Chapter 99: Breakthrough to Blood Exchange! Golden Body Art!

The next day.

Sanhe Gang, Gathering Righteousness Hall.

A group of figures gathered in the main hall.

"Reporting to the Gang Leader, all our secret agents in the Haisha Gang have been cleared out, and even Lan Chenhao and the others have been beheaded."

A gang member in yellow knelt on one knee, his face full of awe.

"Who did it?"

Huang Tianba's expression tightened, baleful Qi erupting from his body.

In order to secretly control the Haisha Gang without attracting the attention of the government, his methods had always been very secretive; he never expected to fail.

With the methods of that woman Yue Wanting, it was clearly impossible to achieve this.

"It was Patrol Envoy Lu Zhangsheng."

The man spoke cautiously.

Under the pressure of Huang Tianba's powerful momentum, his body was tense.

"I see."

Huang Tianba's eyes were full of wariness.

Ever since the other party rose rapidly and climbed steadily within the Demon-Suppressing Division, he did not want to have a direct conflict with him either.

Moreover, with his strength at the early stage of Blood Exchange, he might not necessarily be able to suppress the other party.

Not only that, a year ago, everyone speculated that this person, Lu Zhangsheng, would likely fall at the hands of the Soul Envoy soon.

Never did they expect that Xiao Tianci's subordinates would fall one after another, while the other party lived well and flourished more and more.

This made the members of the Sanhe Gang feel very uncomfortable.

"Gang Leader, will this person come to seek revenge on us after breaking through to Blood Exchange? We must guard against this."

A middle-aged man spoke with worry.

The two sides had long since formed a grudge, with almost no possibility of reconciliation.

"Later, I will write a secret letter and send someone to deliver it outside the city..."

Huang Tianba's expression was cold, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

Hearing this, everyone stopped speaking.

They all knew that their Gang Leader seemed to have connections with outside forces.

Any enemy that the Sanhe Gang could not handle would soon be wiped out.

For more than twenty years, this was how the Sanhe Gang had risen.

For the next period of time, conflicts outside the city did not cease.

The government and the heretic cult bandits engaged in fierce fighting around the official roads and small towns.

A large number of heretic cultists gathered around some small towns, and the conflict seemed to have a trend of further intensification.

Noon.

Inner City, inside a courtyard.

"Patrol Envoy Lu, these heretic cult bandits wouldn't want to attack the County City, would they?"

Tong Yuhua raised an eyebrow.

Through intelligence within the Demon-Suppressing Division, she also learned a lot of information.

A large number of figures gathered outside the city; there was likely some shocking move.

Lu Zhangsheng's eyes flickered: "It is unlikely for the other side to attack the County City for the time being; the Xuanjia Army in the city is not to be trifled with, and long spears and heavy crossbows are the nightmare of ordinary martial artists."

"However, we cannot rule out that the group wants to besiege the small towns outside the County City, nibbling away at the official sphere of influence step by step."

Ever since he saw the Black Mountain Bandits frantically mining at the mine outside the city a year ago, he had been somewhat suspicious.

The other side was mining so much iron ore, either to forge weapons or arrowheads.

Presumably, several years ago, that group had already made preparations.

"Sigh... It seems the great battle between the two sides is about to escalate again; I hope both you and I can survive the turmoil."

Tong Yuhua sighed softly.

"Later, the older generation of experts will all make their moves; our strength is not considered strong, so we must help each other when we encounter a crisis."

"That is natural."

Lu Zhangsheng smiled slightly.

He did not reject the other party's kindness; this woman had always been quite smart, and coupled with her speed, there was a high possibility of survival.

The two often went out of the city to patrol together, and they had developed some friendship.

Afterward, the two exchanged a few more words, and Tong Yuhua stood up and left.

After eating lunch, Lu Zhangsheng walked toward the Demon-Suppressing Division Yamen.

Passing through the buildings on both sides of the street, he arrived in front of a main hall of the Demon-Suppressing Division.

