"The power behind this punch... is decent."
With the power of the Explosive Bird-Killing Fist, killing a bird in one hit was completely effortless.
"Without using any other means, this punch... could almost beat someone in the same weight class to... death," Qi Yuan murmured.
Such power was actually considered terrifying among martial artists.
For instance, Wang Shiqiao's best friend Xing Yu had also earned her martial artist certification, but even if she used her innate martial technique, she wouldn't be able to kill someone of her own rank with a single punch.
Killing someone with a fist—and without even hitting a vital point—was extraordinarily difficult.
"Still, relying on martial arts alone, I'm still quite a distance away from Yang Shan."
Qi Yuan quietly analyzed his own strength.
In terms of technique, Qi Yuan far surpassed Yang Shan.
However, in terms of sheer force, defense, and physical fitness, Yang Shan exceeded Qi Yuan by a wide margin.
For example, even if Qi Yuan knew how to block an incoming strike, his body simply couldn't react in time.
Of course, this was only speaking of Qi Yuan's current physical condition.
His body was cursed to begin with, making him even weaker than an average person.
Although he was cultivating immortality, up until now, his constitution was merely comparable to that of an ordinary mortal.
"I've reached the seventh layer. It's about time I take a secret substance."
The next day, sunlight filtered through the curtains, casting scattered shadows across the floor.
Qi Yuan sat in the living room, eating the breakfast Zero-One had prepared.
As an intelligent robot, Zero-One could prepare simple breakfasts and standard meals.
At the moment, Qi Yuan was eating a rather light meal: a bowl of plain congee, several shredded radish buns, and a salted egg.
"Add more meat next time. I'm still growing," Qi Yuan said casually.
Although the house was piled high with all sorts of medicinal herbs and sea monster parts, those were cultivation resources; eating too much of them grew sickening.
And Qi Yuan burned a tremendous amount of energy practicing martial arts every day.
"Understood." Robot Zero-One received the new directive and stored it in its memory.
About ten minutes later, the robot cleared all the food from the table.
A smile touched Qi Yuan's eyes. "Actually, a robot like this is quite amusing. It's almost like a puppet."
In the Canglan Realm, there were puppetry arts used to craft puppets.
Crafted puppets were far more intelligent than Zero-One.
Some high-ranking spirit tools and magic treasures could even awaken spirituality and develop consciousness.
For example... his daughter, Qi Jianjun, could technically be considered a magic treasure to some extent.
"Should I modify Zero-One? Right now, it's... a bit clumsy, and its combat power is... practically zero," Qi Yuan pondered.
"If I build ten thousand puppets, make them pretend to be human, and send them to work in electronics factories, wouldn't I make tens of millions in net profit every month?"
Qi Yuan was somewhat tempted.
Then he realized it was rather unrealistic.
Ten thousand puppets—just how much material would that require?
Besides, he was too lazy to bother making so many puppets.
"Just modifying Zero-One a bit is feasible enough. If it has some combat power, it can help watch the house while I'm away."
The house Carnival gave him was packed with useful plants and sea monsters.
Qi Yuan's current cultivation was too low to craft a storage bag.
Just as he was thinking this, the doorbell rang.
"Enter."
The door swung open, and Carnival walked in, wearing his black jacket.
His face bore a respectful expression, showing none of the overbearing arrogance of an arms dealer in the outside world.
In his hand, he carried a large metal case.
"Mr. Qi, I've brought the secret substance you requested. Please take a look and see if it's enough for you."
Facing Qi Yuan, Carnival put on no airs whatsoever.
First, the way Qi Yuan had eliminated Zhao Renji was far too eerie and powerful; after looking into it, Carnival realized that ordinary methods could never accomplish such a feat.
Second, under Qi Yuan's guidance over this period, his own cultivation had finally shown progress.
Just last night, when he extended his finger, he had actually managed to conjure a tiny wisp of flame.
Granted, the flame wasn't even as large as one from a lighter and could probably be snuffed out by a single puff of breath, but it was, after all, something he had forged with his own hands for the very first time.
He kept this joy buried deep in his heart, daring not to share it with anyone.
Even if someone asked, he claimed he hadn't succeeded yet.
"Is this the secret substance?"
Qi Yuan opened the case to find rows of glass containers.
Inside the glass containers rested meat products resembling dried beef jerky.
"This is... sea monster meat?"
At a glance, Qi Yuan identified the primary ingredient of the secret substance: it was sea monster meat.
No wonder a martial artist's cultivation was so expensive.
Xing Yu spent hundreds of thousands a month on secret substances.
If it was sea monster meat, it was indeed worth the price.
"Mr. Qi, you have a sharp eye. I've also looked into some information about secret substances lately. Their main ingredient really is sea monster meat."
Carnival had known a bit about martial arts before, but not in great detail.
He only investigated secret substances after receiving Qi Yuan's instructions.
What he found surprised him: the secret substances used in the martial arts world were actually made from contraband sea monsters.
This resolved many questions Carnival had harbored.
In the Qinyuan Kingdom, ordinary martial artists either became internet celebrities or entered government service, and within the system, most ended up joining the navy.
