Chapter 170: Shadow Nether Step
It was his own arm, after all.
In the end, Tang Wen couldn’t bring himself to stab it.
By his rough estimation,
with the current defensive capabilities of the [Golden Bell Shield], an ordinary Martial Artist, even if they unleashed their Power and used Visualization Martial Arts,
would be unable to break through his black defense.
Moreover, three days had passed.
The [Spiritual Meditation Method] had leveled up again.
[Spiritual Meditation Method, Mastery (2991/3000)]
[Essence: 10.91 → 11.41]
The number of usable "Visualization Characters" in his mind had reached twenty-seven.
He wanted to increase the number further, but he found he was no longer capable.
He had tried many times, and by recklessly wasting his Spiritual Power, he could maintain about thirty of them.
But he couldn’t keep them stable.
It could only be used as a daily training method.
He had stayed home for three days, and his strength had increased by a good margin.
Tang Wen, now addicted to Cultivation, was eager to keep training. But he was in Ganshan City now, not Flame Camp; he couldn’t just ignore the world outside.
On the morning of the fourth day, he left his house and went to the Beast Taming Garden next door.
"Commander!"
"Commander, this is our recent dividend."
A subordinate brought over a bag of silver. Tang Wen took it and weighed it in his hand; it was about three or four hundred taels.
"Was the breeding successful?"
"Hehe, you’re amazing, Commander. All five of the females are pregnant."
Tang Wen’s face darkened. "Fuck off!" he cursed. "You’re the amazing one, you bastard!"
"Ah, this stupid mouth of mine. I misspoke. Your Exotic Beast is the amazing one!"
Looking at him with disgust, Tang Wen instructed,
"Good. Don’t forget to give it some nourishing food!"
"Don’t you worry. Master Wolf is our cash cow! He gets high-quality kidneys every meal, plus half a catty of Tiger Bone Wine! That’s powerful stuff!"
After looking around for a bit,
on his way out, Tang Wen pondered a question:
’If the Sand Wolf drinks wine before breeding, will the pups be born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome?’
When he got home, he tossed the silver to the pretty widow for daily expenses.
Then, Tang Wen went to the Li Mansion.
As a sensible subordinate,
he never visited empty-handed.
He carried some restorative medicines he had taken from the gang’s storehouse.
Tang Wen found Elder Li in the dining hall, just as the Li Family was having breakfast.
"Have you eaten?"
"What a coincidence! I haven’t."
"You brat! Someone, get him some food."
Tang Wen sat down without ceremony. He devoured over twenty bowls of steamed and braised dishes, drank three large bowls of meat congee, a pot of morning wine, and several side dishes.
Once he had eaten and drunk his fill, he stated his purpose for coming.
He was asking for leave.
He was about to break through to the Martial Artist realm and needed to take a proper two-month leave.
Speaking of which, Tang Wen hadn’t been in the gang for long.
He was still a newcomer.
For an ordinary newcomer, taking a long leave was unthinkable.
But Elder Li didn’t hesitate in the slightest and approved it directly.
Having achieved his goal, Tang Wen asked casually,
"It’s been a few days. Has that batch of Aquatic Exotic Beasts been put to use yet?"
Elder Li glanced at him and replied, "Not yet."
"Why is that?"
"Don’t ask what you shouldn’t."
Tang Wen didn’t want to give up. Several days had passed, and he had noticed that the dozen or so Exotic Beasts were still being kept safe and sound within the gang’s compound.
It seemed the gang was no longer in a hurry.
He chuckled. "Just curious! Purely curious! I’m just afraid I’ll be in the middle of my secluded cultivation when I’m suddenly called out again."
Elder Li pondered for a moment. "That’s unlikely. You managed to catalyze four High-level Exotic Beasts this time, which greatly exceeded the Gang Leader’s expectations. The gang is making preparations, striving to achieve success in a single battle."
Tang Wen pressed with a few more questions.
Elder Li refused to say more, and instead started giving him pointers on breaking through to the Martial Artist realm.
The two of them chatted for the entire morning.
At noon, Wu Hao also arrived.
The three of them had a round of drinks.
They didn’t leave until the sun was setting, all of them drunk.
He returned home.
The pretty widow Ah Shui and the maid Xiaorou supported him, one on each side, as they led him to the bed.
As the saying goes, wine is the catalyst for desire.
Xiaorou went out to fetch water.
Ah Shui helped him undress.
