I Cheated While Cultivating

The next morning dawned.

Zhou Heng stepped out from his tavern room into the lobby and found that, surprisingly, there were hardly any people around—nothing like the usual bustling scene when the three rankings were updated.

However, this wasn’t the first time he had seen such a situation, so he wasn’t taken aback.

“What’s going on?” Zhou Heng looked towards Yu He, who was tidying up the tables and chairs in the lobby, and asked, “Have the three rankings been delayed?”

“Yeah, they’ve been delayed,” Yu He nodded and said, “I heard from someone at the Bureau of Martial Valor that they seem to be making some revisions, so they’ve pulled them back. They’ll be published again in a few days.”

The rankings of Heaven, Earth, and Man were drafted by the Divine Martial Bureau in the Capital City of Zhongzhou.

Typically, they would start compiling the data five days before the end of each month and draft a preliminary version two days before the end, which then would be submitted for review to the Ministry of War and finalized one day before the end of the month.

After that, the finalized rankings would be distributed by the Ministry of War to the Divine Martial Bureaus in each state and county, and from there, sent to the subsidiary prefectures in a special manner.

Therefore, by the time it reached the prefectures from the Ministry of War, the three rankings were effectively third-hand.

Although courtesy of the Martial Path, the speed with which the rankings were dispatched from the Capital City of Zhongzhou to the various states and counties was incredibly fast, the distribution speed from the states and counties to the prefectures was much slower.

Even without revisions, there were often delays, let alone when revisions were occurring, which definitely slowed the process down even more.

“Do you think it’s because you defeated Kong Chengshun that they had to pull it back to add your name to the Man Ranking?” Yu He said with a chuckle, “That Kong Chengshun might not be a great person, but he was no weakling.

“The ‘Sunset Flying Sword,’ ranked ninety-ninth on the Man Ranking, was defeated by you just like that. According to the rule of the Man Ranking, which ranks based on combat achievements, indeed, you should be listed.”

“That’s unlikely,” Zhou Heng scratched his head, his heart full of anticipation, yet he modestly said, “It must be some change in the Earth or Heaven Ranking. A single adjustment at the bottom of the Man Ranking shouldn’t be enough to retract all three rankings.”

“Heh, stop pretending.” Yu He knew Zhou Heng’s character and laughed, “This is the Man Ranking we’re talking about. What young person wouldn’t want to see themselves on it?

“It represents not just fame, but also tangible benefits.”

“How much do you think the ninety-ninth ranking on the Man Ranking gets for attending various events?” Zhou Heng asked, somewhat tempted. He wasn’t very clear on these details, but Yu He, with his sharp business acumen, certainly would be.

“From what I understand, those ranked around the nineties all make roughly the same. Usually, it’s between one hundred to three hundred silver taels,” Yu He said with a beaming smile, “Though there aren’t always events, for someone ranked ninety-ninth, earning three to four hundred silver taels in a month is no difficult feat.”

“$-$!!”

Zhou Heng’s eyebrows shot up, his expression instantly changing as he brimmed with anticipation for the future. However, recalling the delay of the Man Ranking, his mood plummeted again.

“How do you feel about the delay of the three rankings now?” Yu He laughed heartily.

“Feels like I missed out on a billion,” Zhou Heng rolled his eyes.

“A billion?” Yu He didn’t get the joke, but he could roughly guess the meaning and laughed, “Actually, when your ranking on the Man Ranking rises higher, fame and fortune will come rolling in, and you won’t even need to chase after it yourself.

“Oh right, Miss Yun Xiu came looking for you earlier. It seems she has something to say to you, she’s waiting at the tea house across the street. Aren’t you going to see her?”

“Miss Yun Xiu?” Zhou Heng blinked, then nodded, “Then I’ll go over and take a look.”

At the little stand in the tea house.

Yun Xiu sat at a table, dressed in a pale blue dress. The morning glow fell on her, casting a beautiful light on her face, making her seem radiant and unparalleled.

When she saw Zhou Heng coming over, a smile bloomed on her face. She pulled out a stool beside her and said with a smile, “Brother Heng, you came.”

“Yu He told me you were looking for me?” Zhou Heng sat down next to her and asked, “What is it?”

“Something I mentioned earlier,” Yun Xiu poured Zhou Heng a cup of tea and said with a gentle smile,” I have a piece of news to tell you after your assessment is over.”

“What news?” Zhou Heng asked curiously.

“I might not be able to visit every month in the future,” Yun Xiu’s head slowly dropped, and she sighed softly, “Which means, I might not be able to see Brother Heng for a few days each month anymore.”

“What happened?” Zhou Heng was immediately puzzled and asked, “Has the training schedule at the martial arts school become stricter?”

“No, and I won’t be in Pingzhou County anymore,” Yun Xiu gently shook her head, her teeth lightly biting her red lips, “I’ll be leaving with my master, um, the teacher who took me to the County City to learn martial arts.”

She was a local of Huangtong Mansion City, her parents made a living selling breakfast foods, and by all accounts, she shouldn’t have qualified to train at the great martial arts school in the County City.

But a little over a year ago, a Seventh Rank expert from the martial arts school in the County City took notice of Yun Xiu’s talent and recommended her to train at the great martial arts school there.

This Seventh Rank expert was also an instructor at the County City’s martial arts school, and Zhou Heng had seen her a few times—a woman in her thirties who, while not particularly beautiful, was quite charming.

Of course, how old she actually was remained unclear.

Asking about someone’s age wasn’t advisable—it could be very offensive.

“Your master… you accepted her as your master?” Zhou Heng frowned and said, “And she’s taking you away?”

