Chapter 466: Collecting the Iron Bone Golden Body

Lao Zhang listened to the entire process from the side and couldn't help but slap his thigh: "Good lad! You picked up a half-dead bargain and then held on against the guy's final breath before he died! Whether this story sounds good or bad when told, the head is the real deal, so this merit is yours for sure!"

The Hundred-Man Commander was silent for even longer.

It was not that he did not believe Cheng Feng's words. In fact, the wounds on Cheng Feng's body were real, the severely injured state of Dharma King Liehuo was also real, and all the details matched up.

But his intuition told him that this story was too complete—so complete that it seemed as if it had been prepared in advance. Every point of suspicion had a corresponding explanation, and every explanation was supported by physical evidence; it was simply seamless.

But the Imperial Guard Division is not a government office. It does not need flawless testimony here, only a head.

After all, martial artists are like partners of the Imperial Guard Division, not personnel on the internal payroll.

If you produce results, you exchange them for merit; if you don't produce results, you get nothing.

It all relies on voluntary participation; it is considered a channel for the Imperial Guard Division to add manpower.

"Fine." The Hundred-Man Commander finally nodded, turned around to take the merit register from the drawer, and picked up a brush to dip in ink: "Organ Refining Initial Stage Cheng Feng, captured the head of Red Lotus Sect Dharma King Liehuo, Hu Shen. After verification, it is confirmed to be true. According to the bounty order regulations, record five thousand points of merit. Additionally, it is noted that Cheng Feng was originally assigned the Qingshipo patrol mission, encountered an enemy chieftain during the mission, and fought a bloody battle—"

He looked up at Cheng Feng: "You took down a Gang Qi Realm expert; although they were severely injured, they were still a Gang Qi Realm expert. According to regulations, there is a supplementary merit reward for cross-realm kills. For a Organ Refining Realm killing a Gang Qi Realm, an additional two thousand points."

Cheng Feng was stunned for a moment. This was something he had not expected.

The Hundred-Man Commander finished writing, picked up the official seal to stamp it heavily, tore off two merit slips, and handed them over: "Five thousand points for the bounty, two thousand points for the cross-realm reward, seven thousand in total. Take them."

Seven thousand points of merit. Two thousand more than what Cheng Feng had estimated himself.

He took the merit slips with both hands, took a deep breath, and bowed solemnly: "Many thanks, my lord."

"No need to thank me, these are the rules." The Hundred-Man Commander waved his hand.

For someone with strength and ability, the Hundred-Man Commander would not put on airs.

"Alright, the items are all here." The Hundred-Man Commander clapped his hands: "For the government bounty, you should make a trip to the Yamen, take the merit slips to register, and follow the usual procedure. The bounty order for Dharma King Liehuo has been hanging at the Yamen for almost a year, and the reward silver has risen to four hundred thousand taels. You've struck it rich."

"Four hundred thousand?" Cheng Feng was truly a bit surprised this time. He remembered the bounty for Dharma King Liehuo was three hundred thousand taels; how did it become four hundred thousand?

"It just went up two months ago." Lao Zhang interjected from the side: "Dharma King Liehuo burned down three government granaries in other prefectures, the Ministry of Revenue got anxious and added another one hundred thousand taels to the reward."

Four hundred thousand taels of Silver. Seven thousand points of merit.

When Cheng Feng walked out of the Gongxunge, more than a dozen people were already gathered at the courtyard entrance.

"Is that him? A Organ Refining Initial Stage who beheaded a Gang Qi Realm expert?"

"Dharma King Liehuo's head... what was this guy's name again?"

"Cheng Feng. Never heard of this character before."

"I heard from Lao Zhang that he took a palm strike without falling and held on to counter-kill."

"Nonsense, a Organ Refining Initial Stage taking a palm strike from a Gang Qi Realm expert? You take one and let me see."

"That's why they say it's weird..."

