Chapter 689: Qilin Blood (Bonus Chapter—Requesting Monthly Tickets)

The next day.

On the training ground.

“Those who can move their blood and qi, step forward!”

Master Xiong’s gaze swept over the group of boys and girls.

Xun Heihu took a deep breath and took a large step forward, amid the shocked, bewildered, and envious stares of his companions, especially Zhao Daniu.

At that moment, he noticed the girl he often stole glances at—tall, well-built—also stepping forward one pace.

“Xun Heihu, Jiang Yuyan… stand at the White Deer Post!”

Before Xun Heihu could think further, Master Xiong’s voice rang in his ears.

He obeyed instinctively, stepping onto the White Deer Post, his body lightly swaying as if a young deer leaping gracefully through the forest.

Simultaneously, a large hand pressed directly onto his lower abdomen: “Move your blood and qi!”

Xun Heihu immediately gathered his blood and qi toward his lower dantian.

“Good. You’ve truly learned to move blood and qi—you can now take pills and proceed to the next stage: attempting to enter the ranks.”

Master Xiong withdrew his hand, looking satisfied.

Beside him, a female instructor also retracted her palm; her cold face bore a scar, and she spoke without emotion: “Passed.”

Xun Heihu and Jiang Yuyan exchanged glances, both showing a flicker of relief.

“The rest of you continue practicing the White Deer Post. You two, follow me.”

Master Xiong led Xun Heihu and Jiang Yuyan to another courtyard.

Here, only about twenty boys and girls remained—all those who had previously broken through.

Xun Heihu noticed Ye Fengchun among them.

But the genius everyone had been talking about, Yu Chi Gang, was absent.

Master Xiong left after bringing them to the new location; it was the scarred, cold female instructor who stayed behind: “I’m Master Yu. Call me Master Yu… Xun Heihu, Jiang Yuyan, from now on, I’ll teach you a method to move blood and qi through your digestive organs to aid in digesting the Copper-Lead Pill. Each of you who has cultivated blood and qi will receive one Copper-Lead Pill daily… You have nine months to train. If, after nine months, you still cannot break through despite taking the pills…”

“You’ll be expelled, right?” Jiang Yuyan cut in.

No. You’ll get a stomach illness—and poisoning. Without a skilled physician to treat you, even if you barely survive, your later life will be unbearable.

Master Yu said: “You still have time to turn back.”

“I won’t regret it.”

Jiang Yuyan spoke with firm resolve.

In comparison, Xun Heihu seemed ordinary.

“Good. I like your disposition. If you enter the ranks, you may become my disciple.”

Master Yu forced a grim smile: “But your name is too common—I dislike it. If you join my sect, you must change one character: from Jiang Yuyan to Jiang Yuyan.”

Xun Heihu nodded eagerly, thinking the new name sounded far better than “Yuyan.”

Master Yu glanced at him: “Don’t even think about it—I don’t take male disciples.”

‘I could’ve just called myself Yu Hu.’

Xun Heihu looked at Jiang Yuyan with regret, extinguishing the faint feeling that had just stirred in his heart.

After learning the blood-and-qi method for a while, he glanced at Master Yu, then slipped over to Ye Fengchun: “Why isn’t Yu Chi Gang here?”

“Yu Chi Gang?”

Ye Fengchun was a thin, monkey-like boy; he sighed bitterly: “He’s a true aristocratic genius. Three days ago, he broke through the Bronze Gate and became a true Ninth-Rank martial artist. Now he doesn’t train with us—he’s chosen a master and trains alone… Sigh. Master Yu says he’ll definitely cultivate internal force and officially join the Five Animals Sect. Compared to us, we’re just…”

Xun Heihu wasn’t troubled—he already had his true treasure and never felt he was falling behind.

After a full day of diligent practice, he returned to his new dormitory with a strange pill in hand.

Apprentices who cultivated blood and qi needed quiet space to ingest pills daily, so his dorm had been moved to a standalone shed—small, but far more private.

He lay on his bed and soon fell asleep.

Inside the True Martial Space.

“Copper-Lead Pill? You actually brought it in?”

Xun Heihu stared at the copper-colored pill in his hand—no bigger than a grain of rice—and opened his mouth in astonishment.

“If this place can store flesh and blood, it can certainly hold pills too…”

Fang Yun chuckled. To him, who had long controlled True Illusion, the boundary between reality and illusion was blurred.

“And… when you swallow pills here, the effect is identical to swallowing them outside. Likewise, you can consume the flesh of ancient ferocious beasts within the True Martial Space…”

He waved his hand, and the Copper-Lead Pill landed in his palm: “This pill contains copper, lead, and many herbs. If you still can’t break through after months of taking it, it’ll severely damage your body—even for a martial artist.”

Fang Yun flicked the pill lightly—it landed in Xun Heihu’s hand: “What’s your decision?”

Xun Heihu hesitated not at all. He assumed the White Deer Post stance and swallowed the Copper-Lead Pill whole.

