Republic of China: From Street Performer to War God in a Chaotic Era

The black market on the edge of the Japanese concession was called the "Ghost Market".

During the day, this place is a chaotic graveyard and abandoned shantytown. But from late at night until dawn, all sorts of people, carrying lanterns and with their heads covered, set up stalls here to trade.

It's a melting pot of all sorts of people, from all walks of life.

There are funerary objects unearthed by tomb raiders, jewels sold by notorious thieves, and of course, top-quality medicinal herbs that can truly prolong life and strengthen the body.

With a small yellow croaker and several dozen silver dollars tucked into his sleeve, Lu Guan moved like a ghost between the various stalls.

"Young master, look at this hundred-year-old wild ginseng. I risked my life to dig it out of the old forests of Changbai Mountain. Look at the rhizome, the roots..."

A shifty-eyed vendor held a ginseng root tied with a red thread and tried to sell it in a low voice.

Lu Guan merely stopped and glanced at it, a cold smile creeping across his face.

Since being cleansed of his marrow and blood by the Qi and blood of the Creation Stage and having developed dragon tendons and tiger bones, his perception of Qi and blood and medicinal power far surpasses that of ordinary people. Moreover, he also possesses the "spiritual sense" bestowed upon him by the shadow puppet of the [Rat Concealment].

The thing appeared to have intact roots, but under Lu Guan's keen sense of smell, it exuded a distinct pungent radish aroma, and was also covered with a layer of yellow mud water for disguise.

"You're trying to fool ghosts by carving roots onto a boiled radish? With skills like that, you wouldn't even be able to make a living under a bridge."

Lu Guan exposed the truth without hesitation, and before the vendor could get angry, he had already turned and walked to the next stall.

I visited seven or eight stalls selling medicinal herbs in a row.

They either use dyed cow bones to imitate tiger bones, or they use deer antler glue and brown sugar to make fake dragon's blood.

Occasionally, a few genuine ginseng and deer antlers might appear, but they were too young, at most ten or eight years old. For Lu Guan's current energy and appetite, they wouldn't even be enough to fill a gap in his teeth.

"The waters of this black market are truly murky."

Lu Guan frowned. Could it be that he was carrying a huge sum of money, yet he couldn't buy the good medicine that would allow him to break through his cultivation barrier in this vast city of Tianjin?

Just as he was about to turn around and leave to try his luck in the inner chambers of those large trading houses.

A middle-aged man wearing a tattered gray long gown and looking timid quietly approached him.

"Sir, you've been looking around all night, haven't found anyone you like?"

The man's voice was low and hoarse, and he carried a persistent, earthy smell.

Lu Guan turned his head and glanced at him.

The man had a withered face, sunken eyes, unusually long fingers, and dark brown dirt under his fingernails.

A tomb raider.

Lu Guan instantly saw through the other party's origins, and judging from his frightened appearance, he probably had something valuable in his hands and was eager to make a move.

"Those outside are all swindlers and rotten wood."

Lu Guan, his hands tucked into his sleeves, said calmly, "You have some good stuff?"

"Good stuff is certainly available, it just depends on whether you can afford the price." The tomb raider swallowed hard, glancing left and right as if he were wary of someone.

Let's talk in private.

After many twists and turns, the two arrived at the back of an abandoned, dilapidated temple on the edge of the black market.

After confirming that no one was around, the tomb raider carefully took out a wooden box wrapped in layers of oilcloth from his pocket.

As soon as the wooden box was opened, an extremely rich, even slightly sweet and spicy, medicinal aroma wafted out.

Lu Guan's keen senses suddenly jolted.

There was no trace of any evil or foul smell in this medicinal fragrance; it was pure and strong, like a mass of life force compressed to its limit!

The wooden box was lined with yellow silk, and two things lay quietly on it.

A ginseng plant, dark red in color, with roots that twisted and turned like those of an old tree, its surface faintly gleaming with a jade-like luster.

The other piece was a dark gold-colored bone that made a faint metallic sound when struck.

"This is..." A glint of light flashed in Lu Guan's eyes.

"A blood ginseng, and a piece of fossilized tiger bone!"

The tomb raider lowered his voice and said tremblingly.

"Sir, to be honest, I brought a few brothers with me three days ago from the tomb of a former Qing Dynasty military officer, which is thirty miles west of the city."

"That military officer was a high-ranking official in life. He was buried with not only gold and silver, but also these top-grade medicines used to prolong his life."

"This blood ginseng has been nurtured underground for nearly a hundred years, locking all its medicinal properties inside. As for that tiger bone, it's a genuine shinbone from a Liaodong black tiger, soaked in medicinal wine for decades. After it dried out, all the medicinal power seeped into its bone marrow!"

As the tomb raider spoke, his face suddenly turned deathly pale.

"For those two things, my three brothers who shared life and death all perished in the traps and poisonous gas in the tomb. If I hadn't been lucky enough to escape quickly, I would be a pile of bones by now."

"I'm in a hurry to get back to my hometown. I don't dare to sell this in public, for fear of being cheated out of my business."

The tomb raider stared intently at Lu Guan.

"I can tell you're a trained fighter, sir, and you have a good eye for these things. One price... one small yellow croaker, plus thirty silver dollars! These two life-saving treasures are yours!"

A small yellow croaker costs thirty silver dollars, which adds up to nearly sixty or seventy silver dollars.

This is absolutely astronomical.

