Arrogant Song Tianqing

Han Zheng had considered many possible reasons for Zheng Zhishan's visit, but the last thing he expected was that the man had come to bribe him into voluntarily withdrawing.

And on top of that, the other party wore an expression of condescending charity, which made Han Zheng unable to hold back a laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

Zheng Zhishan frowned. "Do you think a thousand taels isn't enough? For someone of your background, a thousand taels is more than enough to live comfortably in Black Stone County for the rest of your life!"

In truth, what Zheng Zhishan said wasn't wrong.

In a small county like Black Stone County, a thousand taels was indeed enough for an ordinary person to live quite comfortably.

A thousand taels could buy a three-room courtyard, plus ten acres of land, and with the leftover money, you could even open a shop and run a small business.

Those Escorts from the Escort Agency risked life and limb for years and still might not earn a thousand taels of silver.

If it had been the Han Zheng before his transmigration, he might have been tempted.

But now, what Han Zheng wanted wasn't silver—it was power.

"A thousand taels of silver can let me live comfortably in Black Stone County for a lifetime, but the problem is, I never planned to stay in Black Stone County forever."

Han Zheng looked at Zheng Zhishan with a half-smile. "Song Tianqing actually sent you to bribe me into admitting defeat—could it be that he's not confident about tomorrow's match?"

"How dare you! You insult my young master!? Ungrateful wretch!"

Zheng Zhishan flew into a rage, pointing at Han Zheng and shouting.

Han Zheng's smile faded, and his voice turned cold. "Old man, you were the one who started by insulting me with silver!

Refusing the silver makes me ungrateful? If Guo Mingyuan wins today, would you have offered him a thousand taels to bribe him too?"

As his words fell, Han Zheng suddenly stepped forward, a sharp Killing Intent surging from him.

Zheng Zhishan felt a chill run through his entire body, his face instantly turning pale.

Han Zheng had killed before. He'd seen blood.

Zheng Zhishan's mistake was treating him like one of those naive martial arts school disciples.

"Uncle Zheng, I told you, you don't need to worry about my affairs."

From deeper in the alley, Song Tianqing strode forward and stepped in front of Zheng Zhishan.

Squinting as he sized up Han Zheng, Song Tianqing said coldly, "I didn't know about today's matter. If I had, I wouldn't have let Uncle Zheng come.

Uncle Zheng isn't worried I'll lose—he's just worried I'll waste my strength on you. My opponents were never people like you.

Han Zheng, if you'd been smart today and taken the money, I wouldn't have said a word after finding out, and I'd owe you a favor.

But unfortunately, you're ungrateful. You won't get the money, and you sure as hell won't get the White Ape Through-Arm Fist!"

Song Tianqing wasn't just saving face with these words—he genuinely had never regarded the disciples inside the martial arts school as his rivals.

Not even Lin Qing, who had already joined the Cangshan Sword Sect, was an exception.

In his eyes, disciples from common backgrounds like Han Zheng and Chen Zhao had futures that could be seen at a glance—they were only fit to look up to people like him for the rest of their lives.

Guo Mingyuan was nothing but a useless sack, barely scraping by with his cultivation only because he soaked in medicinal baths every day. He wasn't even as good as Han Zheng or Chen Zhao—he had nothing but money.

And Lin Qing was just lucky, coasting along without ever facing real setbacks. What was he compared to Song Tianqing?

Song Tianqing knew very well that he had never considered the martial arts school disciples his enemies. At most, they were nothing more than stepping stones!

The position of Song Family young master, and even the family head, was what he had always truly wanted.

"What a coincidence. I never considered you an opponent either.

A man can be confident, but not arrogant. We'll see who wins tomorrow."

Han Zheng couldn't be bothered to waste more words with Song Tianqing here. He turned and left.

Watching Han Zheng's retreating figure, Zheng Zhishan lowered his head. "Forgive me, young master. This old servant acted on his own. I never expected Han Zheng to be so ungrateful."

Song Tianqing squinted, speaking calmly. "It's fine, Uncle Zheng. Since Han Zheng is so ungrateful, don't blame me for being ruthless tomorrow!

I've never regarded those martial arts school disciples as opponents. You don't actually think I could lose to them, do you?"

"Of course this old servant trusts the young master. But in a few days, the family head will assess all the young disciples of the Song Family. I'm worried that the young master might waste his strength or get injured in the martial arts school match, putting you at a disadvantage in the family assessment."

"Uncle Zheng, rest assured. Dealing with a martial arts school disciple from a common background won't take much effort.

Besides, the White Ape Through-Arm Fist is no longer a necessity for me now—at best, it's just icing on the cake.

I've already contacted that outer sect steward from the Cangshan Sword Sect, and he's agreed to help arrange my entry into the sect.

If nothing goes wrong, the next time the Cangshan Sword Sect's Transmission Elder comes to Black Stone County, he won't just take Lin Qing into the Sect—he'll take me too.

Lin Qing's father, Chief Clerk Lin, spent who knows how much effort and money to secure that opportunity, and now it's all just paving the way for me, isn't it?"

As Song Tianqing said this, a smug smile couldn't help but spread across his face.

A top-tier Sect like the Cangshan Sword Sect would send people out every year to recruit talented disciples, but they only went to major Prefectures, rarely to a small place like Black Stone County.

Chief Clerk Lin had paid a heavy price just to get in touch with that outer sect steward from the Cangshan Sword Sect and bring him to Black Stone County.

Song Tianqing had seized that opportunity precisely, using piles of gold and silver to clear the path, easily getting the steward to agree to take him into the Cangshan Sword Sect as well.

