I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 164: Better Choice

Zhou Heng, riding on a jujube-red horse, had actually already noticed that strange person staring at him.

He just hadn’t expected that this unidentified person, whose Inner Qi was somewhat sinister, would dare to charge directly at him, even channeling Inner Qi in preparation to attack.

“Crazy,” Zhou Heng watched the person with a puzzled face.

Mounted on his horse, he directly threw a punch, Innate Pure Yang True Qi burst forth, condensing into a golden giant hand that immediately seized the strange person, suspending him mid-air.

Golden Light Three Forms!

Grasp Gold Hammer!

“Hehehe! Just as I wished!” The individual laughed instead of panicking when Zhou Heng caught him.

He actually stretched out both hands, pressing them onto the golden giant hand, and began to absorb the Innate Pure Yang Inner Qi that had condensed it, the exceedingly pure Qi bearing traces of Sixth Rank characteristics. It entered his body and immediately made him tremble with comfort.

“Seeking death!” Zhou Heng saw this and coldly chuckled, raising his hand to deliver Palm Thunder on the man’s head, interrupting his absorption of the Innate Pure Yang Inner Qi.

Boom!!

Grasp Gold Hammer held the man tight, ruthlessly smashing him to the ground; his lower half, both legs, directly turned into a bloody pulp, and his upper half was also shaken to the point of internal organ rupture, with blood flowing from all seven orifices.

Such injuries would have killed a normal person on the spot, but after all, this was a Peak of the Seventh Rank Martial Path expert with strong vitality. He had not even passed out and was still trying to struggle.

Unfortunately, he was not an Evil Creature, but a human. The durability and recovery ability of his body simply could not compare to that of Evil Creatures, thus being suppressed by the golden giant hand, he couldn’t move at all.

“How is this possible, how can this be?!” The man was shocked to the extreme, his face full of disbelief, never having imagined that he would end up in such a state.

He knew the person who came was Zhou Heng, he was aware that Zhou Heng was a true successor of the Pure Yang Palace, and he knew that Zhou Heng’s strength was out of the ordinary, capable of fighting three Seventh Rankers alone, extremely formidable.

However, the recent three-day span was not enough for the matters of the Chang Xing Sect to have spread here, and he had not communicated much with anyone, so his perception of Zhou Heng’s strength still rested solely on the description in the people’s list.

This caused a deviation in perception, leading him to believe that he could suppress Zhou Heng with his own Evil Sect’s technique of absorbing Inner Qi.

Yet he had not anticipated that Zhou Heng’s Inner Qi was overly pure, of very high grade, and just the initial absorption was almost intoxicating to the point of losing sanity. Another reward of Palm Thunder directly stunned him, leaving him with no strength to counterattack.

Zhou Heng’s capture of the man drew considerable attention, and as they were already near the city gates, Meng Xing, who happened to be patrolling nearby, hurriedly led people over.

“Young Master Zhou, you’ve returned!” When Meng Xing saw Zhou Heng, his eyes lit up. He took another glance at the man suppressed by the golden giant hand and said, “This man is a true disciple of the Evil Sect, Canxin Pavilion. His name is Zhu Wucui, with the cultivation of the Peak of the Seventh Rank.

“He has been loitering near the city gates recently, acting very sneakily. I’ve always wanted to capture him for questioning, but since he hasn’t really done anything, I haven’t been good with making a move.

“That you’ve captured him upon your arrival, truly you have rid our Huangtong Mansion City of a threat.”

Zhou Heng retracted the golden giant hand, watching as a group of constables tied Zhu Wucui up with special ropes, and said to Meng Xing, “This man attacked me out of nowhere, with an Evil Sect technique that absorbs Inner Qi. I just suppressed him on impulse.

“If it were not for wanting to know why he attacked me, I would have killed him with that blow just now. Head Constable Meng, I leave it to you to interrogate him thoroughly.

“By the way, the Canxin Pavilion, this Evil Sect, while not large, is ultimately backed by the Heavenly Palace. It would be best for you to report the situation to the Mansion Lord.”

In fact, he was using Meng Xing’s mouth to convey a message to Wu Zongshan, that Zhu Wucui possessed an Evil Sect technique to absorb people’s Inner Qi.

With Wu Zongshan’s abilities, he would be able to discern the intricacies involved.

After all, the Evil Creature ‘Long Fang’ previously also had the ability to absorb Inner Qi.

While one was a Martial Arts technique and the other an Evil Creature’s special ability, it seemed unlikely that the two would be completely unrelated.

Zhu Wucui’s appearance near Huangtong Mansion City might not entirely be a coincidence.

There might even be other secrets hidden within.

However, Zhou Heng didn’t want to concern himself with these matters just yet. Instead, he wanted to focus, to solidify what he had recently learned.

Opening the Fortune Bag was one thing.

Studying the Bewitching Heart Guarding Mantra was another.

Further cultivating the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, the Star Moving Technique, the Hundred Steps Soaring Sword, and the Golden Light Three Forms to increase proficiency and enhance strength was also one.

There was also the reading and comprehending of the White Rainbow Sword Technique and the self-created insights contained within, gifted to him by Cheng Jianjian.

He had a lot on his plate.

All this was in preparation for his upcoming challenges against the young experts at the top of the rankings list.

