Inside Vice Leader Zhao's spacious carriage.
The three of them sat cross-legged.
Tang Wen, with the lowest status, sat by the door.
Across from him was Vice Leader Zhao.
Elder Li sat to the left of Vice Leader Zhao.
"Do you know where you went wrong?" Vice Leader Zhao spoke calmly, his eyes as still as an ancient well.
Tang Wen didn't dare to relax. After thinking for a moment, he decided to be honest: "I was too greedy, too eager to become stronger. That's why I took a few extra portions of fresh Extraordinary Blood Essence."
The two old foxes hadn't expected him to answer like this.
Frowning, Elder Li scolded, "Don't beat around the bush! What do you mean by wanting to become stronger... Huh?"
Vice Leader Zhao also realized something and chimed in:
"Wait! You ate the Extraordinary Blood Essence?!"
Tang Wen looked up, blinking innocently.
"You really ate it?"
"I did! And you're still fine?"
Tang Wen replied timidly, "I've heard that eating this stuff can enhance one's physique. I feel really strong now! In every way!"
The women at home could barely stand anymore.
If only Sister Bing were here.
She's a Martial Master.
Those legs, that figure...
"You're really something! Eating Blood Essence raw, aren't you afraid of dying?" Elder Li didn't know what to say.
Tang Wen shook his head, "I was scared! But I wanted to become stronger!"
"Become stronger? Nine out of ten people die from it!"
"Ah? It can't be that bad! Only those who can't endure it die. I believe I can endure it!" Tang Wen patted his chest, acting recklessly.
"Ten bottles of fresh Blood Essence, you ate them all?"
"Well, yeah, I got addicted. By the end, it didn't have much effect anymore!"
"Damn! Let's go, let's test your strength!"
Zhao and Li looked at Tang Wen as if he were some rare treasure.
They dragged him to a training ground.
Tang Wen glanced around and saw a row of large cauldrons.
The cauldrons were pitch black, each as tall as two men.
Next to them was a cauldron one and a half times the height of a person.
Beside that was one a quarter taller than a person...
There were eight in total.
The smallest one barely reached Tang Wen's thigh.
Zhao and Li looked at Tang Wen with anticipation.
Tang Wen understood. He strode forward, grabbed the handles of the black cauldron, bent down, and with a grunt, steadily lifted it.
"Good! Eighteen hundred pounds!"
Hearing the weight, Tang Wen got a sense of his strength. He held it for over ten seconds before gently placing the cauldron back on the ground.
Clearly, he still had some strength left.
He lifted the second black cauldron.
"Twenty-seven hundred pounds!"
"Thirty-six hundred pounds!"
Tang Wen put down the third cauldron, panting with his hands on his hips.
"This kid just became a Martial Master and already has over three thousand pounds of strength!"
"At the early stage of being a Martial Master, he's basically unstoppable."
But this wasn't anything extraordinary.
Not too earth-shattering.
At least not enough to impress two seasoned Transcendents.
In Mountain Chasing City, there was more than one Awakened.
They began their natural transformation during the Martial Master stage, true geniuses.
As the two spoke.
Tang Wen guessed their assessment of him from their attitude.
Some talent, but not much.
That's probably what they thought.
This won't do!
Tang Wen decided to show a bit more.
He walked up to the next black cauldron.
Exhaled sharply, and lifted it overhead.
Once again, he drew the attention of Zhao and Li, the high-ranking members of the gang.
"This one?"
"Fifty-four hundred pounds!" Elder Li's smile disappeared.
Vice Leader Zhao nodded repeatedly, "Those Extraordinary Blood Essences weren't wasted."
"Yes, the absorption is going well."
Tang Wen overheard their conversation faintly but didn't continue listening.
Elder Li remarked, "He's greedy and bold, really pissed off that old man Lin!"
Vice Leader Zhao added, "He has a good talent for boxing and martial arts."
The two summarized their thoughts.
In short, the young man is one of us, talented, knows how to give gifts, is clever, and worth cultivating!
He deserves to be nurtured as a core member.
Back in the spacious and luxurious carriage.
