Chapter 91: Chapter 91 Using People as a Pawn

“Congratulations! With incredible luck, you’ve acquired the martial art ‘Innate Skill’ [Seventh Rank]!”

“Congratulations! You’ve obtained three taels of gold.”

“Congratulations! With incredible luck, you’ve acquired the martial art ‘Crossing the River with a Single Reed’ [Seventh Rank]!”

Zhou Heng had just opened three Copper Fortune Bags.

Three taels of gold!

One method of internal strength!

One method of qinggong!

His eyes brightened with joy at the prospect.

This was precisely what he needed!

After the battle at Xuan Yang, Zhou Heng’s inner qi had greatly improved.

Although the strike of Five Thunder Righteous Method relied on the “Peak Card,” it nonetheless required mobilizing the inner qi within his body as a spiritual guide, allowing him a moment of internal and external communion, feeling the essence of qi being drawn into his body.

Moreover, there really was a trace amount of heaven and earth energy that was refined, becoming part of Zhou Heng’s inner qi.

For a Ninth Rank Martial Artist, even such a minute amount of heaven and earth energy could bring tremendous benefits. The most direct benefit was that his inner qi quickly expanded, bringing his proficiency in the Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method to great achievement.

[Eighth Rank] Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method: Great Achievement (2565/4000)

It also intertwined with the Five Elements Thunder Energy, giving his inner qi a hint of thunderous power.

This was of little use when deploying martial arts, at most adding a slight numbing effect.

But when casting Taoist formulas, it was different.

Thanks to this hint of thunderous power, Zhou Heng could directly release Palm Thunder with just a greater consumption of inner qi.

No need to use gold as a spiritual guide anymore.

This was truly great news for Zhou Heng, as it could save him a fortune.

That Peak Card was certainly well spent.

“My Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method should reach perfection in about a month’s time and accomplish the cultivation of refining form and establishing foundation, stepping into the Eighth Rank realm of joining muscles and washing marrow.”

Zhou Heng introspected his inner condition and mulled over the flow of his inner qi, arriving at a clear concept of his current cultivation realm.

The cultivation of the Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method peaked at Eighth Rank.

If one wished to advance further, to undergo transformation and reach the level of Seventh Rank, one would need a higher-grade method of internal strength. The timing for ‘Innate Skill’ couldn’t be better!

It was a method of breath control and qi refining from Taoism, exceedingly mystical. The inner qi cultivated held a hint of innate essence and boasted features of True Qi that were normally only attainable at the Sixth Rank; hence, it was termed “Innate Inner Qi.”

Moreover, this method was exceedingly effective in nurturing the Mysterious Gates and Primordial Apertures. Even at the level of Lower Third Rank, one could exhibit the extraordinary ability to open the Mysterious Gates and Primordial Apertures, deploying unique methods such as spirit piercing and mental intimidation.

In essence, a Martial Artist who cultivates Innate Skill would possess some subtle characteristics of Middle Third Rank even while at the Lower Third Rank level.

Such an effect from martial arts was extremely rare; even in the current Martial Dao Sects, it might be considered a ‘non-transmittable secret.’

—Seventh Rank internal strength methods vary in degree, with some ordinary ones merely enabling a Martial Artist to cultivate from Eighth to Seventh Rank, and no further, while more advanced ones aim directly for Sixth Rank, but without any particular special characteristics.

Methods like Innate Skill, however, not only target Sixth Rank, but upon cultivation, they will also possess various special supernatural abilities, ranking amongst the most advanced and rarest within the Seventh Rank.

“The Seventh Rank qinggong of ‘Crossing the River with a Single Reed’ is pretty good too; it can complement my shortcomings in qinggong. Yes, I really do need to focus on cultivating qinggong next.”

Zhou Heng made up his mind.

The highest-grade qinggong he knew previously was an Eighth Rank technique called ‘Wandering Steps without Traces,’ and he wasn’t very proficient in it yet. Normally, he hadn’t felt it was an issue.

After all, with his agility stat bonus, even if he used only an Eighth Rank qinggong, his speed was still much faster than the vast majority of Eighth Rank Martial Artists.

Therefore, Zhou Heng hadn’t paid much attention to qinggong.

He had always been focused on cultivating internal strength and martial techniques.

However, during the recent pursuit by Chao Xian, facing the speed of a Seventh Rank martial artist at the peak of his prowess, Zhou Heng finally understood the frustration of lacking speed in qinggong.

His qinggong was too inferior.

His speed was too slow.

Even with the enhancement from his agility attribute, he couldn’t outpace a true expert.

He had to practice qinggong diligently.

‘Crossing the River with a Single Reed’ was indeed impressive.

And it looked really cool, too!

“Now comes the much-anticipated Gold Fortune Bag. I wonder what it will yield?” Struck by a hopeful curiosity, Zhou Heng opened the last remaining Gold Fortune Bag.

“Congratulations! With explosive luck, you’ve acquired the martial art ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes’ [Absolute Fourth Rank]!”

It was actually a saber technique!

Absolute Fourth Rank?!

Zhou Heng stared at the book in his mind that flickered with purple thunder, left speechless.

The Five Thunder Orthodox Gold Book he’d gotten before was only a Sect Fifth Rank.

He hadn’t expected that the second Gold Fortune Bag he opened would contain something even a rank higher, which was quite a surprise.

Purple Thunder Seven Strikes, also known as Purple Thunder Blade Skill.

This saber technique consisted of seven moves. It used electric energy as its basis and was renowned for its aggressive and overwhelming power, with each strike stronger than the last.

From a grading perspective, the final strike should reach the prowess level of an expert at the pinnacle of Fourth Rank.

This technique was also perfectly aligned with Zhou Heng’s qi characteristics; perhaps it could be used in combination with Palm Thunder or Five Thunder Righteous Method, potentially doubling its power.

However, the biggest question now was—

“Can I learn this saber technique?”

Zhou Heng began to comprehend Purple Thunder Seven Strikes with some trepidation. The life-questioning frustration he faced while previously comprehending the Five Thunder Orthodox Gold Book was something he’d never forget for the rest of his life.

“You are comprehending the martial art ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes’ [Absolute Fourth Rank], Due to your previous foundation in saber technique and thunder method, the difficulty of comprehension has been reduced. Proficiency +0.2.”

“You are comprehending the martial art ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes’ [Absolute Fourth Rank]. Due to your previous foundation in saber technique and thunder method, the difficulty of comprehension has been reduced. Proficiency +0.1.”

“Congratulations! Your proficiency in the martial art ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes’ [Absolute Fourth Rank] has reached 1, and you have officially mastered this martial art!”

“Congratulations! Since you have a foundation in saber technique and thunder method, your understanding of the martial art ‘Purple Thunder Seven Strikes’ [Absolute Fourth Rank] has deepened. Proficiency +3000.”

The whole process went so smoothly that Zhou Heng almost doubted his life again.

Too fast!

Too smooth!

However, in the process of comprehension, he had already understood what was happening.

Purple Thunder Seven Strikes differs from the Five Thunder Righteous Method; it’s not just a simple attack technique.

Instead, it is divided into seven moves.

The initial few moves cannot be compared with the last few, and for Zhou Heng at the moment, the first few were not very difficult to comprehend.

Also, such a skill like the Absolute Fourth Rank Martial Arts, the proficiency level was not simply divided into basic and intermediate levels.

It was divided into layers.

[Absolute Fourth Rank] Purple Thunder Seven Strikes: Fourth Layer (1/4000)

With Zhou Heng’s current proficiency at the fourth layer, he could only execute the first four strikes of the Purple Thunder Seven Strikes.

The first strike: Spring Thunder Outburst!

The second strike: Sky-Spinning Thunder Turn!

The third strike: Hell’s Thunder Strike!

The fourth strike: Winter Thunderbolt!

If he were to forcefully execute the fifth strike, his whole body’s meridians would probably explode, resulting in instant death.

Even the fourth strike was a bit of a stretch for him.

With Zhou Heng’s current cultivation, once he executed the fourth strike, he would likely deplete all the inner qi in his body.

Of course, the power was extremely strong.

As long as one was hit by this “Winter Thunderbolt,” even a Seventh Rank peak master would end up either dead or severely injured; a common Seventh Rank would be struck into charred ash by the purple lightning energy on the spot.

The fact that a Ninth Rank peak Martial Artist could possess combat strength of this level validated the Purple Thunder Seven Strike’s status as an Absolute Fourth Rank Martial Art, truly incomparably fierce.

In today’s world, probably only some top Martial Dao Sects or ancient family legacies could compare to this martial technique.

An ordinary person of Jiang Hu or disciple of a Sect would almost never be able to master a technique of this caliber.

“So the question is, where did I learn this from?” Zhou Heng thought about making up an excuse for himself when an idea struck him, “Why bother making up excuses when I can just say I’m the reincarnation of a powerful being?”

His mood instantly brightened.

This non-existent “past life” really was the best scapegoat.

So useful.

“With my current Inner Strength cultivation, I’m already at the peak of Ninth Rank. Once the Authentic Internal Energy Heart Method reaches perfection and I step into the Eighth Rank of the Martial Path, I will then cultivate the Innate Skill. By then, I should be able to truly spar with a Seventh Rank peak master.”

Zhou Heng was very satisfied with his rapid growth in strength, estimating that after reaching Eighth Rank, his power should be ranked within the top fifty of the human rankings.

Going further would pit him against disciples from top Sects and great families, or those lucky individuals with astonishing encounters, as well as disciples from Hidden World Sects.

These individuals mostly cultivated martial arts techniques that could be described as unsurpassed secret techniques, certainly not inferior to Purple Thunder Seven Strikes.

In reality, when it comes to the top twenty or even top ten in the human rankings, the basic application of high-level martial art techniques becomes almost standard.

For example, Cheng Jianjian had once gained enlightenment of a sword technique after observing the Divine Weapon of Pure Yang Palace, which was evaluated no lower than Absolute Fourth Rank.

Moreover, as this sword technique was akin to her own creation, compared to those she had learned, it was even more powerful.

The higher one’s ranking on the Human List, the more advanced and terrifying the martial arts heritage they possessed.

There were even rumors that the current number one on the Human List, known as ‘Sword Madman’ Fang Wen, had witnessed the performance of Taoist formulas by ancient Celestial Men and comprehended three sword techniques of the Immortal Home, so profound that no one could rival him. The conception of these techniques was lofty, directly pointing towards the realm of a Third Rank Celestial Man.

“I must not become complacent; there are still many strong people in this world.”

Zhou Heng reminded himself in his heart, while also pushing himself to train harder, not to become conceited over his slight advancements in strength.

“Hmm hmm…”

At this moment, Shen Jingjing, who had been unconscious, moaned twice and slowly opened her eyes. She looked around in a daze, “Where am I? What happened? What happened to me just now??”

She had fainted throughout a shocking battle.

For many people, the dramatic changes in Yuyang County City were a catastrophe.

But for a small minority, it was also a rare opportunity.

For instance, Chen Feihong and her brother Chen Song benefited greatly from this huge disturbance.

They scavenged a fair amount of wealth from the deceased.

Moreover, when the prohibitions on the southern side of the city were shattered by the Five Thunder Righteous Method, they were accidentally struck by scattered thunder light. Not only did they not die, but they also absorbed a bit of the heaven and earth’s Qi from it.

This breakthrough allowed them to overcome the previous restraints of their martial path, stepping into the Seventh Rank. Moreover, having been between life and death, their understanding of martial arts deepened significantly.

It could be said that they had undergone a transformation, and their strength had explosively increased.

This gave the two siblings a sudden increase in confidence.

At this time, the siblings were staying in an inn not far from the one where Zhou Heng resided. They looked over at his guesthouse, their eyes narrowed slightly, radiating a chill intent.

“Sister, what’s your plan?” Chen Song asked.

“To defeat him, of course, and reclaim the spot that rightfully belongs to me,” Chen Feihong said with a grave voice: “It’s already halfway through June. If we don’t defeat him soon, the martial offices in various places will start reporting recent achievements.”

Although she had just stabilized the wildly surging inner Qi in her body, she could no longer suppress the impulse to beat Zhou Heng, wishing she could immediately go to his room and have a decisive battle with him.

“So, Sister, next month when the Human List is published, you’ll be removed,” Chen Song sipped his wine and smiled, “Is that ranking really so important?” “Of course it’s important!” Chen Feihong blurted out without even a need to explain, as if it was a matter of course.

“My plan is simple,” Chen Song’s expression turned grim as he coldly snorted, “He once humiliated me, and I need to kill him to wipe away the previous disgrace. Now that I’m at the Seventh Rank, even if he has a divine weapon, it will be useless!”

“No, the pair of saber gloves Zhou Heng has is too formidable. There’s a chance your weapon could be crushed in a single encounter,” Chen Feihong shook her head and said: “All your skills are in your weapons, and your hand-to-hand combat is much poorer. Without a weapon, even if you’re higher in cultivation, you might not necessarily be able to defeat him.”

At the Lower Third Rank stage, most people rely on their physical bodies without many mystical secret techniques or strange abilities.

In such a situation, if one loses their weapon and is not skilled in hand-to- hand combat, they could indeed be killed by someone of lower cultivation with a flurry of chaotic slashes.

Quite reasonable.

“Sister, don’t worry about that,” Chen Song replied with a faint smile, full of confidence, “Tomorrow, I will publicly challenge him and reveal that he comes from an extraordinary background with divine weapons in hand, capable of overpowering others with just his weapons.

“The most common people in the world of martial arts are those ordinary people who are frustrated because of their different backgrounds. These people resent those who are born with much higher starting points and are considered geniuses the most.

“These people will become the guns in my hands. As long as there are enough of these guns, the public opinion targeted at Zhou Heng will be exceptionally fierce.

“By then, I can ride the momentum and find a suitable reason, forcing Zhou Heng to only use that refined weapon, to only use his saber!”