Chapter 21: The Bizarre Rate of Life Value Decline

Chapter 21: Chapter 21: The Bizarre Rate of Life Value Decline

"Erhu, you have other missions in Fenglin Town, right?" Knowing that Wang Erhu didn’t have much time left before his violent death, Fang Xu couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy.

"Yeah." Wang Erhu nodded. He poured himself a full cup of wine and sighed. "Based on the current situation, my brother died at the hands of a shaman.

"The shamans of the Dusk Cloud Kingdom, even the lowest-level ones, are not something Martial Artists below the Martial Master realm can deal with.

"Commander Lv has returned to Huangzhou to dispatch the Government Soldiers. This expedition into the mountains to wipe out the bandits will definitely settle the shaman matter as well."

Going into the mountains to wipe out bandits and dealing with the shamans along the way meant battles were inevitable. Thinking of the rate at which Wang Erhu’s "Life Value" was decreasing, Fang Xu had a faint guess. Wang Erhu would most likely die in these very battles.

"Erhu, since the shamans are so dangerous, Huangzhou Prefecture should send stronger Martial Artists. They shouldn’t send Government Soldiers who are only at the Martial Disciple realm to their deaths," Fang Xu said with a frown.

"Stronger Martial Artists?" Wang Erhu smiled bitterly and shook his head. "Do you think Martial Artists above the Martial Master realm are as common as rocks on the side of the road?

"Putting aside the fact that Martial Artists above the Martial Master realm have more important things to do, just in terms of cultivating Martial Artists, only Martial Disciples who have experienced life-and-death trials have a better chance of breaking through to the Martial Master or even higher realms.

"You are now in the Refining Viscera Realm as well. You should know that a so-called Martial Artist stimulates their own potential, opens secret treasures, and gains stronger power.

"And a person can only better stimulate their potential when they are on the brink of life and death. This is a truth summarized by countless predecessors."

Fang Xu nodded. Wang Erhu was right about this.

In his previous life in the military, the instructors had often warned them of the exact same thing. Theoretically, human potential had no limit. As long as a person could continuously stimulate their potential and break through their limits, they could keep growing stronger.

"Although experiencing life and death can push your limits, sometimes you also have to learn how to seek fortune and avoid misfortune. You can’t just march forward knowing it means certain death." Wang Erhu smiled and raised his cup.

Fang Xu picked up the wine cup in front of him, clinked it against his, and smiled. "That’s only natural."

"Alright, I’m full." Downing the wine in his cup in one gulp, Wang Erhu rubbed his belly and burped. "Fang the Kid, I have high hopes for you. Cultivate well."

With that said, he stood up unsteadily, preparing to leave.

"Erhu!" Fang Xu stood up and called out to stop him.

Wang Erhu paused and turned around. "What is it?"

Fang Xu hesitated for a moment before speaking with a solemn expression, "Be extra careful in the coming days."

Although they were friends bound by the system—and Wang Erhu’s death meant he would inherit a decent legacy—friends were plentiful, and Fang Xu didn’t really want Wang Erhu to die just like that.

At least, not so soon.

Wang Erhu was slightly taken aback, then smiled and waved his hand. "Got it."

Watching Wang Erhu’s departing figure, Fang Xu’s consciousness once again sank deep into his sea of consciousness.

In the friends list, the "Life Value" behind Wang Erhu’s name had shockingly dropped by another three percent!

"Sigh!"

Shaking his head with a sigh, Fang Xu focused on cleaning up the leftovers on the table.

Right now, he wasn’t even a Martial Disciple. He completely lacked the ability to change someone else’s fate. Even knowing that Wang Erhu was going to die, he was powerless to help.

After clearing the table and taking a quick bath, Fang Xu returned to his room to continue cultivating.

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, five days had passed.

During this period, free from any troubling matters, Fang Xu seized every available moment to cultivate. The meticulous work of Refining Viscera didn’t pose much of a hurdle for him, thanks to the help of the "Divination God Treasure".

Over the five days, he consumed nearly eight hundred catties of Blood Food and twenty Qi Blood Pills. He had already tempered his six bowels once, and now only his five organs remained to be carefully polished.

