The First Sage of Military Strategists

Chapter 36 Rapid Progress
Sleeping without taking off his clothes is a habit he has developed over a long period of time; caution is the underlying characteristic of his personality.

"Shi Changsan is dead. Let's see who dares to be the manager of Wanchuntang now!"

In the darkness, Han Qing closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, silently pondering in his heart.

With a thought, the Seven Killings Stele appeared, surrounded by three points of light.

"absorb!"

He first absorbed the soul light points of Shi Changsan's two followers, but did not gain much.

These two were both local thugs, former henchmen of Shi Changsan. They were released from prison a few days ago and had been doing all sorts of bullying and harassing men and women; they were definitely not good people.

Their martial arts skills were also mediocre, both having entered the realm through a martial art called Pingfeng Gong, which was unremarkable, and both of them only reached the level of mastery.

Han Qing chose to inherit the Pingfeng Skill from the two men and immediately transferred the proficiency to the Nine Yin Manual, but only gained less than 4% proficiency.

Then he absorbed Shi Changsan's soul light points, and many images appeared in his mind.

"Shi Changsan, I see you are a capable man. I'll offer you a good job as the manager of Wanchuntang. Are you willing?"

"Lord Luo, I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

...

"This Liu guy doesn't respect me, so don't blame me for being ruthless!"

...

"Tsk tsk, the women in the Luo family are all incredibly beautiful!"

...

"By climbing up the Luo family's tree, I can quickly make a comeback. This is an opportunity, and I must seize it!"

The images shattered, the sounds faded, and Han Qing only heard some conversations between Luo Sheng and Shi Changsan; the rest of the images showed him indulging in debauchery, drinking, and womanizing.

However, Shi Changsan's martial arts skills are not bad. His martial arts at the initial stage of the Body Dao realm are called "Blazing Fire Skill," which is rated as unorthodox by the system, but his proficiency has reached perfection. His martial arts at the second stage are called "Black Mountain Skill," which is also of average quality, but his proficiency has reached great mastery.

There is another leg technique called Autumn Wind Leg, which he has also mastered.

With such martial arts skills, he would indeed qualify as a minor leader among the local thugs in Baiyun County.

However, in Han Qing's eyes, it was not enough.

"Qing chooses to inherit two martial arts skills!"

"Inherit the Black Mountain Skill! The Fiery Skill!"

Two martial arts skills appeared on the panel, and Han Qing immediately transferred them to the Nine Yin Manual.

As a result, the proficiency level of the Nine Yin Manual began to increase rapidly, rising from 25%.

Han Qing felt his blood and energy surge, and he was instantly wide awake.

He had no choice but to get up and, in this room, practiced the Nine Yin Manual again and again by the moonlight.

Every so often, an acupoint in the body will be opened, and a mysterious power will surge and surge through the limbs and bones.

As dawn broke, Han Qing slowly exhaled a breath of fresh air, his eyes sparkling with joy and satisfaction, having learned all the martial arts skills from Shi Changsan and his entourage from him.

He glanced at the panel and saw that the level of the Nine Yin Manual had been raised to 63% of the minor success.

Shi Changsan's nearly twenty years of arduous training ultimately resulted in a mere 40% mastery of the Nine Yin Manual, demonstrating the poor quality of his martial arts skills and his mediocre talent and comprehension.

This is also the norm for the vast majority of martial artists. There are countless martial artists in the world, but very few can achieve anything and be considered even third-rate.

With another thought, he secretly activated the Nine Yin Manual, and dark light flashed in his palms, then rapidly rose up from his wrists, eventually covering both arms. This was a sign that he had reached the level of mastery.

The transformation was not yet over, but golden light shone again on his left arm. The two rays of light intertwined and eventually transformed into a dark golden light.

This is what the two forces look like after they have merged. Han Qing stared at the wall in front of him, feeling an urge to punch it, but he ultimately refrained from doing so.

Because with this punch, the wall will likely be blasted with a huge hole.

According to Yang Wu and the book, the fusion of these two forces creates an explosive force with terrifying destructive power, making it invincible in the second realm.

Therefore, although these two martial arts are difficult to master, the rewards are equally astonishing if you put in enough effort. "Now my strength is one step closer to Luo Sheng's."