Vice Leader Zhao half-closed his eyes and said, "You did well on this mission. Starting next month, your cultivation resources will be doubled."
"Thank you, Gang Lord!"
"Tsk, it's Vice Leader Zhao."
"Yes, yes, Gang Lord."
"You rascal," Vice Leader Zhao couldn't help but smile slightly.
Laughter filled the carriage.
Vice Leader Zhao thought to himself: This kid is greedy, his biggest desire is to become stronger!
He can be of use to me.
Tang Wen thought: This Old Zhao really wants to be the Gang Lord!
But he looks older than the Gang Lord.
Well, no matter what, this can be exploited.
He then glanced at Elder Li.
What is this man's weakness?
Women?
He has many women at home, but they can be used for entertaining.
Fine wine and delicacies?
Although he enjoys drinking in private.
When meeting with the Gang Lord, Elder Li doesn't even have a hint of alcohol on him.
Children?
He has a whole brood of children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and he can still father more.
He probably wouldn't even care if ten or eight of them died at once!
Greed for wealth?
Not really, his children are already grown and earning money.
Wow!
Tang Wen suddenly felt as if he had discovered a hidden big shot.
Is Elder Li truly without desires, or is he just deeply concealed?
At night.
Tang Wen summoned the Blood Raven again.
He wrote a long letter to the Flame Camp overnight.
In the letter, he detailed the uniqueness of the Four Seas Camp, the existence of hunters, and the situation in Mountain Chasing City.
Finally, he added some persuasive words:
[I can already feel the wheels of history rolling forward.]
[Our Flame Camp can no longer remain isolated.]
[We need to develop, to strengthen our power, so as not to be crushed by the tides of time.]
After finishing the letter, he tied it to the Blood Raven's leg as usual.
He fed it over ten pounds of transcendent beast meat.
The Blood Raven rested until midnight, then flapped its wings and flew north.
Tang Wen stood on the rooftop, watching it leave for a long time.
He slowly withdrew his gaze, feeling a sense of loss.
This feeling was not unfamiliar.
He was homesick.
He missed his sister, Sister Bing, the maids at home, and his friends and acquaintances at the Flame Camp...
Sitting on the rooftop, the night breeze brushed against his face.
The starry sky above rotated, but he had no desire to sleep.
Seeing the woman on the bed sleeping soundly.
He simply went to the backyard cultivation room and began refining his Stance.
[Earth Fire Primordial Stand, Mastery (3000/3000)]
These past few days, after consuming ten bottles of Extraordinary Blood Essence.
His physique had reached a new level.
[Body: 9.99]
[Spirit: 9.81]
9.99 was a threshold.
Tang Wen vaguely guessed.
When he breaks through to 10.0, truly reaching double digits.
Perhaps there would be some changes.
He skillfully assumed the stance, not thinking about the bottleneck of the Stance at all.
He just repeated the movements over and over, continuously refining.
In the blink of an eye, three days passed.
[Earth Fire Primordial Stand, Mastery → Proficiency (1/6000)]
[Body: 9.99 → 10.99]
[Spirit: 9.81 → 10.81]
Buzz!
His brain hummed.
It felt as if his soul had left his body, resonating with the heavens and the earth.
The strengthening of his body made him feel as if he were soaking in a hot spring.
Freely drifting, half-dreaming and half-awake, his spirit intoxicated, it was as if he had returned to the embryonic stage.
Gurgle!
He had no idea how much time had passed.
Violent stomach growls and hunger finally roused him.
The stronger his physique became, the harder it was to improve.
And the more intense the hunger grew after each enhancement.
The hunger surged like a tidal wave, crashing over him.
Tang Wen opened his eyes and looked toward a corner of the cultivation room.
There sat a three-tiered food box.
The wooden box wasn't large—it contained Transcendent beast meat.
Thud. He took a step forward, his legs weak.
He quickly steadied himself against the wall.
I shouldn't have put it so far away.
I'm starving.
If only it could fly over to me on its own.
You're a sensible food box—you should learn to deliver yourself to me.
His thoughts were intense.
Suddenly, as if in a hallucination—
The three-tiered wooden food box actually wobbled and lifted off the ground…
(End of Chapter)