Chaotic World Book

Time passed quickly, and when Yue Hongling had left, nearly a month had flashed by in the blink of an eye. January passed in silence, and now it was February, with spring blossoms blooming all around.

The medicine had run out—not only was there not enough Qi Blood Powder bought for replenishing stocks, but there wasn't even enough for the daily medicine baths. As of late, Zhao Changhe had been sending people everywhere to buy medicine, and Fang Buping had heard of this and started hoarding as well. Now, not even the surrounding towns had any supply left.

What was more fatal was that Fang Buping, after a long period of recovery, had finally healed from the injuries inflicted by the punishment from the Vermilion Bird.

In the previous two months, Zhao Changhe had made a fair sum due to the "challenges" of those fools, and only symbolically gave a portion to the squads, indicating that Beimang Mountain Village was still a sub-branch of the Blood God Sect. As for the half that Fang Buping had previously demanded, he got jack squat.

But early this morning, Fang Buping had sent men over, arrogantly demanding half of the resources.

Once healed, they're full of bluster, having kept in their dissatisfaction with Zhao Changhe for months, it was time to vent.

"Village Chief Zhao, is Beimang Mountain Village still part of the Blood God Sect or do you intend to claim independence?"

"Ha, what are you talking about, brother? We are all brothers in the Sect, please, have a seat."

The man glanced skywards, "Squad leader Fang says, it has been agreed upon with Village Chief Zhao that half of the monthly village earnings are to be handed over to the squad. But last month, the village only turned in eighty-eight taels, what does this mean? The matter of the official forces' extermination of bandits that you and the squad leader agreed upon, the squad leader has resolved it very cleanly, without a single soldier troubling you for a few months, hasn't he?"

Zhao Changhe scoffed inwardly, no officials came? What do you think Cui Yuanyong is here for? With him around, why would we need those petty city officials? Just looking after the young master Cui's eating, drinking, and all other needs is enough.

They don't lay a finger on us, either out of consideration for Yue Hongling being here or having suspicions about my identity. What does it have to do with you, Fang Buping? On the contrary, that Lin Feihu trouble, wasn't it invited by you, Fang Buping?

Yet, he never said this out loud. Leaning back in the chief's seat, he said in a leisurely tone, "It was agreed that the earnings would be what the village makes, but the income of these past two months has mostly come from personal duels I took part in, which is my personal income. Throwing it into the public coffers means I'm treating you all as brothers, sharing the good fortune. It doesn't mean it's the village's earnings. To have given you eighty-eight taels is already generous. Just ask any brother here, isn't that the way it is?"

A bunch of bandits from the mountain village stood to one side, shivering, each with their own thoughts.

What the chief said made sense; the village had hardly any income, mostly from hunting, with the previous village chief's wife's suggestion to plant crops still not yielding any fruits... Now, the village's income was indeed the chief's personal winnings from those challenges, selflessly thrown into the common fund. The most others did was help dig a pit; truly sharing the good fortune.

The chief's character was beyond question—he had enough brotherhood spirit.

But how should it be said? Standing by someone isn't necessarily just determined by their character.

After all, the squad leader had reached the Mystical Gate Fourth Layer and was officially a higher-up in the Sect, who would dare openly stand by your side?

Some people were thinking that the so-called 'no income' was only because you, the chief, suppressed the urges to rob. Otherwise, how could there be no income? Are we even considered bandits now, worrying about such matters?

These people weren't coerced by officials into rebelling—each was a rascal or had committed crimes and come up to the mountain. If they were content with farming honorably, who the hell would go up the mountain...

The envoy burst out laughing, "Which of your brothers agrees with your reasoning? You are the Mountain Village Chief, isn't your income the same as the village income?"

Zhao Changhe took in the expressions of everyone present and cracked a small smile, "Well said. Da Shan, take this Honored Envoy to the storehouse and give him half of the goods."

This turn of events didn't sit well with some.

It was everyone's possession, and to casually hand over half just like that made hearts bleed. Recently, there haven't been any fools daring to challenge us, where are so many resources to come from? After this move, it'll be back to eating dirt.

But no one had spoken up to echo the chief just now, so what about now?

Zhao Changhe really wanted to laugh but he said unhurriedly, "All right, send three... oh no, send a few people to attend to the Honored Envoy. Clear the best room for him, and remember to save the leg of tonight's roasted lamb for our Honored Envoy brother to enjoy. That will be all, the meeting is adjourned."

Having said that, he rose leisurely from his seat and left without concern for the varied expressions in the Gathering Hall.

…

Outside the mountain's lake, the water remained clear and crisp, with no more snow around, trees sprouted new branches, and flowers and grasses bloomed everywhere. The returning geese sang through the sky.

Zhao Changhe stood silently for a while, then suddenly drew the three-stone bow and, without even aiming, shot an arrow at the returning geese flying high.

