"Magistrate Gao really was an old lecher."
With a thought, Qin Zheng understood what this "Little Eighteen" meant.
But that was someone else's personal freedom and had nothing to do with him.
He then headed toward his small courtyard in the south of the city.
He might stay overnight at the ruined temple in the east of the city tonight, so he needed to tidy up the house.
After all, aside from meat and grain, there were also three hundred taels of silver stored at home.
After returning home, he first lit the stove to brew medicine, then placed the valuables he could not carry with him in an inconspicuous corner.
Once he had finished all that, Qin Zheng cut off two large chunks each of beef and pork.
The weather had not been hot these past two days, so they would not spoil even without being cured.
After drinking the medicine, he locked the door and turned to head back to the temple in the east of the city.
Over the next few days, Qin Zheng traveled back and forth between the south and east sides of the city.
During this time, news of Black Goose City sending troops to suppress the bandits gradually spread, and no bandits had appeared for a long while.
Thus, the tense and oppressive atmosphere in Black Goose City gradually melted away.
The matter of someone suppressing the Canoe Gang at the western riverbank that day was also quietly uncovered by the various powers within Black Goose City.
What left everyone astonished was that the expert who had silenced the Canoe Gang through sheer force was actually an ordinary executioner of Black Goose City!
But afterward, the various factions quickly came to their senses and all wanted to recruit Qin Zheng into their own ranks.
Thus, during this period, apart from the yamen and the troops stationed outside the city, nearly every force in Black Goose City came knocking at his door.
They offered treasures of gold and silver that ordinary people could not earn in a lifetime, inviting Qin Zheng to join them.
Qin Zheng, however, rejected every one of them.
These forces might have been fairly decent within Black Goose City, but across the entire Great Jin Dynasty, they amounted to nothing.
More importantly, they could not provide the internal cultivation methods Qin Zheng needed.
After this matter slowly settled, the people of Black Goose City gradually returned to their usual lives.
But Qin Zheng did not relax. Instead, that ominous premonition grew ever stronger.
Because the troops stationed outside the city had gone out to suppress the bandits, yet no news had returned.
And the old monk Chongming had still not returned either!
The old monk Chongming's strength was at least at the Bone-Refining Realm, having broken through four great barriers.
Such an expert could dominate one side both inside and outside Black Goose City. No one could threaten him.
Anyone capable of delaying him, or even trapping him, had to be an existence of the same realm—or an even higher one.
That also meant the danger outside the city had not truly faded!
So during this period, Qin Zheng remained at the ruined temple in the east of the city, protecting this group of helpless beggar children.
That day, after Qin Zheng finished eating, he went as usual to the open ground before the ruined temple to circulate his qi and blood.
As the thirteen movements slowly unfolded, they stimulated the qi and blood hidden within his body to emerge.
Then that qi and blood gradually gathered, like surging rivers, washing over Qin Zheng's skin from within.
Throughout this process, much of his blood energy gradually fused into his skin, making it increasingly tough and resilient.
At last, it seemed as though he had reached a certain critical point.
Qin Zheng felt as if his skin had begun to breathe on its own.
As the skin over his entire body breathed, the river-like qi and blood within him was swiftly absorbed by his skin.
After several breaths, more than half the qi and blood throughout his body had been completely absorbed by his skin.
The remaining qi and blood seemed to find its next target, spreading outward and merging into the flesh all over his body.
Skin-Refining Realm, complete.
He had officially entered the second great barrier—the Flesh-Refining Realm!
A bright gleam flashed in Qin Zheng's eyes.
He did not continue cultivating.
He stopped circulating his qi and blood, slowly drawing his cultivation to a close.
At that moment, Qi Yan, who had waited nearby for a long time, came quickly over with a bowl of water.
"Brother Qin, you must be tired. Hurry and have some water."
Qin Zheng looked at her, nodded, thanked her, and drained the bowl in one gulp.
The cool spring water soothed the heat within his body, refreshing his spirit.
"You're too polite, Brother Qin. This is all what I ought to do."
Qi Yan took the bowl from Qin Zheng's hand as she spoke.
After saying that, she turned and walked into the ruined temple.
Qin Zheng had no mind for anything else and immediately began to sense the state of his body.
The skin all over his body looked smooth and delicate as jade, like a woman's.
Yet it was harder than cowhide.
If he activated the Great Sun Golden Cicada Skill again—
Even ordinary swords and blades likely could no longer break Qin Zheng's skin or harm him.
Joy surged within Qin Zheng's heart. At the same time, he began testing how much strength his body could withstand after his internal body had been strengthened.
With a thought, the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill began to circulate.
Streams of power rapidly emerged throughout Qin Zheng's body.
One thousand jin, one thousand one hundred jin, one thousand two hundred jin, two thousand jin.
Every additional hundred jin of strength placed another measure of burden upon Qin Zheng's internal body.
When his strength reached two thousand five hundred jin, Qin Zheng restrained it and did not allow it to rise any further.
Because the burden on his body had reached its limit. If he increased his strength any further, he would begin to injure his internal body.
In other words, after reaching completion in the Skin-Refining Realm and advancing into the Flesh-Refining Realm—
Qin Zheng could now wield two thousand five hundred jin of force without injuring his internal body!
That level had already far surpassed Muscle-Refining Realm experts. He was even just five hundred jin short of matching the Bone-Refining Realm!
At the same time, after strengthening his internal body, Qin Zheng could raise the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill by another level!
When that time came, he could unleash four thousand jin of tremendous strength at full power!
Only at this moment did Qin Zheng truly gain the confidence to fear no faction and run wild across Black Goose City!
At this thought, his mood improved considerably.
Gathering his thoughts, he turned toward the children and women inside the ruined temple and said with a smile, "I'm going out to buy groceries later. Tonight, we'll have something better."
As soon as he said this, the children immediately burst into cheerful cries.
These past few days had been the best they had eaten in their entire lives.
They could eat meat every day and eat until they were full. Such a thing had once been beyond anything they dared imagine.
Watching this scene, a faint smile appeared on Qi Yan's face, her eyes brimming with contentment.
Yet when she inadvertently looked toward the figure on the open ground and noticed his gaze, she hastily looked away.
When she looked over again, that figure had already left the ruined temple and vanished from sight.
Qin Zheng headed toward the south of the city.
Though the journey was somewhat farther, the produce sold there was more varied and of better quality than that in the east of the city.
There was also some meat left at home, which he would bring back to the ruined temple as well.
After his breakthrough, his entire body felt light and relaxed. He also wanted to eat something good to satisfy his appetite.
After making the round trip and buying the vegetables he wanted, he happened to see a fishmonger arriving.
Qin Zheng's eyes lit up as he stepped forward.
He had not eaten fish in a long time and was indeed craving it.
He promptly bought a plump catfish weighing around five jin.
While Qin Zheng was buying the fish, the fishmonger looked around and then, putting on a mysterious air, told him some news.
He said that while fishing on the river that morning, he had seen a floating corpse.
And the clothes on that corpse were the black robes of a yamen constable!
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