Chaos and monsters begin with the red dragon's clone.

"The Fog Zone is too far from you. What good would it do to know the situation? Even within the city limits, the minimum requirement to join the Fog Hunting Team to prevent ghost intrusions is the second realm, let alone the Fog Zone. You already know the general situation of your father and brothers, so don't worry too much. Focus on practicing martial arts. Once you've made some progress, you can try to find out more about the direction of Liulan Fortress." Jia Jinshui sighed slightly, seemingly for Zhang Xun's sake, and didn't want to say more.

A hint of fatigue appeared on his face. "It's getting late, and we have to get up early to travel tomorrow. Let's go back and rest first."

"Yes."

Zhang Xun nodded, knowing that Jia Jinshui had told him so much because of Senior Brother Zhao, so he stood up, thanked him, cupped his hands and took his leave: "Uncle Jia, what you said makes sense. I am very grateful for your help in inquiring about this matter. Please rest and I will not disturb you any longer."

Turning around, leaving, the door creaked open and closed again.

Jia Jinshui watched the figure moving towards the dormitory outside the room and shook his head slightly. Although he didn't think highly of this mediocre young man, he had done his best to fulfill Zhao Shaoting's request. He had already done the other party a favor by saying so much tonight. There was no point in saying anything more. If the other party wanted more information, he would find another opportunity. He wouldn't hesitate to do another favor that was basically useless.

Of course, physical fatigue is inevitable after a busy day.

The next moment, the oil lamp went out, and night fell in the room.

*

*

The following morning, Jia's caravan returned and left the warehouse.

Zhang Xun followed the caravan out of Gouli Town. When he saw no one from the Wangsheng Sect looking for him, his heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually calmed down.

He wasn't wrong; the method the Rebirth Sect used to track the Holy Child statue mostly relied on that pure black mist, and once it was absorbed, it would be impossible to continue.

The red dragon greatly benefits from this, absorbing it once can accelerate its growth by ten days to half a month... But what about after that? Not to mention how to obtain the Holy Child statue, if it absorbs it repeatedly, the Rebirth Sect will not be able to track it once or twice, and will eventually discover the clues.

Zhang Xun pondered as he followed the caravan back and forth, arriving at a post station at noon. It was a small fortified village, about a hundred paces in length and width.

The local militiamen patrolling the post station wore yellow undershirts, their leather armor and weapons were old and tattered, and they yawned lazily.

He was certain of Jia Jinshui's guess: the disappearance of the carpenter had nothing to do with Liulan Fort, and he had most likely gone to the fog zone.

What the other party said makes sense. His father and elder brother should be fine. He should not conduct any further investigations until he has stronger capabilities.

"It's unclear how long it will take to dig the tunnel through the Red Dragon's body, and given the nature of the monsters in the sky outside the crater, it will be difficult for them to cross the fog zone."

"Now that I have the money, all I can do is break through to the second stage of Body Tempering as soon as possible. With the aid of Dragon Might, I won't have to worry about life-or-death battles against opponents of the same level! Then I'll see how to safely obtain the Holy Child Statue of the Rebirth Sect to help my Red Dragon Body grow, strengthen Dragon Might, and further enhance my strength."

"Within the body tempering process, even a mortal body, once intimidated by the dragon's might, is nothing more than a single strike!"

Zhang Xun felt helpless, but he also made up his mind.

Two days later, in the evening, the caravan returned to Dongluo Town without incident, having traveled smoothly. After Jia Ji briefly announced the next trip at the West Street warehouse, everyone went their separate ways. Zhang Xun returned to the street opposite the boxing academy. It was getting dark, and his mother, Yao Cuiling, knowing that he had returned with the goods today, had prepared a sumptuous meal.

Due to the inconvenient transportation between the towns in the city, communication was difficult, and the news of the carpenter's disappearance had not yet reached the lower levels of the town. Zhang Xun did not tell her, but ate with a smile, planning to wait until his mother found out before bringing some good news.

