Martial Saint with Passives

Fearing it wasn’t secure enough, Zhang Xu gritted his teeth and paid a heavy price to hire this expert at the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm.

To hire this person, he had essentially handed over half a year’s profits from the entire Pharmacy!

As a result, there was no money left to hire more Martial Artists at the Peak of the Stone Skin Realm.

"So be it. It’s just a single shipment. My presence alone is sufficient," Ma Chuan said flatly.

"Yes, yes! With you here, any bandits will be no problem at all!" Zhang Xu said with a fawning smile.

Afterward, Zhang Xu and Elder Zhou remained in the city to provide support.

Zhang Xiong and the other escorting Martial Artists then followed the three horse-drawn carriages toward the medicinal fields outside the city.

Four hours later, the group arrived.

The medicinal field was quite large, spanning more than a hundred acres.

The fields were planted with waist-high, tree-like plants that bore small, white, grape-sized fruits.

Dozens of herb gatherers were in the fields, picking the fruits and placing them into bamboo baskets.

Several Martial Artists stood guard outside the fields. Seeing Zhang Xiong arrive with a group of Martial Artists, they came out to greet them.

"Young Master, the Stone Snow Fruits will all be picked soon. We can start transporting them in an hour."

"Mm."

Zhang Xiong nodded. He had his men start loading the already-picked fruits onto the carriages.

An hour later, all the Stone Snow Fruits had been picked and loaded onto the carriages.

The Martial Artists, led by Zhang Xiong and Ma Chuan, began to drive the carriages back to the city.

Ma Chuan rode a tall, impressive horse at the very front.

Zhang Xiong, also on horseback, followed behind him.

Jiang Che, however, was on foot, walking beside Zhang Xiong.

Before long, the group arrived at a forest.

The road was flanked by dense woods—a perfect spot for an ambush.

Zhang Xiong began to grow nervous, glancing left and right from time to time.

Seeing this, Jiang Che spoke up.

"There’s likely no danger. Relax."

His Omen showed no activity, leading him to judge that there was no ambush here.

"Mm."

Zhang Xiong acknowledged.

But he was still nervous, clearly taking Jiang Che’s words as simple reassurance.

Suddenly, the group found a tree lying across the middle of the road, blocking the carriages’ path.

"Why is there a fallen tree? Could it be an ambush?" Zhang Xiong asked, concerned.

"You, you, and you. Get over there and move that tree!"

Ma Chuan frowned, pointing out several people, Jiang Che among them.

Jiang Che was annoyed by the man’s casually commanding tone.

’Besides, this isn’t just about moving a tree. He’s clearly sending us over to scout things out!’

But since the man was the leader, Jiang Che went anyway.

The other two chosen guards followed cautiously behind Jiang Che.

Jiang Che entered his Heart Stream State and walked forward slowly, ready to deal with enemies at a moment’s notice.

But his Omen wasn’t triggered, and he breathed an inward sigh of relief.

’Looks like it fell on its own. It wasn’t deliberate.’

After moving the tree aside, the group saw that nothing was out of the ordinary; the tree had simply fallen by accident.

They breathed a sigh of relief and continued on their way.

The group pressed on, and before long, they had emerged from the forest.

Seeing the open terrain ahead, Zhang Xiong breathed a small sigh of relief.

But they had only gone a short distance when the ground ahead suddenly began to tremble!

"What’s going on?!" Zhang Xiong cried in alarm.

The horses began to whinny and rear, clearly agitated.

"Don’t panic!" Ma Chuan shouted.

He squinted, looking ahead, only to see several enormous black boars charging toward them!

"They’s Black-toothed Pigs!" he announced, having recognized them.

"Black-toothed Pigs?"

The men were no strangers to this type of Black Beast, as they had been appearing frequently outside the city recently.

Most of these Black Beasts were at the Bull Skin Realm; only occasionally did one at the Stone Skin Realm appear.

The guards were mostly at the Stone Skin Realm, so they weren’t particularly afraid.

Besides, Black Beasts at the Stone Skin Realm contained Black Crystals!

The Young Master hadn’t said who would get to keep any Black Crystals found, so all the guards were eager for a chance to get one.

"I’ll handle this! Stay where you are!"

Ma Chuan suddenly shouted.

He vaulted off his horse and charged forward, saber in hand.

Not daring to disobey, the others could only remain where they were.

When the Black-toothed Pigs saw a person charging at them, they immediately rammed toward him.

But how could these Black-toothed Pigs possibly be a match for Ma Chuan?

His figure could be seen weaving rapidly among the herd of Black-toothed Pigs.

Every twist and turn was accompanied by a flash of his saber.

Soon, the ground was littered with the carcasses of the Black-toothed Pigs.

He then proceeded to dig the Black Crystals from the Stone Skin Realm Black-toothed Pigs and stuff them into his personal satchel.

The several Stone Skin Realm guards watched him, their eyes full of longing for the Black Crystals, but none of them dared to question him aloud.

Having done all this, Ma Chuan wiped the blood from his saber and slowly walked back.

"You, go move those carcasses. The carriages can’t get through otherwise."

Ma Chuan pointed at Jiang Che again, issuing the order casually.

"Me?" Jiang Che was displeased.

’First, he hogs all the Black Crystals, and now he’s ordering others to move the carcasses. He’s really going too far.’

"What? You have a problem with that?!"

Ma Chuan’s voice suddenly rose, and his Qi Blood surged in an instant, releasing a powerful aura.

The few Stone Skin Realm guards standing nearby were so frightened that they immediately took several steps back, not daring to get any closer.

Jiang Che narrowed his eyes.

’Forget it. I’ll just have to beat him up. People like him only learn their lesson after a good thrashing.’

’As long as they weren’t Force Integration Level bandits, he could handle any number of them himself. He didn’t need this guy’s escort at all.’

’Besides, a Force Integration Level Martial Artist would be an honored guest anywhere they went. Earning money would be a simple matter for them, so why would one ever stoop to being a bandit?’

Just as Jiang Che was about to step forward, Zhang Xiong quickly moved to stop him.

"Hero Ma, please, don’t be angry! This is my junior brother. He’s one of us! One of us! Let’s not let a small thing like this ruin the mood. It’s just moving some things, right? I’ll do it!"

Ma Chuan gave a cold snort, swung himself onto his horse, and said nothing more.

Zhang Xiong breathed a sigh of relief.

Although Jiang Che’s Fist Technique was formidable, he was, after all, only at the Late-stage Stone Skin Realm.