I Cheated While Cultivating

"Congratulations! You’ve gained an additional attribute: Sharpness +1.”

The prompt appeared in Zhou Heng’s mind, still the Silver Luck Bag without fortune explosion.

If one day a Silver Luck Bag with fortune explosion really appeared, he might even doubt if he had heard wrong, or if he was hallucinating.

But to be fair,

Although the Silver Luck Bag had never exploded with luck, the rewards it usually produced were pretty good.

"Additional attribute?”

Zhou Heng was slightly stunned when he saw this reward, as this was the first time he had drawn this type of reward.

The attributes he had drawn before were all basic attributes.

"Sharpness +1: Can be added to an item, making the item sharper.”

Yet also quite vague.

Zhou Heng pondered for a moment, plucked one of his hairs, attached the

Sharpness +1 attribute to it, and then attempted to stab it into the wooden table beside him.

The hair in his hand slowly approached the tabletop, and the moment the very tip touched the surface—

It bent.

And lay

“flat” on the tabletop.

It couldn’t pierce through at all.

"Tsk, tsk.” Zhou Heng was somewhat disappointed.

He casually threw the hair onto the table.

He had thought that Sharpness +1 would turn a hair into a tool that could cut through iron as if it were mud.

It seemed he would have to find something else to test.

However, just as Zhou Heng was about to look for something else to experiment with the effect of Sharpness +1, he suddenly noticed that the hair he had tossed on the table had actually

“sunk” in.

The hair, like a bent sharp thread, had cut a fine line into the tabletop.

Sharpness +1!

That’s a bit impressive!

Zhou Heng’s eyes lit up, he retrieved the attribute, took a sheet of paper, attached Sharpness +1 to it, and lightly drew it across the wooden table’s corner.

Without a sound,

The corner of the table was trimmed off, with an incredibly smooth surface, as if it had been cut by some sharp blade.

Afterward, he tried cutting other things and found that the effect of Sharpness +1 was indeed quite terrifying.

Even a regular sheet of paper, after being enhanced by Sharpness +1, could easily cut through wood, and even bricks and stone.

It was imaginable how much more powerful it would be if added to a real weapon!

"But now my most powerful martial art is the Six-Road Plum Folding Hand, and this attribute can only be added to items, not directly to my hands,” Zhou Heng felt a bit regretful in his heart.

If he could directly make his bare hands have the Sharpness +1 attribute, his strength would definitely skyrocket, having the effect of wielding a sword even when using the bare-handed Nine Swords technique.

"Wait, why do I have to be entirely bare-handed?” Zhou Heng had a brainwave, lifted the lid of a wooden box, and dug out a pair of old gloves he hadn’t used for a long time.

These were a pair of gray hemp gloves.

Two years ago, when Zhou Heng first arrived at Huangtong Mansion City, he often wore them to carry things for people, earning some physical labor money to sustain his life.

Later, after he had learned martial arts, he could do better-paying jobs and no longer wore these gloves.

He hadn’t expected they would be of use at this time.

Wearing the gloves, Zhou Heng left home.

He arrived at a forest dense with trees and found a big tree about three feet thick.

Sharpness +1!

Hand as saber!

Twelve-Road Cleaving Mountain Saber Technique!!

Zhou Heng, wearing the gloves, made a sweeping motion with his hand, feeling an effortless smoothness without any resistance, and effortlessly chopped down the massive tree!

Boom!

The thick trunk crashed to the ground, kicking up clumps of soil and vegetation.

Useful!

It was truly too useful!

Such sharpness was comparable to a weapon refined a hundred times.

Zhou Heng’s heart bloomed with joy, exceedingly excited.

This meant that as long as he had a pair of durable gloves, his hands would be as good as a weapon refined a hundred times.

If his inner Qi was a bit stronger, the power he could wield with his gloved hands would even surpass that of normal weapons.

After all, hands could circulate inner Qi without any obstruction, something not every weapon could transmit perfectly.

Furthermore, considering the aspect of adding attributes to gloves, Zhou Heng had other inspirations.

Feet in shoes, or even every part of the clothes on his body, could actually be enhanced with Sharpness +1 to achieve unexpected, decisive victory.

"Any place on my body where something can be worn can actually have the Sharpness +1 attribute attached,” the more Zhou Heng studied it, the more he felt the power of this additional attribute was extreme.

Especially in actual combat, it was highly practical!

The key point was that such a powerful reward could come from the Silver Luck

Bag, and it didn’t even count as luck explosion.

What kind of amazing surprise would a luck explosion bring?

