It was Liu Changsheng's idea to invite Zhou Heng and Yu He to stay for lunch.
He wanted to use this opportunity to get to know Zhou Heng a little more, or rather, to get to know some of his thoughts on sword cultivation.
Zhou Heng's earlier slash still made him itch with nagging nostalgia.
He even vaguely felt that if he could figure out the reasoning behind Zhou Heng's earlier slash, he might be able to get a step closer to his own cultivation.
But until the meal was over, he didn't ask anything substantial from Zhou Heng, only that he felt that Zhou Heng's martial talent was truly extraordinary and that he should be quite successful in the future.
After the rain.
Zhou Heng and Yu He left.
Liu Changsheng couldn't help but ask Steward Wang, "Steward Wang, did you understand that slash of Zhou Heng earlier? I always feel as if it contains the principle of the five elements being mutually exclusive, but I'm a little uncertain."
---Now that Zhou Heng was no longer here, it was human nature to discuss his martial arts moves again, and it wasn't considered breaking the rules of the Jianghu.
With this question from Liu Changsheng, Zhao Yuan and the others beside him also looked at Steward Wang.
The few people present were all practicing martial arts of the Five Elements genus, with similar cultivation, and could generally feel that Zhou Heng's blade was quite mysterious.
If they were able to comprehend it, it would most likely be beneficial to their martial arts improvement.
"That man's slash indeed contains the five elements." Steward Wang slightly jawed and squared off, "However, it is not that his saber contains the five elements of principle."
"What's the explanation for that?" Liu Changsheng was confused.
"The reason why his slash contained the five elements is because it cut into the flaw of the Five Elements Pile of Returning One." Steward Wang smiled with a hint of admiration in his eyes.
"Young Master you were using the water form of the Returning Five Elements Pile earlier, the changes were nimble and the dodging was swift, under normal circumstances an apprentice of an unentered character would never be able to repel you.
"But if this uninitiated martial artist had seen through your pile changes, found a flaw in it, and then unexpectedly changed his moves, allowing the What about the knife becoming calm and having 'earth' momentum?"
"The five elements are mutually exclusive, earth to water, calm town spirit?"
Liu Changsheng was astonished at the words, then said somewhat incredulously, "It's not surprising that he understands the theory of the five elements being in harmony with each other, but how did he see the change in my pile work?
"The Returning Five Elements Pile is the true heritage of my Five Elements Sect, there's no way he can know this pile technique."
"It's true that he can't know it, but he doesn't need to, he just needs to have some understanding and see the flaws in it to catch you off guard up." Steward Wang shook his head gently, the admiration in his eyes a little thicker, and said.
"When I came here with the young master this morning, I happened to hear someone talking about a martial genius who has been in the limelight lately, namely this Zhou Heng.
"It's said that he learned a ninth-grade martial art directly through an encounter when he competed against his own ninth-grade instructor, perhaps this rumor is a bit different than the The actuality is exaggerated, but it also reflects his martial talent."
"Are you saying that he, by watching the battle from the sidelines, saw through the flaw in my Returning Five Elements Pile?" Willow was stunned, as if she had seen a ghost, "How is that possible? Such a talent, I've only heard of that Qiongfeng Fairy of the Pure Yang Palace having ah."
"It's not just that Cheng Jiangjian has it, it's just that you only know about her, young master." Steward Wang shook his head and said, "Thirty-three states of the Great Qi, how large is the population, how many are there in the top great sects that are only true? It's not surprising that it's a pearl of the sea."
"I see, Steward Wang's words have made me think of something." Zhao Yuan at the side suddenly realized and said, "Earlier, we had a Wang family that moved here from outside the country and caused quite a storm.
"A few days ago, this Wang family but suddenly dissipated into smoke, when Zhou Heng was working as a temporary guard for the Wang family's eldest sister, but afterwards, it was completely divorced from this storm, with hints of the Lord of the House's hand in it.
"Previously I was confused, what kind of big shot family's son is this Zhou Heng not, actually needing a sixth grade expert like House Lord Wu Zongshan to guard him . Now I'm afraid that this House Master has risen to the love of talent."
"Is there still such a thing?" Steward Wang laughed at the news, "That's normal, the court's performance assessment for each place includes the level of martial artists, and a genius like Zhou Heng For a capital city, it's called a treasure."