Han Qing thought to himself, and the strength in his arm dissipated.

He glanced out the window; it was already dawn. He had to report to the government office today, so he decided not to sleep.

After entering the second realm of physical cultivation, his physique far surpassed that of ordinary people. He could go a whole night without sleep without any major problems, and his energy remained abundant.

He put on his waist tag, placed the few taels of silver he had extorted from Shi Changsan on the table, and turned to head straight for the yamen.

The two elders treated him extremely well, scrimping and saving to support his martial arts training. Now that he has the ability, they will definitely find a way to repay him.

He didn't have many expenses at the yamen, so it would be better to leave these four taels of silver to his parents, since everything they eat, wear, and use costs money.

...

Back at the yamen, Han Qing's life became very regular in the days that followed.

Aside from eating, sleeping, patrolling the prison cells, and executing prisoners, he spent all his other time practicing martial arts.

After Shi Changshan's death, Luo Sheng's face was extremely pale these past few days. He led his men to search everywhere, but made no progress.

All of this was within Han Qing's expectations. He acted swiftly and decisively, leaving no clues. Luo Sheng might have some suspicions, but without any leverage, he couldn't do anything to him.
Han Qing didn't take these things to heart, focusing only on improving his martial arts skills.

time flies.

A month has passed in the blink of an eye, and Baiyun County has entered the cold winter season.

On this day, heavy snow fell, and the cold wind blew open the pear blossoms all over the trees.

In the yamen, in Master Fang's courtyard.

Han Qing stood alone in the cold wind, her hands gently brushing away the snow in the air, creating a unique aesthetic.

Mr. Fang sat at the door of his room, took a big gulp of vinegar, and looked on with suspicion and uncertainty in his eyes.

"Something's not right, something's not right with this kid!"

He saw that Han Qing's movements were smooth and fluid, indicating that he was above the level of proficiency, but he couldn't determine the specific level.

He was able to determine the specific level of Han Qing's Nine Yang True Skill because he himself had chosen the Nine Yang True Skill as the foundational martial art for the initial stage, thus he had a discerning eye that could see the deeper details.

He had never learned the Nine Yin Manual, only its general outline. His movements were fluid, and fluidity was equivalent to mastery; this applies to every martial art.

At this moment, Han Qing slowly finished his practice, completed the last movement, and turned to prepare medicine for Master Fang.

Although he was no longer a servant in the courtyard, he could not break his promise since he had agreed to cure Master Fang's chronic illness.

An hour later, he brought a bowl of medicinal soup to Master Fang's room and gently placed it on the table.

"Master Fang, you made a bet with me before that if I could master the Nine Yin Manual to a minor degree within a month, you would give me a Blood Nourishing Pill," Han Qing said.

A month ago, he had dinner with Master Fang. Master Fang believed that he couldn't possibly be so fast, so the two made a bet with a month as the limit and a Blood Nourishing Pill as the stake. Today happens to be the last day of the bet, and Han Qing has been thinking about it.

The Blood Nourishing Pill is also known as the Qi and Blood Treasure Pill. Its quality is a grade higher than that of the White Jade Pill. Depending on the quality of the medicine, one pill can cost several to more than ten taels of silver. Moreover, even if many people have money, they do not have the means to buy such medicine.

Master Fang was startled and looked Han Qing up and down.

"Has it really achieved some initial success?"

Han Qing nodded and extended his left arm, where pale gold and black light flickered, merged, and then transformed into a thick, dark gold light.

Fang Ye stood up from his chair, reached out and pinched Han Qing's body; it was hard and seemed to contain explosive power.

"Good lad, you've already achieved minor success so quickly. How many White Jade Pills did Yang Wu feed you?"

Master Fang sighed, turned and went into the inner room. He returned shortly afterward with a small green medicine bottle in his hand.

Thank you to the student who stayed in school for the 10,000-point reward. I wish you find your sweetheart soon and add an extra chapter when the book is published.

P.S.: I've already read over 800 chapters. As long as I don't encounter any monsters, I should be able to finish it in four rounds. Don't worry, everyone. However, I'm a little anxious because I've designed many things to be very complex, and I'm worried that I won't be able to handle it.

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(End of this chapter)