Now that he had quite a few merits in his hands, he was prepared to go to the Scripture Library to see if there were any exotic techniques.

After training speed, strength, and defense to the top level, some auxiliary exotic techniques could also make up for his own shortcomings.

Lu Zhangsheng lifted his foot and walked into the main hall; beside the table in the front, an old man in white was still sitting there.

With his current strength, he finally faintly sensed the other party's cultivation.

Presumably around the late stage of Blood Exchange.

Lu Zhangsheng cupped his hands, passed the old man, and walked all the way to the second floor.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Arriving at the second floor, he saw Xing Zhaolin lying on a chair, snoring loudly.

Sensing the movement, Xing Zhaolin opened his sleepy eyes.

Upon seeing him, he jumped up hurriedly.

"So it is Lord Lu who has arrived; what techniques do you need? This subordinate will find them immediately."

Xing Zhaolin looked flattering.

He was just an ordinary member of the Demon-Suppressing Division, watching Lu Zhangsheng rise from the bottom; his current status was already something he couldn't reach.

It had only been a few short years; thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

Lu Zhangsheng smiled faintly, took out a silver ingot, and handed it over.

"Lord Lu, how would I dare to accept your silver."

Seeing this, Xing Zhaolin waved his hands repeatedly, his face full of bitterness.

He was quite fortunate that he hadn't offended Lu Zhangsheng back then, just being a bit greedy for money.

"Later, I must find a time to return the silver."

He thought to himself.

"This official needs an exotic secret technique; does this place have any?"

Lu Zhangsheng smiled and put away the silver, not forcing him.

With his status, the other party certainly wouldn't dare to act presumptuously.

"Exotic secret technique?"

Hearing this, Xing Zhaolin frowned.

This kind of technique was extremely rare; the Bone Shrinking Art from last time was one of them.

He began to think carefully.

A moment later.

Xing Zhaolin walked quickly toward a gray corner and took out two packaged ancient books from a dilapidated shelf.

Then, he walked to Lu Zhangsheng and handed over the secret manuals.

"There are only these two low-grade secret manuals left."

Lu Zhangsheng took the manuals and looked closely.

【Sound Wave Skill】, 【Hypnosis】.

The names of the techniques were extremely simple, just the most ordinary skills.

He immediately began to flip through them.

A moment later, he understood some of the principles of these two techniques.

One was similar to mental suggestion, only effective on ordinary people with low willpower.

The other was a sound skill, but because the technique level was low, it had almost no effect.

For hundreds of years, no one had practiced them.

"I want these two techniques."

Lu Zhangsheng said faintly, then picked up the manuals and walked downstairs.

After backing up the manuals at the old man's place and offering four small merits, he left the place.

Returning home.

Lu Zhangsheng immediately began to practice.

He prepared to first deduce this mental skill to see how it went.

He had some plans for going out of the city next, and he just happened to need this kind of mental skill.

Before long.

This 【Hypnosis】 was mastered.

"Add points."

Lu Zhangsheng clicked several times, directly raising it to the Transcendent level.

It only cost a mere dozen contribution points.

"Deduce."

He immediately clicked the deduction button behind it.

"Hum..."

A mysterious fluctuation descended into the depths of his mind again, as if a supreme sage were creating a technique.

Not long after.

【The new technique has been deduced; please name it.】

"Soul Bewitching Art."

Lu Zhangsheng spat out a few words slowly.

Then, he consumed a small amount of contribution points again to raise it to the Transcendent level.

And then began the second deduction.

"Hum..."

Countless sparks of inspiration flickered in his mind.

A moment later. 【The new technique has been deduced; please name it.】

A prompt sounded in the depths of his mind.

"Soul Bewitching Great Art."

Lu Zhangsheng set the name of the technique.

During the deduction, he understood the function of this technique; it could make martial artists lose their minds, and the effect was quite powerful.

Of course, it was also related to the target.

With his own strength, striking at some ordinary Bone Forging martial artists, there was still a great possibility of success.

