Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 876 Body Breakthrough 400
To the north of the mining area, a small bunker, like a vulture perched on a hilltop, coldly overlooks the chaotic shantytown and the huge mine pit below, taking advantage of its superior terrain.

At this moment, in the core monitoring room inside the bunker, the already tense atmosphere was completely shattered by a nearly piercing scream:

"Xiao Ran!!"

The one who uttered this exclamation was none other than Po Jin, one of the four leaders of the Changchun Association.

This man, who was usually quite influential in public, was now deathly pale, with cold sweat beading on his forehead. His finger was pointed intently at the young figure standing on the money box in the surveillance footage, holding a folding fan—[Master of the Amazing Pavilion].

The room was dimly lit, with only a few large monitoring screens emitting a cold, eerie glow that illuminated several equally unsightly faces. Aside from the trembling operators in charge of the monitoring, several other figures in the room exuded a chilling aura; all were core members of the Changchun Association.

As for the leader of the association, he was not even qualified to sit down at this moment. He could only stand to the side and behind the main seat, and his posture looked particularly awkward.

At the head of the table sat an elderly man who had just returned from the mining area, still shivering from the cold.

The old man's real name is long gone; all that is known is his nickname, "Tianji Qiaoshou" (meaning "clever hands").

In the meeting, they were forbidden to address him as Elder Mu.

"Xiao Ran... is that the guy who ruined both the Fifth Hospital and the Third Middle School?"

A middle-aged man dressed in a brocade robe spoke with a slight, almost imperceptible tremor in his voice.

Compared to the company, Changchun will conduct a more detailed investigation into Xiao Ran.

Knowing full well that this kid was a professional who had suddenly emerged in recent years, and was now the owner of the Amazing Pavilion whose business was booming.

"Why is he here?!"

A sense of doubt arose in everyone's hearts.

Logically speaking, now that Amazing Pavilion is at its peak and business is booming, Xiao Ran should be staying in Amazing Pavilion and using its resources to gradually improve herself.

But this guy actually came here.

This was truly unexpected for everyone. Po Jin looked at Xiao Ran's face on the screen. When they met last time, he had already noticed Xiao Ran's extraordinary qualities and had originally intended to find an opportunity to kill the kid on the spot.

However, Yang Jun's sudden appearance ruined his plans.

Now that this kid has become a professional, his rapid progress has made Po Jin feel a pang of regret.

If I had known earlier that this kid had such terrifying potential, I should have killed him the moment we met, no matter what.

But now it seems there's no chance to break the ban.

According to the latest news, not long ago, all the B-level professionals in that Western team suffered a major defeat at Xiao Ran's hands.

Even Yang Jun isn't sure just how strong this kid really is.

"Old Mu, this guy's appearance here, drawing talismans and buying up five-colored stones at high prices, has really put us in a passive position!" Po Jin's voice carried a hint of barely perceptible anxiety.

"It's one thing for Xiao Ran to acquire the Five-Colored Stones, since we still have some stock. But cutting off the talisman business is the real problem! We only have so much money on hand, and it all depends on the talisman business to recoup our losses and support the cost of acquiring the Five-Colored Stones! Without this source of income, we're afraid our funds for acquiring the Five-Colored Stones will run out!"

Old Mu's withered fingers tapped lightly twice on the cold alloy tabletop, producing a dull thud that finally broke the silence.

He slightly raised his eyelids, a glint of light flashing in his cloudy eyes, but his tone was as calm as if he were discussing the weather: "What's the panic? Since he's coming on so aggressively, then we won't take it."

"Not accepting it anymore?!" Po Jin was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard.

"Yes, we won't accept it." Old Mu's voice was resolute. "Pass down the word: starting today, stop all purchases of five-colored stones. Isn't Xiao Ran rich and powerful, demanding 500 yuan per gram? Let him buy it! We'll avoid his sharp edge."

