Chapter 107 - 84: Elder Zheng’s True Inheritor
"How are you and Shopkeeper Luo related?" Chen Cheng asked.
Luo Chenghu smiled. "Luo Yunzhi is my aunt. I’m the second young master of the Luo Family."
"So you’re the Young Master. Forgive my rudeness," Chen Cheng said. ’As a Tributor for Luo’s Shop, I get thirty taels of silver a month and can buy goods at half price. Calling him Young Master isn’t much of a loss.’
Luo Chenghu quickly replied, "Brother Chen, you’re a Chief Constable now. I couldn’t possibly accept being called Young Master."
"By the way, how old are you, Brother Chen?"
"I’m eighteen," Chen Cheng said.
"I’m seventeen and a half, just six months younger than you, Brother Cheng. You can just call me Ah Hu," Luo Chenghu said warmly.
A man’s reputation precedes him. He had heard the name of Fierce Ah Cheng, the number one man in the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, many times and was already thoroughly impressed.
Seeing how straightforward he was, and being Luo Yunzhi’s nephew, Chen Cheng felt quite favorable toward him and smiled. "Alright."
"Brother Cheng, you didn’t pull any punches with that woman just now. That’s exactly how I pictured Fierce Ah Cheng: decisive, resolute, and completely devoted to cultivating the Martial Dao."
Luo Chenghu praised him, then immediately vented his own frustrations. "Unlike those spineless cowards over there. They come to the Martial Arts Hall to become disciples, but instead of seriously discussing Martial Dao cultivation, they just stand around gossiping about women!"
Chen Cheng gave a dry laugh. "I suppose."
Luo Chenghu was quite talkative and continued, "If you ask me, women only get in the way of Martial Dao cultivation. I, Luo Chenghu, will absolutely not touch a woman until I’ve made a name for myself in the Martial Dao."
"In that respect, Mr. Zheng—my uncle-in-law—is the best role model."
"When he was young, he was completely focused on cultivating the Martial Dao. He traveled far and wide, making a great name for himself in the Jianghu. He comprehended the Dragon Soaring Realm, and his power became legendary in Linji City. It was only after he turned thirty that he started a family."
"Since I’m becoming his disciple, I’m taking him as my role model."
Chen Cheng didn’t necessarily agree with that sentiment, but he had to admit that with such dedication to cultivating the Martial Dao, Luo Chenghu was bound to be successful. He couldn’t help but think a little more highly of him.
"Ah Hu, since Mr. Zheng is your uncle-in-law, why are you only now coming to be his disciple?"
"You mean use my aunt’s connections to get in? No way!" Luo Chenghu shook his head, speaking with great earnestness. "My uncle-in-law only ever looks at a person’s Martial Arts Talent when he accepts disciples, and the rules he sets never change. He doesn’t do favors for anyone, and that’s something I really admire about him."
"Now that I’ve cultivated my Rising Dragon Fist to the Great Success Level, I can become his disciple openly and honorably. No one will dare look down on me."
"I see. You certainly have principles," Chen Cheng praised.
The two chatted idly, with Luo Chenghu doing most of the talking while Chen Cheng occasionally chimed in with a question or two.
From Luo Chenghu, Chen Cheng learned a great deal more about the Zheng Martial Arts Hall, and many of his questions were answered.
Logically, Linji City was a major city with a population of over a million, and Mr. Zheng was a top-tier expert who had comprehended a Realm. The number of people wishing to study under him should have been countless.
But reality was quite different. The Four Great Clans of the Inner City, as well as other powerful Inner City Clans like the Luo Family, all had their own Martial Arts Halls and their own Martial Dao traditions.
The disciples from these clans with outstanding talent would naturally train in their own Martial Arts Halls to carry on their family’s legacy.
If a disciple with extremely high Martial Arts Talent happened to appear in one of the Outer City District’s Martial Arts Halls, they would also choose to join one of the Four Great Clans’ halls. After all, the Four Great Clans could provide not only Cultivation Techniques but also all sorts of cultivation resources. Once their cultivation was successful, they could advance even further under the great clan’s banner.
The likes of Yan Jian were a perfect example of this.
As for the children of commoners, they didn’t even have the opportunity to cultivate the Martial Dao, so who would care if they had any Martial Arts Talent?
The Zheng Martial Arts Hall had no real power and couldn’t provide any cultivation resources, so it naturally couldn’t compete for disciples with superior talent.
Another reason was Mr. Zheng’s Cultivation Techniques. He specialized in Horizontal Training. Even if one reached Skin Grinding Realm Perfection and their skin became as tough as bronze and iron, they would still be at a disadvantage when fighting an opponent of the same Realm using only their physical body.
Of course, the Horizontal Training Technique had its own benefits; namely, it became incredibly powerful in the later stages. Mr. Zheng himself was proof of that.
However, in his youth, Mr. Zheng had also cultivated Sword and Saber Skills. He only switched to Horizontal Training Skills after he had already made some progress in his cultivation.
For all these reasons, the number of people who came to the Zheng Martial Arts Hall to become disciples was small.
Furthermore, Mr. Zheng’s requirement that disciples must be under the age of twenty and have cultivated a Mid-level Skill to Great Success filtered out many more people.
