Loan Cultivation to Martial Saint

Chapter 167: Chapter 96: How Dare You Embezzle My Silver?

Seeing Zheng Jun say this, Governor Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had assigned Zheng Jun to act as the Squad Commander partly because he genuinely lacked any spare Outer Gang fighters, but also because of the Cai family connection. He figured, since their son-in-law was here, couldn’t they send a couple of Outer Gang experts to help? They wouldn’t just watch their son-in-law die, would they?

As for whether the Cai family would send anyone, Zheng Jun was unsure. However, the Regent of Southern Chu had promised to deliver some merits to him. He could only hope that promise would be kept.

Zheng Jun took a deep breath and sniffed.

Whether it was the Regent of Southern Chu or the Cai family, Zheng Jun could only pretend they didn’t exist for now. Pinning his hopes on outsiders was a failure to take his own life seriously. He had to prepare for the worst-case scenario: facing the Demon Fiends on Black Mountain and Lu Hao entirely alone!

Holding onto this mindset, Zheng Jun cupped his fists. ”Duke Tang, the four counties are close to Black Mountain, and there are many Black Mountain Thieves’ spies within them. Could you grant me the authority to act at my own discretion? If I discover any spies, may I apprehend them first?”

”Hmm.” Hearing this, Governor Tang pondered for a moment before answering decisively. ”As long as you can hold the Black Mountain defense line, you may apprehend any Civil Servant below the Eighth Grade. As for Military Officers, with the exception of the County Captain, do as you see fit!”

”Thank you, Duke Tang!” Zheng Jun cupped his fists in gratitude.

Below the Eighth Grade meant it did not include the County Magistrates. The Chief Clerk and the Historian were both Ninth Grade. They were all targets he could deal with at will.

Zheng Jun exhaled. With Governor Tang’s promise, he could brazenly replicate his methods in the other three counties—killing the Gentry and distributing their land.

Wait a minute. Wouldn’t that make him exactly like the Great Righteous King, Zhang Bengong? Zheng Jun was taken aback.

When Great Righteous King Zhang Bengong raised his army, his slogan had been, ”Share the wealth, equalize the land.” The Great Righteous King hadn’t even arrived yet, and Zheng Jun was already distributing land on his own... It was indeed a bit awkward to explain.

At that moment, Governor Tang suddenly remembered something and spoke with a pleasant expression. ”By the way, Sanlang, you slashed the spy Meng Xian and killed the wanted criminal Yuan Yi. You have a silver reward and two Upper Grade Martial Arts waiting for you. Since you’ve made the rare trip to the Commandery city, you should collect your silver and Martial Arts first.”

With that, Governor Tang gestured to a staff member standing nearby. ”Mr. Wang, take Sanlang to the Memory Wall and help him find two Martial Arts!”

”Yes, sir.” The staff member named Wang nodded and looked at Zheng Jun. ”General Zheng, this way please.”

”Thank you, Duke Tang. Thank you, Mr. Wang.” After thanking them with utmost humility and courtesy, Zheng Jun followed Wang’s Staff toward the Memory Wall.

The term ’Memory Wall’ sounded entirely novel; Zheng Jun had never heard of it before.

Wang’s Staff explained it to Zheng Jun as they walked.

It turned out that the Governor’s Mansion worried that if they were ever breached, thieves could steal all their stored Martial Arts. Therefore, in the Library Pavilions of the Commandery and State Cities, all Martial Arts were stored within the Memory Wall. Only by infusing the corresponding True Qi would a specific Martial Art appear.

Every type of True Qi was different, and the Martial Arts revealed varied accordingly. If thieves attacked, the defenders only needed to destroy the Memory Wall. When the city was eventually reclaimed, they could simply go to the State City to copy another set. If the State City didn’t have them, they could go to the Capital City. If the Capital City didn’t have them either... then there was no point in copying anything, for the Great Zhou Dynasty would have already perished.

Learning this, Zheng Jun couldn’t help but feel a bit of regret. He had originally thought he could get some freebies. After all, he only needed to get his hands on them and take a quick look for the Great Tao Martial Book to immediately record them. His initial plan had been to enter the Library Pavilion, flip through every book, and snag as many free Martial Arts as possible. With this setup, Zheng Jun’s dream of freeloading was shattered.

Led by Wang’s Staff, Zheng Jun entered a heavily guarded courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, aside from a few bookshelves, two people were sitting there. A white-haired old woman was sitting on a small folding stool, peeling garlic cloves. Across from her was an incredibly scruffy middle-aged scholar, who was also peeling garlic, though he seemed to be muttering calculations under his breath.

”You two, Zheng Sanlang, who has made great contributions, has arrived. He is allowed to pick two Upper Grade Martial Arts.” Wang’s Staff stepped forward and revealed a Token.

Upon seeing the Token, the two grunted in acknowledgment before tossing a book to Zheng Jun. ”Here’s the catalog. Pick two.”

Zheng Jun caught the book, opened it, and was slightly taken aback. It really was just a catalog, densely packed with records of nearly a thousand Martial Arts!

The Martial Arts were categorized into Inner Power, Saber Technique, Lightweight Skill, Horizontal Training, and more. Beyond that, they were registered under three grades: Upper Grade, Lower Grade, and Miscellaneous Studies.

