Having a Backer Feels Great, Counting the Spoils

"Martial Master Zheng... Martial Master Zheng..."

The black-robed person's voice was dry, filled with unprecedented fear.

All previous composure and mockery were gone, cold sweat instantly soaking through their inner shirt.

They tried to force a smile, but it looked uglier than crying.

"This... this is a mis... misunderstanding..."

Zheng Shan didn't look at him, his gaze lingering on Wang Yuan for a moment.

Seeing that he was unharmed, Zheng Shan slowly turned towards the black-robed person.

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable majesty as it echoed leisurely:

"Misunderstanding?"

"Your Incense God Cult chasing my disciple is also a misunderstanding?"

Before his words even fell, Zheng Shan moved.

He didn't take a step, merely transforming into a black shadow and instantly appearing behind the black-robed person.

Zheng Shan casually raised his right hand and pressed it gently but forcefully onto the black-robed person.

There were no earth-shattering forces, no violent surges of Blood Essence.

But the black-robed person felt an irresistible, supremely condensed, terrifying power instantly act upon their entire body.

"Crack! Crack! Crack..."

A series of dense, bone-chilling cracking sounds erupted from within the black-robed person like popping beans.

They didn't even have time to let out a scream.

Their entire body became like a soft mass with all its bones removed, instantly collapsing to the ground.

Black blood seeped from their seven orifices, their eyes still wide with terror, their breath completely gone.

Every bone and sinew in their body had been shattered by Zheng Shan's casual press!

The might of a Hua Jin Martial Master was truly this terrifying!

Even a Martial Artist who had undergone Blood Change three times would have had no chance of survival against this palm.

Wang Yuan watched, his heart shaken. Was this the power that surpassed the Blood Change realm?

It was practically an inhuman technique!

Zheng Shan then slowly stepped forward, bent down, and rummaged through the limp corpse of the black-robed person for a moment, retrieving something sealed in a special wooden box.

He opened the wooden box. Inside were three dark red incense sticks, similar to the ones seen on the previous corpse.

However, their color was deeper, their fragrance more restrained, yet they subtly emitted a strange allure that agitated Blood Essence.

"Chaotic Blood Incense..."

Zheng Shan looked at the incense sticks in his hand, a trace of disgust and coldness flashing in his eyes.

"Using a Martial Artist's Blood Essence as fuel, refined with evil methods..."

"Inhaling it can stimulate a surge in Blood Essence within a short period. For Martial Artists below the third Blood Change, it has remarkable effects, like a potent tonic."

"But this incense contains impurities and evil toxins. Using it is like drinking poison to quench thirst, overdrawing potential and damaging one's foundation."

"Long-term use can even lead to the loss of one's mind, turning them into a monster that only knows how to kill."

"The Incense God Cult... truly hasn't changed its ways!"

He snorted coldly, closed the wooden box, and tucked it into his robes.

"Master!"

"Dad!"

Zheng Ying and Shi Long quickly stepped forward to pay their respects.

Zheng Shan waved his hand, his gaze falling on Wang Yuan with a hint of reprimand.

But more than that, it was concern:

"You brat, you can't be so reckless next time. If we had arrived a moment later..."

A warm current surged through Wang Yuan's heart. He quickly bowed: "Disciple knows his mistake. Thank you for worrying, Master, Senior Brother, and Senior Sister."

Zheng Shan nodded and said no more.

He glanced at the two corpses on the ground, one of which had already been largely corroded by the Bone Dissolving Water. He instructed Shi Long:

"Dispose of them cleanly."

"Let's all hurry back."

"Yes, Master!" Shi Long responded with a deep voice.

The night grew deeper. This sudden crisis had been dispelled into nothingness by Zheng Shan's timely arrival.

Wang Yuan also hurried home now, otherwise his family would be worried sick.

Although this trip had its twists and turns, fortunately, I gained a hundred taels of silver and a leg technique.

Furthermore, this incident allowed Wang Yuan to realize a truth, which is:

"Having a backer is truly awesome!"

Even a powerful Martial Artist who had undergone three Blood Changes who provoked him had now become a corpse.