After all, anyone who had cultivated their Sword and Saber Skills to Great Success was already skilled enough to graduate from a Martial Arts Hall and make a living in the Jianghu. Who would want to continue the grueling daily training at a Martial Arts Hall?
But there were exceptions, namely the disciples of the Qin Family. Most of them served in the Protectorate Army and often fought in the chaos of Military Arrays. Cultivating Horizontal Cultivation Techniques naturally gave them a better chance of survival than others.
Mr. Zheng had also trained in the Protectorate Army in his youth and was on good terms with the Qin Family.
His first True Disciple was from the Qin Family. Relying on his mastery of Horizontal Cultivation Techniques, he established a great name for himself in the army. At the young age of thirty, he had already been promoted to Vice Marshal of the Protectorate Army.
Afterward, Mr. Zheng accepted another True Disciple, Miss Shen Qingshuang, the direct descendant of the Shen Family. As for Shen Qingshuang, she didn’t cultivate the Horizontal Training Technique, instead continuing to practice the Shen Family’s ancestral Swordsmanship.
As for why she became Mr. Zheng’s disciple, no one knew the reason.
It was just that after becoming Mr. Zheng’s disciple, Shen Qingshuang’s cultivation speed in the Muscle Strengthening Realm became extremely fast, and she quickly began to stand out among her peers.
Some people speculated that Shen Qingshuang’s cultivation speed was thanks to Mr. Zheng’s inherited Muscle Strengthening Technique, which was of immense benefit to the Shen Family’s Frost Snow Sword Stance.
With these two True Disciples, the number of students seeking to join the Zheng Martial Arts Hall slowly started to increase.
But the increase was limited. They were mostly children from wealthy families in the Outer City District—those who had no worries about food or clothing but whose talent wasn’t particularly outstanding—as well as some Qin Family disciples who wanted to serve in the Protectorate Army.
And then there were the occasional one or two disciples from other great clans, hoping to emulate Shen Qingshuang, become Mr. Zheng’s True Disciple, and obtain the inheritance of his Muscle Strengthening Technique.
However, such disciples from the great clans rarely lasted for very long.
After all, to become one of Mr. Zheng’s True Disciples, one had to cultivate a Skill to the point of developing Momentum. Disciples like that were as rare as a phoenix feather, and the great clans groomed them as successors to their own legacies. Why would they ever let such a person go?
In over a decade, despite recruiting disciples several times, Mr. Zheng had only taken on two True Disciples.
"Here he comes! That’s Mr. Zheng’s first and eldest True Disciple, Qin Ruiyang. He’s the Vice Marshal of the Linji Protectorate Army, a major figure in all of Linji City."
Luo Chenghu suddenly pointed toward the main gate, his face full of excitement as he spoke.
Chen Cheng turned to look and saw a squad of soldiers in Armor surrounding a tall, burly officer dressed in Bright Silver Armor as they entered through the main gate.
The man walked with the powerful stride of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, his expression stern and imposing, and he carried the sharp air of a killer.
Everyone in the courtyard stopped talking, and a hush fell over the crowd.
Qin Ruiyang waved his hand. The soldiers acknowledged the order in unison, then marched to the edge of the field and stood at attention in two neat rows.
He glanced over the people in the courtyard, then turned and stepped onto the bluestone path that led to the Double Courtyard.
"He’s truly worthy of being Mr. Zheng’s first True Disciple. How imposing!"
Seeing Qin Ruiyang enter the Double Courtyard, Luo Chenghu let out a sigh of admiration before lowering his voice. "Every time Mr. Zheng recruits new disciples, Qin Ruiyang and Shen Qingshuang both come to watch the ceremony. Shen Qingshuang is probably already in the inner court."
"I hear that not only is this Miss Shen’s Martial Arts Power formidable, but she’s also a peerless beauty, one of the greatest in all of Linji City. I really want to see her for myself."
At this, Luo Chenghu let out a sly chuckle, a hint of expectation gleaming in his eyes.
Chen Cheng couldn’t help but laugh. "Ah Hu, didn’t you just say that women only get in the way of Martial Dao cultivation and that you had sworn off them?"
"That’s different! The two young ladies of the Shen Family are both exceptionally beautiful, and each possesses formidable Martial Arts Power. They’re known as the Twin Beauties of the Linji Shen Family. How can they be compared to those common, painted faces?"
Luo Chenghu shook his head, then his eyes widened in realization. He looked at Chen Cheng with envy. "Brother Cheng, you work at the Ruyi Square Sub-Department, right under Miss Shen Qingshuang herself! You must see her often. You definitely get to feast your eyes."
"It’s alright," Chen Cheng said flatly. To him, Shen Qingshuang was no different from any other woman.
Just then, Luo Chenghu’s jaw dropped. He stared wide-eyed at the path leading to the Double Courtyard, yanking on Chen Cheng’s arm with his big hand.
"Brother Cheng, look! A Fairy is walking toward us!"
Chen Cheng followed his gaze and saw an exquisitely beautiful young woman in a light blue tunic emerge from the Double Courtyard, a Short Sword hanging at her waist as she walked with light, graceful steps.
Who else could it be but Mu Xiaowan?