Yue City.
"Young Master, Miss, have pity on us! We haven't eaten in three days and three nights."
"Please, be kind and give us something to eat!"
"..."
It had been a while since his last visit, and the streets were now filled with more refugees and beggars who would swarm anyone passing by.
"Get back!"
"All of you, get back!"
Yann Xiuxin's expression was cold and stern as she barked at them relentlessly.
When she noticed Zhu Ju looking at her, a blush crept onto her pretty face. She explained,
"Young Master, you may not know this, but real beggars aren't like them. When people are truly starving, they're too weak to speak, let alone have the energy to beg."
"My father taught me from a young age that while you can have a kind heart, you shouldn't perform acts of kindness indiscriminately. The kinder you appear, the more easily people will take advantage of you."
"Mm," Zhu Ju nodded and asked,
"Why are there so many more refugees?"
"There's a great drought in the north. The crops have completely failed, so many people have fled here recently." Yann Xiuxin's brow furrowed.
"It's been three straight years of drought. Who knows how many people have been displaced. Father says it has the look of a dynasty's end..."
"Pah!"
"I was just rambling. Please don't take it to heart, Young Master."
Zhu Ju just smiled without a word. He himself had entered the city with a group of refugees, but things hadn't been this chaotic back then.
Just then, a group of people wearing Daoist robes appeared on the street.
"The people from the Baiyang Sect are here!"
"They're giving out congee!"
"Get up, quick! The disciples of Elder Baiyang are here to give out congee."
"..."
The arrival of this group immediately caused a commotion in the street, and the crowd of refugees swarmed toward them.
"The Baiyang Sect?" Zhu Ju asked curiously.
"What's their story?"
"They're the Red Blood Sect," Yann Xiuxin said in a hushed, wary voice.
"Baiyang, Hongyang, Wenxiang... they're all names for the Red Blood Sect. They've been around for three hundred years, and it never ends."
"They use small favors to bewitch people. Wherever there's a disaster, they show up, gather the victims, and stir up unrest. It's always been their way."
"Doesn't the Court do anything about it?" Zhu Ju frowned.
"They just let them do this?"
"Do anything?" Yann Xiuxin shook her head.
"They can't manage it. In the eyes of the disaster victims, whoever gives them food is their god. Even the government officials are useless. If they try to crack down, it'll just incite a riot."
"By the way, the New Prefecture has just taken office. When will you be paying him a visit, Young Master?"
"Is that necessary?" Zhu Ju walked on with his hands behind his back.
"Will he make things difficult for us if I don't go?"
'Make things difficult?'
'What does that mean?'
"It's not that you can't skip it," Yann Xiuxin said, quickening her pace to catch up and lowering her voice.
"It's just that in business, it's always best to be on good terms with local officials. If you don't go, people might start to gossip."
"Heh..." Zhu Ju chuckled lightly.
"How's business been lately?"
"Booming!" Yann Xiuxin's eyes lit up as she said,
"Following your instructions, Young Master, we've partnered with the upstream suppliers and downstream garment shops, and we've expanded our dyeing production again. Right now, the Wancai Cloth Shop is bringing in dozens of taels of silver every day."
"And that's just the beginning!"
"We even have merchants from the Capital City coming to buy Wancai Cloth Shop's dyed fabrics now. Even if we were to multiply our output several times over, we still wouldn't be able to meet the demand."
At this point, her tone became extremely excited, and she spoke animatedly about the changes at the shop.
But was the shop the only thing that had changed?
There was also the Yann Family!
Less than half a year ago, Yann's Boxing Hall had been on the verge of collapse, and the family was living hand-to-mouth.
And how long had it been?
The Yann Family had shockingly become one of Yue City's prominent families, and Yann Jingfu was receiving one invitation after another from the city's wealthy households.
Consequently, Yann Xiuxin's own status had risen with the tide, and recently, matchmakers had practically beaten a path to her door.
"It's doing that well?"
Zhu Ju frowned slightly.
He had expected the Wancai Cloth Shop's business to prosper, but not to this extent.
When it came to dyed fabrics in Yue City, Wancai was supreme!
It was even being sold as far away as the Capital City!
Once the trade routes were fully established, raking in a fortune daily would be no problem. And all this change had happened in just a few short months.
