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

When Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe arrived at Wenroufang, the bluestone street was already crowded with hundreds of people.

Hundreds of torches illuminated the entire street as bright as day.

From afar, Zhou Yuan could smell the overwhelming stench of blood.

Cheng Jiuhe glanced around and saw several of his fellow apprentices from the blacksmith shop.

He pulled Zhou Yuan closer and asked in a low voice, "What's going on?"

Upon recognizing Cheng Jiuhe, a disciple named He Yuguang quickly bowed and greeted him.

"Senior Brother Cheng, someone ran into Xu Nian at the Lichun Courtyard ahead. The other party injured or killed several people and then fled along the river."

He Yuguang said in a low voice.

A female disciple named Luo Rongrong next to him interjected, "A patrol team was unlucky enough to run into this place..."

"Gentle Lane is the territory patrolled by Yangwei Martial Arts School."

Cheng Jiuhe told Zhou Yuan that Yangwei Martial Arts School was a famous martial arts school in Gaoshan County, and the number and quality of its disciples far surpassed those of Li Lin's blacksmith shop.

"Liang Shun, the owner of Yangwei Martial Arts School, is also at Lichun Brothel tonight..."

Luo Rongrong whispered, seemingly well-informed, "He fought Xu Nian for a few moves and was seriously injured."

Liang Shun was a powerful expert who had broken through three levels of barriers, yet he couldn't even withstand a few moves from Xu Nian.

Luo Rongrong's tone revealed a hint of schadenfreude, and it was unclear what grudge she held against Yangwei Martial Arts School.

Just then, Sun Kang, the county magistrate of Gaoshan County, and Zhu Yiwei, the head constable, arrived with their men and immediately launched a massive search.

Zhou Yuan and Cheng Jiuhe were also temporarily recruited into the team searching for Xu Nian.

Cheng Jiuhe pulled Zhou Yuan along behind the group.

"Didn't Master Li teach us? Don't be foolish and rush forward. It's just a few taels of silver, why risk your life?"

Cheng Jiuhe muttered to himself, seemingly searching diligently, but actually getting further and further away from the riverbed.

"Unexpectedly, Xu Nian actually showed up at Wenroufang. Now Gao Dazhuang will either die at his hands or not."

Cheng Jiuhe whispered, "They followed the crowd and searched along the river."

Despite the impressive display of force, everyone knew that Xu Nian had already escaped the city along the river long ago.

The current search and arrest operation is merely to appease the public and show the people that the government is not inactive.

Therefore, Cheng Jiuhe was very relaxed and not worried at all about running into Xu Nian.

Zhou Yuan remained silent. He hadn't expected that Xu Nian would dare to enter the city despite the citywide manhunt.

However, this is a good thing for him.

At least no one will associate Gao Dazhuang's death with him anymore.

"Junior Brother Zhou, do you know who Xu Nian is?"

"Searching for fugitives is boring," Cheng Jiuhe muttered to himself.

Zhou Yuan shook his head. All he knew was that Gaoshan County had been hunting down Xu Nian for the past few months.

Everyone was talking about the notorious thief Xu Nian, whose skills were so great that they could stop children from crying at night.

"Xu Nian, that's quite a character."

Cheng Jiuhe said slowly, "It is said that he was once a disciple of Shenbing Valley. He passed the martial arts examination at the age of fifteen and became a martial arts scholar at the age of eighteen. He was a well-known genius in the entire Jiangzhou."

"Divine Weapon Valley?"

Zhou Yuan's heart stirred.

"Our Great Qi Dynasty is known for its martial prowess, and beneath the imperial court lie various sects."

These sects train disciples and pass on martial arts skills, which is an indispensable part of the talent cultivation mechanism of the Great Qi Dynasty.

Over the years, many of these sect disciples rose to high positions, and in turn, they supported their sects, thus increasing the sects' power to an extent that, in some respects, rivaled that of the government.

Cheng Jiuhe said in a low voice, "If you encounter disciples of a sect in the future, remember never to get into a conflict with them."

Of course, if you have official rank and title, then you don't need to be afraid of them.

"Since Xu Nian is a disciple of a sect and has achieved official rank, he should have a bright future. Why would he willingly degenerate into a notorious bandit?"

Zhou Yuan nodded and asked with some curiosity.

According to Cheng Jiuhe, as a general branch of the government, the sects had the responsibility to protect the cities and people in various places. In return, the imperial court would even allocate a portion of the taxes to the sects every year.

"Who can argue with that?"

Cheng Jiuhe said, "There are rumors that Xu Nian was injured and his foundation was destroyed. He was dissatisfied and fled after being discovered that he had secretly learned the secret techniques of Shenbing Valley."

Some say that Xu Nian was originally a great thief, and that he used an alias to infiltrate the Divine Weapon Valley in order to steal its secret techniques.

In short, Divine Weapon Valley issued a kill order against Xu Nian. Anyone who could kill Xu Nian could have a weapon custom-made by Divine Weapon Valley in exchange for his head!

Cheng Jiuhe looked on with envy. The divine weapons forged by the Divine Weapon Valley were things that money couldn't buy.

The Cheng family was a powerful clan in Gaoshan County, but compared to the Shenbing Valley, which dominated an entire prefecture, they were insignificant.

"In short, let me tell you, Xu Nian definitely possesses the unique skills of the Divine Weapon Valley. Otherwise, why do you think these people in the county are so keen on capturing Xu Nian?"

Cheng Jiuhe curled his lip and said disdainfully.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yuan felt a surge of emotion.

"Senior Brother Cheng, what is Xu Nian's cultivation level?"

He asked curiously.

Liang Shun of Yangwei Martial Arts School was also a well-known expert in Gaoshan County, much stronger than Li Lin. However, he was defeated by Xu Nian, and his lifelong reputation vanished.

"To pass the martial arts examination, his strength must have been at least at the Blood Exchange Realm. Considering that was many years ago, he might already be above the Blood Exchange Realm now."

Cheng Jiuhe said with a sigh.

The Blood Exchange Realm is for powerful individuals who have broken through four levels of barriers.

Zhou Yuan has only broken through the first level, yet his strength is already beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Zhou Yuan cannot even imagine how powerful a martial artist who has broken through the fourth level would be.

And what realm is above the Blood Exchange Realm?

Zhou Yuan knew that his current strength was weak, and that he was like a frog in a well, unaware of his own limitations.

"Senior Brother Cheng, if we can break through the fourth level, is there a way to continue practicing martial arts?"

Is joining a sect the only option?

How can we join a sect?

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but ask out of curiosity.

Cheng Jiuhe turned his head and glanced at Zhou Yuan, seeing the uncontrollable flame of desire in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

He smiled bitterly to himself, recalling how he felt the same way when he first learned about the vastness of the sky and the sea.

But after all these years, he hasn't even touched the threshold of the third level, let alone the others.

He will probably never become a Blood Exchange Realm expert in his lifetime; thinking about higher realms is pointless.

Zhou Yuan—he's not even as good as him.

"Don't think about it too much. These things are too far removed from us. Even the strongest person in our Gaoshan County is only at the Blood Exchange Realm, having broken through the fourth level."

The White Ape Cloak Hammer and White Ape Tongbei Fist taught by our master are enough for us to practice for a lifetime.

Even our master hasn't been able to master these two martial arts to perfection, let alone us.

The worst thing you can do when practicing martial arts is to be overly ambitious; you should focus on the path ahead.

"As long as you master both the White Ape Cloak Hammer and the White Ape Tongbei Fist, you're guaranteed at least a martial arts talent."

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