The Cangshan Sword Sect might be a top-tier Sect with outstanding disciples, but even they couldn't resist the lure of wealth.

But these outer sect stewards were usually disciples who were older and whose cultivation had stagnated for a long time.

Their path in martial arts had reached its end, so they naturally chose to pursue worldly wealth. Song Tianqing, clearing his way with money, was always unstoppable.

But the prerequisite was that your Talent and Aptitude had to be passable; otherwise, the other party wouldn't dare accept you into the Cangshan Sword Sect.

If they couldn't get past the Transmission Elder, the outer sect steward would also be punished for bringing any Tom, Dick, or Harry into the sect.

Zheng Zhishan was overjoyed at this: "Congratulations, Young Master! Congratulations!

As long as you enter the Cangshan Sword Sect, which of the Song Family's younger generation can still compare to you?

Even if the Family Head doesn't like you, he'll have to hold his nose and give you the heir's position!"

"What I want isn't just the heir's position!"

A trace of coldness flashed in Song Tianqing's eyes: "I want to take back everything I've lost over these years!"

Han Zheng didn't know at this point that he had already been treated by Song Tianqing as a stepping stone on his path forward, arranged clearly and neatly.

After returning home, Han Zheng opened the Gluttonous Crucible to check; he still had 30 points of Satiety left.

This was what Han Zheng had deliberately saved for emergencies, to be used for a temporary breakthrough.

Hesitating for a moment, Han Zheng still didn't use those 30 points of Satiety.

30 points wasn't much, but it wasn't little either—it could strengthen Han Zheng a bit, but not enough for a leap forward.

And now, the only martial arts Han Zheng could raise proficiency in were the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill and the Vajra Demon Subduing Seal.

Of these two techniques, he could at most use the power boost from the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill; he didn't want to reveal the others in front of others.

So consuming Satiety would only let him open a few more Acupoints and increase some strength, without a major improvement.

Better to keep these points of Satiety for when they're truly needed.

Having decided, Han Zheng took out the Blood Fiend Saber Art and began to study it.

Although tomorrow's match wouldn't allow weapons, learning one more Martial Skill meant one more hidden card.

A weapon is an extension of the body.

Without a sword in hand, you can join your fingers into a sword.

Without a saber in hand, you can turn your palm into a saber.

Li Jingzhong had said the power of this Blood Fiend Saber Art was between Houtian and Xiantian, the only flaw being the need to worry about Killing Intent entering the body and affecting the mind.

After reading through the entire saber art, Han Zheng indeed felt the sinister nature of this technique.

The saber style of the Blood Fiend Saber Art was utterly ruthless, attacking without defending—extremely one-sided.

And its secret wasn't about channeling force through the Meridians, but drawing on the Killing Intent within the body to attach to the saber's momentum and boost its power.

Killing Intent wasn't internal energy; it couldn't be seen or touched, only sensed.

The method to condense Killing Intent was simple: kill people.

But some could condense Killing Intent after killing just one person, while others might not after killing ten.

What if you could never condense Killing Intent?

The saber art made it clear: just keep killing!

Even if you were a compassionate monk, killing like that would turn you into a murderous Buddha wrapped in Killing Intent.

Han Zheng calmed his mind according to the description in the Blood Fiend Saber Art and sensed the Killing Intent within him.

Whether Han Zheng was naturally suited for life-and-death combat, he had only killed Wang Xiong and one Pig Demon so far, yet he instantly perceived the roiling Killing Intent inside him.

Cold, sinister, and wildly violent.

Before learning the Blood Fiend Saber Art, Han Zheng could only subconsciously draw on that trace of Killing Intent when angry, like when he had berated Zheng Zhishan.

But now, Han Zheng could actively condense that Killing Intent to fight enemies.

Throughout the night, Han Zheng didn't spend much time practicing the saber art; instead, he focused on learning how to condense Killing Intent.

In the Blood Fiend Saber Art, the saber technique was secondary; the method for condensing Killing Intent was the main thing.

He practiced until midnight, then began running the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill while drifting into sleep to rest.

The next morning, Han Zheng arrived at the training hall munching on two buns, immediately drawing the gazes of the disciples.

Before this, Han Zheng was only somewhat known in the training hall, about the same as Chen Zhao.

Only today did everyone realize that Han Zheng, who had always been low-key and quiet, might actually be the strongest among this batch of disciples.

Chen Zhao, who had been coughed up blood by Song Tianqing yesterday, also came to the training hall today, but his face was still pale.

He walked up to Han Zheng and said in a low voice: "Brother Han, be careful of Song Tianqing. Like Guo Mingyuan, he's definitely learned other martial arts outside!

But I wasn't strong enough to force out his real trump card.

He strikes extremely fast, every move ruthless and vicious—completely different from the Vajra Fist's broad and forceful style. It should be from another martial art.

But Song Tianqing is indeed exceptionally talented; he can actually blend these two completely different Martial Skills together so outsiders can't see anything wrong."

"Thanks for the warning."

Han Zheng thanked him.

He had watched yesterday's battle, but since he hadn't actually fought Song Tianqing himself, there were details he couldn't possibly understand better than Chen Zhao.

These were all lessons Chen Zhao had learned through failure—valuable insights for Han Zheng.

Gazing at Han Zheng, Chen Zhao said, "My parents' dying wish was to see me make something of myself. That's why, when I trained at the martial arts school, I treated every one of you as a rival."

"Too bad I couldn't live up to it. I lost pathetically. I lost miserably."

"But more than Song Tianqing, I hope it's you who ends up with the White Ape Through-Arm Fist."

With that, Chen Zhao turned and walked away.