Zhou Wuji seized the last moment to exchange a few jokes with Zhang Xinhu, feeling very satisfied and content.
This guy had tried to kill him several times, and he'd been holding a grudge for a long time. Now he'd finally let it all out and felt much better.
My whole body felt incredibly relaxed and light, like I could fly.
He knew this wasn't good, but luckily he wasn't a good person to begin with, so he wasn't bound by morality, and suddenly all the burden was gone.
Although the poem I hastily composed is not well-crafted, it is quite interesting.
It's such a pity that it can't be written on the wall for people to read; it's such a waste! It's like casting pearls before swine!
As for the dead Zhang Xinhu, he should naturally be collected using the Five Yin Pouch.
Being missing is much better than being dead.
All parties had some doubts and couldn't understand the situation for a while, but they gradually came to accept the outcome.
If the body is left here, Zhang Yunfeng, the centurion, will likely seize on this matter and not let it go.
Flag officer Wu Di also had an excuse to cause trouble.
It's a bit of a pity that Wu Di went into the mountains with the centurion; otherwise, we could have dealt with them all at once.
Zhou Wuji's gaze fell on the Five Tigers Diagram. Each of the five tigers had its own unique spirit and charm, making it clear that this painting was extraordinary.
There's also the long sword on display, with an ebony scabbard and a long handle; judging from its shape, it should be a goose-feather sword.
He drew his long sword and examined it; the blade was three feet seven inches long, and the handle was one foot three inches long.
The blade has a straight spine, with the tip slightly upturned, and a reverse edge about a foot long.
The blade is gleaming white with beautiful, layered water patterns inside. The straight handle is counterweighted with a special metal polished into shape and wrapped with a long black rope as a sheath.
Zhou Wuji swung the longsword lightly. It was very heavy, he estimated it to be at least sixteen or seventeen pounds. The weight distribution was excellent, and the slashing felt very comfortable and smooth. The reverse edge of the blade also made it easy to stab.
He flicked his finger, and the blade emitted a low, short vibration, indicating that the material used to forge the blade was of very high density, ensuring the blade's hardness and toughness.
"This is a fine blade, much better than the Seven Star Sword."
Although Zhou Wuji didn't know much about swords, he could tell that this sword was of exceptionally high quality, far surpassing the Seven Star Sword.
However, the knife had no built-in runes, no martial artist's divine intent, and no marks of slashing on the blade; it was a brand new knife that had never been used.
The hilt is engraved with the characters "Tiger Wing," which should be the name of this knife.
Zhou Wuji accepted the knife without hesitation and put it into the Five Yin Pouch.
There was another book on the table. He flipped through it and was shocked to find it was the Five Tigers Fist Manual.
The book was written in tiny, dense handwriting, containing at least 100,000 words, and included detailed illustrations of people practicing martial arts.
However, the book contains many difficult-to-understand words, which are likely slang passed down through Zhang Xinhu Xinhu's lineage.
This is also to prevent the boxing manual from being leaked outside and for outsiders to learn the essence of the boxing techniques.
Zhou Wuji put away the boxing manual and the Five Tigers Diagram. His gaze then fell on the True Yang Pearl on either side of the corner of the wall. Each pearl was worth at least a hundred taels of gold.
If you were to actually peel it off, anyone could tell there was something wrong with it.
However, he took the knife and the boxing manual, so he wouldn't miss these two beads.
He quickly convinced himself, pried off the two True Yang Pearl, put them into the Five Yin Pouch, and took them away.
Zhou Wuji checked and found no bloodstains or footprints.
It was pouring rain outside, but the Yin-Yang Dharma Robe was waterproof. When Zhou Wuji came in, he wrapped his boots with his True Qi to avoid leaving footprints.
As for any water droplet marks left behind, they will quickly evaporate and disappear. It won't matter to others even if they see them.
Zhou Wuji made sure nothing was missed before closing the door and turning to leave.
The torrential rain masked all sounds and noises, and no one in the Zhang Household thought that their first expert, Zhang Xinhu, would have any problems.
Zhou Wuji's Six Yang Dharma Eye allowed him to see through the darkness and even perceive life force within it, enabling him to leave the Zhang Household unnoticed...
Half an hour later, Zhou Wuji had returned to Hidden Dragon Temple.
The rainstorm came quickly and went quickly; it has already stopped.
