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

Chapter 94 (Part 2) (Please subscribe)

In the county government office of Gaoshan County, Dong Hailou, whose body was wrapped in bandages and whose face was pale, spoke with a hint of surprise.

"Are these for me?"

"Yes."

Zhou Yuan clasped his hands and said, "This humble servant led men to surround the Martial Alliance Hall. Although we failed to capture Wang Linglong, we did manage to seize the items she left behind inside the hall."

"I, your humble servant, took it upon myself to exchange all the antiques, cultural artifacts, medicinal herbs, and minerals for cash, totaling eight thousand taels. It's all here; please, Your Excellency, decide what to do with it."

What lay before Dong Hailou was a stack of silver notes, each note worth one hundred taels, a total of eighty notes, which looked quite substantial.

"well!"

Dong Hailou was overjoyed, "Only today did I realize how loyal you are, Commander Zhou!"

That damned Wang Linglong, she said she'd give me all the silver, but she kept eight thousand taels for herself, and I only got ten thousand taels—”

Dong Hailou realized he had let something slip and quickly changed the subject, saying, "The brothers have worked so hard for so many days, we can't let them work for nothing."

He reluctantly counted out ten silver notes and handed them to Zhou Yuan.

"You can give this thousand taels to the brothers of the city guard as a reward from the county."

After hesitating for a moment, he counted out five more silver notes.

"Commander Zhou, you have made great contributions, and this county will not treat you unfairly. Here is some silver."

Dong Hailou's face was twitching.

"Thank you, sir."

Zhou Yuan accepted the five hundred taels of silver without any hesitation.

Even a mosquito's leg is still meat; why not take it?

Anyway, Dong Hailou didn't know that he had actually found a full 30,000 taels of silver in the Martial Alliance Hall.

Afterwards, he and Gao Da divided the spoils, each receiving 10,000 taels, and also gave 2,000 taels to the city guards. Only the remainder was sent to Dong Hailou.

On another note, Dong Hailou was quite stingy; of the eight thousand taels of silver, he only took out fifteen hundred taels to reward his subordinates.

"By the way, we just received news from within the sect that Wang Linglong is a complete imposter."

The real Miss Wang from Jiangzhou has been studying in the capital all this time and could not possibly be in Gaoshan County. We've all been fooled!

Dong Hailou tucked the silver notes into his sleeve, gritting his teeth as he said, "That poisonous woman is indeed from the Red Lotus Society. A couple of days ago, the Red Lotus Society sent people to retaliate against my Beast Taming Sect, but is my Beast Taming Sect someone to be trifled with?"

Dong Hailou was in high spirits after receiving the silver and shared a lot of information with Zhou Yuan.

The Red Lotus Society assassinated a disciple of the Beast Taming Sect, and the Beast Taming Sect wiped out a branch of the Red Lotus Society. The two sides fought fiercely.

Now it was no longer a misunderstanding between the two sides; the enmity was completely confirmed.

No one would doubt that Zhou Yuan was involved in this.

Back at the county military camp from the county government office, Zhou Yuan tossed a thousand taels of silver to Zhou Shun.

"Distribute it to the brothers; it's a reward from the county magistrate."

A cheer erupted from the military camp.

Following Commander Zhou means you get to eat meat; when Pang Yunlong was in power, they couldn't even get a sip of soup.

Commander Zhou is truly insightful.

Last time, everyone received six or seven taels of silver; this time, each person will receive at least two or three taels.

For ordinary soldiers, two or three taels of silver was a lot of money; it was enough to eat meat for several meals.

Back in his tent, Zhou Yuan first put the five hundred taels of silver together with the previous ten thousand taels and put them away.

Then he sat down in the chair, and with a thought, brought up the system panel.

Since driving away Wang Linglong, Dong Hailou, despite being seriously injured, completely trusted him, and no one in Gaoshan County bothered him anymore.

He left the trivial matters to Gao Da and Zhou Shun, and these days he focused on practicing martial arts and made rapid progress.

Name: Zhou Yuan

[Free Points: 180]

[Realm: Blood Transformation Realm]

【功法：白猿披风锤圆满、八方雷音圆满、白猿通臂拳大成（1100/3000）、断水刀法大成（600/3000）、八步赶蝉圆满（600/3000）、兽王金身第四重（120/10000）】

[Skills: Advanced Blacksmithing, Basic Weapon Forging (600/3000)]

[Equipment: Plum Blossom Hidden Arrow]

On the system panel, following the White Ape Cloak Hammer, the Eight Directions Thunder Sound has also reached its perfect state.

