Chapter 102: Chapter 102: The Middle Ancient Stele with No Inscriptions
Zhou Heng, after some consideration, decided to first open a Copper Fortune
Bag and a Silver Luck Bag.
The reason was simple.
He hadn’t burned incense or taken a bath, nor had he consulted a fortune-teller to find out the auspicious time for the day, his hands were even a bit dirty. If he were to open all of them under these conditions and ended up with misfortune, what then?
It was better to open two Fortune Bags for some excitement, especially the Gold Fortune Bag, for which he would make sure to be fully prepared.
in terms of opening Fortune Bags, Zhou Heng had always been somewhat superstitious about mysticism, a habit he brought with him from Earth where he had been an avid player of gacha mobile games.
Of course, that was likely just a psychological effect.
If he ended up getting nothing good, it would just mean that he was too unfortunate; not even mysticism could save him.
“Open a Copper Fortune Bag and a Silver Luck Bag!
“Congratulations! You’ve obtained three Copper Coins.”
“Congratulations! You’ve obtained one tael of gold.”
???
Ill
Zhou Heng was stunned, hardly believing his own eyes, and nearly fell off his jujube-red horse.
What’s going on?
Was he really this unlucky?
He had never been this unlucky before!
He began to doubt his life; two consecutive Fortune Bags, one copper and one silver, and not only had he not struck rich, he hadn’t even gotten anything useful!
That was too much!
“Could it really be that I’m just too unlucky?” Zhou Heng’s brow furrowed, not willing to believe in such misfortune, and whispered, “No, I refuse to believe I’m this unlucky, let’s try opening another Silver Luck Bag, just one more. “Congratulations! You’ve obtained Martial Arts ‘Ambidextrous Combat’ [Eighth
Rank].”
Ambidextrous Combat?
Is that the martial art where the left and right hands perform slow movements -no, the one where each hand can perform different techniques?
Zhou Heng’s eyes lit up.
This martial art was indeed quite useful to him; being skilled in both saber and sword was definitely appealing.
Besides, although right now he only knew how to use the saber and sword, he could foresee that the variety of weapons and techniques he would learn in the future would only increase, and Ambidextrous Combat was perfect to showcase his prowess.
However, could it be considered terribly unlucky to get only an Eighth Rank Martial Art from a Silver Luck Bag?
Zhou Heng pondered for a long while, hesitated for a bit, then decided to open another Silver Luck Bag to confirm his luck.
“Congratulations! You’ve obtained a temperament special effect: Grace of a Gentle Breeze.”
“Grace of a Gentle Breeze: A temperament special effect, with no actual mystical properties. Once activated, it will make others perceive you as handsome, dashing, suave, and outstanding.
What the heck is this!??
Zhou Heng was flabbergasted; these Silver Luck Bags were really something, what sorts of odd stuff did they have?
What was the use of a temperament special effect?
He was already handsome to begin with; what did he need a special effect for? At the same time, he suddenly realized that he was now left with only a Copper Fortune Bag and a Gold Fortune Bag.
He promptly stopped himself.
He couldn’t go on!
He had initially intended to open only one Silver Luck Bag and one Copper
Fortune Bag!
How did it come to this?!
Zhou Heng suddenly felt a bit regretful inside; why was he still as impulsive as he had been on Earth?!
So, he simply gave up all thoughts of Fortune Bags.
And focused on making his way.
Meanwhile, he contemplated the Innate Skill.
This inner strength technique was quite mysterious. Since the day he had opened it, Zhou Heng had been reflecting on it.
However, due to various matters, he had never had the chance to focus solely on it; as a result, his proficiency level still hadn’t reached 1.
But, it was close.
[Seventh Rank] Innate Skill: Unlearned (0.89/1)
When Zhou Heng arrived at Yuanhe Prefecture City, it had already been five days.
During these five days, he basically ate in the wind and slept outdoors. When tired, he would just lie down on the back of the horse to rest, and when hungry, he would directly hunt in the forest to eat some game.
With his current cultivation strength, even if he encountered a tiger, he could kill it with a single punch.