Zhou Wuji entered the Daoist temple, used the Five Yin Pouch to retrieve a pile of wood, two jars of kerosene, and a hoe.
After venturing more than 20 miles into the Mount Siming, Zhou Wuji found a natural pit, dug it a bit deeper, and put Zhang Xinhu inside.
A large amount of firewood and two jars of kerosene were used to burn Zhang Xinhu to ashes.
The Northern Emperor's Book of Heavenly Punishment completely erased Zhang Xinhu's spiritual essence and soul. Even if a celestial master came, he wouldn't be able to recognize who these bone fragments were.
To Zhou Wuji's surprise, although Zhang Xinhu turned to ash, he left behind a thin sheet of gold foil.
Zhou Wuji wasn't quite sure either. This thing looked like gold leaf, but its actual material must be very special to be fireproof.
The gold foil was covered with densely packed characters, all of which were annotations related to the Five Tigers Fist Manual.
He suddenly realized that this gold leaf was part of the boxing manual, and that to practice boxing, one must refer to both of them, along with the Five Tigers Visualization Diagram.
Zhang Xinhu must have sewn the gold foil into his clothing, hiding it very well. It only became visible when it was burned.
The three items were stored separately to prevent outsiders from learning the Five Tigers Fist.
Zhou Wuji sighed. Zhang Xinhu had made many calculations, but unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes, and in the end, everything fell into Zhang Xinhu's hands.
Having buried all traces, Zhou Wuji quietly returned to Hidden Dragon Temple.
After changing his clothes, Zhou Wuji re-tied the bamboo clips that had been securing him.
Regardless of whether anyone will investigate, it's still important to maintain appearances.
In the Shangxin was fast asleep. The boy was sleep-deprived, so Zhou Wuji lit some calming incense for him, enough to keep him sleeping soundly until dawn.
Having accomplished something significant and removed a thorn in his side, Zhou Wuji was in an exceptionally good mood. Even after circulating his True Qi 108 times, he still felt no sleepiness whatsoever.
With nothing to do while his eyes were open, Zhou Wuji simply took out the Five Tigers Fist Manual and the gold foil, and blessed them with the Six Yang Dharma Eye so that he could study and learn them in the dark.
With his powerful mental strength, he could basically memorize it after reading it once.
After reviewing it three times, Zhou Wuji had memorized every word and every line of the pattern.
With this foundation, he understood the meaning behind the Five Tigers Five Tigers Diagram when he looked at it again.
The five tigers are painted with great spirit: the Iron Tiger is fierce, the Black Tiger is strong, the Flying Tiger is nimble, the Heart Tiger is deep, and the White Tiger is murderous.
Zhou Wuji looked at the Five Tigers Diagram for a while and had some insights.
He felt that he could perhaps practice the Five Tigers Fist, thus achieving a dual cultivation of magic and martial arts.
Martial artists have their own cultivation system and methods of Qi Refining, which are vastly different from the Secret Method of Daoism.
Ordinary people have limited talent and energy. It is already very difficult to achieve something on one cultivation path, let alone have the time and energy to cultivate multiple paths.
For ordinary Daoist priests, practicing their own sect 'Swordsmanship techniques is already exhausting enough, let alone the martial arts of ordinary martial artists.
Daoist Yiyuan had spoken about the issue of cultivating both martial arts and magic long ago, but Zhou Wuji had only listened to it at the time. Now, with his cultivation greatly improved, he had his own understanding of it.
The Five Tigers Fist has its own method of Qi Refining. After reaching the Sixth Rank, the Five Tigers Fist Qi Refining Sea, which may conflict with the Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture.
However, he doesn't need to train to be that strong. As long as he trains the Five Tigers Fist to the Seventh Rank level of Transforming Force, it will greatly strengthen his physical body and make up for his biggest weakness.
The Northern Dipper Tianshu Scripture is extremely profound, enough to unify the Five Tigers Fist. The Five Tigers Fist can also further enhance the power of the Xiaoxiang Sword.
He possessed a large amount of Origin Profound Spirit, which wasn't of much use to him, so he decided to use it to cultivate the Five Tigers Fist.
Seventh Rank Daoist priest plus Seventh-Rank Martial Artist would be utterly invincible at the Seventh Rank level, and they wouldn't be afraid of even Sixth Rank opponent!