Chapter 116: Zizai

Dao Arts and Martial Arts were Zuo Zhicheng’s biggest pursuits at the moment.

In terms of Dao Arts, he had the translated Daoist Canon volumes 1 and 2. Besides continuously practicing with his Night Sea, Zuo Zhicheng was searching for other Dao Arts manuals. It would be best if he could find the cultivation method for after Refining Life Grove.

Or, find people who knew Dao Arts, take and transplant their Life Groves to form the Life Diagram recorded in the second volume of the Daoist Canon, to increase his power in Dao Arts.

For that, he needed a vast information network.

Qingyue Qiu, being someone who practiced Dao Arts, had been on Zuo Zhicheng’s list before. However, an alliance with the Shadow Corps promised long-term benefits, so Zuo Zhicheng temporarily decided not to move against her.

In terms of Martial Arts, Qi Training required Psychic Energy Fruit. Once he finished what he had, he planned to find a way to kill the Underworld King Snake. After finishing what was in the Underground Palace, he would need to find a new direction.

For Spirit Refining, Zuo Zhicheng had started using killing intent as his entry point. So, after a few months of nearly secluded cultivation, he decided to go out, move around, and kill some people to train.

As for the rumored Void Training method, it still seemed elusive. Apart from some legendary super experts, he didn’t know which sect or local power possessed it. Finding it would also require a vast information network to pursue.

…

At the Haoran Martial Hall, business had become very popular because of Zuo Zhicheng’s sudden rise to fame months ago. Clearly, many people thought that if Zuo Zhicheng could become so strong through just over a year of Martial Arts training, maybe they could too.

So when Zuo Zhicheng visited the Haoran Martial Hall again today, he saw that the number of students was several times greater than before. The Training Ground was completely full, forcing some students to practice on the street outside the main gate.

At the front of the Training Ground, Big Mouth Huang was leading the group in a set of Luohan Fist. Zuo Zhicheng smiled, not wanting to attract too much attention. He went around the back and climbed over the wall into the Martial Hall’s rooms.

The room where Master Jiang was had the strong smell of medicinal herbs everywhere. It was the beginning of summer now, and Jiang Qing was sweating heavily as she boiled pot after pot of medicine.

Master Jiang lay on the bed, reading a book on fist techniques with great interest. Although his face still looked somewhat pale, his eyes were bright and full of spirit, without any hint of despair.

Over the past few months, thanks to the several Psychic Energy Fruits Zuo Zhicheng had given him, Jiang Tianzheng’s back injury had slowly improved. It would probably take another half a year to a year to fully recover. During this time, the teaching duties at the Martial Hall were all handled by Jiang Qing. Because Jiang Qing sometimes needed to care for Jiang Tianzheng, she hired Big Mouth Huang to teach some basic fist techniques.

Seeing this, Zuo Zhicheng knocked on the door.

“Master.”

Jiang Tianzheng looked up and saw Zuo Zhicheng. He smiled gently. “You came?”

Jiang Qing, however, gave Zuo Zhicheng a cold glance, turned her head away, and ignored him entirely. Clearly, she was still unhappy about Zuo Zhicheng previously hiding his true strength. Seeing this, Zuo Zhicheng smiled helplessly. He had explained to her that he hid his talent because he didn’t want fame.

But when women got angry, they usually didn’t listen to reason. Seeing that Jiang Qing didn’t want to talk to him, he didn’t force the issue and spoke directly to Jiang Tianzheng on the bed. “Master, how has your health been lately?”

“Not bad. Lying sick in bed for so long, even though my martial arts have slipped, I’ve gained a few more insights into the secrets of Nourishing Qi with Vast Righteousness.” As Jiang Tianzheng spoke, the calm and profound aura around him grew stronger.

Clearly, although being bedridden prevented him from practicing martial arts consistently, it allowed him to understand the concept of ‘tranquility’ more deeply.

“Aren’t you busy with Association matters? I’ve heard about the things you’ve been doing lately.”

“This disciple acted on his own initiative.”

Jiang Tianzheng shook his head. “You’ve done better than I could. Your martial arts are probably stronger than mine now too. I just hope you can continue to run the Martial Arts Association well, helping people strengthen their bodies and their spirit.”

“This disciple understands.”

Jiang Tianzheng looked at Zuo Zhicheng. Having a disciple who ‘respected his teacher and upheld the Way,’ was ‘exceptionally talented,’ was willing to run the Martial Arts Association well, ‘promoted Martial Arts,’ and ‘helped the weak and fought the strong’ – of course he was completely satisfied. What was even rarer was that even though the other’s martial arts had surpassed his own, he still showed great respect and didn’t show any signs of arrogance.

It was just a pity about Jiang Qing… Thinking of this, Jiang Tianzheng glanced at Jiang Qing and sighed. “Did you come for something today?”

Zuo Zhicheng nodded and took two more Psychic Energy Fruits from his pocket. “I need to go away for a while. I’ll probably be back in about half a month.”

Jiang Tianzheng nodded. He didn’t ask where Zuo Zhicheng was going, simply advising, “Just be careful.”

Between men, there was no need for too much small talk. On the other hand, although Jiang Qing kept her eyes on the medicine pot, her ears perked up, seemingly wanting to hear what Zuo Zhicheng would say.

However, Zuo Zhicheng had never been a man of many words. After giving the Psychic Energy Fruits and stating his need to leave for a while, he chatted with Jiang Tianzheng for a few more moments before leaving.

Jiang Qing still acted completely indifferent. Only after Zuo Zhicheng left did she stand by the door, trying to catch a glimpse of him, but he was already gone.

Jiang Tianzheng saw his daughter’s behavior and smiled bitterly, sighing.

…

The Martial Arts Association’s office was located at the Chaoyang Martial Hall.

Zuo Zhicheng was in the study, explaining some matters to A Fei regarding his upcoming absence, when a student suddenly ran in. “President! Someone has come!”

All the Hante People students at Chaoyang Martial Hall had been expelled by Zuo Zhicheng. Other die-hard disciples of Xiao Jingyang were all reassigned to other Martial Halls or to positions as guards for officials and merchants.

This student in front of him was a new recruit from the past few months, named Zi Tianjun. Zuo Zhicheng kept him on as an assistant because he seemed clever. Although Zuo Zhicheng was officially the Vice President, Jiang Tianzheng basically never appeared at Association meetings, and Zuo Zhicheng was the one in charge, so Zi Tianjun and others were accustomed to calling him President.

“What’s going on? Who came?” Zuo Zhicheng asked.

“It’s… it’s people from the Zizai Hall,” Zi Tianjun said. “They want to open a Martial Hall in Xinlu Port, so they came to the Martial Arts Association according to the rules.”

“Zizai Hall?” Zuo Zhicheng said calmly.

The colonies of Great Qi on the New Continent were governed by three Patrol Superintendents, distributed across three regions along the coastline. From top to bottom, they were the Northern Wasteland, Central Governance, and the Southern Bay, which included Xinlu Port. Because of constant conflicts, poor public order, and many bandits and pirates on the colonies, Martial Halls were numerous.

And Zizai Hall was one of the most famous Martial Halls in the Southern Bay. Zuo Zhicheng just hadn’t expected them to open a branch in Xinlu.

“Let’s go, A Fei.” Zuo Zhicheng stood up. “You come with me to meet the people from Zizai Hall.”