Upon hearing the arrest officer from the County Government refer to Li Jingzhong as "Teacher," Han Zheng was momentarily taken aback.
Only those disciples who had been taught the White Ape Extended Arm Fist would call Li Jingzhong 'Teacher.' Had the man once been a disciple of Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy?
Li Jingzhong didn't put on any airs and hurriedly said, "Constable Zhang, you flatter me. Being new to Black Stone County with lots of official duties, of course, the matters at hand are most important."
Turning his head, Li Jingzhong addressed Han Zheng, "This is Zhang Tianyang, who has just taken office as the Chief Constable of our Black Stone County. He assumed his post on the day you left Black Stone County."
"Pleased to meet you, Constable Zhang," Han Zheng greeted with a cupped fist salute.
Zhang Tianyang sized up Han Zheng, and that chill arose once again.
"Teacher, this disciple of yours has a solid foundation," he said. "Although he has not entered the Innate realm, he has strong bones like a tree and vigorous vitality like an ox. I'd say he has a ninety percent chance of shedding his mortal body successfully and stepping into the Innate realm.
Is he the most outstanding disciple of this generation at the academy? Has he already been taught the White Ape Tongbei Fist?"
Li Jingzhong smiled and replied, "Han Zheng indeed is not bad, whether it is in fundamentals or actual combat, he ranks among the top within the academy.
However, this batch of disciples has not started the final assessment yet, and no one has been taught the White Ape Extended Arm Fist."
"Such a foundation and still not the number one in the academy? Teacher, the level of your disciples must really be quite remarkable."
Zhang Tianyang expressed his admiration and then looked at Han Zheng, his gaze becoming slightly more serious.
"Han Zheng, you mentioned that you encountered members of the Smell Fragrance Sect outside the city. Relay the incident in detail, don't omit any details."
Han Zheng nodded and recounted to Zhang Tianyang everything that had transpired since he encountered the Smell Fragrance Sect.
"You also fended off a follower of the Smell Fragrance Sect?"
Han Zheng nodded and said, "There were only two of them. I suppose they were concerned that taking action would interfere with their preaching, which is why they let us go."
Zhang Tianyang took a long look at Han Zheng, smiling meaningfully.
He knew all too well what the Smell Fragrance Sect was like.
If they thought they could handle you, they wouldn't leave without drawing blood.
Yet they had chosen to retreat, which showed Han Zheng's combat abilities had made them feel they couldn't control the situation, prompting them to give up.
The youngster was deliberately concealing his skills.
Li Jingzhong expressed his concern, "The Smell Fragrance Sect has caused such an uproar on the Huainan Road, and now they've appeared not far from Black Stone County. Could it be they're preparing to attack the Southern Mountain?"
"A large-scale assault surely won't happen," Zhang Tianyang thoughtfully replied, stroking his chin. "The Smell Fragrance Sect is just a sect, and its rapid takeover of Huainan Road was also the result of a decade's worth of groundwork, coupled with the Court's lack of attention, catching them off guard.
Now there's still a struggle between the Court's forces and the Smell Fragrance Sect on Huainan Road. The Sect doesn't have the capacity for another large-scale attack on the Southern Mountain.
However, they will certainly erode and infiltrate step by step.
Black Stone County, being between the Southern Mountain and Huainan, is indeed at some risk.
I'll report this matter to the higher-ups, Teacher, there's no need to worry.
Jingzhou Prefecture is the gateway to the Southern Mountain, and Black Stone County is the gateway to Jingzhou Prefecture. The authorities will not let anything happen to Black Stone County."
After saying this, Zhang Tianyang stood up and gave Li Jingzhong a cupped fist salute, "This information is invaluable. I must immediately go back and report to my superiors, I won't take much of your time catching up."
"Your duties come first, Constable Zhang."
Li Jingzhong rose and escorted Zhang Tianyang out.
Watching Zhang Tianyang's retreating figure, Han Zheng asked with some curiosity, "Master, was the Chief Constable also a disciple of the academy in the past?"
Li Jingzhong nodded and said, "Strictly speaking, Zhang Tianyang can only be considered my student, not a disciple.
He studied at the academy for less than a year. He was among the first batch of students I took in here in Black Stone County more than ten years ago. His talent was only average back then, so he wasn't taught the White Ape Extended Arm Fist.
Later, Zhang Tianyang left to wander the Martial World, and I had no idea where he had gone, but it was said he joined the army.
He returned to Black Stone County to take up the position of Chief Constable on the day you left, and I met him that day to chat about the general situation in Black Stone County."
At this point, Li Jingzhong suddenly sighed, "It seems that a change in the winds is coming for Black Stone County.
Previously, the government office was weak and ineffectual. The County Magistrate, although well-educated, was just a drunkard who only knew how to drink and write poetry, with no capable individuals in the government office.
But Zhang Tianyang is not ordinary.
Despite his efforts to conceal it, I can still sense the extraordinary evil Qi and killing intent emanating from him. The lives he has taken are certainly in the triple digits!
It's unclear what he has gone through over these years, but now even I'm not sure of my ability to win if I faced him.
I practice Martial Arts, whereas Zhang Tianyang has learned the art of killing.
He is somewhat dangerous, and he's no longer the ordinary, shy farm boy I remember. Try to avoid contact with him as much as possible.
But even if Black Stone County is changing, all you can do now is to concentrate on your martial practice.
Power is the only capital you have to protect yourselves in these chaotic times."
Han Zheng earnestly responded, "I will heed Teacher's advice."
The master of the academy, Li Jingzhong, could be said to be quite competent.
He not only taught his disciples martial skills but also how to survive in the Martial World.
After returning, Han Zheng went straight to bed from the afternoon and slept until the next morning.