"Why are you frowning, Young Master?" Yann Xiuxin looked surprised.
"This is a good thing!"
"It is a good thing, that's true," Zhu Ju sighed.
"But I'm afraid it could turn into a bad thing. It's too much to expect a few martial arts halls to support a business this big."
"Has anyone proposed a partnership recently?"
"Yes," Yann Xiuxin replied, pausing for a moment.
"Both the Zhao Family and the Wuh Family have mentioned it. But Father said that since you weren't here, Young Master, he couldn't make a decision about a partnership, so the matter was put on hold for now."
"Hmm..." Zhu Ju was lost in thought.
"Let's go. We'll take a look at the cloth shop."
"Yes."
Yann Xiuxin complied.
...
On the second floor of a tavern.
A middle-aged man with hawk-like eyes, a hooked nose, and a gloomy expression retracted his gaze and let out a disdainful snort.
"That's him?"
"A wet-behind-the-ears brat?"
"Brother Zhang, don't underestimate him." Opposite him, a portly man with a round figure shook his head.
"This Young Master Zhu has a mysterious background. He appeared in Yue City half a year ago, and no one knows where he comes from."
"But judging from his clothes, bearing, and expression, he must come from an extraordinary background. That's why no one has dared to act rashly."
"Hmph!" Zhang Cang snorted again.
"Fatty Wuh, you're just a coward, always timid and hesitant. Maybe this Zhu fellow has no background at all."
"And even if he does..."
"With the potential the Wancai Cloth Shop has shown, can you really bear to not take a bite?"
"Alas," Fatty Wuh shook his head gently.
"The ancients had a saying: Success depends on preparation; without it, failure is certain."
"Striking rashly without understanding your opponent's situation could lead to disaster. We must be cautious!"
"I've already investigated," Zhang Cang said.
"The secret formula for the Wancai Cloth Shop's dyed fabrics and the method for its improvement all came from that Zhu fellow. His movements are highly secretive. He only shows his face every so often, sometimes disappearing for over a month at a time. Aside from Yann Jingfu, even the other martial arts hall masters don't know him well."
"However..."
He gave a cold smile and said,
"With the expansion of the shop and the increase in fabric production, even if the dyeing method is hidden by breaking it into different steps, anyone who pays close attention can still learn it."
"Master Shen should be well aware of this."
The last person in the room was none other than Shen Ying, the master of Liuhe Martial Arts Hall and one of the current owners of the Wancai Cloth Shop.
"Yes."
Shen Ying nodded and gestured to someone behind him.
"Bring it up."
His disciple behind him acknowledged the order and presented a wooden box. When opened, it revealed a roll of blue cloth.
"This is..." Fatty Wuh moved to the box with a speed that belied his size, picking up the fabric and saying,
"Dyed fabric from the Wancai Cloth Shop?"
"Correct!" Shen Ying nodded and said,
"I had one of the female workers at the shop secretly memorize the dyeing process and replicate it step-by-step to create this roll of blue cloth."
"Master Shen, you are truly resourceful." Fatty Wuh's face showed admiration, but then he shook his head in regret.
"Unfortunately, it's still a bit off."
"Brother Wuh has a good eye." Shen Ying cupped his fists.
"Right now, I can only replicate the blue cloth to about seventy percent accuracy, and the red cloth to forty percent. But give me another year or so, and I'll be able to replicate it perfectly."
"A year or so?" Zhang Cang snorted coldly.
"By then, the Wancai Cloth Shop will have cornered the market. We won't even be able to get the scraps."
"Indeed." Fatty Wuh nodded.
"That's how business is. Get one step ahead, and you stay ahead. Once their reputation is established, people will only recognize Wancai's dyed fabrics."
"Besides..."
"By that time, this stuff will probably be everywhere!"
With the dyed fabric business being so hot, how could other cloth shops not be tempted? What Shen Ying could do, others could do as well.
In fact, there were already other dyed fabrics being sold on the market, and their quality wasn't much worse than the one he had secretly learned to make.
Being told that the thing he had so confidently prepared was useless, Shen Ying's expression turned extremely sour.
"Then there's no other way!"
