After that, it was time to take blood samples.

  Being a rank-nine martial artist, Elder Mu was the most powerful among the professors and specialists of the Superpower Research Department.

  However, he rarely fought actual battles since he would be involved in scientific experiments throughout the year, which was why he was slightly weaker compared to rank-nine martial artists who wandered through the wildlands. Be that as it may, being a rank-nine martial artists meant that he was still in a class of his own within the Hua Nation.

  And yet, to his chagrin, he realized that…… he could not draw the blood of the two scale dragons!

  To be precise, it was not that he failed, but rather, the needle fashioned from S-grade alloy could not pierce the two scale dragons’ scales.

  Both scale dragons were physically stronger than other Ferals—it was especially so with the scales that covered their bodies, which were harder than S-grade alloy.

  Still, not one to believe in bad luck, Elder Mu charged his True Qi and burst out his full power. Needle in hand, he stabbed forth, and……

  Snap!

  The needle cracked.

  Elder Mu hence turned awkwardly to Jiang He, who was musing to himself……

  He could not stay here every day to help the Superpower Research Department take blood samples, could he?

  Perhaps he could fashion a mystic item that was similar to a syringe needle?

  Would they have to be afraid that it would not go through if he did make something like that?

  Still, although he might just be musing to himself, it appeared completely different in the eyes of the two scale dragons. The green one shuddered, clenched its teeth, and steeled itself before saying, “My scales are too hard…… how about I peel some off? You could try drawing blood again after that.”


  Crunch!

  A crisp sound.

  It had extended its talons, seizing a single scale at its belly and directly peeled it off.

  Elder Mu brought out another S-grade alloy needle then and managed to draw a syringe full of blood after much difficulty. “Aside from their scales, these scale dragons are physically powerful as well,” he could not help saying. “It would be difficult to stab the needle into their flesh unless one is a rank-nine elite.”


  “From now on, I would have to personally take blood samples from these scale dragons…… Eh?”


  Even before Elder Mu finished, the green scale dragon had opened its mouth and breathed out something resembling a flying shuttle.

  That mystic item stabbed into the spot where he had peeled off the scale, causing it to bleed profusely. Then, it extended its talons to drag out the flying shuttle and bore with the pain to control its bleeding, saying, “With this, it would be much easier to draw blood.”


  Then, it turned toward the silver scale dragon.

  It still had not learned how to speak and could only communicate in spirit.

  As it did so, it snapped off a piece of it and conveyed, “I had only recently condensed my Daemonic Pellets and did not have the time to strengthen myself physically. That is why you could take my blood by just peeling off a scale.”


  Elder Mu and the others were quite pleased.

  The female professor turned toward Jiang He, respect written all over her face as she sighed, “As expected of the strongest beast tamer in the country, Mister Jiang! I am utterly impressed by your technique!”


  Jiang He was speechless.

  How did beast-taming become involved as well?

  He did not even tame these two, alright?

  Even so, he could not be bothered to explain and simply smiled. “Elder Mu, Professors. Use these two Ferals for now, and give me a shout if they die—I’ll get you too more.”


  “No!”


  Even before Elder Mu could say anything, the green scale dragon was already nervous. Its two-meter body promptly tightened into a straight line as it yelled at Jiang He, “Lord Jiang He, we are quite lively and would not die so easily!”


  “As long as you provide us with a handful of spirit stones and medicinal pellets that replenish blood, we could survive a handful of years even if you draw our blood every day.”


  Elder Mu and the others were stunned.

  Was that beast…… really a dragon?

  Wasn’t his survival instincts a little too powerful?

  He said: “We here at the Superpower Research Department have developed blood supplement medicinal pellets, and we could provide a lot of those, although…… I have not heard about spirit stones.”


  “Spirit stones are basically Orirocks.”


  Elder Mu could not help smiling bitterly at Jiang He explanation, saying, “Orirocks are too valuable for us to provide steadily…… Eh?”


  Even before he finished, he literally jumped in shock.

  With a huge wave, Jiang He had thrown a huge pile of spirit stones on the floor.

  There were around five hundred of those, and they were all inferior-grade spirit stones.

  Right now, Jiang He had no use for superior-grade spirit stones, let alone inferior-grade ones.

  Even so, would Elder Mu dare to receive it?

  To his impression, Orircoks were extremely valuable and priceless. Nonetheless, Jiang He waved him off and smiled. “It’s fine, I have too many of these and it’s a waste of space just keeping them around. Use these for now, and ask for me for more if needed.”