This time, he didn't practice the Dragon Elephant Wisdom Cultivation Technique while sleeping.
The tension had been too high before; it was time to relax a bit.
Pushing open the door, the sunlight outside was a bit blinding.
Han Zheng washed his face and prepared to buy some steamed buns at the entrance of the alley to fill his stomach before heading to the martial arts hall.
"Boss, give me five meat buns."
The vendor skillfully picked up five steaming, oily large meat buns, wrapped them in waxed paper, and handed them to Han Zheng.
"Here you are, be careful, the buns are hot off the oven, that'll be 100 copper coins."
Han Zheng, holding the buns, paused, "100 coins? Weren't meat buns 10 coins each before?"
The vendor gave a bitter smile, "That was many days ago; the price has gone up since then."
Han Zheng didn't have enough copper coins on him and directly handed over some broken silver to the vendor.
"These prices are outrageous; two buns almost cost as much as a jin of rice."
As the vendor gave change, he said, "Before it could buy a jin of rice, but now rice has risen to more than 100 coins per jin.
And it's not just rice, meat is hard to come by now.
You're still able to eat meat buns now, but in a few days, you might only be able to afford vegetable buns."
Han Zheng ate his buns, his brows slightly furrowed.
The Smell Fragrance Sect's influence on Southern Mountain was significant, and even more so on Black Stone County—the prices were skyrocketing.
Luckily, he had earned one hundred fifty taels of silver from escorting the caravan this time; otherwise, he might not even afford to eat.
Han Zheng arrived a bit late today. By the time he got to the martial arts hall, most of the disciples were already there, gathering in groups, discussing something.
"Who do you think will emerge as the most outstanding disciple of our generation in this final assessment and be taught the White Ape Extended Arm Fist?"
"If you ask me, it should be Song Tianqing. After all, he's got the 'Celestial Blade' bloodline of the Song Family. His innate talents are naturally a cut above the rest of us.
Song Tianqing hadn't practiced any cultivation techniques before, and now, how long has it been since he joined the hall? I heard he has already opened eight meridians."
"Lin Qing is also very strong. He, too, has opened eight meridians, and his swordsmanship is exceptional. A few days ago, during practice, the hall master said his swordsmanship is the strongest among all the disciples!"
"I think it should be Chen Zhao. Song Tianqing and Lin Qing both have strong backgrounds, but Chen Zhao's background is nearly the same as ours, yet his cultivation hasn't fallen behind.
We previously thought Chen Zhao learned the Iron Whip to curry favor with the hall master, but it turned out he genuinely has talent for it.
Even the hall master said that at Chen Zhao's age, his own skills with the whip were not as good as Chen Zhao's. Chen Zhao's affinity with the Iron Whip isn't any worse than Lin Qing's with his swordsmanship!"
"What about Guo Mingyuan? I heard his cultivation level is now the highest in the hall, a full two hundred and sixty acupoints and nine meridians!"
"Pah! Should someone who piled up his abilities with medicine baths even be arrogant?"
"That's right; normal martial artists would soak in a medicine bath for three days, but he soaks three times a day, almost wishing to drink medicine baths as if they were water. It's no wonder his cultivation level is high."
"Damn it, Guo Mingyuan's family's grain store is the one that hoarded grain and jacked up the prices the most! Rice costs one hundred twenty coins per jin now, even rye flour with pebbles in it costs twenty coins! And all the medicine baths he uses come from our blood and sweat!"
When it came to others, everyone had their disputes.
But when it came to Guo Mingyuan, everyone cursed bitterly as though they wanted to gulp him down alive.
The soaring grain prices in Black Stone County affected everyone greatly; the only one who benefited was Guo Mingyuan's family's grain store.
"Song Tianqing? Chen Zhao? Lin Qing? My brother Han Zheng is the strongest one!"
Li Sancheng walked over with Wang Bao and Zhao Jinming, all full of themselves.
"Ever seen a demon pig more than ten feet tall? Just like a giant, incredibly strong, and one slap could fling a person away. Those fangs, sharper than spears, won't even spit out the bones when eating a person.
Such a monster, in front of my brother, was just like a pig waiting for slaughter—killed in the blink of an eye.
And you've heard of the Smell Fragrance Sect, right? That's the cult that has caused chaos throughout Huainan Road. Its followers are all top-notch experts.
When we were escorting the caravan back, we got blocked by members of the Smell Fragrance Sect. My brother made a move, and with one technique, he stunned the opponents.
They were so scared they didn't dare to fart and immediately let us pass."
Li Sancheng shook his head and swaggered with great pride, as if he was the one who slayed the demon pig and repelled the Smell Fragrance Sect's followers.
Someone puzzledly said, "Is Han Zheng really that fierce? I always thought he seemed rather ordinary."
"Don't believe it? Ask Zhao Jinming and Wang Bao; they saw it with their own eyes."
Although what Li Sancheng said was somewhat different from the truth, the outcome was indeed as he described.
They all benefited from Han Zheng's prowess, resulting in an extra one hundred taels of silver each. In fact, they could say that it was because of Han Zheng they were able to return safely to Black Stone County.
So at times like this, they felt it was not appropriate to explain in detail and just nodded in agreement.
Everyone knew Li Sancheng liked to brag, and they usually took his words with a grain of salt.
But Zhao Jinming and Wang Bao were known to be honest, and people couldn't help but wonder, was Han Zheng really that formidable?
There were those who were annoyed by Li Sancheng, too.
"The demon pig was killed by Han Zheng, and the Smell Fragrance Sect was repelled by Han Zheng, what are you boasting about?"
Just as Li Sancheng was about to retort, he was pulled away by Han Zheng, who had just caught up.
If he continued boasting, soon Han Zheng himself would be kicking down two doors and punching three gangs, reigning supreme over Black Stone County.