Era of Mist

Chapter 220: Chapter 219: The Second Realm of the Fake Core

The last time he condensed the Fake Pill, this body had experienced a numb, itching sensation. It had gradually faded into a mild annoyance, so Shi Tiexin had paid it no mind. The outbreak this time was much stronger than the last, so much so that even Shi Tiexin couldn’t help but frown.

His shoulders and elbows, his knees and ankles, the back of his neck, his chest, and his lower back—almost every part of him was consumed by the intense, numb itch. Shi Tiexin grimaced. He wanted to scratch, but he knew it would be useless. When he touched his skin, all the afflicted areas were hot to the touch, at least three degrees above his normal body temperature, as if he were running a high fever.

As for the Fake Pill, it was now the size of a quail’s egg and perfectly round, far larger than the green bean it had been when he first condensed it. Although he hadn’t mastered internal vision and couldn’t see the state of the pill inside his body, Shi Tiexin could feel a warmth radiating continuously from it.

He wasn’t using any essence energy, and nothing seemed to be consumed in the process. The wisps of warmth were faint, barely perceptible, but they were undeniably real, continuously affecting his entire body.

’This is... Could this be the Fake Pill Second Realm?’

Shi Tiexin was thrilled.

The major stage of cultivation he was in was naturally divided into several minor realms. It began with Foundation Establishment using a hundred wisps of primordial essence energy. After that came the condensation of the Fake Pill, which marked the Fake Pill First Realm—the realm Shi Tiexin had been in until now. Today, he had clearly broken through to the next level. Although Shi Tiexin had no prior experience with this, he guessed he had reached the Fake Pill Second Realm.

He’d heard from Little Dog that it was only upon reaching the Fake Pill Second Realm that the pill truly began to empower the physical body.

These wisps of warmth would comprehensively strengthen his physical body. From this point on, even Cultivators who focused solely on essence cultivation and not Body Refining would possess a much stronger physique than before.

He Chong was definitely beyond the Fake Pill Second Realm, but not by much, or else Shi Tiexin would never have been able to beat him.

Now, Shi Tiexin had reached this realm as well.

From the Fake Pill Second Realm onward, a Cultivator’s body would progressively strengthen as their Fake Pill advanced. This would continue until they reached the peak of the Fake Pill stage, achieving the limit of a mortal body. The next step in cultivation was to Burn the Pill to break through, entering the second major stage of cultivation: the Sharp Qi Realm.

But that was still a long way off, so Shi Tiexin put it out of his mind for now.

’What I’m wondering,’ he thought, ’is this: my body was already at the peak of mortal limits. Now that I’ve advanced to the Fake Pill Second Realm, what am I capable of with the empowerment of the pill?’

Just then, the numb itching subsided slightly.

Shi Tiexin focused his mind, twisted his hips, and snapped a punch forward.

WHOOSH—!

With a sharp whistle, Shi Tiexin’s heavy fist cut through the air, hitting nothing. But as soon as he threw the punch, an expression of surprise, quickly followed by joy, spread across his face.

That single punch was just as powerful as the one he’d used on the tough-skinned black man, and just as strong as when he’d expended essence energy to destroy the training dummy. ’And I didn’t use any essence energy,’ he realized. ’That strike was purely physical strength!’

’With physical strength alone, I’ve achieved what used to require essence energy. So what would happen if I infused a punch with essence energy now?’

Shi Tiexin clenched his fists. He felt stronger than ever.

”Boss.” Guo Bing walked over, his eyes fixed on Shi Tiexin’s fist in admiration as he respectfully handed him a phone. ”It’s a call from Brother Fa.”

Shi Tiexin took the phone. ”Brother Fa, it’s me,” he said in a low voice. ”Mhm. Okay. Got it.”

CLICK. He hung up and tossed the phone back to Guo Bing.

The opportunity had arrived.

「5:30 PM that afternoon.」

”Need a ride, young man?”

The erratically driven taxi appeared before Shi Tiexin once again. This time, without a moment’s hesitation, he pulled open the back door and slid inside.

The door slammed shut. In front of him sat the same head of thinning hair.

”Where to, young man?”

”The Mitsui Garden Hotel.”

”Alrighty, buckle up for me now.” Old Jia started driving, rambling on as usual. ”I learned a phrase recently from one of those Jap drivers. It goes something like, ’moo-jiko, moo-ihan.’”

”Don’t get it? It means when you’re driving, you gotta have ’no accidents’ and ’no violations.’ ’No accidents’ means you don’t flip your car and you don’t crash. ’No violations’ means you don’t speed and you don’t get too big for your britches. I think that Jap phrase has a point. There are a million roads out there, but safety’s always the most important one. What do you think, young man?”

Shi Tiexin watched Old Jia in the rearview mirror, feeling there was a hidden meaning to his words today.

’Then again, Old Jia’s words always had a hidden meaning. I’ve never heard him say anything straightforward.’

”I think it’s good advice.”

”Right? But I get the feeling you’ve been driving a bit too recklessly lately.” Old Jia glanced at the rearview mirror, his tone serious. ”Driving too fast is a bad idea, young man. Even if the road is long and full of obstacles, you can’t afford to be impatient. Wrecking someone else’s car is a small price to pay; losing your own life is a much bigger one. And the worst part? You’ll never even reach your destination.”

The rhythm of Shi Tiexin’s breathing hitched.

’I should just ask him,’ he thought. ’Ask him what our relationship is, what he really does, what all this cryptic advice is about. Ask him how he managed to find Officer Gao when even Ouyang Hong couldn’t.’

But his breath only hitched for a moment before he calmed himself.

’Important things are happening. Now isn’t the right time for a confrontation.’

So in the end, Shi Tiexin just smiled and said, ”Can’t be helped. I am the Black Venerable, after all. Speed is in my nature.”

Old Jia suddenly scoffed. He shook his head, let out a sigh, and fell silent.

At 5:50, the taxi drifted to a sharp stop in front of the Mitsui Garden Hotel. A group of men was already waiting at the entrance. The moment Shi Tiexin stepped out of the car, two familiar figures approached to greet him.

”Brother Zun.” ”Good to see you, Brother Zun!” The brothers, Zhou Xiong and Zhou Nan, greeted him. Zhou Xiong leaned in close and whispered, ”The Hall Master and the two Incense Masters are inside. The Squad Leader is on his way. The two Incense Masters... they don’t look too happy.”

”Alright. Thanks for the warning.”

Shi Tiexin patted Zhou Xiong’s shoulder and walked inside, his expression unchanged.

The Squad Leader of Daxing was coming today. His purpose was singular: to mediate.

To mediate the escalating conflict with the Hongshun Society.

Daxing was an organization that spanned all of Japan, immense in its total size. However, specifically within Tokyo, it lacked the deep and tangled roots of the Hongshun Society. Conversely, while the Hongshun Society was a first-rate power in Tokyo with influence in both legitimate business and the criminal underworld, its overall size and scale were smaller than the nationally-sprawling Daxing.

The recent conflict between the two sides had grown too intense, especially after the recent convoy hijacking, which had pushed the Hongshun Society’s losses to an unbearable limit. That was why Daxing’s Squad Leader was personally stepping in, intending to negotiate a truce with the Hongshun Society and prevent further escalation.

That was the general idea, anyway.

As he made his way through, he saw that the entire hotel had been booked for the occasion. When he reached Daxing’s private lounge, Wang Dafu, Ah Hui, and another man named Sanfan were already there. The moment Ah Hui saw Shi Tiexin, he rolled his eyes. ”You’ve got some nerve showing your face here,” he snapped. ”This whole mess is your fault! Hmph!”