But once the clues reached the level of the Second Boss of the Sanhe Gang, it was no longer something he could investigate on his own.

The only good news now was that both George Mason and William Clark were dead.

He was just someone George Mason had randomly found; aside from George Mason and William Clark, no one else knew his identity, so he should be safe for the time being.

For now, he put these matters aside as Adam Harper summoned the Taotie Furnace.

A row of small slots appeared beneath the Taotie Furnace, looking like an inventory in a game.

There was only one item inside, which seemed to be a blood bead, with a line of description above it:

【Vital Blood Essence: Condensed from a martial artist’s vital energy and blood. Sacrificing it grants 10 points of satiety.】

This was the first time Adam Harper had obtained something he could sacrifice, other than the parts from his own body.

But the problem was that this item could only be obtained by killing martial artists.

He had killed two people today, but George Mason didn’t count as a martial artist at all, so he didn’t get any Vital Blood Essence.

Did the Taotie Furnace mean that to become stronger, he had to keep killing?

Adam Harper had already felt that this thing was a bit sinister, and now he was even more certain.

The condition for activating the Taotie Furnace was to make Adam Harper keep killing to gain satiety, or to sacrifice himself for power.

As for whether he could resist this temptation, that would depend on Adam Harper’s own willpower.

Adam Harper didn’t waste the 10 points of satiety and immediately sacrificed them to the Taotie Furnace to cultivate inside.

The Sanhe Gang matter was always a hidden danger; to protect himself, Adam Harper had to accumulate strength.

10 points of satiety allowed him to cultivate in the Taotie Furnace for ten days.

Moreover, Adam Harper noticed that his cultivation progress seemed to have sped up this time.

In ten days, Adam Harper opened ten acupoints and also cleared one meridian.

As his proficiency in Iron Elephant Skill increased, his cultivation speed would also get faster.

Adam Harper pulled up his attribute panel to check his status.

【Name】: Adam Harper

Cultivation: Postnatal Meridian Opening Stage (seventy acupoints and two meridians opened)

Martial Arts Techniques: Postnatal Stage “Iron Elephant Skill” proficiency (35%), Postnatal Stage (Vajra Fist) proficiency 50%

Current Status: Vital energy and blood healthy】

Adam Harper let out a soft “hmm.”

This time, he hadn’t practiced Vajra Fist in the Taotie Furnace, yet its proficiency had soared from 30% to 50%.

It must have been because he fought for his life with William Clark using Vajra Fist, even unleashing a punch that contained the true essence of the technique, which caused the proficiency to skyrocket.

Adam Harper more or less understood the rules of proficiency now.

For internal cultivation methods, proficiency naturally increased with continuous practice.

But for martial skills, proficiency grew fastest in life-and-death combat.

Chapter 6: White Ape Arm-Extending Fist and Jade-Shattering Hand

Early the next morning.

The courtyard of George Mason’s house was filled with members of the Sanhe Gang.

A middle-aged man in a black brocade robe, sporting a small mustache, was examining William Clark’s corpse.

His knuckles were thick and larger than those of ordinary people.

But the skin on the back of his hands was spotless and tender, so much so that the blue veins beneath could be seen—enough to make countless women envious.

He was the Second Boss of the Sanhe Gang, “Jade-Shattering Hand” Kevin Grant.

“William Clark was killed by a single punch that smashed his skull.

The punch was heavy and forceful, open and direct. His head was shattered as if struck by a demon-subduing pestle. It should have been the Vajra Fist.”

Kevin Grant was experienced in the martial world; just by examining William Clark’s corpse, he deduced the situation at the time and the martial art used to kill William Clark.

A subordinate came over and said, “Boss, the other guy isn’t anything special. His leg was broken, and he was strangled to death in the end.”

“What’s his identity?”

“That guy’s name is George Mason, just a low-level thug. He did a few things for William Clark but hadn’t officially joined our Sanhe Gang yet.

Do you think it could have been the Black Tiger Gang or the Skyhawk Gang? Their territories can’t compete with ours, so maybe they secretly killed Brother William.”

Kevin Grant narrowed his eyes and said, “No, if it were those two gangs, they’d be bragging about it by now.

That person broke George Mason’s leg first, then killed William Clark, and finally strangled George Mason. It’s obvious the target was George Mason.

Focus the investigation on George Mason and see if he had any enemies or the like.”

The subordinate nodded.

“So should we just let this matter go for now?”

“Let it go? How could we possibly let it go!”

Kevin Grant snorted coldly. “William Clark was a leader of our Sanhe Gang, and now he’s died so mysteriously. If we just let this go, where would that leave the Sanhe Gang and me, Kevin Grant?

There are quite a few people who know the Vajra Fist, but in all of Heishi County, there’s only one place where someone could have cultivated it to this level—Zhenwei Martial Arts School!

Let’s go, bring the men and pay James Thompson a visit!”

Inside Zhenwei Martial Arts School, Adam Harper acted as if nothing had happened and came to class early in the morning.

During the break, Samuel Thompson came over to Adam Harper.

He glanced around and whispered, “Did you hear? George Mason was killed last night, and even Sanhe Gang’s William Clark died! The whole southern part of the city is in an uproar!”

Adam Harper remained calm. “You don’t think this has anything to do with me, do you?”

“Of course not. William Clark was a leader of the Sanhe Gang, with several lives on his hands.

But you’d better be careful these days and don’t get involved with George Mason.”