Three days later, it was the twelfth day since the army had set out.

Outside, intelligence was like stones sinking into the ocean.

This was the result Song Cheng saw, holding the Guest Command Token in his hands, upon arriving at the Prefectural Yamen.

The gates of Hanping Prefectural City were tightly closed, and the patrols within the city stringent.

The wilderness spread out, with dust and sand swirling about.

Yet within the An Residence, the scene was quite different.

Young Mrs. Tong, a recently emerged "Form Realm Expert," was holding a small red pill and examining it.

It was sent by the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall.

As a guest elder, one could collect resources.

"Blood Dew Pills," "Flame Gang Pills," and some high-tier demon beast meat had all been delivered.

These items were quite expensive.

The Blood Dew Pill was specified as "exclusively for Force Realm Warriors," but those who had achieved Great Achievement in the Power Realm could also take smaller doses - costing 80 silver a bottle, with 30 pills per bottle, enough for one month.

The Shanhe Martial Arts Hall had sent 20 bottles.

The Flame Gang Pill was an "exclusive for Form Realm Warriors," priced at 600 silver for three bottles, each containing 10 pills, sufficient for one month's use.

The Shanhe Martial Arts Hall provided 18 bottles.

Taking these two pills would truly yield twice the results with half the effort, allowing one to halve the cultivation time besides the "consumption of demon beast meat."

As for the high-tier demon beast meat, priced at 6 silver per jin, they had sent over five hundred jin.

This demon beast meat contained some toxins and required special pills for decoction to remove the poisons before consumption, resulting in effects several times that of ordinary demon beast meat.

It could serve as an extra meal for Form Realm Warriors.

Force Realm Warriors could also consume it but in significantly reduced quantities.

When all was summed up, the over ten thousand silver that the An Family had given away seemed to have indirectly returned more than half of it.

Song Cheng took the Blood Dew Pill and sniffed it, knowing its usefulness. He then picked up a pill and, after completing his inspection in the sunlight, turned to Young Mrs. Tong and said, "Open your mouth."

Madam Tong glanced sideways at Ying, who was attentively watching, and coyly said, "Do we really need to do this?"

Despite her words, she still opened her mouth.

Song Cheng split the pill and extended half towards her, completing a "feeding."

Madam Tong swallowed, and a burning hot blood energy immediately surged through her body.

Song Cheng quickly stepped forward, being all too familiar with the flow of "White Snake Power" and "Mysterious Turtle Power." His fingers came together, quickly pressing on Madam Tong's body to help her digest it swiftly and thoroughly.

Ying was still staring, but her small face turned red in a way that was hard to explain.

After a while, Song Cheng saw Madam Tong's data jump slightly, changing to "21~38."

These were the data for having achieved Perfection in "White Snake Blade" and "Mysterious Turtle Step." Although her battle method still lacked a bit, it was nearly complete.

Madam Tong looked at Song Cheng and said, "Husband, I... I feel a change inside."

Song Cheng described, "You've probably felt a sudden appearance of inner force between the flesh and blood just beneath the skin, right?"

Madam Tong nodded repeatedly.

So, Song Cheng took 10 bottles out of the 20 bottles of Blood Dew Pills.

He gave 3 bottles directly to Zhao Hua, his sworn brother after all.

3 bottles were given to Ying, his own woman of course.

Madam Tong was allocated 4 bottles, showing a slight bias, but if she ate well, Song Cheng would continue to buy more at the Thousand Treasures Pavilion.

After distributing them, Song Cheng thought for a moment and then took out another 3 bottles separately to be sent to Mr. Wang.

The remaining 7 bottles were handed over to An Chenyu to manage, to be directly distributed or used as rewards.

As for the Flame Gang Pills, he planned to consume them himself to see the effects.

If he could cultivate the Form Technique on his own, it would save a lot of points.

Even if he couldn't fully self-cultivate, he could still alternate between adding points and cultivating.

...

...

The next day.

The young man popped a Flame Gang Pill into his mouth.

As the pill entered, he savored it.

Song Cheng felt that the taste was utterly contrary to that of the Soul Strengthening Pill, fiery and spicy.

However, his blood and Qi within the body ignited, and the Gang Qi circulated rapidly as though fueled by a blast furnace.

Song Cheng began to practise the "True Form of Xuanwu."

Gang Qi is a wondrous power born from the Flesh and Blood Force as a foundation, guided by the will of the heart.

When the form and intention are in harmony, Gang Qi arises naturally.

Those who have yet to reach Perfection in "Form Realm" are always sensing this Qi, always using their intention to guide the Flesh and Blood Force, but once they have an epiphany, they achieve Perfection.

To put it simply.

It's like playing a game: a "Force Realm" Warrior has only one equipment slot, but realizing "Gang Qi" is like adding another slot, and not just any slot, but one that can hold stronger "equipment."

Five Form Gang Qi surges and flows, covering the body's surface, while the flesh and blood beneath are intertwined with the Nine Forces.

The not very robust body of the young man was coursing with terrifying power.

After a session of cultivation...

Song Cheng paused briefly in his movements.

He confirmed something: just like with the Force Realm, Gang Qi also had "Channels" — Qi Meridians.

What he needed to do was to cultivate another layer of Qi network that overlayed the body, in addition to the internal Force Channels.

...

When night fell...

Song Cheng rested for a while after his meal, preparing to contemplate the "True Form of Xuanwu" again to see if he could integrate the remaining Four Forces into form.

At this moment, a commotion suddenly came from outside the door.

The house manager ran in hastily, and upon seeing Song Cheng, respectfully said, "Son-in-law, disciples from the Shanhe Martial Arts Hall have come with a message."

Song Cheng nodded and stepped outside.

Outside, a disciple was sitting. When he saw Song Cheng, he quickly got up but gave a glance to the house manager.

The manager discreetly withdrew.

Then the disciple said, "Mr. Song, the barbarians have truly come.

West City, North City, East City, all three strategic passes are in urgent need.

White Camel Estate is defending the west, our Martial Arts Hall the north, and the east has its own defense, but the External Affairs Envoy is worried about potential losses and requests you to stand guard, just in case."

"Is it serious?"

"Mr. Song, it's not clear at the moment."

"Who is defending on all sides?"

"West City is defended by the Young Master of the Estate, Snake-controlling Elder, an External Affairs Envoy, some disciples, as well as the Prefectural Soldiers left to keep watch."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.