Martial Saint with Passives

Inside Jiang Che’s room.

After writing the final character, Jiang Che set down his brush.

He gazed at the calligraphy sheet before him, feeling deeply satisfied.

The ink was rich and flowing, the strokes firm and powerful, with a force that seemed to leap off the page.

A magnificent and awe-inspiring Divine Charm emanated from between the lines.

It was clearly the work of a master.

At the same time, a line of small text flashed before his eyes.

[Calligraphy Perfection]

[Talent Unlocked: Heart Stream]

[Similar Talent already exists. The original Talent’s effect will be automatically enhanced.]

[Heart Stream: Passive Skill, conditionally triggered.]

[Description: You will enter the Heart Stream State more easily, and it will increase your focus, thought speed, and neural reactions for an extended period. No internal cooldown.]

’This... I can use Heart Stream indefinitely now!’

Jiang Che was a little surprised.

He focused and felt it out, discovering he could enter the Heart Stream State almost anytime, anywhere.

But there were some differences in the details.

To put it simply, this Heart Stream State only focused his concentration intensely on the specific task at hand.

It wasn’t the fully immersive Heart Stream that sharpened all five senses.

’It’s basically just optimized for efficiency, preventing wasted Spirit so it can be activated multiple times...’

Jiang Che had a general idea of how it worked.

’Let’s see how it affects my cultivation...’

Jiang Che went into the courtyard.

He tried practicing a set of Cloud-Stacking Fist.

He found that the Skill Level increase was greater than in his normal state, but not as much as with the previous version of Heart Stream.

The benefit, however, was that with the previous version of Heart Stream, even when using Calligraphy to recover, he could only enter it three times a day at most.

But now, he could keep it active 24/7!

In other words, as long as he had enough stamina, he could practice his cultivation continuously!

Although the Skill Level gained per unit of time was less than before, the total time he could practice cultivation in a day far exceeded what he could do previously!

The total Skill Level increase was much, much greater!

Jiang Che was delighted. This meant he could practice more Martial Arts and unlock more Talent Skills!

He immediately lifted a Big Stone Lock and began his Cultivation of the "Iron Elephant Stance".

...

「Seven days later.」

After Jiang Che snapped a stone pillar with a sweeping kick,

[Iron Elephant Stance Perfection]

[Talent Acquired: Rejuvenation]

[Similar Talent already exists. The original Talent’s effect will be automatically enhanced.]

[Rejuvenation: Passive Skill, permanent attribute enhancement.]

[Description: Physical strength is significantly increased, recovery ability is extremely fast, and grants a high degree of Flesh Regeneration!]

’I’ve reached Perfection!’

Jiang Che’s heart leaped with joy.

Rejuvenation had been enhanced once again.

And this time, the description was even stronger than before!

At the same time, he felt a warm current surge through his internal organs.

’My Qi Blood has increased too...’

Jiang Che felt it carefully and discovered that the Qi Blood increase from mastering a Cultivation Technique to Perfection wasn’t being siphoned away by the Heart of the Black Abyss! 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

’Sigh... It’s a shame this is the last of the basic-level Iron Body Techniques. I wonder if other types of Martial Arts will also increase my Qi Blood...’

Mastering Iron Elephant Stance to Perfection this time had brought about an increase of about five percent.

Currently, his total Qi Blood had vaguely reached about ten percent of the Stone Skin Realm.

If mastering other Martial Arts to Perfection could also increase his Qi Blood, that would be a significant breakthrough!

Otherwise, he would have to keep searching for more Iron Body Skills.

’Fortunately, I still have one Qi Blood Realm Iron Body Skill. I wonder how much it will increase once I master it...’

A faint sense of anticipation grew within him.

However, that Qi Blood Realm Iron Body Skill could only be mastered to Perfection once he reached the Iron Skin Realm.

’Right, let’s test how much Rejuvenation has improved...’

Realizing his Talent Skill had also gotten stronger, he immediately began testing it.

After a round of "self-torture," he reached a conclusion.

’My recovery ability is three times what it was when I was in the Late-stage Bull Skin Realm. My defensive ability is also about three times stronger.

’Without using Transformation, my defensive ability is now comparable to someone in the Early-stage Iron Skin Realm.

’As for my recovery ability... I doubt even someone in the Iron Skin Realm, or even a Force Integration Artist, could compare to me now!’

After carving out a fist-sized piece of flesh, he actually recovered completely within a few hours!

This result surprised him.

He even suspected that one day, he might be able to regrow his limbs if they were severed!

’Am I turning into a monster...’

He thought wryly.

’Right, I should go see if Senior Brother Shao is back. I still have to return his calligraphy scroll...’

Moreover, he had also spent the past few days writing some calligraphy sheets specifically to give to his Second Senior Brother.

He had written these sheets after his Calligraphy reached Perfection.

They were far better than the ones he had sold to his Second Senior Brother before.

He even felt that his work was now no worse than Master Qin’s.

After carefully wrapping the calligraphy sheets, Jiang Che left the house.

When he reached the gates of the Inner City, he suddenly noticed government soldiers posting something on a notice board.

His curiosity piqued, he went over to take a look.

’This...’

He was stunned when he saw the contents clearly.

They were all notices about missing persons!

And the dates were all after he had killed the Blood Sacrifice!

’What’s going on? Could it be that the Blood Sacrifice wasn’t the cause of the disappearances?!’

He was filled with shock and uncertainty.

Entering the Inner City, he found that Fireworks Street, which was usually bustling, had far fewer pedestrians now.

After arriving at the Shao Mansion, Jiang Che found Steward Hu.

"Young Master Jiang, the young master hasn’t returned yet. Is there anything I can help you with?" Steward Hu said with a smile.

However, Jiang Che noticed that Steward Hu’s face seemed somewhat haggard.

"It’s nothing major. Please help me return this to Senior Brother Shao. Also, these are some calligraphy sheets I wrote. Please give them to him as well."

Jiang Che handed the items over.

"You are too kind, Young Master Jiang." Steward Hu accepted the items with a smile.

After leaving the Shao Mansion, Jiang Che went straight home.

"Brother, a constable came by earlier," Jiang Ling said as soon as she saw him return. "He said Chief Liu wants you to go to the Government Office when you have time."

Jiang Che nodded.

’Could there be a development in the case of Li Yuanwai’s Mansion?’ he wondered.

The thought that there might be news about his parents made his heart pound with anxiety.

Although so much time had passed, and the possibility that something bad had happened to his parents was high, he would never give up until the truth was brought to light.

"Brother, what happened? Why does a constable want you to go to the Government Office?" Jiang Ling asked, her expression worried.

"It’s nothing, I just asked Chief Liu to look into something for me. Don’t worry," Jiang Che said with a smile.

He couldn’t be sure it was good news yet, so he decided to keep it to himself for now.

He arrived at the Government Office.

Liu Hai was reviewing case files.

When he saw Jiang Che arrive, he put down the files, a hesitant look on his face.

"Chief Liu, what is it?" Jiang Che felt a sense of foreboding.

"Sigh... Little Brother Jiang, according to Chief Wang of Hengsha City, Li Yuanwai’s Mansion was not a stronghold for the Blood Spirit Sect!" Liu Hai sighed.

"But what about that Young Servant?" Jiang Che asked, startled.

"According to the report, a few thieves had snuck into Li Yuanwai’s Mansion that day, disguised as young servants. They were planning to cause trouble, but you happened to run into them. Fearing exposure, they came out to silence you," Liu Hai said in a grave voice.

"This... Is Chief Wang trustworthy?" Jiang Che asked with a frown.