Chapter 14: Twice the Perception; Photographic Memory!

Zheng Renxin maintained his composure against the chaotic atmosphere, walking slowly among the corpses as he examined them one by one. When faced with the furious outcries of his subordinates, he spoke with calm detachment. “Judging from the wounds, many were slain with a single palm strike. A martial artist capable of such power must be at the Organ Refinement Stage.”

“An Organ Refinement martial artist?”

“There’s a cultivator at the Organ Refinement Stage among the bandits?”

“Patriarch, are you certain?”

The senior members who had been yelling to lead squads moments earlier instantly fell silent at Zheng Renxin’s remark, their boldness vanishing completely. None dared speak further. The prospect of being up against an Organ Refinement martial artist was enough to make even Miaoshou Garden’s senior ranks uneasy.

Of course, Miaoshou Garden had Organ Refinement experts as well, Zheng Renxin being one of them. Still, there were only a few of them, and if they clashed with the bandits and their ranks suffered casualties, who would be left to hold such a vast enterprise together? No, Miaoshou Garden would never have its elite risk their lives against some penniless bandits.

“Increase the patrols,” Zheng Renxin ordered evenly. “Send more guards to each herbal medicine shop. And report to the magistrate’s office. Have the constables search the entire city.”

In truth, Zheng Renxin’s commands were little more than measures to calm the people. The bandits could neither be caught nor stopped from striking again. All he could hope for was that, having pulled off such a daring heist, they would just count their treasures and simply walk away.

As for vengeance? That was impossible. Miaoshou Garden would have no choice but to swallow its anger and deal with the losses.

Watching how Zheng Renxin handled the matter, Lu Changsheng instantly understood his intentions. There could be only one reason for such a vast force as Miaoshou Garden to stand back and swallow this: the bandits had an Organ Refinement martial artist among them. A single cultivator at that stage was enough to cow the entire Miaoshou Garden.

What use were silver taels, large estates, or even legions of guards? One Organ Refinement cultivator could render them powerless. And if it had been a Divine Strength Realm expert instead? Just one would have been enough to force Miaoshou Garden to bow its head and surrender whatever was demanded.

At that moment, Lu Changsheng felt the truth sink deeper into his bones. This was a world where strength reigned supreme. Martial power was the foundation of all.

That night, in Lu Changsheng’s room, a large iron cauldron lay in the center, filled to the brim with iron sand—a rare material he had gone to great lengths to obtain, used specifically for practicing the Iron Sand Palm.

Because he had long lacked this resource, his Iron Sand Palm had remained stuck at Advanced Mastery, and he had been utterly unable to push it to Perfection. Now, having finally procured the special sand, he plunged his hands into it, striking and grinding them again and again.

Once, twice, thrice… The soft rasping of iron sands echoed through the room.

He eventually lost track of time, but his attention was spurred by a faint line of glowing words that suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Iron Sand Palm Perfection. Perception +2.

“I’ve pushed it to Perfection?” Lu Changsheng froze up in surprise. The Iron Sand Palm was only a second-tier martial technique, yet upon reaching Perfection, it had increased his Perception by two points.

Normally, an increase of this extent wouldn’t mean much, but now, things were different. His Perception had risen from 198 to 200, twice that of an ordinary person. This was bound to bring an extraordinary breakthrough.

Buzz…

A cool sensation rose to his head as he felt his mind becoming clearer. He sensed faintly that his mind had grown sharper than ever, as though it had undergone a fundamental transformation. Closing his eyes, he felt as if something deep within his mind was fermenting.

Whoosh!

In the next moment, his eyes snapped open. The dagger in his hand flickered, his figure shifting like an afterimage, so fast it seemed as though he had never moved at all. Yet, the table before him was already missing a corner.

Deathflash Perfection. Perception +5.

Another row of glowing words emerged before Lu Changsheng’s eyes.

