Time passed quickly. Yue Hongling had left for almost a month, and the first month had passed quietly. It was now February, and the spring breeze was blowing.

The medicine had been used up. Not only was the blood-replenishing medicine that they had bought insufficient, but they also didn't have enough for their daily medicinal baths. Recently, Zhao Changhe had sent people to buy medicine everywhere, and Fang Buping had heard about it and started buying as well. As a result, there was none left, even in the surrounding towns.

To make matters worse, Fang Buping had finally recovered from the injuries he sustained from Zhuque's punishment after a long period of recuperation.

Two months ago, Zhao Changhe had earned a lot of money because of the "challenge" from the idiots. He only took a symbolic amount and gave it to the sub-branch to show that Beimang Mountain Stronghold was still under the Blood God Sect. As for Fang Buping's request for half of the money, he didn't give it to him.

But early this morning, Fang Buping sent someone over, who was very arrogant and demanded half of the resources.

When injuries healed, people became arrogant. After being suppressed for a few months, it was time for Fang Buping to vent his dissatisfaction towards Zhao Changhe.

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"Zhao Master, is Beimang Mountain Stronghold still under the Blood God Sect? Are you trying to become independent?"

"Haha, where did you get that idea, brother? We are all brothers in the sect. Come, take a seat."

The man looked up and said, "Fang Master said that you agreed to hand over half of the monthly income from the stronghold to the sub-branch. But last month, the stronghold only handed over 88 taels of silver. What does this mean? The matter of dealing with the bandits that you and the Master discussed has been resolved. For several months, there has been no interference from the officials. Isn't that so?"

Zhao Changhe sneered inwardly. The officials didn't come? Did you think that Cui Yuanyong was here for what? With him around, who needs the officials from this small city? All he had to do was serve Young Master Cui and it was done.

If he didn't do anything, it was either because Yue Hongling was here or because of his strange identity. What does it have to do with Fang Buping? On the contrary, that Lin Feihu was brought trouble by Fang Buping.

He didn't say it out loud, leaning lazily in his seat and saying, "We agreed that the income of the stronghold would be shared, but the income of these two months was mainly from my personal challenge rewards. That was my personal income, and putting it in the public treasury was me treating everyone as brothers, sharing the good fortune. It doesn't mean that it's the stronghold's income. Giving you 88 taels of silver is already a lot. Ask any brother, isn't this the truth?"

The group of bandits around them stood tremblingly on the side, each with their own thoughts.

What the boss said was indeed true. The stronghold had very little income, and it was still mostly from hunting. The things that the former stronghold wife suggested to plant had just been planted and had not yet yielded anything... The income of the stronghold was indeed the boss's personal challenge rewards, which he selflessly put in the public treasury. Others at most helped dig traps.

The boss's character was beyond reproach, and he was very loyal.

But how should they stand in this matter? It's not necessarily just about the boss's character.

Fang Buping was only at the fourth level of the Xuan Guan, and was clearly an explicit superior in the sect. Who would dare to openly stand on the boss's side?

Some people were thinking that there was no income because the boss was suppressing them and not letting them rob. Otherwise, how could there be no income? Are we still bandits now?

The man laughed loudly, "Which brother of yours agrees with your reasoning? You are the leader of the stronghold, and your income is the income of the stronghold, isn't it?"

Zhao Changhe took note of everyone's expressions and smiled faintly, "You're right. Dashan, take this envoy brother to the warehouse and give him half of the things."

As a result, some people's faces turned ugly.Those are everyone's things, and now half of them have been given away without a second thought. It's heartbreaking. Recently, no idiot has dared to challenge us, where are we supposed to get so many resources? If this continues, we'll be back to square one.

But just now, no one spoke up to support the leader. What about now?

Zhao Changhe wanted to laugh, and said calmly, "Alright, send three classmates...no, send a few people to serve the leader, clear out the best room, and remember to save the lamb leg for the leader to enjoy. That's it, meeting adjourned."

Without caring about the various expressions in the hall, he calmly left.

......

Outside the water pool in the back mountain, the water was still clear, and there was no snow around. The trees had grown new branches, and flowers and grass were fragrant everywhere. The geese flew south, their cries echoing in the sky.

Zhao Changhe stood silently for a while, then suddenly pulled out his three-stone bow and shot an arrow at the passing geese without even aiming.

The bowstring hummed, and the arrow flew like a meteor, piercing through two geese and causing them to fall to the ground with a loud thud.

