TL :eris81194
PR : Adrian Katastofi
Zhang Ping weighed the claw of the corpse-eating dog and asked, “Grandpa Liu, what’s the difference between a corpse-eating dog and an ordinary dog?”
Liu Tiefeng replied, “Corpse-eating dogs have black fur and red eyes. The most distinctive feature is their human-like teeth. Once you see their teeth, you’ll know it’s a corpse-eating dog.”
That’s quite recognizable.
Zhang Ping thought about it and recalled a photo he had seen online of a dog accidentally wearing false teeth, nearly bursting into laughter.
He then carefully observed the claw of the corpse-eating dog.
The claw was heavy. Although it was the size of a regular dog’s paw, it weighed about ten pounds and emitted a decaying odor.
“Come over here. This is the tool for grinding. I’ll teach you how to use it,” Liu Tiefeng said, walking over to a green machine.
“Yes, sir!”
Zhang Ping carried the claw of the corpse-eating dog over.
He spent the entire morning learning.
Compared to the knowledge taught in school, Liu Tiefeng’s teachings were more specific. With his rich life experiences, including his early years in an investigation team, Liu Tiefeng was very knowledgeable about the monsters around Pearl City. His guidance could save Zhang Ping from many future detours.
After lunch, while Liu Tiefeng took a nap, Zhang Ping sat by the stove practicing his abilities as a fire eater.
Currently, he could only wrap the fire around his hands. If he tried to wrap it around other parts of his body, his clothes would burn first.
He didn’t have the ability to control fire. Even with constant training, he could only concentrate the fire element energy in his body into a single point for output.
Doing this would form a palm-shaped flame, which could be used for both offense and defense.
He named this move “Flame Palm.”
Besides the Flame Palm, he had also figured out several other uses.
For example, he could momentarily burst flames from his feet or shoot fire from the location of his shoulder blades. However, the former would burn his shoes, and the latter would damage his clothes, so these moves couldn’t be used casually.
Last night, his shoe soles had burned through when he returned, causing him to feel distressed.
He would use these moves only in desperate situations, not casually unless absolutely necessary.
The moves of bursting flames from his feet and shooting fire from his back were not very technical.
Zhang Ping just briefly thought about it. The truly technical move was another one: Flame Blade.
The use of Flame Blade was simple. By releasing fire element energy from three points on the side of his palm and increasing the output, two of the flames would pressurize the middle flame, making it sharper.
This way, when he slashed at an enemy with his hand, it would have a strong attack effect.
“Excuse me, how much is this knife?”
A weak voice came from behind him.
A customer?
Zhang Ping turned around in surprise and saw a slender boy with somewhat effeminate features looking at him timidly.
He stood up, turned around, and walked over to look at the knife the boy was asking about. He replied, “This knife is not for sale. Only the ones with prices marked are for sale.”
The knife the boy had his eye on was a Mingzhu Knife that Qiu Qiang had casually made and then put aside. If the boy hadn’t asked, Zhang Ping would have forgotten about it for some time.
“Those knives are too expensive,” the boy said, a bit embarrassed.
Zhang Ping said helplessly, “I’m just an apprentice helping to watch the shop. Sorry, I can’t make that decision.”
“Alright, sorry for the trouble,” the boy said, his voice low.
Zhang Ping looked at him and curiously asked, “What grade are you in? I’ve never seen you before.”
There was only one school in Pearl City. Zhang Ping remembered most of the students around his age, but this boy wasn’t among them.
“Ah? I’ve never been to school. I’ve always been studying at my family’s martial arts hall,” the boy replied after a moment of surprise.
Pearl City didn’t have compulsory education. Wealthier families would hire private tutors, and some parents who were strong themselves wouldn’t send their children to school, choosing to teach them at home instead.
Martial arts hall.
Zhang Ping noted it down mentally. By the time he looked up again, the boy had already left.
He returned to the stove but kept thinking about the martial arts hall. Liu Sishan’s organization might be powerful, but it surely wasn’t stronger than the king-level mutated beasts. Maybe he could find some additional support elsewhere.
A martial arts hall should have some strong individuals, right?
Zhang Ping decided to observe the martial arts halls in Pearl City while he was out tonight.
…
At night, Zhang Ping climbed out of the window of Iron Soul.
He hadn’t gone far when he saw Liu Sishan flash through an alley. He immediately walked into the alley and headed for a dark spot.
“What’s up?”
They met in a dead end, and Zhang Ping asked in a low voice.
The next moment, he felt the ground beneath him give way and found himself falling into a dark room. Liu Sishan landed as well, standing firmly.
“The organization has conducted a preliminary dissection of Celestial Fox and a detailed analysis of its abilities. There’s a problem: when Celestial Fox attacks, others will automatically rationalize this behavior. If a Celestial Fox attacks you, I’ll need a signal from you; otherwise, I might see it as you talking to an ordinary person,” Liu Sishan said, looking at Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping nodded and thought, “The signal mustn’t be something like ‘Help,’ because it will definitely be twisted. Let me think…”
This was indeed a problem.
