Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique

A voice tinged with urgency came through the door along with a knock.

The Merit Panel vanished.

Zhao Zhi looked toward the door, his brows drawing together slightly.

In weather like this, with rain pouring down in sheets, there were still others coming to this deserted village.

"I am a passing merchant. I ask this fellow villager to open the door and let us shelter from the rain. I will surely repay you generously."

The voice outside sounded again.

A merchant?

Zhao Zhi's ears twitched slightly. There was indeed more than one set of breathing outside the door—there should be seven or eight people.

After thinking briefly,

Zhao Zhi stepped forward and pulled open the door.

The crashing sound of rain surged in even more fiercely.

Seven or eight people stood at the entrance.

Closest to Zhao Zhi was a middle-aged man with a slight beard, high cheekbones, and bright eyes.

When he saw Zhao Zhi open the door, his eyes immediately lit up. Then, noticing the dark robe Zhao Zhi wore, a flicker of puzzlement passed through his eyes before he quickly suppressed it.

He cupped his hands, his face piled with smiles. "Little brother, please let us come in and shelter from the rain. We'll leave once the rain stops."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man took a silver ingot from the money pouch at his waist. "This silver ingot is payment for sheltering from the rain. Please accept it, little brother."

Zhao Zhi glanced indifferently at the silver in the man's hand and lightly shook his head. "This is not my house. I only came in to shelter from the rain as well. You may come in too. When the owner returns, give it to the owner then."

"Good. Then many thanks, little brother." The middle-aged man smiled and turned to the others. "Come in and shelter from the rain, all of you."

The people at the door hunched their soaking-wet bodies and walked inside.

In an instant,

the already small house seemed somewhat crowded.

The middle-aged man wiped the rainwater from his face. "Little brother, my name is Qian Yuan. I do business around Baishui Commandery. May I ask how I should address you?"

Zhao Zhi replied flatly, "Lu Guangyi."

"Lu Guangyi?" The middle-aged man froze upon hearing that, a strange look rising in his eyes. "I heard that the county magistrate of Qingfeng County beneath Baishui Commandery is also named Lu Guangyi. I never expected little brother to share that name."

Zhao Zhi's face did not redden, nor did his breath falter. "Just a coincidence."

Qian Yuan smiled and did not press the matter. He took out three plates of pastries from an exquisite wooden box. "Little brother, thank you for letting us shelter from the rain. Here, have a taste. These are pastries from Osmanthus Fragrance Tower in Baishui Commandery."

Zhao Zhi waved a hand and refused. "No need. I just ate."

"They're only pastries."

"No."

Seeing that Zhao Zhi still refused and had closed his eyes, Qian Yuan stopped urging him and began eating by himself.

Several more breaths passed.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

Another voice came from outside the door.

Zhao Zhi abruptly opened his eyes and stared beyond the door, hidden light gathering in his pitch-black pupils.

"Brother Lu." Qian Yuan looked toward the door. "What do you think?"

Zhao Zhi said blandly, "This house belongs to someone else. It is not mine."

Qian Yuan smiled. "Then let them in."

The door opened, and two more people entered. Both wore long white robes and appeared refined and courteous, like scholars.

"Thank you, everyone." The scholar with a green jade pendant hanging at his waist was startled to see so many people inside the house. He cupped his hands and said, "The two of us are scholars from White Peak Academy in Linshui Commandery. We went out to enjoy the spring today and encountered this torrential rain, so we had no choice but to shelter here. We hope everyone can make things convenient for us. We will leave once the rain stops."

Qian Yuan tilted his head toward Zhao Zhi. "Brother Lu, what do you think?"

Zhao Zhi did not respond. Instead, he closed his eyes.

He discovered

that he did not need to open his eyes to see the Merit Panel. He could observe and activate it within his consciousness as well.

1,000 Merit.

He invested all of it into fusing and creating martial arts.

Among the many internal qi cultivation arts, the True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique was undoubtedly the one of the highest quality and loftiest conception.

Using the True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique as the foundation, Zhao Zhi fused many internal qi cultivation arts into it, including the Little Spring Technique, the Innate Unity Qi Technique, and the Iron Horse Grounding Stance.

[100 Merit consumed. The Incomplete True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique has incorporated numerous martial arts and transformed into the Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique.]

In an instant,

a vast amount of information flooded into Zhao Zhi's mind—mysterious, profound, abstruse beyond comprehension, far surpassing the Incomplete True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique.

The internal qi cultivated by the new Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique possessed the wondrous qualities of primal unity, balance-keeping, indestructibility, and suppression. Its quality was so high that there was likely no internal qi cultivation method under heaven that could compare with it.

What Zhao Zhi cared about most was that the Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique was not yet a perfect Xiantian internal qi cultivation art. It could still be incorporated, altered, and improved through the consumption of a great amount of Merit.

Unfortunately,

the fusion and modification just now had consumed 1,000 Merit, leaving only 1 point.

He could obtain more Merit later.

His actions just now were enough to prove that the Merit Panel could indeed fuse martial arts and modify and enhance them into stronger, more mysterious arts.

[Martial Arts: Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique (Perfected), Giant Gate Palm (Perfected), Wild Wind Saber Technique (Perfected), Moon-Treading Step (Perfected), Diamond Force (Perfected)...]

[Merit: 1]

Zhao Zhi carefully sensed the internal qi of the Modified True Martial Mountain-Suppressing Technique. It surged through his body like a torrent, washing through every meridian and soaking into flesh, skin, blood, and bone, strengthening his body without his even noticing.

His current strength was considerably greater than it had been at Fairy Maiden Temple.

Zhao Zhi slowly opened his eyes.

In only a few dozen breaths, another eleven or twelve people had entered the mud-brick house.

The house, which had never been spacious to begin with, had become even more crowded and cramped. The people were practically pressed together.

Qian Yuan reached up and scratched his head, an apologetic smile appearing on his face. "I didn't expect so many people to come here for shelter in such a short time. But don't worry, Brother Lu. Once this torrential rain stops, we'll leave immediately and won't disturb you."

"Sorry, Brother Lu."

"Thank you, Little Brother Lu."

"Thank you."

Scholars, woodcutters, wandering heroes... people from all walks of life sheltering from the rain thanked Zhao Zhi one after another.

Zhao Zhi's expression remained calm, neither joyous nor sorrowful. His gaze slowly swept across the crowd before settling on Qian Yuan. A faint smile curled at his lips. "You still haven't made your move. What exactly are you waiting for?"

The smile on Qian Yuan's face did not change. "What are you talking about, Brother Lu? Why can't I understand?"

Zhao Zhi rolled his neck, producing hollow cracks, his gaze shooting straight at Qian Yuan. "Since you won't make a move, I will."

The words had barely fallen

when Zhao Zhi's five fingers formed a claw and shot out like lightning, seizing Qian Yuan's head. The muscles in his arm bulged. As internal qi circulated, tremendous strength welled up and surged into his arm, smashing Qian Yuan's head viciously toward the table.

Bang.

Bang.

The first sound was the wooden table exploding apart.

The second was Qian Yuan's head smashing heavily into the ground, leaving a small crater in the floor.