  Since Jiang He was being insistent, Elder Mu was forced to accept the spirit stones. “With these two scale dragons, the initiation pellets you requested for would be ready in three days,” he said. “I’ll arrange for it to be delivered to you with a fighter plane.”


  “There’s no need.”


  Jiang He replied, “It’s too troublesome using a plane. Just call me when it’s ready, and I’ll have my dog take it.”


  After that, Jiang He left the Superpower Research Department and headed to the Martial Arts Department (MAD), where he found Lin Tianzheng.

  Lin Tianzheng then gave him a summary of the partnership with the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

  Jiang He nodded and said, “The Ten Thousand Swords Sect has done well, even though they have their personal agenda. Still, it’s good news for the Hua Nation—the promotion of both martial arts and immortal arts should not be delayed. I have a feeling that there would be a chaos in the future and it is only through strength that we would get the disposition to survive the turbulent times.”


  Hence, Jiang He took out some resources he would not be using and gave it all to Lin Tianzheng.

  There were several hundred thousand inferior-grade spirit stones and a hundred thousand spirit stones along with various mystic items and soul items.

  After all, Jiang He had too many of those.

  His System Backpack was getting a little stuffed especially after he looted the treasure vault of the Green Hill Foxes.

  Stunned, Lin Tianzheng was left speechless for half a beat.

  He then rose to his feet, offering Jiang He a bow and a fist-palm salute. “Many thanks, Mister Jiang.”


  “It’s a mere trifle. Not worth the mention.”


  Jiang He waved him off, saying quietly, “Now, the secluded immortal sects, demonic sects, and daemon cultivators would keep their act together for a while. Now is the best timing to promote martial arts and immortal arts for widespread development—you must seize this opportunity well, Elder Lin.”


  Lin Tianzheng agreed and personally escorted Jiang He out of the MAD.

  After that, Jiang He turned into an arc of Sword Qi and returned to his village.

  It was afternoon by the time he got home.

  He relaxed with a bath, then went downstairs to find that both Sora and Boa Hancock had already prepared dinner.

  Then, after finishing his dinner, Jiang He called the seven fairy maidens whom he had recently planted, and asked them to put up a performance for him. Even so, something unexpected happened—


  “What the heck!”


  “What are you doing?”


  “Where are those lips sucking?”


  “Is this what you mean by putting on a performance?”


  Jiang He scowled, which startled the seven fairy maidens. Color draining from their faces, they promptly knelt in a single roll and tearfully apologized.

  Jiang He’s heart immediately softened……

  He was a kind person who least desired seeing that happen to women.

  Moreover, they were seven fairy maidens who were absolutely ravishing, which was why he simply breathed a long sigh and said, “I’m not getting angry for no reason, but your bites hurt…… that’s right, you. Come here and try again—use your tongue and not your teeth. That’s right, that’s it……”


  “Truly, young and dangerous!”


  ***

  Meanwhile, at a small hotel at the Xijiang city base.

  Ooom!

  An overwhelming aura suddenly burst forth, permeating heaven and earth.

  The aura was not obvious to average Joes, but those above rank-seven could clearly detect it.

  Startled, he divine-tier elite who was keeping watch over Xijiang promptly took to the skies and looked at the hotel from afar. Wariness was written all over his face as he muttered, “So powerful…… Is that the aura of a Void-tier?”


  “No, I’ve met Minister Wang before, and not even his aura is that powerful!”


  The divine-tier elite was about to get closer to investigate and a soft breeze gusted. In the next instant, a handsome youth wearing white clothes appeared before him—his aura went as deep as the seas, and it felt like he was a black hole that kept absorbing the Yuan Qi around him.

  The youth smiled. “No need to be surprised. I am merely passing by and have kept myself confined for several days to ascend since I felt an epiphany.”


  Whoosh!

  Turning into a breeze, the white-clothed youth disappeared into Xijiang city base.

  His figure flickered a few times before he arrived several hundred kilometers away. All smiles, he chuckled and said, “Zero Void…… Is this the power of Zero Void elites in martial arts? It’s no wonder so many martial artists would want to reach it despite it being so difficult. From how I see it, Zero Void is even more profound than Yuan Spirit and could definitely match Convergence-tier.”


  “Still……”


  After feeling around for a bit, the white-clothed youth could not help cursing quietly.