"It's better to remove the firewood than to besiege Wei to rescue Zhao." Old Master Mu's gaze swept over the crowd, carrying a cold insight.

Breaking the seal was the quickest to react, immediately understanding the hidden meaning in Elder Mu's words. His eyes blazed with wild joy, and his voice trembled as he subconsciously lowered it: "Elder Mu! You...you mean the Soul-Devouring Beast has...been refined?!"

All eyes instantly focused on Elder Mu, holding their breath in concentration.

Old Mu's withered, taut lips twitched upwards for the first time, forming a cold and resolute arc.

He didn't answer directly, but nodded slightly, his turbid eyes flashing with an almost tangible dark light, like a gaze from the abyss: "The timing... is just one last bit short. However, the skeleton and flesh are complete, and the soul fire is stable. What remains is just a matter of grinding it down, letting it absorb enough of the earth's yin energy, and adding a few more ferocious elements. The overall situation is settled."

After receiving confirmation from Elder Mu, everyone was overjoyed, finally able to leave this godforsaken place.

In comparison, the business of selling amulets is better off not doing at all.

Two days passed in the blink of an eye.

A long line had formed outside the building that originally belonged to Wang Wu.

Every miner's face was beaming with a long-lost, even somewhat unfamiliar, smile.

This was the first time they had shown genuine joy since arriving at this mining area.

The heavy despair and numbness were diluted by a light called "hope," which, though still faint, was enough to illuminate their gloomy hearts.

They had to thank Qi Jingguang for the talismans he gave them, which allowed most of the miners to go as far as 400 meters into the mine.

At a depth of 400 meters, it is easy to collect some high-quality multicolored stones.

"Hey, Old Zhang, how's the harvest today?" In the line, a middle-aged man with a face full of chilblains but full of energy patted the shoulder of the familiar face in front of him, his voice loud and clear, filled with barely suppressed excitement.

The old miner, known as Old Zhang, beamed with joy as he carefully pulled a pigeon-egg-sized, multicolored stone from his pocket: "Look at this! This one must weigh at least seven or eight grams! It's extremely pure! A couple of days ago, in the hands of those black-hearted devils in Changchun, it would have been worth a little over 2000 yuan at most! But now? Here with Boss Xiao, it's 500 yuan a gram! Haha!" He weighed the cloth bag in his hand; it rustled inside, clearly indicating that there was more than just this one stone.

Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but cast envious glances at Old Man Zhang.

Obviously, not everyone is as lucky as Old Man Zhang.

Most people are lucky if they can collect three or four grams of multicolored stones, and many others only manage to collect one or two grams.

"If only we could go a little deeper," one miner sighed. They had already gone very deep today, but if they went a little deeper, to about 600 meters, the colorful stones there were as big as a man's fist.

When people mention those colorful stones, their eyes are filled with greed.

If it's just one piece, a five-colored stone the size of a fist, then it's not sold by the gram, but by the kilogram.

This means that just one pound could make them rich. As they thought about it, many miners' eyes began to burn with desire.

Not far away, Xiao Ran sat in a makeshift shed, while Wu Man sat beside her, helping her with the accounts.

"You're burning nearly 80,000 yuan worth of ghost money every day, isn't that too expensive? How about... you lower the price?"

Wu Man looked up at Xiao Ran.

Xiao Ran shook her head and looked back at the miners outside who had received the ghost money: "Is it expensive? They risked their lives for it."

Even with Qi Jinguang's talisman, the effect within a 400-meter radius would be reduced to the maximum, but it would still have an impact. The curse is like a maggot clinging to the bone, penetrating deep into the marrow.

Xiao Ran could even foresee that even if these miners survived and left the mining area, their future lives would probably not be much better.

Since Qi Jinguang wanted to do good deeds, Xiao Ran, as his senior uncle, could lend a hand. It wouldn't hurt to spend a little money, and at least he would feel more at ease keeping the stones himself.

