CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: FISH AND DRAGON

In Master Ke Yansheng’s house.

So this is the importance of being in the right circles, Chen Ku thought, listening to the information and news Master Ke was revealing to him.

"Alright, after you go back, ponder well over Force Power, Cultivation Technique, and Moves. Together they complement each other. Even if your progress with the Breathing Technique is slow, as long as your Moves improve, they can also drive the enhancement of your Inner Strength. Different paths lead to the same destination," Ke Yansheng instructed.

He couldn’t help but think of the Lone Nine Swords upon hearing this theory.

A thought struck him, and with a brazen face, he said, "I’ve heard that after becoming an Apprentice, one can also learn the Spirit Ape Knocking Mountain Stick’s Secret Fighting Technique..."

Ke Yansheng’s expression turned stern, and he snapped, "You’re trying to fleece me!"

Chen Ku wasn’t disappointed at not getting anything. He just coughed a few times. "This student is just too eager to advance."

Ke Yansheng waved his hand dismissively. "Off with you, don’t give me that. We’ll talk when your strength reaches the Four Extremities."

"Okay then."

From this response, Chen Ku knew there might be a chance for the matter.

He left joyfully after paying his respects.

Ke Yansheng watched Chen Ku’s departing figure, thinking with a private humph, "If I teach him everything at once, what will I have left to teach him later?"

After leaving Master Ke Yansheng’s house, he went to the outer city, entered his small courtyard, and closed the door.

It’s time to cultivate the Second Transformation Diagram, Chen Ku resolved.

The Transformation Diagram reflected in Chen Ku’s mind, and he placed the one hundred taels of silver, already prepared as incense money, before him.

[The Second Transformation Diagram’s cultivation conditions have been met]

"Begin!"

With a clear shout, the command spread through his mind.

Suddenly, Chen Ku felt himself under the vast scroll once more, as tiny as a grain of rice. Both the Fierce Tiger Evil Qi and his own Force Power were boiling, and simultaneously, the one hundred taels of silver vanished into thin air.

The fog on the second diagram dispersed completely, revealing a blank scroll, waiting to be depicted and filled.

Following that, the Fierce Tiger Evil Qi leaped into it, forming a monochromatic ink painting of a tiger on the entire Transformation Diagram.

As the Evil Qi settled, one part of the tiger’s body lit up.

[Fierce Tiger Transformation·Shape Shifting]

[Shapeshifting Part: Tiger Arm (Thousand-pound Mighty Strength)]

[Nine more Ferocious Beast Level Evil Qi needed to reach the Transformation Level]

[Thirty-six more Ferocious Beast Level...]

Chen Ku’s eyes snapped open, feeling an explosive power surging within his arms, as if nothing in the room could withstand a slap from him now.

Over four thousand pounds of arm strength! he marveled.

With the overlaying of two diagrams, plus his own cultivation, he had a total of over four thousand pounds—equivalent to two tons of force.

Chen Ku muttered to himself, With such immense strength, practicing Bladesmanship doesn’t really suit me. However, the Butcher Court requires expertise in Bladesmanship, and I was only after the Evil Qi anyway.

With a force as prodigious as his, Chen Ku believed he would be better suited for blunt Weapons, heavy Weapons, allowing for a more domineering expression of his massive, sweeping strength.

Like whips, maces, hammers... or perhaps, sticks!

Tomorrow, I’ll go to Centennial Fang to inquire about apes and see if I can buy a good stick at the same time, he planned.

After all, he still had the Spirit Ape Knocking Mountain Stick he could learn.

If he found a suitable ape to include in the Transformation Diagram, then undoubtedly, a stick would be the weapon best suited for him to leverage his strength, his trump card.

And... he also liked the simple convenience of ambushing foes with a club.

After practicing the Breathing Technique for two hours inside his house, he released Skinny Dog to seek out precious Herbal Medicine on its own before sleeping.

Chen Ku then went to bed peacefully.

However, in the southern outskirts of Baojiao County, at a chaotic burial mound, a hideous and crazed howl resounded, as if a demon from hell had crawled out from the gravesite, screaming heartrendingly.

"My sword!!"

"Where is my blade!!!"

Moonlight bathed a large expanse of desolate graves.

Ni Kun, having pulled out the arrows, was pale-faced but able to move normally again.