Zheng Jun looked straight at the Upper Grade Martial Arts, first seeking out the Saber Technique section. To his surprise, he spotted the Wave-Treading Blade Technique among them.

”The Wave-Treading Blade Technique is here too?” Zheng Jun thought. ”I understand now. These Upper Grade Martial Arts are on the same level as the Wave-Treading Blade Technique.”

He then read down the list one by one. Lingxiao Saber Technique, Yicui Saber Technique, Off-string Saber Technique, Dragon and Tiger Double Kill... It was a dazzling array of bizarre and unique names.

The catalog also included the origins of these Saber Techniques. For instance, the Lingxiao Saber Technique originated from the Lingxiao Sect, a Jianghu Sect in Bozhou. However, because the Lingxiao Sect refused to submit to the Royal Court, they were wiped out by the Great Zhou Court five hundred years ago. From then on, all their Cultivation Techniques became the property of the Great Zhou Court.

The origins of most other Saber Techniques were quite similar. A small portion of them had been created by members of the Great Zhou Court.

Zheng Jun skimmed through but couldn’t find the Seven Kills Saber Technique he wanted the most. Ultimately, he chose the Lingxiao Saber Technique, simply because the name sounded nice.

Next, Zheng Jun planned to find a Lightweight Skill to improve his Body Technique. However, as he flipped through the pages, he suddenly spotted an archery technique.

Shattering Stone Fury Arrow.

”Archery?” Zheng Jun thought, somewhat astonished.

Archery was a rare and peerless skill. In Great Zhou, very few people used bows and arrows as weapons. The same was true in the military. Unless it was an elite troop, ordinary guard units had hardly any Archers; they only maintained a small number of regular Archers.

This was due to a very practical problem. Only Qi Storage Martial Artists could attach True Qi to their weapons during combat. Therefore, if they only had Blood Refining Realm Archers, they could only shoot arrows conventionally, strictly limited by the quality of the bow. If the bow was of higher quality, it naturally shot further. If the bow was poorly made, it would snap upon drawing, rendering it completely useless.

As a result, only elite troops could afford to maintain hundreds of Qi Storage Archers and thousands of Blood Refining Archers, capable of firing ten thousand arrows at once to deal massive blows to the enemy.

But in places like the Black Mountain Guard, Blood Refining experts were already Decurions and Crew Leaders. If they had regular martial men serving as Archers... one volley wouldn’t even dent a Qi Storage user’s armor. They would just be easily outmaneuvered.

Moreover, training in archery was incredibly difficult. Every single arrow cost money. Practicing it thoroughly would cost a Thousand Gold. Thus, archery Martial Arts were a rarity.

Yet, Zheng Jun hadn’t expected to actually see one here. For a moment, he fell into a dilemma. Should he take this archery skill, or look for a Lightweight Skill?

”Even if I use a Lightweight Skill, it still wouldn’t match the Body Technique of someone at the Peak of Outer Gang. Furthermore, there’s no guarantee the opponent doesn’t know a Lightweight Skill of their own. Only Top-level Lightweight Skills could help me; otherwise, it would be utterly useless!” Making up his mind without hesitation, Zheng Jun chose the Shattering Stone Fury Arrow. ”For military combat, archery is much more advantageous for me. Plus, with the Great Tao Martial Book, I can skip the bitter suffering of practice and directly nock an arrow to kill the enemy!”

Zheng Jun’s final choices were the Shattering Stone Fury Arrow and the Lingxiao Saber Technique.

Seeing Zheng Jun’s selections, the old woman didn’t hesitate in the slightest. She stood up and channeled True Qi into a pitch-black stone in front of him.

Before long, patterns manifested. Standing before it, Zheng Jun suddenly felt a surge of Spiritual Qi enter his mind. His brain became unprecedentedly active, seemingly recording the two Cultivation Techniques entirely.

”When you get back, transcribe them by hand yourself.” The scruffy man who looked like a scholar said casually. ”The Memory Wall’s effect only lasts for a single day. As time passes, the Cultivation Techniques recorded in your mind will gradually be forgotten. If you forget them, you’ll have to earn more merits to come back and view them again.

”After you transcribe them, you must not leak them! The Garrison Command will keep a synchronous record of the Cultivation Techniques you’ve redeemed. If the people around you suddenly start using these two Martial Arts, you will be punished.”

Hearing the scruffy man’s instructions, Zheng Jun nodded, but he had absolutely no intention of going back to transcribe them.

Because...

[Newly added advanceable Martial Arts: Lingxiao Saber Technique (Great Success), Shattering Stone Fury Arrow (Great Success).]

Exhaling softly, Zheng Jun raised his hands in farewell and headed toward the storehouse with Wang’s Staff to collect his silver.

However, a problem occurred while collecting the silver.

Zheng Jun only received three thousand seven hundred and sixty-four taels and five maces. The amount was oddly specific, down to the fraction.

Seeing this situation, the Official in charge of the Government Treasury could only stammer, ”General Zheng, regarding this silver... well, there seems to be a slight problem.”

He didn’t need to explain for Zheng Jun to know exactly what had happened. He merely asked calmly, ”Who embezzled my silver?”

His voice was flat, yet it concealed a murderous intent.

”How dare they embezzle my silver?!” he thought. ”This is absolute rebellion!”