‘Tastes like rust, with a faint sweetness…’

He felt the changes in his abdomen and immediately began moving his blood and qi to digest the pill…

Fang Yun watched silently, thinking: ‘This realm’s martial path is extreme… Though it follows the external-to-internal path, the lower three ranks rely purely on hardening techniques. Swallowing metal pills to destroy the body and force regeneration… Don’t they fear heavy metal poisoning in the end?’

Days passed.

Soon, it was the final day of the nine-day, three-month deadline.

Xun Heihu and the others were granted rare leave and returned to the original training ground, watching their pale-faced companions.

After three months, only a few had truly mastered moving blood and qi.

Most apprentices paid five hundred taels of silver for a chance to defy fate—only to be stopped here.

Master Xiong’s gaze, sharp as lightning, swept over the remaining students: “Today is the final day. Anyone who can move blood and qi?”

He asked twice before a timid disciple stepped forward.

Master Xiong stepped forward: “Perform the posture…”

He pressed his palm against the boy’s body. After a moment, he sneered and slapped him hard.

CRACK!

The boy collapsed, blood trickling from his mouth, his face filled with disbelief.

!

“You used ‘Rush-Blood Pills.’ Too bad—these drugs create subtle changes in blood and qi that fool ordinary martial instructors, but not me.”

Master Xiong sneered: “Do you think the people of our temple, two sects, and six major clans are like those ordinary martial schools or second-rate sects? You think you can fool us with cheap tricks? Get out!!”

His final words rang like thunder.

One by one, the boys and girls’ eyes turned red; some burst into tears as servants led them away to pack and leave.

“Watch closely. Remember this scene.”

Master Yu’s cold voice echoed in Xun Heihu’s ear: “On the martial path, failure ends like this! If you don’t want this fate, you must keep advancing—keep fighting!”

…

Moments later.

“Daniu?!”

Xun Heihu found his friend.

“Wahhh… five hundred taels! When I go home, my father will kill me,” Zhao Daniu sobbed, tears streaming: “That’s how many cows I’d have to sell…”

Xun Heihu fell silent, remembering Zhao Daniu’s family were landowners with many cattle.

After returning, he’d inherit the family business—become the dumb son of a wealthy landlord.

“Take care.”

With a thousand words unspoken, he merely bowed and clasped his fists.

“Mm.”

Zhao Daniu nodded, shoving something into Xun Heihu’s hand: “I know I have no talent. I’ve tried, and now I accept it. But you, Xun Brother—you have talent. You must keep going. I heard martial training gets more expensive the further you go. Take this—your share, plus mine.”

He gritted his teeth, slung his pack over his shoulder, waved goodbye, and walked out the White Deer Courtyard gate.

Xun Heihu stared at the heavy money pouch in his hand, watching Zhao Daniu’s retreating back, his grip tightening…

…

Inside the True Martial Space.

“I need to train harder—train relentlessly!”

As Xun Heihu breathed, faint air currents formed.

“Daniu has wealth but no talent!”

“And in Chuzhou, how many children have talent but no money? They starve on the roadside!”

“My father gave me five hundred taels—it wasn’t easy. I must rise above!”

Xun Heihu breathed heavily, practicing the ancient martial forms move by move.

Gradually… he felt warm streams surging within his body.

Not blood and qi—but similar, yet carrying a more violent power that even reddened his eyes.

“Is this… ancient martial arts breaking through?!”

Xun Heihu’s heart leapt—he felt his physique strengthening.

A profound transformation was forming inside him!

“Good.”

Fang Yun appeared, watching Xun Heihu’s rapidly growing muscles, and nodded: “People misunderstand ancient martial arts because they lack the ancient environment—they can’t eat top-tier ancient ferocious beasts. So they think the middle three ranks are the limit.”

“But here, you can obtain the finest ancient ferocious beast flesh… combined with tenfold hardship, breakthrough traits—you’ve succeeded. You’ve awakened one of the Twelve Body Mysteries—Qilin Blood!”

“Qilin Blood?”

Xun Heihu frowned in confusion: “What’s the use? Is this also a martial bone?”

“Qilin blood… you must have felt it—when fighting, it awakens and accelerates your blood flow, fully amplifying your body and doubling your strength. But it may also plunge you into madness and bloodlust… Blood arises from the bone, so it can also be called ‘Qilin Bone’—naturally a martial bone, and a top-tier one at that!”

Fang Xing evaluated, then sighed regretfully: “I specifically chose the flesh of the ‘Three-Spear Boar’ and the ‘Devouring Sky Rat’ as catalysts, hoping to trigger the ‘Taotie Stomach’ among the Twelve Anomalies… This bodily anomaly would have greatly enhanced your digestion, making medicinal soups and pills far more effective than for ordinary people. While a normal person can take only one Copper-Lead Pill per day, you—with the Taotie Stomach—could take two, even three… Too bad, awakening a bodily anomaly depends entirely on luck. You’re called Heihu—so of course you ended up with a black hand.”

Xun Heihu had a strange feeling the spirit had insulted him, but he had no proof.

(End of Chapter)