I Cheated While Cultivating

Chapter 166: Highly Sought After

Da Qi had already perfected various legislations regarding martial halls, and every local office and the Bureau for Martial Prowess also had clear rules and procedures.

Generally speaking, as long as the qualification for authorization was in order, the matter would usually proceed through the normal approval process, which took as little as three days and at most half a month.

As for the duration of this process, it naturally depended on the level of strength of the authorizing sect.

For sects like the Chang Xing Sect, authorization typically took about seven or eight days, while the Five Elements Sect only needed one day, clearly demonstrating the difference.

This time, Zhou Heng was even faster.

Authorization was confirmed on the spot; it didn’t even take half an hour, let alone a day or half a day.

Especially after Zhou Heng displayed the Pure Yang Palace’s sixth generation True Disciple waist tag, the already somewhat obsequious Head of the Bureau for Martial Prowess became even more submissive, fulfilling Zhou Heng’s requests with the utmost speed.

He also promised to inquire with the Prefectural City office and the superior county city Bureau for Martial Prowess about the matter, to secure the maximum support possible.

After all, the arrival of Pure Yang Palace to Huangtong Mansion City, to authorize martial halls in Pingzhou, was a great fortune – a stroke of luck for the countless citizens of Pingzhou, something that the Imperial Court would definitely support vigorously.

Therefore, Zhou Heng did not spend much time at all in handling the authorization process for Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

What followed was organizing a few of Pure Yang Palace’s basic external martial arts techniques, imparting them to Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang to prepare them for the upcoming teaching duties, and then recruiting new trainers and apprentices.

Aside from practicing martial arts, these tasks could all be handed over to Yu He, since his forte was doing business. Managing publicity, recruiting new trainers, and attracting apprentices were not difficult for him.

Zhou Heng himself had other matters to attend to.

During the process of managing the martial hall’s authorization at the Bureau for Martial Prowess, the Head of the Bureau also informed Zhou Heng of something.

It was why the martial halls in Huangtong Mansion City that received top-tier Martial Dao Sect’s authorization all came from the Five Elements Sect, or in other words, only from the Five Elements Sect.

It was not just because other Martial Dao Sects of the same caliber were too far away; after all, strictly in terms of distance, Huangtong Mansion City was actually closer to the Qing Emperor Palace than to the Five Elements Sect.

The reason was precisely due to the nature of a sect’s authorization of a martial hall.

A sect’s authorization of a martial hall allowed it to impart its own basic martial arts techniques and select the most outstanding among those taught to be admitted into the sect, with the purpose of recruiting as many of the best local disciples as possible to bolster the sect’s fresh blood.

To maintain its absolute monopoly over the outstanding disciples in Huangtong Mansion City, the Five Elements Sect naturally would not allow other Martial Dao Sects of the same caliber to authorize martial halls here.

Previously, the Qing Emperor Palace had competed with the Five Elements Sect over the authorization of martial halls in Huangtong Mansion City but was eventually defeated.

It had to withdraw and even transferred the martial halls originally authorized by the Qing Emperor Palace to the Five Elements Sect.

——The three major martial halls of the Five Elements Sect in Huangtong Mansion City, apart from the largest one, Wuxiang Martial Hall, the other two actually belonged to the Qing Emperor Palace a hundred years ago.

As far as the Five Elements Sect was concerned, they didn’t intervene with the lower and middle-tier sects authorizing martial halls in Huangtong Mansion City.

Becauce they were well aware that these martial halls authorized by lower and middle-tier sects could never compare with the ones under the Five Elements Sect’s authorization.

The gap was too great.

They simply could not threaten the Five Elements Sect’s monopolistic position.

But Pure Yang Palace was different.

As a Martial Dao Sect at the pinnacle of the current era, one that had survived through the Mythical era and Middle Ancient times, including numerous calamities, it still carried an intact lineage, possessing a divine rank of Celestial Man enshrined within its hallowed walls.

Pure Yang Palace’s reputation alone was enough to lure many who initially planned to join the Five Elements Sect’s authorized martial halls.

The Five Elements Sect certainly would not easily let go of this region’s “high-quality new recruits.”

Moreover, Pure Yang Palace’s main gate and its true powerhouses were countless miles away in Ta Hua Mount, usually unable to manage affairs here.

This meant——

As long as Zhou Heng authorized the teaching of Pure Yang Palace’s basic martial arts in the Huangtong Mansion City’s martial hall, it was almost certain that the Five Elements Sect would not stand by idly.

No matter the “intensity” of the strife, the Five Elements Sect would definitely take action.

Otherwise, they would lose face.

And the most common form of martial hall strife was the challenge of pushing down doors, or ‘kicking down the hall.’

Especially when a new martial hall was just opening, powerful fighters were sent to issue challenges, causing the new martial hall to lose face so badly it couldn’t continue operating.

Of course, challengers were usually young, and even if skilled in martial arts, they held no significant positions of power within the sect.

This approach limited conflicts to the martial halls and avoided escalating them to involve the sects themselves.

