Chapter 28: The Sanhe Saber (Seeking Continued Reading)

The night passed quietly.

The next morning, as the sun began to rise, Zhou Chen opened his eyes. As usual, the first thing he did was check the point total on his personal interface.

【Wind and Moon Points: 650】

"Not bad. With Fengxia’s support, I’m guaranteed six or seven hundred every night!" Zhou Chen was quite satisfied. With a thought, he added all the points to his Yi Archery technique.

*Boom.*

His muscles trembled, his tendons twitched, and his blood surged as if he had undergone years of grueling training and achieved a new breakthrough, causing his physical body to surge in strength.

【Realm: Body Tempering Stage 3, Tendon Tempering (2018/4000)】

"Halfway through tendon tempering!" Zhou Chen felt his powerful physique and the surge in strength, his mind intoxicated as the muscles and veins in his arms bulged like coiled dragons. However, with a shift in his thoughts, he activated the Breath Concealment Art, and his aura retracted, returning him to his original appearance.

"Mmm..." Qin Hongyu was awakened by the aura that had emanated from Zhou Chen like a giant dragon stirring. Having experienced this before, she knew he had broken through and grown stronger once again.

"Chen-ge is truly a genius!" Looking at his handsome, masculine profile, her eyes were soft as water. Her fair, slender hands gently stroked his toned, powerful muscles, filled with infatuation. A man’s chiseled muscles were just as captivating as a woman’s soft curves.

Zhou Chen rubbed Qin Hongyu’s smooth back, feeling a similar stir of desire, but with the shop opening today and his duties at the yamen, he couldn't afford to be lazy. Relying on his strong willpower and self-discipline, he pulled himself out of bed. Qin Hongyu helped him dress and wash.

Too lazy to cook, Zhou Chen took Qin Hongyu out to eat, intending to check on the shop along the way. When he arrived at the noodle shop across from his own, he saw a long line forming in front of the "Yang Dingtian" store. He nodded to himself: "Not bad!" He was very satisfied with the performance of Wild Dog and Er Mazi.

"Chen-ge, is... is this our shop?" Qin Hongyu’s mouth fell open, unable to believe her eyes. It was incredibly popular!

"Of course it's our shop. Didn't I tell you it would sell well?" Zhou Chen laughed happily. This was all hard cash. Although money wasn't everything, one couldn't do anything without it.

"Chen-ge, you are amazing!"

"That’s right!" Zhou Chen leaned into her ear and teased, "If I weren't amazing, would I be able to make the mistress call me 'daddy'?"

"You aren't allowed to say that!"

"Fine, fine. Come on, eat your noodles!"

As they ate, the buzz around the Yang Dingtian shop remained high. Passersby stopped to watch the commotion. "What are they selling? Why is it so lively?"

"I heard this shop belongs to the bailiff Zhou Chen. It sells a miracle drug that all men love. You can tell just by the name!"

"Yang Dingtian? That’s a bold claim!"

"But word is the medicine is truly potent. Many people at the Snow Moon Pavilion tried it last night, and the results were fantastic!"

"I heard the only ones suffering are the girls at the Snow Moon Pavilion!"

As the crowd grew, the reputation of Yang Dingtian spread far and wide. Zhang Long arrived with Zhao Hu, Yang Dali, and Yang Dagen, eating meat buns and drinking soy milk.

"This is really Chen-ge’s shop?" Zhao Hu’s tiger eyes widened. They had expected some kind of trouble given the crowd, not the opening of a shop.

"How can there be so many people?" Yang Dali was incredulous. It was only the first day, yet there were so many people queuing up—it defied logic. Zhang Long questioned someone who had just bought the medicine and learned that Zhou Chen had advertised it at the Snow Moon Pavilion the night before.

"I never imagined Chen-ge was so good at business. He’s a godsend!" After hearing about the events at the Snow Moon Pavilion, the men were filled with awe.

"Impressive!" Zhang Long was secretly shocked as well. If it were him, he would have just used firecrackers and his own reputation to attract customers. Zhou Chen, however, had simply sent two thugs to brag at the pavilion, spreading the word effortlessly. Of course, Zhou Chen’s own formidable performance at the pavilion had served as a powerful hook.

"Could it be that he planned to advertise all along, which is why he always exhausted himself with the women he favored?" Regardless, the more Zhang Long thought about it, the more unfathomable Zhou Chen seemed. Whether in his conduct or his business acumen, he was as skilled and sophisticated as a veteran, not at all like an eighteen-year-old country bumpkin.

"This boy is definitely destined for greatness!" Zhang Long felt lucky to have recognized his talent early and befriended him. The more successful Zhou Chen became, the more he would benefit. Not to mention the future; looking at the popularity of the shop, it was a gold mine, and with his forty percent stake, it was a significant income. He was already seeing returns on his investment.

