themonasnovels Chapter 10 Trouble
Chapter 10 Trouble
Mo Zheng didn't take the little incident to heart.
The opponent was too weak; Luo Yiyi's marksmanship was full of flaws in his eyes.
If he hadn't held back, that sword strike would have pierced his chest.
External martial arts skills have an immediate effect on improving combat power. A fully mastered Thunderclap Sword Technique has an overwhelming advantage when facing a lesser mastered spear technique.
Of course, this only applies to people with similar physical strength. If the difference in their Qi and blood levels is too great, you won't be able to break through their defenses, and they can easily kill you with a single touch. No matter how advanced your external skills are, it won't help.
Zhao Feng lay lazily in the chair reading a book.
As an inbound martial artist, he was not short of money, and at his age, there was little hope for further progress in martial arts, so he lived a very leisurely life.
In reality, this is the state of most martial artists.
When they get old and can no longer advance in their careers, they take a sinecure in the government and live out their lives in a leisurely manner.
For martial artists, if they haven't reached a certain level of mastery before the age of forty, they begin to decline.
"They're here?" He heard Mo Zheng's footsteps.
"Disciple greets Abbot."
Mo Zheng bowed respectfully. Compared to Du Feng, this Master Zhao Feng was truly kind to him. If it weren't for his guidance, even if Mo Zheng possessed mental power, he wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly.
Putting aside everything else, the sheer number of books in the library alone was enough to clear up Mo Zheng's understanding of the basics of martial arts cultivation.
Therefore, Mo Zheng was extremely grateful to him.
"Today is the day to guide you; feel free to ask any questions you may have."
"Yes, Master."
Mo Zheng directly asked the question that had been troubling him for a month: "A month ago, my swordsmanship reached a bottleneck, and I couldn't make any further progress. I hope the master can explain to me what exactly 'entering the subtle' means?"
"This is the fourth time you've asked this question."
Zhao Feng stood up and said, "Isn't it strange that I didn't tell you the first three times and made you figure it out on your own?"
Mo Zheng nodded, and Zhao Feng couldn't help but laugh.
He provided guidance every seven days, so he was naturally aware of Mo Zheng's progress in the Thunderclap Sword Technique.
There are reasons why he hasn't said anything.
"The concept of a bottleneck is something that, for a young man as talented in swordsmanship as you, if it weren't for the fact that it's a bottleneck, how would you ever understand the hardship involved?"
Zhao Feng said with a smile, "The longer you are trapped, the more deeply you will understand what I am saying. Moreover, this is something that may only be enlightening the first time. If you don't understand it, it won't be useful to say it a second time. You have to listen carefully."
Mo Zheng understood the other party's intention.
Just like someone who has been holding their pee for a long time craves a toilet, he has been stuck at this bottleneck for a long time and also craves a toilet.
So, just how exquisite is the perfect level of the Thunderclap Sword Technique?
Mo Zheng pricked up his ears, his mental focus intense.
Zhao Feng picked up the book in his hand, lightly scratched it a couple of times, and then handed it over.
What do you mean? Mo Zheng looked at the other person in confusion.
After staring at each other for a few seconds, Zhao Feng frowned and said, "What are you staring at? Take it!"
"oh."
Mo Zheng reached out and took the book, saying expectantly, "Master, please tell me, I'm listening."
"I've said everything."
What does that mean?
Don't be confused, I wasn't daydreaming either.
"Take a good look at it; all my insights are in this book." After saying this, Zhao Feng put his hands behind his back, hummed a little tune, and leisurely walked into the back room.
"Is it all in this book?"
Mo Zheng lowered his head and turned the book over. He saw on the cover that it read: Thirty-six kinds of bedroom arts.
hiss!
Mo Zheng gasped. Did he think that after perfecting the Thunderclap Sword Technique, he would have to complete the entire manual?
It's obviously impossible. Swordsmanship training and bedroom arts have no connection whatsoever. Moreover, the leakage of vital energy will more or less hinder the cultivation of the Qi and Blood Realm.
He flipped through the book, each page of which was enough to make one's mind wander, yet it contained not a single word related to swordsmanship.
What does it mean exactly?
Remembering that Zhao Feng had just made a couple of scratches on the book, Mo Zheng flipped over the pages and examined the scratches closely. He saw that one finger mark had torn through three pages, and another had torn through seven pages.
understood.
Mo Zheng remembered the monkey and walked towards the back hall, saying to Zhao Feng, "Master, should I bring seven jars of fine wine tonight at midnight to seek your guidance again?"
Zhao Feng also enjoys drinking.