Zhou Heng’s heart immediately filled with anticipation for the rewards from the Silver Luck Bag.

The next morning.

Zhou Heng got up early to head to the Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

On one hand, as the new Trainer at Longxing, he needed to lead by example. On the other hand, You Ziheng was going to visit the Martial Arts Hall today to inform him about the details of the evaluation.

Of course, the last reason was that Longxing Martial Arts Hall provided lunch, so he could save money.

As Zhou Heng passed by a butcher shop, he habitually asked for the price of pork ribs, only to find that pork was still not cheap.

Originally he had planned to buy some ribs for soup after returning from the hall today.

Now that he had seen the price, he abandoned that idea.

Poor.

Although he had recently earned quite a bit of money from Pei Luoling, he had nearly all of it invested in cultivating Palm Thunder, and now he only had less than ten silver left.

He definitely needed to save.

And for meat, well, that which he could get for free from the victims of his Palm Thunder would do.

Although a bit charred, and the meat not as tender as that of farm-raised pigs, the advantage was it cost nothing.

Zhou Heng silently calculated in his mind.

Walking on the road in the early morning.

The surrounding scenes and objects had not changed, but Zhou Heng could clearly perceive that people’s gazes toward him had changed, too.

In fact, there had been changes before.

From the initial disregard because they simply didn’t know him, to later when he gained some fame for defeating Sun Zhengping and received gazes filled with admiration.

But none of those gazes were as fervent as the ones he received now, which were filled with intense longing.

They all looked like men and women in their fifties or sixties.

Zhou Heng suddenly felt that something was amiss and subconsciously quickened his pace, wanting to leave this place as soon as possible.

But the observation skills of these elders were strong, and seeing Zhou Heng about to leave, they immediately rushed towards him in a throng.

Their legs were remarkably nimble and their speed was not slow, calling out as they walked.

"Young Master Zhou, my granddaughter is twenty-six, beautiful as a flower- are you willing to take her as your wife?”

"Wait, Young Master Zhou, wait, look at this portrait—my granddaughter is a national beauty, a perfect match for a heroic young man like you!”

"Young Master Zhou, I have three granddaughters, each one young and pretty, you can choose whichever one you want to marry, or you can have them all!”

All were there to seek relations with Zhou Heng.

Zhou Heng’s performance in the arena yesterday had spread.

Everyone knew that Zhou Heng had defeated Kong Chengshun, the ninety­ninth on the ranking of warriors, and that a grandmaster from County City was backing him, and there were even rumors that the legendary Immortal Home sect, Pure Yang Palace, wanted to take him in as a disciple.

For such a heroic young man, if they didn’t seize the chance to form a connection now, they feared they might never get another opportunity.

As long as they formed a connection now, they could at least ensure a hundred years of prosperity for their family!

Thus the current situation unfolded.

But how could these old men and women outpace Zhou Heng?

He immediately employed his lightweight kung fu, quickly widening the distance between them and soon about to completely shake them off.

But at that moment, who knows who called out,

“My granddaughter’s dowry includes a thousand taels of silver, Young Master Zhou. If that’s too little, we can increase it to three thousand!”

This caused a moment’s hesitation in Zhou Heng, even his footsteps faltered slightly, but he quickly adjusted his mentality and sped away from the area.

When he finally arrived in front of Longxing Martial Arts Hall, Zhou Heng felt as if he had escaped to safety.

He had safely arrived at last.

After fulfilling his duties as a trainer by guiding a few apprentices in their martial arts for a while,

You Ziheng had come here accompanied by Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang.

The arrival of this grandmaster from Pure Yang Palace, naturally, also attracted the gazes of the many apprentices.

Fifth Rank Grandmaster, Pure Yang Palace!

In the past, these two terms were so unattainable for them, almost surreal, believing they would never intersect with these words in their lifetimes.

But nobody had imagined that such a day would come when a Fifth Rank Grandmaster from Pure Yang Palace would visit Longxing Martial Arts Hall.

And all because of one person.

All eyes fell on Zhou Heng, filled with immense envy.

"Zhou Heng, Senior You is here to assess you,” Lei Xiuyan said to Zhou Heng.

"Don’t be nervous,” Lin Cang advised.

"There won’t be any problems. Master Lin, Hall Master, rest assured,” Zhou Heng replied with a nod and a smile, then approached You Ziheng and said,

“I pay my respects to Senior You.”

Today, You Ziheng had unusually donned a rather clean Taoist robe and didn’t reek much of alcohol, only the wine gourd still hung from his waist, suggesting that he simply hadn’t had the chance to drink from it yet.

