Chapter 174: Underworld King Snake

The next day, in the martial arts school’s reception hall.

Yao Jinzhong sat nervously on the chair, with only one-third of his buttocks touching the seat, his back ramrod straight, resembling the sitting posture of an elementary school student.

He glanced at Zuo Zhicheng, who was in the primary seat, and presented the gift box in his hands.

“Mr. Zuo, this is a small gesture of my sincerity. As for what my unruly son did this time, I have already disciplined him thoroughly. I guarantee he will never appear before you again.”

A Human Aspect Martial Artist represented a level of power where it would take thousands of soldiers surrounding them, using fire, crossbows, or poison gas, to possibly kill such a powerful martial artist. Additionally, the Human Aspect’s inherent abilities in stealth, assassination, and area-of-effect damage made them one of the key assets for major factions.

Now, the Shadow Corps wanted to recruit Zuo Zhicheng, hoping to strengthen their forces against the two Patrol Superintendents and other martial arts sects. This was the inevitable trend.

Understanding the stakes, Yao Jinzhong chose to bow his head.

Zuo Zhicheng received the gift box with both hands and opened the lid. Inside lay a three-foot-long sword, its blade reflecting faint frost-like patterns, resembling autumnal water and giving off a sharp, icy gleam.

“The sword is good,” Zuo Zhicheng said as he took it out, carefully running his fingers along the blade. It was nearly the pinnacle of craftsmanship achievable in this era.

“A fine sword for a distinguished gentleman. This sword is named Green Frost. It is said to be forged from deep-sea cold iron, naturally icy,” Yao Jinzhong explained. “I heard you had been searching for a suitable sword recently, and I thought of this one.”

Zuo Zhicheng felt the chill emanating from the sword. Based on the frost patterns on the blade and its design, it did not seem to be crafted in the Great Qi Dynasty. As for the deep-sea cold iron, Zuo Zhicheng wasn’t sure if it was genuine, but the sword’s temperature was indeed lower.

Yao Jinzhong knew that ordinary wealth was unlikely to impress such a martial artist, especially since Zuo Zhicheng now owned a martial arts school and a gang, controlled over 70% of the dock business in Xinlu, and had matches as part of his future plans—he wasn’t short on money. Thus, Yao had no choice but to retrieve this treasured sword from his family’s collection.

Sitting on the other side, Qingyue Qiu examined the patterns on the sword and suddenly remarked, “These patterns look somewhat like those of the Newman People. This sword might have been a treasure of the Newman royal family in the past.”

When the Great Qi Dynasty established colonies in the New Continent and invaded nations and races like Newman, Hante, and Western Yin, they plundered numerous treasures from their imperial palaces and vaults.

Zuo Zhicheng nodded. “I’ll accept the gift. As for your son’s actions, I’ll consider them as if they never happened.” Recently, while practicing the Cold Light Rippling Sword, he had a need for a good sword. After saying this, he paused briefly before adding, “As for that batch of goods from the Sea Dragon Gang…”

“I have already had them returned. However, the matches are indeed useful. I wonder if I could shamelessly place an order for some in advance. I see that many places in Xinlu, even the military, could make use of them.”

This essentially handed over the imperial court’s large procurement orders to Zuo Zhicheng, providing him with a steady stream of income.

A short while later, Yao Jinzhong left with a weary demeanor, as he had many pressing matters to attend to immediately.

Qingyue Qiu looked at Zuo Zhicheng, who was still caressing the sword blade, and asked, “Are you planning to go?”

Zuo Zhicheng sheathed the sword and said calmly, “Yes. I’ve almost used up the Psychic Energy Fruit, and with my current strength, I’m fairly confident in dealing with that Underworld King Snake.”

Although his Physique Strength had reached a bottleneck and his need for Psychic Energy Fruit had diminished, strengthening his allies—such as Jiang Tianzheng, Jiang Qing, A Fei, and Song Hao—to have more capable subordinates made dealing with the Underworld King Snake imperative.

“I will set off tonight and probably return tomorrow morning. When the time comes, you can handle the harvesting of the Psychic Energy Fruit. I only need half of it.”

“No problem.”

That night, Zuo Zhicheng, alone with his sword, traveled under the moon and stars, heading once again toward Dog Head Mountain.

This time, not only had his strength greatly improved, but he was also traveling alone, making his speed much faster than before. He moved like a black ghost, swiftly advancing through the mountain forests.

It was still the heart of winter, and the mountains were sparsely populated. Zuo Zhicheng moved at full speed, leaving deep footprints wherever he stepped—a testament to his immense power.

This world had no qinggong. Even if there were such lightweight martial arts, greater power would only mean greater speed; there was definitely no such thing as a martial art that allowed one to tread on snow without leaving a trace.

A hunter lay in the grass, bow drawn, aiming at a deer digging at the ground about ten meters away.

His harvest had been poor this year, forcing him to hunt in the depths of winter.

Just as he was slowly taking aim, ready to release his arrow, the deer suddenly lifted its head, as if startled, and bolted away.

“What happened?”

The hunter stood up, confused about what had occurred.

Then, a series of rapid, thunderous sounds reached his ears.

“Is it thundering in this weather?”

The next moment, a black shadow flashed past him like a ghost. In one flash, it had overtaken him; in another, it passed the fleeing deer.

Strangely, as the ghostly shadow flashed by, the hunter felt an eerie, bone-chilling wind. The deer collapsed to the ground, and upon later inspection, he found it had frozen to death.

A cold dread surged from the depths of his heart: “Did I just encounter a ghost?”

The hunter, pale-faced, ran back and never dared to hunt in these mountains again.

Zuo Zhicheng paid no attention to such a minor incident. In just over two hours, he arrived once more at the underground cavern. Activating his Infrared Vision, he saw the Underworld King Snake still coiled up, lying amid the grove of Psychic Energy Fruit trees.

‘Hibernating for the winter?’

Zuo Zhicheng lightened his footsteps, carefully sneaking closer. He reached the side of the Underworld King Snake and pulled out the prepared realgar, sulfur, and alcohol from his robe.

The pungent smell of realgar and sulfur could affect snakes, and alcohol could act as a thinner to enhance their evaporation.

However, snakes only strongly disliked the irritating smell of sulfides; the scent of realgar itself couldn’t actually harm them.

If one imagined the Underworld King Snake as a person, Zuo Zhicheng’s actions were akin to surrounding someone with a circle of fresh excrement and then fighting them within that circle.

Naturally, this was to reduce the opponent’s combat effectiveness and minimize potential damage to the Psychic Energy Fruit.

After scattering the substances in a circle, the heat within the snake’s body began to slowly rise, indicating that the Underworld King Snake was about to awaken.

Zuo Zhicheng drew the Green Frost Sword, leaped to the head of the Underworld King Snake, and thrust the Green Frost Sword fiercely toward its skull.