Green Mountain Martial Arts School

Winter had arrived in Shengtian City, with snow falling like goose feathers.

During this time, the entire imperial city was abuzz due to the Star-Picking Divine Thief.

Under the influence of the Prince's Estate, major martial arts schools and several underground gangs in the city had mobilized. Even ordinary citizens had joined the search for the thief who stole the Prince's four-hundred-year-old ginseng.

However, the outcome was predictable. Without even a clear description of the thief, how could they possibly capture such a bold divine thief so easily?

Meanwhile, Li Qing had not been idle. He had exchanged some exquisite jade he brought from the Eternal Night World for silver.

He then bought a blacksmith shop on a street in the outer city, spending a considerable amount of silver. Fortunately, all the paperwork was in order, saving him the trouble of dealing with the authorities.

And so, Li Qing became a blacksmith shop owner once more, forging weapons and selling them daily.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Inside Li Qing's blacksmith shop, he diligently hammered the dark red iron block with a serious expression, treating it with the utmost care, as if it were a piece of art.

Outside the shop, due to the heat from the furnace, no snow had accumulated in front of Li Qing's blacksmith shop. Instead, it was warm and dry.

Qi Kang sat on the ground, leaning against a doorpost, idly watching the snowy scenery outside the street.

Clang!

With Li Qing's final hammer strike, a kitchen knife was taking shape.

Qi Kang spoke up at the opportune moment, "Master, don't forget the Green Mountain Martial Arts School's banquet tonight. The Master of the school just had a child late in life and has been overjoyed these past few days."

Li Qing put away his Ancient Profound Hammer Technique stance and plunged the kitchen knife into water. The high temperature caused sparks to fly from the water's surface, and a thick white steam billowed intensely.

After the kitchen knife had cooled down, Li Qing let out a soft sigh and said to Qi Kang, "Go sharpen this kitchen knife and then deliver it to Widow Wang's house."

After buying the blacksmith shop, Qi Kang had naturally become Li Qing's apprentice. However, Li Qing wasn't teaching him martial arts, only how to forge and craft metal.

With his extended lifespan, Li Qing finally understood why Bodhi Patriarch had forbidden Sun Wukong from revealing his identity as his disciple.

He worried that his disciples would cause trouble, and if they provoked some powerful individual, he, as the master, wouldn't be able to escape unscathed.

Therefore, Li Qing only taught blacksmithing skills, never imparting any martial arts.

In the evening, as night fell.

Li Qing led Qi Kang to the only martial arts school on the street, the Green Mountain Martial Arts School.

The elderly Master of the school was indeed skilled, a master who had cultivated Outer Strength.

However, he wouldn't even rank in Shengtian City. The truly renowned ones were the three major martial arts schools of Shengtian City!

They were: Hongfeng Martial Arts School, Flying Cloud Martial Arts School, and Golden Armor Martial Arts School!

The masters of these three martial arts schools were masters of Internal Energy, possessing formidable martial arts prowess. Moreover, they had many Outer Strength masters under their command, far surpassing the Green Mountain Martial Arts School.

In addition to these, there was also a powerful underground force in the city that could not be underestimated: the Nine Lotus Sect!

This sect's influence extended across more than half of the Feng Kingdom, and they had murky connections with the imperial court, allowing them to establish a foothold in Shengtian.

All the above information was gathered by Qi Kang alone.

Qi Kang's capabilities were indeed impressive. He not only helped Li Qing gather information but also assisted diligently at the blacksmith shop, performing everything perfectly. Li Qing felt a bit embarrassed and wondered if he should pay him more.

Of course, the diligent and tireless Qi Kang never mentioned a raise. His greatest wish was for Li Qing to teach him martial arts.

Walking through the street, the two finally arrived at the entrance of the Green Mountain Martial Arts School.

The Master of the school, who had recently had a child, stood at the entrance welcoming guests, his face beaming with joy.

"Hahaha, Master Li, please come in and take the honored seat," said Master Xu Qingshan, cupping his fists towards Li Qing in a manner befitting a martial artist.

Seeing this, Li Qing took out his gift and offered congratulations, handing the monetary gift to Xu Qingshan.

"Congratulations, Master of the Green Mountain Pavilion!" Li Qing said with a smile.

Xu Qingshan accepted the gift and, feeling its weight, his smile widened. He feigned modesty, "Hahaha, Master Li, you're too kind. Please, come in and sit, come in and sit."

Doing business in Shengtian City meant not only paying taxes to the government but also paying protection fees to these martial arts schools. When encountering troublesome matters that the authorities wouldn't handle, one could usually turn to these martial arts schools.

After paying the protection fees, petty criminals would generally not cause trouble, allowing for peaceful business operations.

The underground forces of Shengtian City were basically monopolized by the three major martial arts schools and the Nine Lotus Sect. Even small martial arts schools like the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, even if they didn't want to collect money, had no choice. To establish a martial arts school here, they needed the approval of the three major martial arts schools and had to pay them a portion of their earnings periodically.

Even the government turned a blind eye to such matters, tacitly allowing them to continue.

The Green Mountain Martial Arts School, for instance, belonged to the territory of the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School. A large portion of the fees collected by the Green Mountain Martial Arts School from the merchants on the street each year had to be handed over to the Flying Cloud Martial Arts School.

The division of territory had long since reached a balance. Half of the vast territory of Shengtian City belonged to the Nine Lotus Sect, and the other half was divided among the three major martial arts schools.

It was said that long ago, before the territories were clearly delineated, the three major martial arts schools and the Nine Lotus Sect were in constant conflict, with fierce battles occurring outside the city every night.

Even the Internal Energy masters of the major factions had clashed many times.

However, in the end, with the intervention and mediation of the imperial court, these fierce battles gradually subsided, leading to the current structure.

As the saying goes, "Rice is expensive in Shengtian, and it's not easy to live here." There were, of course, many reasons for this.

When martial arts schools collected fees from merchants, the merchants had no choice but to raise the prices of their goods, recouping the costs from the common people.

This was the nature of the martial world.

When Qi Kang first learned of these inside dealings, he became like an angry youth, cursing the imperial court's incompetence and the dark hearts of these martial arts sects countless times in private.

Naturally, he also came to resent martial arts schools like the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, wishing he could achieve great martial arts mastery and become an unparalleled expert, to deal with all these martial arts sects that preyed on the common people.

To this, Li Qing merely smiled, not telling Qi Kang that the actions of the three major martial arts schools and the Nine Lotus Sect were likely sanctioned by the imperial court.

He just let Qi Kang curse them in private, but advised him to at least put on a show in public and restrain himself a little.