Steam-powered martial arts: My virginity cultivation technique has been broken.

When the Martial Spirit is initially formed, it can illuminate the inner spiritual platform and connect all elements, thus becoming a Martial King. When the Martial Spirit is solidified, it possesses the true meaning of Martial Arts, resonating with Heaven and Earth, thus becoming a Martial God. When the Martial Spirit is fully formed, it travels through the vast void, with all the heavens responding, thus becoming a Martial Saint.

While ordinary martial artists can be understood through mortal means, a martial artist with a primordial spirit carries the power of heaven and earth with every punch, making them invincible against thousands of troops.

Ku Ning, seated in his spiritual platform, knew he lacked a primordial spirit, and his confusion about the existence of the Third Spiritual Vision grew even stronger. He understood this wasn't some so-called inner spiritual platform, but rather a direct manifestation traversing this place. Could it be that his transmigration had granted him an innate primordial spirit? But why, before being strengthened by the Xuanhuang Qi, was his divine sense no different from that of an ordinary martial artist?

However, the Third Spiritual Vision does indeed possess many characteristics of the primordial spirit, such as the ability to alter space and time. For example, when Song Yuanzhi used his martial arts true intent, all was silent, and space seemed to stand still. He also clearly felt time slow down after activating his Third Spiritual Vision.

He stopped thinking about it when he couldn't figure it out, lest he get stuck in a rut. After successfully sorting through the vast memories of Blood Fiend, his consciousness left his mind, and when he opened his eyes, he saw A'Luo's beautiful eyes, brimming with tears.

Seeing him awake, she smiled through her tears and said, "Chief镖头, you're finally alright."

Ku Ning, lacking any emotional intelligence, retorted, "You're so worried about me, aren't you afraid that if I die, no one will send you to the Eastern Capital?"

A'Luo immediately wiped away her tears, pouted, and let out a soft hum. Ku Ning stood up, twisting his stiff neck. His body had just activated its self-protective mechanism, severing his consciousness—a state commonly known as unconsciousness. For a fleeting moment, his third spiritual vision sensed the mysterious power in A'Luo's eyes. Her help had allowed him to enter his spiritual platform; otherwise, he didn't know how long he would have remained unconscious, possibly trapped in his memories.

He owed her a favor. Favors are the hardest to repay. This time, it was a blessing in disguise; his cultivation unexpectedly broke through to the middle level of the first rank, and he even used knowledge related to sorcery. Jokingly speaking, it made up for his crudeness as a martial artist and increased his knowledge. All three of them had practiced sorcery since childhood and were quite accomplished.

Ku Ning's education level was limited to casually reciting scriptures at night; he had never even attended morning meditation classes. His life skills, however, had significantly improved. For example, his cooking skills had advanced from edible to delicious—skills honed by the Blood Fiend's devouring. If he returned to the city, he could confidently claim to be omnipotent. The City of Bitter People, though small, was fully equipped; its inhabitants were either fugitives or descendants of exiles, making it like a unique open prison.

He truly achieved enlightenment in Longchang.

Ku Ning withdrew his light spirit and stepped out of the temple, only to find the corpses of humanoid monsters scattered everywhere. Their lives were intertwined with the Blood Fiend; with its gone, they perished as well. The survivors of Bitter City peered out from their gatehouses, too afraid to venture out.

With less than one-tenth of the city's population remaining, the city was essentially filled with unclaimed wealth. Unfortunately, the disaster primarily affected ordinary people; the high walls and mansions of the wealthy, with their guards and servants, effectively bought them time. The rich do indeed live a little longer than the poor.

"It seems there are still debts owed to the Li family that haven't been settled? Is it better to avoid trouble? Or should we settle scores and not let them linger overnight?"

