Putting on a Show

"Don't underestimate my Iron Ox Skill."

Liu Ye shook the manual in his hand as he explained, "Do you know what state of mind is best for getting started with [Yama's Three Demon Blades]?"

Wang Ping immediately fell into deep thought.

According to Liu Ye, the first blade of [Yama's Three Demon Blades], [Greed], would subject the practitioner to the impact of blade intent born from such emotions during training.

What state of mind could resist it?

In an instant, a flash of inspiration struck Wang Ping. "A state of mind related to the Iron Ox Skill... Could it be that brief clarity after doing that?"

"...You brat, you're truly clever."

Liu Ye nodded. "Exactly. During that period, a man is free of desire and seeking nothing. It is precisely the nemesis of [Greed]'s blade intent."

"In other words, the more times you enter that clear state of mind, the stronger your resistance to [Greed], the faster your cultivation, and the lower the risk of getting started... And my [Iron Ox Skill] is a peerless technique that lets you experience that clear state of mind repeatedly without harming your body!"

Wang Ping was immensely tempted.

Of course, he was not a lustful man. More importantly, as Liu Ye had said, this [Iron Ox Skill] would help him quickly master [Yama's Three Demon Blades].

There was also an even more important reason:

"This technique might also help me cultivate the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method]!"

This secret art from the Heavenly Book of the Self-Transformed Ruler of the Desire Realm was actually quite simple to cultivate. Put simply, it meant exercising together with someone.

"The secret art has one hundred and eight positions. Completing all of them counts as one Lesser Celestial Circuit."

"After every Lesser Celestial Circuit, you have to change to another person and start again."

"Defeat one hundred and eight people in succession, and that counts as one Greater Celestial Circuit."

"Once you can complete a Greater Celestial Circuit without stopping, you have mastered it. From then on, you will be a [Desire-Realm Celestial Being]."

After becoming a [Desire-Realm Celestial Being], one could not only sense the emotions and thoughts of others, but even manipulate them to a degree, or condense the [Spirit Sense] possessed only by cultivators. Wang Ping had coveted its many wonders for a long time, but the requirements for cultivating it were simply too harsh. It was not meant for people to learn at all.

Yet now, he saw hope.

"If I cultivate the [Iron Ox Skill] to perfection, can the martial technique [Golden Spear Unyielding] withstand the exhaustion of the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method]?"

Perhaps it could!

At that thought, Wang Ping became determined to obtain the [Iron Ox Skill]. Yet he soon realized a rather embarrassing problem.

He was out of money.

More than half the salary that came with his constable's post had just been used to pay respects to Liu Ye. No matter what he did, the remainder was not enough to buy a martial art manual.

After turning it over and over in his mind, Wang Ping could only give a bitter smile. "Please forgive my embarrassment, Master Liu. I've truly been short of funds lately. How about you name a price first and give me a few days to gather the money... Or sell it to me on credit for now, and I'll slowly repay you principal and interest from my monthly salary?"

Liu Ye immediately laughed.

"Little Wang, that won't do. Do you really take me for the sort of man whose eyes light up at the sight of money?"

Wasn't he?

Wang Ping grumbled inwardly. Yet the next moment, Liu Ye swept out a hand and directly stuffed the [Iron Ox Skill] manual into his arms.

"Fine, take it."

"Don't worry, I don't want money. We'll trade goods for goods. If you obtain any new martial arts in the future, secretly give them to me, and we'll call it even."

"Well?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Wang Ping, who had been racking his brains without understanding, was suddenly enlightened. Looking at Liu Ye again, he understood the old constable's calculations.

"He has a pretty good eye for people. He thinks I might take on Captain Chen's task in the future and receive that mid-grade martial art as my reward, so he wants to trade the [Iron Ox Skill] for my future mid-grade martial art? That way, he gets the benefits without needing to take any risks..."

At that thought, Wang Ping's attitude immediately changed.

"Brother Liu, if you put it that way... then it isn't worth this price anymore."

Liu Ye: "..."

Brat. He really did have a bright future ahead of him. One moment it was Master Liu, the next it was Brother Liu. He turned his face faster than even this old hand of the martial world.

After a moment of silence, Liu Ye lowered his voice. "How much do you want?"

Wang Ping raised five fingers. "Five hundred taels."

"You're robbing me blind!"

Liu Ye became agitated at once. "Five hundred taels? Even Shouchong's bounty isn't that damn high! How much is our monthly salary? You really dared to name that price!"

