Loan Cultivation to Martial Saint

That’s right. The restaurants and teahouses closest to Zheng Jun’s residence were all established by the Tongzhou Association.

The purpose was to keep an eye on the vicinity, looking out for any suspicious individuals trying to snoop for information about Zheng Jun. They also needed to react immediately the moment a stranger Martial Artist appeared, passing the message back to the association. And as expected, they had caught a foolish Vast Sea Sect disciple.

Because Zheng Jun had “taken down the landlords and distributed their fields,” the entire Black Mountain County’s acceptance of the Tongzhou Association went incredibly smoothly. After less than a month of development, the Tongzhou Association already had nearly a hundred official members, and the number of reserve members had reached tens of thousands.

What did it mean to be a reserve member? As long as someone wanted to join, they could be considered a brother of the association.

Throughout the entire Black Mountain County, every town and village had brothers from the Tongzhou Association, and every industry had their informants. Moreover, most people brought their own provisions, all for the sake of repaying Zheng Jun. After all, over the years, the local gentry everywhere had bullied countless commoners. As long as someone had lived in the towns, they had been oppressed to some extent. The gentry would either shout at them to get lost or outright plunder their family assets. The common folk in the towns and villages had suffered deeply from this.

In the county seat, ever since Zheng Jun came into power, the patrolmen and Quick Hands on the streets had become much more honest and well-behaved. After the Qingshui Gang was eradicated, street brawls had also become rare. Zheng Jun’s reputation attracted those from poor, lower-class backgrounds, while the Xu family’s Martial Arts Hall and the Ma family’s Martial Arts Hall allowed the commoners with some savings to quickly join the association.

The upper-class gentry and landlords had either been killed or taught a lesson by Zheng Jun until they were completely submissive. On top of that, Chief Clerk Shen Yunyi kept a low profile and did not compete with Zheng Jun at all, actively approving any project proposed by the Tongzhou Association. As a result, the Tongzhou Association impressively became the dominant local power in Black Mountain County, turning the entire county into an impregnable fortress.

This Vast Sea Sect disciple had no Jianghu experience. Having been raised in the mountains without ever descending, he naturally did not know the sinister nature of the Jianghu. Being easily drugged and taken away by these Tongzhou Association members who mingled in society all day was something he brought upon himself.

The military was his direct lineage headquarters. Among the people, there was the Tongzhou Association. In the Government Office, there was the Three Squad led by his brother-in-law, Zhou Pu. In the entire Black Mountain County, even if a new County Magistrate arrived, their words would not carry as much weight as Zheng Jun’s. Zheng Jun was now the true uncrowned king of Black Mountain County!

If True Man Yuan Yi wanted to attack, a sneak attack was absolutely impossible. The only thing he could do was fight his way over openly and honorably!

In the commander’s tent of the Military Department.

The three bottles of Blood Soul Qi Fiend provided remarkable progress for Zheng Jun, but the usage was far too rapid. Two days of medicinal baths had completely depleted the remaining two bottles, leaving nothing behind. As for Zheng Jun, he had gradually grown numb to the pain. As long as he adapted to it, the feeling was actually quite bearable.

Furthermore, the seven maids, including Qingdai, Banxia, and Bai Zhi, had added a lot of convenience to Zheng Jun’s life. Although Zheng Jun had many subordinates before, they were not right under his nose. Going back and forth was quite cumbersome, and sometimes he needed to personally go to the Military Department or the Tongzhou Association to issue commands. Now, with these maids around, if he had any orders, he could simply have them pass on the message.

Naturally, core matters would not be relayed through them. But for some trivial matters that could not be hidden anyway, it was harmless. For instance, the Tongzhou Association. Its movements in Black Mountain County were definitely not small. Anyone could easily find out who the owner behind it was just by asking around; there was no way to hide it. Therefore, there was no need to keep it a secret. Instead, generously letting them feel a sense of participation might even prompt Jishi Hall to allocate some silver to him.

“PHEW,” Zheng Jun let out a long breath, looking at the small ink-wash characters in front of him.

[Broken Jade Skill (Minor Achievement), Current Repayment Progress: 1394/5000.]

He had to admit, the progress from the Blood Soul Qi Fiend was truly incredibly fast, making Zheng Jun feel capable and at ease, as if success was already in his grasp. If he soaked in medicinal baths and absorbed the Earth Fiend like this every day, Zheng Jun felt that it would only take a little over a month for him to step into the Outer Gang realm and become a genuine Outer Gang Martial Artist!

Only at the Outer Gang realm would one truly have a place in this Jianghu. Although it wasn’t a prominent seat, it was enough to roam freely. When that time came, where in the world could he not go?

It was just that… he had no money.

“I need to find a way to establish ties with other counties and look for an opportunity to plunder them,” Zheng Jun muttered, letting out a breath.

All of his silver had already been invested. It was mainly used for daily expenses and purchasing Pills for cultivation. Without taking Pills, it really wouldn’t work. Currently, completing a Grand Circulation on his own would only increase his progress by two or three points. But if he consumed Pills, a single Grand Circulation would immediately yield twenty to thirty points of progress. Anyone in his position would choose to take Pills. There was no helping it; even unparalleled geniuses lacked silver.

“After the Cai family informed me about True Man Yuan Yi, they washed their hands of the matter. It seems this is also a test,” Zheng Jun thought to himself.

Although the news was told to him by Silver Badge Patrol Deng Huan, given Deng Huan’s close relationship with the Cai family, Zheng Jun didn’t think it was just a whim on Deng Huan’s part. Someone who cultivated to the Outer Gang realm might be a fool, but the Cai family behind him certainly wasn’t.

However, since they didn’t provide him with any protection after notifying him, Zheng Jun only had one guess. The Cai family wanted to use True Man Yuan Yi to probe him, serving as a final test. If he could survive True Man Yuan Yi’s pursuit, it would prove that he was a True Dragon. If he couldn’t, then it meant nothing.