Chapter 28 - The Shadow under the Night

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

It was Liu Changsheng’s idea to invite Zhou Heng and Yu He to stay for lunch.

He wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about Zhou Heng. To be precise, he wanted to know some of Zhou Heng’s thoughts on the cultivation of saber techniques.

He could not forget Zhou Heng’s previous attack. He was itching to know how Zhou Heng did it.

He somehow felt that if he could understand the principles contained in Zhou Heng’s attack, he might be able to take his cultivation further.

But he did not get any substantive answers even when the meal was over. He just felt that Zhou Heng’s talent in martial arts was indeed extraordinary. He should be quite successful in the future.

Zhou Heng and Yu He left after the rain stopped.

Liu Changsheng could not help but ask Butler Wang, “Did you see through Zhou Heng’s previous attack, Butler Wang? I feel that it seemingly contained the antithesis of the five elements’ principles, but I’m not sure.”

Now that Zhou Heng was no longer here, it was normal to discuss his martial arts skills, so it was not a violation of the world of martial arts’ rules.

Zhao Yuan and the others at the side, looked at Butler Wang when they heard Liu Changsheng’s question.

The people present were all practicing martial arts belonging to the five elements and they had similar cultivation levels. They could vaguely tell that Zhou Heng’s attack had been quite abstruse.

If they could understand it, there was a high chance that it would be good for their martial arts’ advancement.

“The man’s attack did contain the principles of the five elements,” Butler Wang slightly nodded and said with a serious expression, “But it was not his saber techniques that contained the principles of the five elements.”

“Why do you say so?” Liu Changsheng asked in confusion.

“The reason his attack contained the principle of the five elements was that it cut at the weak point of the Unification of the Five Elements Stance.” There was a hint of admiration in Butler Wang’s eyes.

Then, he smiled and said, “You used the water element of the Unification of the Five Elements Stance, Young Master. It is agile and nimble. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for an unranked apprentice to repel you.

“But what if this unranked martial artist saw through the changes of your stance, found the weak point of it, and then changed his move unexpectedly so that his saber’s momentum grew stable and gained the element of earth?

“The five elements can restrain each other. Earth restrains water, so calmness tamed agility?”

Liu Changsheng was stunned after hearing that. Then, he asked with a surprised expression, “It’s not surprising that he knows the principles of the five elements’ mutual restraint, but how did he see through the changes of my stance?

“Unification of the Five Elements Stance is exclusive to the Five Elements Clan’s original disciple. It is impossible for him to know the workings of this stance.”

“It is indeed impossible for him to know it, but he didn’t need to as well. He just needs to understand and find out the weak points of it. It is enough to catch you by surprise.” Butler Wang slightly shook his head, and the admiration in his eyes grew.

Then, he said, “When I came here with the young master this morning, I accidentally heard someone talk about a martial arts genius who found the limelight recently. That person was talking about Zhou Heng.

“Rumor says that when he competed with his ninth class practitioner, he mastered a ninth-class martial art through the fight. This rumor is probably exaggerated compared to the truth, but this also reflects his martial arts talent.”

“You mean he saw through the weak point of my Unification of the Five Elements Stance by watching me perform it once?” Liu Changsheng was dumbfounded. He spoke as if he saw a ghost, “How is this possible? I have only heard that the Fairy Jade Mountain from Pious Sun Palace has such talent.”

“It’s not only Cheng Jiangjian who has such a talent. It’s just that you only know her, Young Master,” Butler Wang shook his head and said, “The Great Qara has thirty-three states. It has a huge population, but how many original disciples do the top clans have? It is not surprising that there would be an unnoticed talent.”

“I see. Butler Wang’s words have brought light to me.” Zhao Yuan, who was at the side, realized something and said, “Previously, a Wang family from another place moved here and caused quite a stir.

“The Wang family suddenly disappeared a few days ago. At that time, Zhou Heng was working as a temporary guard for Wang’s family’s eldest daughter, but he was not affected by the incident at all. There were vague traces that showed that the mayor had a hand in it.

“I was wondering if Zhou Heng is the child of a bigwig because he was protected by the mayor, Wu Zongshan, who is also a sixth-class expert. But now it seems like the mayor was just protecting raw talent.”

