Patrol Bureau.
Internal Affairs Office.
"Senior!" Jiang Ning greeted the elderly woman before him with respect.
"You're here quite early!" The old woman glanced at Jiang Ning.
Then, with a flash of white light in her hand, she tossed something toward him.
"Here's the Dragon Ascension Pill. Take it."
Jiang Ning quickly reached out and caught it.
The next moment.
He opened the box in his hand, revealing a golden pill about the size of a pigeon egg.
The pill was perfectly round, with a five-clawed dragon pattern etched on its surface.
"Is there any issue with the Dragon Ascension Pill?" the old woman asked.
"No issues!" Jiang Ning closed the lid of the box, his face filled with satisfaction.
"If there's nothing else, don't disturb me anymore!" The old woman added, "Oh, and if one Dragon Ascension Pill isn't enough to help you reach the Dragon Tendon level, you can come back to me. But remember, you'll need to gather fifty thousand contribution points first."
"I understand, Senior!" Jiang Ning bowed.
"I take my leave now!" Jiang Ning said.
After leaving the Internal Affairs Office, Jiang Ning opened the box again and took another look at the Dragon Ascension Pill, his eyes filled with joy.
The long-awaited Dragon Ascension Pill was finally in his hands, and his martial path could take another step forward. How could he not be happy?
Reaching the Dragon Tendon level would allow him to begin Bone Tempering.
Once Bone Tempering was partially achieved, he would reach the sixth rank.
And once he completed the Bone Tempering process, the fifth rank of Internal Strength would be within his grasp.
With that in mind, he stored the box carefully and quickly made his way back to his residence.
Moments later.
He arrived at his residence and sat in the courtyard, holding the box containing the Dragon Ascension Pill.
Opening the box, the golden Dragon Ascension Pill came into view.
"From what I know, consuming this pill and absorbing its medicinal power will help my tendons transform, greatly increasing their toughness."
Jiang Ning muttered to himself.
The next moment.
He placed the Dragon Ascension Pill in his mouth.
As saliva began to secrete, the outer layer of the pill quickly dissolved.
Instantly, a rich medicinal aroma exploded in his mouth.
"As expected of the Dragon Ascension Pill. The medicinal aroma is indeed potent!" Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed in admiration.
Then.
With a gulp, the pigeon-egg-sized Dragon Ascension Pill slid down his throat and into his stomach.
Once the pill entered his stomach, the reaction wasn't immediate.
Jiang Ning closed his eyes and focused, sensing only a faint warmth emanating from his abdomen.
Then, using his spiritual energy, he began to observe his body internally.
He saw the golden Dragon Ascension Pill suspended in his abdomen like a small sun.
The suspended "sun" continuously released strands of golden fluid, which merged into his body and dissolved into his tendons.
After observing for a while.
He opened his eyes.
"Just as I expected. Consuming the Dragon Ascension Pill, even without actively refining its medicinal power or circulating my blood energy to assist in tempering my tendons, the pill's power will naturally enhance the toughness of my tendons."
"However!"
"Actively refining the pill's power and circulating my blood energy to temper my tendons will significantly increase both efficiency and the utilization of the pill's power."
"Let's give it a try," Jiang Ning thought to himself.
Then.
He found a spot to sit cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The next moment.
He began visualizing a furnace.
The Furnace Alchemy Technique was a secret art of the Medicine King Valley.
By visualizing a furnace, using the body as the furnace and blood energy as the fuel.
This secret art could assist in refining any pill, purifying its medicinal power, removing impurities, and reducing the accumulation of pill toxins.
As he activated this technique, his blood energy burned fiercely.
His body temperature rose rapidly, and the heat radiating from him caused the surrounding snow to melt quickly.
At the same time.
Roar
A dragon's roar echoed within his body, and the Dragon Ascension Pill began to tremble violently.
It seemed to be gathering some kind of power.
The next moment.
Thousands of strands of medicinal power shot into his body like golden light.
With this sudden change, Jiang Ning immediately stopped visualizing the Furnace Alchemy Technique.
Then, he quickly circulated his blood energy to capture the runaway medicinal power.
After half a cup of tea time.
Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes.
He clenched his fist, feeling the pull of power throughout his body, and a flash of joy appeared in his eyes.
"The toughness of my tendons has indeed improved, and my explosive power has increased."
"However..." He clenched his fist again, activating his tendons, and muttered to himself, "I need to rest for a bit. Such intense tempering of my tendons has pushed them to their limit. Just activating them now causes a faint ache, indicating they're overworked."
Time flew by.
A week passed.
During this week.