“Yes,” Yun Xiu nodded, her expression somewhat sorrowful, “My master is very powerful. Half a month ago, she breached the mysteries of life and death, erected the bridge between heaven and earth, achieved harmony within and without, and successfully entered the realm of the Sixth Rank.

“I also benefited from the celestial energies she drew upon during her breakthrough, which nourished my inner breath throughout my body. I’m just short of perfecting a Ninth Grade technique, and then I’ll truly step into the Ninth Rank.

“Therefore, my master plans to take me traveling, to roam the jianghu, partly to confirm her own cultivation and partly to broaden my horizon and gain experience.”

“That’s great news,” Zhou Heng smiled and said, “Actually, in a while, I’ll be leaving Huangtong Mansion City myself, and it’s possible we might encounter each other.”

“Really?” Yun Xiu’s eyes lit up, and the somewhat disheartened look on her face quickly dissipated, “I thought I wouldn’t be back for a long time and wouldn’t see you for ages. Where do you plan to go first? Do you have any plans?”

She became excited all at once and returned to being that lively young girl she was before.

“Not at the moment,” Zhou Heng said with a smile, “However, if fate allows it, there should still be a chance to meet.”

“Yeah!” Yun Xiu nodded gleefully, her eyes brimming with smiles, “And with your talent and charm, Brother Heng, once you step into the Jianghu, you will surely outshine the rest and dazzle everyone. I just need to follow the light to find you!”

The last bit of worry in her heart completely dissipated like smoke.

After bidding farewell to Zhou Heng, Yun Xiu left.

That afternoon, while Zhou Heng was practicing at the martial arts gym, he received a support package for “young martial artists of importance to the mansion” personally delivered by the current Chief Trainer Feng He.

A silver note of one thousand two hundred taels +1.

An opportunity voucher to have a weapon tailor-made by the military forgers

The monetary reward was a lot more than expected; it seemed the new Chief Trainer Feng He, perceiving Zhang Heng’s close relationship with Pei Zhantu, deliberately offered the extra to curry favor.

Zhou Heng never refused free money.

The next day, he followed the directions on the voucher and found the military forger to have a waist knife made for himself.

The finished product was of good quality, certainly a fine example among Hundred-Refined weapons.

Zhou Heng didn’t include the meteoric iron in the forging of the waist knife.

Instead, after the forger had finished making the waist knife, and he had a clear understanding of the forger’s skills, he then asked if the meteoric iron could be forged into a pair of gloves.

Originally, Zhou Heng only had one chance to forge, but he had inquired beforehand that although these military forgers were not allowed to take private jobs, they could use the excuse of studying forging techniques or improving their skills to work on some rare materials.

Meteoric iron was undeniably considered a rare material.

Thus, as soon as the forger saw the meteoric iron, he immediately agreed to Zhou Heng’s request and even created six design options on the spot, from which Zhou Heng chose one to start forging.

The forger worked efficiently and had the pair of gloves made out of the meteoric iron by dusk.

The gloves were crafted from threads of meteoric iron woven together, incredibly elaborate and lightweight, shining with a clear glow on the surface, like twinkling starlight, truly resembling a work of art.

Moreover, these “gloves” looked like normal gloves on the outside, but harbored a secret mechanism inside; once activated, spikes would protrude from the fingers and back of the hand, instantly enhancing their lethality.

Beyond that, the gloves exceeded the normal Hundred-Refined weapons in both hardness and sharpness, and also possessed three special effects.

Inner Breath Conduction, Deflecting Weapons, Lightness.

This was undoubtedly a weapon of lethal grade, even one that could be considered top-quality, proudly becoming the strongest weapon in Zhou Heng’s possession.

A lethal weapon!

It wasn’t just the dream of ordinary martial artists but also the hope of military forgers to one day forge a true lethal weapon themselves.

When the gloves were completed and found to have three special effects, the forger was ecstatic to the point of tears, an old man over sixty actually started crying.

This also counted as Zhou Heng helping an old forger fulfill his lifelong pursuit and wish.

As a result, Zhou Heng now had three weapons on hand.

Lethal-grade gloves, the almost-lethal Zhi Zhi Sword, and the Hundred- Refined waist knife.

Zhou Heng decided to use the waist knife on a regular basis, resorting to the sword for things that couldn’t be resolved with the knife, and if the sword still wasn’t enough, he would use the gloves.

There would always be one suitable for the opponent.

Or in an emergency, he would directly use the gloves against his enemy.

Zhou Heng was very satisfied with the forging results this time. He planned to go home and rest, and tomorrow, he would go find the mansion head Wu Zongshan to inquire whether there were any leads on the disciples of the Plague Emperor Sect.

But Zhou Heng hadn’t even reached home when halfway there he was stopped by Meng Xing, the head constable from the prefectural city’s yamen.

“Zhou Heng, there’s an urgent matter from the city lord, can you come with me?”

The prefectural city yamen.

In Wu Zongshan’s study,

Zhou Heng looked at the materials spread out on the desk and exclaimed in shock, “Wang Tong has run away? He seemed to be only Ninth Rank; how did he manage to escape?”

Wang Tong was the “father” of the previously disguised Wang Qingqing, also known as Chen Hanyu.

After Chen Hanyu was killed, the Wang Family was dealt with, and Wang Tong, being the nominal family head, was naturally confined forever in prison.

But now, he had escaped.

“Hmm,” Wu Zongshan said seriously, his voice grave, “I suspect he also had a ghost dwelling within him, possessing some special abilities. The sword qi from the other day gave him an opportunity to try escaping, and that’s how he managed to flee.

“Mr. Zhou, may I ask for your help with this?”

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