"I have already thought of the specific plan for the assessment,” You Ziheng said, though in a somewhat casual manner. He chuckled,

“However, I’ve suddenly decided I want to verify first whether you are truly qualified to participate in this assessment.”

With that, he casually tossed a booklet to Zhou Heng and said,

“This is how it will be, if you can learn the martial arts in this booklet within six hours, I will tell you how exactly the assessment will be conducted.”

Zhou Heng glanced at the booklet and saw it was titled

“Cloud Traveler’s Traceless Steps,” a manual of qinggong, and even an Eighth Rank martial art.

From the name, it seemed to be a form of lightweight kung fu capable of erasing footprints?

He felt somewhat surprised.

You Ziheng’s actions didn’t seem so much like an assessment as they did a pretext to bestow him with suitable lightweight kung fu, to make up for the shortcomings in his martial arts.

To be honest, such generosity left Zhou Heng feeling somewhat unsettled.

Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang’s expressions shifted slightly—they, too, saw the cover of Cloud Traveler’s Traceless Steps and knew it was an Eighth Rank qinggong technique, not easy to master.

"Grandmaster You, could you have misspoken?” Lei Xiuyan couldn’t help asking,

“It’s not six hours, right? Shouldn’t it be thirty days?”

Based on his experience, mastering such a level of Lightweight Kung Fu within a month was already quite impressive; how could it be possible to learn it in just six hours?

That’s simply impossible!

"Thirty days might not be necessary, but it should be three days,” Lin Cang interjected.

He had thought of Zhou Heng’s speed in learning the Running Clouds Falling Sun Sword and felt that with Zhou Heng’s talent, mastering an Eighth Rank Lightweight Kung Fu in three days wasn’t entirely out of the question.

"Indeed, it is six hours,” You Ziheng said with a faint smile, “When I first mastered this Lightweight Kung Fu, it took me less than two hours.

"If he can’t learn it within six hours, there won’t be a need for an assessment.”

Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang were completely at a loss at this point.

The apprentices and trainers around them also felt a great pity for Zhou Heng, lamenting how unfortunate it was that the Sect Master from Pure Yang Palace would make such a sudden decision.

Learning an Eighth Rank Lightweight Kung Fu in six hours, how could that be possible?

Zhou Heng glanced at the expressions of the people around, then looked towards You Ziheng, giving a slight nod,

“I’ll do my best.”

You Ziheng nodded and responded in an impassive tone,

“Good.”

And so, after half an hour passed—

Slap!

Zhou Heng suddenly closed the small booklet that recorded the Running Clouds No Trace Steps, and with a smile, said to You Ziheng,

“Grandmaster You, tell me what the specifics of the assessment are.”

Upon hearing this, Lei Xiuyan and Lin Cang’s expressions darkened.

As expected, Zhou Heng himself also understood it was impossible to master such a Lightweight Martial Art in six hours.

In their eyes, Zhou Heng closing the small booklet so quickly probably meant he was planning to give up, only asking about the assessment out of curiosity.

The rest of the apprentices and trainers thought similarly.

They felt sorry for Zhou Heng.

"You’re giving up?” You Ziheng also furrowed his brows, surprised and somewhat puzzled by Zhou Heng,

“Less than two hours have passed, won’t you keep trying?”

This situation was unexpected for him; his original intention was to teach Zhou Heng this Qinggong under the guise of an assessment, and the six-hour timeline was his estimate of Zhou Heng’s capability.

He believed that with Zhou Heng’s talent, there shouldn’t be any problem mastering this Qinggong in six hours.

Even if Zhou Heng hadn’t learned it by the end of the allocated time, he had other excuses to offer explanations.

And he would let Zhou Heng continue to undergo Pure Yang Palace’s assessment.

But he had never expected that Zhou Heng would think of giving up in less than two hours.

What was going on?

"Give up? No,” Zhou Heng shook his head and chuckled,

“I’ve already learned it.”

At the same time, he moved his feet, and his entire body became light, as if floating in the clouds, leaving almost imperceptible traces on the ground.

"This, this is indeed Running Clouds No Trace Steps; you’ve actually learned it,” You Ziheng stared, dumbfounded.

Zhou Heng’s learning speed was completely beyond his expectations.

Half an hour!

Just half an hour!

Zhou Heng had mastered this Eighth Rank Qinggong!?

It was beyond belief!

Utterly inconceivable!

What kind of talent was this?

Rarely seen in the world!

"It wasn’t very difficult,” Zhou Heng said with a light smile, then inquired,

“So, Grandmaster You, how exactly will you assess me?”

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