Chapter 30: Dao Fruit Devours Divine Essence, Xu's Bone-Shattering Spear

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Li Che returned to the Wood Carving Shop, the sky had already turned dark.

During Heavy Snow, the sky always darkens earlier.

Returning to his small courtyard, the yard was brightly lit, and Xixi was playing with Old Chen.

Old Chen doted on Xixi so much that he would usually use his inner strength to create a dry and warm area, driving away the heavy snow and cold, allowing the little girl to play happily without catching a chill.

"You're back? How was the Inner City? Did you broaden your horizons?" Old Chen said with a smile.

"The Inner City is indeed more prosperous than I could have imagined, far surpassing the Outer City," Li Che nodded, admitting the prosperity of the Inner City.

Old Chen chuckled, "Those living in the Inner City are all noble families, even the smaller ones. They definitely make sure their living environment is good."

"As for the Outer City, it's a mix of all sorts, whether it's refugees, disaster victims, or locals, all mixed together. The big shots in the Inner City don't care about your life or death, and they can't manage everything."

This topic became a bit heavy. Li Che knew that Old Chen had also fled to Feilei City during a disaster, so he didn't continue the conversation.

He handed a jar of good wine from the Inner City to Old Chen.

"This is from the Golden Splendor Pavilion in the Inner City. I brought it specially for you. It's not cheap, this jar costs five taels of silver!"

Old Chen's face lit up, "I didn't misjudge you, you have a good heart!"

He eagerly broke the seal on the jar and took a big gulp, the strong aroma of the wine spreading throughout the courtyard.

Old Chen drank a large mouthful, his face glowing red.

"Refreshing! The wine from the Golden Splendor Pavilion is really good!"

"Grandpa... Xixi wants to drink too." Just as Old Chen finished drinking, he felt a tug on his clothes. He saw little Xixi with her innocent eyes looking at him.

Children have a strong sense of curiosity, wanting to try everything.

Li Che laughed, picked up Xixi, and went back into the house.

Night fell.

Zhang Ya reheated the delicious food Li Che brought back from the Inner City and invited Old Chen to join them for dinner. The Inner City's delicacies greatly increased their appetite, and even Old Chen ate two more bowls of white rice.

"Wife, I earned five gold leaves this trip. Here, four for you, and I'll keep one for expenses."

Li Che smiled and took out the earnings from selling the wood carvings, sharing them with his wife.

Zhang Ya, with her red lips pursed, looked at her husband under the lamplight, her heart trembling slightly, feeling content and extremely happy.

Life was finally getting better.

Earning five gold leaves at once was a life he had never dared to imagine before.

After dinner, they put the exhausted Xixi to bed.

Night fell, and it was quiet.

The exhausted Zhang Ya fell into a deep sleep.

Li Che, wearing a thin shirt, tightened the blanket for his wife and daughter, then slowly walked out of the house and went to the study.

He did not start researching or making other mechanisms from the *Tang Family Mechanism Notes*.

Instead, he raised his hand, and under the lamplight, his arm, which looked like jade, emitted a jade-colored mist.

In the mist, it seemed as if there were fiery red snakes wriggling.

If not for the suppression by the Thousand Analysis Hand, this Divine Essence would have instantly drilled into his brain, eroding his consciousness, driving him into a state of madness and anger, losing his mind.

"So domineering, so terrifying... so strange."

Li Che's expression became extremely serious.

His heart felt slightly heavy. This was just a strand of Divine Essence left by the Spirit Child Dharma Master in the wood carving. If one leaf can reveal the whole autumn, it was hard to imagine how strong the Spirit Child Dharma Master must be!

This was even more terrifying than Lei Chunlan, a sharp blade hanging over his head!

Only by becoming stronger, constantly stronger... could he protect Xixi from the threat of the Spirit Child Dharma Master.

"And the Si Family... Lei Chunlan's appearance at the Si Family, does it mean... the deaths of those infants are related to the Si Family?"

"Could it be for cultivating Divine Essence?"

Li Che frowned, his expression extremely serious.

This world was much darker and dirtier than he had imagined.

Taking a deep breath, Li Che calmed down and continued his research.

"These angry Divine Essences are now condensed in my arm. If I use the martial technique 'White Tiger Chaotic Wind Fist,' perhaps I can stimulate the power of the Divine Essence and make it work for me!"

Li Che's eyes shone brightly as he immediately analyzed how to use the Divine Essence extracted and analyzed by the Thousand Analysis Hand.

Closing his eyes, he used his mind to sense the Divine Essence in the jade-like Thousand Analysis Hand...

Suddenly, Li Che opened his eyes, feeling the Dao Fruit [Dragon-Elephant Vajra] in his chest pulsating violently!

The sound of dragon roars and elephant trumpets echoed in his ears!

