Great Miao Saber

After several days of cleansing by the Forbidden Guards, Sanxiang City had suffered several hundred casualties, but with no sign of the Hundred-Eyed, the matter was eventually dropped.

Ren Qing had not been idle during that time. He secretly gathered information, and the forces behind the beggars gradually surfaced.

The gang was called the Bloodhound Gang.

Unlike the motley crowd south of the city, aside from a few petty gangs in the west of the city, the Bloodhound Gang was unquestionably the local tyrant.

At its peak, the Bloodhound Gang monopolized every lowly trade in the west of the city and even had a hand in quite a few legitimate businesses.

Because the Yamen had once dealt the Bloodhound Gang a lethal blow, its scale had shrunk by more than half. Its current businesses could no longer be brought into the light.

Fortunately, the Forbidden Guards did not take part in suppressing it. Otherwise, even its remaining forces would have been wiped away.

Yet a starving camel was still bigger than a horse. The Bloodhound Gang, which possessed the Divine Feet Scripture, was still not something Ren Qing could contend with. He had to proceed with caution.

Ren Qing did not alert the enemy by disturbing the grass.

He spent several days wandering around the west of the city. Relying on the Information Flow and the sight of his Double Pupils, he figured out part of the Bloodhound Gang's background.

The gang members most commonly seen were beggars with crippled legs, but obtaining the Divine Feet Scripture from them was unrealistic.

After observing them, Ren Qing confirmed that the beggars had indeed come into contact with the Divine Feet Scripture, but they themselves were illiterate and even mentally impaired.

Moreover, whenever they begged, gang enforcers would usually watch over them nearby to prevent trouble.

The Bloodhound Gang's enforcers had likewise practiced the Divine Feet Scripture, and the Information Flow showed Divine Feet Scripture (Incomplete).

However, their luck was slightly better. Their legs had no obvious deformities and were even stronger than those of ordinary people.

This showed just how difficult it was to begin practicing an Art. Describing it as surviving nine deaths out of ten was no exaggeration.

Ren Qing had thought he could only take the risk of seeking a chance to ambush and kill a Bloodhound Gang member, then directly use the Eerie Object left behind after their death to begin.

Unexpectedly, a breakthrough came knocking.

He inadvertently learned from Bo Feng that near the outskirts in the west of the city stood a martial arts school called the Chen Family Eight Extremities Leg. Its master, Chen Yongxing, had once run with the Bloodhound Gang in his youth.

Treating a dead horse as if it were alive, Ren Qing took advantage of Chen Yongxing going out to purchase supplies and used the Information Flow to inspect him.

Chen Yongxing

Age: Thirty-nine

Lifespan: Eight years

Art: Divine Feet Scripture (False)

Created by the Heavenly Cripple Daoist. To practice this art, one had to have both legs severed at the root during childhood, while the bones were still growing, then be trapped in a vegetable vat and fed specific medicinal catalysts. If one survived for three years, divine feet would grow forth.

Ren Qing guessed that the reason the Divine Feet Scripture had a "(False)" after it was because Chen Yongxing had mastered it by devouring an Eerie Object, limiting his strength to the Martial Human Realm.

For now, obtaining the Divine Feet Scripture from Chen Yongxing seemed to be the safest course.

However, after interacting with him, Ren Qing found him rather listless. He even needed disciples to accompany him while walking, and Ren Qing did not know whether it was related to his dwindling lifespan.

Ren Qing's main objective was to find a paper copy of the martial art manual in the school. If that failed, he would set his sights on the Eerie Object left behind after Chen Yongxing's death.

He planned to enter the martial arts school openly under the pretense of learning the Eight Extremities Leg.

Ren Qing was not in a hurry to go. He first told Bo Feng and the others that he would be busy for several days, then prepared to find a blacksmith to forge a weapon.

Whether he had a weapon in hand made a tremendous difference to Ren Qing.

