’If the effects of my Talents grow stronger with my Life, then the Life Attribute has become even more important...’

If not for his Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body reaching Mastery and increasing his Life by five points all at once, Fu Juemin’s realization wouldn’t have been so stark.

However, he would have to test out his Soft Bone Talent to know if his guess was correct.

With the enhanced effect of Yao Ling, Fu Juemin no longer needed to get as close as before.

He pushed his bicycle to the base of a wall surrounding the Hu Mansion, turned to face it, and pretended to relieve himself.

Of the two Tongxuan Guards by Song Lin’s side—one a scar-faced brute, the other a gray-haired old man—Fu Juemin’s listening sense revealed that the latter’s aura was far more profound and enduring than the former’s.

This confirmed their respective levels of strength; even among Tongxuan, the difference in power could be immense.

Fu Juemin listened intently. In the meantime, several groups of people came and went through the Hu Mansion’s main gate. Lanterns flared, illuminating figures wrapped in bloody blankets who were shoved into cars and rushed toward the city’s medical clinics.

This continued until the slow, clear sound of the watchman’s clapper marking the third watch echoed from a distance.

CLACK—CLACK—CLACK

At midnight, Fu Juemin finally deactivated Yao Ling and slowly emerged from the shadows by the wall.

He took out the restorative pills he had prepared, popping them into his mouth one by one to replenish the Qi Blood consumed by maintaining Yao Ling for so long. Then, Fu Juemin got on his bicycle and unhurriedly started back the way he came.

Qi Blood was probably linked to the Life Attribute as well; Fu Juemin could clearly feel that he had consumed far less of it today.

As for how much he had progressed in the Blood Refining Realm, he wasn’t sure.

Based on Fu Juemin’s understanding of the attribute panel, if the Life Attribute represented his "foundation," then his foundation had now grown stronger. There should be a process for this to be converted and expressed as Qi Blood.

Li Tong had briefly mentioned the cultivation matters of the Blood Refining Realm to him before.

According to Li Tong, every Martial Artist’s gains and progress in the Blood Refining Realm were different.

The more solid one’s Martial Dao foundation, the more Qi Blood one needed to accumulate in the Blood Refining Realm. When one’s Qi Blood could expand no further, that was when one touched the so-called "Blood Barrier."

As for how to break through the Blood Barrier, the methods also varied from person to person...

Lost in thought, Fu Juemin unknowingly cycled out of the city’s residential area.

He passed down a long street that was once the site of Luan River County’s Confucius Temple. An academy and an ancestral hall flanked it, but they were now mostly abandoned, with few people living nearby.

Fu Juemin cycled along the street as the cold, clear moonlight washed over him. A light mist had formed on the midnight street, and the distant barking of a few dogs could be heard.

CREAK—CREAK—

The sound of the bicycle’s chain rubbing against the chain guard was exceptionally clear on the silent, long street.

Suddenly...

The sound stopped abruptly!

Fu Juemin slowly dismounted from his bicycle, his gaze fixed on a figure that had appeared on the street before him without any warning.

The person had their back to him, and the moonlight stretched their shadow long and thin across the flagstone street.

For some reason, Fu Juemin felt a sense of familiarity with this person who had appeared out of nowhere. At the same time, his prized night vision seemed to have suddenly failed him; he couldn’t make out the other person’s specific shape or silhouette.

It was as if they were separated by an invisible veil—hazy, blurred, and indistinct.

Fu Juemin slowly reached for the revolver at his waist, gently cocking the hammer...

Just as he was about to draw the gun—SWOOSH—

The figure under the moonlight flickered once, then phantom-like, instantly appeared less than five meters away from him.

BANG!

A single gunshot shattered the silence of the long street.

Fu Juemin fired quickly, but in the next second, he saw the figure, who was strolling toward him as if on a leisurely walk, casually toss something aside with one hand while the other remained behind his back.

