Chapter 83: Divine Blood

Chapter 83: Divine Blood

After leaving the Martial Arts Assessment Center, the crowd dispersed in small groups, some with excited expressions, others visibly dejected.

On the way back, Chen Shouyi was no longer alone.

"You live here? Didn’t expect we’d be staying at the same hotel!" A burly man with a thick beard exclaimed as they reached the hotel entrance.

"Yeah, what a coincidence," Chen Shouyi replied with a smile.

Through conversation, he learned that the man was named Lu Weifeng, and his companion was Wei Chenghao, a tall and lanky man. Both hailed from the same place, though only Lu Weifeng had passed the preliminary assessment.

"Let’s grab dinner together later," Lu Weifeng invited with a grin, undeterred by the age gap between them. Someone like Chen Shouyi, barring any mishaps, was bound to become a significant figure in the future.

Wei Chenghao, who had been somewhat gloomy, chimed in, "Yeah, let’s eat somewhere nice."

"Sure, I’ll just grab a few things first," Chen Shouyi agreed straightforwardly.

"We’ll meet you at the hotel entrance," Lu Weifeng said.

Chen Shouyi returned to his room, retrieved his briefcase, opened it briefly to check the contents, then zipped it back up. By the time he reached the entrance, the two were already waiting.

The group chose an upscale restaurant and booked a private room.

...

"I’m not planning to go back. I’ll train at the Otherworld Training Room here for a while," Wei Chenghao declared, setting down his chopsticks and downing a bitter drink.

"What about your wife and kids?" Lu Weifeng asked.

"I’ll have to bring them over. Luoshan City is still without power, and she doesn’t have a job anyway. It doesn’t matter where we stay. Thankfully, we’ve got some savings left—enough to last a year or two," Wei Chenghao sighed.

Lu Weifeng was tempted but shook his head. "Hedong City is definitely more convenient, with better resources. I’d love to move here too, but the housing prices are insane."

"You and Shouyi here have nothing to worry about. From what I’ve heard, Hedong City offers a Relocation Allowance of three million to attract Martial Artists. How could you not afford a house?"

"That much?" Chen Shouyi was surprised.

"Is it really a lot?" Lu Weifeng countered, seeing his reaction. "I read the news yesterday—housing prices in Hedong have already hit fifty thousand per square meter. Three million would barely get you a small place. And once you become a Martial Artist, you’ll need to buy your own gear. A decent sword and a War Bow alone will cost you a million."

"Plus, a Martial Artist friend told me that training later on burns through money. You’ll constantly need to procure ‘Divine Blood’ and other rare treasures through special channels, or your progress will stall."

Chen Shouyi thought he’d misheard—or perhaps it was something else entirely. He couldn’t help asking, "Divine Blood? You mean the blood of Deities?"

"Well, that’s not entirely wrong. You know how dozens of Deities fell to Earth over a decade ago, right? Ever wondered what happened to their remains?"

Wei Chenghao, who clearly hadn’t heard of this either, asked curiously, "Were they cloned or something?"

Lu Weifeng looked both amused and exasperated. "Cloning isn’t that easy. These beings’ flesh and blood possess extraordinary vitality and terrifying metabolic capabilities. Divine Blood is essentially the cellular fluid extracted from their flesh."

"Why use cellular fluid? Wouldn’t it be better to consume the flesh directly?" Wei Chenghao asked.

"I don’t know. I’m not a scientist. But it’s probably dangerous. Even on Earth, the flesh of such terrifying beings likely retains some unimaginable abilities," Lu Weifeng replied.

He continued, "It’s said that the earliest batches of Divine Blood had the strongest effects, but they gradually degraded during cultivation. What a shame."

"Are these Deities still alive or dead now?" Chen Shouyi voiced his confusion.

"No one knows for sure. Probably dead. But who can really understand such things?"

The conversation about taboo topics like Deities from the Otherworld inevitably stirred excitement, and the meal stretched on for a full two hours.

For Chen Shouyi, the dinner was highly enlightening. He learned many secrets about Martial Artists that he couldn’t have accessed online. Compared to these seasoned Martial Artist Apprentices, he lagged far behind in both life experience and knowledge.

Some things simply weren’t available on the internet, circulating only within small circles or through special channels.

Take Divine Blood, for example.

Before this, he hadn’t even heard of such a thing.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

First, the annual production was extremely limited.

Second, posting it online would likely trigger an uproar and a tidal wave of public opinion.

The internet was never short of Moral Purists. And while many Deities from the Otherworld didn’t take human form, they were still intelligent beings. Consuming Divine Blood would undoubtedly strike those with moral sensitivities as akin to cannibalism.

When it was time to pay the bill, they discovered Lu Weifeng had already settled it during a bathroom break.

"Later, how about we go relax and digest?" Lu Weifeng suggested as they left the restaurant, his smile carrying a distinctly worldly implication.

Chen Shouyi hastily declined. "No thanks, I’ll pass. You guys go ahead."

"I’m not going either!" Wei Chenghao also lacked interest. "I’m heading home this afternoon to move my family here."

…

Back at the hotel, Chen Shouyi set down his briefcase.

He walked to the computer desk, sat down, and turned on the computer. Once the desktop loaded, he quickly logged into the official Martial Arts website of Hedong City. Soon, he found that the list of those who had passed the Physical Fitness Test had been posted. Clicking on the list, he saw his name at the very top.

He skimmed to the end of the list, noting the location and assembly time for the Martial Artist Club.

Then he closed the webpage and opened the official site of Dongning City. There was little information there, with no mention of any cult-related incidents. Chen Shouyi clicked on a news article titled "Crackdown on Severe Criminal Activities," published the day before yesterday.

After a quick read, he confirmed that Dongning City was indeed under martial law. Not only had a large number of task forces been dispatched to take over the city’s administration and public security, but widespread investigations had also begun.

He sighed.

He searched for news about Pingqiu City again but found little useful information. Most of the reports were dated over twenty days ago, before the power outage. Still, no news was the best news.

Then, an idea struck him, and he immediately entered the address of the haunted house.

Shigang Lane 18, Hedong City.

The first few results were all listings for the sale of this haunted house.

"22 million!"

Chen Shouyi glanced at it, his Mind Spirit utterly unmoved.

He wasn’t buying it, nor could he afford it.

In fact, the price wasn’t expensive—it was practically a steal. The haunted house was located in a bustling downtown area, with both the house and the courtyard covering an area of about 666 square meters. Given Hedong City’s market rates, the land alone was worth far more.

Unfortunately, the property had been listed for three years without being sold.

Chen Shouyi continued searching. After a long time, he finally found a useful piece of information.

"Back then, I bought a haunted house to save money—Shigang Lane 18. Never thought I’d actually encounter ghosts. Every time I slept, a woman would appear in my dreams. We performed exorcisms several times and even hired a master to adjust the feng shui, but nothing seemed to work. Now my mental state is getting worse. Today, I even saw this woman while I was awake..."

This seemed to be a post made years ago by one of the previous owners on a local forum. Unfortunately, when he clicked on it, he found it had already been deleted.