Supreme Martial Venerable: Starting with the White Ape Cloak Hammer skill point allocation

Tongli Ward is the ward closest to the inner city in the outer city of Takayama Prefecture.

Across a river, this side is the outer city, and the opposite side is the inner city.

Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe stood on the riverbank, gazing at the opposite bank.

Although it was already night, the opposite bank was still brightly lit, and the whole city seemed to be shrouded in golden light.

The inner city was inhabited by powerful families, gentry, and wealthy merchants. Almost every household had guards, and gangs had no room to survive in the inner city.

"Junior Brother Zhou, it's just patrol duty. It doesn't matter who you team up with. We're not really going to run into the notorious thief Xu Nian anyway, so why do you have to offend Yuan Qingfeng?"

Cheng Jiuhe said this seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, his tone somewhat meaningful.

Gao Dazhuang did not die at the hands of the notorious bandit Xu Nian; others may not know this, but Cheng Jiuhe does.

Zhou Yuan had just asked him about Gao Dazhuang, and then Gao Dazhuang was beaten to death. What a coincidence!

Afterwards, Cheng Jiuhe even went so far as to investigate the feud between Zhou Yuan and Gao Dazhuang, and said that he would never believe that the murderer was not Zhou Yuan!

Cheng Jiuhe was secretly alarmed by Zhou Yuan's swiftness and ruthlessness.

Cheng Jiuhe's family runs a shady business, and he has seen all sorts of people, but he has rarely seen anyone as decisive and ruthless as Zhou Yuan.

For Cheng Jiuhe, such a person could only be described with two words: a great talent!

With such determination and drive, even if Zhou Yuan fails to break through the barrier a second time in the future, he will surely make a name for himself.

"It's good to be a human, why be a dog?"

Zhou Yuan said calmly.

He knew that Cheng Jiuhe had guessed that he was the one who killed Gao Dazhuang, which was why he said that there was no danger on patrol.

However, without evidence, he will definitely deny it to the death, and no one can do anything about it.

"Only in the inner city can you live like a human being."

Cheng Jiuhe patted Zhou Yuan on the shoulder and whispered, "Junior Brother Zhou, save up enough money, even if it's just to rent the cheapest house, and move to the inner city as soon as possible."

Your wife is too conspicuous.

Zhou Yuan nodded.

For ordinary families, a woman who is too beautiful is actually a disaster.

Because of Zhuo Changyu's special status, the gangs in the outer city did not target her.

However, this situation obviously cannot continue indefinitely, especially since the Zhuo family has publicly announced that they have severed ties with Zhuo Changyu.

Those gang members who live for today and don't know what tomorrow will bring; they might do something drastic at any time.

In this world, safety is a luxury.

"Speaking of which, passing the martial arts examination would be a meteoric rise to power. Unfortunately, it's too difficult."

Cheng Jiuhe sighed and said, "The path of martial arts is like climbing a mountain after another, and many people have died at the foot of the mountain."

Several more junior brothers left yesterday—

Zhou Yuan fell silent. If he couldn't break through the barrier, it meant he lacked the aptitude for martial arts, and forcing him to stay in the blacksmith shop would be useless.

These days, the shop is bustling with people coming and going.

If Zhou Yuan hadn't managed to break through the barrier by sheer luck, he would have already been kicked out by Li Lin.

The poor face fewer and more difficult paths to improve their lives.

"Yuan Qingfeng is indeed a remarkable person. In all the years I've been under Master Li's tutelage, he has the best talent. Now that he has become Master Li's successor, meat and medicine are no problem for him. I'm afraid that within five years, he will definitely pass the martial arts examination and make up for Master Li's regret of not being able to pass it."

Cheng Jiuhe continued.

"Junior Brother Zhou, aren't you envious?"

As he walked, he kept turning his head to look at Zhou Yuan.

Everyone has their own destiny; there's no point in envying others.

Zhou Yuan said.