"Brother Long!" Zhou Chen waved at him. Zhang Long turned, saw Zhou Chen eating noodles, and led his men over to join them.

"Congratulations, Chen-ge! A prosperous opening and endless wealth!" the three others toasted.

"This is all thanks to Brother Long for providing such a prime location; otherwise, the business wouldn't be this good!" Zhou Chen said, acting humble.

"Xiao Chen, you're too modest. This isn't just about the location. We’ve all heard about your methods at the Snow Moon Pavilion last night—truly an eye-opener!" Zhang Long looked at the composed young man with genuine respect. Many young people became arrogant after a small success, but Zhou Chen’s methods, while seemingly simple, were things others hadn't thought of. Success in hindsight was easy to claim, but Zhou Chen had achieved remarkable results with just two thugs.

After breakfast, Zhou Chen paid the bill, and the group walked toward the Yang Dingtian shop.

"Master Lieutenant!" Many people recognized Zhang Long and moved aside respectfully.

"Master Lieutenant, Chen-ge, Sister-in-law, you're here!" Wild Dog and Er Mazi rushed over, bowing and scraping with wide smiles. Zhang Long nodded slightly. Zhou Chen gave a nod of encouragement: "Good work. I'll give you a bonus later!"

"Thank you, Chen-ge!" The two were overjoyed.

Zhou Chen and the others left after a short while; their presence was merely to show everyone whose shop this was, to prevent any troublemakers from extorting them. Qin Hongyu stayed at the shop for a while before returning home to prepare more medicine. Thinking of the flowing silver, she was filled with motivation.

...

At the Qinghe County Yamen, Zhang Long took Zhou Chen to the administrative office to register and receive a basic martial arts technique. Even among the basic techniques, there were few options: a sword style called "Three-Harmony Blade," a boxing style called "Three-Harmony Fist," and a finger technique called "Three-Harmony Finger."

Seeing these, Zhou Chen was stunned. Was everything here named "Three-Harmony"?

"Actually, these were created by the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty. They are simplified versions of the Eight Desolations Blade, Fist, and Finger techniques," Zhang Long explained, noticing his confusion. "If you perform meritorious service, you can obtain the intermediate Six-Harmony techniques. And if you perform great deeds, obtaining the Eight Desolations techniques is no problem."

"All Great Qian officials who lack a martial foundation start with these! I know you already practice something, so whether you study these is up to you, but you are not allowed to pass them on without permission from your superiors."

"Understood!" Zhou Chen nodded and chose the Three-Harmony Blade. He had the Yi Archery, but he lacked a close-combat technique.

"The Three-Harmony Blade is good. That’s what I practice, so you can ask me if you don't understand anything."

"Thank you, Master Lieutenant!"

After receiving the manual, Zhou Chen went to the training grounds. He found a corner and began to read. In this world, the moves were only one part of martial arts; both his Yi Archery and the Three-Harmony Blade had accompanying body-tempering stances. Many techniques could be practiced together, but it required immense energy, so most martial artists chose one primary focus.

Zhang Long assumed Zhou Chen’s current technique was a basic one, which could only reach the sixth stage of Body Tempering. He thought Zhou Chen would be better off focusing on the Three-Harmony Blade to later transition into the Six-Harmony Blade. But Zhou Chen had no intention of giving up his archery.

He looked at his interface:

【Three-Harmony Blade Level 1 (0/100)】

"So cheap?" Zhou Chen’s eyes widened. He knew this corresponded to the first stage of Body Tempering; his Yi Archery had cost a full thousand points. "Is this the difference between a basic and a superior technique?"

"No!" He quickly realized that because he had already completed skin tempering, the energy required was greatly reduced. If he hadn't already been practicing the archery, it would have cost at least five hundred points.

"Add points!" He looked at the three hundred points he had recently accumulated through his efforts with Ji Fengxia in the Wind and Moon Mirror, and he didn't hesitate.

*Hum!*

As one hundred points were consumed, Zhou Chen felt as if he were holding a long blade, practicing day after day. With his diligent training, the Three-Harmony Blade finally broke through.

He felt a change in his entire body; it was as if he had become the blade itself. His skin began to tingle and itch—a feeling he knew well. He had completed another round of skin tempering. Though the effect wasn't as significant as the first time, the layering of the Three-Harmony Blade increased his defense by at least ten percent—a huge breakthrough. His combat power had essentially doubled.

"That hundred points was well spent!" Zhou Chen felt his body—not only had his skin defense increased, but his blood and energy had also become much more vigorous. His blade technique had reached the "Small Success" stage. He grasped the sword at his waist; a familiar feeling washed over him, as if the weapon were an extension of his own arm.

"My close-combat ability has surged!" He checked the interface:

【Three-Harmony Blade Level 2 (0/200)】

His eyes lit up: "Continue, add points!"