It’s just that tiger meat was too tough, and it didn’t taste good.
Zhou Heng didn’t particularly like it.
Therefore, upon reaching Yuanhe Prefecture City, his first order of business was to find a place to settle down.
And to have a good meal at last.
However, this time he didn’t go looking for an inn, but instead asked around for any properties owned by Pure Yang Palace in the area.
Yuanhe Prefecture City was significantly larger than Huangtong Mansion, and correspondingly more prosperous. There might be some businesses here that weren’t present in Huangtong Mansion, such as high-end jewelry stores or apothecaries.
These were the main businesses of Pure Yang Palace in the mortal world. After all, not everyone in a Taoist Immortal Sect is an immortal. Most are ordinary disciples, and daily necessities like food, clothing, and shelter all cost money. Naturally, it’s necessary for the sect to own businesses that generate income.
However, Pure Yang Palace’s businesses were rather high-end and weren t found in smaller cities, because the local people couldn’t afford such extravagant spending.
If Yuanhe Prefecture were similar to Huangtong Mansion, then Zhou Heng wouldn’t even need to ask around-there definitely wouldn’t be any.
Luckily, Yuanhe Prefecture was indeed quite developed. With a little inquiry, Zhou Heng found out the location of several Pure Yang Palace businesses, including jewelry stores and apothecaries, as well as a few shops selling peace charms.
Zhou Heng chose an apothecary with a smaller storefront and less foot traffic, showed his outer disciple waist tag from Pure Yang Palace, and the person in charge of the shop immediately asked what he needed with great respect. Being a disciple of a Great Sect had its perks-one could go anywhere and, as long as there were properties belonging to the sect, present the disciple waist tag to receive all sorts of assistance.
Zhou Heng planned to stay here to save a considerable amount of money that he would have spent on inns.
Moreover, the apothecary itself didn’t require much spending and could even receive subsidies handed down by Pure Yang Palace, generally earning the proprietors a small profit.
—Pure Yang Palace had clear regulations on how to accommodate their disciples. If they provided lodging for disciples from Pure Yang Palace, the sect would give a subsidy of at least one silver taels per day.
It was a surefire way to earn a profit without any loss.
Therefore, once the shopkeeper heard Zhou Heng’s request, he immediately agreed without hesitation.
He also ordered his apprentices to brew tea and pour water and to prepare exquisite dishes to welcome and cleanse Zhou Heng from his journey. “Shopkeeper Bai, I’ve heard that Yuanhe Prefecture City is planning to have some sort of martial arts competition. Do you know about it?” After Zhou Heng sat down and settled the matter of accommodation, he began to inquire about the news.
That was one of the reasons he had chosen the apothecary.
There’s an old saying that medicine and martial arts share the same origin, and no martial artist could avoid injuries. Even after seeing a doctor, they would ultimately need to get medicine, so there would undoubtedly be many warriors coming and going here, likely to have an abundance of information regarding martial artists.
The owner of the apothecary, surnamed Bai, appeared to be in his sixties and looked kind-hearted.
When he was young, he had worked as an odd-jobber in the outer fields of the Pure Yang Palace, and after showing promise, he was sent out to manage the apothecary. The respect for outer disciples was deeply ingrained in him.
Thus he treated Zhou Heng with great respect and upon hearing Zhou Heng’s question, immediately smiled and said, “You’ve come to the right person with this question. Just the other day, people from the Wang Family ordered a batch of medicines from me for use during the martial arts competition.
“As for the competition, it’s quite a big deal. It began with an ancient wordless stele that the Wang Clan’s family head of Yuanhe Prefecture City stumbled upon ten years ago.
“That stele is very old, believed to be from the Middle Ancient era. There are no words on it, just some scratches, and each scratch seems to represent a different martial arts technique.
“Some people have gained insights into sword techniques from it, others into saber techniques, and still others into inner strength. The ranks vary widely, with the lowest being Entry Rank and the highest reaching Sixth Rank; it’s quite marvelous.
“The most important reward of this martial arts competition is actually a chance to perceive this wordless stele. For many martial artists, it’s a rare opportunity to acquire advanced martial arts.”