The temperature rose, and the woman’s scent was clearly discernible.
With a gentle pull from Tang Wen, the woman fell into his embrace as if she were a weightless leaf.
His hands began to roam, squeezing gently.
Ah Shui’s heart trembled.
’On a normal day, he can already take half my life.’
’He’s been drinking today... is there any way I’ll survive?’
"Master, you should add a few more sisters to the household!"
Ah Shui lifted her head, her eyes glistening.
She both loved and feared Tang Wen.
Tang Wen was taken aback. ’A woman is actually suggesting this?’
’In that case, I’ll have to reward you properly.’
Ah Shui grew even more frightened. "If not, it would be good for you to visit Baihua Tower more often."
Tang Wen smiled. "I don’t like the women in those brothels."
Seeing his movements growing bolder, Ah Shui said hastily, "I know a few women... their lives are pitiful, but they’re completely innocent. They’re all wives from respectable families! Mmph!"
For a moment, Tang Wen couldn’t tell if she was being serious or just trying to make things more exciting...
A storm raged all night, crackling and thundering until dawn.
The next day,
Tang Wen began his secluded cultivation, training in the Body Technique of the Night Divine Fist—the Shadow Nether Step.
At noon, when the sun was at its most fierce, he would eat and rest.
But from the afternoon through the dead of night, and then from early morning until noon,
he trained ceaselessly, cycling through his various Cultivation Techniques.
The one he spent the most time and effort on was the Shadow Nether Step.
A few days passed.
Tang Wen finally grasped a clue.
The difficulty of reaching the Beginner level for the Shadow Nether Step was beyond his expectations.
Five days later.
Finally, the technique appeared on his Experience Panel.
To date, this was the most difficult Cultivation Technique Tang Wen had ever practiced to the Beginner level.
[Visualization Martial Arts, Shadow Nether Step, Beginner (7/500)]
Reaching the Beginner level was only the first step.
Tang Wen continued to train for several more days.
This triggered a chain reaction: the Skills merged.
His other movement technique was absorbed into the Shadow Nether Step.
[Traceless Step, Mastery (2877/3000)]
[Visualization Martial Arts, Shadow Nether Step, Master (1/3000)]
It skipped two levels, directly reaching the "Master" tier.
This could be called a huge improvement.
It was nighttime, and moonlight streamed in through the window.
The moonlight was like water, illuminating the central courtyard.
The shadows of the plants and trees in the courtyard looked like underwater flora.
He walked out of the training room. In the bright moonlight, his vision was as clear as day.
He went back to his room and changed into a set of Night Traveler’s Clothes.
He activated the "Shadow Nether Step," and his entire body was enveloped in a black mist.
Like a shadow, he silently arrived at the Beast Taming Garden next door.
"Drink up!"
"Quit nursing that drink! Bottoms up!"
"..."
His three familiar subordinates were in the middle of a rowdy drinking session.
The Sand Wolf lay off to one side, bored. On a plate on the ground were several large, meaty bones.
’No doubt about it, they’ve handed the guard and watch duties over to the Sand Wolf.’
’They’re pretty good at slacking off!’
Tang Wen approached stealthily. One hundred paces, then fifty.
The Sand Wolf turned its head quizzically, looking in his direction.
However, judging by the slightness of the Sand Wolf’s head movement,
it was merely alert, not that it had actually discovered him.
Tang Wen activated his Breath Concealment Technique to its fullest and advanced again, using the new footwork.
Thirty paces, then twenty.
SWISH!
The Sand Wolf stood up.
Its lupine eyes, gleaming with a faint light, were filled with confusion.
Half a minute passed.
"Why did the Sand Wolf stand up?"
"Does it want some Tiger Bone Wine?"
The three men didn’t dare to be neglectful. The Sand Wolf was everyone’s cash cow.
Of course, they had to take good care of it.
The three men busied themselves pouring wine and feeding it meat, completely unaware that Tang Wen was standing in the shadows of the building right in front of them.
A few days passed.
That morning, as Tang Wen was preparing to rest, he followed his usual routine and used his Spiritual Power to sense the location of the "Public Water Spirit."
He was surprised to discover that it was already over a hundred li away from his position.
’It seems the gang is ready and about to make a move?’
But at a distance of over a hundred li, Tang Wen was unable to use the Public Water Spirit’s vision.
After a moment of contemplation, he disguised himself, donning a cloak that covered his entire body, and left the city.