The Cheng Family's Task

The more strength he gained, the safer he would be. He could not wait for the Iron Cloth Skill to reach completion—he would add points to the Woodcutting Saber Technique directly!

[Root Bone: 0.8/9 points!]

[Woodcutting Saber Technique (Second Breakthrough+, traits: Brute Force, Body Piercing)]

A full 6 points of Root Bone Value had been consumed. This time, his Blood Qi did not run dry and backlash. The twice Limit-Broken blade technique was simply too powerful; it had completely transformed from a mere skill into a martial art of no low rank.

The speed, power, and moves of his strikes had all improved across the board. His strength after the second Limit Breaking could absolutely crush his former self before adding points.

Swish, swish, swish!

Zhou Qiming wielded his palm blade, slashing horizontally and vertically. Force flew wildly through the courtyard, and sonic booms rang through the air. A sound like that was worth a fortune!

The power granted by the Brute Force trait had increased by another five hundred jin, while placing less burden on his body. He could now unleash Brute Force at full power for the time it took an incense stick to burn, like a Humanoid Dragon Tiger.

One had to know that the second great stage, Muscle Cultivation, focused on cultivating force. Zhou Qiming could now unleash two thousand jin of saber force at full strength, laying an unparalleled Foundation for the Muscle Cultivation stage ahead of time.

His palm blade chopped downward. Merely releasing its force shattered a huge bluestone into powder. It was unimaginably powerful, even more terrifying than the damage he had dealt with the woodcutting saber before.

If he forged a precious saber that suited his hand, he would definitely be able to unleash astonishing combat strength.

"What is this Body Piercing trait? Could it be..."

Zhou Qiming fell into thought. He found an iron plate as thick as a knuckle, raised his long blade, and brought it down in a single slash. With a crack, the iron plate exploded into pieces.

"Hiss, this trait seems to specialize in breaking hard skills!" Zhou Qiming sucked in a cold breath, unable to hide his delight.

When Body Tempering Martial Artists of similar strength fought, they relied on their thick skin and tough flesh. They would often have to battle until their Blood Qi was exhausted before life and death could be decided.

What was more, some cultivation methods forged Copper Skin and Iron Bones, specializing in Hardening Skills. Those of the same level had to rely on the sharpness of Precious Weapons to break their defenses.

But now that the Woodcutting Saber Technique had undergone its second Limit Breaking, it had gained the Body Piercing trait. In the future, he would not be the least bit afraid when facing Experts who had mastered hard skills.

"I need to find a way to make money. It's simply not enough."

Feeling the astonishing increase in his strength, Zhou Qiming let out a long breath, cleaned up, and headed out to go to work at the restaurant. After grinding through one more day, his Cooking would reach Great Accomplishment.

A blade technique that had undergone two Limit Breakings already placed him among the top tier of Experts in town. Even somewhat weaker Bone Forging Martial Artists could only spill blood and perish before it!

Right now, forging a precious saber, restoring his depleted Root Bone, and pushing Skin Grinding to the limit of Copper Skin all required enormous expenses. The silver in his hands was already stretched thin.

Elsewhere, within the Cheng Family residence, the atmosphere was grim.

The Cheng Family head, Cheng Changkong, wore an extremely ugly expression. Several mangled corpses lay on the ground before him, dressed in the robes of the Cheng Family Guard Team.

"Damn it! We do not even know the identities of these thieves. Just who is targeting my Cheng Family?"

The people standing in the courtyard were all family confidants, yet they remained silent, fear gripping their hearts. Among the dead Guards were skilled Skin Grinding Martial Artists, yet they had not even managed to pass back any intelligence on their killers. It was clear how formidable the enemy was.

Cheng Yu frowned slightly and said in a low voice, "Father, we have suffered severe losses of medicinal herbs these past few days. Let the herb-gathering team stop for now. The enemy is hidden while we are exposed; we cannot act rashly."

Cheng Changkong nodded. There was nothing else they could do. First, herb gatherers had vanished in the mountains. Then, the Guard Team sent to escort them and investigate had been brutally slain. It was deeply unsettling.

Worst of all, this was the season when certain rare medicinal herbs ripened. If they could not harvest and sell them in time, their economic lifeline might be severed.