The Divine Essence absorbed by the Thousand Analysis Hand was like a hot stream, being completely drained with each pulse of the Dao Fruit!

Li Che was astonished.

A prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Dao Fruit: Dragon-Elephant Vajra (Level 1, 60%)]

Li Che's breath caught, his eyes shining with intense excitement!

The Dragon-Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit could actually devour Divine Essence to ripen?!

Divine Essence...

Was such a great supplement!

...

...

The next day.

Li Che went to the Xu Family's training ground early.

He now displayed a cultivation level of Skin Grinding, having reached perfection and was striving for Tendon Opening.

The training ground was as lively as usual.

After practicing for a while, Xu Beihu arrived, stepping through the snow.

"Master Li, please come in."

Xu Beihu's gaze fell on Li Che, and he spoke in a deep voice, then entered the inner room.

Li Che understood why Xu Beihu had come, but his expression remained calm.

In the inner room, a charcoal stove burned, and the boiling water whistled, with tea leaves swirling in the water.

After the water boiled, the tea was steeped three times, and a rich aroma filled the air.

Xu Beihu pushed the teacup to Li Che with two fingers.

"Master Li... Lei Chunlan is dead."

Xu Beihu sipped the tea and said in a low voice.

Li Che had just taken a sip of tea and suddenly seemed to be scalded, fumbling for a moment, then his eyes showed surprise: "What? Lei Chunlan... is dead?"

"He was fine yesterday... how could he be dead?"

Xu Beihu watched Li Che closely and saw his genuine reaction, frowning.

Sun Changbiao's death... was related to Li Che, as he had reportedly been targeting his daughter.

Lei Chunlan's death was also related to Li Che, but the killer of both was the mountain-like brute, the Bull Demon.

The Bull Demon could easily kill a Tendon Opening perfection guard, indicating a Bone Tempering level of strength, which was definitely not the simple, steady, and honest Li Che.

Li Che lowered his voice, looking around, and said in a low tone, "Second Manager... could it be that Young Master Si killed Lei Chunlan?"

"I heard Lei Chunlan did many evil deeds, killing many infants... Young Master Si cultivates the Divine Essence of Anger and Tears..."

Xu Beihu: "..."

"Don't speak nonsense!"

"Don't say such things outside. Si Mu Bai has no reason to kill Lei Chunlan."

Xu Beihu was speechless. He had intended to test Li Che, but he didn't expect Li Che to directly guess it was the Si Family.

The Si Family definitely wouldn't do such things, but...

Xu Beihu fell silent, feeling a bit uneasy. The Si Family wouldn't... the Xu Family wouldn't... but other powerful families might take action.

Xu Beihu shook his head, his expression becoming more serious. This issue needed to be discussed with the elders back in the Inner City.

Xu Beihu's main reason for coming today was because Li Che's cultivation had broken through to Skin Grinding perfection, so he was here to teach him the Tendon Opening method.

"Thank you, Second Manager!" Li Che's face showed excitement as he accepted the Tendon Opening method and the inner strength technique from Xu Beihu.

Both were of medium rank, not much different from what Li Che had bought in the market. Old Chen had said that unless one was willing to join the Inner City's Xu Family, it was difficult to obtain high-quality martial arts.

An unexpected surprise was that, in addition to the Tendon Opening method and the inner strength technique, Xu Beihu also taught him a martial technique.

"Xu Family Eight-Linked Bone Shattering Spear!"

It was a spear technique that required a weapon, but if the body was strong enough, it could also be performed with the arms.

Li Che read through it repeatedly, unable to put it down.

Seeing Li Che's joy, Xu Beihu smiled, patted Li Che's shoulder, and encouraged him to improve his wood carving skills to prepare for becoming a master carver.

After Second Manager Xu Beihu left.

Li Che practiced the Xu Family Eight-Linked Bone Shattering Spear in the training ground. Due to the improvement of the [Dragon-Elephant Vajra], Li Che's martial arts comprehension had increased, and he mastered this medium-rank spear technique after just a morning of hard practice.

Back at the workshop, he first took on a wood carving job, then went to the courtyard to select wood.

Li Che was accustomed to choosing the wood himself, which would then be transported by the workers. Li Che didn't do the heavy lifting himself, as the workers needed to earn a living, and he didn't want to take that away from them.

Snowflakes fell from the sky, drifting down.

Li Che was directing the workers to move the wood, preparing to return to the workshop.

Suddenly, he saw his uncle, Li Liang, dressed in a scholar's robe and a long coat, bowing and hurrying in, led by the gatekeeper.

"Uncle?"

Li Che called out when he saw the visitor.

The old scholar raised his head sharply, his eyes bloodshot, his spirit on the verge of collapse.

Seeing Li Che, the old man couldn't help but shed tears.

"A Che, please help your uncle..."

(End of Chapter)