Wang Ping shook his head helplessly. "I have no choice. Brother Liu, your [Iron Ox Skill] may be good, but it needs practical experience to improve. I'm dirt poor right now. Even if I want practical experience, I simply can't afford it. I can't exactly go bully decent women, can I?"

Only then did Liu Ye breathe a sigh of relief.

"Idiot. Is the [Iron Ox Skill] really such a stiff and inflexible thing? Who says practical experience must involve another person? Don't you usually use your hand?"

Wang Ping: "..."

Of course he understood such a simple trick. The problem was that while the [Iron Ox Skill] could be practiced this way, the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method] required a True Person.

So he still held firm to that condition.

"Five hundred taels. Not a copper less!"

"You..."

Liu Ye narrowed his eyes, but soon relaxed again. Thinking it over, he recalled that the young man before him seemed to still be a virgin.

Young and full of vigor—it was perfectly normal for him to want a taste of something new.

"...Fine, fine."

At that thought, Liu Ye changed his tune. "I don't have money. But if you only want practical experience... I have a connection at the Vermilion Phoenix Tower in the city."

"When you go there, tell the madam, Miss Feng, my name. Then tell her you're cultivating the [Iron Ox Skill], and she'll naturally arrange practical experience for you."

Wang Ping was struck with awe at those words.

Did that mean he could enjoy it for free?

Though Liu Ye had phrased it vaguely, how could Wang Ping fail to understand? There was no question that the Vermilion Phoenix Tower had a stake belonging to Master Liu before him. Otherwise, why would he say such things?

At that thought, Wang Ping immediately cupped his hands. "Many thanks, Master Liu!"

"And the five hundred taels...?"

"I was merely joking just now!"

Only then did Liu Ye nod in satisfaction. He was not worried that Wang Ping would renege in the future. After all, it was only an unranked martial art manual. Even if nothing came of it, he would not lose out.

But if it worked out, he would make a killing!

After all, as far as he knew, Lord Chen's inherited martial art had been brought out from the main headquarters of the Capital Divine Constables' Bureau. Its origins were extraordinary!

Although he had obtained the chance to enjoy things for free, Wang Ping did not immediately set out.

As he had said, he was not a lustful man. His cultivation of the [Iron Ox Skill] and the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method] was purely for a better future.

"Something like the [Iron Ox Skill], which can be cultivated with a hand, would be a terrible waste to train through practical experience. What use would it be even if I mastered it? The main course lies ahead!"

The [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method].

This immortal secret art had an enormous demand for practical experience. Without exaggeration, cultivating it to completion might ruin an entire brothel.

"Though Liu Ye made it sound nice just now, if I really went to cultivate the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method] for free, the losses would definitely make him regret it at once. Then all my efforts would go down the drain... So the best method is to first silently cultivate the [Iron Ox Skill] to grand perfection."

"Once I have the support of [Golden Spear Unyielding], then I can go enjoy things for free."

"Before he realizes what is happening, I'll press onward in one burst and directly master the [Desire-Realm Celestial Birth Method]. At that point, he can only swallow this mute loss."

For that, he still needed to endure for now.

Of course, if he could pay, none of these problems would be problems.

At that thought, Wang Ping, having just returned home, could not help rummaging through chests and cupboards. He carefully sorted through all his savings, then decisively shook his head.

"Whether I pay or not is not important."

"At the end of the day, I am a man who keeps himself clean and is absolutely not lustful. How could I go to that smoky, foul place and debase myself for no reason?"

With that, Wang Ping shut the doors and windows and took out some paper.

The long night stretched on. He prepared to show off with his hand and train the [Iron Ox Skill] tirelessly through the night, until the sun stood high in the sky, reaching perfection in the technique as quickly as possible!

The moon was dark and the wind was high—a perfect night for murder.

The night wind howled, the sun was hidden away, and three moons hung high overhead. Yet dark clouds concealed their light, casting only unfathomably deep shadows.

"Who goes there?!"

With a sharp shout, a patrolling constable in Longxing County's yamen raised the candle lantern in his hand and looked toward the shadows in the corner. Yet beneath the lamplight, there was no one there.

"What is it?" another patrolling constable asked.

"Nothing. I probably saw wrong."

The constable holding the lantern gave a bitter smile. "You know how unsettled things have been these past few years. I've become jumpy. Everything I see looks like those rebels."

The others also smiled bitterly.

It was not just Longxing County. Across all of Changle Commandery, even throughout the vast Ji Province, rebels had sprung up like bamboo shoots after a rain. The world had long since fallen into chaos.

