My Martial Arts Level Never Drops

Chapter 200: Chapter 123: Chaos

In the end, the situation spiraled completely beyond Qin Fang’s expectations.

More than ten days passed, during which nearly every branch of Ganlu Hall in True Martial County was purged. Countless people died... yet the Mysterious Power behind it all never showed its face.

But this brought Qin Fang no relief. On the contrary, he found the situation increasingly bizarre!

’The True Martial Guard had over five thousand members, and it was true they had no shortage of Mingjin and Anjin Martial Artists.’

’But the Mysterious Power was clearly no pushover.’

’So why did they just stand by and watch Ganlu Hall be destroyed without even putting up a fight?’

This was a stark departure from his and his Senior Brother’s initial assessment. In their previous discussions, they had unanimously agreed that Ganlu Hall was the crux of the entire affair.

’But now, that crux had just been... abandoned?’

Qin Fang found it unlikely that they were simply afraid of the True Martial Guard...

And yet, they had made no move.

And Ganlu Hall... was well and truly destroyed.

It had happened so easily that it felt unreal to Qin Fang.

’And yet, in the process, Ganlu Hall had revealed monsters... almost every one of its branches had one or two of them!’

’If this was all part of some grand conspiracy... wasn’t the cost a little too steep?’

But no matter how much Qin Fang racked his brain, no matter how wrong it all felt...

events continued to unfold just as they had.

In the blink of an eye, some twenty days passed. The destruction of Ganlu Hall had initially caused a massive sensation. But now, barely ten days after it had been completely wiped out, the matter was almost never mentioned.

’Had everything simply returned to normal?’

”Sigh... with Ganlu Hall gone, we won’t be able to buy Qi Blood Pills anymore... What a shame, it was such a good Elixir... I just took my last one today. Looks like it’s back to the bitter grind of training for me...”

”You can say that again.”

The voices of a few Nanhe Gang members drifted over from nearby, just loud enough for Qin Fang to hear.

They were all sighing in frustration.

The destruction of Ganlu Hall had been too sudden. Since it was the Government Office that had sent troops to crush them, there was naturally nothing they could do.

But the loss of the Qi Blood Pill had become a sore spot for them...

For the vast majority of people, the Qi Blood Pill had become a necessity for their training. While not as effective as the Qi Blood Elixir, its price was unbeatable.

The list price was a hundred wen per pill, but Ganlu Hall was constantly running promotions. At their cheapest, the Qi Blood Pills were selling for 70 or 80 percent off...

At twenty or thirty wen a pill, most people could afford to take them year-round.

After you’ve ridden an elevator, you’re rarely willing to take the stairs again.

The same was true for cultivation.

Once they’d experienced the rapid progress that came with taking elixirs, very few people could settle their minds and return to the long, arduous road of bitter training.

The thought of returning to the old ways—training through the harshest winter days and the most scorching summer heat, all for progress that couldn’t compare to using Qi Blood Pills—made many of them sigh.

It wasn’t just the Nanhe Gang. Many of the townsfolk at the market were sighing as well.

”Sigh, tell me about it. My own stock is running low. I’ve got two or three days’ worth at most... If I’d known, I would’ve stockpiled more...”

”My son was on the verge of breaking through to Mingjin, of becoming a true Martial Artist! Now he’s gone three days without the pills...”

”Why exactly did the Government Office go after Ganlu Hall, anyway?”

”They just said it was related to the Demon scourge... As for the details, who knows?”

A buzz of conversation rose from the townsfolk.

Qin Fang, however, stood frozen in place, his scalp prickling with dread...

’Qi Blood Pills...’

’The supply cut off...’

’Could it be... could it be...’

He looked out at the oblivious crowd, his expression growing graver than ever before.

But after a moment, he steadied himself, forcing his mind to calm.

’...No, not necessarily. Maybe I’m just overthinking things.’

’But...’

’Are they really not addictive?’

’And the manifestation of that ”addictiveness”... could it be...’

His mind flashed back to the person in the market who had suddenly gone berserk!

He pressed his lips into a thin line. Watching the oblivious market-goers still chattering about the Qi Blood Pills, he turned and headed for home...

’No, maybe I’m just overthinking this.’

’I’ll just have to wait and see... wait and see...’

Over the next few days, Qin Fang kept a close watch on the market.

He paid special attention to the Nanhe Gang members who had been complaining about running out of Qi Blood Pills.

And he found that while they seemed fine for the first couple of days, things started to change on day five.

Their energy levels clearly plummeted. They looked like they had pulled several all-nighters in a row, yawning constantly mid-sentence. Their minds seemed foggy, and they were always complaining of a dry mouth, gulping down water.

Soon after the first case appeared, it spread like a plague. Within just two or three days, most of them had become the same.

The lively atmosphere of Wanshui City inexplicably faded. Out on the Chujiang River, the number of fishermen seemed to have fallen by more than half.

Even the hunters who were once frequent visitors now only appeared sporadically...

’They’re really addictive!’

’And...’

’The effects are hitting them incredibly fast!’

A cold dread washed over Qin Fang as he stared at one of the Nanhe Gang members. It was the same man who had complained about running out of Qi Blood Pills a few days ago. Qin Fang clearly remembered that just ten days prior, he had been a robust, well-built young man of twenty.