After all, those who made it to the top of the rankings were all no easy opponents, each and every one of them possessing incredibly powerful legacies, whose Martial Arts wouldn’t be any inferior to Zhou Heng’s, and might even be stronger.

To battle such opponents, he must further elevate his level of Martial Arts proficiency.

Therefore, after instructing Meng Xing about Zhu Wucui’s matter, Zhou Heng rode straight into the city on his date-red horse, heading for the Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

His return this time had two purposes. In addition to solidifying his own skills and bolstering his strength, he was determined to reopen Longxing Martial Arts Hall and make it more prosperous than it was before.

This was also the promise he had made to Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang.

…

The Longxing Martial Arts Hall was still desolate, the entrance as empty as if swept by a broom.

Although Zhou Heng had killed all the Chang Xing Sect people and those who troubled Longxing Martial Arts Hall during his last visit, the hall had ultimately lost the privilege to teach profound martial arts.

For ordinary people who wished to excel in martial arts and look forward to a better future, the hall no longer presented a necessary choice.

Especially after the news that Zhou Heng was going to deal with the Chang Xing Sect spread, even the trainers who had stayed out of nostalgia couldn’t bear to stay any longer. They were afraid of becoming collateral damage to the Chang Xing Sect’s wrath and chose to leave.

Although the trainers had contracts with the martial arts hall that forbade leaving at will, to force them to stay when Longxing Martial Arts Hall was looking like it was about to close down for good would be lacking in the loyalty esteemed in the martial community.

Thus, Lei Xiuyan also did not retain them.

Once the trainers left, it resulted in the apprentices who had stayed because of their deep bond with the trainers losing their reason to remain. Within a few days, they too had departed.

To date, Longxing Martial Arts Hall only had three apprentices left, including Yu He, and Lin Cang was the only trainer remaining.

Longxing Martial Arts Hall, it could be said, existed in name only.

Yet, even so, whether it was Lei Xiuyan or Lin Cang, they still arrived on time every day to teach the three remaining apprentices in the training hall.

This seemed to have created an unusual atmosphere.

The three apprentices were extremely serious about their training.

Even Yu He, who used to love skipping classes, became serious. Within a few days, he had recovered much of the skill he had lost, and had even shown some improvement.

However, they all knew that continuing like this, the Longxing Martial Arts Hall was bound to close sooner or later.

To the vast majority of ordinary people, a martial arts hall that had lost its backing sect and was unable to teach basic sect martial arts had no reason to exist.

Their only hope lay in Zhou Heng.

They were waiting for news from the Chang Xing Sect side, waiting for Zhou Heng to return. Perhaps there would be a turning point, perhaps they could regain the authorization to teach the basic Chang Xing Sect martial arts.

Creak.

The doors of the martial arts hall opened.

Zhou Heng tied his date-red horse to the post outside and walked in, just as he saw Lin Cang teaching Yu He and the other two apprentices, as well as Lei Xiuyan standing in the inner hall, looking at the words “Longxing” with a somber face.

“Master Lin, hall owner, Yu He, I’m back,” Zhou Heng said with a smile.

“Oh man, you’re finally back!” Yu He was the first to jump up, rushing to Zhou Heng, looking him up and down, and laughing, “You look unharmed. Don’t tell me you actually took down the Chang Xing Sect?”

“If I hadn’t taken down the Chang Xing Sect, do you think I could still return?” Zhou Heng laughed heartily, patted Yu He’s shoulder, and said smilingly, “Relax, brother, I’m back this time to take you soaring with me.”

“That impressive?” Yu He raised an eyebrow, gestured Zhou Heng to look at Lin Cang and Lei Xiuyan, and whispered, “Hey, you previously said you had a way to solve Longxing’s crisis, what’s the plan?

“Master Lin and the hall owner are almost worried to death, looking somber every day. It’s unbearable, if you have a plan, tell them about it, I have enough money if it’s needed.”

“Money’s not necessary, I indeed have a plan,” Zhou Heng walked towards Lin Cang and Lei Xiuyan and said with a smile, “Master Lin, hall owner, you don’t have to worry anymore, Longxing is going to welcome a brighter future from now on.”

“Zhou, did you really get back the rights for Longxing to teach the basic Chang Xing Sect martial arts?” Lin Cang’s eyes brightened as he asked eagerly.

“That must’ve been difficult,” Lei Xiuyan also showed a look of happiness.

“No, I didn’t get them back, and Longxing doesn’t need that anymore,” Zhou Heng shook his head and said with a smile, “I have a better way.”

“What is it?”

Lin Cang and Lei Xiuyan asked in unison.

When Zhou Heng said he hadn’t gotten the rights back, their hearts sank, but hearing him say he had a better plan, hope flared in their eyes as they looked at Zhou Heng expectantly.

“What Longxing lacks is nothing more than a superior martial arts hall. Now, Longxing has choices that are countless times better than the Chang Xing Sect,” Zhou Heng chuckled, “So why do we still need the Chang Xing Sect’s authorization?”

“You, you mean?!” Lei Xiuyan seemed to have thought of something but didn’t dare to confirm, “Can we, really do this?”

——————

ps: If there are any typos, I will make corrections after updating. Thank you to: Zeng Jing & Canghai for the reward, becoming the first Alliance Hierarch of this book. There will be thousands of updates over the weekend as thanks.