As for using contraband sea monsters as secret substances, the higher-ups wouldn't say anything even if they knew.
Those who chose to practice martial arts usually came from families with some money.
Using martial arts practice to stimulate their spending and keep wealth circulating was, in a sense, a good thing.
Perhaps the largest manufacturer of this contraband secret substance was some big shot up above.
After all, how much money could the secret substance trade generate across the entire Qinyuan Kingdom?
It was an astronomical figure.
"So martial arts... is deeply connected to sea monsters."
Qi Yuan picked up a piece of dried sea monster meat, popped it into his mouth, and chewed slowly.
It tasted somewhat like dried fruit jerky, both salty and sweet.
Clearly, the secret substance was not just plain sea monster meat; quite a few ingredients had been added to it.
"As expected... is it the blood?"
Upon ingesting the secret substance, Qi Yuan felt the most noticeable improvement: his blood grew slightly warmer.
Naturally, martial artists of this world wouldn't be able to detect heat at such a subtle level.
Qi Yuan now had a deeper understanding of this world's martial arts.
"However... everyone's bloodline origin is different. Ordinary secret substances... replenish a hodgepodge of different blood... While this can indeed raise one's martial arts cultivation, it also... clogs the body."
Yang Shan had mentioned that in ancient times, besides innate martial techniques, powerful martial artists also possessed innate ultimate moves.
However, ordinary people consumed all sorts of messy secret substances, fusing various bloodlines into their bodies. This caused their bloodlines to become chaotic and impure, preventing them from developing their own innate ultimate moves.
With simple deduction, Qi Yuan had mapped out most of the martial path in this world up to the level of innate ultimate moves.
Beside him, Carnival listened intently, though he didn't understand a single word.
"The taste isn't bad, and it's quite nutritious."
Even though the bloodlines were mixed and messy, Qi Yuan still ate the secret substance.
Cultivating martial arts was inextricably linked to secret substances.
Without strengthening the bloodline, making progress was an uphill battle, and advancing in martial arts techniques was nearly impossible.
To keep one's bloodline from becoming muddled, the only way was like last time—devouring a mutated sea monster, and one sharing the same bloodline origin at that.
Unfortunately, such sea monsters were rare and could only be encountered by pure chance.
Therefore, Qi Yuan figured he would worry about bloodline purity once he reached the end of the martial arts path.
Furthermore, while consuming secret substances would make one's bloodline "chaotic," Qi Yuan possessed the Devouring Primordial Physique, so his blood would never become genuinely "chaotic."
"How is your cultivation coming along?" Qi Yuan asked Carnival after finishing the secret substance.
"I can already... conjure a wisp of flame!" Mentioning this, Carnival was thrilled; he finally had someone he could talk to about it.
Along with his voice, a faint, tiny flame appeared in his palm.
However, this tiny flame was far too weak.
"Not bad. You finally have a practical skill. If your family falls into ruin one day, you could make decent money as a magician," Qi Yuan praised him earnestly.
As expected, those who followed him had bright futures ahead.
Even if Carnival became unemployed later, he could still work as a magician.
"I refined your technique a bit more. Cultivating it to the Foundation Establishment stage won't be an issue. I'll be needing some materials soon; help me prepare them."
Qi Yuan handed Carnival the follow-up manual for the Super Invincible Somewhat Explosive Art.
He also listed out the materials he needed one by one.
The materials he requested this time included not only cultivation resources, but also materials for crafting puppets and Foundation Establishment spiritual items.
This world had no Foundation Establishment spiritual items, so Qi Yuan had to cultivate them himself.
Calculating the time, he would be ready to begin Foundation Establishment in just over a month.
Within six months, he would step into the Origin Core stage.
At that time, he would be able to bring Ning Tao down.
"Understood, I'll have my people see to it immediately." Carnival remembered something and said in a low voice, "Mr. Qi, for the coming period, I might not be able to deliver goods in person. Recently, war broke out again between the Wugui Kingdom and the Yuelang Kingdom. I have to transport a shipment of arms to support Yuelang."
Carnival's business was arms trading.
In fact, he was affiliated with the Qinyuan Kingdom's military, helping them offload surplus weapons.
Currently, Yuelang was a nation backed by Qinyuan, and war had reignited with Wugui.
With orders coming from above, Carnival might have to stay in Yuelang for the next few months, or even years.
"Sure, as long as I don't run short on what I need." Qi Yuan didn't care about that at all.
The war between Yuelang and Wugui was no surprise.
Over the past few days, trending searches had already exposed numerous inhumane atrocities committed by Wugui.
Tensions between Wugui and Yuelang had reached the breaking point, and war was inevitable.
Even if the two countries didn't want to fight, the Qinyuan Kingdom and the Guwu Kingdom wouldn't allow it.
"Rest assured, Mr. Qi, I will definitely arrange all the materials you need!" Carnival replied earnestly.
'Sigh, too bad I'm not a demonic cultivator and don't have a Ten Thousand Soul Banner. Otherwise, wouldn't going to a battlefield let me collect tons of remnant souls?' Qi Yuan thought to himself.
