Chapter 72: Relaxation

After saying those words, Ghost Fist had already disappeared into the shadows again. Within seconds, continuous sounds of collisions, shattering, and a woman’s screams began to echo all around.

Finally, after a high-pitched roar, a sharp whistling sound suddenly appeared and then vanished. The voice of White Wraith, full of venom, came through.

“Ghost Fist…”

“…Next time…”

“…I will… tear you into a thousand pieces…”

White Wraith’s voice seemed very fast. In a blink, the venomous voice had become faint and unclear.

Just as everyone was looking at each other in confusion, Ghost Fist, wearing a white mask, had appeared again. In his hand, he held an arm that was as clear and translucent as jade, white as snow.

That was White Wraith’s arm.

Zuo Zhicheng thought about his recent opponent and couldn’t help but frown. The woman named White Wraith had vicious methods and was skilled with hidden weapons. But that was manageable for Zuo Zhicheng. The most troublesome thing was her speed.

Or rather, she ran exceptionally fast.

‘It must be some special Authentic Transmission Martial Arts, combined with a combat strategy that relies on speed and long-range hidden weapons.’ Even so, relying on his powerful stealth abilities and explosive strength, plus the assistance of his Infrared Vision, Zuo Zhicheng was like the king of the night. He not only killed White Wraith’s companions but also cornered White Wraith until she had almost nowhere to escape.

But just as he was about to deliver the final blow, the woman used some kind of gas-propulsion device made of metal to quickly flee. Zuo Zhicheng couldn’t catch up in time and only managed to seize one of her arms.

His review of the recent battle lasted only an instant. Looking at the five people before him, their expressions a mix of shock and fear, Zuo Zhicheng said, “Your strength… is not impressive. I hope the Shadow Corps, which is expected to rival the Dìyù Gate, is more than just this.”

Zuo Zhicheng’s goal was naturally to have the Shadow Corps share some of the pressure. Moreover, having achieved the Grand Completion of Qi Training, his power had surged dramatically. He also planned to gradually make contact with the forces of the Imperial Court. Of course, he would still use the identity of Ghost Fist, which didn’t really exist, as a buffer between the two. That way, if any problems arose, he could simply make Ghost Fist disappear immediately.

Over there, Lin Ganghao stood up and said, “Of course. After you repelled the Soul-hooking Envoy of the Dìyù Gate, the headquarters has dispatched experts to suppress the situation in Xinlu Port. I believe they will not disappoint you.”

“That’s good.” Zuo Zhicheng nodded and said coldly, “The rule of the Dìyù Gate is that if a mission fails, they escalate by one level, sending a stronger expert to resolve it. After five consecutive failures, they consider it not worth the cost and abandon the mission.

Regarding the matter in Xinlu Port, although due to their internal conflicts, aside from Blood Rakshasa, the first three were just ordinary spies sent here for intelligence work. But the final dispatch, White Wraith, was already an expert who had achieved the Grand Completion of Qi Training. This counted as skipping several levels at once. Now that even what they considered a foolproof team has failed, they won’t send anyone else for a while.”

Zuo Zhicheng’s words made the five feel embarrassed. The other party’s intelligence gathering seemed even more thorough than theirs. Then they remembered that he had captured Blood Rakshasa and subsequent Dìyù Gate spies, so it was natural for him to have such information.

“Thank you for your help. I wonder if we could…” Lin Ganghao still wanted to find an opportunity to establish contact, but before he could finish speaking, his vision blurred, and the other party had vanished.

Only a faint voice was heard in the night sky.

“If contact is needed, I will come find you.”

…

Three weeks later, in the morning on the Training Ground, Zuo Zhicheng held his breath and slowly lifted a stone lock from the ground.

Over these three weeks, in the eyes of others, Zuo Zhicheng would come to the martial arts school to train as soon as he opened his eyes in the morning. He would only finish his studies and return home when the moon was high in the sky at night, collapsing into sleep immediately. Xiao Lan had found it hard to watch several times and tried to persuade him to relax a bit, but Jiang Tianzheng stopped her each time.

However, if they knew that besides practicing Heaven’s Gate Boxing at the martial arts school every day, Zuo Zhicheng also trained in the Northern Peng Hanging Heaven Style and the Yama Golden Body at night, while also translating ancient text secret manuals, they would be even more astonished.

In fact, if it weren’t for the lack of Spiritual Energy Food, which limits daily training, Zuo Zhicheng might not even go to the martial arts school to practice Heaven’s Gate Boxing during the day.

Without Spiritual Energy Food, Zuo Zhicheng’s body also had its limits. Basically, his nightly training had already reached the maximum. Any more, and it would likely lead to overtraining, causing various hidden injuries. This was due to insufficient nutrition and energy supply. In this era where Spiritual Energy Food was pitifully scarce, Zuo Zhicheng hadn’t found a solution yet.