These people had clearly heard the rumors—someone was pulling Lao Zhang to ask for details, and Lao Zhang began to talk with spittle flying about how Cheng Feng took a palm strike from Dharma King Liehuo and held on without falling; the scene was even livelier than a storyteller's performance.

Cheng Feng passed through the crowd, and those gazes and whispers were like a net, covering him from all directions.

Cheng Feng turned a deaf ear. He knew the nature of these discussions too well—in less than three days, another version would be circulating.

Perhaps they would say he picked up a bargain, perhaps they would say he used some underhanded means, or it might even be fake news released by the Red Lotus Sect itself.

None of this mattered. What mattered was that the merit slips were tucked in his bosom, heavy, like two pieces of burning red iron.

Imperial Guard Division Rear Courtyard.

Cheng Feng handed over his waist token and merit slips. After one of them verified them, he turned and pushed open the heavy wooden door covered in iron plating, signaling for him to enter.

This time, the person receiving Cheng Feng was a manager surnamed Xu, a thin and tall middle-aged scholar with three wisps of sparse goat-beard, but his eyes were piercingly bright.

He took the merit slips and carefully verified the secret marks and official seal against the light.

Only then did he nod and take a thick register from the wooden shelf behind him.

This time, it wasn't just looking directly at the register.

Cheng Feng felt that his treatment had improved.

"Seven thousand points of merit, Officer Cheng." Manager Xu opened the register, his fingertips sliding over the dense handwriting: "What would you like to exchange for?"

"I want to exchange for the full volume of the Iron Bone Golden Body."

"Understood. I see that Officer Cheng exchanged for the upper volume of the Iron Bone Golden Body some time ago. Currently, the middle volume is 500 merit points and the lower volume is 1500 merit points, totaling 2000 merit points. Officer Cheng is truly gifted to choose such a difficult Body Tempering technique to cultivate."

"Besides this, there are 5000 points left. What else would you like to exchange for?"

"Let me look some more."

Cheng Feng was not in a hurry at all, taking the exchange catalog to continue browsing slowly.

Cheng Feng's gaze swept across the exchange catalog line by line.

Anything below Bone Refining was ignored.

The basics for the Organ Refining Realm topped out at around 500 merit points.

Martial arts and techniques for the True Qi Realm started at 500 merit points.

The techniques for the Organ Refining Realm and the techniques for the True Qi Realm and Gang Qi Realm were listed separately in the catalog, separated by a cinnabar red line in the middle.

The handwriting for Gang Qi Realm techniques and martial arts below the red line was significantly denser, and each technique was followed by a painful price—starting at one thousand.

He skipped the True Qi Realm section directly and let his gaze fall on the Blade Technique column for the Gang Qi Realm.

What he lacked now were high-level techniques and martial arts.

The Imperial Guard Division's exchange catalog was extremely detailed, with each technique accompanied by a brief description, including the origin of the technique, characteristics, cultivation threshold, and combat evaluation.

Cheng Feng read carefully, flipping page by page, and Manager Xu did not rush him, sipping his tea leisurely.

There were eleven blade techniques for the Gang Qi Realm.

The first one, "Nine Slashes of the Blazing Sun," was extremely yang and rigid, using Gang Qi to drive the blade aura. When cultivated to a deep level, the blade would strike like a bursting sun, specifically countering yin-evil techniques.

Cheng Feng looked at it for a few extra moments, but then shook his head—this blade technique required a yang-attribute internal energy to exert its maximum power, which did not match his cultivation path.

The second one, "Wandering Dragon Soul Chasing Blade," followed a path of agility and change, with blade momentum as continuous as a flowing river, suitable for entanglement. Cheng Feng thought about it and put it down as well.

His fighting style had always been head-on, and this approach of using skill to break force was not his style.

The third, "Hundred Ghosts Night Walk Blade," sounds intimidating by name, but it is actually an assassination blade technique that complements movement arts, emphasizing striking once and retreating, then waiting for the next opportunity to act.

Cheng Feng hesitated for a moment, but still flipped past it.

He looked through seven or eight techniques in a row, each with its own pros and cons, but he always felt something was missing.

