Chapter 103: The Silver Wolf King’s Negotiation
Chapter 103: Chapter 103: The Silver Wolf King’s Negotiation
「The next day, 9:30 AM.」
A Wang Family Guard was just about to knock, his hand raised mid-air.
Suddenly, the door opened from the inside.
Tang Wen emerged from the room, yawning and looking exhausted as he leaned against the wall for support.
The two Guards exchanged a look, reminded of their own mornings after visiting a brothel.
’He’s not faking it!’
’The man is completely worn out!’
One of them ventured, "Commander Tang Wen, the Wang Family’s secret Golden Bell Shield technique is quite profound, isn’t it?"
Tang Wen shook his head and sighed. "How would I know? All I know is that it’s incredibly draining on my spirit."
With that, he walked around the two of them and left the Wang Family residence, his head hanging low and his steps heavy.
Watching his retreating figure, one of the Guards chuckled. "The Wang Family’s Divine Defense Skill isn’t that easy to learn!"
Upon returning to his quarters in Flame Camp, Tang Wen collapsed onto his bed and fell asleep.
Even on the following day, as the caravan left Five Families City, Tang Wen was still yawning constantly.
Seeing his condition, neither Commander Qian nor Commander Li asked any questions.
They simply let him rest inside a carriage.
The caravan spurred their horses onward, galloping toward home.
What they didn’t see was a woman dressed in white like the snow, standing atop the city walls. The south wind blew, causing her sleeves to flutter in the air.
She looked like a celestial fairy.
She watched Tang Wen’s party ride away until they were nothing but a speck in the distance.
"My dear daughter, I was wrong about this whole martial arts competition to find you a husband! From now on, you can marry whoever you want—"
"Father! I will never marry until I become Extraordinary!"
"Ah, yes, yes! Good! Very ambitious, very ambitious," Patriarch Zheng praised dryly, while inwardly cursing Tang Wen.
’That brat, he’s really caused some trouble!’
’Leaving without a word and breaking my daughter’s heart!’
’What a scoundrel!’
Golden light, golden light, endless golden light!
Tang Wen opened his eyes and saw the roof of the carriage.
It had been a dream.
Yesterday, in the Wang Family’s secret chamber, he had focused his mind to comprehend the Contemplation Method.
Unexpectedly, the first fifteen minutes of the Visualization Image consisted of nothing but golden light—an endless sea of it.
An ordinary Martial Artist would likely have their Spiritual Power depleted after just ten minutes of watching.
If they tried to comprehend it again, they would have to start over from the beginning with the golden light.
Then their Spiritual Power would be depleted again, and they’d have to go back to rest and sleep.
It was a vicious cycle.
Fortunately, Tang Wen’s Spiritual Power was abundant. He patiently endured a full quarter of an hour of the golden light and finally got to the main content.
It was then that he understood it wasn’t the creator of the Contemplation Method testing their successors.
Rather, it was simply impossible to practice the Golden Bell Shield without immense Spiritual Power.
Coincidentally, Tang Wen’s Spiritual Power was even more formidable than his inhuman Constitution.
At the Martial Artist stage, this Defense Technique required one to use their Spiritual Power to condense all the qi and blood in their body into a specific part, transforming that flesh-and-blood area into a formidable defense.
For example, gathering qi and blood in the chest would naturally turn the chest muscles the color of steel.
Its Defense Power would be far greater than that of steel.
To Tang Wen’s pleasant surprise, he discovered this Cultivation Technique wasn’t restricted by location. He could practice it whenever and wherever he wanted!
He had practiced it in the Wang Family’s secret chamber for the entire night.
That was why he had been so exhausted when he left in the morning.
Furthermore, the moment he learned the Golden Bell Shield, the "[Hard Qigong, Mastery (18/3000)]" in his Skill list was forcibly merged into it.
The good news, however, was that upon being learned, the Golden Bell Shield absorbed a massive amount of Experience Points from Hard Qigong!
It directly skipped the 500 experience points for the Beginner Level and the 1,000 for the Novice Level.
It went straight to the Master Level.
[Visualization Martial Arts: Golden Bell Shield, Master (91/3000)]
Hmm!
Tang Wen rolled up his sleeve and skillfully used his Visualization to channel his Power. Under its full effect, his entire right arm turned pitch black.
