Chapter 97: Lightness Skill Breakthrough, Guard Duty

After returning to the martial arts hall, Zhou You was full of energy; seeing that he couldn't sleep, he simply draped his outer robe over his shoulders and sat before the oil lamp.

He took out the Charm Bone wrapped in red cloth and began to observe it carefully in the lamplight.

This was a hard object the thickness of a finger bone, possessing a jade-like luster, and it felt cold and hard to the touch.

"A treasure left behind after a Charm entity possesses a living creature and is then destroyed."

Zhou You couldn't help but think of the Void Face, which was also obtained after a Charm entity died and possessed strange properties.

Head Constable Qu said this item was of great benefit to movement techniques, so he decided to give it a try.

A flicker of icy, sinister aura flashed across his fingertips, instantly reminding Zhou You that Charm entities are inherently evil and difficult to purge; absorbing it rashly would certainly be dangerous.

Since that was the case...

"Talent: Hunger."

Zhou You opened his mouth to inhale, and the Charm Bone melted and softened, turning into a wisp of silk that submerged into his body.

The sinister, evil aura remaining inside instantly churned and flared up, attempting to distort and influence Zhou You's consciousness and thoughts.

This was the terrifying aspect of Charm entities; even after they are completely destroyed, the things they leave behind remain a massive hidden danger.

Evil energy is difficult to eradicate completely; even if suppressed, it will make a comeback when the opportunity arises.

Unfortunately, this time it had encountered Zhou You...

"Harmful substances detected, clearing in progress, absorption efficiency affected by -37%."

"First attempt success, second attempt failure, third attempt success..."

"Impurities excluded, essence absorbed, comprehensive evaluation: this absorption efficiency is 63%."

"Comprehensive evaluation of material effects: can be used for the improvement of Basic Lightness Skill."

Zhou You decisively gave the order, "Upgrade."

"Condition 1: Soul-Chasing Seven Steps content integrated; Condition 2: Digested material upgrade."

"Basic Lightness Skill lv2 → lv3."

"Skill: Basic Lightness Skill lv3/lv5."

The immediate effect appeared all at once.

The content of the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm was successfully converted into a part of the Basic Lightness Skill, raising its cap to lv5.

Zhou You absorbed the essence of the Charm Bone, and his many days of bitter training were converted into an improvement of his Basic Lightness Skill to lv3.

What was even more difficult was that absorbing the Charm Bone had no aftereffects, and the efficiency was far higher than any method involving secret medicines.

He suddenly realized that the importance of the Talent: Hunger exceeded his previous estimates.

With this upgrade, his movement technique leaped in one stroke from the level of invincible brute force to the level of Qi and Blood.

Head Constable Qu would never dream that the Charm Bone he gifted to Zhou You would be digested so quickly.

Given the level of Zhou You's movement technique, which rivaled the early stage of Qi and Blood, he could escape even if he encountered enemies at the middle or even late stages of Qi and Blood by relying on his agile movement.

"Flower-plucking thief, heh heh!"

This thief relied on his superb lightness skill to act arrogantly, committing crimes everywhere and torturing noble daughters from prominent families to death.

So many martial artists in the city were helpless against him, and the bottom line was... they couldn't find him, and they couldn't catch him!

Now that Zhou You's lightness skill had greatly improved, if he were to encounter that flower-plucking thief from that night again, he would have a chance to compete for the bounty.

Starry night, Diba Lianwuchang.

The sound of breaking air was continuous and endless, a faint figure shuttled in all directions, and one could only see the gravel on the ground rolling back and forth.

Zhou You was in the midst of rapid movement, testing the power of his lv3 lightness skill.

The panel showed that while operating the lv3 lightness skill, his speed instantly jumped from 65 to 80, an increase of three times the normal speed.

At first, he wasn't used to it; everything went black before his eyes and he crashed into a wall, leaving his nose bruised and his face swollen.

One could imagine that in a life-or-death struggle, if such astonishing speed were unleashed, it would be enough to turn defeat into victory.

There was another benefit to the improvement of his lightness skill level...

