Chapter 76

As the sand in the hourglass gradually ran out, Yu Yan's patience grew increasingly thin. When he saw that his own hourglass was almost empty, he could no longer maintain his calm and quickly walked out of the martial arts pavilion.

Zheng Shiwing, immersed in a profound realm, stood quietly in place. When he emerged from this state, it was already dusk.

Apart from the three law enforcement team members standing at the stairwell to guard him, Yu Yan and the others who had come in with him to help find the "Cang Lei Sword Technique" were nowhere to be seen.

Zheng Shiwing marveled at the power of this technique. Even before he began to practice it, it had already left a profound impact on his mind. If he could master it, who knew how powerful it would be.

Of course! To practice and gain powerful combat techniques, one must pay the corresponding price! This price was naturally higher than that of ordinary techniques.

Just for soul stones alone, it would likely take about 30,000 taels to have a chance of mastering it.

After seeing so many condensing spring techniques, Zheng Shiwing understood that to master a condensing spring technique, one typically needed between 500 to 1,000 taels. He never expected that the technique he was practicing would require 30,000 taels of soul stones.

"What kind of technique is this?" Zheng Shiwing was filled with doubts about this technique.

While he was in doubt, he had already walked out of the martial arts pavilion. Not long after he left, Yu Yan and the others, who had been waiting at the entrance for a long time, slowly walked out.

Yu Yan looked at Zheng Shiwing with suspicion. Since leaving the martial arts pavilion, he had immediately sent people to gather information about the tenth-ranked person on the风云榜 (Feng Yun Bang). The more he gathered, the more shocked and puzzled he became.

Passed three trials, killed a law enforcement hall elder!

On the life and death platform, killed a member of the Zheng family!

On the Feng Yun platform, eliminated the tenth-ranked person on the Feng Yun Bang!

As for why he could enter and exit the martial arts pavilion freely... no information was found!

This is a formidable person! Yu Yan's brows furrowed. After making his judgment about Zheng Shiwing, if possible... he did not want to make an enemy of this person.

However, the Cang Lei Sword Technique was crucial for passing the inner disciple assessment!

Moreover, it was rumored that this year's inner disciples... would only accept one person!

If that were true... Zheng Shiwing would be one of the strong contenders for the inner disciple position!

Yu Yan strongly suspected that Zheng Shiwing deliberately entered the martial arts pavilion today, deliberately provoked him, and used it as an excuse to get the Cang Lei Sword Technique, preventing him from increasing his chances of entering the inner sect!

"Help me get the Cang Lei Sword Technique... I will pretend that nothing happened today. You don't even need to bow and apologize..."

Yu Yan's words, spoken after a long silence, surprised Chen San and the others. When had this fifth-ranked person on the Feng Yun Bang become so easy to talk to?

"Thank you, but no."

Zheng Shiwing didn't even spare Yu Yan a glance, and he quickened his pace, walking around the other person...

"My brother is Yu Wei..."

Yu Yan turned and suddenly raised his voice, his tone filled with arrogant confidence and a hint of impatience.

Yu Yan didn't like telling others that his brother was Yu Wei, but it was his trump card, the card that even inner disciples would give him enough respect.

Yu Yan rarely used this trump card, but every time he did, he always got the result he wanted.

Yu Wei? Zheng Shiwing frowned and looked at Chen San and the others. He had never heard of this name, but seeing the grim faces of the three law enforcement team members, he knew... Yu Wei! This person must be very difficult to deal with!

A disciple who could make law enforcement team members show such expressions... Zheng Shiwing knew this must be a very troublesome person.

Should he go back and get the manual? Zheng Shiwing thought silently. His biggest goal was to kick down the ancestral mountain gate and thoroughly defeat Zheng Tianyu, reclaiming everything that belonged to him!

Seeing Zheng Shiwing's increasingly serious expression, Yu Yan's confidence turned into smugness. No matter how hard you are, you still kneel when you hear my brother's name, don't you?

Should he take it or not? Zheng Shiwing raised his head, looking at Yu Yan's smug expression. Suddenly, he saw a look that reminded him of Zheng Song!

When Zheng Song led Zheng Tianyu to attack the Zheng family, Zheng Song had the same look on his face!

"Take your sister!"

The past scene replayed in his mind, and the youthful blood and vigor of the young man burst forth in Zheng Shiwing. If he really bowed to this person, he would probably lose the courage to face Zheng Tianyu in the future.

A simple and crude phrase was harshly thrown at Yu Yan, leaving the fifth-ranked person on the Feng Yun Bang stunned, his smug smile turning to stone.

Yu Yan's eyes fixed on Chen San and the others beside Zheng Shiwing. If it weren't for the law enforcement hall people, he would have already killed him!