Then he spent his time going back and forth between home and the boxing academy, occasionally transporting goods for Jia's caravan. He had just acquired a statue of the Holy Child from Gouli Town, and he dared not neglect his duties just because he had money. It wouldn't be worth it if the Rebirth Sect took notice of him over this.

In between, there was the monotonous daily practice of boxing and swordsmanship, honing the body, day after day, pushing the boxing techniques to progress.

Time flies—it's already the end of August and the hottest period of summer.

The city was shrouded in a gray fog, obscuring the scorching sun, and remained muggy. Cicadas chirped noisily in the trees of the Flying Stone Fist's inner courtyard.

The disciples seemed oblivious, practicing their punches and wielding wooden swords in various parts of the arena, their short outfits soaked with sweat.

Zhang Xun stood in front of the wooden stake in the corner, his legs slightly bent, his center of gravity lowered, his waist twisted, his hips thrusting, and his feet pushed off, sending the force upwards, all the way down his spine to his arms.

Bang. Bang.

With a punch, two crisp sounds of bamboo breaking echoed from his body, and the wooden stake swayed slightly.

Grasping the sparrow's tail, probing the horse's hand, riding the dragon backwards... In the monotonous repetition, the situation finally changed at a certain moment.

Flying Stone Fist Technique: 300/999, Proficient.

In an instant, Zhang Xun froze, sweat dripping slowly down his strong, defined jawline. The chirping of cicadas and birds around him seemed to melt into his body, turning into a blazing, scalding heat that suddenly surged from his heart and spread throughout his entire body in an instant.

He sensed something and continued moving. His punches seemed to have gained a certain rhythm, flowing smoothly like clouds. The moment the wooden stake was hit, a circle of tiny ripples could be seen spreading out with the naked eye.

"Click click click..."

It felt as if dry firewood was burning in a stove inside my body, and the bamboo shoots were growing wildly at night with a crisp sound, three times in a row. Immediately afterwards, I felt a slight swelling in my hands, legs, buttocks, and abdomen, and my muscles bulged slightly, showing obvious growth.

call.

After finishing the routine, stand still to complete the move.

Zhang Xun exhaled a long breath, closed his eyes, and felt the subtle warmth in his chest. A sense of inexplicable relaxation and comfort welled up from the bottom of his heart.

"It's done!"

He opened his eyes, a huge weight lifted from his heart. More than a year and a half of hard training had finally paid off.

A gentle clench of the fist and a tense of the legs reveal the answer without any testing.

"My strength has increased by nearly 50%, and my explosiveness and speed have also improved significantly. I feel like I could fight three times my previous self. This! Is this what a martial artist is like?!"

Zhang Xun pulled the towel around his neck to wipe his sweat, touched his temples which were also slightly bulging, and couldn't help but smile.

Congratulations, Junior Brother Zhang!

"Breakthrough to the second stage of Body Tempering!"

Please take care of me in the future!

The disciples practicing nearby had sharp eyes and enthusiastically stepped forward to congratulate him. A martial artist at the second level of Body Tempering was someone worth befriending.

Not far away.

Song Zhou was practicing with people in the circle when he saw the commotion and was slightly taken aback: "He broke through."

"oh!?"

Wei Cairong, standing to the side, wore a red short outfit that accentuated her figure and revealed her fair arms, with a curious expression.

She cast her gaze, scrutinizing him closely, and after a short while, shook her head slightly and withdrew her attention. "His complexion is ruddy and dry, a characteristic that appears after consuming a large amount of exotic beast meat in a short period of time. He's probably using this in conjunction with some secret medicine to achieve his current rate of progress. If this continues, his temperament will start to deteriorate in a few years."

With Yu Jibai and Xie Ying absent, she, being the wealthiest and most knowledgeable person in the small circle, gleaned some information about the situation.

Generally speaking, the safe limit for martial artists is to consume no more than their own weight in exotic beast meat. They can eat a little more if they eat slowly, but less if they eat it in a short period of time, because martial artists also excrete a small amount of toxins. In short, they should be careful once they exceed the limit.

"His family isn't well-off, so how do they have the money to buy exotic beast meat?" someone wondered.