“Such a thing happened?” Butler Wang smiled after hearing that. Then, he said, “But this is normal. The imperial court’s political performance appraisals of various places include the level of martial artists. A genius like Zhou Heng is a treasure for a city.”

“So Zhou Heng is every inch a martial arts genius?” Liu Changsheng’s eyes brighten. He smiled and said, “It’s a pity that he is still an unranked martial artist. If he has already advanced to seventh class, I would love to have a match with him.”

“Haha, I’m afraid you won’t have the chance, Young Master,” Butler Wang smiled and said, “Although Zhou Heng is exceptionally talented, he has no inheritance from a reputable clan, no profound martial arts, and no nourishing spirit medicine.

“In this case, advancing to the seventh-class before the age of forty would be an achievement in and of itself. By then, you would be at the precipice of the fifth class, Young Master.”

“I can send him gifts if he lacks resources,” Liu Changsheng smiled and said, “Let him advance to the ninth-class first. Power will spread across his body, so he can put up a fight against me.”

Butler Wang was speechless. ‘The young master sure has a unique idea.

‘But anyway, the master has a big business. It is just a small matter to give someone some gifts, so I’ll just let the young master do whatever he wants.’

…

Tonight, the top three martial arts schools organized a banquet for the arrival of Liu Changsheng.

It was held at a restaurant run by Yu He’s family.

In this banquet, many Yellow Wood City’s gentries besides the top three martial arts schools were there. Yamen even sent a personal administrative assistant to represent the mayor, Wu Zongshan.

Zhou Heng was invited as well. He attended the banquet for the free meal.

When the banquet was over and the guests had left, Liu Changsheng, who was about to leave, gifted him a pill unexpectedly.

It was a Tiger Bone Refining Pill.

It was a pill that had an excellent effect on unranked martial artists. It could provide the body with a large amount of nutrition needed for martial arts and nourish the body’s qi and blood. It could also energize his power and make it reach the whole body naturally so that one could advance to the ninth class!

As the ninth class was also known as the stage of refining and foundation building, the Tiger Bone Refining Pill was also nicknamed the Foundation Building Pill.

It cost at least one thousand taels a pill!

At first, Zhou Heng wanted to refuse it. However, Liu Changsheng gifted the pill to apologize for the previous blunder, so he had to accept it.

Yu He came over after Liu Changsheng left. He chuckled and said, “Liu Changsheng is a good guy. He even gifted you such an expensive pill. It seems like he really abides by the world of martial arts’ rules.”

“You think that it was easy to receive this pill?” Zhou Heng patted his friend on the shoulder and said, “He obviously wants me to advance to the ninth class as soon as possible. After I have the power of the ninth class, I may be able to put up a better fight. That guy is crazy for martial arts.”

“Huh? You even have to compete?” Yu He was stunned. Then, he said, “Do you want me to give him a thousand taels on your behalf? Consider it as me buying the pill from him.”

“He won’t accept it,” Zhou Heng shook his head and said with a smile, “Besides, it is not bad to compete with him. It should be able to improve my martial arts. He is an expert from the People Ranking Board, after all.”

“You’re crazy for martial arts as well.” Yu He rolled his eyes. Just as he was about to tease Zhou Heng, he suddenly stared at something. He found a figure at a distant intersection. “Hey, look there, Zhou Heng. Is that Shopkeeper Qian?”

“Huh?” Zhou Heng looked over after hearing that.

It was already late at night. Although there was no set curfew, the street was already empty. Only some lanterns hung dimly at the stores’ doors. It was dark and quiet.

Shopkeeper Qian stood at a dark place at the intersection, so his face was unclear. Yu He might not have recognized him just now if Shopkeeper Qian had not left him a strong impression.

Shopkeeper Qian seemed to have noticed the two people’s stares, so he immediately turned around and left, disappearing into the night.

“I guess it’s envy, jealousy, and hatred,” Yu He joked and smiled smugly.

“You better be careful during the next couple of days.” Zhou Heng reminded him. “I feel that something is wrong with Shopkeeper Qian.”

“I will,” Yu He smiled and said, “Many a wrecked man would seek revenge. I’ll definitely be careful.”

“Good to know that,” Zhou Heng nodded and said, “I’ll go back as well then.”

“Be careful on the road.” Yu He waved his hand as he watched Zhou Heng leave.

