Chapter 29: Taking the City by Storm (Please Bookmark and Recommend)

"Add points!"

In an instant, Zhou Chen felt as if he had spent ten years diligently practicing the Tri-Unity Blade technique. His muscles trembled, his blade skills grew refined, his vital energy surged significantly, and his raw strength skyrocketed.

It was equivalent to completing the body-refining stage of another martial art—the Tri-Unity Blade—and stepping into the third level of its physical conditioning. The benefits of combining the two were self-evident.

However, it was not a simple case of one plus one equaling two, let alone three. His Yi Archery had already completed its body-refining stage, which had previously granted him a physical strength of twenty thousand jin. Now that a lower-tier martial art had reached completion as well, the increase was significant but still limited.

Zhou Chen felt his body and estimated an enhancement of about five thousand jin. More importantly, his physical form had become even more powerful and refined, as if his flesh and blood, already tempered like fine iron, had been forged once more. While this re-tempering could not fundamentally alter the nature of the "fine iron," it undoubtedly made his body stronger.

Zhou Chen reorganized his personal panel according to his own logic:

[Moonlight Mirror]
[Owner: Zhou Chen]
[Cultivation Arts: Yi Archery Level 3 (2018/4000), Tri-Unity Blade Level 3 (0/400)]
[Realm: Body Refining Level 3 (Tendon Tempering)]
[Divine Ability: Thunder-Light Wish Hand]
[Spells: Breath-Concealing Technique Level 7 (0/640), Ghost-Controlling Technique Level 1 (10/1000)]
[Skills: Tri-Unity Blade (Mastery 69/160), Yi Archery (Transcendental 199/640), Tracking (Mastery 40/160), Throwing (Mastery 8/160)...]
[Prescription: Yang-Boosting Elixir]
[Moonlight Points: 0]

The Tri-Unity Blade entry under the Skills category referred to the technical application of the blade; while it could be leveled up via points, it was unnecessary. Cultivating the corresponding art naturally involved practicing the blade; thus, adding points to the art itself would simultaneously improve the skill. The Yi Archery was a prime example of this.

"With two cultivation arts under my belt, one of which is a superior-tier art, I should be able to hold my own even against a powerhouse at the fourth level of body refining!"

Feeling the explosive power surging within his body, Zhou Chen’s confidence soared, and he was filled with heroic ambition. Generally, there was no conflict between cultivation arts, as vital energy lacked specific attributes. Theoretically, the more martial arts one practiced, the stronger one would be, but no one did that; it was simply thankless and exhausting. Unlike Zhou Chen, who could add points, others would have to expend immense time and energy to bring the Tri-Unity Blade to the third level. With that same energy, wouldn't it be better to push one's primary martial art to a higher realm?

Dominating through realm superiority was far faster than diversifying one's martial arts. Unless someone reached a bottleneck, they rarely took up other arts. Usually, one would focus on a single primary art, while others were practiced only for their techniques and combat utility.

"How does the Tri-Unity Blade feel?" Zhang Long walked over from a distance, looking at the manual in Zhou Chen's hand as he asked.

"Excellent!" Zhou Chen replied without hesitation. This was, after all, created by the founding emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty; since he was eating from that very bowl, how could he say it was bad?

Zhang Long assumed that Zhou Chen’s previous martial arts were mediocre, which was why he found the Tri-Unity Blade so impressive. Of course, the Tri-Unity Blade was indeed quite good.

He looked at Zhou Chen and said earnestly, "You should understand that lower-tier arts cannot progress to the seventh level of body refining, and middle-tier arts cannot reach the ninth. If you lack subsequent middle or superior-tier arts, I suggest you focus on the Tri-Unity Blade. Its advanced stages are easier to find, and because they are part of a continuous lineage, cultivation will yield twice the result with half the effort. If you try to patch together different arts that don't harmonize, you will find yourself expending twice the effort for half the result."

