Seeing that Zhou Qiming was about to leave, Ren Xue stamped her feet anxiously and called out to stop him.
"Sir, I wonder how we can contact you in the future. My Ren Family is willing to honor you as a family Attendant." Ren Xue got straight to the point, her voice filled with urgency and temptation.
Attendant?
Zhou Qiming's back came to a halt.
He naturally knew what being an Attendant meant. Ren Pingsheng had taken a fancy to his future. Although the strength he had displayed on the surface could not compare with those old monsters who had cultivated for nearly a century, his potential on the Human Ranking was genuine and undeniable.
Moreover, Attendants basically enjoyed benefits without having to fulfill many obligations. They were not even bound by countless rules and restrictions.
Is Ren Pingsheng eagerly trying to make me his son?
Zhou Qiming shook his head and gave a bitter smile, marveling at the wonders of fate. He had never expected human nature to be so shameless. When he had sincerely wanted to join Hero's Tower, they had refused him. But after he extorted a thousand taels of silver, they had instead bowed and scraped, honoring him as an Attendant.
In the end, what one truly wanted still had to be fought for with fists and force.
"What benefits are there to becoming an Attendant? Hero's Tower has provoked the Bai Family, and its situation isn't good right now." Zhou Qiming did not rush to reply. What he valued was a resource like Silver Kiss King Snake Meat.
"Two hundred taels of silver each month, plus a quota of two jin of Exotic Meat. All you need to give is one favor from a future Grandmaster. As for more Exotic Meat, Hero's Tower can't spare any at the moment."
Ren Xue knew that the other party's attitude had softened. All that remained was to negotiate the benefits and conditions.
Zhou Qiming was only at the Tendon Transformation level and could not help the Ren Family much yet. But he was a Heavenly Prodigy on the Human Ranking. Once he reached the Grandmaster Realm in the future, even a casual word from him would possess enough weight to make countless experts work for him and offer their favors.
"Fine. Ren Pingsheng truly is a businessman. Add another jin of Exotic Meat." Zhou Qiming tested the other party's bottom line.
"This..." Ren Xue lightly bit her pearly teeth. The Meat Field's monthly output was limited. Hero's Tower still had to maintain all sorts of connections, and the shares belonging to the other Martial Artists and Attendants in the family were already fixed.
The Meat Field was convenient, but unlike the Treasure Fish teeming in great rivers, it was a monopolized resource like Dragon Blood—something with a price but no market.
"What? Is this how you repay your benefactor? Didn't you say at the inn that you would do everything in your power to satisfy my requests?"
Zhou Qiming's questioning voice carried over, his expression cold.
Ren Xue no longer hesitated and hurriedly said, "Very well. Please leave your name and contact information."
"That's more like it. It barely counts as the attitude of someone asking for help." Zhou Qiming nodded, took the thousand taels of silver and the package of Exotic Meat, then turned and left.
As for becoming Hero's Tower's Attendant, he did not think there was any problem with it. Freely taking resources from the Ren Family gave Zhou Qiming no psychological burden whatsoever. Freely taking them was always refreshing.
"Mr. Zhou..."
When he left, Ren Xue naturally learned the other party's name—but only his name. He had not even allowed her to see his appearance. This Zhou Tailai was far too mysterious. Ren Xue felt somewhat disappointed yet also somewhat delighted; at least she had completed the task her father had given her.
Far away, across an entire street, more than a dozen constables with long sabers at their waists finally escorted their superior, Ren Xue, back home.
"Who was she meeting in the middle of the night? So secretive."
"Could she have been meeting Young Master Bai? She dressed up so beautifully."
"Alas, this is the first time I've seen Constable Ren like this. If only she would dress up like that to sneak out and meet me—I could die happy."
After watching Ren Xue return to Hero's Tower, the constables were still unsatisfied. They began guessing and discussing among themselves.
Throughout the entire transaction, they could only follow from a distance and keep watch. They had not dared approach and disturb Ren Xue's business.
"Xue'er, you did well. You brought a rising star with potential into our Ren Family. I truly wonder who this Mr. Zhou is. Zhou Tailai should be his assumed name."
Ren Pingsheng received the good news and was in excellent spirits, unknowingly drinking several extra cups of wine.
