Samuel Bennett took a couple of steps forward, picked up a small stool and sat down, knowing that he had truly passed the test.

"Every martial art contains the spirit and temperament of its creator. When later generations learn it, their personalities are unconsciously changed."

Old Man Walker's voice was calm and unhurried as he spoke:

"A year ago, you were timid and submissive. Even if a stray dog was by the roadside, you wouldn't dare approach it. But now, a year later, you dare to kill at night."

"Do you really think this change is just because you drank a few sips of horse urine?"

"Changing one's character..."

Samuel Bennett's heart trembled, and he suddenly understood.

In his previous life, he had heard that children who were originally introverted and timid would become braver after learning fitness, sanda, or boxing.

Thinking about it now, it was nothing more than 'carrying a sharp blade, a killing intent naturally arises.'

"I've killed quite a few people in my life, and the skills I know are certainly not all that virtuous. You're a promising seedling, and I don't want to ruin you, so I was just testing you a bit."

William Walker stretched lazily, looking nonchalant.

Samuel Bennett was silent for a moment before saying, "But what if I was killed in return, or caught by the constables and thrown into prison?"

"Heh heh~"

William Walker straightened up, looked at Samuel Bennett, and said indifferently, "Naturally, that has nothing to do with me."

Samuel Bennett gave a bitter smile.

But in his heart, he was even more certain that this Old Man Walker was definitely not a good person.

"If you have anything you want to ask, just ask."

William Walker yawned.

Samuel Bennett steadied himself and asked the thing he most wanted to know: "Disciple wants to know how to 'change blood.'"

"Since you've passed this test, you can be considered my disciple. Fine, I'll tell you a bit more..."

Old Man Walker pondered briefly, then waved his hand and called out, "Wangcai."

The old monkey on the tree let out a few squeaks and darted into the house.

"Learning martial arts is nothing more than practicing moves, tempering the body, and increasing strength. But there is a limit to this. Even someone like David Miller, who can barely be considered gifted, is only as strong as a water buffalo."

William Walker took the yellow paper from the old monkey's paw and gave it a shake:

"But changing blood is different. That's a true rebirth! Once you pass this stage, you can be considered a real martial artist, and you can mix freely in both the inner and outer city."

"Rebirth."

Samuel Bennett's eyes lit up as he guessed, "How exactly do you change blood? Is it some kind of medicinal bath?!"

"That's right."

William Walker was a little surprised and nodded. "Ordinary methods can't reach the bone marrow. To change blood, you naturally need the help of medicinal herbs."

Whoosh—

As he spoke, he shook the yellow paper in his hand:

"This is the prescription for 'changing blood.' I can give you a copy, but where will you get the money to buy the herbs?"

"Eating dirt won't change your blood!"

Chapter 11: Can Everything Become a Progress Bar?

……

Separated by just a wall, some things in the inner and outer city are worlds apart, like houses.

The same small courtyard house costs only eighteen taels of silver in the outer city, but a full sixty-three taels in the inner city. Even after much haggling, it still costs sixty-one taels!

With his wages from odd jobs at the yamen, even if he didn't eat or drink, it would take forty-two years to afford one!

Even someone like Mr. Bennett, a prison guard with an official post, would need six years without eating or drinking to buy such a small courtyard house.

"Carriage drivers, innkeepers, brokers—all deserve to die even if they're innocent... The old man's pension is almost all spent."

Clenching his teeth as he left the broker's office, Samuel Bennett felt such heartache he could barely breathe.

The money pouch sent by Constable Harris contained twenty taels of silver, plus a fifty-tael banknote.

This was far more than the yamen's usual pension. Samuel Bennett figured that unless 'Three-foot Liu' had a sudden pang of conscience, it must have been Constable Harris who spoke up for him.

It was quite a sum, but it still didn't last long. After buying the house, more than half was gone.

"Take care, sir. Someone will deliver the deed to your place tomorrow."

The broker smiled cheerfully.

"I need to think of a way to make some money..."

Putting away the receipts, Samuel Bennett began calculating in his mind.

'The old man's pension is less than ten taels, and the silver I squeezed out of Charles Harris is just over ten taels...'

'Not to mention I won't touch the old man's pension, even if I did, the total of these twenty taels is only enough for twenty rounds of medicinal baths...'

'According to Old Man Walker, David Miller was considered lucky, but even he bought at least three hundred sets of herbs in total. That's really deadly expensive...'

'...I still don't know how powerful "changing blood" is, but I sure know how much money it takes...'

……

Calculating silently, Samuel Bennett still turned and headed to the pharmacy, planning to prepare a batch of herbs to try first.

According to Old Man Walker, changing blood is not something that can be done overnight. It's a slow and steady process with no shortcuts.

At best, it takes a year or two; at worst, three to five years. It can only be accumulated bit by bit, and there's a chance of failure.

If you fail once, a hundred days of effort is wasted. Fail three times, and not only will you never hope to change blood again, but you'll also damage your body's meridians...

"Why has everything gone up in price?"

Samuel Bennett winced in pain.

Behind the counter, the pharmacy manager wearing a small felt hat showed a trace of impatience on his face, but still forced himself to reply: