The upheaval within Gathering Heroes Pavilion drew the attention of the entire western riverbank.
That saber, which had nearly pierced through the entire ship, was simply too terrifying.
It had frightened many wealthy patrons who had come to Gathering Heroes Pavilion for pleasure.
And once something like this happened, word spread from one to ten, ten to a hundred. Before long, it had spread across the entire western riverbank.
For a time, many gangs and factions in Black Goose City were investigating who had made the arrogant Canoe Gang suffer such a crushing loss.
Was it Ji Changyin, the garrison captain stationed outside the city, or Xu Weisai, the constable captain from the yamen?
Yet after the various factions made inquiries, they soon discovered that neither of those two was on the western riverbank.
The remaining Muscle-Refining Realm martial artists in Black Goose City also came forward to deny it was them.
Thus, this suddenly appeared, unfamiliar expert immediately drew the attention of every force in Black Goose City.
However, the Canoe Gang kept its mouth shut, and for the time being, no one knew who this newly emerged Muscle-Refining Realm martial artist truly was.
As the instigator behind it all, Qin Zheng had already taken advantage of the chaos to leave the west of the city and return home in the south.
Gulp, gulp~
Qin Zheng downed several mouthfuls of medicine in one go.
Then he let out a long breath.
Although he had not exerted much force tonight, that final saber strike had truly exceeded a thousand pounds of force.
As a result, his not-yet-healed body had suffered a slight worsening of its injuries.
Still, it was nothing serious. A night's rest would be enough for such minor injuries.
Only...
He had acted tonight after all.
And he had acted under his true identity!
Before long, someone with ulterior motives would surely uncover the truth.
When that time came, his strength would be exposed before everyone.
Fortunately, the Canoe Gang's First Boss understood how to read the wind and judge the times. He had been able to take a step back and endure it.
Otherwise, if he had refused to yield, Qin Zheng could only have slaughtered every Canoe Gang member present tonight.
At that point, all of his strength would have been laid bare before the world.
He likely would no longer have been able to live peacefully in Black Goose City. He would have had no choice but to flee far away and conceal his name.
Until his strength became sufficient to disregard the greed of the entire martial world.
And reaching that level would likely require a very long time.
Qin Zheng did not wish to live that sort of life for now.
But acting tonight also had one advantage.
The people he had killed were not particularly strong, merely a group of Flesh-Refining Realm martial artists who had crossed the second great barrier.
Yet the intimidation he had established was more than sufficient!
To deter the Canoe Gang and withdraw unhurriedly—once such a feat spread,
it would both obscure his true strength, preventing all of it from being exposed,
and let the many forces in Black Goose City see him, so they would not provoke him again over trivial chicken-feather-and-garlic-skin matters.
With rumors about the bandits outside the city also spreading everywhere, if his reputation rose, then even if he could not deter the bandits,
he could at least let them know who in Black Goose City could be provoked, and who would require an enormous price to provoke.
However, Qin Zheng was somewhat unsure whether he had truly intimidated the Canoe Gang.
He did not know whether that final strike of his, which had pierced through six floors, could achieve the effect he anticipated.
If the Canoe Gang's First Boss was the type to wear one face before others and another behind their backs,
then Qin Zheng would likely still face retaliation from the Canoe Gang next.
When that time came, with no path of retreat left, he could only truly act and wipe out the entire Canoe Gang.
Thinking of this, Qin Zheng immediately let out a faint sigh.
Everything stemmed from his strength being insufficient.
If he were strong enough, he would have directly moved tonight and destroyed the entire Canoe Gang.
Once such a feat spread, who would dare continue provoking him?
Kill one if one came, kill a pair if two came!
As long as he was strong enough, these gangs and factions that came knocking were all Merit delivered straight to his door!
And to achieve such carefree freedom, he lacked only an internal cultivation method!
As long as he possessed an internal cultivation method, he could rapidly improve and strengthen his body.
Then he could raise all his martial arts to their peak!
The Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill had thirteen levels in total. Every level he raised it by would grant another thousand pounds of strength.
If he raised this martial art to completion, he would possess thirteen thousand pounds of enormous force!
Bearing such tremendous strength, every lift of his hand and step of his foot would carry unparalleled divine might!
At this moment, Qin Zheng's desire for an internal cultivation method reached its peak.
But he also understood that such things were controlled by aristocratic clans and martial sects. They were not lightly passed down to anyone but core disciples.
They were treasures a thousand, even a hundred times more precious than external martial arts.
He was merely a minor executioner in Black Goose City. Obtaining an internal cultivation method would be a difficult road.
Yet he possessed the Merit Scroll and had limitless potential. As long as he accumulated slowly, he would certainly have a chance to obtain an internal cultivation method someday.
When that time came, he would break free of his restraints and soar into the heavens in a single leap!
For now, he would quietly lie low, accumulate bit by bit, and wait for the right moment to arrive!
After replaying every scene from tonight in his mind, Qin Zheng finally sank his awareness inward and looked toward the Merit Scroll.
Tonight had been somewhat perilous, but the gains had been plentiful as well!
Qin Zheng Lifespan: 70 (17) Martial Arts: Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Third Level), Great Sun Golden Cicada Skill (Minor Accomplishment), Black Fiend Palm (Complete Mastery), Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell (Complete Mastery), Ghost-head Saber Technique (Complete Mastery) Merit: Fourteen taels, eight mace Current martial art · Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill can be upgraded. Requires one tael of Merit. Upgrade? Current martial art · Great Sun Golden Cicada Skill can be upgraded. Requires five taels of Merit. Upgrade?
When Qin Zheng saw the information above, his eyes immediately lit up!
His accumulated Merit had reached a new high!
It had risen all the way to fourteen taels and eight mace!
Counting everyone he had killed tonight, including the Second Boss of the Canoe Gang and his son, there had actually only been nine people in total.
Yet saving people had caused his Merit to surge directly to fourteen taels and eight mace!
Qin Zheng remembered that after raising the Great Sun Golden Cicada Skill to Minor Accomplishment and the Black Fiend Palm to Complete Mastery, he had only one tael and two mace of Merit remaining.
So killing those nine people had added thirteen taels and six mace of Merit for him!
Sure enough, not one of those pig-and-dog-like things had clean hands. Every last one of them deserved to die and could be killed!
At this moment, Qin Zheng suddenly felt that killing was exhilarating for a moment, and killing without end was exhilarating without end.
As long as he obtained an internal cultivation method, he could set out to hunt down those foul-smelling people from the gangs and factions.
As for those with bad reputations, he would definitely kill them with every strike.
Then he could keep killing and killing, and his Merit would increase without end.
He too would be able to grow stronger rapidly without interruption!
Thinking of this, Qin Zheng smiled faintly. Merely imagining that sort of life made him feel that it was truly rather blissful.
But this still depended on obtaining an internal cultivation method.
Moreover, he had been transported here for far too short a time, and his understanding of martial cultivation was still insufficient.
All of this required long-term consideration. He needed to take it slowly.
Thus, Qin Zheng withdrew his thoughts, turned his mind toward the Merit Scroll, and silently recited:
"Upgrade martial art · Great Sun Golden Cicada Skill!"
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