"It wasn't easy. For a month and a half, I only slept for two hours a day. I spent over a thousand taels of silver on food and medicine supplements, but I finally managed to complete the Eight Directions Thunder Sound Cultivation."

Zhou Yuan recalled the hardships he had endured along the way, and was filled with mixed emotions.

If he weren't currently flush with cash, it would probably take him several more months to fully master the Eight Directions Thunder Sound technique.

"With the bone structure modification completed, and without the aid of Qi and Blood Pills, my daily effort efficiency has reached 180 points per day."

In recent days, Zhou Yuan has also learned about matters related to bone structure.

His physical attributes have now improved from the lowest level to the middle level.

Although it's still not good, it's already very good for him.

"The daily free points earned through hard work amount to 30 more points, which adds up to 900 points per month and over 10,000 points per year. In the long run, the gap brought by one's inherent constitution will only widen."

Zhou Yuan pondered to himself, "I'm only of lower-middle aptitude, I wonder what it would feel like to cultivate with superior aptitude."

However, it is easier to improve one's physique if one's physique is poor. It is not difficult to improve one's physique from the lowest to the middle level. But if one wants to go further, one must use superior secret methods and rare and precious materials.

It's practically impossible to change one's physical constitution from the lowest to the highest level.

"This is all I can do in Gaoshan County. Once I pass the martial arts examination, I'll try to find an opportunity to join the inner sect of Shenbing Valley. Perhaps then I'll have a chance to learn superior martial arts."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

The time for this year's martial arts examination is drawing near, and he needs to prepare to go to the prefectural capital to take the exam.

The martial arts examination, held every three years, took place in the prefectures of various states, with thousands of martial artists participating each time.

With so many people flocking to the state capital, the prices of accommodation, food, medicine, weapons, and other necessities will skyrocket.

If you arrive a little earlier, you might be able to rent a cheap place; if you arrive a little later, you might not even be able to find a place to stay.

"I robbed Dong Hailou of 10,000 taels of silver before, and with the 15,000 taels I have, the 20,000 taels of silver should be enough for me to get through the three or four months of the exam period."

Having gone from being penniless to where he is today, Zhou Yuan has accumulated over 20,000 taels of silver, and he feels quite accomplished.

"I will resign from my position as commander of the city guards later, while Changyu goes to the prefectural capital to take the imperial examination."

Having made up his mind, Zhou Yuan didn't hesitate much and, according to the established plan, added the points to the White Ape Tongbei Fist.

Before the martial arts examination began, he planned to improve the White Ape Tongbei Fist, the Water-Cutting Saber Technique, and the Eight-Step Cicada-Catching Lightness Skill to the perfect level.

Several days later, Zhou Yuan arrived at the county government office with his official seal and military tally.

As soon as he entered the lobby, he saw a stranger sitting there.

Dong Hailou had a somewhat aggrieved look on his face and was sulking.

"Greetings, Your Excellency."

Zhou Yuan clasped his hands in a fist salute, just about to resign.

Dong Hailou said apologetically, "Commander Zhou, I'm so sorry."

Zhou Yuan was completely bewildered. "Why do you say that, sir?"

"Sigh."

Dong Hailou let out a long sigh.

The unfamiliar face sneered twice.

"Since Magistrate Dong is too embarrassed to speak up, then I'll take on the role of the villain."

He looked at Zhou Yuan and said, "Zhou Yuan, right? I've heard Elder Luo mention you."

Originally, Elder Luo promised to make you the commander of the city guard in Gaoshan County. Shenbing Valley always keeps its word and will naturally let you stay in this position until the end.

But now the situation has changed, so you have to change your position as commander of the city guard.

Of course, Shenbing Valley will not treat you unfairly.

"You can make a request, as long as it's not too unreasonable, Shenbing Valley will agree to it. Even if you want to go to other counties in Mianlong Prefecture to be the city guard commander, or even the county magistrate, that's not out of the question."

Zhou Yuan was taken aback. He looked at the stranger, then at Dong Hailou, and suddenly it dawned on him.

Is Shenbing Valley about to make a move?