"Enough, don't overthink it."

"We're just going through the motions. If a true expert infiltrated this place, we wouldn't be able to discover him anyway. When that happens, the higher-ups will naturally be responsible for hunting him down."

"That's true..."

As they spoke, this squad of patrolling constables walked farther and farther away. Yet none of them noticed that another person had silently appeared behind them.

That person was Xie Shi.

Unlike ordinary people, however, the breathing, heartbeat, footsteps—every sound produced by this White Lotus Sect senior disciple had been reduced almost to nothing.

This was clearly a martial art. He silently followed the patrol, his figure concealed in darkness. From outside the county yamen to within it, he encountered several patrol squads along the way, yet not one person detected his presence. All of them simply overlooked him.

Only when he approached the inner yamen did he suddenly flash away.

The sound of wind raised by his movement blended with the night wind, still drawing no one's notice. Just like that, he entered the inner yamen.

Before him stood a main hall.

Inside the hall were dozens of objects, large and small. Some were sabers and spears, some staves and clubs. All had once been Fine Weapons renowned across their regions.

Xie Shi's gaze immediately locked onto the center of the main hall.

There, atop the largest desk, rested an exquisite flying dagger gleaming with silver light. Its blade radiance flowed like moonlight, radiating a chilling cold.

The [Lotus Blade]!

"I found it..."

Xie Shi clenched his teeth. Though he was only one step from the objective of this mission, he did not dare step forward any further. He did not even dare enter the main hall before him.

The dark main hall and its open doors seemed, in his eyes, to transform into a giant beast with jaws of blood wide open, waiting for him to throw himself into the net.

"That old bastard is only using me to scout the way."

"He has an understanding with Captain Chen of the county yamen. Both are Inner Force Martial Masters, nearing their titles. How could I possibly take part in their struggle..."

At that thought, Xie Shi immediately felt the urge to retreat.

Finding out where the [Lotus Blade] was kept was already enough to account to Shouchong. He barely earned anything in a month anyway—why risk his life?

Yet just as Xie Shi was slowly backing out of the inner yamen—

"You think you can leave just like that?"

A calm voice rode the evening wind and drifted over. From the shadows of the main hall where the many weapons were displayed, a cold-faced man strolled out.

"Chen Haoyan... This is bad!"

Xie Shi's expression changed drastically. He did not dare respond to Chen Haoyan at all. He lifted his foot and stomped down heavily, shattering the patch of ground beneath him to pieces.

A terrifying tremor spread from him in all directions through the county yamen, like an earth dragon turning over. Borrowing the enormous recoil from that stomp, he vanished from the spot in an instant, turning into a black shadow that raced toward the outside of the yamen.

Such momentum was already astonishing.

Yet in the next moment, a hearty laugh suppressed every other sound, like a needle that steadied the sea, instantly calming all chaos.

"External Arts Perfection? That old bastard really knows how to teach disciples."

"But if he wants the [Lotus Blade] back, he should come himself."

Inside the main hall, Chen Haoyan stood sternly with a great bow in his right hand and a long arrow gripped tightly in his left. Boundless streams of light surged from his palm and gathered at the arrowhead.

Xie Shi sensed something and looked back, his soul nearly flying from his body.

"Master said this man came from the Capital Divine Constables' Bureau. Not only did his physical cultivation receive the True Disciple teachings of the Divine Constables Bureau, but the Inner Force he cultivated is beyond what ordinary people can attain..."

"I'm doomed!"

Boom!

The next moment, a tremendous blast rang out. Chen Haoyan drew his bow into a full moon, and the arrow tore through the air. A visible shockwave exploded deep within the county yamen.

Then a streak of white light tore apart the curtain of night.

Like lightning shattering darkness, thunder came first and electric light followed. It vanished in a flash, striking Xie Shi out of the air in an instant as he fled at full speed.

"Argh!"

A miserable scream rang out as scarlet blood sprayed through the air. Xie Shi's figure plunged straight into the county town, vanishing into the depths of the night in the blink of an eye.

Clang! Clang!

Having shot Xie Shi down with one arrow, Chen Haoyan stood with his bow in hand. He then drew his Ox-Tail Saber and pointed it at the sky, his powerful voice echoing through the night.

"White Lotus Bandits dared to raid the county yamen at night and commit insubordination from below! Every man has the right to execute them!"

"Pass down my order: search the entire city! Anyone who provides clues about this bandit will receive ten taels of silver! Anyone who kills him will receive one hundred taels! Anyone who shelters him will have their entire clan executed!"