang looked at the thin, almost withered old physician and couldn't help but say, "Old Physician, how about I go bring her back?"

He actually still felt a trace of guilt for killing the old physician's old lover... er... old demon lover.

"No need. I just look old; in reality, my body is better than that of an average adult," the old physician rejected Qin Jiang's proposal.

He had no intention of bringing Shuang'er back. The current Black Mountain City was not peaceful, and if he brought her back, he wouldn't be able to look after her properly.

It was better to stay in Daheishan; although it was a bit lonely, at least no one would disturb her.

"Alright then," Qin Jiang didn't say anything more.

The two left Black Mountain City and headed straight for Daheishan. At first, Qin Jiang was controlling his speed, afraid the old physician wouldn't be able to keep up.

But after walking for a while, he discovered that the old physician wasn't just keeping up; he wasn't even panting, so he immediately quickened his pace.

Less than an hour later, the two arrived at the entrance of the Blood Gold Mine.

"It's inside," Qin Jiang said.

The old physician looked at the mine, hesitating and not moving forward, his expression somewhat nervous. After a long while, he finally spoke, "Let's go." Walking into the mine and moving forward for a while, the candlelight at the end was still bright. The old physician walked over quickly, and the moment he saw that figure, his body stiffened.

He had imagined meeting again many times, but he hadn't expected that when the time really came, they would be separated by life and death.

Walking up close, he reached out his wrinkled hand and gently touched Shuang'er's cheek.

Long silence.

Half an hour later, a new tombstone had been erected in the mine.

The old physician carved the epitaph himself and took two cloves of garlic from his pocket to place in front of the tombstone.

Qin Jiang leaned against a statue to the side, watching the old physician perform the memorial.

After the memorial, the old physician stood up. "Let's go back."

Qin Jiang nodded and pushed the statue to straighten up.

【Potential Points Absorbing... 0.1... 0.2... 0.2】

???

He turned back to look at the statue; the lifelike face seemed to be smiling.

What's going on? Looking at the statue, he suddenly remembered that when he touched the statue yesterday, it was in an illusion; in reality, he hadn't touched the statue.

The old physician looked at the puzzled Qin Jiang and then at the statue. "This is the Fox Immortal Statue, one of the Immortal Ancestors in the legends of the Fox Clan. Erecting this statue for worship is a kind of inner sustenance."

Hearing the word "sustenance," Qin Jiang felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and wild joy appeared in his eyes.

Spirit, faith, tombstones, longing, sustenance! Yes! That's it! The source of absorption-type potential points is the inner sustenance of living beings! Whether it's a tombstone, a statue, or that portrait, they all generate potential points because they contain the inner sustenance of living beings!

If that's the case... he already had some plans and would try them out after going back.

If it was feasible, he would harvest a large number of potential points! He placed his hand on the statue, and a moment later, the potential points were fully absorbed, the total reaching 4.8.

"Let's go ba—"

Qin Jiang started to speak, but before he could finish, he suddenly raised his head, looking at the Fox Immortal Statue with suspicion.

"What's wrong?" the old physician asked.

Qin Jiang shook his head. "Nothing, shall we go back?"

The moment he finished absorbing the potential points, he clearly felt a sense of being watched.

He didn't know the source of the feeling, but his intuition told him it came from this Fox Immortal Statue.

"Good, it's time to go back; the medicinal herbs processed a few days ago need to be collected."

Noon, Black Mountain City, Li Family Pawnshop in the South City.

Outside the pawnshop, a bright red door couplet was posted, reading: *'New opening brings joy, peace and auspiciousness in every pawn.'*

Inside the door, the counter, which was nearly two meters higher than the ground, was sealed with a fence, and one could only see inside through the gaps in the wooden slats.

The clerk inside was recording, and the appraiser sat upright to the side, looking at a sable cloak in front of him.

"Write... one piece of dog-skin rotten jacket, dirty, old, and broken, lots of oil and mud, eaten by insects and rats, bald and hairless~"

"Hey! Shut your mouth! What are you shouting?! Are you blind!"

A middle-aged man standing under the counter was wearing cloth clothes, his face showing anger.

"Pawn or not~" The appraiser pushed the sable cloak in front of him, drawing out his voice and squinting forward.

The middle-aged man frowned, hesitated for a moment, and waved his hand. "Pawn, pawn, pawn! Give me the money quickly!"

"Pawned for three taels of silver... interest is three percent... pawn period is twenty-four months~"

After finishing, the appraiser folded the cloak and put it away. "Rotten jacket received~"

The clerk to the side immediately handed over a wooden tray containing the pawn ticket and the pawn silver.

"Pawn ticket paid, pawn silver paid."

The appraiser pushed the wooden tray forward. "Three taels of sycee silver~ please keep it safe~"

The middle-aged man angrily took the silver and the pawn ticket, tucked them into his bosom, and turned to leave.

Qin Jiang walked into the pawnshop, and the appraiser looked over. "Young Master, you've come."

Qin Jiang nodded. "Looking for some things, do you have any good goods?"

After thinking it over, things that could contain potential points were most likely antiques and old objects.

He had intended to go to an antique shop to take a look, but unfortunately, there were no antique shops in the outer city, only this pawnshop opened by Li Yuanwai.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 19 =====