No wonder everyone looked at him with envy when he joined Zheng Shan's tutelage back then.

It turns out that a True Disciple of a Hua Jin Martial Master can truly walk unhindered in the outer city.

The night was deep, and Wang Yuan returned to his home in Bluestone Alley, stepping in the cool moonlight.

As expected, his parents and elder sister were still anxiously waiting in the main hall, the dim glow of the oil lamp reflecting their worried faces.

Although he had deliberately cleaned off the bloodstains, the traces of the fight were hard to hide.

Seeing Wang Yuan return covered in dust, Madam Zhou immediately stepped forward, took his hand, and examined him from head to toe:

"Yuan'er, why are you back so late? Is everything alright?"

Wang Gui and Wang Yu also looked at him nervously.

A warm current flowed through Wang Yuan's heart, and he put on a relaxed smile, having already prepared his explanation:

"Father, Mother, Sister, I've made you worry."

"It's nothing, I just stayed late practicing. I happened to run into some senior brothers and sisters, and they insisted on taking me to a restaurant for a meal, saying it was to welcome me. That's why I was delayed."

Hearing that it was the senior brothers and sisters from the Fist Academy who treated him, Wang Gui and Madam Zhou visibly relaxed, their faces showing relieved smiles.

In their eyes, being valued and invited by the "important figures" of the Fist Academy was a sign of their son's promising future.

Wang Yu also patted her chest, her heart at ease.

After comforting his family and watching them retire to their rooms, Wang Yuan finally returned to his own small, cramped room.

He closed the door, shutting out the sounds of the outside world.

The relaxed expression on his face gradually receded, replaced by a quiet contemplation.

Tonight's experience, especially the eerie and sinister Incense God Cult and the terrifying strength displayed by his master, Zheng Shan, gave him a clearer understanding of this world.

Gaoye City was chaotic. He didn't know about the inner city, but the outer city was truly chaotic.

And Bluestone Alley, located in the eastern district of the outer city, was a notorious slum, a mix of people from all walks of life, with little order.

The Black Tiger Gang and the like were manageable.

But the fact that evil cults like the Incense God Cult could lurk and operate here showed how harsh the environment was.

"I can't live here anymore."

Wang Yuan thought to himself.

He had to save money and move as soon as possible!

He didn't dare to think about the inner city for now; it was the residence of the Three Great Families and the truly powerful.

But at the very least, he needed to move to the southern district of the outer city first.

The southern district was relatively wealthier and much more orderly. The Panshi Fist Academy was located there, so it would be safer.

He felt the hard object in his pocket and the heavy money bag.

One hundred taels of silver was a huge sum.

But to purchase a decent property in the southern district, it was probably far from enough.

He needed more.

As his thoughts raced, Wang Yuan took out the Chasing Wind Leg manual he had confiscated from the black-robed person.

Using the faint moonlight filtering through the window cracks, he carefully opened it.

The manual's paper was yellowed, filled with dense, neat small characters detailing the mental techniques, incantations, and methods of circulating Qi.

It was accompanied by simple line drawings of human figures, illustrating various leg techniques and Qi circulation routes.

He began to read carefully. This Chasing Wind Leg had three levels of mastery:

The first level, Minor Accomplishment, would make the leg techniques swift, like a startled rabbit, greatly enhancing speed and evasion abilities, and strengthening leg muscles and fascia.

The second level, Major Accomplishment, would make both legs like the wind, full of unpredictable changes.

The third level, Perfection, was known as "Wind Sweeping Clouds," with fierce leg strikes that could stir up gusts of wind, offering both offense and defense, and further improving speed.

However, the manual also noted at the end that this leg technique, after all, was an external martial art that focused on speed and technique.

At its highest, it could only be cultivated to the level corresponding to three Blood Changes, and it could not be used to condense internal force and step into the "Entering Force" realm.

"Cannot enter Force..."

Wang Yuan felt a slight regret, but then he felt at ease.

After all, this was a martial art obtained for free, and it perfectly compensated for his current shortcomings in movement and speed.

Panshi Fist focused on stability and power, while Chasing Wind Leg focused on speed and agility.

If they could be combined, his combat ability would surely increase greatly!