“I’ve also elevated Deathflash to perfection…” he murmured with a calm expression. It was just as he had expected. When his Perception had reached 200, he had vaguely grasped the core of Deathflash, and testing it out had pushed the technique straight to perfection.

With his heightened Perception, Lu Changsheng could comprehend anything instantly, so it was no wonder he had effortlessly pushed Deathflash to Perfection.

Deathflash has increased my Perception by 5 points. That means it’s a fifth-tier martial art, not a third or fourth-tier as I previously assumed. I never imagined I could create a fifth-tier martial technique while still at the Blood Strengthening Stage.

Lu Changsheng was understandably astonished. He had never even seen or heard of a fifth-tier martial technique, and yet, Deathflash had proven to be just that.

After steadying his thoughts, he turned his focus toward his status panel.

[Status Panel]

Host: Lu Changsheng

Perception: 205 (Full of Potential)

[Skills]

Deathflash: Perfection

Iron Sand Palm: Perfection

Sixfold Heaven Blood Strengthening Art: Fourth Layer

With his Perception surpassing 200, his evaluation had shifted from The Bearing of an Average Man to Full of Potential. Clearly, this was a metamorphosis of Perception itself.

When it had first transformed from Ordinary and Unremarkable to The Bearing of an Average Man, the effect had already been obvious. Now, with the change to Full of Potential, the impact was nothing short of astonishing.

“So when Perception doubles, it brings a qualitative leap,” Lu Changsheng murmured to himself. “Then how many points will the next transformation require?”

He shook his head. There was no way to know. Perhaps three hundred. Perhaps five hundred.

Regardless, even with his current 205 points of Perception, Lu Changsheng already felt as though he had rediscovered the world. The world itself had not changed, and neither had he, but the way he perceived it was entirely different. He couldn’t put it into words, but he clearly sensed that he was no longer the same as before.

Lu Changsheng thought of a way to test it. He took a pharmacopoeia from the bookshelf, a tome containing more than three thousand types of medicinal herbs he had not yet fully memorized. Now, as he merely skimmed through the pages, he seemed able to read and comprehend ten lines of text at once.

Snap.

About two hours later, Lu Changsheng closed the book and shut his eyes. To his astonishment, the contents he had just skimmed resurfaced in his mind with startling clarity. Though some details were faint, it seemed he had retained most of the information.

“Photographic memory…” Lu Changsheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. He was certain that he had gained the ability of photographic memory—the terrific result of his Perception breaking past 200.

Nevertheless, the evaluation on his status panel still labeled him only as Full of Potential. After all, this ability only concerned memory. The enhancement of Perception extended far beyond that, comprehension, observation, and many other faculties.

“Hoo…”

Lu Changsheng steadied his emotions, though waves of excitement surged within him. “In order to further raise my Perception, I must continue practicing martial techniques. But there are very few second-tier techniques left in the black market. Once I finish the second-tier ones, I’ll have to train in third-tier techniques, which are considerably more expensive.”

Lu Changsheng frowned slightly, realizing he was faced with the same problem again, namely silver taels. Acquiring medicinal meals had already cost him a fortune, and now martial techniques demanded just as much. Considering that the herbs in the valley were running low, how was he supposed to keep earning silver in the future?

He recalled what he had overheard earlier. “Those bandits looted the herbal medicine shop, taking more than three thousand silver taels. If I could find them and kill them…”

A cold glint flickered in his eyes, but he quickly shook his head. “Not yet. I’m still only in the Blood Strengthening Stage, and they have Organ Refinement martial artists among them. Even with Deathflash at Perfection, I wouldn’t stand much of a change against them. Unless I can advance the Sixfold Heaven Blood Strengthening Art to the Sixth Layer, or step into the Bone Tempering Stage…”

As he muttered under his breath, Lu Changsheng forced himself to push the dangerous thought aside. However, it was too late; the idea had already taken root in his mind, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not drive it away.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep