I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 42: This matter is completely infallible

"Hmm, when I watched others practice before, I actually learned most of it already,” Zhou Heng said seriously.

Although only one proficiency point for Ninth Rank Martial Arts was left to allocate, it was quite simple for him to learn Ninth Rank Martial Arts at this stage. That one proficiency point had become somewhat superfluous, and it would be better to use it now to further improve the proficiency of his Dugu

Nine Swords.

After all, the skill you learn is the true strength that belongs to you.

"Your talent… is truly… astonishing,” Lin Cang couldn’t help but exclaim. He had never seen a genius like Zhou Heng before and said,

“Perhaps one day I will see your name on the Ranking List.”

"Maybe even in the top ten,” Zhou Heng smiled and said.

"You’re getting more and more arrogant, kid,” Lin Cang laughed and scolded, taking Zhou Heng’s words as a joke, then said, “Since you’ve already learned a Ninth Rank swordsmanship, next I will teach you an Eighth Rank swordsmanship, the ‘Running Clouds Falling Sun Sword.’

"This is ‘Falling Sun Flying Sword’ Kong Chengshun’s signature Martial Art, and it also happens to be the highest Martial Art that outer disciples of the Chang Xing Sect can learn. It should be useful for the upcoming challenges you’ll face.”

He was well aware that this Eighth Rank swordsmanship was not easy for Lin Cang to come by.

The Running Clouds Falling Sun Sword was not part of the martial arts taught for free at the Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

It was a secret technique of the martial hall.

It was a swordsmanship technique Lin Cang was permitted to learn only after seven years of teaching at the martial hall and cultivating ten Ninth Rank

Warriors.

Powerful.

Exquisite techniques.

Certainly top-notch among Eighth Rank swordsmanships.

Under normal circumstances, one would have to pay an extremely high price to learn this swordsmanship technique.

Even within the Chang Xing Sect, as an outer disciple, one would need a certain amount of merit to learn it.

Yet now Lin Cang was willing to teach him unconditionally.

North District.

Tongchang Martial Arts Hall could be considered a mid-tier martial arts hall in this bustling area, having cultivated many martial arts apprentices with potential for the Chang Xing Sect over the course of more than two hundred years.

Undoubtedly, it was the most powerful among the three martial arts halls under the Huangtong Mansion City’s jurisdiction managed by the Chang Xing

Sect.

Therefore, the

“territory” that this martial hall owned was naturally much larger than that of Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

While it wasn’t as vast as the Wuxiang Martial Arts Hall, it was also a large martial hall with its own area, containing numerous specialized training rooms.

To the east of Tongchang Martial Arts Hall was a building called the Careful Thought Tower, with the top floor being a place specially used by the hall master for work, named the Careful Thought Pavilion.

Huang Jingfu was over seventy years old, with white hair, but was still tenaciously holding onto the position of hall master and would not step down.

At this moment, inside the Careful Thought Pavilion.

Huang Jingfu sat in a chair made of golden-threaded nanmu wood, sipped his tea, and with an air of leisure looked at the old man sitting opposite him, smiling and said, “Younger Brother Hong, you’ve rushed over here in such a hurry, sweating profusely. What brings you to me?

The elderly man opposite him was named Hong Kang, who was also in his sixties and was the hall master of the Changsheng Martial Arts Hall.

"Brother Huang, you can’t possibly be unaware,” Hong Kang said with an anxious expression.

“That little shabby place of Longxing actually produced a Seventeen-year-old Ninth Rank Warrior!”

"I know,” Huang Jingfu replied with a light smile, placing his tea bowl down as

If nothing was wrong.

"Then, then why are you so calm and composed?” Hong Kang asked, his face full of confusion.

“A Seventeen-year-old Ninth Rank Warrior, a Seventeen- year-old Ninth Rank Warrior, what are we going to do about this?”

"You do know, brother, that as long as an apprentice passes the test to become an outer sect disciple, the martial arts school they come from receives support from the Chang Xing Sect. For the next three years, they’ll receive three thousand taels of silver annually, almost ten thousand taels in total. We can’t just lose that!”

"You’re worried about your share of six thousand taels, aren’t you?” Huang Jingfu chuckled.

“Rest assured, we had an agreement, I’ll take the majority, you’ll take the rest, and I will not let you suffer a loss.”