With this exotic secret technique, his next plans could be implemented smoothly.

Time passed slowly.

In a flash, ten days passed.

Lu Zhangsheng's days were quite peaceful; every day, besides occasionally patrolling outside the city with Tong Yuhua, he practiced martial arts at home.

The resources in his hands were also rising steadily; presumably, it wouldn't be long before he could improve again.

At the same time, that mental secret technique had also been verified by Lu Zhangsheng.

Some heretic cultists were directly bewitched by him, and any secrets in their hearts could not be hidden.

After several tests, Lu Zhangsheng found that the success rate for Bone Forging early-stage martial artists was only about ten percent.

For Flesh Refining martial artists, it was over eighty percent, except for some people with abnormally firm minds.

This was just when the technique was first mastered; if it were raised to the top level, presumably the success rate would greatly increase.

With the help of this secret technique, Lu Zhangsheng cleared out some heretic cult strongholds, and the contribution points in his hands grew rapidly.

According to the rules set within the Demon-Suppressing Division, anyone who wanted to challenge for the position of Deputy Hall Master must have twenty thousand contribution points.

After executing missions for these years, Lu Zhangsheng already had about ten thousand points in his hands.

For ordinary people, the difficulty of obtaining contribution points was not small.

Killing one Bone Forging Perfection expert was only 100 contribution points.

Killing Flesh Refining martial artists was even less.

There were also daily garrison missions and patrol missions, which would also earn some contribution points.

Of course, the matter of Lu Zhangsheng killing several Soul Envoys had not yet been exposed.

If these people were added, presumably he was not far from the Deputy Hall Master assessment.

The goal of Lu Zhangsheng becoming a Deputy Hall Master within three years was also getting closer and closer; everything was developing steadily.

Just as Lu Zhangsheng was pondering, a sliver of movement suddenly came to his heart.

Lu Zhangsheng hurriedly walked into the room and cast his thoughts into the exotic beast.

Looking around, it was still that spirit jade mine cave.

After a large amount of ant tribe mining, the scope of this cave had expanded more than ten times.

Lu Zhangsheng lay on the gravel, looking at the exotic beast corpse in front of him, falling into deep thought.

This beast was entirely purple-gold, shaped like a huge centipede, looking quite fierce and baleful.

These days, he often encountered this exotic beast called the Purple Cold Centipede during his mining.

This beast was a fourth-tier exotic beast, and its territory happened to be in the spirit jade mine vein.

After being besieged by the ant swarm, they also killed several Purple Cold Centipedes.

Just now, a warning came from the Ant Queen in Lu Zhangsheng's mind; a large number of ants had died, and presumably, they had encountered some trouble.

He was determined to get the spirit jade here; it was also his opportunity to break through to Blood Exchange, and he could not abandon it.

Lu Zhangsheng stood up immediately and rushed toward the outside of the cave.

Moving along the dug-out passage, he soon arrived in front of a small cavern.

A glance swept over.

He saw a large number of ants besieging a purple-gold centipede, and there were many ant tribe corpses around; the scene was quite tragic.

Lu Zhangsheng's gaze turned cold, and he rushed up immediately, fast as lightning.

"Crack..."

He quickly arrived on the centipede's back and reached out a claw suddenly.

It directly sliced through the other party's hard armor, and ink-green juice scattered all over the ground.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

The Purple Cold Centipede began to wail violently, its body rolling on the ground, and before long, it had no breath left.

This fourth-tier centipede was directly killed under Lu Zhangsheng's sneak attack.

Then, Lu Zhangsheng passed the ant swarm and arrived in front of a giant stone wall.

He saw a large piece of spirit jade embedded in the giant stone.

Lu Zhangsheng hurriedly waved his claws and dug out all the spirit jade.

【Discovered a piece of intermediate spirit jade; absorb it?】

"Absorb."

"Source Energy Points plus 5."

"Source Energy Points plus 5."