Zhao Changhe didn't go to pick them up, but he could already see the wounds on the geese's bodies from afar. It wasn't just a single arrow that had pierced through them, but their bodies had been torn apart by the spiral bloodthirsty energy, with shattered bones and bloody flesh all around.

The bow and arrow had reached their peak, with clear eyes and ears, as if they were in his heart. If he didn't break through his power soon, everything would be stuck at a bottleneck.

Without enough medicinal materials, it was impossible to make progress. Zhao Changhe's ambitious pace had to slow down, and at the same time, his determination to leave became stronger.

Even the resources needed for the second and third levels were not enough, so how could he reach higher levels?

The messenger from Fang Buping had already left, but he would obviously come back to cause trouble. As Yue Hongling had said, since fate had brought them together, it was like a fuse, and this period of rest and recuperation had come to an end.

He pondered for a moment, then hid the bow and arrow behind a tree by the pool and left with big strides.

Even if he didn't feel ready yet, Zhao Changhe still planned to try to break through to the third level tonight, regardless of success or failure, he would have his own calculations.

Tomorrow was the start of the "Awakening of Insects", and even the insects would break through the soil, so why not the dragon?

He returned to his room, soaked in the last bucket of medicinal bath, drank the last bowl of medicinal soup, bathed and changed clothes, and slowly assumed a strange posture.

The third level of Bloodthirsty Art was no longer just squatting, but now it looked very shameful, like a David statue, and it had to slowly change positions, even more shameful...but it was more conducive to the operation of Bloodthirsty Art and to infiltrating blood and qi from blood vessels and muscles into bones and organs.

When the bloodthirsty energy spread inside and outside, the Bloodthirsty Art could be completed. Yue Hongling's judgment was naturally correct. This was indeed a technique with a very high limit. Among many external martial arts, few could exercise to the bones and organs.

But the more advanced it was, the more energy it needed to supplement, and the more painful it was.

He could clearly feel the surging bloodthirsty energy in his blood, permeating outwards, entering the skin, spreading to the fascia...slowly, the intense pain began to invade, the hot blood rising, and his reason becoming more and more violent, wanting to tear everything in front of him apart, venting his inner violence and physical pain.

Zhao Changhe knew that if there were outsiders present, they would see his eyes turning red, and he would look like a beast about to go into a frenzy.

While his reason had not yet been extinguished, Xia Longyuan's technique began to work, and a coolness entered his perineum, then ascended to his heart meridian, then up to his spiritual platform, maintaining his spiritual light.

But the more sober he was, the more difficult it was to endure the pain. In a sense, the frenzy of the Bloodthirsty Art was actually a way to ignore or vent physical pain, it just depended on whether you were willing to be inhuman...

Zhao Changhe certainly didn't want to.

A trace of true qi flowed through his meridians, seeping into his bones and soothing the pain in his body.Whether it was Xia Chichi helping at the beginning, or now relying on Xia Longyuan's technique, internal energy has always helped alleviate the drawbacks of Bloodthirsty Art, rather than eliminate them. The only way to truly eliminate them is with the Blood-Setting Pill given by Sun Jiaoxi, but to this day, Zhao Changhe has not taken a single one.

Once you rely on that kind of thing, you can never be independent again.

Alleviating the drawbacks of internal energy is enough... How can a real man not endure a little pain?

In a daze, he seemed to hear noise outside and someone knocking on the door, but Zhao Changhe's rationality was chaotic and he didn't pay attention, still tirelessly attacking the final level.

He didn't know how long he had endured, but Zhao Changhe could already feel his clothes drenched in sweat, and the tendons that Bloodthirsty Art was trying to break through were always just a little short.

Just a little short.

No matter how many times he endured the pain and attacked, the strength was not enough.

The energy was not enough, the medicine was not enough, and the time was too short.

After all, he was not a genius blessed by heaven.

"Fuck!" Zhao Changhe angrily opened his eyes, kicked the bath bucket next to him and the medicinal bath flowed all over the floor, announcing the failure of this breakthrough.

"Boss, boss!" Hearing the commotion inside, someone outside anxiously shouted, "Boss, you finally woke up..."

Zhao Changhe gasped wearily and said angrily, "What's the matter!"

"Somebody trespassed into the stronghold at night and got stuck in a trap... but her swordsmanship is really powerful. We've been deadlocked with her for half an hour and still can't take her down..."