With the twang of the bowstring, the arrow flew like a shooting star, and two geese were skewered midflight, falling heavily to the ground.

Zhao Changhe didn't go to pick it up; instead, he looked into the distance. He could clearly see the injury on the wild goose's body. It wasn't pierced by an arrow but had been blasted into a large hole by the spiraling, whistling Blood Evil Qi. The wound was surrounded by swirling Evil Qi, which had also shattered the bones, cracking them inch by inch.

By now, his archery had achieved great success, his senses sharp as if everything were etched into his heart. Without a breakthrough in his inner strength, he had reached a bottleneck.

Lacking medicinal ingredients, it was like trying to cook without rice. Zhao Changhe's ambitious stride inevitably slowed, and his determination to leave grew stronger.

If resources for even the second and third layers were insufficient, what to do when attempting to reach even higher levels?

The envoy sent by Fang Buping had already left, but it was apparent that he would return to cause more trouble. As Yue Hongling had said, since fate had brought them to this point, it was like a fuse; it was time for his period of rest and recovery to end.

He pondered for a moment, hid the bow and arrows behind a tree by the pool, and took long strides to leave.

Even though he didn't feel quite ready, Zhao Changhe still planned to attempt to break through to the third layer tonight. Whether he succeeded or not, he had his plans.

Tomorrow would be Jingzhe, when even the insects break through the earth—how could the dragon remain hidden!

He returned to his house, took his final medicine bath, drank his last dose of medicinal soup, bathed, changed clothes, and slowly moved into a strange stance.

The third layer of the Blood Evil Skill was no longer the horse stance. The posture he now had to assume looked as embarrassing as Michelangelo's David, and it required slow shifts, even more embarrassing... yet it facilitated the circulation of the Blood Evil Qi and allowed the Blood Qi to seep from the blood vessels and muscles into the tendons and internal organs.

When the Blood Evil spread both inside and out, the Blood Evil Skill would reach great success. Yue Hongling's judgment was, of course, spot on; this was indeed a cultivation technique with a high upper limit. Among the many types of external skills, there were few that could train one's bones and internal organs.

However, the more it progressed, the more energy was needed for supplementation and intake… and the more painful it became.

He could clearly feel the surge of Evil Qi within his blood flowing outward, infiltrating his skin, spreading to his fascia... Slowly, intense pain began to assail him. Blood surged to his head, his rationality grew more frenzied, and he wanted to tear apart everything before his eyes, to release the rage in his heart, as well as the physical pain.

Zhao Changhe knew that if there were others present, they would see his eyes blood-red, his whole being like a beast about to be consumed by fury.

While his rationality had not yet faded, the cultivation technique of Xia Longyuan began to operate; a cool energy entered the Central Court from the perineum, then ascended through the heart's meridian, and finally reached the Spirit Platform, maintaining the Spiritual Light.

But the clearer his mind was, the more unbearable the pain felt. In some sense, the fury of the Blood Evil Skill was also a means to either ignore or vent the physical pain. It just depended on whether you were willing to forsake your humanity...

Of course, Zhao Changhe was not willing.

Wisps of True Qi flowed from his Dantian through his meridians, seeping into his bones, easing his body's pain.

Whether it was initially Xia Chichi helping out or now relying on Xia Longyuan's cultivation technique, Inner Strength had always helped alleviate the side effects of the Blood Evil Skill, not eliminate them. The real way to eliminate them was the Blood Stabilization Pill given by Cui Yuanyong, but to this day, Zhao Changhe had not taken a single one.

Once reliant on such things, one could forget about ever being independent again.

The relief provided by Inner Strength was enough. With the backbone of a true man, how could he not endure such pain?

In a daze, he seemed to hear noise outside, as if someone was knocking on the door. Zhao Changhe, with his rationality clouded, didn't pay attention and tirelessly continued assaulting the final barrier.

After enduring for who knows how long, Zhao Changhe could feel his sweat soaking through his clothes, but the fascia the Blood Evil tried to break through was still just a bit short.

Just a little bit short.

No matter how many times he endured the pain to strike forth, the force was insufficient, just not enough.

Not enough energy, not enough medicine, too little time.

After all, he was not some genius favored by Creation.

"Damn it all!" Zhao Changhe opened his eyes in anger, kicking over the bathtub beside him; the medicine bath spilled out with a crash, signaling the failure of this breakthrough.

"Boss, Boss!" It seemed that the noise inside the house had been heard, and someone outside called out anxiously, "Boss, you're finally awake..."

Zhao Changhe breathed heavily with exhaustion and shouted angrily, "What is it!"

"A raid on the Mountain Village at night, they're stuck in a trap... But her swordsmanship is formidable, we've been in a stalemate for half an hour, and we still can't take her down..."