Lu Qingshan charged into the burning warehouse and quickly located Wu Ruoling through the connection between him and the Bloodsense Bug. His Silent Steps carried him behind the attacker without a sound. His fist emerged from the man's head in the next moment, and their saber clattered onto the floor.

  Wu Ruoling collapsed the moment she saw his face. He checked her vitals. A few of her injuries were minor, but there was a massive puncture wound in her back. This needed better medical intervention than what he could provide.

  Liu Yingting followed him closely, so Lu Qingshan was able to bring her clammy body to a medic before the situation grew any worse. She had a good chance of survival. But Miao Mei, though, was who he was really worried about.

  His flies patrolled the roof of the warehouse and its perimeter while avoiding the smoke. They didn't find anything. That meant she was still inside. But with all the torches knocked down, the place was too dark to see from far away.

  The Bloodsense Bug was his only chance. He had the foresight to bind all his Elders’ blood to the bug in case of accidents like these. So he ordered it to quickly fly towards her and followed it.

  His hastiness did not entirely remove his caution. Though the place was dark, Lu Qingshan had tempered his organs to the extreme. He was able to see fairly well from all the fires, and picking up a dropped torch was simple. This amount of light was enough.

  He spotted Miao Mei clutching her wound behind a set of boxes. Pursuing her were two martial artists that Lu Qingshan easily caught and turned their skulls into paste. Even Viscera Tempering experts were as weak as ants in front of him if they hadn’t tempered multiple organs yet.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “I’ll be fine,” she said with a cough.

  “Then let me see that wound. Liu Yingting is over there, he’ll treat you.”

  “I said it’s fine.” Miao Mei tried to stand up, but stumbled. Lu Qingshan put his hand out to steady her.

  “You’re very hurt. Are you dying?”

  She coughed again. Then retched. “Nothing like that,” she said.

  “Take your hand off your wound, then.”

  She did. The blood was black. It slowly fell to the floor like tar, and the blood vessels around it swelled to an unnatural degree.

  “That’s poison,” Lu Qingshan said. “Liu Yingting will know how to handle it.”

  “Alright. I found something very important though. I’m worried it might burn away.”

  Lu Qingshan looked at the middle of the warehouse, where the fire burned brightest. “Never mind that,” he said. “The priority is to save your life.” He quickly picked her up and beelined straight towards Liu Yingting.

  After dropping her off, he stayed to watch the poison expert do his work. Lu Qingshan was glad to have two medics in the city, otherwise this could’ve turned out very poorly. At least the both of them had a good chance at survival.

  It was time to go see what Miao Mei said about the thing in the fire. There wasn’t much he could do though without an innate resistance to heat. Only some martial arts had that feature. Li Fanghua had the ability to condense water as her auxiliary ability, but she remained behind to oversee the Azure Wind Gang.

  Lu Qingshan instead patrolled the area, making sure Liu Yingting could focus on his doctoring. His flies expanded outwards. Nobody should’ve been on the streets around them, but as always, there were some fools who believed themselves stronger than they actually were. Martial artists were coming in various groups.

  His Bloodseeker Flies devoured those who were too weak. With his newest additions to the swarm, this included even Marrow Tempering experts. The area soon became devoid of people. An eerie silence hung in the air, and only the occasional crash of fallen wood along with the smoke rising into the sky let others know the area was still dangerous.

  Eventually, the fire died down, having burnt all it could. Lu Qingshan checked in with Liu Yingting and found that the two women were on their way to recovery. Miao Mei even managed to stay awake during the whole process.

  “It’s good tempering for your martial will,” Li Qingshan joked. “What was it you found in the warehouse?”

  “It was a secret book,” Miao Mei said. “I couldn’t read it - my mind felt confused - but I’m sure it was special. You can ask Wu Ruoling. She was the one who found me and tried to save me.”

  Wu Ruoling slowly came to. It took her a few more breaths of time for her to understand the whole situation. She gave them a slow nod.

  “It was as if she was one of those people that Qin Ye put under his spell,” she said. “They looked very similar.”

  Lu Qingshan had the idea to get them to look at the Soaring Crane Breathing Method spiritual painting. He didn’t bring it with him though. Perhaps they shared similar properties, or maybe the warehouse’s manual was more severe than the other.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Whatever the case, it seemed the Barbarian Bull Gang had secured a secret inheritance. That explained why they had suddenly produced multiple Viscera Tempering experts and why the gang’s leader was stronger than other peak-stage experts.

  He went searching for it, expecting to find nothing in the ashes. A small bit of hope pushed him to continue circling around the ruins. Perhaps the book had been made out of a durable material.

  Instead, he was only able to capture a few scraps of paper. There was something special about them to survive intact in the heat. He was able to make out a few words and phrases, but not much else. In total, six different pieces were collected and stored inside a jade box.

  Lu Qingshan returned to the group. “We should leave now,” he said.

  Liu Yingting and him picked up one person each and made their way back to their own territory. Along the way, they witnessed many Barbarian Bull Gang disciples fleeing for their lives. In the interest of not provoking any conflicts, the two of them let them escape.

  Meng Zhang and Li Fanghua appeared halfway to ensure their safe travel. The Bloodsense Bug was certainly useful, and Lu Qingshan was glad to have not killed it in the spur of the moment.

  “Is everything good?” he asked Meng Zhang while they walked together.

  The man nodded. “We’ve completely routed the Barbarian Bull Gang from their territory,” he said. “The Azure Wind and Stone Axe Gangs are pooling their resources together to stabilize the area.”