The first thing they wanted to do was seize military power in Gaoshan County.

This stranger is probably here to succeed him as the commander of the Gaoshan County garrison.

When gods fight, no one will care about a mortal like him.

"Any conditions are acceptable?"

Zhou Yuan silently swallowed back the words of resignation.

"As long as it's not too outrageous, after all, it's just the position of commander of the county town's garrison. If you try to make an exorbitant demand for an inner disciple spot from the Divine Weapon Valley, then I definitely can't agree to it."

The stranger said.

"I'm not that stupid."

Zhou Yuan shook his head and said, "I've heard of a type of inner armor that can withstand attacks from True Yuan Realm experts. Can I have one?"

When he attacked "Wang Linglong" before, she escaped because she was wearing inner armor.

It wasn't until Zhou Yuan reviewed the situation that he realized this: decades of hard cultivation were not as strong as the defense of a single piece of armor.

The "Collection of Military Armor" records several types of inner armor, but they are all extremely difficult to forge, and Zhou Yuan does not yet have the ability to do so.

The art of weapon forging is divided into beginner, proficient, masterful, pinnacle, and divine.

To forge inner armor, one's weapon-making skills must be at least at a highly refined level; he's still far from that.

No, please choose another one.

The stranger's expression froze, and he said in a somewhat unnatural voice.

I still want the inner armor.

"What about weapons capable of penetrating inner armor?"

Zhou Yuan said.

The stranger's face turned completely dark. What's the difference between the two?

A weapon capable of penetrating inner armor must be at least a high-level weapon. Do you, a mere martial arts scholar, even qualify?

"None?"

Zhou Yuan felt somewhat regretful.

"You practice hammer techniques, and hammers can penetrate armor, so you don't need swords."

The stranger said coldly, resolutely denying that he couldn't produce it.

"Then I want ten Qi and Blood Pills."

Zhou Yuan settled for second best.

stranger:

Do you think Qi and Blood Pills are as common as cabbage?

A single Qi and Blood Pill costs at least five hundred taels of silver on the market, but now, during the year of the martial arts examination, the price of a single Qi and Blood Pill has been inflated to seven or eight hundred taels.

A single Qi and Blood Pill costs seven or eight thousand taels of silver. A city guard commander's annual salary is only a hundred or so taels. You really dare to ask for such an exorbitant price.

Ten Qi and Blood Pills are worth seventy or eighty years of your salary!

Seeing that the other person's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, Zhou Yuan sighed.

His sigh made the other person react like a cat with its fur standing on end.

He, a disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley, was looked down upon by a poor man from a small county town.

Can this be tolerated?

Dong Hailou of the Beast Taming Sect was still watching from the side!

"The potency of Qi and Blood Pills will decrease if you take too many. Even if I give you ten, it would be a waste."

The stranger said coldly, "You don't want an official position, so it seems you're still determined to try the martial arts examination. I have a two-courtyard house in Jiangzhou Prefecture, in a superb location, only two streets away from the martial arts examination venue."

Three Qi and Blood Pills, plus this courtyard, are your compensation from Divine Weapon Valley, and also to prevent you from sleeping on the streets when you arrive in the prefecture.

Even if you fail the martial arts exam in the future, you can sell the courtyard and get a thousand taels of silver, enough for you to live on.

"Oh well."

Zhou Yuan feigned disappointment, took out his official seal and military tally from his pocket, and reluctantly handed them to the stranger.

I came here to resign, but I didn't expect to get severance pay.

Three Qi and Blood Pills plus a house, worth at least three thousand taels, what a bargain.

Zhou Yuan turned and walked out, his body slightly hunched, looking utterly dejected.

How many people could bear the fall from grace of climbing from a craftsman to the commander of the city guards, only to be stripped of their official position overnight?

A hint of reluctance flashed in Dong Hailou's eyes.

With a determined effort, he raised his hand and spoke out.

"Commander Zhou, wait a moment!"

Zhou Yuan stopped in his tracks. "Your Excellency, I am no longer the commander, and I dare not accept the title of Your Excellency."

"Brother, I'm sorry, I failed to protect you. Take this Beast Blood Pill, and we'll meet again."

Dong Hailou stuffed a palm-sized porcelain bottle into Zhou Yuan's hand and, with a sickly limp, escorted Zhou Yuan out of the county government office.

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