Not until he flipped to the ninth one.

"River-Severing Blade Technique."

The name is very Ordinary, even somewhat plain.

But Cheng Feng noticed that the exchange price for this blade technique is 2,500 merit points.

What caught his attention even more was a line of small cinnabar annotations on the side: "The blade technique most frequently exchanged by practitioners above the rank of Hundred-Man Commander in the Suppressing Office."

Manager Xu did not know when he had stood behind him; seeing him staring at this annotation, he spoke up to explain: "Lord Cheng has a good eye. The 'River-Severing Blade Technique' is not some peerless art; in terms of power, it doesn't rank in the top three of Gang Qi Realm blade techniques, and in terms of sophistication, it doesn't rank in the top three either. But it has one advantage—the threshold is low, the ceiling is high, and its fault tolerance in actual combat is extremely high."

"How so?" Cheng Feng asked.

"This blade technique was created eighty years ago by a Command Assistant of the Suppressing Office. When that senior was suppressing bandits in Donghai, he once fought one hundred and thirteen water bandits alone with a single blade at Duanjiangkou; after the battle, the river water turned red, and it did not fade for three days."

Manager Xu stroked his goatee, "Later, he distilled the essence of his lifelong blade technique insights and left behind this 'River-Severing Blade Technique' to pass on to future generations.

To put it bluntly, this blade technique was created for the sole purpose of killing; there are no flowery movements, and every strike aims for the vitals."

Cheng Feng looked down again at the cultivation threshold: "Requires a Body Tempering technique as a foundation?"

"Correct." Manager Xu nodded, "The force-generating method of the 'River-Severing Blade Technique' is extremely fierce, and its requirements for physical strength are far higher than other blade techniques.

If the physical body is not strong enough, you might not kill the enemy with one strike, but your own bones would crack first.

Therefore, although many people exchange for this blade technique, very few can truly cultivate it to great success."

Cheng Feng already had a plan in his mind.

He is cultivating a Body Tempering technique, and although he hasn't practiced "Iron Bone Golden Body" yet, his physical strength already far exceeds that of Martial Artists at the same realm.

Once he completes the "Iron Bone Golden Body," it will be a match made in heaven when combined with the "River-Severing Blade Technique."

"I'll take it." Cheng Feng tapped on the entry for "River-Severing Blade Technique," "I have 2,500 points left, I'll look at a movement art."

Manager Xu responded and took a thin booklet from the bookshelf to hand to him: "Movement arts for the Gang Qi Realm are over here."

The number of movement arts is smaller than blade techniques, with only seven in total. Cheng Feng flipped through them once and was quickly attracted by one of them.

"Wind-Stepping Walk."

The exchange price is exactly 2,500 merit points.

The description for this movement art is very simple, consisting of only one sentence—"Cultivated to great success, one can step three times in mid-air, as if walking on flat ground."

Just for this one sentence, it is priced at 2,500.

Cheng Feng couldn't help but ask: "How does this 'Wind-Stepping Walk' compare to 'Cloud-Ascending Leap'?"

Upon hearing this, Manager Xu's eyes brightened, as if someone had asked about his area of expertise: "Lord Cheng has asked the right question.

Among all the Gang Qi Realm movement arts in the Suppressing Office, in terms of straight-line sprinting speed, 'Cloud-Ascending Leap' ranks first;

In terms of maneuvering and shifting, 'Forest-Piercing Step' ranks first;

But in terms of practicality in life-and-death combat, 'Wind-Stepping Walk' is in a class of its own."

He extended a finger and pointed three times in the air: "Borrowing force three times in mid-air. Lord Cheng, what does this mean? It means you can change direction three times while in the air.

An enemy might predict you once, or twice, but it is very difficult to predict you a third time.

On rooftops, tree crowns, or cliff edges—in complex terrain like this, 'Wind-Stepping Walk' is a second life."

"What are the drawbacks?" Cheng Feng asked very directly.

