"If I wanted to learn Hard Bone Skill, how much would it cost?" Zhao An asked.
"Ten taels of silver to become my apprentice," Tang Niu replied. He could tell that Zhao An had come with an eye on his Hard Bone Skill.
He didn't turn anyone away. As long as they paid, that was enough.
Zhao An didn't waste words. He took out ten taels of silver and placed them on the stone table.
"I don't want to become your apprentice. I only want to borrow the manual for three days, and I promise not to pass it on. Would that be all right?" Zhao An suggested.
"You only want to read the martial arts manual?" Tang Niu was taken aback.
"Are you serious? What good would that do? The manual is dead, but people are alive. If you just practice by poring over a manual, you'll never understand it."
Who in their right mind would sit around puzzling over a manual? It was nothing but a waste of effort.
If martial arts were that easy to learn, Martial Masters like them would be everywhere, and the whole world would be full of people practicing martial arts...
Tang Niu truly couldn't fathom Zhao An's intentions, but he could tell he was serious.
He went inside, then came back out with a handwritten copy of Hard Bone Skill.
"Let's be clear: once the money and manual have changed hands, that's that. If you can't make sense of it later, I won't refund you." After handing over the manual and taking the money, Tang Niu didn't forget to warn him.
"Of course."
After obtaining the manual he wanted, Zhao An went on to visit the Huang Family Martial Academy.
He took away the manual for Gale Palm in the same way, and also sparred with Master Huang of the academy.
Gale Palm did have some tricks to it, but it still couldn't match his Silver Snake Hand. Master Huang hadn't even lasted ten exchanges against him.
At last, he went to the Zheng Family Martial Academy.
Master Zheng was advanced in years. His body was still in fairly good shape, but he had clearly passed his prime.
When Zhao An asked to spar, the old master politely declined.
However, he readily agreed to let Zhao An borrow the Mountain Crushing Fist manual. He didn't even charge him, assuming Zhao An had come out of admiration and simply wanted to study the fist technique.
"Shen Pan, spar with Brother Zhao on my behalf." Master Zheng, his beard white as snow, beckoned to the young man standing in a corner of the courtyard.
"..." Shen Pan had no choice but to walk over.
"Brother Zhao, don't think I'm brushing you off just because my disciple is young. He's a genuine Martial Master now and has inherited some of my knowledge. I'll have to trouble you to give him some pointers today."
Master Zheng smiled, his expression carrying a hint of satisfaction.
Clearly, he was quite pleased and proud to have cultivated a young talent like Shen Pan in his later years.
"That'll do." Zhao An's gaze fell on Shen Pan.
He mainly wanted to see the power of Mountain Crushing Fist. It made no difference who he fought.
When Shen Pan met Zhao An's gaze, his scalp went numb.
He had been there in person when Zhao An wiped out the Tiger Head Gang, and had witnessed that massacre with his own eyes.
If anyone understood Zhao An's strength best, it was surely him.
Seeing Zhao An again brought that night of blood and corpses rushing back before his eyes.
It was only a simple spar, yet he grew more and more nervous.
"Please." Zhao An spoke.
"Please..." Shen Pan drew a deep breath. Hearing his fellow disciples cheering him on, he finally took his stance.
Then he rushed forward and threw a punch.
With power behind it, the punch was no weak blow.
But Zhao An merely stood his ground and raised a palm, easily catching Shen Pan's fist in his hand.
He grabbed him and casually flung him aside. Shen Pan flew several meters away.
Shen Pan knew he was no match. Seeing that Zhao An had already held back, he gritted his teeth and continued demonstrating the fist techniques he had learned.
About a quarter of an hour later.
Zhao An left the academy with unhurried ease.
Inside, not only Shen Pan but many of the other disciples were sprawled on the ground, lying or sprawled face-down as they watched Zhao An leave.
Shen Pan alone hadn't been enough to satisfy Zhao An, so the disciples had all piled in together.
In the end, all of them together had only managed to make Zhao An break a little sweat.
"You may have lost today, but don't lose heart. You're still young, and you have limitless potential ahead of you." Master Zheng approached and spoke to Shen Pan with a solemn expression.
"From today on, I'll take you as my last disciple. I'll teach you everything there is to know about Mountain Crushing Fist. If you go to Prefecture City in the future, I'll also pave a path for you..."
On the main road, carriages jolted along.
A cavalry unit rode ahead to clear the way, followed by a hundred armored soldiers marching with sabers at their sides.
Every one of them wore fine armor and carried a good blade. They were brimming with vitality, and exuded the Killing Intent of elite battlefield troops.
At the center was a heavy carriage made of solid wood, pulled by two sturdy horses.
Martial artists surrounded the carriage, constantly on guard against ambushes and hidden arrows.
"My lord, Lianjiang City is just ahead," a guard suddenly said.
"Pick up the pace. We'll enter the city as soon as possible." A firm, measured voice came from inside the carriage.
"Yes, sir."
Soon, the troops reached the city gates, where they were stopped.
"Stop! The whole city is on alert. Who are you? State your business!" a County Soldier captain shouted.
At the same time, a group of archers took their positions atop the wall, drew their bows, and aimed at the armed force approaching the city.
"Have you all gone blind?"
"My lord was sent here from Prefecture City to take charge. How dare you point arrows at him?" One of the guards immediately shouted in anger at the sight of this reception.
"We haven't received any orders, and we've heard nothing about a new County Magistrate. For all we know, you're bandits in disguise!" The County Soldier captain sat astride his horse, not letting down his guard for a moment.
Once bitten by a snake, you feared the sight of a rope for ten years.
As for weapons and armor, the bandits had cavalry in full gear too. They had even used a ruse before, sneaking a group of men into the city ahead of time. When the moment came, they attacked from within and without, breaking through the city that night and killing the County Magistrate!
So now the city gates were guarded at every turn, just in case.
"Go and report this at once. Have your County Vice-Magistrate and County Commandant come out to meet me!" The voice from the carriage came again, this time with a note of authority.
But just as he finished speaking, several sharp arrows suddenly flew from atop the wall, aimed straight at the carriage.
"Bastards!" A tall, imposing guard beside the carriage sprang into action. He leapt into the air from horseback and swept his spear up, knocking the arrows aside midflight.
The move left both sides on the brink of conflict.
The guard didn't stop. He stepped lightly on the horse's back and leapt two or three zhang into the air, vaulting over the County Soldiers' spears and seizing the mounted captain on the spot!
The captain was a capable martial artist, but he had no chance to fight back against this guard.
Several more guards rushed forward, heading straight for the city wall.
As they charged, they hurled their spears into the middle of the wall, then sprang upward. In the space of a single breath, they had climbed onto the battlements and seized the archers who had fired.
The whole thing happened in the blink of an eye.
The County Soldiers at the gate stood there dumbfounded, completely at a loss as to what had happened.
Now they were starting to believe that these people really had come from Prefecture City.
Only the martial artists of Prefecture City could have such extraordinary skills!
Before you continue