Upgrade Cheat, Plans Change

The next day, at dawn.

Wang Ping still rose before first light and went to the training ground to practice archery. This time, however, he held an extra bright-red bun in his hand.

Whenever he was exhausted and out of breath, he took a bite. A rush of heat instantly flooded his limbs and bones, washing away all fatigue and allowing him to throw himself back into training. As the number of training sessions soared, Wang Ping could clearly feel his understanding of the [Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow] improving.

Boom!

Another arrow flew out. This time, it did not merely strike the bullseye—it exploded the instant it hit, sending out a ring of roaring shockwaves.

"Phew!"

A hundred meters away, Wang Ping slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. The great tendons throughout his body twitched and flexed, and as he stretched his arms and legs, a surging, splashing sound rang out from within him.

His blood was roaring!

His bowsmanship had entered the beginner stage. [Blood Like Fire] was complete!

Wang Ping closed his eyes and looked inward with Spirit Sense. He could clearly see the blood racing through his body, with explosive power accumulating within it.

This was even his normal state. Once he deliberately drove his qi and blood, that explosive strength would pour forth completely along with the flow of his blood. Though it also placed an immense burden on his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, at the instant of eruption, his strength far surpassed its usual limits!

"No wonder it's called [Blood Like Fire]."

"Put bluntly, it means setting your body ablaze, trading the damage afterward for a brief flash of fire. Kill a thousand enemies and lose eight hundred yourself—it can't be used carelessly."

At the same time, Wang Ping understood Xie Shi's outburst that night.

Though Xie Shi had been grievously wounded, he had repeatedly cast aside his injuries and unleashed force no weaker than at his peak. This was likely the effect of [Blood Like Fire].

"If he could do it, so could I."

"And I could do it even better!"

Wang Ping slowly opened and closed his palm, feeling his qi and blood circulate through it. His Spirit Sense delved deep into his body, allowing him to grasp his condition as quickly as possible.

"Like [Tendons Like Dragon], [Blood Like Fire] has ranks. The manual describes them in detail: four grades as well—Blazing Fire, Blazing Flame, True Flame, Supreme Yang... Judging from Xie Shi's explosive power that night, he was probably at Blazing Flame Blood. Compared to me now, he was far behind."

Wang Ping once again marveled at his current body.

"The Desire-Realm Celestial Body—never mind what miraculous effects it might have in cultivation. In this martial world alone, it is simply the talent of a Martial God."

All that hardship at Vermilion Phoenix Tower had not been in vain!

Wang Ping had no doubt that, with the qualities of this body, once he mastered the six external arts—skin, flesh, tendons, bones, blood, and marrow—they would surely all reach the highest grade!

"As expected, I am now a martial arts prodigy, one in ten thousand."

Wang Ping basked in self-satisfaction for a while. Then his Spirit Sense stirred, and he turned toward the entrance of the training ground. Old Liu was strolling over with a smoking pipe in hand.

"How is it? That Blood Jade Bun packs enough punch, doesn't it?"

The moment Liu Ye entered the training ground, he looked at the bright-red bun in Wang Ping's hand and smiled. "I got that from the neighboring county."

"It's all thanks to you, brother."

Wang Ping hurriedly praised him, then lowered his voice. "By the way, brother, I have another request... Is there anywhere in the city that sells good iron?"

Iron was a commodity monopolized by the imperial court.

What normally circulated openly was mostly useless refined iron. Truly extraordinary variant iron was all priceless and unavailable.

Of course, constables had their own special channels through which to buy it.

Yet Liu Ye instantly caught Wang Ping's underlying meaning and narrowed his eyes. "How good does the iron need to be? Something that can see the light of day, or something that can't?"

Wang Ping shook his head. "Something that can't."

"Then don't buy it in the city. There are too many eyes here. Even if you have money, there's nowhere to spend it, and many things are inconvenient... Buy it at the Grass Market outside the city."

"There are channels there."

Liu Ye spoke calmly. "But we need an excuse... Hmm. We'll say you and I are going to the Grass Market to collect this month's customary fees. It's only a few days early anyway."

Customary fees... Wang Ping's gaze shifted slightly as he suddenly recalled the scene from when he had first crossed over, when he saw Liu Ye collecting customary fees at the Grass Market. At the time, he had only thought this street-clearing tiger knew quite well how to fleece the common folk. Who would have thought that he himself would become one of them now?

But then again.

Though Liu Ye collected the Grass Market's customary fees every month, he also ensured order and stability there. Things could not be viewed from an overly extreme angle.

What? It was still fleecing the common folk at its core?

How could that possibly be the same!

Before long, Wang Ping successfully convinced himself and followed Liu Ye. After reporting their whereabouts to the county yamen, the two headed out of the city and arrived at the Grass Market.

"Liu the Skinflayer is here again!"

"Heavens preserve us! Why is he here so early this month?"

"Quick, get the money ready..."

For a time, clamor rose throughout the Grass Market. Although many people had lowered their voices, to a martial artist's hearing, it was no different from speaking loudly.

Liu Ye's expression immediately turned awkward, and he could not help cursing, "These ignorant rabble don't know what's good for them. Don't they realize that without me, this Grass Market couldn't stay open? It would have been looted clean long ago by martial bandits and mountain robbers! Is collecting a little customary fee too much? From beginning to end, have I ever taken one extra coin?"

But curses were only curses. He did not actually do anything.

Wang Ping remained silent the entire time, following him past one shop after another. Every shop paid its due in full, until they reached a rice shop and encountered a small mishap.

"Lord Liu, this is this month's payment."

The rice shop owner hurriedly handed over a string of copper coins, smiling ingratiatingly. "Rest assured, I've already strung them together this time. Not a single coin is missing, so I won't waste your time."

Liu Ye accepted the money with satisfaction at first. Yet after counting it, his expression turned disdainful. "Old Chen, didn't you attend a private school?"

"Can't you even count?"

The rice shop owner immediately panicked. "N-No, that can't be right! I counted it several times. It's exactly the amount of the customary fee, not one coin short..."

"What do you mean, short? There's too much!"

Liu Ye irritably removed a portion of the copper coin string in his hand and casually tossed it back. "Didn't I tell you last month? The excess payment would be deducted from this month's."

"So this time, I'm only taking sixty percent of your customary fee."

"Do your calculations properly next time. Count it clearly, count it accurately, then give me the money. You waste my time every single time. Do you know how busy I am normally?"

Taking advantage of the chance, Liu Ye gave the rice shop owner a thorough scolding.

Yet as the rice shop owner looked at the returned copper coins, how could he possibly feel even a shred of resentment? He hurriedly nodded and bowed, only short of kneeling before Liu Ye.

After finishing his rebuke, Liu Ye turned and strode away without looking back.

"He actually does follow the rules."

Wang Ping followed behind him and witnessed the entire process. He did not feel much about it. At this point, he also had no spare strength to interfere with or influence anything.

Before long, they had collected enough customary fees.

Only then did Liu Ye turn and lead Wang Ping to a secluded corner of the Grass Market. There was only one stall there, and its owner was a man.

When the stall owner saw Wang Ping, his previously composed expression shifted slightly. He rose to his feet by instinct.

"Lord Liu, you..."

"Enough nonsense."

Liu Ye waved a large hand. "I brought a newcomer today. Relax, he can be trusted... He wants to buy a piece of variant iron. Bring out what you've been keeping at the bottom of the chest."

Wang Ping remained silent throughout. He also noticed the stall owner covertly sizing him up several times before sitting back down. Then, from somewhere unknown, the man produced three iron ingots and casually tossed them onto the stall. "As for variant iron, these are the only three pieces I've had recently."

Wang Ping looked over, and his expression immediately changed slightly.

There was no other reason—he actually recognized two of the three pieces of variant iron!

One of them was pale white. He recognized it at a glance: it was clearly the flying dagger Xie Shi had used that night, though its shape had been reforged.

The other was pitch-black. He was equally familiar with it, because it was made from the exact same material as the Ox-Tail Saber at his waist. There were even bloodstains on it!

"One piece is Xie Shi's flying dagger. The other... Could it have been picked up from the corpses of the constables who died that night? What nerve. They could even get their hands on this? No, that's not right. Perhaps people from the county yamen had been involved in this from the start. Good lord, this is a stolen-goods channel!"

The waters behind this ran terrifyingly deep!

As Wang Ping pondered, the stall owner spoke. "Plain Rainbow Steel, Dark Cloud Iron, and a piece of Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper, from lowest quality to highest. Which one does my lord want?"

"Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper."

Wang Ping chose the highest-quality one without hesitation. The reason was simple: his main purpose in buying variant iron was to use it to refine the [Peace Scripture].

Previously, he had not even possessed the strength to protect himself, so naturally he had been unable to spare attention for his precious cheat. Now that he had found his footing, he naturally wanted to upgrade the [Peace Scripture], giving it another [Scripture Scroll] slot. That way, he could find a way to unlock another new cheat in the future.