  “Zero Void in martial arts creates Secret Realms…… What nonsense! Why the hell can’t I do that, then?”


  The white-clothed youth was indeed the guru of the Tantra Sect!

  To be precise, he no longer held that title—after leaving aside all bonds, leaving the mountains and returning to the profane realm.

  Having reached the limits of his lifespan before, his bodily functions and longevity improved after he ate two of Jiang He’s eggplants. Then, after several days of cultivation in seclusion, he finally ascended to Zero Void. Nonetheless, right after he ascended or found out what has been happening out there, he flew northwest with irrepressible excitement. “Brother Jiang He would definitely be pleased if he knows that I’ve ascended.”


  “Moreover, I could help him guard the Stargate after I’ve improved…… after all, he is only a novice Yuan Spirit right now and having him do so alone definitely puts a huge pressure on him.”


  Taking out his satellite phone, he was about to dial Jiang He’s number for a heads up when his eyes abruptly narrowed, and he looked up towards the distance.

  A Buddha’s radiance had arisen at the distant horizon, dyeing half the skyline in a golden hue.

  Iridescent clouds wafted amidst the light and a Buddha’s figure sat cross-legged upon it as he flew toward the guru.

  The man’s figure was burly, and he wore a kasaya gleaming in Buddhist glow. His hands closed, he chanted Buddhist mantras before speaking, “Amitabha. You and I are connected by Karma.”


  The white-clothed guru’s expression changed at that.

  He did not know the person in front of him.

  Even so, his aura alone was pressing down on him, suffocating him.

  That golden glow over his body, as well as his physique that was comparable to jade and gold, was the manifestation of a ‘golden body with a ceramic glaze’ as spoken of in legends.

  Not daring to slip up, the white-clothed guru promptly returned his greeting and said, “Guru, to tell the truth, I am from a Buddhist sect myself, but I had recently put aside my monkhood to retreat among the profane……”


  The Buddha figure promptly frowned in displeasure even before he finished, and coolly scolded, “How dare you turn your back on the Buddhist’s path?!”


  As he spoke, a massive hand grasped toward the white-clothed guru as a voice resonated, “It is a grievous sin to betray a Buddhist sect. Still, I would not argue with you as we are connected, and if you acknowledge me as your master and cut ties with your wicked past, you would naturally gain salvation.”


  “Hello? Hello?”


  “What’s up?”


  A voice abruptly spoke from the other end of the white-clothed guru’s satellite phone then.

  He had forgotten to hang up on his call just now and Jiang He had answered.

  Jiang He had clearly heard the commotion on the other end, and exclaimed in surprise, “Brother, what is actually going on?”


  Ka-boom!

  The great hand extended from the Buddha’s glow descended—it was the divine manifestation of one’s Buddhist path called the Realm of Buddha’s Palm.

  After he seized the white-clothed guru with a single move, his quarry was unable to free himself no matter how he tried to struggle, and so he had to admit defeat right then and say, “Guru, may I bid my friend farewell before that?”


  Smile bitterly and sighing, he then said, “Jiang He, I have just reached Zero Void in martial arts cultivation and I was just about to celebrate with you over some drinks…… but now it seems we have to call it off.”


  There was clear bitterness in his smile.

  He had reincarnated for three lifetimes, each of which he lived as a monk.

  Now that he had left everything behind and carved a life of his own, he was forced into monkhood again!

  Was he really never escaping the life of a monk for all his existences?

  Meanwhile, over the other end of the call……

  Having a general idea of what the commotion over there is about, Jiang He promptly barked angrily, “Bro, turn on your speaker. I really want to see for myself which bald donkey has the guts to force you to become their disciple!”


  After that, Jiang He unleashed a tirade of curses until the satellite phone on the other shook, even laughing coldly, “Mongrel, release him right now. Don’t you believe Mister Jiang here would snap your neck tomorrow if you don’t give me face?”


  Crack!

  A Buddha glow flashed.

  The white-clothed guru’s satellite phone was instantly smashed into pieces as the Buddha figure appeared slightly angered, growling, “How dare that brat mouth such insolence…… only the Eighteenth Level of Hell could purify him off his skins for his insults to our sect…… Eh?”


  Still, at his own words……

  The Buddha figure suddenly appeared taken aback.

  Turning towards the white-clothed guru, he frowned as he said, “The person communicating through the charm called himself Mister Jiang. Could he be……”