"It probably won't be long before we see Mr. Zhou's name on one of the next few Human Rankings." Ren Xue nodded, her eyes glittering with anticipation. She hoped to see Zhou Tailai suppress Bai Hao by an entire notch.
Bai Hao had bullied and manipulated Hero's Tower by relying on the powerful backer he had found in the commandery city. Now the Ren Family had Zhou Tailai, an even more promising young Attendant. The Human Ranking title Bai Hao relied on was no longer worth mentioning.
"Stay farther away from that beast Bai Hao in the future. Don't see him again. Spend more time with Mr. Zhou. After all, Zhou Tailai is still young, and Martial Artists are at the age when their Blood Qi runs strong. Once the two of you become familiar, things will naturally fall into place."
Ren Pingsheng offered his guidance, looking forward to his daughter forming a deeper bond of interests with the other party.
The next day, Zhou Qiming went to the Weapon Forging Workshop as usual. As always, he immersed himself in forging. Today, he would nearly be able to break through Weapon Forging Skill to the Grand Accomplishment stage, allowing him to gain a little Root Bone Cap.
After eating two jin of Silver Kiss King Snake Meat the previous night, his depleted Root Bone Value had astonishingly recovered by more than two points. This delighted Zhou Qiming even more and made him feel that accepting the Ren Family's offer of an Attendant position had been the right choice.
"With my physique now, I can still recover two or three points of Root Bone Value in a single night. This King Snake Meat is no less effective than the Treasure Fish Yuan Tieyi gave me."
Zhou Qiming swung his iron hammer and struck harder and harder, wanting to hammer out the abundant Blood Qi accumulated throughout his body.
Root Bone and the body were like a set of nested boxes. At the Early Stage of Tendon Transformation, consuming and recovering one point of Root Bone Value was naturally worlds apart in quality and quantity from doing the same at the Bone Forging level.
Now, if he started over and performed Limit Breaking on Iron Cloth Skill or Woodcutting Saber Technique, perhaps he would not need to consume as much Root Bone Value as before. His body and foundation had undergone an astonishing transformation and reached an entirely new level.
[Name: Zhou Qiming (16 years old)] [Level: Tendon Transformation Minor Accomplishment] [Root Bone: 5.4/20] [Woodcutting Saber Technique Second Breakthrough+] [Iron Cloth Skill Third Breakthrough!] [Evergreen Skill Minor Accomplishment 1%!] [Weapon Forging Skill Grand Accomplishment 1%!]
When it was time to finish work that evening, Zhou Qiming looked at the Martial arts panel, his face lighting up with joy.
After a full day and night of effort, his Evergreen Skill and Weapon Forging Skill had finally broken through.
Together, they had increased his Root Bone Cap by two points. Moreover, Woodcutting Saber Technique could actually undergo a Third Breakthrough now.
As his body reached the Tendon Transformation level, the cost of a Third Breakthrough in the saber technique had truly decreased. Back when he was at the Bone Forging level, it might have consumed more than ten points of Root Bone Value. Now it only required five.
After all, this Blade Technique had merely been comprehended and recorded while chopping wood. Unlike Iron Cloth Skill and Evergreen Skill, whose underlying principles reached a higher level, it was only natural that its Limit Breaking cost less.
"Woodcutting Saber Technique, add points!"
Zhou Qiming focused his consciousness and infused it into the martial art on the panel, as though piercing through an eggshell.
The County Town was fraught with danger. A single misstep could drag him into conflicts between great powers. Only by promptly converting all resources into combat strength could he avoid being caught in the crossfire.
Soon, an enormous flood of saber-training memories surged into being. Zhou Qiming's aura changed along with them. At that moment, he seemed to briefly merge with heaven and earth, becoming one with his surroundings.
If another Martial Master passed through the courtyard of the forging room, they would not be able to discover Zhou Qiming's presence without using their eyes.
[Level: Tendon Transformation Minor Accomplishment] [Root Bone: 0.4/20] [Woodcutting Saber Technique Third Breakthrough: Brute Force, Body Piercing, Blade Momentum!]
"It really is Blade Momentum. This is a method that only a Grandmaster can completely master!"
Zhou Qiming was overjoyed, brilliant light flashing in his eyes. Above Blade Momentum, there was still Intent. When Martial Artists at the same Body Tempering level fought, the one who had mastered Momentum could suppress others with it and even resonate with heaven and earth, gaining an overwhelming advantage!
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