His expression turned strange. Back in Five Families City, he had never used it at full strength.
He hadn’t expected it to look like this when fully activated.
’This looks a lot like a scene from a certain anime!’
’Armament Haki?’
He shook his head, drew his blade with his left hand, and slashed lightly.
CLANG!
There wasn’t even a scratch on his right arm.
Tang Wen used a bit more force and tried again.
The black right arm held firm.
It wasn’t until he used thirty percent of his strength.
The sharp blade finally left a white mark on his arm.
One had to know, thirty percent of his strength was almost equivalent to the explosive strike of an ordinary Martial Artist.
Tang Wen was both shocked and delighted. "No wonder that Young Master Wang, with the Constitution of a mere Second-class Martial Artist, could withstand a Visualization Burst from a Peak Martial Artist like Black Blade and only suffer minor injuries! So that’s how it works! Now I can do it too! And with my Constitution, the defensive effect will be even stronger!"
’I really hit the jackpot this time!’
’It was worth revealing my strength and fighting Black Blade after all.’
But it wasn’t all good news.
As the saying goes, the greater the power, the greater the cost.
The black arm only lasted for two short minutes, and Tang Wen felt that more than half of his Spiritual Power was already gone!
’We’re on the road right now, and there’s still danger.’
He quickly dispelled the Power, and his right arm returned to its normal color.
Tang Wen stepped out of the carriage to take over from Commander Qian.
He led the group and continued onward.
Five days and nights passed in a flash. [Visualization Martial Arts: Golden Bell Shield, Master (91→141/3000)]
Practicing on and off, his Golden Bell Shield Skill gained 50 Experience Points.
Leveling up seemed a long way off.
"We’re home!"
A scout from the caravan cheered.
A familiar scene appeared before them.
Everyone, eager to get home, suddenly picked up the pace.
Half an hour later, Tang Wen met with General Zhou and recounted the entire journey’s events from beginning to end.
This included participating in the marital contest and dealing with Black Blade from the Black Mountain Battalion for the Zheng Family.
General Zhou didn’t seem to mind, only hinting to him: stay away from women before becoming Extraordinary.
After finishing his report, he returned home first.
The three women and Little Taotao greeted him enthusiastically.
The bright-eyed Little Taotao, taking advantage of her young age, rushed over and hugged Tang Wen’s leg.
Tang Wen was also fond of the pretty little girl. He handed the luggage, gifts, Jade Bracelets, earrings, and other things he was carrying to the three women, freeing his hands to pick up the little lass.
After a lively welcome, he took a long, comfortable bath.
After his older sister Tangtang came home and they finished a sumptuous dinner...
Tang Wen left home and went to the Royal Palace once again.
Any news in the camp spread like wildfire.
Qian Dong, who was on duty, saw Tang Wen and laughingly slung an arm around his shoulder. "You rascal, you certainly caused a stir in Five Families City! Tell me, is that young lady from the Zheng Family more beautiful than our Commander Zhou?"
Tang Wen teased him back, "When the caravan brought those Hu Ji dancers the other day, I saw your eyes were practically glued to them. So? How many did you take home?"
After a bit of banter, Tang Wen explained his reason for coming. Besides wanting to enter seclusion in the Royal Palace, he also wanted to comprehend the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist Visualization Image.
The Royal Palace also had a rubbing of the Visualization Image.
"Easy enough. Have a drink with me! I’ll go file the request for you!"
The two walked arm in arm to the kitchens.
Seeing Qian Dong arrive with a wine gourd, the head chef casually whipped up a few dishes for them: pig ears, hand-sliced mutton, and peanuts.
In return, the head chef poured himself half a bowl of sweet potato liquor from the gourd.
As they drank and chatted, Tang Wen recounted his adventures from the trip.
Qian Dong listened with great interest; after all, he was still young.
The young always yearn for poetry and distant lands.
However, travel was inconvenient, and with beautiful wives and concubines at home for nightly revelry, Qian Dong had never acted on these desires.
From Qian Dong, Tang Wen also learned of a major event.
During the days they were away, a King Level expert had come to the camp!
The Silver Wolf King.
But it hadn’t come to raid the camp or cause trouble.
It had come to discuss a partnership.
That’s right—a wolf had come looking for humans to discuss a partnership!