When ‘Luo Shiyu’ devoured that girl, everyone thought the girl was fortunate to be eating with ‘Luo Shiyu.’ To everyone else, it was a harmonious and beautiful scene, but to Zhang Ping, it was bloody, cruel, and terrifying.
“A signal might not work. Let’s prepare several backup plans. If I shout ‘Wind tight, let’s run,’ it means I’m under attack. If I take out a coin and toss it into the air, it means I’m under attack. Whenever I encounter Celestial Fox, I’ll touch my left-hand ring finger with my right hand’s index finger and point at Celestial Fox with my ringed finger. Watch my actions closely,” Zhang Ping suggested.
Liu Sishan didn’t think Zhang Ping was being overly cautious. Instead, she thought he wasn’t cautious enough. She took out a wooden ring and said, “This ring pairs with mine…”
“Wait, is it fireproof?” Zhang Ping interrupted.
Liu Sishan frowned, “It’s not fireproof. This is equipment made by our logistics personnel using their abilities.”
“Then it might be useless,” Zhang Ping said with a bitter smile and raised his hand, igniting his palm with flames.
Liu Sishan was surprised and asked, “Isn’t your ability contract Gem?”
“This is one of contract Gem’s abilities,” Zhang Ping said, stopping the release of fire element energy without further explanation.
After all, his abilities would only increase. There was no need to hide, but also no need to reveal everything.
“Your ability seems special, but that’s your business. Since you have this ability, I have something suitable for you.” Liu Sishan didn’t continue probing Zhang Ping’s ability and instead took out a jade token and handed it to him.
She then explained the jade token. This token was also a pair, one called Cold Jade and the other Warm Jade.
Cold Jade would transfer heat to Warm Jade when encountering flames, and Warm Jade would absorb Cold Jade’s temperature when encountering cold, making Cold Jade colder.
Zhang Ping received Cold Jade. If he encountered danger, he just needed to cover Cold Jade with flames, and Liu Sishan’s Warm Jade would become hot, alerting her to come to his aid.
After finalizing the plan, they returned to the dead end.
Zhang Ping left the alley first. When he looked back, Liu Sishan had disappeared.
He guessed that Liu Sishan either could manipulate water elements to become invisible or had an invisibility tool.
Too bad his appraisal skill wasn’t strong enough yet.
If only he could appraise the equipment the target had, that would be perfect.
Leaving the alley, Zhang Ping continued his night tour. With Liu Sishan secretly protecting him, he felt more confident exploring places he previously didn’t dare to visit.
Pearl City had no urban planning department, so its structure was complex and chaotic. If buildings weren’t kept from being too tall to avoid attacks from flying mutated beasts, the city would have many architectural wonders.
Half an hour later, Zhang Ping found a martial arts hall.
This martial arts hall occupied a large area and had a very imposing name: Beast King Fist Hall.
Even at night, the hall was brightly lit, with many adventurers coming and going. Zhang Ping guessed that the hall mainly catered to adventurers.
After some thought, he decided to walk into the hall.
In the light, his night walker effect was weakened.
“Welcome! How can I help you, student?”
A young lady in a martial arts uniform quickly approached with a flyer, smiling as she handed it to Zhang Ping.
Zhang Ping took the pamphlet, which detailed the fees.
Basic Fist Technique, 500 Pearl Coins.
First Three Moves of Beast King Fist, 3,000 Pearl Coins.
Middle Three Moves of Beast King Fist, 3,500 Pearl Coins.
Final Three Moves of Beast King Fist 5000 Pearl Coins.
Ultimate Technique of Beast King Fist 9999 Pearl Coins.
Zhang Ping glanced at the prices and knew that the Beast King Fist was out of reach for a poor guy like him.
He put down the pamphlet and asked, “Can I go in for a tour?”
“Sorry, that’s not possible. In the past, there were Awakened Ones with copying abilities who stole the martial arts techniques from the dojo during their visits, so the inner rooms where we teach martial arts are off-limits,” the young lady politely refused.
Zhang Ping was puzzled, “But the thing is… if someone really had copying abilities, they wouldn’t need to come to the dojo. They could just learn the Beast King Fist by watching your apprentices use it outside the dojo, couldn’t they?”
“I’m not really sure about that. I’m sorry, but those are the dojo’s rules,” the young lady hesitated, then replied with a wry smile.
Alright then.
Rules are rules.
Zhang Ping left the dojo and continued his night stroll.
Through the Beast King Fist Dojo, he roughly understood the reason for the existence of dojos.
Even adventurers need to learn new skills, especially those with physical enhancement abilities. Their combat relies on various fighting techniques and weapon-handling skills.
If they were to rely solely on their own experiences in life-and-death situations to gain these skills, unless they had several lives to spare, it would be difficult to achieve great success.
Thus, dojos emerged, providing fertile ground for their existence.
Next, Zhang Ping continued to gather information about dojos, visiting several other expensive ones.
The owners of these dojos typically possessed a unique martial skill, and some of them were already powerful Awakened Ones or highly renowned adventurers before opening their dojos.
The dojo itself had a strong sense of cohesion.
The apprentices, and even the graduated Awakened Ones, would naturally protect the dojo’s reputation. Some adventurer groups, linked by the dojo, would only accept Awakened Ones from the same dojo.