"So, Zhou Heng really is a true martial genius?" Liu Changsheng's eyes lit up and he smiled, "It's a pity he's not in the grade yet, if he was already in the seventh grade, I could have had a good match with him! ."
"Haha, Young Master is only afraid that he won't have that chance." Steward Wang laughed, "Although this Zhou Heng is surpassingly gifted, but after all, he doesn't have the heritage of a great sect, no profound martial skills, and no nourishing elixir.
"In that case, it's already good enough for him to be able to step into the seventh grade before the age of forty, and by then you might be close to the fifth grade, young master."
"He doesn't have any, I can send him ah." Liu Changsheng smiled, "Let him be nine grades first, by then his strength will reach his entire body and he will barely be able to fight me."
".... "Steward Wang was stunned, this young master of his family's idea was really unique.
But anyway, the old master's family was big, and giving away anything at random was just a dime a dozen, so just let the young master go.
.....
Tonight was the reception banquet prepared by the three martial arts schools for Liu Changsheng.
It was held at the Yu He family's restaurant.
In addition to the people from the three major martial arts schools, there were also many local celebrities from Huangtong Prefecture City, and even the government master's yamen side had sent a division master over, which was considered to be attending on behalf of the government master, Wu Zongshan.
Zhou Heng was also invited, and he went to the banquet with the idea that he could save money on a meal and not do anything about it.
But he didn't expect that when the banquet was over, the guests had dispersed and Liu Changsheng was about to leave, he would be given a pill.
The Tiger Bone Refining Form Pill.
This was a pill that was extremely effective for martial artists who had not yet entered the grade, providing the body with a large amount of nutrients needed for martial arts training, nourishing the body's qi and blood, filling it with stamina, and naturally reaching the entire body.
Thus reaching the ninth grade level!
Since the Ninth Grade is also known as the "Foundation Pill" stage, this "Tiger Bone Pill" has a nickname, "Foundation Pill".
It costs at least 1,000 taels of silver for one pill!
Originally Zhou Heng wanted to refuse, but the reason given by Liu Changsheng was to apologize for his rash question earlier, so he had to take it.
When Liu Changsheng left.
Yu He then leaned over and smiled hehely, "Liu Changsheng is not a bad dude, he actually gave you such an expensive pill, it seems he's really Quite abiding by the rules of the world."
"You think this pill is easy to get?" Zhou Heng patted his friend's shoulder and said, "He obviously wants me to step into the Ninth Grade as soon as possible, and with the strength of the Ninth Grade, I can barely compete with the He crossed the line, the guy's a martial arts idiot."
"What? Still want a hands-on fight?" Yu He was stunned at first, then said, "Why don't I give him the 1,000 taels of silver on your behalf? Sort of bought him the pills."
"He won't take it." Zhou Heng shook his head and smiled, "Besides, it's not bad to have a contest with him, it should improve my martial arts skills, after all, it's ranked on the list of people The master of the art."
"You're also a martial arts idiot." Yu He rolled his eyes and was about to make a few more quips, when suddenly he gazed at a figure at the distant intersection, "Hey, Zhou Heng, you Look, isn't that... Shopkeeper Qian?"
"Well?" Zhou Heng looked over at the news.
It was already the eleventh hour of the night, and although there was no curfew, the streets were already deserted, with only the lanterns hanging in front of some of the shops glowing brightly, and it was quite quiet overall.
The money shopkeeper stood in a shadow at the intersection, unable to see his face clearly, and if not for Yu He's deep impression of this person, he might not have been able to recognize him just now.
He seemed to have sensed the two men's gaze, so he immediately turned away and disappeared into the night.
"Guess it's envy and jealousy." Yu He smiled somewhat smugly as he hit the ground.
"Better keep an eye out and be careful these next two days." Zhou Heng warned, "I always feel that there's something not quite right about this Qian Master."
"I know." Yu He smiled, "In business, there are often people who fail in competition and want revenge, so I'll definitely be careful."
"That's good." Zhou Heng nodded and said, "Then I'm going back as well."
"Be careful on the road." Yu He waved his hand and watched Zhou Heng leave.