As for money, it's just a drop in the ocean for me. If I need money, I can just use the Five Ghosts Transporting Order to notify the Amazing Pavilion to send the money over.

With the current business of Amazing Pavilion, what is 80,000 ghost money? 100,000, 200,000, or even 300,000 is just a month's income for Amazing Pavilion.

"Humph!"

Wu Man scoffed at this, her eyes gradually turning mocking as she looked at the smiles on the miners' faces: "Human hearts are most greedy. Do you really think they can save up enough money and leave?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ran remained silent for a moment before saying, "Just do good deeds and don't worry about the future."

"Uncle Master!"

Gu Bei carefully carried over a heavy ceramic basin, which was half full of colorful stones of different sizes and shapes.

Xiao Ran's gaze fell on the basin. She opened her palm, palm down, and slowly approached the stones that emitted an alluring light.

Just as his palm was only an inch away from the surface of the basin, something unexpected happened!
hum!
A deep, penetrating buzz suddenly erupted from his left wrist.

The Five Dragons Bracelet on his wrist suddenly lit up at the dragon's eye, and the dragon's head on the bracelet instantly came to life!

The dragon's mouth opened wide, and an invisible suction force was generated out of thin air!

Hiss!
The five-colored stones in the basin trembled violently, and the luster flowing on their surface seemed to be seized and drawn away by an invisible giant hand! The condensed, tangible flow of five-colored energy was rapidly swallowed up by the Five Dragon Bracelet.

In the blink of an eye, the colorful stones in the basin were completely devoured, turning into a pile of dull, lifeless, stone-shaped grayish-white waste, as if all its essence had been instantly drained.

At this moment, a blush appeared on Xiao Ran's face, and her whole body felt extremely hot.

An indescribable warmth surged into Xiao Ran's body from the Five Dragon Bracelet.

The meridians that had long since extended into his body from the Five Dragon Bracelet were now greedily absorbing this torrent of pure energy.

"Uh!"

Xiao Ran let out a muffled groan, her body trembling violently.

It's like an unnamed meridian has been opened up!
No, more accurately, it is the meridians that were originally rooted in the body that were activated.

This heat quickly swept through the entire body, like an invisible net, instantly enveloping the limbs, bones, and internal organs.

Xiao Ran closed her eyes and focused her mind, fully guiding the surging, roaring torrent of heat within her body.

Before long, faint red lights, initially like tiny fireflies, seeped out from every open pore of his body and even from the strands of his hair, and floated in the air.

In an instant, the pale red turned into a dazzling scarlet, and the blood energy increased, surrounding Xiao Ran like a cloud of blood. Xiao Ran's entire body was like a giant humanoid flame being completely ignited, or like a miniature blood-red sun sealed within his body. Rolling blood energy rose up, like boiling smoke, and burst forth from the top of his head!

"boom!"

A massive, blood-red column of energy, several meters in diameter, carrying a scorching and violent aura, forcefully broke through the roof of the simple shed, tearing apart the biting wind and falling snowflakes, and soared straight up!

The crimson color was so intense and so domineering that it instantly stained the low-hanging leaden-gray clouds.

The sky above the entire mining area seemed to have been splattered with endless blood, transforming into a chilling crimson canopy. The intense stench of blood, mixed with blazing, masculine energy fluctuations, enveloped the entire shantytown.

"Uncle Master!!"

"Xiao Ran!"

Qi Jinguang and Jin Chanzi rushed into the pavilion almost the instant the blood-red pillar of energy shot into the sky.

However, as soon as the curtain was lifted, an indescribable wave of violent heat and a suffocatingly strong smell of blood rushed towards them!

The temperature inside the shed was terrifyingly high, the air itself was violently distorted by the intense heat, and visibility was completely blurred. The blood energy was not only scorching hot, but also contained a heavy pressure originating from the very source of life, as if one were in the core of lava, or as if one had been thrown into a boiling pool of blood.