"Fifty taels of silver, please."

The stall owner held out his hand.

Wang Ping was about to pay when Liu Ye beside him directly pressed his hand down.

"Fifty taels? Why don't you just go rob someone!"

Liu Ye berated him with righteous indignation. The stall owner had clearly not been berated for the first time, and he immediately gave a bitter smile. "Then how much does Lord Liu think it should be?"

"Five taels."

"Old dog, are you fucking haggling!?"

The stall owner immediately grew anxious, rolled up his sleeves, and rose to his feet, looking ready to fight Liu Ye to the death. Yet Liu Ye remained utterly composed.

"Enough nonsense. If your Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper had no issues and could see the light of day, never mind fifty taels—even sixty or seventy taels wouldn't be impossible."

Liu Ye sneered.

"Well? Do you dare guarantee that this iron can see the light of day?"

The stall owner immediately fell silent.

Wang Ping also came to a sudden realization. Fifty taels was the normal purchase price—but was anything here normal? Looking down the row, which item was not stolen goods?

To fence stolen goods, you had to offer a discount!

"But it can't be five taels either. At least twenty taels!" the stall owner struggled.

Liu Ye sighed upon hearing that. "Fine. It isn't easy for you to do business either, and you're only earning a little cut. How about this? I'll pay ten taels. Is that enough?"

"You beast!"

The stall owner was so furious his hands shook. He looked as though he had suffered a grievance greater than the heavens, but Liu Ye remained unmoved. He held firm at ten taels—not one extra tael.

"Believe it or not, I won't sell it to you!" the stall owner snapped as he rose.

Liu Ye immediately smiled. "Then, as a county yamen constable and the imperial court's most loyal supporter, I ought to have a talk with you about the crime of privately dealing in variant iron."

The stall owner immediately sat back down.

"Lord Liu, listen to what you're saying... How could I refuse to sell to you? I was only joking just now. Ten taels of silver it is. Please favor my business more in the future."

Only then did Liu Ye look at Wang Ping and signal for him to pay.

Wang Ping deeply admired this.

"Learned something!"

"It seems the might of a street-clearing tiger is not entirely without merit. Commoners do not fight officials—indeed, that truth holds everywhere."

After parting with Liu Ye, Wang Ping hurried home without stopping.

"Let's begin!"

Wang Ping took out the Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper he had just acquired. Though Liu Ye had reminded him before they parted that it was stolen goods and should be used carefully, Wang Ping did not actually care.

After all, it would soon disappear.

The next moment, Wang Ping's consciousness entered the [Morgue]. He felt an unfathomable great power flow from the towering book and descend upon the Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper.

[Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper (Mortal Object of the Secular World)]

Immediately afterward, Wang Ping watched as the piece of Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper, enough to forge a Mortal Weapon, rapidly melted into molten copper and flowed into the [Morgue].

The next moment, Wang Ping saw the [Morgue], having absorbed the Hundred-Forged Primordial Copper, shake violently. The towering book at its center also opened to its second page.

[Volume Two: Empty]

[Pending Entry.]

"Success!"

Wang Ping's face immediately lit up with excitement. These two lines meant that the second page of the [Peace Scripture] had been opened and could hold a new [Scripture Scroll].

At that thought, Wang Ping could not help but imagine the possibilities. With the [Otherworldly Celestial Demon], capable of resurrection, traveling through different worlds, and providing identities, as an example before him, as long as he chose sufficiently good material for the new [Scripture Scroll], it should grant him an even stronger cheat, shouldn't it?

The future was bright—bright indeed!

But just then.

"Brother Wang? Brother Wang!"

A somewhat urgent voice suddenly came from outside the door, startling Wang Ping out of his thoughts. He opened the door and found a vaguely familiar constable standing there.

"...What happened?"

"Lord Chen wants to see you!"

The constable who had come to deliver the news spoke rapidly. "A quarter of an hour ago, White Lotus Sect Leader Shouchong forced his way into the county city. He has currently vanished somewhere within the city."

"...What?"

In an instant, Wang Ping understood.

"That old bastard Shouchong suddenly showed himself, most likely because he no longer wants to wait. Chen Haoyan intends to divert the disaster onto someone else as soon as possible, lest the fire burn his own body."

In other words, they could not wait until the third day.

Plans could not keep pace with change.

Chen Haoyan summoning him now likely meant he wanted Wang Ping to act immediately, escorting the [Lotus Blade] to the [Spirit Wandering Temple] under countless watchful eyes!