Chapter 322: Breaking Through to Third Rank

After leaving the medical hall, Wangchuan was in a good mood.

He had obtained a bottle of 《Hundred Poisons Detoxification Pills》， which contained five blue-grade detoxifying pills. These pills could directly neutralize large amounts of ordinary poisons. Only special, highly toxic substances made by organizations like the Tang Sect or the Five Poisons Sect might not be completely neutralized. However, the pill’s ability to delay the spread of poison was still quite impressive.

No wonder it was a blue-grade detoxification pill.

However, this bottle of 《Hundred Poisons Detoxification Pills》 also left Wangchuan indebted to Divine Doctor Shen and the Medicine King Valley. In the future, he would have to show extra care to the Medicine King Valley’s fleet.

Such was the Jianghu!

Wangchuan had grown accustomed to this.

He returned to the hall with his team.

Wangchuan appeared before Old Seven.

After Divine Doctor Shen had treated him, the weariness in Old Seven’s expression had eased slightly. He gathered his spirits and said,

“I’ve heard from Mingjue about Lin Jie’s matter. You handled it well…”

“Sometimes, you must use ruthless methods at critical moments!”

As he spoke, a hint of confusion crossed his face as he added, “But I heard you later went to the Weapon Room and stayed up drinking with Masters Lin and the others until late in the night. You still haven’t let go of forging, huh? Don’t forget your identity.”

“Don’t worry, Old Seven,” Wangchuan replied, “I just got a little excited after seeing the forge. I couldn’t help but ask the three masters about the 《Hundred Ingenious Thousand-Forging Technique》. In the future, I’ll just forge for fun when I have some free time. I’ll make sure it doesn’t interfere with my duties.”

“Mm.”

Old Seven slowly nodded.

“You’re steady, I believe you know where to draw the line.”

Then, he shifted the topic, “Divine Doctor Shen is from the Medicine King Valley. The Medicine King Valley is known for being generous, always open-handed in their dealings. But secretly, they’ve also recruited many people. When dealing with them, it’s important to maintain discretion.”

“Understood, Old Seven,” Wangchuan replied, his heart tightening.

He hadn’t expected that Old Seven had already guessed Divine Doctor Shen’s intentions.

But…

That wasn’t important.

“Old Seven.”

“I have something to report.”

“Go ahead.”

Old Seven slowly closed his eyes again.

“After the Blood Moon incident, the entire Sanjiang Branch Helm has worked together to stabilize the shipping affairs on the Sanhe River. I’d like to take this opportunity to reward all of the Sanjiang Branch disciples with a First-Rank martial art. It’ll help boost their morale and also consolidate and strengthen their foundation, so we can cultivate more excellent talent for the hall.”

“...You, kid.”

Old Seven opened his eyes in disbelief and looked at Wangchuan.

“Just took over the Armory, and you’re already thinking of giving out rewards to the Sanjiang Branch disciples…”

“Heh heh,” Wangchuan smiled sheepishly, “It’s really not easy for the branch disciples to scrape together enough money to buy a martial art technique. Also, with all the rewards I’ve received recently, I haven’t had the chance to directly reward the deputy hall masters or the branch disciples. This isn’t entirely my personal accomplishment.”

“Alright, I approve your request.”

Old Seven waved his hand.

“You’re right. In special times, we need to maintain stability over three waterways and boost morale, so the brothers below are willing to work hard!”

“Thank you, Old Seven!”

“However…”

Old Seven’s tone shifted.

“Take care of the Leishui Branch and Jinhe Branch as well. Don’t let the situation between the three major branches become polarized. Those in power must be careful not to tip the balance.”

“Understood.”

Wangchuan’s eyes brightened. Old Seven was giving him the opportunity to win people’s hearts!

“I’ll draft a list and specific martial arts reward plans right away. I’ll also make sure to take care of the disciples in the Main Helm, Leishui Branch, and Jinhe Branch.”

“Go ahead.”

Old Seven clearly intended to guide him in this matter.

The first thing Wangchuan did upon taking office was to take care of the Sanjiang Branch disciples, which would naturally upset the other branches…

This move would benefit all three branches.

The disciples from the three branches would quickly come to appreciate Wangchuan.

Wangchuan quickly prepared the list and reward plan.

The list covered all disciples of the Sanjiang Branch Helm! Any disciple who had reached the Quasi-Martial Artist level would receive a First-Rank martial art technique.

First-Rank Martial Artists would receive a Second-Rank martial art technique.

Second-Rank Martial Artists, such as Hong Kaibao, Bai Yuhui, Wang Yuehui, Chen Ergou, Zhao Heiniu, and others, would all be rewarded with Third-Rank martial art techniques.

As for the other three branches, the number of Quasi-Martial Artists and Martial Artists was limited, with many having been injured or killed. Their numbers were not replenished much, but Wangchuan decided to cover them as well.

Old Seven had approved this, so why not take the chance?

Hong Kaibao, Chen Ergou, and Zhao Heiniu became the first batch of beneficiaries.

The three of them each received the 《Xuanwu Art》.

At the same time, they were the next people—after Bai Yuhui—who knew the shortcut to practicing 《Xuanwu Art》。

Next, four carrier pigeons were dispatched to inform all disciples that they could come to the Prefectural Armory to collect their martial arts manuals.

As a result, the number of ships arriving at the Prefectural City increased.

Almost all of the Sanhe Commandery’s Caobang disciples knew that after Wangchuan took office as Deputy Hall Master, the very first thing he did was reward martial arts manuals.

Disciples from all four branches praised Wangchuan non-stop.

Wangchuan’s reputation among the Sanhe Commandery’s Caobang disciples grew immensely.

Soon after…

With Old Seven’s tacit approval, Wangchuan arranged for the disciples of the Three Islands and Seven Mines to be rewarded as well, further boosting his reputation.

During this time, he also received the list of obscure martial arts techniques compiled by Hong Kaibao.

The Caobang Armory contained a total of seventeen obscure martial arts techniques.

In addition to the techniques he already mastered, like 《Water-Submerged Breath Regulation Art》, 《Water Strider Technique》, 《Snake Fist》, and 《Snake-Driving Staff Art》, there were still twelve techniques that Wangchuan had not yet mastered.

The depth of the Caobang Armory’s foundation astonished him.

At this moment, Wangchuan suddenly realized that with the obscure martial arts techniques in the Armory, he might be able to pile up his attributes to 80 points in all three attributes and then use his free attribute points to directly break through to the Fourth-Rank Martial Artist level.

The foundation of a Caobang hall’s Armory was truly astonishing!

After two days of practice, Wangchuan finally reached the level of “Familiarity” with 《Heavy Sword Technique》.

“Ding!”

System prompt:

“《Heavy Sword Technique》 has progressed from ‘Minor Mastery’ to ‘Familiarity.’ Reward: 2 points of Strength!”

“Ding!”

System continued:

“Congratulations! You have officially broken through to Third-Rank Martial Artist.”

“Reward: 3 points of Free Attributes.”

“You have gained access to Fourth-Rank martial arts!”

At the moment his Strength crossed the 60-point threshold, his muscles and bones crackled, and a sound like cracking beans echoed from within his body. In that instant, a powerful force seemed to burst forth from his dantian, and he could not help but let out a long howl.

Haah!!!

The sound was full of energy and carried far, almost like a tiger’s roar echoing through the mountains. Everyone in the training grounds looked up in surprise.

Third-Rank!