So Potent.

"Pah! Poor bastards."

Zhong Lin spat at the three corpses on the ground. After searching them, he only found two taels of silver and nothing else of value. The most valuable item was the ghost-head saber that the triangular-eyed man had been carrying. If sold, it could probably fetch around five taels of silver. 

He swung the saber a couple of times—it felt quite handy. 

"I was just thinking about visiting the blacksmith to get a blade made. This saves me the trouble." 

Zhong Lin was quite pleased. After all, weapons weren't cheap, and this ghost-head saber had saved him several taels of silver. 

He paid no further attention to the corpses. It wouldn't take long for the wild beasts in the forest to devour them, returning them to nature. The authorities wouldn't care either. 

Under the cover of night, Zhong Lin quickly returned to the city, skillfully taking a few detours to shake off any possible tails before finally slipping into Sweetwater Alley through a small path. 

Just like before, he didn't knock. Instead, with a short run-up, he leaped over the wall and landed inside. 

"Second Brother." 

The moment Zhong Lin pushed open the door, Little Shi sat up from the bed, his bright eyes gleaming in the darkness. 

Zhong Lin's hand paused. 

"You're still awake?" 

"I was waiting for you, Second Brother. I can't sleep until you're back." 

Zhong Lin stepped forward and gently ruffled Little Shi's hair. 

"Go to sleep now." 

"Mm." 

Zhong Lin didn't bother studying the pills any further. He took off his clothes and lay down to rest. 

He emptied his mind, recalling the battle in the forest against the triangular-eyed man, thinking about how he could refine his techniques to defeat such opponents more easily. 

--- 

Yamen (Government Office) 

Strength Squad Barracks 

Zhong Lin flicked his wrist, sending a black-and-red wine jar through the air in an arc. The nervous Old Zhou caught it firmly. 

"Be careful! If this breaks, it'd be a real waste." 

Old Zhou scolded him, but his hands swiftly pulled out the cork, and he took a deep whiff. 

"Authentic Qian Family Lihua Bai from the western district. Their wine really is the smoothest." 

Old Zhou looked utterly entranced, as if he wanted to drink it on the spot. 

Unfortunately, drinking was prohibited in the yamen, so he had to suppress his cravings and wait until he got home. 

He carefully re-sealed the jar and stashed it away in his cabinet before finally having time to talk to Zhong Lin. 

"You look quite pleased. Must've had a good haul last night?" Old Zhou asked with a grin. 

"Thanks to your guidance, I did manage to find what I needed. But damn, it was expensive." 

Zhong Lin grimaced, still feeling the sting in his wallet. 

Old Zhou laughed heartily. He was about to tease Zhong Lin a little when his gaze landed on the wine cabinet, and he suddenly felt the same pain in his heart. 

"Yeah… Good things are always pricey." 

Lihua Bai wasn't some famous wine, but with his salary, he could only afford to drink it once every ten days or so. 

"By the way, Old Zhou, I saw child traffickers in the black market. There were even a few drugged kids. Doesn't the yamen do anything about this?" 

Zhong Lin suddenly remembered the children he had seen, their state clearly indicating they had been abducted. 

Old Zhou glanced at Zhong Lin and asked in return: 

"Do anything? How? You going to handle it? Or am I? Do you really think the black market just formed on its own?" 

Zhong Lin was stunned. He immediately recalled the bearded man at the black market entrance who had been collecting money. That alone showed that someone was overseeing the black market. 

"Who's behind it?" 

"No idea." 

That was a whole lot of nothing. 

"I really don't know who exactly runs the black market, but whoever it is, they're someone with immense power in Heishan County. There are only a few possibilities, and even the county magistrate doesn't want to provoke them. If you see these people in the black market, just pretend you didn't. But if they show up in the city, then we deal with them as we should. Remember, our jurisdiction is within the city." 

Old Zhou warned him sternly, afraid that Zhong Lin would let youthful idealism lead him into trouble. 

"Understood." 

Zhong Lin, having lived two lives, knew that some things could be done while others couldn't—at least, not yet. 

After chatting with Old Zhou for a bit longer, Zhong Lin left, made a quick stop at Nuǎnxiāng House to paint a piece, earned five taels of silver, and returned home in high spirits. 

Little Shi had already been sent to Master Liu's school. With the house empty, it was the perfect time to examine last night's purchase. 

Carefully, he tipped out a single pill from the porcelain bottle. The so-called Blood Replenishing Pill was about the size of a pearl, dark red all over, and had a faint medicinal fragrance. 

"I should find time to study medicine. Maybe I can learn to replicate these pills. This is just a simple Blood Replenishing Pill, but Bone-Strengthening Pills are even more expensive." 

For others, learning medicine was a lifelong endeavor. But for Zhong Lin, who had his golden finger (system), as long as he could record a skill onto his interface, he could master it in a single breath. 

He wanted to see if he could break down the pill's ingredients and recreate it. 

A single Blood Replenishing Pill cost ten taels of silver. Ten pills had nearly bankrupted him. If he had to buy Bone-Strengthening Pills in the future, he'd be completely broke. 

He swallowed a pill. 

Within three breaths, he felt as if a volcano had erupted in his stomach. The heat surged through his entire body like molten lava. 

"Such potent medicinal power! This is at least ten times stronger than the Eight-Treasure Blood Nourishing Soup. No wonder it's called a pill." 

Zhong Lin wasted no time. He immediately began practicing Iron Mountain Strength Technique in the courtyard. 

Azure Dragon's Cave. 

Crane Claw Strikes Sand. 

Red Cliff Iron Wall. 

Ten Miles of Thunder. 

The Iron Mountain Strength Technique emphasized wide, powerful movements, with overwhelming force behind each strike. Yet, it still carried an elegance to it. 

Zhong Lin weaved across the yard, fists and kicks stretching as the pill's medicinal power circulated through his body, seeping into his muscles, bones, and skin. 

With his max-level Iron Mountain Strength Technique, every bit of medicinal power was fully absorbed—nothing was wasted. 

Most martial artists had to grope their way through training. Even if they consumed ten parts of a pill's energy, they could only absorb four or five, or at best, six or seven. 

But Zhong Lin, empowered by his system, had comprehension equal to the technique's creator. His ability to temper his body and absorb medicinal power far surpassed anyone else. 

It was like a max-level player revisiting the beginner village. 

Suddenly, Zhong Lin's movements shifted. A faint aura of a tiger's roar emanated from his fists. 

Fierce Tiger Leaves Its Cage. 

Starving Tiger Pounces on Prey. 

Black Tiger Steals the Heart. 

With each punch and kick, it was as if a real tiger had manifested beside him. The force of his strikes echoed like a tiger's roar. 

Sparrows perched on the jujube tree were so startled by his presence that they immediately took flight. 

After a full half-hour of practice, Zhong Lin finally stopped. The medicinal power of the Blood Replenishing Pill had been entirely absorbed—not a single bit wasted. 

"Pills really are incredible. If I had one every day, I could complete the Skin Toughening stage within a month and officially reach the Eighth Grade, the Tendon Refining Realm!" 

Zhong Lin was ecstatic. 

---