Jiang Ning spent his time refining the Dragon Ascension Pill to temper his tendons, reading to increase his Literacy experience, and soaking in hot baths.
The reason for the hot baths was that his tendons had been overworked from the intense tempering and the violent medicinal energy shock, reaching a state of overload.
In this situation, thanks to his Water Affinity trait, being in water allowed him to rapidly recover from his condition.
This greatly accelerated the recovery of his tendons.
Now.
Jiang Ning stood in the snow, clenched his fist, and felt a surge of excitement.
The next moment.
Roar
He threw a punch, channeling power throughout his body. His tendons went from relaxed to tightly tensed, and a dragon-like roar echoed within him.
With this punch.
The air in front of him solidified momentarily, forming a white mist that flowed like water around his fist.
Boom
The air exploded.
Then, a shockwave spread out.
In an instant, the snow on the branches in front of him was shaken off, falling like rain.
"Dragon Tendons achieved!!" Jiang Ning was ecstatic.
The Dragon Tendon level provided five times the explosive power of before.
This was the effect of the Dragon Tendon level.
The faint dragon's roar when activating his tendons was also a hallmark of the Dragon Tendon level.
Both conditions were met, confirming that he had officially reached the Dragon Tendon level.
Feeling the changes in his body, Jiang Ning's face lit up with joy.
"A single Dragon Ascension Pill helped me reach the Dragon Tendon level. It truly lives up to its name!"
"And the Medicine King Valley's Furnace Alchemy Technique is indeed amazing!!" Reflecting on the past few days, Jiang Ning felt a deep sense of gratitude.
Without the Furnace Alchemy Technique, reaching this level would have been far less efficient, taking at least half a month.
And he might have needed more than one Dragon Ascension Pill, possibly two.
As the old woman had said.
If one wasn't enough, he could go back to her!
This indicated that, under normal circumstances, one Dragon Ascension Pill might not be enough to help a martial artist reach the Dragon Tendon level.
"Comfortable!!"
Jiang Ning soaked in the hot water, his face filled with contentment.
Even though his body was now resistant to cold, he could still feel the chill of winter.
Soaking in a hot bath during winter was a great pleasure.
Not to mention, soaking in water allowed him to recover his condition, making the experience even more enjoyable.
As he soaked, Jiang Ning opened his status panel.
[Name]: Jiang Ning
[Source Energy]: 337.43
[Skills]:
Literacy (Third Breakthrough 3874/4000) (Traits: Photographic Memory, Enhanced Senses, Quick Thinking)
The source energy points had reached over three hundred during these days.
Most of the contribution came from refining the Dragon Ascension Pill.
At the same time, these days had also brought his Literacy experience to a high value of 3874 points.
Only a little over a hundred points were needed to reach 4000.
"With the requirements for Literacy, only a hundred source energy points are needed to meet the conditions for the fourth breakthrough."
"In other words, once the experience is maxed out, the Literacy skill can immediately undergo its fourth breakthrough."
Thinking of this.
Jiang Ning picked up a book from beside him and began to read.
[Literacy Experience +1]
[Literacy Experience +1]
[Literacy Experience +1]
[...]
As time passed, the experience points for the Literacy skill continued to grow.
Suddenly.
Knock, knock, knock
Jiang Ning heard a knocking sound at the door.
"Is the sir inside?" a voice asked.
Hearing this voice, Jiang Ning immediately recognized it as Feng Jiuge, who had been absent for several days.
Thinking of Feng Jiuge, Jiang Ning focused.
A few days ago, Feng Jiuge had informed him that other captains and several commanders were colluding, targeting ordinary civilians who had once been followers of the Worship God Sect and had been tainted by the aura of the Flesh God. These people were being used as tools to farm contribution points.
"Why is she looking for me now?" Jiang Ning wondered.
Then he spoke.
"I'm here!"
"Sir, I have important news to report, from the Dongling City military camp," Feng Jiuge's voice came through the door.
Hearing this, Jiang Ning's eyes flashed, and he immediately said, "Wait for me at the door for a moment!"
"Yes, sir!" Feng Jiuge replied.
Jiang Ning quickly got up and shook off the water droplets from his body.
Feng Jiuge's mention of news from the Dongling City military camp reminded Jiang Ning of something.
It was about Cao Rong.
Because, by his calculations, it was almost time for the Cao family to be executed.
Moments later.
Jiang Ning, fully dressed, appeared before Feng Jiuge.
Feng Jiuge peeked past Jiang Ning's figure, glancing inside.
"Sir, you're alone?"
"Who else would be here?" Jiang Ning said.
Then he walked to the table in the hall and poured a cup of tea for Feng Jiuge.
"Have some tea first, then tell me what's going on."