Taking a deep breath, he said in a low voice,
"We'll try courtesy before resorting to force. If that Zhu fellow doesn't know what's good for him, I am willing to act as the vanguard and test him for the two of you."
Fatty Wuh and Zhang Cang exchanged a look and slowly nodded.
*
*
*
"GLUG... GLUG..."
Zhu Ju tilted his head back and poured a bowl of Three Treasures Blood Replenishing Soup down his throat. A warm current immediately spread from his vital organs.
The Qi Blood in his body also seemed to be stimulated, and it began to circulate rapidly.
"Hooo..."
Letting out a long, turbid breath, Zhu Ju slowly assumed a fist stance, circulating his Qi Blood according to the Health Cultivation Skill.
When he cultivated the Thirteen Body Refinement to the Second Tendon and Bone Realm, the Qi Blood in his body had surged dramatically.
Coupled with his continuous cultivation during this period, his Qi Blood Martial Arts was actually showing faint signs of another breakthrough, at a speed that surpassed his imagination.
'The so-called Blood Strengthening means to strengthen the Qi Blood in the body. Once the Qi Blood is abundant, one can step into the Blood Coagulation Realm.'
Yann Jingfu stood to the side, explaining.
"The Blood Coagulation Realm refers to the condensation of Qi Blood."
"After the Qi Blood is condensed, one part is equivalent to three. This provides a greater stimulus to the body, allowing us to erupt with even greater power."
"What about Body Tempering?" Zhu Ju asked.
"The techniques Hall Master Yann taught me didn't include a Body Tempering Method."
"What we call Body Tempering is something that happens naturally for people like us," Yann Jingfu explained, cupping his fists.
"When Qi Blood Condensation reaches its limit, the excess Qi Blood seeps into the limbs and bones, tempering the Tendon and Bone and strengthening the physical body. A stronger physical body, in turn, can accommodate more Qi Blood. They complement each other."
"This is what we often refer to as the Body Tempering Realm!"
"In reality, Qi Blood is also tempering the physical body during the Blood Strengthening Realm and the Blood Coagulation Realm, but the effect is just minimal."
"Oh!" Zhu Ju's eyebrows rose slightly.
"In that case, even for a Body Tempering Realm Martial Artist, their physical body can't become stronger in a short amount of time."
"Of course," Yann Jingfu nodded.
"A Martial Artist who has just entered the Body Tempering realm doesn't have a physical body much stronger than those of us in the Blood Coagulation realm. The gap only gradually widens over time."
"Hmm..."
He hesitated for a moment before saying,
"It is said that some top-tier cultivation methods can temper the physical body faster and better, and even help one advance to Gui Cang."
"Is that so?" Zhu Ju's eyes lit up.
"Where can one find such a method?"
Just the Blood Coagulation Realm could double his strength. The amplification from Body Tempering and Gui Cang would surely be even greater.
"It's difficult!"
Yann Jingfu shook his head.
"Such methods have always been passed down only within the Major Sects of the Martial World like the Five Elements Sect and Jinlun Temple, or in places like the Imperial Court and the Military Mansion. They are rarely known to the outside world."
In reality,
those martial arts were the true Qi Blood Martial Arts.
The techniques cultivated in the many martial arts halls of Yue City only covered Blood Strengthening and Blood Coagulation, not even Body Tempering. In the grand scheme of the world and the Martial World, they were completely insignificant.
Cultivating such methods, even if one was lucky enough to become a Body Tempering Martial Artist, one would still have to rely on the spontaneous tempering of the physical body by Qi Blood.
As for advancing to Gui Cang, or even higher realms, it was completely out of the question.
"Young Master, Father."
Yann Xiuxin's figure appeared at the door.
"Master Shenn of the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts Hall has arrived."
"Good." Yann Jingfu nodded and looked at Zhu Ju.
"Young Master?"
"You go on ahead. I need to absorb the rest of this potion's effects." Zhu Ju waved his hand and asked casually,
"Does the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts Hall have a Body Tempering Method?"
"Well..." Yann Jingfu thought for a moment and replied,
"Master Shenn achieved Body Tempering many years ago. He is one of Yue City's top experts. Even if he doesn't have a specific cultivation method, he should have some tricks for Qi Blood Body Tempering."