The damned law enforcement hall! Yu Yan raised his hand and pointed at Zheng Shiwing, his index finger tapping repeatedly: "You're good! All of you are good! Just wait!"

Chen San's forehead felt as if it had been hit by an iron hammer. Who had he offended... to end up offending Yu Wei in just a moment? This wouldn't do! He had to persuade Zheng Shiwing...

Chen San tried several times to speak and persuade Zheng Shiwing, but then he thought... this tenth-ranked person on the Feng Yun Bang seemed to be in a special state of anger. If he angered him now... it would be even more troublesome.

What bad luck! Chen San suddenly realized that he was the unluckiest person in the scene.

Yu Yan left with his people, and the scene returned to its initial quiet state. Chen San, looking dejected, waved to the other two and left with his team.

Zheng Shiwing didn't want to continue dwelling on what had just happened. His thoughts returned to the technique. 'I don't even know the name of this technique. If I knew it, it might help me understand it better. For now, I'll call it the nameless technique.'

"Who is that woman at the bottom of the lake? This technique is so powerful, and it exists among a hundred techniques, which ordinary people can't possibly know. Yet, she knows it clearly..."

"Why did she say that the method of passing three trials to clear her name was ineffective for her?"

"Could it be that the technique she told me about is one she created? If that's the case, how could she be imprisoned in such a place? I need to find a reason to go back and investigate, to see if I can learn anything from her."

Zheng Shiwing suppressed his curiosity about the woman's identity and refocused his attention on the nameless technique. He must condense a spirit spring as soon as possible. The next time he encounters those two unreasonable women, he will have more self-preservation capabilities.

The most pressing issue now is that he needs 30,000 taels of soul stones to master the nameless technique, but... where would he get so many soul stones?

In the ruins where the woman had told him, he found over 22,000 taels of soul stones. Of these, 10,000 taels were used to break through to the tenth level, leaving him with over 12,000 taels.

In other words, he still needed 18,000 taels of soul stones.

18,000 taels of soul stones! How many Qiu Tianlang would he need to kill to gather that much?

Qiu Tianlang? Zheng Shiwing stopped, his hand on his chin, frowning. The sect's wanted list! When he eliminated Qiu Tianlang, the 20th-ranked person on the wanted list, he received 1,000 taels!

Now, with his cultivation at the perfect tenth level, he was much stronger than when he killed Qiu Tianlang! If he went to capture wanted criminals on the wanted list, it should be much easier, right?

"It seems I have no choice. I haven't been home for a long time, and I don't know if anyone has caused trouble for Wu Dong and Su Jingdan while I was away."

With this decision made, Zheng Shiwing strode towards Wu Dong and Su Jingdan's residence.

Back at the residence, Zheng Shiwing, as usual, first entered Wu Dong's room and found that Wu Dong was not there. He then turned and walked towards Su Jingdan's room.

Su Jingdan picked up a spirit herb with her slender fingers, sensed it, and then put it down. As she reached for another herb to sense its properties, the door opened.

"Who is it?" She opened her beautiful eyes in surprise and looked at the open door with caution.

Her residence was rarely visited. If someone did come, it was usually disciples seeking medicine or Wu Dong. Regardless, they would always call out or knock before entering.

Unlike now, someone had entered without even knocking.

Zheng Shiwing was startled by Su Jingdan's cautious demeanor. He had been so focused on asking about Wu Dong that he had forgotten to knock before entering.

"Brother Zheng?" Recognizing the person who had entered, Su Jingdan's tense nerves relaxed, and she felt a sense of joy. She asked, "Where have you been?"

"How could you disappear without even saying goodbye? Wu Dong and I thought..."

Her voice trailed off, becoming as soft as a mosquito's hum.

Zheng Shiwing scratched his head and said apologetically, "I'm sorry... The situation was special at the time, and I didn't have time to say goodbye to you. I'm sorry for making you worry. Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Has anyone caused you trouble while I was away?"

Su Jingdan turned and shook her head. "No one has caused us trouble. However, during this time, your family sent you a letter. Since you weren't here, Wu Dong and I didn't open it. Here is your letter."

She handed the letter to Zheng Shiwing.

Zheng Shiwing frowned, looking at the letter with suspicion. "A letter for me?"

But who could have written it?

His parents had left to gather medicine for him because his martial soul had been extracted, and his cultivation had not improved. They had not returned home, so they couldn't have written it.

The people at home were controlled by a group of scoundrels, so why would they write to him? With these doubts, Zheng Shiwing opened the envelope and pulled out the letter.

PS: Can the recommendation votes come in more fiercely? As fiercely as Zheng Shiwing! Voting for recommendations is just a click, it really doesn't take much time.

[Page Break AD Start]

[Page Break AD End]