If the Cheng Family could no longer supply the medicinal herbs those Martial Masters needed, they would inevitably lose the foundation of their pharmacy business in town. For a time, everyone was at their wits' end.

At that moment, a young woman in a fitted red outfit spoke up. "Uncle, the family's herb gathering must not stop. Leave this matter to me. Yan'er will certainly capture the thieves and ensure the Cheng Family's business remains untroubled."

"Yan, don't be reckless." Cheng Yu hurriedly tried to dissuade her.

His younger cousin Cheng Yan had been sent to study in Luoshan County Town from a young age. In recent years, she had taken a famous master as her teacher and learned martial arts, dreaming every day of righting wrongs and helping the weak.

Though her strength at the early Muscle Cultivation stage made her an Expert in town, this matter was far too dangerous. They could not let his inexperienced younger cousin investigate it.

"You people grow more timid the more you train in martial arts. In my opinion, it is merely some tiger Exotic Beast causing trouble." Cheng Yan was full of confidence and insisted on taking the matter upon herself.

Cheng Changkong was somewhat swayed as well, and he slowly nodded.

"Fine. This time, we will deploy more skilled men and get to the bottom of this with Yan. At the very least, they can cover Yan's escape."

The family business came first. Cheng Changkong made his decision.

"Since that is the case, I would like to recommend someone to Father. We can ask Brother Qiming about this." Unable to persuade Cheng Yan and Cheng Changkong otherwise, Cheng Yu thought of Zhou Qiming.

Over the past two days, he had sparred with Zhou Qiming, each lending the other a hand. The more they trained, the more alarmed he became. At first, he could still hold back, but later, even when he unleashed his full strength, he had been unable to suppress the other man.

Though it had not been a life-and-death battle, and he had held back his Trump Card, Zhou Qiming had been equally at ease!

Zhou Qiming had likely already entered the Iron Cloth Skill, and his compatibility with the technique was extraordinarily high—so high that even Cheng Yu could not understand it.

"The chef from that restaurant last time? Fine. He cannot take the benefits of my Cheng Family for nothing." Cheng Changkong slowly nodded, treating Zhou Qiming as no more than an extra man to fill out the Guard Team.

In his view, no matter how highly his son regarded Zhou Qiming, the latter was probably only a Skin Grinding Martial Artist, inferior even to Cheng Yan.

"Father, do not underestimate Brother Zhou. His abilities are no longer beneath mine. He will likely enter the Bone Forging stage sooner or later," Cheng Yu reported truthfully.

"What? How is that possible?" Cheng Changkong was greatly shocked and found it unbelievable.

"A restaurant servant actually earns such high praise from Brother Yu? Could he really defeat Brother Yu's Iron Cloth Skill?" Cheng Yan was rather unconvinced. This was the first time she had seen Cheng Yu praise someone else.

That evening, Zhou Qiming had just returned home and was preparing to train when he heard Cheng Yu knocking at the door.

"Guarding herb gatherers?" Zhou Qiming lowered his head in contemplation.

"That's right. This matter is somewhat dangerous, but my Cheng Family has no choice. The pharmacy is already short on ginseng and lingzhi this month. We must resolve this problem as soon as possible." Cheng Yu told Zhou Qiming all about the danger and let him decide for himself.

After all, Zhou Qiming was not a Cheng Family disciple and possessed tremendous potential in martial arts. There was no need for him to risk his life over this.

"I'll take it. I happen to be on Leave of Absence for the next two days." Zhou Qiming agreed.

"Good. Brother Zhou is indeed straightforward. The payment for this trip will be one hundred taels of silver. From now on, my Cheng Family will also provide you with two Blood Ginseng roots for free every month." Cheng Yu was overjoyed and patted Zhou Qiming on the shoulder.

Having received Zhou Qiming's answer, Cheng Yu hurriedly promised him benefits, saying that the family's scarce medicinal herbs would be sold to him first in the future.

Cheng Yu was generous as well. Knowing that Zhou Qiming was in need of money, he immediately advanced him a reward of twenty taels of silver, then returned home to arrange the matter with his father.

"I'll go to the Blacksmith Shop and see whether they have a good saber. It will give me another measure of protection for tomorrow's task."