At this moment, Jiang Tianzheng looked at Zuo Zhicheng with great admiration. The progress he had made over these three weeks, along with his diligent spirit and the talent he displayed in various fighting techniques and adaptability, made Jiang Tianzheng very satisfied.

‘A Zuo is indeed gentle on the outside but strong inside. The more pressure, the more exceptional his performance, with constant clever moves.’ Remembering the few practical sparring sessions with Zuo Zhicheng under his guidance recently, Jiang Tianzheng felt even more satisfied. The only thing Zuo Zhicheng lacked now was the accumulation of the Innate Primordial Breath.

‘What a pity. If I had just one more year, I guarantee A Zuo could defeat Xiao Changhe within ten moves. Ultimately, his time training in martial arts is just too short.’

Although ordinary people cannot see the Innate Primordial Breath or even understand its principles, they have their own criteria for judging whether someone has mastered it.

Seeing Zuo Zhicheng slowly lift the stone lock, Jiang Qing cheered loudly and turned to ask Jiang Tianzheng beside her, “Dad, given the rate of A Zuo’s improvement in strength, he must have mastered the Innate Primordial Breath, right?”

Jiang Tianzheng nodded. “He should have.” The Innate Primordial Breath surpasses the muscles of an ordinary human body. Once a breakthrough is achieved, the progress made also exceeds the limits of normal human improvement. This is one standard used among common folk, without Spiritual Energy Vision, to determine if someone has mastered the Innate Primordial Breath.

However, the extent of Zuo Zhicheng’s current improvement was clearly something he deliberately controlled and revealed.

Seeing Zuo Zhicheng put down the stone lock, Jiang Qing happily patted his shoulder. “Great, A Zuo! Now that you’ve also mastered the Innate Primordial Breath, if you keep training hard for the remaining two months, you might really be able to beat Xiao Changhe.”

Her words were mostly meant to encourage him. After all, Jiang Qing didn’t know about Spiritual Energy Food. To her, even if both had mastered the Innate Primordial Breath, Xiao Changhe had a huge advantage in terms of practice time.

She secretly decided in her heart, ‘If it really seems impossible when the time comes, I’ll ambush that guy and break one of his legs…’

“Good, you’ve worked hard these three weeks,” Jiang Tianzheng said to Zuo Zhicheng. “But being too tense isn’t good either. Balancing exertion and relaxation is the right path. For the next couple of days, you should take a day off. Go out, have fun, relax.”

“Rest? No need to continue training?” Zuo Zhicheng was stunned. The word ‘rest’ – he really hadn’t experienced it for a long time. Whether in his previous life or this one, constantly working, constantly training, constantly getting stronger, his entire life was always stretched tight like a rubber band. This had become the norm.

Even when he did relax in his previous life, it was things like killing someone who looked annoying, or street racing, or finding a pretty barmaid to tease for a few hours.

And since coming to the New Continent, if outsiders knew Zuo Zhicheng’s daily schedule, they would surely find it unbearably harsh. But in Zuo Zhicheng’s own view, days without constantly teetering on the edge of life and death were already very relaxing.

Moreover, here, he genuinely didn’t know what to go out and play.

But before Zuo Zhicheng could make a plan, Jiang Qing, standing nearby, got excited. “Great idea, Dad! How about I take the afternoon off too and take A Zuo out to have some fun? It’s been almost half a year, and he’s just stayed at the martial arts school, hasn’t gone anywhere. How would he know what’s fun around here?”

Jiang Tianzheng didn’t want to agree, but he couldn’t withstand Jiang Qing’s cooing and pleading. In the end, he could only watch as his daughter dragged Zuo Zhicheng away.

On the surface, he looked somewhat helpless, but inwardly he laughed. This daughter of his had loved playing with swords and spears since she was little. He had originally been worried she wouldn’t find a suitable husband. Now it seemed she had really taken a liking to Zuo Zhicheng.

‘A Zuo might not have much money, but he’s a good person and knows how to work hard.’ He had been a little worried that Zuo Zhicheng’s nature was too soft, which is a flaw for a Martial Artist. But from the way he accepted Xiao Changhe’s challenge that day, it seems this kid does have spine when it counts.

“Dad, why not let Xiao Lan have the day off too and come play with us?”

“No, she still has to cook.”

“It’s just you eating anyway, make do by yourself.”

Watching Jiang Qing run back and fetch Xiao Lan from the kitchen, who had been in the middle of chopping vegetables, Jiang Tianzheng shook his head helplessly. This time, he was genuinely helpless.

“Well then… I guess there should still be some noodles in the kitchen.”