Martial Saint with Passives

But an hour passed, and people gradually woke up one by one. He still hadn’t encountered a single Black Beast.

"Thanks for keeping watch, Little Brother Jiang!" Qin Yue said with a smile as he emerged from his tent and saw Jiang Che standing ramrod straight before it.

"It wasn’t any trouble, really. I didn’t run into a single Black Beast," Jiang Che said, shaking his head.

"The foothills are actually quite safe. Black Beasts rarely come down this far. Even when they do, they’re the weaker ones. For us in the Iron Skin Realm, they basically pose no threat."

With his words, Qin Yue was already treating Jiang Che as his equal in the Iron Skin Realm.

Jiang Che nodded. It was true that for him now, ordinary Black Beasts no longer posed a threat.

He couldn’t help but recall when he had just broken through to the Qi Blood Realm.

Back then, it took two of them working together just to defeat a single Black Beast at the Early-stage of the Stone Skin Realm.

’I’ve grown so much without even realizing it.’

After breakfast, the group headed up the mountain again.

For the next several days, they all hunted on the mountain during the day and returned to make camp at night.

Five days passed. In total, the group had harvested 26 Iron Skin Realm Black Crystals and 178 Stone Skin Realm Black Crystals.

In addition, they had also caught three Black-Horned Sheep cubs.

Black Beast Cubs were normally found in the deepest caves or in places where large numbers of Black Beasts gathered, making them incredibly difficult to capture.

They had only managed to capture these three because they stumbled upon a few Black-Horned Sheep that had brought their cubs out into the open.

Holding the Black Crystals, Qin Yue reflected on his initial worries. ’At first, I was afraid that needing to split my focus to look after Jiang Che would lower our hunting efficiency.’

But as it turned out, their efficiency hadn’t decreased at all. In fact, they’d harvested even more than usual!

’Jiang Che alone is worth at least three men!’

His powerful physique, incredible recovery, extreme speed, and a Saber Technique that was both forceful and heavy-hitting.

’The kid is a natural-born hunter and warrior!’

The thought of recruiting Jiang Che directly into the team even crossed his mind.

But he also understood that a newcomer like Jiang Che, with his limitless potential, wouldn’t stay on the team just to hunt forever.

Since people had been getting poisoned and injured one after another, it was becoming risky to continue, even though they had administered temporary treatment with the antidotes and salves they carried.

So, Qin Yue called an end to the hunt.

Considering Jiang Che wasn’t a member of the Hunting Hall, he had no fixed monthly stipend or profit share.

Qin Yue decided to give him a separate portion of the Black Crystals as his payment.

The others had no objections; everyone had witnessed Jiang Che’s contributions over the past few days.

In the end, after some calculation, Jiang Che was given two Iron Skin Realm Black Crystals and fifteen Stone Skin Realm Black Crystals.

Jiang Che was quite satisfied with this.

After all, his main reason for coming on this trip was to learn; whether or not he got paid was secondary.

Besides, he had learned a great deal about Black Beasts, familiarizing himself with the territories and habits of different kinds.

That was knowledge no amount of money could buy.

Of course, since Qin Yue was giving them to him, Jiang Che was happy to take them.

After returning to the city, Jiang Che didn’t follow them back to Seven Stars Castle but headed home first.

He had sent Jiang Ling to the Martial Arts Hall before he left to hunt, giving her a chance to spend time with her master.

Thus, for the time being, Jiang Che was home alone.

Upon returning home, the first thing he did was wash up thoroughly.

He stank after five straight days on the mountain.

Afterward, Jiang Che felt completely refreshed.

Next, he began to take stock of his haul from the trip.

He took out his bundle and opened it to reveal a number of gleaming Black Crystals lying inside.

’An Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal... a single one is worth five thousand taels of silver...’

Staring at the Black Crystal, Jiang Che felt a sudden urge to sell it.

But at the same time, he was very curious to know what kind of Transformation would occur if he absorbed an Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal.

After thinking it over, he felt that absorbing it himself was more important.

After all, he no longer lacked for anything in his daily life.

And the most valuable resources couldn’t be bought with silver anyway.

Having made up his mind, Jiang Che picked up an Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal.

Just like a Stone Skin Realm Black Crystal, this Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal also quickly "vaporized."

At the same time, a cold current, stronger and more turbulent than ever before, bored into his body.

This entire cold current flooded into the Heart of the Black Abyss, quickly filling it to capacity.

Jiang Che felt a "sense of satisfaction" more intense than ever before.

And yet, more than half of the Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal in his hand remained.

’I feel like I can use this two more times...’

Jiang Che estimated inwardly.

’Let’s see what difference it makes in my Transformation...’

After taking off his clothes, he activated the Heart of the Black Abyss.

In an instant, a Black Armored Martial Artist, taller and stronger than ever before, appeared.

The Black Armor scales covering his body had also become thicker and tougher.

He went into the courtyard and went through a set of fist techniques.

’I feel... stronger.’

Jiang Che discovered that absorbing the Iron Skin Realm Black Crystal provided a much greater enhancement.

However, when he recalled his fight with Situ Xuan, he realized he still couldn’t break through the man’s Body-Protecting Jin Qi.

’It seems that no matter how strong I am in the Iron Skin Realm, it’s almost impossible to beat a Force Integration Martial Artist without resorting to dirty tricks...’

A sliver of insight dawned on him.

It was a qualitative difference, like how a paper knife, no matter how thick, would still be sliced apart by a small iron blade.

Of course, if someone was like Red Tiger and Lotus, who were at the Peak of the Iron Skin Realm, and they used Secret Medicine to spike their power for a short time, on top of using poison like it was free...

...then they might have a chance to "wear down" and kill a Force Integration Martial Artist.

Reverting his Transformation, Jiang Che got dressed and left for the Martial Arts Hall to pick up Jiang Ling.

When he arrived at the Martial Arts Hall, the apprentices were all unfamiliar faces. Upon seeing Jiang Che, they all lowered their heads and bowed in greeting.