Refining Martial Arts: Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell! (Contract Signed)

Chapter 9: Refining Martial Arts · Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell! (Contracted!)

This trip not only yielded the divine skill "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill."

But also a movement technique for saving his life!

Even though the crisis hadn't fully passed, a smile couldn't help but appear on Qin Zheng's face.

As long as he accumulated enough Merit, he could quickly improve and escape his predicament!

It could be said that the dark clouds pressing down on Qin Zheng's head had finally broken, revealing a sliver of light!

With such a great harvest, Qin Zheng had no interest in admiring the prosperity of Black Goose City's west side.

He kept his head down and walked straight home. Half an hour later, he left the bustling west side and entered the east side, which resembled a slum.

The people living here were all the poor folk of Black Goose City. Their houses were rows of adobe structures, with hardly any built from bricks, tiles, mud, or stone.

Qin Zheng's house was naturally among them.

The alleys wound and twisted, and he quickly returned home.

Wang Er had also left when Qin Zheng did.

Inside the house were some simple furnishings, and on the earthen stove, the meat and medicinal herbs Wang Er had left behind.

Qin Zheng turned and closed the door, then sat down on the bed.

With a thought, his mind sank inward, and he looked at the contents of the Merit scroll.

[Qin Zheng]

[Lifespan: 70 (17)]

[Martial Arts: Ghost-head Saber Technique (Mastered)]

[Merit: Four Qian]

[Discovered Martial Art · Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell, can be refined, requires three Qian Merit, refine?]

He had gained one liang and seven qian of Merit from beheading Shi Yan.

After upgrading the Ghost-head Saber Technique to mastery, he had spent one liang and three qian in total, leaving him with four qian.

Qin Zheng's gaze narrowed slightly, and he then looked at the last line of content.

Refining the movement technique required three qian of Merit, three times more than the Ghost-head Saber Technique, indicating its quality was significantly higher.

Seeing this, Qin Zheng took out the string of prayer beads from his怀.

No one would have imagined that among these prayer beads, there was actually a High Monk Sarira!

As he held the prayer beads in his hand, another line of content appeared on the Merit scroll.

[Discovered Item · High Monk Sarira, can be refined, requires one liang Merit, refine?]

[Note: Refining yields Martial Art · Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Incomplete)]

Qin Zheng's heart immediately warmed.

However, refining this sarira required one liang of Merit, and he only had four qian currently, which was not enough.

So, at this moment, Qin Zheng had to face two choices.

Should he save his current four qian of Merit, wait for the upcoming beheading to accumulate a full liang faster, and then refine the sarira?

Or should he use his current four qian of Merit to refine the movement technique "Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell" first?

Qin Zheng pondered for a few breaths, then said without hesitation in his mind, "Refine Martial Art · Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell!"

Only what is in hand is truly his.

That old scoundrel could show up at any moment. Learning the movement technique first would increase his chances of survival!

As he silently spoke, the Merit scroll changed, and Qin Zheng's Merit decreased from four qian to one qian.

Simultaneously, a flood of memories surged into his mind.

A warm current appeared in his legs, permeating the muscles and bones of his legs.

A few breaths later, the change stopped, and Qin Zheng had completely assimilated the memories of this movement technique into his mind.

Qin Zheng stood up and walked around the room. He felt that the strength in his legs seemed to have increased, and walking felt much easier.

Then, he circulated his movement technique, channeling his strength through a unique method. With a stride forward, he instantly covered a considerable distance.

Qin Zheng's eyes lit up slightly, and he then opened the door, directly trying out the movement technique on the long path outside his house.

The east side of the city was mostly inhabited by the poor. During the day, few people were at home; most were working in the west side.

Furthermore, Qin Zheng's house was flanked by empty dwellings, so he wasn't afraid of anyone seeing him practicing martial arts.

After testing it, Qin Zheng discovered that after using the movement technique, his body's speed and agility had greatly improved.

This made Qin Zheng overjoyed.

With this movement technique, coupled with living in the east side of the city amidst the winding alleys and adobe houses.

Even if Shi Dian came looking for him, with the Ghost-head Saber Technique combined with the movement technique, he should have a good chance of escaping.

After the experiment was complete, Qin Zheng returned home and closed his door.

He had done everything he could for now, and the next step was to wait for that old scoundrel Shi Yan to come knocking.

During this time, he also needed to continue his work as an executioner, accumulating enough Merit as quickly as possible.

Then, he could refine the High Monk Sarira and obtain the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill!

As Qin Zheng thought this, his stomach rumbled.

He only then realized he hadn't eaten anything for nearly a whole day.

As if acknowledging his awareness, the hunger in his body immediately surged like a tide, wave after wave.

It made him feel somewhat weak all over.

Qin Zheng hurried to the stove and took out the meat Wang Er had bought.

There was rice, vegetables, and a good portion of fatty pork belly.

Catching the aroma of the meat wafting into his nose, Qin Zheng swallowed and immediately started a fire to cook.

The water tank was still quite full, so Qin Zheng didn't need to fetch any new water.

He washed the rice and steamed it, washed the vegetables and cut the meat, and finally fried everything in the wok.

Qin Zheng's movements were swift. Before long, a bowl of white rice and a plate of twice-cooked pork with green peppers were placed before him.

The fragrance of the rice and meat stimulated his already ravenous stomach, and he could no longer hold back his hunger.

He immediately picked up his chopsticks and began to wolf down the food.

As the food went down, he could feel his stomach working furiously. Then, warm currents appeared and flowed into various parts of his body.

Before he had transmigrated, his body had already been compromised by a palm strike.

After transmigrating, he had been knocked flying twice by a martial artist who had broken through the Triple Pass, pushing his body to its limits.

Now, after eating the warm rice and meat, his body finally seemed to be replenished and began to recover.

A short while later, the bowl of rice and the plate of meat were all gone, having entered Qin Zheng's stomach.

He smacked his lips, feeling a little unsatisfied, and felt a warmth spread throughout his body, an indescribable comfort.

Bang bang bang~

At that moment, his door was knocked again.

Qin Zheng's expression instantly tensed, and he reached out, grabbing the ghost-head saber.

"Little Qin brother, it's me, Wang Er."

Then, another familiar voice sounded from outside the door.

Qin Zheng, still gripping the ghost-head saber, his body tense, stepped forward and opened the door, only to find the dark-skinned, burly Wang Er.

He instantly relaxed and asked, "Brother Wang, why are you here?"

Wang Er's nose twitched. Smelling the lingering aroma of meat in the air, a smile appeared on his face.

"There's a group of prisoners to be executed tomorrow morning. I came to ask how your body was recovering and to tell you the news."

"But judging by your complexion, you seem to have recovered well. I won't disturb you any further and will be leaving."

Wang Er said with a smile, then turned and left.

Watching his departing back, Qin Zheng's eyes were filled with joy.

Another group of prisoners to be executed tomorrow morning meant he would gain another substantial amount of Merit!

Refining the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill was just around the corner!