Mortals had no Origin Spirits; when they died, they were simply gone.
However, immortal cultivators could extract and refine remnant souls from the deceased, drawing them into a Ten Thousand Soul Banner to serve as a magic treasure.
"A Ten Thousand Soul Banner... what's that?" Carnival asked, puzzled.
"Well... most cultivators who use a Ten Thousand Soul Banner are evil cultivators. If you ever see one, run as far away as you can."
Qi Yuan considered himself lawful good: law-abiding, respectful of rules, and always giving up his seat to the elderly on buses. In his heart, he looked down upon evil cultivators.
"I'll remember that." How could Carnival not take Qi Yuan's warning to heart?
Qi Yuan was, after all, a legendary immortal cultivator.
***
One month later.
Inside Mingwu Dojo, Qi Yuan was training.
By now, he had cultivated the Mingwu Resonant Fist to the ninth layer.
Compared to when he first joined the dojo, his spirit and vitality were far superior.
As his fists flew, they carried fierce tiger-like vigor and tremendous power.
Nearby, students of Mingwu Dojo were sitting together, chatting idly.
Wang Shiqiao in particular sat with her legs crossed, puffing on a woman's cigarette, paying no mind to her image.
"Hey, Xing the Rich, lend me some cash to spend! I heard you got a 170 million payout this time!" Wang Shiqiao looked at Xing Yu, her eyes filled with envy.
Just half a month ago, Xing Yu's seventy-something-year-old husband had finally passed away.
The estate was divided, and Xing Yu received 170 million.
To the students present, 170 million was no small sum.
After all, among all the students here, besides Xu Tiehua, no one could produce 170 million in cash.
Xing Yu was considered a wealthy woman even among them.
"Stop eyeing my money. I've already decided to donate a school to my hometown," Xing Yu said, a gratified smile appearing in her eyes.
She came from a small town and an ordinary family.
Though called a town, its population was actually smaller than a village back on the Blue Star.
Its school had been especially dilapidated.
Back then, when Xing Yu was admitted to a prestigious university, everyone in the town had sent gifts and help.
One could say that most of Xing Yu's college tuition had been pooled together by the townsfolk.
College tuition in the Qinyuan Kingdom, especially for top universities, was exorbitant, costing at least hundreds of thousands a year.
Many children from poor families couldn't afford to attend even after being admitted to a key university, leaving them no choice but to take out high-interest student loans.
The people of Xing Yu's town were kind and had pooled money for her tuition, allowing her to attend university.
Xing Yu was immensely grateful to them.
Thus, after striking it rich, she didn't forget to support her hometown.
With this inheritance, besides donating a school to her hometown, she also planned to start a company, utilizing Tianyue's resources to help her people.
"You only got 170 million. Squandering it like this, be careful you don't burn through it all in a few years," Wang Shiqiao couldn't help chiming in.
"Don't worry, I kept twenty million untouched. Even if it fails, the worst that can happen is I go back to being an ordinary person." Xing Yu smiled.
To her late husband's son, she was a gold-digger, shameless and brazen. But to the folks of her hometown, she was undeniably successful and knew how to repay kindness.
"Twenty million isn't enough, not with how messy international affairs are right now.
"Yuelang and Wugui have gone to war again. Those damn Guiran people, never doing anything humane!
"Especially Wugui's head of state—just yesterday he threatened to retaliate against our Qinyuan!
"He's nothing but a dog of Guwu, yet he acts so bold!" Wang Shiqiao stubbed out her cigarette. The mere mention of the Guiran people infuriated her so much her chest ached.
Last night, she had exchanged dozens of nasty comments arguing with a Guiran person online.
It had made her so angry that she wished she could enlist right then and there to support Yuelang.
Of course, she was only daydreaming; enlisting was out of the question.
"You'd better stop trading insults with people online. You can't win anyway," Xing Yu teased.
As Wang Shiqiao's roommate, she knew her temperament well and could tell at a glance that she had spent last night arguing on the internet.
"I just wanted to vent! That bastard was revolting. As a soldier, he actually slaughtered civilians, and instead of feeling ashamed, he took pride in it and even posted videos to brag!
"We're all human—how can they be so disgusting?"
"They don't consider themselves ordinary humans. Doesn't their head of state claim that the Guiran people are the remnant bloodline left on the Arch Star from the Can Star?
"Their bloodline is supposedly noble, so how could they treat us as their own kind?"
Inside the dojo, the crowd buzzed with chatter, discussing the war between Yuelang and Wugui.
At that moment, Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow and stopped moving. "Wang Shiqiao, looks like you're no good at this. If anyone dared curse at me on the internet, I'd crawl right through the cable and beat them to death!"
Qi Yuan had done things like that plenty of times.
"Haha, if you're so tough, why don't you go beat the guy who cursed at me last night to death?" Hearing Qi Yuan speak, Wang Shiqiao laughed.
"He didn't curse at me, so I can't be bothered." Qi Yuan shrugged.
"If you bring me his head, I'll give you a million!" Wang Shiqiao joked.
It was all in jest anyway, so she could say whatever she wanted.
Chapter 294