Qi Jinguang felt his breath catch in his throat, and an intense burning sensation immediately spread across his skin.

Gu Bei was even thrown out by Wu Man with a single gesture.
"Get out!!"

Jin Chanzi's face tightened, and he reacted extremely quickly. He grabbed Qi Jinguang's arm, and the two of them were pushed back out of the shed as if by a huge force.

Inside the shed, only Wu Man remained standing steadily in place.

He was enveloped in a strange force field that was invisible to the naked eye, which absorbed all the heat that swept in.

Wu Man stared intently at Xiao Ran, who was enveloped in scarlet light and whose figure was faintly visible in the red mist.

A strange light appeared in his eyes.

As a B-level professional, Wu Man could see things that many others couldn't. He could clearly observe Xiao Ran's physical body being tempered, compressed, and then expanded again in the scorching blood energy, only to be tempered and compressed once more.

Seeing this, Wu Man's eyes changed, and she couldn't help but swallow hard: "Perfect ingredients!"

However, thinking about her relationship with Xiao Ran and recalling the City of All Beings, Xiao Ran drank the thick soup she had cooked without any hesitation.

Wu Man eventually managed to suppress his greed, but he didn't want to stay there any longer. After all, having such perfect ingredients right in front of him was torture for a chef like him.

"Grandmaster Uncle!" Qi Jinguang stood firm outside the shed, looking at the towering blood aura that almost overturned the shed, his voice filled with unprecedented anxiety, "Grandmaster Uncle's body is exuding such terrifying blood aura, like being burned by the scorching sun, his essence and life force are being consumed frantically! Could this be..."

His concern was that Xiao Ran's foundation might be damaged, or even that his lifespan might be directly burned away by this violent energy!

The chubby little face of the golden toad showed little worry; instead, its small eyes gleamed with insight.

Their gaze pierced through the scarlet light, seemingly revealing deeper changes within Xiao Ran's body.

"It's alright, Jin Guang, don't be anxious." Jin Chanzi's voice was calm and steady, with a hint of understanding. "It seems that it's not all bad news."

At the same time, inside the bunker, there was a deathly silence.

Po Jin and several high-ranking members of the Changchun Association, along with Elder Mu, all stared intently at the crimson plume of blood-red smoke billowing into the sky on the surveillance screen!
The overwhelming, violent, and primal pressure that could be felt even through the screen made the air in the monitoring room feel thick and heavy.

"What...what the hell is this monster?!"

Breaking the barrier, his face turned ashen and then deathly pale, a surge of indescribable fear and...jealousy welling up inside him.

This kid is growing up too fast!
As a master of the Horizontal Training sequence, he was well aware of the fact that his blood energy resembled smoke from a wolf's beacon, a phenomenon that only occurs when one's physique breaks through the 400 mark.

A physique of 400 is one of the standard requirements for advancing to the next level of a B-grade martial artist.

Even with the breakthrough, and despite the numerous resources provided by the Changchun Association, his physique still didn't meet the required standard.

Because once your physical constitution exceeds 300 points, your thinking will become very sluggish.

If one's mental strength cannot be greatly improved, forcing a breakthrough can easily turn one into a complete idiot.

Changchun has conducted a special study on this matter.

To break through 400 points in physical constitution, mental strength must reach at least 300 points.

To break through 400 points in mental strength, your physical constitution must be at least 350.

The same principle applies to agility and strength.

Therefore, in series like the Horizontal Training series, although there are no strange tasks for advancement, the numerical values ​​alone have caused countless people to be stuck.

"The blood-red smoke, solidified as a tangible substance, dyed the heavens crimson..."

Old Mu's voice was low and hoarse, and his cloudy eyes revealed fear and a cold killing intent that was growing wildly in his heart.

"Can't wait any longer!"