"Junior Brother Zhou, although everyone has their own destiny, if you are too frank, one step behind in martial arts training will lead to a series of setbacks. Once you fall behind, it will be extremely difficult to catch up."

Cheng Jiuhe said, "I invited you before, but you refused. How about we try a different approach now? I'll sponsor you, how about that?"

Zhou Yuan fell silent.

These days he goes to the blacksmith shop to practice martial arts, and learns a lot from the chats of his fellow disciples.

For martial artists who have broken through barriers, there are many ways to make a living.

The most direct way is to become a bodyguard or retainer for those powerful clans, doing things for money, with lots of work and no freedom.

Secondly, there was the option of temporary posting. In places like the security escort agencies, chambers of commerce, and even the government in Gaoshan County, opportunities for temporary postings would be offered. Depending on the job content, the monthly salary could range from a few taels of silver to tens of taels of silver.

The temporary assignment is a two-way cooperation, and the martial artist retains a certain degree of freedom.

Besides that, there is another way: to get funding.

Unlike the previous two, funding does not appear to require any cost.

However, those powerful families are all incredibly shrewd; they only bet on young geniuses.

Although we don't need those talented martial artists to do anything for now, if one of them becomes successful in the future, a single word from them could greatly benefit them.

This is an investment in the future.

A martial artist like Zhou Yuan, with mediocre talent and clearly no potential, is completely ignored.

"There are no restrictions on the donation; it's purely to build a good relationship."

Cheng Jiuhe continued, "As far as I know, Yuan Qingfeng received funding from the Sun family in the inner city, and his cultivation progressed rapidly due to the constant supply of meat and medicine."

Otherwise, no matter how talented he is, it won't be of any use.

"Master Li said that my potential has been exhausted and the chance of breaking through the barrier a second time is less than 30%. Even if I manage to succeed by chance, I will stop at the Body Refining Realm and have no hope of passing the Martial Arts Examination."

Zhou Yuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said.

"There are many geniuses, but I admire your character and your diligence more, Junior Brother Zhou."

Cheng Jiuhe smiled and said, "And—"

He shook his finger with a hint of smugness. "I have money. To put it bluntly, even if this money goes down the drain, I can afford to pay for it."

"Since we've come this far, I'll make it clear: this donation is my personal contribution and has nothing to do with the Cheng family."

The money will come from my personal expenses, so it won't be too much.

Cheng Jiuhe continued, "Ten catties of meat per month, plus three ounces of Qi and Blood Powder."

Let's not talk about the future, let's just consider this as making friends.

I also want to see if Heaven will reward diligence, and whether someone as diligent and hardworking as Junior Brother Zhou can truly make a name for himself.

Cheng Jiuhe is usually cheerful and easygoing, gets along well with everyone, but doesn't truly open up to anyone.

It's rare for him to be so open and honest with someone.

Zhou Yuan silently strode forward.

"Not enough? At most, I'll add two more taels of silver. That's the most I can offer, or it will affect my quality of life."

Cheng Jiuhe raised an eyebrow.

Ten catties of meat and three ounces of Qi and Blood Powder would be worth five or six ounces of silver. Add two more ounces, and that would be seven or eight ounces, which is much better than the treatment of those martial artists who actually went to take up official posts or make offerings.

This was just Cheng Jiuhe's pocket money; people are indeed very different.

"In that case, thank you very much."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, cupped his hands in a fist salute, and said.

"We're all brothers, I'll have someone deliver the things to your house later."

Cheng Jiuhe laughed heartily.

suddenly.

A loud whistle broke the silence of the night, followed by a firework shooting into the sky and exploding in mid-air, illuminating half the sky.

This is a distress signal agreed upon by the patrol team; they will release the signal once they find Xu Nian's trail.

Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe exchanged a glance.

Is Xu Nian really in the city?

"Walk!"

Cheng Jiuhe hesitated for a moment, then whispered and strode toward the direction from which the signal came.