Martial Saint with Passives

Along the way, Jiang Che saw that things had clearly grown much more desolate and dilapidated.

Even the Inner City was starting to have beggars.

The Outer City was in an even more ruinous state.

When passing by the Shao Mansion, Jiang Che glanced over and saw that the main gate was shut tight, with no visitors coming to the door anymore.

As the Zhao Family formed the Piracy Eradication Alliance and further expanded their power, the Shao Mansion had completely fallen silent. Now, it was a Noble Family in name only, without any of the substance.

Remembering the boundless prestige of the Shao Mansion’s master during his birthday banquet, Jiang Che couldn’t help but sigh.

He went to the door to ask around and found that Shao Jianbo still hadn’t returned, so Jiang Che had no choice but to give up.

Arriving at the Xuanji Secret Market, Jiang Che discovered that even this place had become much more deserted.

Not only were there fewer buyers, but there were hardly any sellers left either.

After looking around for a while, Jiang Che didn’t find anything of particular value.

Fortunately, however, he found the man who had sold him a Secret Manual before.

He looked through the selection. Besides the Secret Manuals he had bought before, there were two Qi Blood Realm Martial Arts.

One was an Iron Body Skill, the >.

The other was a Swordsmanship, the >.

”Ten thousand silver for one? Weren’t they five thousand before?” Jiang Che asked with a frown.

”That was then, this is now. How much could one piece of silver buy back then, and how much can it buy now? Silver just isn’t worth what it used to be!” said the burly man selling the Secret Manuals.

Jiang Che knew this was true, but ten thousand silver for a single manual was simply too expensive.

He only had sixty thousand silver in total at the moment.

Besides, he now knew that these were Martial Arts without a Fundamental Diagram, which could at best only be practiced to the Iron Skin Realm.

Jiang Che hesitated for a moment, then asked about basic-level Martial Arts.

But he found there were no new ones. He had bought all of them in a single batch last time.

”These are all the Martial Arts that have made their way out here. If you want to learn more, your only option is to find a master at a Martial Arts Hall,” the burly man said.

Jiang Che understood this as well.

Putting aside whether Luo Kun would ”cleanse the sect” for switching masters, it was still a question whether anyone would even accept him.

Besides, how many times could a person switch allegiances?

In the Jianghu, learning a skill from a Martial Arts Hall basically branded you as one of theirs.

Switching was extremely rare.

With no other choice, Jiang Che bought the two Qi Blood Martial Arts anyway.

The situation in the city was currently murky and unpredictable, and he couldn’t break through to Force Integration anytime soon.

Therefore, his only option was to find a way to stack up more Talent Skills.

After buying the Secret Manuals, Jiang Che didn’t leave right away, but instead wandered around for a little longer.

Suddenly, he noticed a small stall where someone was selling all sorts of strange and curious items, including, to his surprise, Human Skin Masks.

His interest piqued, he walked over and picked up a Human Skin Mask to examine it.

He saw that the mask’s material was remarkably close to real skin; the quality was indeed quite good.

”Sir, you can rest assured. These Human Skin Masks are so realistic they’re indistinguishable from the real thing. No one will be able to tell!” the vendor said.

”How can you prove it?” Jiang Che asked.

The vendor glanced around before whispering, ”Watch closely, Sir!”

He quickly removed his own Silver Mask, revealing a round-faced, middle-aged man underneath.

He picked up a Human Skin Mask, pressed it to his face, and then began kneading it into place.

Soon, he had transformed into a young man with sharp, angular features.

Jiang Che leaned in for a closer look and found that it was indeed very difficult to tell.

The vendor switched to another one, this time becoming an old man.

Satisfied, Jiang Che said, ”How much for one?”

”Two thousand silver.”

The vendor held up two fingers.

Jiang Che nodded. A Human Skin Mask that could truly pass for real was worth the price.

”I’ll take one, then. By the way, how do you use them?” Jiang Che said.

”These few have already been imprinted. I also have some unimprinted ones over here, but they’re more expensive—three thousand silver each. With these, you can imprint anyone’s face you want, but you’ll need their cooperation. Of course, how you get them to cooperate... well, that’s up to you,” the vendor said, lowering his voice.

”In that case, I’ll take the unimprinted ones. Give me three,” Jiang Che said after a moment’s thought. ’This way, I can also disguise myself as other people.’

Seeing three masks sold at once, the vendor was overjoyed, his voice becoming several degrees more attentive.

He then explained the specific imprinting method to Jiang Che in detail.

After stashing the Human Skin Masks away, Jiang Che left the Xuanji Tower.

As he was walking through a small alley, he suddenly felt something strange behind him.

It seemed someone was following him.

He slowed his pace, extended his five senses, and confirmed that three people were tailing him from behind.

However, Omen showed no reaction.

This meant the three people behind him posed no threat to him.

An idea struck Jiang Che, and he deliberately walked into a dark alley.

Then, he pressed himself against the wall and stood perfectly still.

Because he was in the darkness, his Talent Skill, [Invisibility], activated. Jiang Che instantly merged with the shadows, becoming completely invisible to the naked eye.

Before long, three men in gray clothes followed him in.

”Huh? Where’d he go?”

They were stunned to find they were in a dead end, and the person they had been following had vanished!

”What do you want with me?”

Jiang Che quietly released some hallucinogenic mist, then revealed himself.

The three men immediately became somewhat dazed.

”We’re from Xuanji Tower. You just spent twenty-nine thousand silver. You’re a fat sheep, and the Tower Master ordered us to rob you.”

Jiang Che was a little speechless.

So the Xuanji Tower had actually started robbing its own customers.

He couldn’t help but lament how chaotic the world was becoming; even the basic rules were gone.

Jiang Che didn’t waste any words. He knocked all three of them unconscious, then took everything of value from their bodies.

While he was at it, he also helped them out by crippling their Dantian and Qi Blood.