"Directional turn!" Zhou You's silhouette traced a faint arc of a rainbow in mid-air; just as he was about to glide down smoothly, he suddenly turned at a 90° angle, his speed slowing slightly, yet he still veered to the side with a speed that tore through the air.

His posture was graceful and elegant, like a swallow in early spring shuttling through willow branches in play, yet it hid murderous intent.

The mystery of the trajectory and the magic of the change were unbelievable, even to a third-party observer.

If one were there in person, relying solely on the naked eye would be overwhelming, and one would inevitably lose track of Zhou You.

Zhou You suddenly thought that the flower-plucking thief must have mastered this lightness skill technique.

The manhunt in the city targeting the flower-plucking thief had never stopped; at least four or five Qi and Blood experts had surrounded him, yet he still slipped away.

Ordinary lightness skills could not achieve this.

Only after Zhou You mastered the technique of the directional turn did he realize how great the advantage of a lv3 level lightness skill was in group combat.

"The bounty, I also have the qualifications to fight for it."

Nowadays, the martial arts circles of Gongliang City all believed that the qualification to compete for the bounty started at the Qi and Blood level.

Because the flower-plucking thief's comprehensive strength was very troublesome, one had to be at the 5th or 6th stage of Qi and Blood to be qualified to participate.

Rock Fist Yang Xi was at the 3rd stage of Qi and Blood, an outstanding figure of the early stage, yet he had his skull crushed after the thief circled behind him in a few rounds of combat.

Originally, Zhou You's hopes were slim, but he had mastered the lv3 lightness skill and was qualified to squeeze onto the table for this feast.

Zhou You estimated that the undercurrents in Gongliang City were surging, and the iron net targeting the flower-plucking thief was being drawn out one after another.

So many high-level figures were not fools; it appeared calm, but in reality, they had already laid down heavy murderous traps.

"Eighty percent chance it's a sting operation!"

The flower-plucking thief was unscrupulous and committed crimes repeatedly; the only way to capture and kill him was to wait for the rabbit to hit the tree stump.

Beautiful women were, after all, a scarce resource, especially unmarried virgins of noble status.

As the number of victims increased, the potential target group began to shrink.

"Hmm, the martial arts hall's eldest miss, although her temper is poor, her conditions are good enough to qualify for a flower-plucking thief."

Zhou You thought of Wang Yan and nodded.

If he were to wait for a rabbit to hit a tree stump, this eldest miss would also be a good target.

But if he did that, the pressure on him as a bodyguard would be great.

He suddenly thought of the hall master Wang Jianxiong, who had always allowed his daughter to go out and swagger through the streets; was he not using his daughter as bait? If that were truly the case, this old man was too heartless.

Zhou You shook his head; these matters were not his to worry about, it was best to just do his own job well.

Next, he had to escort Wang Yan into the martial arts hall, and in his spare time, he must accelerate the progress of his medicine refining.

Refining the Heart-Protecting Pill and initially mastering the Great Poison Sand Palm, combined with the advantage of his Lightness Skill, would at least allow him to raise his strength to the level of the second or third stage of Qi and Blood.

Although this strength could not be exposed openly, he could act in the shadows by using the identity of Lu Zhigang.

Zhou You by day, Lu Zhigang by night; moving between the locals and the outsiders, there was plenty of room for manipulation.

"Hmm, that's how it shall be done!"

The next day...

Zhou You and the other three Outer Court Apprentices were called up early to wait in front of the hall.

The eldest miss Wang Yan did not arrive until three hours later, glanced at them without saying anything, and headed straight out.

"Eldest Miss, are you not taking a sedan chair today?"

"Take what sedan chair? Am I that delicate?"

The eldest miss was truly willful; going out without a sedan chair, how was this any different from showing her face in public? Originally, Zhou You's guess only had a thirty percent chance of being true, but now that he saw this, it had risen to sixty or seventy percent.

The friend Wang Yan was visiting today was famous for a family tradition of poetry and books, with ancestors who were great scholars in the city.

This household had a strong scholarly atmosphere, and most of the scholars in the city came from their tutelage.

Zhou You was just curious; the paths of literature and martial arts were different, just like well water and lake water having nothing to do with each other, so how did these two become best friends? (End of chapter)