Ren Qing silently took a money pouch from his robes. It felt heavy, containing at least dozens of taels—enough for a family of three to live on for several years.
Although work at the Government Office was demanding, and a bit of bad luck could easily get you killed in the line of duty, the monthly salary was substantial.
Liu Hu took the pouch, weighed it in his hand, and tossed a portion of the silver coins back to Ren Qing. Then, with a neutral expression, he nodded. "This is enough. Come back for your blade in seven days."
Ren Qing turned to leave, but Liu Hu stopped him just as he opened the door to the smithy.
"What's the rush?"
"This so-called Great Miao Blade of yours... I've never seen anyone in Sanxiang City use one. So how do you usually practice with it?"
Ren Qing frowned. 'Does a blade even need practice?'
Seeing this, Liu Hu sighed. "Wait for me a moment."
He went into the courtyard outside the smithy and returned a moment later carrying a thick tree trunk.
"You need to get your body used to a weapon like this as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could easily hurt yourself when you practice with the real blade."
"I..."
Ren Qing was about to explain, but he saw Liu Hu grab an axe, split the trunk open, and begin hacking it into the rough shape of a blade.
He wisely shut his mouth and waited for the wooden weapon to take shape.
More than half an hour later, the Wooden Blade in Liu Hu's hands was remarkably lifelike. He gave it a simple swing and nearly hit Ren Qing.
"This is ironwood. It can serve as a weapon for a short while. Your Great Miao Blade isn't just something you made up, but it's going to be difficult to wield with any real flexibility."
"Brother Liu, let me try."
Ren Qing took the Wooden Blade. Behind his narrowed eyes, his Double Pupils swirled.
He executed a fierce slash, then instantly retracted the blade.
The candlelight on a distant wooden table was extinguished by the wind from the blade, yet the papers beside it didn't stir in the slightest.
Liu Hu was dumbfounded. It couldn't be called exquisite Saber Technique, but it had a certain... 'How should I put it... a kind of natural, effortless quality to it.'
He watched Ren Qing leave the smithy. When he came back to his senses, he couldn't help but let out a laugh.
He had thought Ren Qing was underestimating him, but hadn't he been doing the exact same thing?
The sound of hammering rang out once more, and smoke slowly drifted from the cracks in the door and windows.
Ren Qing walked out onto the street. The appearance of the wooden Great Miao Blade attracted the attention of passersby.
He headed toward the Chen Family's Eight Extremes Leg Martial Arts Hall, winding his way through a few alleys before reaching his destination.
The Martial Arts Hall wasn't large and was located in a rather remote area.
According to Ren Qing's investigation, the Martial Arts Hall had no more than a dozen disciples, all of them orphans raised by Chen Yongxing since childhood. Chen Yongxing also had a daughter named Chen Lihua.
Strangely enough, the Martial Arts Hall rarely accepted outside disciples in the past, primarily taking in beggars and orphans.
It was clearly a subsidiary force of the Blood Dog Gang.
It wasn't until recently that the Martial Arts Hall had begun to recruit new students. However, Hall Master Chen Yongxing had suddenly fallen gravely ill, causing business at the hall to become bleak.
Ren Qing walked straight into the courtyard. In an open area, a dozen or so people were practicing their leg techniques, repeatedly kicking at wooden posts.
The group looked at Ren Qing with cold expressions, their movements involuntarily slowing down.
Ren Qing was dressed in simple cotton and linen clothes. On the surface, he was just there to learn martial arts; as soon as he got his hands on the Divine Sutra, he would be gone.
A sweep of his peripheral vision revealed not a hint of a Cultivator's aura in the courtyard.
Just as Ren Qing was about to ask a question, he noticed that the disciples practicing leg techniques had very strange body proportions.
The disciples' legs were extremely thick, covered in solid muscle, and without exception, made up more than half of their body mass.
If it were just one person, it might have been a coincidence. But with a whole group of them like this, 'something feels off.'