Lu Zhangsheng watched the Source Energy Points increase rapidly, making him quite happy.

Not long after, the entire piece of spirit jade was absorbed by him.

Open the panel.

Source Energy Points: 1200.

Lu Zhangsheng had a premonition that the next deduction was not far away.

However, this spirit mine belonged to the territory of the Purple Cold Centipede; presumably, there were still a large number of fourth-tier exotic beasts, and he must hurry to mine.

If there was a fifth-tier Beast King, that would be troublesome.

Lu Zhangsheng felt a sense of urgency in his heart and immediately began to direct the ant swarm to dig toward the depths of the spirit mine.

For the next few days, under Lu Zhangsheng's personal strike, spirit jade was collected continuously.

The Source Energy Points in his hands were also growing rapidly.

During this period, he also encountered some fourth-tier centipedes, all of which were easily killed by Lu Zhangsheng.

The corpses were all used to feed the ant swarm.

Under the nourishment of a large amount of high-tier exotic beast meat, the Ant Queen faintly showed signs of breaking through again.

At the same time, because they were getting closer and closer to the center of the mine vein, the probability of encountering Purple Cold Centipedes became more frequent.

This forced Lu Zhangsheng to be even more cautious.

Half a month later.

Late at night, silent as water.

Lu Zhangsheng stood in the center of the courtyard, the moonlight from the high sky falling on his body, as if wrapped in a layer of silver glow.

Open the panel.

Source Energy Points: 2400.

Looking at the resource points in his hands, breaking two thousand for the first time made him quite satisfied.

The deduction buttons behind several skills had also lit up; finally, he could break through again.

"Deduce."

Lu Zhangsheng did not hesitate and immediately clicked the plus sign behind 【Silver Arm Art】.

As the Source Energy Points decreased by two thousand.

"Hum..."

A mysterious fluctuation descended again, as if countless ancient sages were preaching in his mind, extremely vast.

Immediately after, Lu Zhangsheng's body also began to undergo violent transformation; a massive amount of Qi and Blood surged in his body, and golden radiance even emerged on his body surface.

Filled with a sense of mystery.

【After ten years of your deduction, collecting the strengths of many, you finally deduced the path behind the Silver Arm Art...】

【New technique generated; rename it?】

Crisp prompts echoed in his mind one after another.

Lu Zhangsheng opened his eyes slowly, as if essence light were flickering in them.

He looked down at his body.

He saw that his arms and chest actually presented strips of golden patterns; the original silver patterns had completely disappeared.

【Golden Body Art】.

Lu Zhangsheng directly named the new technique.

"Technique being recorded."

Realm: Early stage of Blood Exchange.

Technique: 【Golden Body Art】 (Entry Level).

Note: Blood Exchange level technique, can greatly purify the Qi and Blood in the body; after practicing to the limit, golden radiance spreads all over the body, and the defense is extremely powerful.

Lu Zhangsheng clenched his fists, and a powerful sense of strength surged into his heart.

After this breakthrough was successful, his strength increased greatly, making him a powerful expert even in the entire Blood Exchange realm.

Even some late-stage Blood Exchange martial artists, he did not fear at all.

Afterward, Lu Zhangsheng tested his defense and footwork again.

Sure enough, his own speed and defense increased quite a bit, and his blade strikes became even more overbearing.

With the breakthrough of the realm, his overall strength was also improving in all aspects.

Next, he prepared to deduce several techniques such as blade technique in turn, and then rush to Blood Exchange Perfection.

Now the struggle between the two forces was becoming more and more intense, and the day of the decisive battle could break out at any time; he did not dare to slack off at all.

The next day, early morning.

When Lu Zhangsheng stepped into the Demon-Suppressing Division main hall, he found that the atmosphere on the field was somewhat tense.

The three Deputy Hall Masters looked quite heavy, and the many figures below also looked somewhat gloomy.

Among them were many older generation experts.

Lu Zhangsheng walked to Tong Yuhua's side with large strides and stopped.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 100 =====