The Double Pupils' Foresee Enemy Actions had to be paired with a blade or sword to reach its fullest potential. So long as he seized an enemy's opening, he could kill them in an instant.

Ren Qing asked several older constables.

They all suggested he visit a blacksmith shop in the north of the city, saying that the blacksmith there was highly skilled, though his temper was somewhat poor.

The blacksmith was named Liu Hu. His shop had been passed down through several generations, so his forging skills were exceptionally refined.

Ren Qing went for three days straight, but unfortunately, the blacksmith shop remained shut.

Like Liu Bei making three visits to the thatched cottage, it was not until Ren Qing came for the fourth time that he heard the clang of metal striking metal and smelled a thick cloud of smoke.

He knocked on the door, and an impatient voice from inside said, "Don't you have feet? Come in yourself."

Ren Qing could not help raising a brow.

He pushed the door open and walked in. A burly, dark-skinned man stood with his back to him, hammering a red-hot chunk of iron with the iron hammer in his hand.

Seeing how excessively muscular the man's arms were, Ren Qing's eyes flickered. Could he have mastered some Art as well?

He looked around. The walls were hung with a dazzling array of swords and sabers, and the killing aura rushing at him was enough to make one suffocate.

Liu Hu set down his hammer and asked, "A yamen runner, huh? If you want to buy a weapon, go look at the wall over there."

"No. I brought blueprints to commission a custom-forged blade."

Liu Hu blew his beard and glared. "What do you mean by that? Could there be a weapon in this world that I cannot forge?"

"Brother Liu, take a look for yourself."

Ren Qing handed over the roughly drawn blueprint. His fingers casually brushed against Liu Hu, and Liu Hu's information poured into his mind.

To his regret, Ren Qing discovered that Liu Hu had not mastered an Art. Then again, cultivators were not so easily encountered.

Liu Hu noticed the flash of disappointment on Ren Qing's face. Thinking Ren Qing looked down on him, the nameless fire in his heart instantly rose.

He snatched the blueprint, about to criticize it, but his attention was caught by the weapon on it, neither quite a saber nor quite a sword.

In Liu Hu's experience, this weapon was more suitable for the battlefield, best used while charging on horseback, with fighting on foot coming second.

"What weapon is this?"

Ren Qing patiently explained, "A Great Miao Saber. It is called a Miao Saber because its blade resembles a rice seedling."

The Great Miao Saber was even longer than a Miao Saber, nearly four chi in length. The hilt alone exceeded one chi and required both hands to grip.

Not a single sword or saber in the blacksmith shop reached such a length.

In the film Brotherhood of Blades, Ding Xiu's weapon had been one of these. Its appearance actually lay somewhere between a Miao Saber and a Mo Saber, its long, narrow blade capable of cutting down horses.

Strictly speaking, a thick Ring-Pommel Saber was capable of both attack and defense, truly worthy of being called the courage of a hundred weapons. Even if an ordinary person could wield a Great Miao Saber, it was still far too dangerous.

But with his Double Pupils, Ren Qing could focus on exploiting the advantages of offense.

For defense, his strategy was to dodge if he could, block if he could not, and if that still failed, trade injury for injury.

Liu Hu's anger vanished like smoke. With a serious expression, he said, "It doesn't suit your build very well. Shorten it by one chi."

"I am only seventeen."

"Mm..."

Liu Hu opened his mouth but said nothing. Were yamen runners nowadays all this reckless, using such an extreme weapon?

"Forget it, leave it as is. But let me warn you of one thing."

"Unless you're a constable, you aren't allowed to carry sharp weapons. If you carry a saber, be careful."

Ren Qing nodded. Although Sanxiang City did not prohibit carrying sharp weapons, yamen runners faced considerable restrictions. The Water-Fire Cudgel issued to them was only for self-defense.

"And another thing..."

Liu Hu pointed at Ren Qing without the slightest courtesy. "With a blade nearly four chi long, the material must be mixed with tough Cold Steel, or it will break easily."

"That'll cost extra!!!"