Chapter 55: Harvest

Mingyue Tower.

A third-floor private booth.

Cao Bin pondered for a moment before speaking: "This matter must be settled quickly! Once that Great Lord arrives, the Inspectorate will become the sky hanging over Luoshui County. None of us can act rashly for the time being!"

"Frame Jiang Ning with some crimes, then throw his entire family into the great prison!"

Xu Yunfeng immediately bowed his head in salute.

"Yes!"

He then asked, "What crimes should your subordinate arrange?"

"Do I really need to teach you this?" Cao Bin looked up, his gaze calm as he stared at Xu Yunfeng. "Do you know about the God-Worshipping Sect?"

"Your subordinate understands!" Xu Yunfeng bowed again. "Thank you for your guidance, Chief Cao!"

"Mhm!" Cao Bin gave a slight grunt and waved his hand. "Go arrange it! Remember, make it quick. I want results within a week!"

"Yes!" Xu Yunfeng responded again, then looked up. "Chief Cao, what about Jiang Ning? He is Wang Jin's disciple; should he also be dealt with?"

"He's already been dealt with!" Cao Bin spoke without hesitation. "The boy has only been a member of the Canglang Martial Arts Hall for a few days; he can hardly be considered Wang Jin's disciple! I will personally lead the team to take him when the time comes. I believe Wang Jin is a man who knows when to advance and when to retreat, and understands the bigger picture!"

"To pull up weeds, one must remove the roots!!"

"Besides, the fact that this person can reside long-term at the martial arts hall suggests his martial talent must be decent, which is why Wang Jin treats him so well! Such a person cannot be allowed to remain!!"

"Yes, your subordinate understands!" Xu Yunfeng bowed and slowly exited the booth.

***

Canglang Martial Arts Hall.

In a corner courtyard of the hall, there was a massive iron cage made of refined iron.

The cage covered an area of about one mu.

The front, back, sides, and even the top were constructed of interlaced refined iron, completely enclosing the entire courtyard.

The widest gaps between the iron bars were only slightly over seven inches, just enough for a person to pass through.

Outside the cage, several ten-foot-high viewing stands had been set up.

At this moment.

On the stands, Wang Jin and Shen Congyun stood together.

The other stands were occupied by the hall's true disciples and Liu Zhixiang of the Sihe Chamber of Commerce.

"Let it begin!" Wang Jin spoke.

Time passed.

As evening approached, the setting sun sank precariously behind the mountains, and night was about to fall.

"Pah!"

In Jiang Ning's courtyard, Cheng Ran spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, along with some residue from the medicinal soup he had just swallowed.

"That beast is truly fierce!"

Cheng Ran grimaced, clearly pulling at his wounds.

Jiang Ning handed him a bowl of clear water. "Senior Brother Cheng, you're pushing too hard! Your injuries haven't even healed, yet you're still going out to fight a tiger!"

Cheng Ran took the bowl from Jiang Ning and gulped it down, wiping the corner of his mouth.

"I have no choice! My fist technique has already fallen behind Xiao Peng's. If I don't face the tiger directly—if I don't fight it at close range to perceive its spirit and form—I'll never achieve Great Completion in my Tiger Form Fist, let alone meet Master Wang's requirement of mastering two styles to Great Completion."

"Besides, that big figure, Pavilion Master Shen, was there just now. If I show my capabilities, I might even earn his recognition!"

"Though the chances are slim, it's killing two birds with one stone, so I naturally have to give it my all."

"I admire you!" Jiang Ning cupped his hands in respect.

At this moment, he had a much deeper understanding of what Cheng Ran had said earlier regarding the path of martial arts: to make an impact, a martial artist must fight for opportunities.

In just a few days, Cheng Ran's attitude had undergone a massive shift from indifference.

In Jiang Ning's view, first, it was because of Xiao Peng's appearance, which gave him a competitor.

Second, it was because of the arrival of opportunity.

The Inspectorate, the new power structure of the Great Xia Dynasty, allowed Cheng Ran to see a different kind of future—a path to leap over the dragon gate.

Furthermore, the appearance of Shen Congyun had given Cheng Ran even more motivation.

As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Jiang Ning continued, "Senior Brother Cheng, did you gain anything?"

Cheng Ran shook his head, then nodded. "A little, but not much. I'll need to go back and organize my thoughts properly."

He then continued, "Junior Brother Jiang, would you mind bringing me another bowl of water?"

Jiang Ning smiled, took the bowl from Cheng Ran, fetched another bowl of clear water from the water vat, and handed it to him.

Cheng Ran drank it in one gulp before standing up.

"It's getting late, I must head back!"

Jiang Ning also stood up. "I'll see you out, Senior Brother!"

"Alright!" Cheng Ran nodded, then added, "I'll come pick you up for the Sihe Chamber of Commerce banquet tomorrow night. But I won't be coming to the hall during the day; I need to properly contemplate today's battle with that beast to see if that flash of inspiration appears to bring my Tiger Form Fist to Great Completion."

"No problem!" Jiang Ning nodded and cupped his hands. "Thank you, Senior Brother Cheng."

Cheng Ran smiled.

The two then walked toward the exit of the martial arts hall.

After seeing Cheng Ran off, Jiang Ning returned to his own courtyard within the hall.

Walking into his room, he saw ten brocade boxes arranged on the table.

Inside these ten boxes were ten wild ginseng roots.

This afternoon, Zhou Xing had already sent someone to deliver them to the hall.

Jiang Ning had successfully obtained the highly sought-after medicinal herbs.

"Ten wild ginseng roots... that should be enough to last me a while!"

He opened one box, and as he looked at the wild ginseng lying inside, a look of joy appeared in his eyes.

Since he had stopped supplementing with wild ginseng, the number of times he practiced his fist techniques each day had decreased by nearly thirty percent.

This not only slowed down the rate at which he gained experience in his Liver Fist technique but also slowed his accumulation of vital energy and blood.

At the same time, the rate at which he acquired energy points had also dropped significantly.

Previously, on the day he had consumed up to one-third of a wild ginseng root, his energy points had increased by 0.6 that day.

Since then, even with the medicinal soup provided by the hall increasing to three bowls a day, and even with decent meals containing meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, his daily energy point growth was now only 0.4.

"It's different now! With these ten wild ginseng roots, things will be completely different in the short term! My rate of progress will surely be faster!"

Then, Jiang Ning took out a brocade box containing wild ginseng and walked toward the small courtyard outside his room.

Under the shroud of the setting sun.

Jiang Ning stood still, motionless.

In his mind, the images of the crowd fighting the tiger this afternoon played on a continuous loop.

This afternoon.

Aside from Cheng Ran, the four true disciples—Li Qing, Zhou Xing, Zhao Hu, and Zhang Tiesheng—had all entered the arena to fight the tiger.

Jiang Ning had watched the entire battle; this was his first time witnessing a man fight a tiger with his own eyes.

With his photographic memory, the scenes of that afternoon's battle were deeply etched into his mind like cinematic footage.

A tiger is the best teacher for the Tiger Form Fist.

Through the various battles this afternoon, Jiang Ning had gained much insight.

At this moment, he was still continuously deepening his perception of the tiger's spirit and form.

Only by mastering both spirit and form could one bring the Tiger Form Fist of the Five Animals Fist to Great Completion.

As long as he mastered the spirit and form of a single fist technique to the level of Great Completion, Jiang Ning would gain at least two experience points every time he practiced the Five Animals Fist.

This was an effect he had already verified through testing.

(End of Chapter)