Martial Arts Hall

Zhang Ping weighed the Corpse-Eating Hound's paw in his hand and asked, "Grandpa Liu, what's the difference between Corpse-Eating Hounds and ordinary dogs?"

"Corpse-Eating Hounds all have black fur and red eyes. Their most obvious feature is their human-like teeth. As long as you see those teeth, you can basically tell it's a Corpse-Eating Hound," Liu Tiefeng answered.

That really was easy to identify.

Zhang Ping thought of a photo he had once seen online of a dog that had accidentally put on dentures, and he nearly laughed out loud.

Next, he carefully examined the Corpse-Eating Hound's paw.

The paw was very heavy. Though it was only the size of an ordinary dog's paw, it weighed nearly ten pounds and carried a decaying smell.

"Come over here. This is the grinding tool. I'll teach you how to use it," Liu Tiefeng said to Zhang Ping as he walked over to a green machine.

"Yes!"

Zhang Ping carried the Corpse-Eating Hound's paw over.

Zhang Ping spent the entire morning studying.

Compared to what he learned at school, Liu Tiefeng's knowledge was far more specific. Liu Tiefeng had also lived a rich life and had joined an Investigation Team in his early years. He knew the monsters around Mingzhu City extremely well. Through his guidance and instruction, Zhang Ping could avoid many detours in the future.

After lunch.

While Liu Tiefeng took his afternoon nap, Zhang Ping sat by the furnace and practiced the Fire Eater's ability.

For now, this ability could only wrap around his hands.

If he wrapped it around other parts of his body, his clothes would burn away first.

He had no ability to control flames. Even with constant training, he could at most gather the Fire Element energy inside his body at one point and release it.

Doing so formed palm-print-shaped flames that could both attack and serve as a shield.

He had named this move Flame Palm.

Besides Flame Palm, he had also figured out quite a few other ways to use it.

For example, he could instantly erupt flames beneath his feet, or spray flames from the area around his shoulder blades. However, the former would ruin his shoes first, while the latter damaged his clothes too badly. Neither could be used carelessly.

When he returned last night, he had felt distressed for quite a while because the soles of his shoes had burned through.

Still, if his life was truly on the line, he would definitely use them. But when there was no need, he would avoid using those moves whenever possible.

In truth, the eruption beneath his feet and the spray from his back did not require much skill.

Zhang Ping had only needed to think about them briefly. The move that truly required skill was another one: Flame Blade.

Flame Blade was simple to use. He released Fire Element energy at three points along one side of his palm. When he increased the output, the two outer flames compressed the middle flame, creating a sharper blade of fire.

This way, when he chopped at an enemy with his hand, it could produce an excellent attacking effect.

"Excuse me, how much is this saber?"

At that moment, a weak voice came from behind him.

A customer?

Zhang Ping turned around in surprise and saw a slender boy with somewhat feminine features looking at him timidly.

He stood up, turned around, and stepped forward to look at the saber the boy had asked about. "This saber isn't for sale. Only the sabers with marked prices are merchandise."

The saber the boy had taken a fancy to was the Pearl Saber Qiu Qiang had casually forged earlier. Qiu Qiang had then casually set it aside. If the boy had not asked about it, Zhang Ping probably would not have remembered it for some time.

"Those sabers are all too expensive," the boy said somewhat awkwardly.

Zhang Ping said helplessly, "I'm just an apprentice helping watch the shop. Sorry, I can't make that decision."

"Okay. Sorry for the trouble," the boy said quietly.

Zhang Ping looked at him curiously. "What grade are you in? How come I've never seen you before?"

Mingzhu City had only one school. Zhang Ping remembered most students around Zhang Ping's age, but this boy was not among them.

"Huh? I've never gone to school. I've been studying at the martial arts hall my family runs," the boy replied after a brief pause.

Mingzhu City did not have compulsory education. Better-off families would hire private tutors, while some parents were strong individuals themselves. Rather than send their children to school, they chose to teach them personally.

A martial arts hall.

Zhang Ping quietly remembered that. When he looked up, the boy had already left.

He returned to the furnace, but his thoughts remained on martial arts halls. The organization behind Liu Sishan might be powerful, but it definitely could not compare to a King-level Mutated Beast. Perhaps he could find some additional support elsewhere.

Anyone capable of opening a martial arts hall should have strong fighters, right?

After thinking it over, Zhang Ping decided that when he went out tonight, he would take the opportunity to observe the martial arts halls in Mingzhu City.

At night.

Zhang Ping climbed out through the window and left Iron Soul.

He had not gone far when he saw Liu Sishan flash past in an alley. He immediately entered the alley and headed into the darkness.

"Something wrong?"

The two met in a dead end, and Zhang Ping asked in a low voice.

The next moment, he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet. Then he had already fallen into the Dark Room. Liu Sishan dropped down from above as well, landing steadily.

"The organization has already conducted a preliminary dissection of the Heavenly Fox and thoroughly analyzed its abilities. There's a problem: when a Heavenly Fox attacks, everyone else automatically rationalizes its actions. If a Heavenly Fox attacks you, I need you to give me a signal. Otherwise, what I see may very well be you talking to an ordinary person," Liu Sishan said as she looked at Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping nodded, then thought aloud, "The signal can't be something like 'help,' or it'll definitely be distorted. Let me think..."

That truly was a problem.

When "Luo Shiyu" ate that girl, everyone had mistakenly believed that the girl was fortunate enough to share a meal with "Luo Shiyu." In everyone else's eyes, it had been an exceptionally harmonious and beautiful scene. Only Zhang Ping had seen the bloody, cruel, horrifying truth.

"The signal might not work. How about this? Let's prepare several backup measures. If I shout, 'The wind's getting tight, run!' that means I'm under attack. If I take out a coin and toss it into the air, that also means I'm under attack. Whenever I encounter a Heavenly Fox, I'll use my left index finger to touch the ring on my right hand, then point the ringed finger at the Heavenly Fox. Watch for those movements," Zhang Ping said.

Liu Sishan did not think Zhang Ping was being overly cautious. Instead, she felt he was not being cautious enough. She took out a wooden ring and said, "This ring is a pair with the one I'm wearing..."

"Wait, is it fireproof?" Zhang Ping interrupted.

Liu Sishan frowned. "It isn't fireproof. This is equipment created by our logistics personnel using their abilities."

"Then I'm afraid it's useless." Zhang Ping smiled bitterly as he raised his hand. Flames suddenly burst from his palm.

Liu Sishan froze for a moment and asked, "Isn't your ability the Greed Gem?"

"This is one of the Greed Gem's abilities."

Zhang Ping stopped releasing Fire Element energy and did not explain further.

After all, he would only gain more and more abilities. There was no need to hide them completely, but neither was there any need to reveal everything.

"Your ability seems very special. But that's your own business. Since you have this ability, then this is just right for you." Rather than continuing to probe Zhang Ping's abilities, Liu Sishan took out a jade tablet and handed it to him.

She then introduced the jade tablet. It was also part of a pair. One was called Cold Jade, while the other was called Warm Jade.

When Cold Jade encountered flames, it transferred the heat to Warm Jade. When Warm Jade encountered low temperatures, it intensified its absorption of Cold Jade's heat, causing Cold Jade to become even colder.

What Zhang Ping received was Cold Jade. Once he encountered danger, he only needed to cover Cold Jade in flames, and the Warm Jade in Liu Sishan's hand would become scorching hot. Liu Sishan would naturally know that he was in danger and could immediately come to his aid.

After settling on the plan, the two returned to the dead-end alley.

Zhang Ping walked out of the alley first. When he looked back, he found that Liu Sishan had disappeared.

He guessed that Liu Sishan either could manipulate water-element energy to become invisible, or possessed an item that granted invisibility.

Unfortunately, his Appraisal Technique was still not strong enough.

It would be great if he could use Appraisal on the equipment possessed by a target as well.

After leaving the alley, Zhang Ping continued wandering through the city at night. With Liu Sishan secretly protecting him, he had more confidence to visit places he had previously not dared to go.

Mingzhu City did not have a department like an urban planning bureau, so its layout was extremely complicated and chaotic. If building too high did not risk attacks from flying Mutated Beasts, Mingzhu City would probably have had quite a few architectural wonders.

Half an hour later, Zhang Ping found a martial arts hall.

The martial arts hall covered a considerable area and had an extremely imposing name: Beast King Fist Hall.

Even at night, the martial arts hall was brightly lit, with many adventurers coming and going. Zhang Ping guessed that most of its customers were adventurers.

After thinking it over, he simply walked inside.

Under the lights, the Nightwalker effect was weakened.

"Welcome. Is there anything I can help you with, student?"

A young woman dressed in a martial arts uniform immediately approached with promotional materials, smiling as she spoke and handing Zhang Ping a flyer.

Zhang Ping accepted the flyer. It listed the prices in detail.

Basic boxing entry level: 500 Mingzhu coins.

First three forms of Beast King Fist: 3,000 Mingzhu coins.

Middle three forms of Beast King Fist: 3,500 Mingzhu coins.

Last three forms of Beast King Fist: 5,000 Mingzhu coins.

Beast King Fist ultimate technique: 9,999 Mingzhu coins.

One look at the prices told Zhang Ping that Beast King Fist had no fate with a poor bastard like him.

He put down the flyer and asked, "Can I go inside and have a look around?"

"Sorry, you can't. In the past, some Awakened with copying abilities visited and secretly learned the hall's boxing techniques, so the inner rooms where martial arts are taught cannot be visited," the young woman refused.

Zhang Ping asked in confusion, "But the problem is... if someone really has copying abilities, they don't need to come to the martial arts hall at all. As long as they see your apprentices using Beast King Fist outside the hall, wouldn't they be able to learn it anyway?"

"I'm not very clear on that. Sorry, those are the hall's rules," the young woman said with a bitter smile after pausing briefly.

Fine.

Rules were rules.

Zhang Ping left the martial arts hall and continued his nighttime wanderings.

Through Beast King Fist Hall, he roughly understood why martial arts halls existed.

Even adventurers had a need to learn new skills, especially adventurers with physically enhancing abilities. Their combat required all kinds of fighting techniques and weapon skills.

If they relied solely on comprehending such things through life-and-death battles, then unless they had several lives, they would struggle to achieve much before dying.

Thus, martial arts halls emerged and found fertile ground to exist.

Next, Zhang Ping continued gathering information on martial arts halls, investigating several more halls with exorbitant fees.

Most hall masters qualified to open martial arts halls possessed at least one martial skill. Some had been powerful Awakened before opening their halls, and some had even been highly renowned adventurers.

The martial arts halls themselves also possessed considerable cohesion.

Those apprentices, and even the Awakened who had graduated from the halls, would consciously protect the halls' reputations. Some adventurer groups even used martial arts halls as their link, accepting only Awakened from the same hall.