"Thank you for the guidance, sir. I understand!" Zhou Chen knew Zhang Long meant well, as he had no way of knowing Zhou Chen possessed a superior-tier art.

"Don't mention it. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me anytime!" Zhang Long patted Zhou Chen on the shoulder with a hearty air.

"Good, I won't be shy if I have questions!" Zhou Chen smiled. Could he tell him that his current mastery of the Tri-Unity Blade already rivaled Zhang Long’s?

Zhang Long had his own duties and training to attend to, so seeing that Zhou Chen had no further questions, he turned and left. Zhou Chen used the excuse of going on patrol to leave the county office. He dared not practice his blade work at the office’s training grounds; he would scare the others.

His job as a constable was actually quite leisurely. The Qinghe County Office had three hundred constables, with two hundred responsible for city defense and one hundred for patrols. As a second-level body-refining martial artist, Zhou Chen was qualified to be a head constable leading fifty men, but as there were no vacancies, he was effectively a commander with no troops. Regardless, he was happy with the leisure.

Munching on a candied hawthorn, Zhou Chen strolled through the city and arrived at his shop, "Yang-Boosting Elixir."

"Brother Chen, the medicine is running low. We’ll be sold out by noon at the latest!" Er-Mazi hurried forward to report.

"Close up once it’s sold out," Zhou Chen said. He hadn't expected the business to be this good; it seemed he would need to manufacture more.

Indeed, half an hour later, the shop was sold out. Wild Dog quickly apologized with a smile, "Don't be anxious, everyone! There will be more tomorrow! Come back tomorrow; we are closed for the day!"

After dismissing the disappointed customers, Wild Dog and Er-Mazi approached Zhou Chen to tally the day's earnings.

"Brother Chen, including the five taels and three qian from last night at the Snow Moon Pavilion, we have a total of sixty-four taels and nine qian," Wild Dog said, trembling with excitement. He had never seen so much money before.

"Hmm, well done!" Zhou Chen nodded slightly and asked, "Do you two know how to keep accounts?"

"This... no, we don't..." The two lowered their heads in embarrassment. They were just street thugs, no different from commoners, unable to read or write, let alone keep books.

"If you want to go far, you must learn to read and write," Zhou Chen advised briefly, taking out two taels of silver and tossing one to each of them. "This is a reward for your performance last night and today."

"Brother Chen, we will definitely study hard! Please give us another chance..." The two knelt, fearing Zhou Chen was going to let them go.

"Enough, I didn't say I was firing you. This is just a reward!" Zhou Chen glanced at them coldly before picking up the ledger to record the accounts himself.

"Thank you, Brother Chen!"

"Thank you, Brother Chen!"

The two thanked him repeatedly. Watching Zhou Chen record the accounts, they secretly resolved to learn how to read and write.

"Take ten taels of silver and buy these herbs," Zhou Chen said, handing them a list. It contained the ingredients for the Yang-Boosting Elixir and various supplements. These supplements were meant to confuse observers, but also for Zhou Chen's own consumption. While he could level up via points, he could also practice on his own, which required nourishing tonics. The saying "Literature for the poor, martial arts for the rich" was no exaggeration.

"Yes, Brother Chen!" The two hurried off to buy the herbs.

Zhou Chen pondered his future plans. He could delegate the grinding of bulk herbs to Wild Dog and Er-Mazi; he only needed to hold onto the core formula. Once they returned, he had them buy various pharmaceutical tools and order a large batch of small medicine bottles.

A new shop opening always brought a multitude of tasks. However, once things were on the right track, he wouldn't need to be so busy.

By the end of the day, the news that all three hundred bottles of Yang-Boosting Elixir had sold out by noon had spread throughout Qinghe City. The shop was a sensation.

That night, the Snow Moon Pavilion was packed to capacity. Sister Hong was so delighted she couldn't keep her legs together, and her mouth was practically watering. The girls, however, were another story—they were having a much more grueling time.