  “Good. Liu Yingting, go with them to help oversee the area. We might need you to fend off other forces’ Viscera Tempering experts in case they try to court death.”

  “I need to continue watching the two of them though,” Liu Yingting said. “There are still a few complications that might arise in the future if they don’t heal well.”

  “We’ll trade places then.” Lu Qingshan could feel his breakthrough nearing after he’d killed all those experts. In only a month or two, he expected to tackle the Aperture Tempering stage. Much faster than his previous estimate of four or five months.

  This was the accumulation of all his martial arts combined with the push the Blood Seas Inner Force gave him. Though he preferred to retreat into seclusion, circumstances demanded he slow down his progress in order to maintain order.

  Lu Qingshan returned to the Little Treasure Store. He immediately told Qin Ye to get up.

  "What? Why?"

  "It's not safe here anymore," Lu Qingshan explained. The two sects had to have known their sect disciples weren't returning. That made the Little Treasure Store an immediate area of concern for them. It was no longer wise to stay here, as the place had swallowed too many people whole.

  With all the territory claimed by the Azure Wind and Stone Axe Gangs, Lu Qingshan easily found a place to hole up. The two apprentices finally got their wish to begin practicing martial arts for real. Previously, they had been too busy managing the store. Now they had all the free time in their hands to practice.

  Lu Qingshan gave them the Great Ape Breathing Method in light of Miao Mei's favor towards them. They also received a small stipend of secret medicines, enough to place them in the ranks of outer disciples, above most of the Iron Pine Sect. He wondered a little about how Dong Qianyu and the others were doing.

  Two weeks passed in the blink of an eye. Consolidating the vast territory of the Barbarian Bull Gang proved much more difficult than he thought. Their two gangs only managed to claim roughly half the territory before other gangs swooped in to grab their share as well. Lu Qingshan was fine with this, as it would help cover their involvement.

  The city slowly eased into a state of calm. Marquis Zhou made one additional move two days prior, soaking the streets with blood and hanging bodies on the walls, but it was just to warn a few officials. Most of the city stopped caring once clear evidence of corruption was produced.

  The four sects had retreated from their advances on the kingdom's forces. With the help of the Jade Skies Sect, the royal guards were able to weather the storm. Concessions were made, and things bargained for, but Lu Qingshan and his forces were not privy to any of their conversations. They were too busy trying to consolidate their hold over their area.

  Two weeks turned into two months. Lu Qingshan watched while Miao Mei and Wu Ruoling recovered. He finally breathed easy once he saw the two of them spar together, returning to their usual routine of martial arts practice.

  "It's time to break through," he said to himself, sitting down. The city was still calm, as Marquis Zhou seemed to have settled down with small acts of aggression against corrupt individuals. Lu Qingshan peered at the stone slab one last time. Two months was not much, but it was enough to progress a few of his martial arts. The Seven Steps Technique and the Golden Shell Body were close to a breakthrough as well.

  Lu Qingshan (25 years old)

  Lifespan Remaining: 39 years

  Cultivation: Mortal Shedding - Viscera Tempering

  Techniques: Hundred Beasts Refinement (Level 1, 11/10000), Insect Harmony Mantra (Level 5, 2499/10000), Blood Seas Inner Force (Level 5, 308/10000), Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique (Level 2, 251/10000), Blood Pulse Technique (Level 2, 351/10000), Red Falcon Breathing Method (Limit), Tiger Fist (Limit), Deer Steps (Limit), Stoneskin Technique (Limit), Great Ape Breathing Method (Level 6, 207/10000), Seven Steps Technique (Level 3, 9123/10000), Black Fury Inner Force (Level 2, 422/10000), Soaring Crane Breathing Method (Level 2, 1471/10000), Flowing Cloud Inner Force (Level 2, 391/10000), Golden Shell Body (Level 1, 9340/10000), Roaming Tiger Breathing Method (Level 4, 716/10000), Nimble Deer Breathing Method (Level 4, 294/10000), Golden Drop Inner Force (Level 3, 692/10000), Hidden Veil Technique (Level 4, 872/10000), Turtle Breath Inner Force (Level 2, 910/10000), Wave Motions Fist (Level 2, 671/10000), Tiger Roar Technique (Limit), Crane Wings Technique (Limit), Iron Bear Technique (Limit), Viper Strike Technique (Limit), Silent Step Technique (Limit), Basic Hand-to-hand (Limit)

  Mystic Jade Essence - Dao Fruit of Sublime Miracles - Condensing... 39%

  After one last scan through his fly swarms, Lu Qingshan closed his eyes and began. As soon as he fully relaxed, he knew what the records meant. Opening the first aperture was both simple and difficult. It only required a high attainment in blood energy, something that could be brute-forced with ease once one knew the right methods.

  His blood essence surged. The titanic force usually ran in rivers around his body, but he forcefully redirected the flow towards the center of his stomach. A Viscera Tempering expert who aimed to open their first aperture simply needed to have enough strength of blood, as well as the body to survive the process. And Lu Qingshan had that in spades.

  That was why most martial artists considered the second aperture to be the real challenge. The first aperture, though providing a noticeable improvement in power, paled in comparison to the second. It was thus treated as a transitory stage for most of the martial world’s history. Inner Force Innate Grandmasters were the true pinnacle experts.

  With a soft click, Lu Qingshan’s body quietly surged in strength. His raging blood energy was completely contained by his martial arts supremacy.

  Aperture Tempering breakthrough, complete!