Only when Zhou Heng walked away did he turn around to return to the restaurant, but when he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly felt a little dizzy.
Bang!
Yuhe pressed one hand violently against the doorframe, which kept him from tripping.
"What's going on?"
He squeezed his temples and bobbed his head, "Maybe it's been a long day? Go to bed early."
At the same time, at the intersection where the original money manager had disappeared, a face hidden in the shadows emerged against the wall.
The mouth of this face grinned open, revealing thirty-two ghastly white teeth.
Green eyes flickered.
Staring motionlessly at Yu He who walked into the restaurant .
.....
Returning home.
Zhou Heng placed the wooden box with the Tiger Bone Alchemy Pill on the table and pondered.
Exactly what was it to eat?
Or did you sell it?
1,000 taels of silver!
He still owed Cheng Jiangjian 3,000 taels of foreign debt, if he had the 1,000 taels of silver, he would probably be able to take a breather.
--Although Cheng Jiangjian had never mentioned asking Zhou Heng to pay back the money, he had always kept this matter in his heart, and he couldn't eat such a precious pill for free.
After hesitating for a while, he still decided - to open the lucky bag first.
What if something better came out of the bag of good fortune?
Like taking one of the Nine Revolutions Purple Golden Pills that would make you a Golden Immortal or something.
Now Zhou Heng had a total of two good fortune bags in his hands.
One was the silver good fortune bag he obtained when he defeated Liu Changsheng in the previous contest, and the bronze good fortune bag he obtained after training the Thirteen Swords of Autumn Rain to perfection some time ago.
The latter was something he was going to save until after his ninth grade before opening it, wanting to see if the upper limit of the blessing bag rewards had anything to do with his cultivation level.
Although now that he had obtained a new Silver Blessing Bag, he had no plans to change it, still choosing to keep the Bronze Blessing Bag.
After all, the silver good luck bag has not been opened "luck out of the ordinary" hint, always a little regret.
"Lucky bag [Silver]: it's all-encompassing and has everything, after opening it, you can get a surprising reward."
"Open!"
"Congratulations! Gain base attribute, insight +1."
????
"That's it? That's it?"
Zhou Heng stared at himself, but he was actually black again!
No "luck out" hint, and a normal reward?
Insight +1?
What is this reward?
It took a while for him to figure out that it seemed to be an attribute that improved his observation ability.
You could see farther, look more closely, and still find details that were easy to overlook.
What was the use of this thing?
Are all silver purses this black?
It seemed like he hadn't opened anything good in the Silver Lucky Bag.
Zhou Heng looked at his only remaining Copper Lucky Bag and was very tempted to open it now to verify whether he was black himself or the Silver Lucky Bag.
However, in the end, he still held back.
After all, he was not far from the Ninth Grade, and if he took that Tiger Bone Refining Pill, he would be able to step into the Ninth Grade in a day or two.
It wouldn't be too late to open it then.
"Forget it, don't think about it, sleep!"
.....
Early next morning.
Zhou Heng arrived at the martial arts school to practice as usual.
Listening to the sound of proficiency +1+1+1.
Practicing kung fu this way was especially refreshing.
What made him even happier was that while standing Long Xing Nei Zhuang Pile Kung Fu, the proficiency of the Returning Five Elements Pile was also increasing!
Half the work, twice the effort!
However, Zhou Heng always felt that something seemed to be missing from the martial arts school today.
Yu He didn't seem to be here.
"Is it because you drank too much last night and overslept today?" Zhou Heng's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
It was at this time.
A faint fragrance suddenly drifted over.
"Brother Zhou, do you know where Instructor Lin is?"
A soft and pleasant voice sounded, it was a petite girl who looked fourteen or fifteen years old, wearing a pink dress, with delicate and lovely features, a complete beauty.
"Ying Ying, what are you doing here?" Zhou Heng knew this young girl, she was Yu Ying Ying, Yu Crane's younger sister.
She was two years younger than Yu Crane and fifteen years old.
"I've come to find Coach Lin to give my brother leave." Yu Yingying's delicate face was sad and depressed.
"What's wrong with Yu He?"
Zhou Heng's brows furrowed slightly as he noticed the emotional details on Yu Ying Ying's face and felt that something was not right.
This was the effect of Insight +1?