It's just a riddle, isn't it? With the cultural influence of his past life, Mo Zheng's understanding in this area is by no means bad.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Fengyi, who was making tea, trembled and spilled hot water onto his hands, scalding him so badly that he grimaced.
"Master, be careful." Mo Zheng kindly offered to take the teapot.
Unexpectedly, Zhao Feng slapped his hand away and angrily cursed, "What do you mean by 'the third watch' and 'good wine'? What kind of bullshit have you come up with!"
"With talent like yours, how did you manage to master the Thunderclap Sword Technique?"
Although it's not easy to master swordsmanship from the basics to perfection, he didn't expect Mo Zheng to understand it all at once. But Mo Zheng couldn't even guess his intentions, which really disappointed Zhao Feng.
That's how my master taught me back then, and I could tell right away!
Zhao Feng felt a little wronged. Why was it that only this idiot had a chance to enter the Liangzhou Martial Arts Academy, while he himself almost failed to get into the prefectural-level Martial Arts Academy back then?
Mo Zheng was bewildered. With just these two scratches, one on three pages of paper and the other on seven pages, what could he possibly figure out?
"Master, do you want me to practice these bedroom arts? But it's not appropriate for me to lose my virginity right now."
"Who told you to practice bedroom arts! Those were my martial arts training materials; take a good look at these scratches!"
Zhao Feng, with an expression that suggested he was hopeless, said, "One time I used my strength to tear three pages, and another time I tore seven pages. That's control over my strength."
"The basic level of external martial arts refers to the ability to unleash all of one's own power, while the subtle level is the ability to control one's own strength with great precision, controlling it at will."
Strength is strength, and how to utilize it is how to utilize it. Ordinary people must undergo years of training to perfectly unleash their full potential.
Using something doesn't necessarily mean you have complete control over it, which is why the level of "mastery" is so high.
Mo Zheng suddenly realized.
So that's what scratches mean.
Why don't you just say it directly? Why make me guess?
Mo Zheng used his fingers forcefully, tentatively tracing the pages, intending to tear through three pages.
Unexpectedly, I used too little force and only tore one page.
He added a little more force, but it was too strong, and he poked a big hole in the book in one go.
Looking at Mo Zheng's appearance, Zhao Feng was not angry at all. Instead, he laughed and said, "Hey, you kid, it's not that easy. It took me a full ten years to cultivate from the basic realm to the microscopic level."
"You still have a lot of practice to do!"
Thinking back to the hardships he endured back then, Zhao Feng felt a pang of regret; now this kid was about to go through the same thing.
He chuckled and said, "Go out and practice. When you reach the point where you can draw your sword with all your might and not even make a sound like thunder, that's when you'll enter the realm of subtlety."
Why is there no thunderous sound when I unleash my full power?
Mo Zheng sensed the difficulty. He could ensure that the thunderous sound would not be produced when he made a feint, but a full-force sword strike, with hundreds of pounds of force on the sword, could easily cleave a large blue stone in half and produce a thunderous sound that could make people lose their senses. To not produce thunderous sound required an extremely high level of strength.
No wonder he's called "Insightful," no wonder Zhao gave him three years.
No doubt about it, just keep practicing.
Compared to being completely clueless before, at least we have a direction now.
He ran to the outer room and began to practice diligently, while Zhao Feng happily sipped his tea. It was quite amusing to see others stumped; he guessed that his master had felt the same way when he saw him back then.
From that day on, Mo Zheng practiced swordsmanship with even greater dedication, but unfortunately, mastering the control of one's strength was not something that could be achieved overnight.
However, he possesses telekinesis, which enhances his six senses and helps him control his strength, so he gradually discovered some tricks.
For example, instead of practicing the Thunderclap Sword Technique, one can simply practice developing sword power.
The basic sword techniques, such as stabbing, chopping, slicing, and hacking, require each strike to cleave the same number of leaves, and every day, thousands of such strikes are executed.
As time passed, his control over his strength became increasingly refined, and two more months quickly went by.
It was deep winter, the weather was freezing cold, and everything was withered and lifeless.
In the evening, Mo Zheng put down his rice bowl, changed into his constable's clothes, picked up his long sword, and went out on patrol.
With twelve taels of silver a month, plus the rewards he received from the county government for catching petty thieves every now and then, he lived a fairly comfortable life.
Especially after his Qi and Blood had reached their peak, the growth of Qi and Blood slowed down, so swallowing Qi and Blood Pills would be a waste. Instead, it saved him money on medicine, and he accumulated more than 30 taels of silver in two months.
With money on him, he stood up straighter.
In a teahouse in Xicheng District, a male constable in his thirties was drinking tea. When he saw Mo Zheng from afar, he immediately waved and said, "Little Mo, come quickly, come quickly, the storyteller has finished his performance."
