Having their extra benefits snatched away by Yang Ling, Luo Yong's family was dejected for several days.
But in the end, they could only swallow their anger.
They didn't have the courage to burn their bridges.
After all, working as a chef in the Yang Mansion still came with decent benefits in other respects, even without the extra perks.
Luo Yong, for his part, cursed the new Steward, Yang Ling, every day, hoping he would drop dead from exhaustion in a brothel.
"So, Yang Ling likes to go to brothels?"
Zou Feng couldn't help but ask one day.
Luo Yong cursed, "Brothels? That's not the half of it. The bastard loves to gamble, too! He's often at the gambling house all night, throwing his money away!"
'No wonder that guy made such an outrageous demand and showed no mercy at all.'
'He must have hit a losing streak recently and gotten desperate...'
'But then again, this Yang Ling really is useful.'
Over the past few days, Zou Feng had increased the intensity of his Cultivation according to his plan.
He increased the toxicity of the special venom and also extended each Cultivation session to over an hour.
At first, he had worried that Yang Ling wouldn't be able to withstand such intensity.
However, after a few days, the brightness of Yang Ling's name on the panel had barely dimmed.
This formed a stark contrast with the previous Li Rui, who melted at the slightest touch.
'You really have to hand it to these scions of great families; their physical constitution is just top-notch.'
'Besides, the moment they feel the slightest bit unwell, a doctor comes to diagnose them and prescribe nourishing remedies.'
'So even if I max out my Cultivation intensity, or even overload it, Yang Ling can hold on for now.'
'No need to spare this bastard at all.'
'He can handle it for now, but it's hard to say what will happen once I advance my Five Poison Palm to the next stage...'
More than ten days passed in a flash.
On this day, Zou Feng finished his usual procurement runs, but he didn't head back to the mansion immediately.
Instead, he walked briskly toward the city exit.
Once outside the city, he navigated with practiced ease to a foul-smelling ditch that never saw the sun.
Such a place was the perfect breeding ground for all sorts of venomous insects and poisonous creatures.
And Zou Feng was here to capture some to make poison.
Ever since obtaining the latter volumes of the *Herbal Catalogue* and having Yang Ling bear the brunt of his learning, Zou Feng's understanding of both herbal and insect-based medicines had reached the stage of "Slightly Accomplished."
Moreover, the progress was at 100%.
'Perhaps because it's just a book of knowledge, I can only be "Slightly Accomplished" for now and can't advance to the next stage.'
Zou Feng guessed that to advance further in this area, no amount of reading or memorizing would be of any use.
He would have to move on to the clinical practice stage to have any chance of progressing.
After he began capturing the poisonous creatures, he managed to catch quite a few top-grade specimens in less than the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn.
A multicolored spider, a snow-white scorpion, a three-legged toad, a centipede as thick as three fingers, and a venomous snake with a lump on its head.
These corresponded to the five poisons of the Five Poison Palm.
But the toxicity of these creatures far surpassed that of the common ones he had used before.
His ability to find these top-grade specimens so quickly wasn't due to good Luck, of course.
It stemmed from his own status as a "human-shaped poison creature," giving him a keen sense for the location of his own kind.
In the past, Zou Feng wouldn't have just been unwilling to catch these creatures by hand; he would have felt sick and scared just looking at them.
But after cultivating the Five Poison Palm to the "Slightly Accomplished" stage, Zou Feng had completely lost his fear of these poisonous creatures.
He could even casually pick them up and play with them, sincerely exclaiming things like, 'They're so small and cute!'
'It seems that even with the side effects of cultivating an Evil Skill being transferred away, I'll inevitably become a freak in the eyes of normal people...'
And after being caught by him, these poisonous creatures were all scared stiff, not daring to move an inch.
They were as obedient as pets.
This was due to a suppression at an instinctual level.
Once he had caught enough, Zou Feng placed the creatures into a special bamboo cage with satisfaction, finally preparing to return to the Yang Mansion.
"Five Poison Palm (Slightly Accomplished), Progress: 88%"
"Herbal Catalogue (Slightly Accomplished), Progress: 100%"
'It's only been a little over ten days since my last advancement, and the Five Poison Palm is already close to the next stage.'
'Evil Skills truly live up to their name. As long as you can withstand the side effects, they're a surefire shortcut to power.'
Now, Zou Feng was confident he could defeat two of the Yang Mansion's Martial Artists at the same time, even in a direct confrontation.
This increase in direct combat strength wasn't just due to his progress in the Five Poison Palm; it was also related to his diligent study of cooking over the past ten-plus days.
The long hours spent chopping vegetables and tossing the wok were, in themselves, a form of physical labor.
While it looked like he was learning to cook, it was also strengthening Zou Feng's physical condition.
Practicing his knife skills and tossing the wok, in particular, had greatly improved his strength and control.
And these improvements helped him execute the Five Poison Palm more effectively.
That was why Zou Feng was confident he could take on two Mansion Martial Artists at once.
If he were to use ambushes or sneak attacks, given the right opportunity, he was even confident he could wipe out all of the Martial Artists in a single night.
This was no exaggeration. After all, among the Yang Mansion's Martial Artists, none had achieved Martial Arts Entry.
Without achieving Martial Arts Entry, one would not possess Inner Qi. If struck by the Five Poison Palm, they would have no way to use Inner Qi to resist the toxicity and expel the poison.
At this thought, the bit of pride that had just swelled within Zou Feng quickly dissipated.
'Against an opponent who has achieved Martial Arts Entry, the Five Poison Palm still isn't enough!'
'I need to quickly learn another, or even several, higher-grade Evil Skills.'
'Besides, if I really push it, Brother Yang can take it.'
Over these past few days, through extensive inquiries and verification, Zou Feng had almost confirmed that the Ghost Market was currently operating at East River Port.
Every three days, the Ghost Market would open at midnight in the shanty town area of East River Port.
'As for the issue of money, it's time to go make someone drop their Gold Coins...'
The next day, just before dawn, was often the time when most people were in their deepest sleep.
The Guangfa Gambling House, located in the southern part of the city, had just quieted down after a clamorous night.
A moment later, the gambling house door was pulled open, and a man in his thirties with a small mustache walked out.
"Take care, Master Ling!" an attendant from the gambling house said, holding the door open, his eyes full of sycophantic praise.
Yang Ling showed no signs of fatigue from being up all night. On the contrary, his face was flushed with vigor.
It was clear at a glance that his results from the previous night had been quite fruitful.
After all, even the unluckiest gambler has a good day every once in a while.
'Damn it, after all this time, I finally had a satisfying win!'
Casually tossing the attendant one mace of broken silver, a smug and satisfied Yang Ling walked out and headed for home.
'On the way back, that wonton shop I always go to should be open. I'll grab a bite before I go back to sleep.'
Yang Ling then strode off, humming a little tune, looking so pleased with himself it was as if he were afraid people *wouldn't* know he had won money.
This wasn't because Yang Ling was an idiot, but because public order in Yuan Guang County Town was, on the whole, quite good.
Even the local gangs involved in shady business had to give the Yang Family face and wouldn't dare do something so foolish.
Of course, the most important thing was that Yang Ling had also practiced martial arts.
Although he had little Talent, he had been nourished by medicinal cuisine since childhood and practiced a graded "True Skill."
Therefore, his strength was on par with, if not greater than, most of the Mansion Martial Artists in the Yang Mansion.