Martial Saint with Passives

The incident at the Golden Leaf Forest quickly caught the attention of the Cangyun Sect’s upper echelons.

They launched an investigation, conducting a thorough sweep for any Demon Sect spies hidden within the Sect.

In the end, they actually managed to find two spies.

Following the leads, they also managed to besiege and wipe out a newly emerged Demon Sect stronghold.

As for Xiang Wei, Jiang Che, and the others who had protected the Blood Amber Flower Field, the Sect bestowed them with generous rewards.

Regarding the ”Bigfoot” incident, the Cangyun Sect later brought in an old, experienced Chief Constable to investigate.

After examining the scene, the old Chief Constable also concluded that the tracks were not faked. He believed a giant, with a body far larger than any normal person and possessing immense strength, was truly responsible for it all.

The captured Demon Sect remnants, however, knew nothing about the Bigfoot affair.

They claimed the entire plan had been masterminded by Jin Hao and Shi Chen; they were merely assisting the pair.

Only then did the Sect confirm that ”Bigfoot” truly existed.

Perhaps Jin Hao and Shi Chen had genuinely seen ”Bigfoot” and were simply exploiting the situation.

But they never expected things to get out of hand, ultimately losing their lives at the hands of ”Bigfoot.”

Afterward, the Sect dispatched men to search the Golden Leaf Forest for several days in an attempt to find ”Bigfoot.”

But the search yielded nothing, and the matter was eventually dropped.

After Jiang Che ”recovered” from his injuries, he resigned from his patrol duty.

Although Xiang Wei was sad to see him go, he respected Jiang Che’s decision.

’For a ”Noble Family Member” like Jiang Che, and one so powerful, patrolling the forest is truly a waste of his talent,’ he thought.

...

「Cangyun Sect, Inner Courtyard Disciple Dormitory Area.」

Jiang Che entered his room and quietly shut the door and windows.

Then, he laid out his entire haul on the table.

Looking at the table piled high with his bountiful rewards, Jiang Che felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

’A regular job will never make you rich,’ he thought. ’You have to rely on windfalls like this...’

In addition to the bank notes worth 1,200 taels of gold that he had looted from Jin Hao and Shi Chen, he also had the 200 taels of gold from the Sect’s reward.

In one fell swoop, Jiang Che now had 1,400 taels of gold.

Additionally, the Sect had rewarded him with some Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat and Qi Replenishing Elixirs.

Now that he had broken through to the Force Integration Realm, eating only Middle-Grade Exotic Beast Meat was no longer sufficient.

Yet, not everyone could afford Top-Grade Exotic Beast Meat.

Therefore, most people supplemented their diet with elixirs that replenished Qi and Blood.

However, having consumed an entire Iron-Horned Deer, Jiang Che now looked down on such things.

The hundreds of pounds of Top-Grade Exotic Beast Meat had provided him with a vast and exceptionally pure reserve of Qi and Blood.

This alone was equivalent to half a year of arduous cultivation.

If he could convert all this Qi and Blood into Strength, Jiang Che felt he might even be able to reach the Mid-stage of Force Integration!

Jiang Che was even tempted to sneak back and eat another one.

Unfortunately, security at the Golden Leaf Forest had been completely upgraded. Now, there were even senior brothers at the Refining Organ Level patrolling the area.

As for the Elixir Pills he had looted from the Demon Sect spies, Jiang Che had disguised himself and secretly taken them to a Pharmacy at the foot of the mountain to be appraised.

He discovered they were a type of elixir used to forcibly unlock one’s potential.

While they could make a person stronger for a short period, they did so by shortening one’s lifespan.

Jiang Che had no need for such things, so he sold them, earning another 100 taels of gold.

This brought his total to 1,500 taels of gold.

As for the *Withered Cicada Scripture*...

Jiang Che discovered it was a Secret Manual for concealing one’s true Realm and Cultivation Technique.

At the Entry Level, it could hide one minor realm.

At Great Success, it could hide one Great Realm.

And upon reaching Perfection, it could even hide two Great Realms!

Beyond that, it could also conceal, to some extent, the type of Cultivation Technique one practiced.

Jiang Che realized that the two Demon Sect spies had likely relied on the *Withered Cicada Scripture* to deceive Xiang Wei.

’This is good stuff. I’ll have to practice it later.’

Although it wasn’t a Cultivation Technique that could directly increase his power,

it was perfect for hiding his true strength.

In a way, that also increased his ability to protect himself.

Jiang Che was just thinking things over when he suddenly heard a knock on the door.

He quickly gathered all the items on the table and carefully hid them away.

Seeing that Jiang Che was still in his room, Jiang Ling went to open the door herself.

Ever since moving to the Cangyun Sect, Jiang Ling had been learning martial arts from Jiang Che.

Jiang Ling’s Talent wasn’t considered poor back in Lin Yuan City, but here in Cangzhou Prefecture, it clearly fell short when compared to the disciples of a Major Sect.

Jiang Che estimated her ceiling was likely the Stone Skin Realm; with luck, she might reach the Iron Skin Realm.

But reaching the Force Integration Realm was out of the question.

Still, Jiang Ling had nothing better to do, and Martial Arts Training would at least allow her to protect herself, easing Jiang Che’s worries.

Jiang Ling opened the door and saw four young men and women standing outside.

It was their neighbor, Mu Jun, and his three companions.

”Little Sister Jiang, is your brother home?”

Mu Jun asked with a smile.

”He is,” Jiang Ling nodded, then called into the house, ”Brother, someone’s here for you!”

After putting his things away, Jiang Che came out.

”Junior Brother Jiang, it’s getting late. Let’s go!” Mu Jun said.

Jiang Che nodded and followed them out.

Today was the day they had arranged to have a meal together.

Before long, the group arrived at a restaurant at the foot of the mountain.

The establishment was called Miaoxian Residence, and it was the best restaurant in the vicinity.

As such, when Sect disciples gathered for a meal, they usually came here.

Mu Jun, Jiang Che, and the others went up to the second floor, found a large table by a window, and sat down.

Mu Jun seemed to be a regular. He knew the menu like the back of his hand and was on friendly terms with the Shopkeeper.

After asking everyone about any dietary restrictions, Mu Jun quickly ordered their food and drinks.

While waiting for the dishes to arrive, the group started to make small talk.

After discussing some interesting rumors and odd happenings within the Sect, someone brought up the three great Noble Families of the city.