An older disciple from the Martial Arts Hall stepped forward and asked, "Are you... here to become a student?"
Ren Qing cupped his fist and replied, "I heard Hall Master Chen's skills are impressive, so I planned to study under him for a while."
"Alright then. Just follow me."
The disciple nodded slightly and led Ren Qing inside.
The more Ren Qing watched the disciple's movements as he walked, the more awkward they seemed. He deliberately brushed against him, but the information stream didn't show any Magic Technique.
'How are their legs so Mutated? But it doesn't seem to be from practicing a Magic Technique.'
Filled with doubt, Ren Qing arrived in front of a room. The disciple opened the door and made a gesture for him to enter.
He stepped inside, a faint smell of medicinal herbs reaching his nose.
The room was sparsely decorated. The weak man lying on the bed was Chen Yongxing.
His breathing was somewhat unstable, as if he could stop at any moment.
A girl of about fifteen or sixteen was helping Chen Yongxing drink some herbal medicine, though he tried to push her arm away, his strength was clearly insufficient.
After the girl had fed him all the medicine, she spoke in a soft voice, "I am Chen Yongxing's daughter, Chen Lihua. Since my father is unwell, I am the one to receive you."
"Can Hall Master Chen speak?"
"I'm sorry, my father can no longer care for himself. If you still wish to learn the Eight Extremes Leg, my senior brother will have to teach you instead."
"That's not a problem."
On the surface, Ren Qing remained extremely calm, but inside he was filled with an indescribable sense of strangeness.
He had seen Chen Yongxing just a few days ago, and there hadn't been a single thing wrong with him. His Lifespan even had seven or eight years remaining.
Moreover, as someone in the Martial Artist Realm, minor injuries and illnesses couldn't possibly have such an effect.
Chen Lihua sized up Ren Qing. After a moment, she spoke with satisfaction, "Three taels of silver a month, one class every three days. But you are not allowed to leave the Martial Arts Hall without permission."
Ren Qing agreed. 'If all goes smoothly, it won't take long anyway.'
Chen Yongxing let out a muffled cry. He seemed to be trying to say something, but Chen Lihua forcefully held him down on the bed, preventing him from moving.
Ren Qing felt that a strange eeriness pervaded the Martial Arts Hall. However, he hadn't detected any Cultivators at the Half-Corpse Realm, so protecting himself shouldn't be a major issue.
Besides, a bit of chaos would make it easier for him to obtain the Divine Sutra.
Ren Qing left the room and was led by the same disciple from before to the Martial Arts Hall, the room specifically used for practicing forms.
Inside were the named disciples who paid for their training. There were six of them in total.
Their exposed skin was covered in bruises to varying degrees. Each was sitting cross-legged on a puduan.
The one teaching them was a handsome young man. After seeing Ren Qing enter, he asked the disciple about the situation.
Ren Qing noticed two other disciples from the Martial Arts Hall standing in the shadows of a corner, as if monitoring every move within the training hall.
"My name is Kingpin. What should I call you, Junior Brother?"
"Ren Qing."
"Junior Brother Ren, rest for a little while. We'll start the class later."
Kingpin seemed very polite, even proactively pouring some tea for Ren Qing. It looked like he was used to doing this.
Ren Qing casually found a puduan and sat down. The other named disciples watched him warily, but none of them spoke.
More than half an hour passed in the strange atmosphere.
Someone knocked on the door of the Martial Arts Hall, and Chen Lihua's voice came through. "Get ready. It's time for dinner."
Kingpin's expression twisted in terror. The two disciples from the hall, however, looked greedy, while the named disciples all had different expressions.
Fear, ruthlessness, helplessness...
Ren Qing didn't know what was going on, but 'it seems the situation is developing beyond my expectations.'
Chen Lihua continued, "Senior Brother Kingpin, choose one person to dine with us."
Hearing this, Kingpin began to tremble all over. He couldn't help but dry heave a few times and said as if drained of all strength, "You choose yourselves."