Old Mu suddenly stood up: "Get ready. Release the Soul-Devouring Beast first thing tomorrow morning and go down into the mine. We need to be quick and leave as soon as we get what we need."

Xiao Ran's changes put pressure on Elder Mu. He dared not wait any longer. What if the other party's strength increased significantly and they began to prepare to attack them?
After saying that, Elder Mu hurriedly walked out, wanting to take advantage of the time today to make some adjustments to the Soul Devouring Beast.

Before leaving, Elder Mu glanced back at Po Jin and the others in the room; "Remember, do not go out today. Everyone stay in the bunker obediently."

Although no one understood what Elder Mu meant, they all nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the blood-red clouds in the sky are slowly dissipating.

The thick blood energy surrounding Xiao Ran gradually dissipated.

Xiao Ran opened her eyes, and the first thing that popped up in her vision was a notification:
[Your physique has surpassed 400 points. Your Dragon Spine Power has advanced to Dragon Elephant Power, increasing your strength by 50 points.]

Xiao Ran was surprised when she saw the prompt in front of her.

My physique has suddenly improved so much?!
Is it because of the Five Dragon Bracelet?

Xiao Ran looked down at the Five Dragon Bracelet on her wrist. She saw that one of the dragon heads on the bracelet had been completely lit up, but the other four dragon heads had been dimmed.

A dragon head seems to represent a special meridian in one's body.

Just lighting up one dragon head can bring such a significant improvement?
This surprised Xiao Ran, but it didn't bring her any joy.

Last time it was in Langshan, Guizhou.

Gu Xuan meant that by severing the fungal strain, he could complete the so-called sacrifice, gaining freedom while Gu Xuan himself would obtain a vast amount of pure spiritual power.

However, because Gu Xuan had other ideas, Xiao Ran ultimately failed to eradicate the bacteria, so theoretically she did not complete the sacrifice.

First it was mental strength, and now it's a sudden surge in physical constitution.

It seems that as long as one follows the requirements of the Five Dragon Bracelet, one can gain power that ordinary people dare not imagine.

But that's precisely what worries Xiao Ran.

Nothing in this world is ever free.

Everything seems easy to obtain, but in reality, a price has already been marked on it.

But unfortunately, I had no choice.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ran cursed inwardly and then stood up.

His originally well-proportioned and slender figure began to swell and grow taller!
Crackle—!
A tooth-grinding, slight sound of bones grinding came from Xiao Ran's body. Xiao Ran looked down and saw that her ankles were exposed, and she had grown about three centimeters taller all of a sudden.

As Xiao Ran stepped out of the shed, the boost of 400 points of strength made her feel more relaxed and stronger.

This also means that the shackles that have been troubling him have been released at this moment, and the drawback of his unstable mental strength has also been resolved.

In the past, my mental energy was like water in a full bottle; the slightest movement would cause the water to spill out. Now that the bottle has doubled in size, I no longer have to worry about the water spilling out easily.

"Congratulations, it looks like you've made great progress this time."

Wu Man stepped forward and congratulated Xiao Ran.

There was a hint of regret on his face. The fruit was indeed ripe, but a fully ripe fruit could no longer be used as a perfect ingredient.

"not bad!"

Xiao Ran tried to reach out her hand and gently vibrated it in the air.

"boom!"

Everyone tensed up immediately, able to feel the force of Xiao Ran's punch in the air.

Not only did his physique improve, but the addition of the Dragon Elephant Power also increased Xiao Ran's strength by one-third.

With Xiao Ran's mental strength added in, it's no exaggeration to say that Xiao Ran at this moment is definitely a numerical monster.

"Uncle-Master, shall we continue mining?"

Qi Jinguang cautiously stepped forward and asked.

Xiao Ran nodded: "Keep buying, buy as much as you can." He raised his hand, his eyes fixed on the bracelet on his wrist: "Since there's no turning back, let's just boldly move forward, either we go down together or we emerge stronger!"

(End of this chapter)