At this moment, he was like a groundhog, incessantly digging with both hands in one grave mound after another.

Two hours passed, during which he dug up almost all the grave mounds.

What made Ni Kun see stars was that, no matter how hard he searched, he could not find the Blood Blade he had buried here a few days ago.

"My blade!"

Even though Ni Kun was unwilling to accept it, he had to admit this painful and infuriating fact.

"Who stole my blade!!"

He had toiled like an ox and horse at the Blood Blade Sect for ten long years to finally obtain his Blood Blade. It was as precious to him as his own life.

"Ten years, ten years!"

A decade of hard work, lost directly because of this one accident.

For a moment, Ni Kun was utterly exhausted, mentally and physically.

Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of hot blood.

Bracing himself with his hand on his forehead, he roughly wiped away the fresh blood and fiercely opened his eyes. The first person he suspected was...

"Li Yuancheng!!"

Ni Kun gritted his teeth in hatred.

Although he had no evidence that Li Yuancheng had stolen his Blood Blade, he was certain that this man was the reason he had been struck by three arrows and nearly lost his life.

"Li Yuancheng! You’ve brought me to this state! I will make sure you get your retribution, you will definitely get it!!"

...

Chen Ku got up the next morning, feeling refreshed.

Glancing down, he saw Skinny Dog had brought back quite a few things last night: not only rare Herbal Medicines but also some Beast Bones that could be used in medicine.

I’m not yet a Disciple, Chen Ku mused. Otherwise, I would be taught the prescriptions of Medicine King Hall. Then, these items could be made into medicine and sold for much more money.

As usual, he saved them up, planning to sell them all at once in the black market later.

He took some money with him when he left the house.

He counted his possessions again, wincing inwardly—losing one hundred taels out of thin air yesterday, it was impossible not to feel the sting.

He now had a total of just over four hundred taels of silver, including the silver note from Du Xiaodao. His assets had shrunk by a quarter overnight. It was a painful loss...

After some travel, he arrived at Centennial Fang, the most prosperous place in the Inner City.

Many of the shops here belonged to another major organization in the city, the Fish and Dragon Association.

The Fish and Dragon Association was a large organization that monopolized the entire fishing and hunting trades of Baojiao County.

If Medicine King Hall monopolized ninety percent of the county’s medicine trade, then the Fish and Dragon Association monopolized ninety percent of the fish and game markets.

Upon entering Centennial Fang, Chen Ku saw that most of the shops on either side were selling live creatures, similar to the Medicine and Firewood Market in the countryside he had seen before, but ten times larger. The difference was that this place was full of hunters and fishermen.

Here, there was business in pelts, wild beasts, Treasure Fish, and seafood...

Even on the street, Chen Ku could see hunters leading several deer, walking back and forth.

Finally, Chen Ku arrived at a shop under the Fish and Dragon Association called ’Hunter’s Forest.’

As soon as he entered, a clerk wearing a Tiger Skin skirt came up and asked, "Sir, what kind of live creature are you looking for? We have everything here."

"Everything?" Chen Ku looked at the clerk. "Really?"

The clerk smiled faintly. "Even if we don’t have it in the back of the shop, as long as the customer is willing to pay, we can hunt anything given some time."

Chen Ku, comparing this to the considerable scale of Medicine King Hall, understood the reason for their confidence and stated his purpose directly, "I want a White Ape. Do you have one?"

Without blinking, the clerk said, "We don’t have one now, but we can guarantee to hunt one within ten days, as long as the customer is willing to pay."

Chen Ku asked, "At what price?"

The clerk stated calmly, "One hundred and twenty taels per ape. Half the deposit must be paid upfront, and we guarantee delivery within ten days."

"One hundred and twenty taels? That expensive?" Chen Ku frowned.

The clerk explained, "For decades, White Apes weren’t this pricey. However, a certain martial arts clan’s techniques are related to the White Ape. In recent years, this clan has frequently commissioned us to hunt White Apes. Consequently, their numbers in the mountains have dwindled, making them endangered. As rarity dictates price, they have become this expensive. Moreover, hunting a White Ape requires hunters of at least the Force Transforming level, and their labor costs must also be factored in."

Chen Ku fell silent for a moment and ultimately chose to pay. He received a written contract.