Chapter 70 - 65: Night Walk in Brocade, Beheading with a Single Slash

Chapter 70: Chapter 65: Night Walk in Brocade, Beheading with a Single Slash

It was highly necessary to listen to the opinions of a professional; after all, every profession had its specialization.

Hearing Zheng Jun’s inquiry, Xu Heng’s brain immediately went into overdrive, spilling everything he had recently learned. However, to Zheng Jun, this was all useless information.

For example, the County Magistrate worked a strict nine-to-five schedule, clocking in and out on time every day. He kept a black cat, and occasionally, one could see the magistrate feeding it within the County Government Office. He kept a low profile, accompanied only by two Scholars, and had no Stewards or other Scholars as attendants. He loved drinking the locally produced Jade Tea of Black Mountain County and even had a dedicated tearoom for it.

Even if Xu Heng actively tried to nitpick, he couldn’t find any faults with Meng Xian. It was as if Magistrate Meng truly was just a cowardly, insignificant County Magistrate who was unwilling to steal the spotlight from County Captain Cai Xun, who hailed from a prominent noble family, choosing to yield at every turn. This was also why he and Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi had pledged their allegiance to Cai Xun so early on, willingly placing themselves at his disposal.

Hearing all of this, Zheng Jun fell deep into thought. It was a wasted trip, but not entirely so. At the very least, he had obtained some new, useful information. Those bastards from the Vast Sea Sect were up to no good and still wanted to deal with him.

"My lord, my lord." Xu Heng’s street smarts kicked in. He hurriedly crawled over to Zheng Jun on his knees and rolled up his sleeves, intending to use them to polish Zheng Jun’s boots. "I’m just a nobody, my lord! A mere Historian like me isn’t even enough for the Garrison Command as an appetizer! How much merit could you possibly earn by arresting me? I’m willing to be your eyes and ears and keep a close watch on Magistrate Meng’s movements. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied!"

With that said, Xu Heng prepared to wipe Zheng Jun’s boots. However, just as he was about to do so, he suddenly froze. He realized that these boots looked somewhat familiar. They had been hidden beneath the man’s cloak earlier, so he hadn’t noticed them. Now that he saw them clearly, he recognized their owner—Zheng Jun!

In an instant, a chill shot up his spine. Xu Heng broke out in a cold sweat and went completely rigid. If he hadn’t been paying such close attention to Zheng Jun, memorizing his daily attire and style, he would never have recognized them!

Seeing Xu Heng’s momentary daze, Zheng Jun revealed a smile. "It seems you’ve recognized me."

Cold sweat poured down Xu Heng’s face as he hastily replied, "What are you talking about, my lord? With one look, anyone can tell you are an elite from the commandery city. How could a lowly one like me recognize you?"

"Was it the boots that gave it away? You certainly have a keen eye. I only wore these boots back when I was a constable. I stopped wearing them once I became a Squad Leader, and after joining the Black Mountain Guard, I never wore them out in public again, only using them as training shoes when practicing Martial Arts." Zheng Jun sighed and casually drew his Imperial Saber. "Keeping an eye on me for so long... Historian Xu, you really deserve to die!"

A mocking smile glided through his stark black-and-white eyes.

Seeing this, Xu Heng gritted his teeth and leapt to his feet without hesitation, throwing a punch straight at Zheng Jun’s face! A Martial Artist who hadn’t even achieved Qi Storage was undoubtedly a joke in Zheng Jun’s eyes. With just a gentle raise of his hand, Zheng Jun caught Xu Heng’s fist in an iron grip, rendering him completely immobilized.

"Now, I’ll send you down to reunite with Zhao Da and Zhao Er." Zheng Jun slowly grasped the hilt of his saber.

Xu Heng’s eyes were filled with terror as he opened his mouth to beg for mercy. "Captain Zheng, I—"

However, before he could finish his sentence, the faint, resonant roar of a Flood Dragon echoed in his ears. In the next second, a flash of the saber’s edge suddenly slashed across Xu Heng’s neck, lopping his head off as cleanly and straight as a stalk of wheat being harvested in a field.

SPURT!

His head flew through the air, and blood erupted like a fountain. Zheng Jun was no rookie when it came to killing; after he slashed down with his blade, not a single drop of blood stained his clothes. Having finished the deed, Zheng Jun calmly sheathed his saber. Without bothering to hide his presence, he pushed the door open and walked out.

[Enemy slain. Wave-Treading Saber repayment progress +9. Current repayment progress: 3411/5000.]

"Nine points?" Zheng Jun stared at the small ink-wash text floating in front of him and let out a heavy sigh. "I’m so fucking speechless!"

The points gained from killing Xu Heng weren’t even as much as what Zheng Jun could earn by properly practicing his Saber Technique once. Just running through his Saber Technique could net him twenty to thirty points.

"It seems that killing those weaker than myself adds far too little to the repayment progress. The only way to rapidly increase my progress is to fight Qi Storage Martial Artists at the same Realm!"

As Zheng Jun moved stealthily through the night, he thought to himself, "Aside from killing, practicing martial routines and instructing others can also increase the repayment progress. However, the repayment methods for the ’Great Tao Martial Book’ must go far beyond just these few. Any action that would normally refine my Martial Arts should be considered a form of repayment.

"The repayment process still needs to be carried out with a plan. This will make it much easier for me to ’Loan Martial Arts.’ There are countless forms of Martial Arts in this world. To achieve mastery over all of them, I still need to work hard!"

At the same time, Zheng Jun was well aware that the phrase "practiced a thousand times" mentioned every time he took out a loan was merely a figure of speech. The exact number of times was never specified, and he could only gauge it based on the repayment progress. It was hard work.

While passing by the Garrison Command Government Office, Zheng Jun casually tossed the Imperial Saber over the wall and into the compound. After disposing of it, he quickly returned to his small house, piled the black cloak and boots together, struck a flint, and burned them to ashes. Then, he changed into his Official Robe and began tonight’s cultivation of the Broken Jade Skill.

Zheng Jun was now a widely known Martial Arts genius in Black Mountain County, and it wouldn’t be long before his name spread throughout the Pingzhang Commandery. If he wanted to transform himself from a "Loan" Unparalleled Celestial Pride into a genuine Unparalleled Celestial Pride, he still needed to put in the hard work himself.

Currently, Zheng Jun only slept for two two-hour periods a day. He spent all his remaining free time practicing Martial Arts!

He had heard that the prodigies of major sects and the Young Masters of noble families practiced Martial Arts diligently from a young age. Since he had started much later than them, he needed to make up the difference with sheer diligence.

If he just spent all his days gloating over the Great Tao Martial Book, smugly thinking of himself as a Child of Destiny favored by the heavens, it would be a reckless waste of his gifts. If he did that, he would absolutely never have the chance to achieve the Dharma Aspect or become a True Monarch! Having arrived in this magnificent Yanfu World, Zheng Jun had no desire to spend his entire life stuck in the Qi Storage or Outer Gang Realms, acting as a local tyrant and big fish in a small pond in this tiny turf of Black Mountain County!