After Zhou Heng walked away, he turned around and returned to the restaurant. But when he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly felt a little dizzy.

Bang!

Yu He slammed his hand on the door to support himself.

“What happened?”

He pressed his temples and shook his head. “Maybe I’m too tired today? I should go to bed early.”

At the same time, a face previously hidden in the shadow appeared on the wall of the intersection where Shopkeeper Qian disappeared.

That face opened its mouth and showed thirty-two white teeth.

Its green eyes flickered and stared at Yu He, who made his way into the restaurant.

…

When Zhou Heng returned home, he put the wooden box containing the Tiger Bone Refining Pill on the table. He was wondering if he should eat it or sell it as it cost one thousand taels.

He still owed Cheng Jiangjian an external debt of three thousand taels. He might be able to take a breather if he had these one thousand taels.

Although Cheng Jiangjian never asked Zhou Heng to pay back the money, he had been keeping this in his heart. Such a precious pill could not be eaten for nothing.

After hesitating for a while, he decided to open the Lucky Bag first.

What if something better came out of the Lucky Bag?

For example, the Nine Turns Purple Gold Pill could make one become the Golden Immortal after a single consumption.

Zhou Heng had a total of two Lucky Bags now.

One was a Silver Lucky Bag he had received when he defeated Liu Changsheng in the previous competition. Another one was a Bronze Lucky Bag he had received after cultivating the Thirteen Autumn Rain Swords to perfection.

He planned to open the Bronze Lucky Bag after he advanced to the ninth class. He wanted to see if the upper limit of the Luck Bag’s reward had anything to do with his cultivation level.

Although he received a new Silver Lucky Bag, he had no plan to change it. He would still keep the Bronze Lucky Bag.

After all, he had never received a notification that said he was lucky when he opened Silver Lucky Bags, so he felt a little regretful.

“Silver Lucky Bag is a bag equipped with literally everything. Once you open it, you’ll gain a reward you will not expect.”

“Open!”

“Congratulations! You’ve been rewarded with a basic attribute. Your insight has increased by 1.”

Zhou Heng was dumbfounded.

“That’s it? That’s it?”

Zhou Heng’s eyes widened. ‘No luck again!

‘There’s no notification that says I’m lucky. Is it another ordinary reward?

‘My insight has increased by 1?

‘What reward is this?’

He only figured it out after a while. It seemed to be an attribute that enhances his ability to observe.

He could see farther, clearer, and discovered some details that were easily overlooked.

‘What’s the use of this stuff?

‘Do I have bad luck with Silver Lucky Bags?

‘It seems like I have never received anything good from the Silver Lucky Bags.’

Zhou Heng looked at the remaining Bronze Lucky Bag. He wanted to open it right away to test whether it was him or the Silver Lucky Bag that was unlucky.

However, he held back in the end.

After all, he had almost advanced to the ninth class. If he took the Tiger Bone Refining Pill, he would advance to the ninth class within a day or two.

It was not too late to open it then.

“Forget it. I don’t want to think anymore. Time to sleep.”

…

The next morning, Zhou Heng came to the martial arts school to practice as usual.

It felt good to practice while listening to the notifications announcing that his level of proficiency had increased.

What made him even more pleased was that when he practiced Prosperity Inner Strength Stance Technique, the level of proficiency of the Unification of the Five Elements Stance increased as well!

He got twice the result with half the effort!

However, Zhou Heng felt that something seemed to be missing at today’s martial arts school.

Yu He was absent.

“Did he drink too much yesterday, so he overslept?” Zhou Heng frowned.

Right then, he suddenly smelled a faint fragrance.

“Brother Zhou, do you know where Practitioner Lin is?”

A soft and pleasing voice sounded. She was a pretty girl, who seemed to be fourteen or fifteen years old. She wore a pink dress and had beautiful features. She was beautiful.

“Why are you here, Yingying?” Zhou Heng knew this girl. She was Yu He’s sister, Yu Yingying.

She was two years younger than Yu He, so she was fifteen years old.

“I came to find Practitioner Lin to help my brother apply for a leave.” Yu Yingying’s delicate face was full of sadness. She seemed to be depressed.

“What happened to Yu He?”

Zhou Heng frowned. He took note of the emotional details on Yu Yingying’s face and felt that something was wrong.

Was this the power of his increased insight?