This man was named Ren Ding, and he was Mo Zheng's partner.
Even constables can slack off.
It was freezing cold and there were few people on the streets, so the previous patrols were changed to listening to storytelling and drinking tea in the local teahouses.
The nearby merchants are familiar with their habits, and they will come here to find them if anything happens, so it doesn't delay anything.
"Brother Ren."
Mo Zheng greeted him with a smile and then took his seat.
The way of cultivation involves a balance of tension and relaxation.
The daily monotonous sword practice can be mentally tiring; drinking tea and listening to audiobooks can help relieve this tension.
His progress is considered fast. Although the Thunderclap Sword Technique is not yet perfect, the thunderous sound of the sword is greatly weakened when he uses it at full power. According to Zhao Feng, he may suddenly break through at some point, or he may have to wait three to five years. This requires a bit of inspiration.
"No thieves have been caught these past few days, so your income is probably going to decrease, which will delay your efforts to save money for your wedding!" Ren Ding joked.
With the weather getting colder and fewer people on the streets, there are naturally fewer thieves.
"If there are fewer thieves, it won't matter if I get married two years later," Mo Zheng said with a smile.
"You're talking like that because you've never experienced it."
Ren Dingchong winked at Mo Zheng and said, "After you finish your shift, I'll treat you to a good time at Yichun Tower. Once you experience it, I guarantee you won't think that way anymore."
Mo Zheng laughed, but didn't reply.
Places of entertainment and pleasure are not suitable for him, who is currently cultivating at the Qi and Blood Realm. However, it would be fine for him to experience them once he reaches the Enlightenment Realm.
Snapped!
A gavel rang out in the teahouse, followed by the storyteller's tale: "Today, I tell you that the Great Yan Emperor Taizu, with eighteen horsemen, utterly defeated the rebel Wang Futong's army, pursuing them relentlessly until they reached Tianbei Mountain, where they finally stopped, only to find that Wang Futong's general, He Jingang, had led his troops to reinforce them..."
"I love hearing the part about Tianbei Mountain where he single-handedly captured two thieves."
Ren Ding praised him, but had no time to argue with Mo Zheng, and focused intently on the storyteller's tale.
Mo Zheng took a sip of tea and listened attentively.
However, not long after they heard this, a commotion suddenly came from outside, mixed with the sound of porcelain breaking and cries.
"Hey, it's so late at night..."
Ren Ding's mood was ruined, and he looked annoyed.
He said, "Xiao Mo, this must be someone who's drunk and causing trouble. I'll go check on them after I hear what's going on."
There are always some people who get drunk and cause trouble every day.
These people had just drunk a few ounces of cat urine and forgotten where they were. Generally, when they saw the constable's clothes and weapons, they would obediently restrain themselves.
"Okay, I'll go take a look."
Mo Zheng didn't take it to heart, picked up his sword and walked outside.
The incident occurred in a restaurant not far from the teahouse. As soon as Mo Zheng entered, he saw two men groping a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, while the restaurant owner was lying on the ground, begging for mercy. There were several shoe prints on his body, indicating that he had just been beaten up.
"Please spare my daughter, gentlemen, please let her go!" The shopkeeper cried, tears streaming down his face.
"Pah, don't spoil our drinking mood, you old geezer, get lost!" one of them shouted impatiently.
The diners in the restaurant either got up to leave or watched the spectacle with expressions of amusement, but no one dared to do anything about it.
It's very simple, because the black clothes these two people were wearing indicated their identities.
People from the Black Sand Gang.
In Shangyin County, there are many gangs, among which the Black Sand Gang and the Canal Gang are the most powerful. This is not because of the others, but because the leaders of these two gangs are martial artists who have entered the country. Even the county government gives them some leeway, not to mention ordinary people.
"Don't say we're eating and drinking for free. Here's some silver; consider it payment for your daughter's company tonight." The other man groped the girl with one hand while placing a one-tael silver coin on the table with the other.
"Spare her, spare her..."
The shopkeeper was naturally unwilling and struggled to get up, but his injuries seemed too severe, and he could only watch helplessly as the girl was bullied.
Mo Zheng couldn't help but frown.
He doesn't hold grudges against others who look down on him because of his status as a son-in-law's brother.
However, bullying men and women in front of him is a different matter.
And given his current status and martial arts skills, he can also take charge.
Just then, the shopkeeper and the girl saw him dressed as a constable and, as if seeing a savior, cried out urgently, "The magistrate is here! Your Honor, save us! Your Honor, save us!"
Upon hearing this, Mo Zheng no longer hesitated and strode forward.
"Stop! How dare you harass women in public! What do you think of the law?!"
……