Manager Xu did not hide anything: "Two. First, the consumption is immense; with the total Blood Qi of the Organ Refining realm, you can use it at most twice in a short period. Second, the cultivation difficulty is high; it requires extremely high control over one's center of gravity and the timing of force exertion. Otherwise, if you can't take the second step in mid-air, you will fall straight down. Not only will you be half-dead from the fall, but exposing such a flaw in front of an enemy is no different from courting death.

So this also has quite high requirements for the physical body."

Cheng Feng was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Iron Bone Golden Body" allows him to tank, "River-Severing Blade Technique" allows him to strike, and "Wind-Stepping Walk" allows him to escape.

Able to tank, able to hit hard, able to get away.

This is the combat system he is building with physical strength as the core.

Compared to the technique-heavy style, he prefers brute force.

"I'll take these two." Cheng Feng closed the catalog, "'River-Severing Blade Technique' for 2,500, 'Wind-Stepping Walk' for 2,500, plus the middle and lower volumes of 'Iron Bone Golden Body' for 2,000, that's 7,000 in total; all my merit vouchers are here."

Manager Xu took the merit vouchers, checked them carefully twice, and then took four booklets one by one from the wooden shelf behind him, stacking them neatly on the tabletop.

"Iron Bone Golden Body: Middle Volume," "Iron Bone Golden Body: Lower Volume," "River-Severing Blade Technique," "Wind-Stepping Walk."

"Lord Cheng, you should know the rules of the Suppressing Office." Manager Xu's tone became serious, "The cultivation methods are for your personal study only; they must not be passed on to others, must not be copied, and must not be leaked in any form. Violators will be treated as traitors to the Office and wanted throughout the land. Can you confirm?"

"Confirmed." Cheng Feng's expression did not change.

Manager Xu nodded, took out a document for Cheng Feng to sign with a Blood Seal, then wrapped the four booklets one by one in kraft paper in front of him, placed them into a small iron box, applied a seal, and handed it over with both hands.

"Lord Cheng, a word on the side." When Manager Xu handed the box to him, he lowered his voice and added, "The cultivation difficulty of the middle and lower volumes of 'Iron Bone Golden Body' is several times higher than the upper volume. Ordinary people take three to five years just to practice the middle volume, and the lower volume cannot be mastered without great perseverance. You have exchanged for four cultivation methods in one go; you must weigh your own time and energy."

Cheng Feng took the iron box and the stamped vouchers, feeling their heavy weight, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly: "Many thanks to Manager Xu for the reminder."

When he turned and walked out of the Rear Courtyard of the Suppressing Office, the sun was already leaning to the west.

Most of the onlookers in the courtyard had dispersed, but a few who were unwilling to give up were still squatting in the corner, gnawing on dry rations while waiting, wanting to see such a fierce big shot. As soon as they saw Cheng Feng come out, they immediately stretched their necks.

Cheng Feng ignored them, tucked the iron box into his chest, and strode out of the main gate of the Suppressing Office.

On the street outside the Suppressing Office, people were coming and going, peddlers selling miscellaneous goods were shouting at the top of their lungs, a few half-grown boys were chasing and playing at the alley entrance, and an old man selling wontons was dropping white, fresh wontons into a pot.

The smoke and fire of the marketplace rushed toward him, a world apart from the grim atmosphere inside the Suppressing Office.

Cheng Feng stood by the street and took a deep breath, then walked toward the Yamen.

The reward of four hundred thousand taels of Silver must be registered before it can be collected.

Walking on the road, he had already begun to calculate his next cultivation plan in his mind. With the middle and lower volumes of "Iron Bone Golden Body" in hand, it means his Body Tempering technique can continue to improve,

while the "River-Severing Blade Technique" and "Wind-Stepping Walk" are the resources he has prepared for his future path of Martial Dao.

He specifically ran over to Hong Village in the middle of the night; that tail-swipe Da Hei took was not for nothing.

Although he was injured, it could also give everyone a reason that was slightly more acceptable.