Through tempering his six bowels, Fang Xu deduced a principle: the limit of what his internal organs could endure depended entirely on his own realm.

Since he hadn’t yet unlocked his body’s secret treasures, the endurance limit of his organs wasn’t high, making the tempering process relatively easy.

What he didn’t know, however, was that the only reason he found Refining Viscera so effortless was entirely due to the Realm of Inner Observation granted by the "Divination God Treasure". Without the advantage of inner observation, ordinary Martial Artists could never control every single trace of qi and blood power with such precision.

His cultivation continued. Fang Xu estimated that once he finished the two thousand catties of Blood Food and consumed around twenty more Qi Blood Pills, he would be able to attempt breaking through to the Martial Disciple realm.

"The poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts" truly wasn’t just an empty saying. He didn’t know how his aptitude compared to other Cultivators.

But judging by his current situation, the bit-by-bit consumption over the years to achieve his present realm had already cost him more than three thousand taels of silver.

Three thousand taels of silver was enough for a family of four to live comfortably for an entire lifetime.

Three days later, Wang Erhu visited again, carrying a jug of wine and two side dishes.

"Fang the Kid, I’ll be following the commander into the mountains tomorrow. I’m afraid I won’t be able to grab a drink with you for a while," Wang Erhu said with a smile during their meal.

He was going into the mountains tomorrow!?

Fang Xu hurriedly immersed his consciousness deep into his sea of consciousness. To his shock, he discovered that on the friends list, Wang Erhu’s Life Value was now only at twenty-one percent!

Based on the original rate of decline, Wang Erhu should have had another month to live, but now...

He glanced at the other two people on his friends list.

Wu Ningxue’s Life Value was at twenty-five percent, and Chu Li’s Life Value was even lower, with only eleven percent remaining.

This...

Fang Xu was somewhat bewildered. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Chu Li was only in his sixties now. Although he wasn’t a Martial Artist, as an old servant of the Wu Family who spent all his time at Qinxiang House, living to his seventies or eighties shouldn’t have been a problem.

As a Martial Artist in the Seventh Realm of the Martial Disciple tier, it should be incredibly easy for Wu Ningxue to live to a hundred years old.

"Fang the Kid, what are you thinking about?" seeing Fang Xu zoning out with his wine cup in hand, Wang Erhu asked.

His train of thought interrupted, he could only temporarily suppress these matters to the bottom of his heart and exchange toasts with Wang Erhu.

"I heard the Blood Food Shop in town is opening the day after tomorrow." Wang Erhu picked up a mouthful of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth.

The shop was opening the day after tomorrow?

Fang Xu froze for a moment before realizing what he meant. Li Yushan had personally visited a few days ago to deliver an invitation. Having lost track of time while cultivating these past few days, he had almost forgotten about it.

He really hadn’t expected Lu Zhiyuan to send him an invitation. Perhaps it was out of consideration that he was the one who sold him the Blood Food Shop.

"Fang the Kid, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you," Wang Erhu said.

"Just say the word, Erhu."

Wang Erhu pondered for a moment before saying, "My brother is already gone. It’s simply not safe for my sister-in-law to be all alone in town.

"You and that Lu Zhiyuan should be somewhat acquainted. I want to ask for your help to put in a good word with Land Master, so she can work at the Blood Food Shop.

"For one, with Lu Zhiyuan’s protection, her safety won’t be a problem. Furthermore, she’ll be able to earn some money to subsidize her living expenses."

He wanted the Wang Family widow to work at Lu Zhiyuan’s Blood Food Shop?

Given the Wang Family widow’s looks, if Wang Erhu were to perish this time, those Landlord Strongmen in Fenglin Town would definitely get wicked ideas.

With no background of his own, Fang Xu certainly wouldn’t have the ability to protect her. But if she entered the Blood Food Shop, with Lu Zhiyuan there, the Landlord Strongmen of Fenglin Town probably wouldn’t dare to provoke Lu Zhiyuan.

"Done. I’ll go talk to Land Master about this tomorrow," Fang Xu agreed without hesitation.

The two continued drinking until the end of 7 p.m., at which point Wang Erhu staggered away.

Watching his retreating back, Fang Xu gently shook his head.

This might very well be the last time the two of them would ever see each other.