He tossed the brass bullets onto the ground as if scattering a handful of beans, and they landed with a series of crisp, clattering sounds.

’A Tongxuan?!’

’Another Tongxuan?!’

’How can a podunk place like Luan River have so many Tongxuan Martial Artists?!’

Fu Juemin was horrified, his scalp prickling. Without a moment’s hesitation, he drew the short blade from his waist, his eyes turned cold, and he slashed directly at the person before him. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The moment he drew the blade, an invisible and immense power seemed to surge up his spine, vertebra by vertebra.

His well-proportioned back muscles suddenly bulged, stretching his once-loose clothes taut, even to the point of tearing—

RRRRIP—

Beneath the torn fabric, a faint, dark light swirled across the surface of Fu Juemin’s powerful, ivory-colored back muscles, like a Black Python moving through a white mountain.

The terrifying power from his 19 points of Attack channeled through the layers of rippling muscle, all the way to the palm of his right hand.

In an instant, all the surrounding moonlight seemed to be drawn in, converging upon the razor-thin edge of the blade.

Glazed... Purity Slash!

WHOOSH—

With a terrifying sound of tearing air, Fu Juemin slashed out. Man and blade seemed to merge into a brilliant white rainbow in the air.

As his full-power strike shot straight toward the person before him, he saw them suddenly take a deep breath, their chest swelling high...

CLANG—

The short blade fell as if striking an incredibly hard and thick iron plate. The force of the rebound was so powerful that Fu Juemin could barely keep his grip on the hilt.

Words could not begin to describe the sheer shock Fu Juemin felt. He instinctively looked up, but upon clearly seeing the other person’s face, he froze completely.

"Li... Tong... Uncle Tong?"

Fu Juemin blinked, pushing himself upright with a look of utter astonishment. "What are you doing here?"

Under the moonlight, the invisible veil covering the figure dissipated, revealing Li Tong’s aged face, etched with deep lines.

And at that moment, his face was also a mask of complex, indescribable shock and amazement.

"I never would have expected this."

Li Tong looked at Fu Juemin and spoke slowly, "In less than two months, Young Master... you’ve actually cultivated the Pharmacist Buddha’s Glazed Body to such a level."

...

A watchman walked slowly down the street, striking his clapper.

Beneath the impressive sign of the Furui Tower, a group of people lingered, still exchanging pleasantries and goodbyes.

"Next time, it’ll be my treat! I’ll invite you all for another gathering!"

"We had a wonderful time tonight! Many thanks for your generous hospitality, Boss Xu..."

"Please, Boss Xu, don’t see us out."

"Farewell, farewell..."

Xu Shirong chuckled as he saw his guests off into their carriages one by one. After the carriages had departed, he took the sobering tea a servant handed him, rinsed his mouth, and his expression returned to a calm composure. He then looked at Xu Leyi beside him and said, "Walk with your father for a bit?"

Xu Leyi nodded with apparent obedience, and the father-daughter pair began to stroll down the long street. Their driver and servants followed at a distance behind them.

"Father hosted this banquet tonight... It seems you’ve finally made up your mind."

The two walked for a while before Xu Leyi was the first to speak, her tone tinged with sarcasm.

Xu Shirong did not seem to mind the sting in his daughter’s words. He pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.

"When I first came to Luan River, I was just a worker at a new dyehouse, responsible for moving goods and pouring raw materials.

Later, while making a delivery to the Fu Family, I was noticed by Fu Guosheng. Slowly, I opened my own dyehouse, clothier, weaving mill...

All these years, it was precisely because I listened to Fu Guosheng and abided by the rules set by his Fu Family that I, Xu Shirong, was able to get to where I am today, and that our Xu Family has the enterprise it does now..."

"Unfortunately..."

Xu Shirong paused, looked up at the moon, and sighed softly. "The one who sets the rules in Luan River now is no longer Fu Guosheng, and it’s certainly not the Fu Family anymore."