"Thank you, sir!" Feng Jiuge said.
She took the teacup from Jiang Ning and drank it in one gulp, then said, "Sir, Cao Rong has left the military camp and is heading to Luoshui County with a hundred cavalry."
"A hundred cavalry?" Jiang Ning's eyes narrowed.
"Yes!" Feng Jiuge nodded. "Cao Rong's mission is to suppress the Black Mountain Army. It's said that Cao Rong gained the favor of a commandant, who gifted him a treasure that helped him break through to the sixth rank of martial arts. Sir, you must be careful!"
Hearing this, Jiang Ning was surprised.
"The Black Mountain Army? Didn't I already wipe out the Black Mountain Army that fled to Beimang Mountain?"
As for the latter part of Feng Jiuge's words, Jiang Ning paid no attention.
Not long ago, he had killed a sixth-rank martial artist, one with a near-indestructible body.
The current Cao Rong was, at best, a newly advanced sixth-rank martial artist. In Jiang Ning's eyes, he posed no threat.
Not to mention, Jiang Ning's strength had recently broken through, reaching an even higher level.
Feng Jiuge, seeing Jiang Ning's confusion, explained, "It's precisely because you killed that group of Black Mountain Army members that another group has now entered Luoshui County, claiming to avenge their brothers!"
"I see," Jiang Ning nodded.
"What does the sir plan to do?" Feng Jiuge asked, her curiosity evident.
She was well aware that Cao Rong's arrival in Luoshui County was undoubtedly to cause trouble for her superior, Jiang Ning.
Her superior had personally led the team that raided the Cao family, resulting in many deaths and the rest being thrown into prison.
Although this was done under Hong Minghu's orders, how could Cao Rong dare to confront Hong Minghu?
Naturally, he could only target her superior, Jiang Ning.
Moreover, from what she knew, there was already bad blood between Jiang Ning and the Cao family.
At the same time.
In response to Feng Jiuge's question, Jiang Ning didn't provide an answer.
Instead, he asked, "Do you have a rough idea of Cao Rong's route?"
"Yes!" Feng Jiuge nodded. "There's only one official road from Dongling City to Luoshui County. The road is the most straightforward, and since Cao Rong's group is all cavalry, they will take the official road straight to Luoshui County."
"Official road?" Jiang Ning muttered, then nodded slightly. "Understood."
Several hours later.
Jiang Ning had left Luoshui County.
Meanwhile.
Yunlai Pavilion.
On the lakeside terrace of the third floor.
A middle-aged man in a green robe, with slightly graying temples but skin as smooth as a baby's, spoke slowly.
"Is the information accurate?"
"Reporting to the Valley Master, the information is accurate. Cao Rong has reached the sixth rank and has been on the move with a hundred cavalry for three days. By my estimate, he's only a day away from Luoshui County."
"What about Jiang Ning?" the green-robed middle-aged man asked.
"According to the latest information, Commander Jiang has already left the city!" Gongsun Yu, standing beside the green-robed man, replied respectfully.
"Then we're in for a good show!" The green-robed man smiled and continued, "Cao Rong is a rising star in Dongling County. Although he hasn't made it onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking, he shouldn't be underestimated in the future."
"As for that young man named Jiang Ning, he's even more remarkable. At such a young age, he's already a deputy commander of the Patrol Bureau, holding an eighth-rank official position and even making it onto the Hidden Dragon Ranking."
Hearing his Valley Master's praise, Gongsun Yu added, "Valley Master, do you think Commander Jiang's proactive move means he has the confidence to kill Cao Rong?"
"Maybe, maybe not," the green-robed man said indifferently.
Then he added, "But if he can kill Cao Rong amidst a hundred cavalry, I'll have to take a higher view of him and send him a great gift."
Yellow Heaven Sect base.
"Hall Master, according to the intelligence, Commander Jiang has left the city."
"Left the city?" Liu Linman said calmly. "It seems Cao Rong will meet his end tonight or tomorrow."
Thinking of Jiang Ning, he felt a headache coming on.
After these days of investigation, he was almost certain that Altar Master Sun had been killed by Jiang Ning.
With Altar Master Sun dead, the plan to bring the Yellow Heaven Sect under their control had fallen through.
In recent days, the remaining members of the Worship God Sect hiding in the city had been mostly wiped out by the Patrol Bureau's thorough searches.
Even if they were gathered, they would be of little use and would only attract the attention of the Patrol Bureau.
This made Liu Linman abandon his previous plans.
"Is Commander Jiang targeting members of the Worship God Sect because he has some grudge against them?" Recalling past events, this thought crossed Liu Linman's mind.
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