Qingfeng Saber Technique (Perfection) (Qingfeng Saber Stance) (Qingfeng Saber Intent First Layer 102,892/200,000)

Secret Skill: Concealment (Incompleteness 8/100) (Uninitiated 2/10).

(Note: Incomplete Skills can be cultivated. The Cultivation Technique is automatically corrected during cultivation, and progress is gained.)]

Recently, his progress with the Iron Armor Dragon Elephant Skill had been steady. In another two or three months, he would reach Great Success.

Chen Cheng spent the most time on the Qingfeng Saber Intent, and its progress was also extremely fast, increasing by nearly fifty thousand points a month.

In a little over two more months, he should be able to reach Perfection in its First Layer Realm.

As for his other Cultivation Techniques, Chen Cheng only cultivated them casually as a pastime.

He spent a bit more time on the Dragon’s Roar Iron Cloth Shirt. Although he had only reached Small Success, that was because Chen Cheng wasn’t cultivating it as a damage-resistant Horizontal Training Skill, but was instead focusing on the Wandering Dragon Step within it.

If he considered the Wandering Dragon Step alone, Chen Cheng estimated it wasn’t far from Perfection.

「That night, as midnight approached.」

The sky was cloudless, a full moon hanging high above. Its brilliant, clear light bathed the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, illuminating the grounds.

At the passageway of the Double Courtyard leading to the inner courtyard, four Hospital Martial Artists stood solemnly, long sabers at their waists.

The inner courtyard area, however, appeared deserted, without a single soul in sight. Of course, this was just on the surface.

The security at the Zheng Martial Arts Hall was relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. Any common thief who dared to barge in would be discovered immediately.

Two figures carrying swords emerged from the Hospital Martial Artists’ living quarters and proceeded slowly along the inner courtyard passageway.

From time to time, a Hospital Martial Artist would step out from the shadows of a corner, bow respectfully to the pair, and only after receiving a nod in return would they quickly retreat to their original post.

These two were none other than the Zheng Martial Arts Hall’s instructors, the husband and wife pair, Zhuang Fu and Aunt Du.

Both were over fifty years old. In their youth, they had roamed the Jianghu together and were also famous Flying Thieves.

Later, they were subdued by Mr. Zheng, after which they washed their hands of their past and stayed by his side.

In his youth, Zhuang Fu had already cultivated to the Small Success Level of the Bone Forging Realm. Now, though his qi and blood had declined with age, his strength was still greater than that of a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

Aunt Du, meanwhile, was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm.

When the couple worked together and used their Yin Yang Sword Stance, they could fight on par with a Small Success Martial Artist of the Bone Forging Realm.

Therefore, with Mr. Zheng away on a long journey, the great responsibility of defending the Zheng Martial Arts Hall fell primarily on the couple’s shoulders.

The Zhuang Fu couple knew the weight of their responsibility, so even on the night of the mid-autumn full moon, they had to make a round of patrols before they could feel at ease.

The Zhuang Fu couple had no complaints about Mr. Zheng appointing Chen Cheng as the temporary Hospital Chief Steward. After all, they were instructors at the Martial Arts Hall and deeply understood the importance of nurturing the younger generation.

Furthermore, Chen Cheng’s arrangements had earned their wholehearted admiration.

The Zheng Martial Arts Hall occupied a large area, making it impossible to cover every corner. The guards Chen Cheng had arranged were mainly concentrated at the main gate, the passageway into the inner courtyard, and most importantly, the residential courtyards of Mr. Zheng’s wife and children.

The courtyards of Mr. Zheng’s wife and children were especially high-priority for the guards. Any small disturbance would be discovered immediately.

Such an arrangement, with its clear priorities, was undoubtedly very appropriate.

After inspecting the courtyards of the various ladies, the two arrived before the main residence where Mr. Zheng lived and found nothing amiss.

"Husband, the True Disciple’s courtyard is up ahead. Should we go take a look?" Aunt Du said.

The True Disciple’s courtyard was Chen Cheng’s residence. It didn’t have any guards of its own; only the adjacent main residence of Mr. Zheng had two guards stationed at its entrance.

Additionally, in a corner of the passageway between the True Disciple’s courtyard and Mr. Zheng’s main residence, a guard was hidden in the shadows to provide support.

The three guards’ primary focus was also the main residence; only the one hidden in the shadows could also keep an eye on the True Disciple’s courtyard.

Of course, this didn’t mean that security around the True Disciple’s courtyard was lax. After all, the entire inner courtyard of the Zheng Martial Arts Hall was protected by the guards in the outer and double courtyards.

And outside the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, a large number of soldiers from the City Guard Department patrolled day and night. An ordinary thief wouldn’t be able to get in at all.

Zhuang Fu thought for a moment, then said, "Since we’re already here, we might as well take a look."

As they spoke, they hailed the guards at the main residence and walked slowly toward the True Disciple’s courtyard.

When they reached the passageway, they didn’t see the guard in the shadows emerge.

"Liu Huang should be on duty here tonight. That kid isn’t slacking off and sleeping, is he?" Zhuang Fu frowned and ducked into the passageway in a flash.

Sure enough, he saw a guard leaning against the base of the wall, seemingly dozing off.

"You brat, you really are sleeping!"

Zhuang Fu chided softly and stepped forward to give Liu Huang a kick, but unexpectedly, Liu Huang’s body slowly slumped to the ground.

Zhuang Fu’s heart leaped in alarm. He quickly reached out to check Liu Huang’s breath, then felt for his pulse.

"This is bad! Liu Huang’s been killed by an intruder! There’s an assassin! Quick, to the True Disciple’s courtyard!"

As he spoke, Zhuang Fu drew his longsword and charged toward the True Disciple’s courtyard.

Having been a Flying Thief himself, he could tell with a single glance that the intruder’s methods were extraordinary; it was very likely an assassin.

’Killing the guard without leaving a single trace, not even using a blade to prevent the smell of blood from spreading... this is clearly the style of a top-tier assassin.’

Aunt Du’s reaction was just as swift; sword in hand, she followed closely behind him.