“Speaking of which, I still have a grudge against the Five Elements Sect,” Zhou Heng recalled the previous incident in Yuanhe Prefecture City, where Liu Gaoyang had attempted to forcefully assert his ascendancy to a Celestial Man status, only to be personally eradicated by him with the five-colored divine light.

Although Liu Gaoyang’s actions were cruel at the time, intending to sacrifice nearly a million people in Yuanhe Prefecture City as if he were a demon, he was, after all, at the pinnacle of Fourth Rank in the Five Elements Sect. Even if the Sect had to save face and couldn’t openly seek revenge for Liu Gaoyang, they would definitely target Zhou Heng in secret.

Especially for Liu Changsheng, to him, no matter what Liu Gaoyang had done, Zhou Heng was the perpetrator of a vengeance as deep as the blood feud of having killed his father, irreconcilable.

No matter how perverse Liu Gaoyang’s thoughts were, he was Liu Changsheng’s father. If Liu Changsheng harbored thoughts of avenging his father, it would be considered a righteous cause.

One couldn’t expect everyone to maintain noble intentions.

“If the Five Elements Sect really sends someone to cause trouble when the Longxing Martial Arts Hall reopens, it’s likely to be Liu Changsheng,” Zhou Heng thought to himself.

After all, this would definitely be a good opportunity to take revenge on him and disgrace him.

However, Liu Changsheng might not have the capability to do so.

…

The news of Pure Yang Palace authorizing its subsidiary martial hall spread across Huangtong Mansion City like a storm.

The news originated from the martial affairs bureau; although it wasn’t specified which martial hall was authorized, in the entire Huangtong Mansion City, which other hall was there that had connections with Pure Yang Palace and hadn’t yet been authorized?

Only Longxing Martial Arts Hall!

This news immediately turned the once nearly defunct Longxing Martial Arts Hall into an object of intense desire. Many people hurried over to inquire about the situation, and even trainers and apprentices who had left were targeted by many, questioned for information.

Excitement surged through Huangtong Mansion City, as people frantically sought information about Longxing Martial Arts Hall; some even proactively went to seek mentorship, offering a hundred taels of gold hoping to secure an apprentice slot.

Although Longxing had kept its doors closed and responded that everything would wait until the martial hall formally reopened and the grand announcement was made, many saw this as giving a definite confirmation.

It was highly likely that Longxing Martial Arts Hall had indeed obtained authorization from Pure Yang Palace.

My god!

That’s the Pure Yang Palace!!

Up until now, the highest level of authorization for a martial hall in Huangtong Mansion City had been the Five Elements Sect, one of the top ten sects in Da Qi. Yet, although the Five Elements Sect was strong, it still paled in comparison to the sublime immortal gate of Pure Yang Palace.

Suddenly, the buzz about Pure Yang Palace, Longxing Martial Arts Hall, and Zhou Heng grew louder.

Many speculated about Zhou Heng’s true identity, wondering how he, having only been in the sect for three months, managed to obtain the sect’s authorization to manage a martial hall.

This was far from a simple matter.

However, the news about the situation in front of Chang Xing Sect’s mountain gate soon came back, Zhou Heng’s demonstrated strength at the time, and his identity as a sixth generation True Disciple of Pure Yang Palace, confirmed everything beyond doubt.

Thus, Longxing Martial Arts Hall getting authorization from Pure Yang Palace was almost a sure thing; there wasn’t even a need for any more doubt.

Consequently, countless wealthy merchants swarmed in, hoping to fund and support the construction of the martial hall, looking to take a small share of the profits, and also hoping their children could enter Longxing and become apprentices.

Unfortunately, when they tried to purchase various properties to “add bricks and mortar” to the new construction of Longxing Martial Arts Hall, they discovered that the town office had already secretly bought up a large number of properties and materials, which they were also providing to Longxing free of charge for the construction.

This instantly dampened the merchants’ hopes of getting a slice of the martial hall’s profits, and they focused entirely on getting their children admitted to Longxing Martial Arts Hall to become apprentices.

Some came up with the idea of sponsorship money, donating money for enrollment, and as the idea caught on, it climbed higher and higher. In just a few days, the sponsorship fee for an apprentice reached three hundred taels of gold!

This left those trainers and apprentices who had not held on and left Longxing filled with bitter regret.

Overnight, Longxing became highly sought after.

Lei Xiuyan, Lin Cang, Yu He, and others felt as if it wasn’t quite real, and even their families had the sensation of being in a dream.

Could this be the sweet reward after bitter hardships?

While the outside world was buzzing with excitement, Zhou Heng had returned to the small rented house he previously lived in, ready to concentrate on the study of martial arts and Taoist formulas to improve his own strength.

He hadn’t opted to stay in that large mansion because he was still uncertain about its safety features.

He would move there once his strength increased and after ensuring everything inside was clear.

Before heading back to the rental house, Zhou Heng went to see the same fortune-teller he often visited, asking him to calculate an auspicious date for when his personal luck would be at its peak.

He was preparing to open a batch of Fortune Bags.

It was still late at night, during the time of ‘Zi.’

Zhou Heng bathed and burned incense in the rented house, then deliberately washed his hands, taking a deep breath.

“Open three Copper Fortune Bags and three Silver Fortune Bags!”