But Lu Guan knew in his heart that if a century-old blood ginseng and jade tiger bone of this quality were placed in those big pharmacies as their prized possessions, even if they offered a hundred silver dollars, they might not be willing to sell them.

This is a top-quality item that can transform even a martial artist with the Ming Jin skill, and even make masters of the An Jin skill envious!

With money, there's no fear of being smuggled!

Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Guan flipped his wrist and pulled out the gleaming gold bar from his pocket, along with thirty silver dollars, neatly arranging them on the bluestone slab of the dilapidated temple.

"Make sure you count it clearly."

The tomb raider's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he stared at the gold bars and gleaming silver dollars.

He thought he would have to haggle for a while, but he didn't expect this young master to be so generous!

The tomb raider bit the gold bar with his teeth, listened to the sound of the silver dollars, and with trembling hands rolled the money into his pocket before shoving the wooden box into Lu Guan's hand.

"Sir, you're a straightforward man. This thing is yours now. Goodbye forever!"

Having said that, the tomb raider, like an eel, turned and disappeared into the snowstorm, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Lu Guan carefully put the wooden box away from his body, suppressed the burning desire in his heart, and walked out of the ghost market with a normal expression.

……

Back to Fuju Class.

Lu Guan locked all the doors and windows, took out the rough earthenware pot that the old blind man used to brew medicine, and lit a roaring fire in the mud stove.

The usual way of consuming these century-old blood ginseng and jade-like tiger bones would be a complete waste, and might even cause the body to explode due to the strong medicinal effects.

It must be simmered over low heat to fully extract its essence.

Lu Guan cut off one-third of the blood ginseng, and then used his Ming Jin to crush the piece of jade-like tiger bone that was as hard as iron. He put them into the pottery jar, added water, and simmered it for three hours.

Until noon.

The once clear water in the earthenware pot has been boiled down to a small bowl of dark red, viscous ointment with a pungent, spicy aroma.

Whether or not we can break through this barrier depends on this powerful medicine.

Lu Guan sat cross-legged on the bed, picked up the earthenware jar, tilted his head back, and swallowed the scalding hot ointment whole.

"Boom!"

The moment the ointment entered his stomach, Lu Guan felt as if he had swallowed a ball of burning coals.

The immense vitality contained in the century-old blood ginseng, and the extremely yang essence of the tiger bone marrow, exploded instantly in his stomach, turning into a surging torrent that rushed wildly into his eight extraordinary meridians.

"Ugh—"

Lu Guan clenched his teeth tightly, and within a few breaths, his skin turned blood red. Scalding steam burst forth from his pores, enveloping him in a layer of white mist.

This medicine is too potent.

It was ten times more potent than the diluted tiger bone wine he had drunk before!

"Refine it for me."

Despite the excruciating pain of his meridians being stretched to the point of tearing, Lu Guan guided the immense medicinal power, continuously circulating his qi and blood according to the methods of the "Eight Extremes Bright Strength".

"Crackling, crackling..."

Supported by the powerful foundation of "Dragon Tendons and Tiger Bones", the medicinal power was finally tamed little by little, transforming into strands of pure blood and qi.

These vital energies and blood no longer roam freely within the muscles as before, but instead begin to penetrate beneath the skin.

They are like red-hot steel wires, constantly weaving beneath Lu Guan's skin, eventually forming a large network of qi and blood.

I don't know how much time passed.

"call--"

Lu Guan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

The breath he exhaled created a shockwave in mid-air.

He stood up and walked to a broken bronze mirror.

He raised his right hand and used his left fingernail to scratch the skin of his right arm.

"Sizzle—"

He used his newly developed finger strength, yet he couldn't leave even a single white mark on his arm.

The skin is like leather, and the blood and qi form a network!

"The Lesser Mastery of Ming Jin... We've finally arrived."

A flash of wild joy appeared in Lu Guan's eyes, and he clenched his fists tightly.

"Smack."

His strength, speed, and resilience have more than doubled compared to when he first entered the Ming Jin realm!

As Lu Guan carefully sensed the flow of qi and blood within his body, the scene of his fight with the bodyguard Tie Niu last night involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

"If I were to run into that Iron Bull again now..."

"There's no need to use any fist intent or killing moves. With just this powerful skin and pure blood and qi, I only need a regular crushing fist to punch him through the skin and all."

This is the difference in foundation.

At the same level, the difference between Tie Niu's minor mastery of Ming Jin, achieved through hard work and ordinary medicinal herbs, and Lu Guan's minor mastery of Ming Jin, achieved through "dragon tendons and tiger bones" plus a century-old top-grade medicine, is like heaven and earth.

"With my current strength, if I were to add the enhancement of fist intent..."

Lu Guan had a clear understanding of the martial arts masters in Tianjin.

Su Ruoxue, the martial arts prodigy of the Liuhe Martial Arts School who is said to be a once-in-a-century talent, is extremely talented, but she should only be at the peak of the minor completion of Ming Jin. If it really comes down to a life-or-death fight, Lu Guan is confident that he can kill her.

As for her senior brother Zhao Linchuan, who had achieved the Great Perfection of Ming Jin...

"With mastery of the Ming Jin technique, his Qi and blood are like a furnace. He is indeed difficult to deal with."

Lu Guan narrowed his eyes.

"However, if we were to utilize the assassination techniques of the [Rat Concealment] shadow puppetry, combined with the unparalleled 'Tiger Climbing the Mountain'..."

"Even a master martial artist would be badly injured if I got close!"

The surge in strength gave Lu Guan the confidence to completely dispel the gloom of being treated as "food" in the past few days.