"No, that’s not it,” Hong Kang hurriedly replied. “Brother, have you forgotten? A Seventeen-year-old Ninth Rank, at such an age and with such cultivation, will certainly be designated as an outer sect disciple by the Chang Xing Sect.

"And there is only one spot for Huangtong Mansion. If it’s set for that kid, we will have no part in it. I won’t get the silver, and your grandson won’t become an outer sect disciple of the Chang Xing Sect either!

As it turned out, these two had covertly struck a deal long ago. During the assessment contest, Hong Kang would have his apprentice intentionally lose to Huang Jingfu’s grandson.

In a martial arts competition, a slight mistake can lead to a total loss, and the chance of being caught throwing a match is extremely low.

In this way, Huang Jingfu’s grandson would smoothly become an outer sect disciple of the Chang Xing Sect, and Hong Kang would receive a substantial sum of silver in return.

It was a plan to kill two birds with one stone, to catch two fish with one net. Who could have expected that halfway through, Zhou Heng emerged out of nowhere, and the Longxing Martial Arts Hall, which hadn’t even had the qualification to participate in previous years, suddenly produced a Seventeen- year-old Ninth Rank Warrior!

This completely nauseated Hong Kang.

"Don’t panic, younger brother,” Huang Jingfu said, stroking his goatee and chuckling. “Hehheh, as for that Zhou Heng from Longxing, big brother has already thoroughly inquired about him.

"This fellow perfected the Twelve Forms of the Cleaving Mountain Saber Technique a month ago. Having such an accomplishment at Seventeen is indeed extraordinary talent, but back then his stance and strength were still a good way off from Ninth Rank.

"Do you think he has some method to perfect his stance and circulate his strength throughout his body in less than a month, reaching the Ninth Rank?”

“Medicine?” Hong Kang, being a Seventh Rank Warrior himself and very familiar with the martial arts cultivation process, laughed as the thought struck him.

“I see, so what you mean is, Zhou Heng was pushed to Ninth Rank by the force of medicine?”

"Exactly!” Huang Jingfu said confidently, smiling.

“Zhou Heng must be a Ninth Rank Warrior hastily concocted by Longxing Martial Arts Hall using a heavy dose of medicinal power. This means he’ll have to undergo Kong Chengshun’s test and compete with a martial artist ranked on the prestige list, an Eighth Rank Warrior.”

"Ha ha, as long as he doesn’t pass the test, his qualification will automatically be revoked.” Hong Kang’s face lit up with joy, but he was still somewhat apprehensive. With several thousand taels of silver at stake, it was crucial to be cautious.

So he expressed his concerns again,

“But after all, it’s just a test. Kong Chengshun certainly won’t give it his all, and Zhou Heng doesn’t necessarily need to defeat him. What if, what if he really passes the test?”

"Pass?” Huang Jingfu laughed upon hearing this, stood up, and patted Hong Kang on the shoulder.

“Just keep your heart in your stomach, younger brother, he absolutely won’t pass the test.”

He meant to stop there, but perhaps worried that Hong Kang might fret unnecessarily, he continued,

“Actually, the logic is quite simple, think about it, younger brother. Is it easy for Zhou Heng to perfect a saber technique at Seventeen?”

"Of course not,” Hong Kang shook his head, but he was puzzled inside.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

"It means that what Zhou Heng is really good at is most likely just saber technique,” Huang Jingfu narrowed his eyes, smiling.

“I’ve also inquired about his previous fight with Sun Zhengping, and indeed, only his saber technique stood out.”

"Right, exactly! Perfecting a saber technique at Seventeen is already extremely difficult. He simply won’t have the energy to learn other martial arts!” Hong Kang had an epiphany and laughed, clapping his hands.

“You mean to say, as long as we restrict the use of sabers during the test, Zhou Heng will definitely not pass! But how can we accomplish this? Kong Chengshun won’t listen to us.”

“Leave it to me, I have a way. Just rest easy,” Huang Jingfu said as he sat back down in his phoebe nanmu chair and picked up his tea bowl again, sipping leisurely with full confidence:

"I’ve been deeply rooted here for decades, nurturing how many disciples for the Chang Xing Sect? The connections are plentiful, aren’t they? Can’t I handle this small matter?

"Without his saber, Zhou Heng is nothing but trash. You don’t need to worry, younger brother, nothing will go wrong with this. Come on, join me for some tea.”