After a stick of incense had burned, he arrived at the gate of the Li family mansion. Absorbing the memories of the Blood Fiend, no one knew the roads and layout of the Bitter City better than him. He entered through the dilapidated gate, where corpses littered the ground. Heaven's sins may be forgiven, but self-inflicted sins are unforgivable. The Li family had sent half of their guards to extort Ku Ning, but when the monsters attacked, those guards perished on their way back. The Li family, also short-handed, suffered heavy casualties.

"What goes around comes around, and retribution is inevitable."

Ku Ning still wouldn't let them go. He captured a surviving servant and made him lead the way to the location of Master Li and his relatives. Master Li was still in shock when he saw Ku Ning arrive, holding a sharp blade and exuding a fierce and menacing aura. Without needing Ku Ning's introduction, he already knew what had happened on the street from the servants' report and immediately understood the reason.

I often walk by the river, so how can I not wet my shoes?

Since the Red Lantern Cult occupied the City of Bitter People, these wealthy families have not lived in peace, but in constant fear. As a family known as the "Half-City Li" in the city, they have done many unscrupulous things in order to survive, offending too many people.

Now that his family had fallen on hard times, his enemies were sure to come knocking. He offered the silver notes with both hands, hoping to appease Ku Ning's anger, and then shouted, "I am willing to atone with all my wealth and my life!" He then smashed his head against a pillar and died.

Ku Ning was dumbfounded. What was this guy up to? Why did he commit suicide so decisively? He understood as soon as he stepped out of the mansion. Many people in this wealthy area who had grudges against the Li family, or who wanted to take advantage of their misfortune and rob them, came out after hearing Master Li's shout and blocked the mansion gate.

"This guy's quick! As the saying goes, 'share is shared.' It's a bit unfair to hog all the food, isn't it?"

"Do we know each other?"

"I don't know them, but the Li family also owes us money. If you take it all, we'll be at a huge loss."

"roll!"

Ku Ning cursed mercilessly, then vanished in a flash. He had no interest in playing games about unequal distribution of spoils. Those present exchanged bewildered glances, wondering if they'd seen a ghost. Then, realizing what was happening, they rushed into the Li residence to investigate, only to find Master Li's corpse; his children and family had all escaped through the back door.

"Chase them! Don't let them get away!"

"Who are you chasing?"

"Foolish! Of course it's someone from the Li family. Do you dare to chase after that martial artist?"

The black fog dissipated, and it was nearly sunset.

Now that Ku Ning and his group had a carriage, they no longer cared about the travel time. A Luo could rest in the carriage, so it wasn't considered a long and arduous journey. They would be spending ten days to half a month wandering through the wetlands. He rode Hongyun and counted Master Li's silver notes; only 100,000 silver dollars. Even in death, he was still dragged down with him—truly deserving of death! Oh well, he was still someone of importance.

Although he was greedy, he was ruthless. Being ruthless to others was nothing special; being ruthless to himself was what made him a remarkable person.

Nineteen Lakes is a no-man's-land bordering the north and south of Da Chen, named for its nineteen lakes of varying sizes, surrounded by grasslands and wetlands, where monsters roam. If the monsters of Wuzhou are domesticated, civilized, and polite, deeply understanding the core values ​​of Da Chen imperialism, these monsters are wild hooligans, uncultured, and living like savages. The imperial court, as long as they don't cause trouble, doesn't bother with them.

This route was something Ku Ning had thought about for a long time before deciding on. As long as they didn't go too deep into the interior and followed the edge, they could safely enter the northern heartland. Even if the enemies in the south had extraordinary abilities, they couldn't affect these areas. As for the abundance of monsters, water monsters were ranked low among the monsters in the Great Chen Dynasty. Not to mention that most of the famous aquatic demon kings lived in major rivers and lakes. In places like Nineteen Lakes, a few second or third-rank monsters would ascend to heaven, and first-rank monsters might be extinct.

Because this area is considered a high-altitude region entering Dachen, the climate is cold, the land is barren, and food is extremely scarce, so it is impossible to produce or retain powerful demons.