I can increase my power through breathing.

Chapter 22 Nine-Syllable Mantra Seal

"If you don't want to die, cooperate obediently."

Zhou Qing's words were as cold as ice, causing the constable who was pointed at to tremble involuntarily.

The constable who was being accused trembled, his eyes filled with fear. Faced with Zhou Qing's request, he dared not disobey and could only stammer, "Okay...okay!"

The constables around them didn't dare to step forward to stop them.

On the way to the armory.

A constable returned from the Zhou residence to the county office, bringing with him terrible news.

"What? All three Eagle Wolf Guards are dead."

Upon hearing this news, the atmosphere inside the county government office instantly froze.

It's unbelievable that all three Eagle Wolf Guards, one of whom was a first-rate martial artist, died at Zhou Qing's hands.

"This...how is this possible!"

The constables in the county government office all found it unbelievable.

"How...how did he do that?"

One of the constables muttered to himself, his voice filled with shock.

They simply couldn't imagine how Zhou Qing had managed to do that.

However, the facts were before their eyes and they had no choice but to believe it.

Upon hearing the news, the clerk who had just stepped into the county government office immediately turned tail and ran away without looking back, as if he had never been to the county government office.

This clerk knew full well that he was just a minor second-rate martial artist, and how could he dare to provoke such a ruthless and cunning man who could kill the deputy commander of the Eagle Wolf Guard, the Crimson Wolf.

He secretly rejoiced that he had arrived late.

Otherwise, if he had clashed with Zhou Qing, he would already be a corpse.

Zhou Qing didn't care what these people thought of him; he had already arrived at the county government's armory.

Inside the county government's armory.

Besides storing martial arts manuals, there are also all kinds of weapons.

Zhou Qing had someone bring over a large sack. Regardless of whether he needed these martial arts manuals, he wanted to pack them all up and take them with him first.

"Good knife!"

Next, Zhou Qing walked to the weapon rack where the precious swords were stored and selected a gleaming sword.

He picked up the precious sword and tried to swing it a few times. The blade flashed like lightning, and the sound of it cutting through the air could be faintly heard, sending chills down one's spine.

It is indeed a rare and excellent knife!

This precious sword is forged from black iron, and not only is its blade sharp, but its body is also incredibly hard.

Even top-tier martial artists would find it difficult to forcibly destroy.

"Not bad!"

Zhou Qing nodded in satisfaction.

This black iron sword is far superior to the sword he uses.

With this Xuan Tie treasure sword, its lethality would increase by several times. Zhou Qing put the sword away and then left the armory carrying the sack containing martial arts manuals.

"That jinx is finally gone!"

The constables all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Zhou Qing finally leave.

They secretly rejoiced, thankful that this wicked star hadn't made things difficult for them; otherwise, their lives might have been in grave danger.

Zhou Qing dared to kill even the Eagle Wolf Guards and the county magistrate, let alone these lowly constables. Fortunately, all the constables were quite sensible, and none of them were stubborn enough to rush up and fight Zhou Qing to the death.

If we anger Zhou Qing, the ruthless star, everyone will die.

Before leaving the county town, Zhou Qing returned to the Zhou residence, filled a sack with silver ingots, and after confirming that no one was following him, he went to the home of the jailer Liu Shan.

However, he did not meet with Liu Shan. He left the silver and departed. He was not afraid of the imperial court's warrant for his arrest, but Liu Shan was not.

Liu Shan was just a lowly prison guard with family and loved ones. Zhou Qing knew that having too much contact with Liu Shan would only implicate him.

Anyway, the silver he left behind wasn't in whole taels, but rather in small pieces that he had crushed. All of it added up to several hundred taels. If he hid it somewhere and spent it slowly, it would be enough to live a comfortable life for the rest of his days. This was his way of repaying the kindness shown to him in the dungeon.

After doing all this, Zhou Qing left the county town.

After running for dozens of miles, Zhou Qing stopped at an abandoned mountain god temple and emptied the martial arts manual from the sack.

There are a total of fifty-six manuals.

These martial arts manuals contain only nine types of internal energy cultivation techniques; the rest are all martial arts skills, including fist techniques, palm techniques, knife techniques, sword techniques, spear techniques, and so on.
Most martial arts are only third-rate, while there are only two types of internal energy cultivation that reach the second-rate level, and thirteen types of martial arts techniques.

Nine Layers of Wind and Waves

Zhou Qing first selected a sword technique called "Nine Layers of Gale" from the second-rate martial arts skills.

This sword technique has simple moves.

The focus is on the combination of speed and power.

When this sword technique is mastered to perfection, one can unleash nine strikes in an instant, all landing at the same point, and each strike is stronger than the last.

Upon reaching the ninth strike, one can unleash power exceeding three times their own strength, the blade's edge like a raging storm, unstoppable.

Although the Ninefold Waves of Gale is a second-rate martial art, in the hands of a strong martial artist, the power it unleashes is comparable to a first-rate martial art, except for attacks that do not contain the power of will.

Or rather, this sword technique is very suitable for body-training martial artists.

"Flying Willow Smoke Technique" and "Illusory Demon Body Technique"

Next, Zhou Qing selected two more martial arts manuals.

These two martial arts manuals, the Flying Willow and Green Smoke Skill belongs to the category of lightness skill. When cultivated to perfection, the body is as light as flying willow, fluttering like a thin mist or light smoke, moving like a bat, and appearing and disappearing without a trace.

The Swallow Skimming Three Times is a short-range, explosive type of light-body skill, which is difficult to sustain. However, the Flying Catkins and Green Smoke Skill can be used to maintain skill for a long time.

The Illusionary Demon Body Technique is a type of movement-based martial art that can be used in combat. It is unpredictable and ghostly, capable of killing without leaving a trace. When cultivated to perfection, it can create nine illusions to confuse the opponent.

The internal cultivation technique Zhou Qing chose was the "Golden Gang Technique".

The "Golden Gang Technique" is a metal-based internal skill, and the characteristics of the internal skill cultivated from it are relatively singular, consisting of only one.

That is—Jin Feng.

When a martial artist cultivates the Golden罡 Technique, the resulting internal energy is amplified in their fist, making it incredibly sharp and capable of easily piercing through armor. Reaching the peak of the second-rate level, they can even break through heavy armor.

If it is added to a weapon, its sharpness will be even greater.

"Golden Gang Technique", "Nine Layers of Gale", "Flying Willow and Green Smoke Skill" and "Illusory Demon Body Technique" are the four martial arts that Zhou Qing chose to practice.

In addition, there is a "Nine-Character Mantra Seal".

The Nine-Character Mantra Seal consists of nine seals, each possessing unique abilities. If it were the complete version, it would be considered a first-rate martial art. However, the Nine-Character Mantra Seal in Zhou Qing's possession is incomplete, containing only three of the seals.

The three seals recorded in the fragment of the Nine True Mantra Seal in Zhou Qing's hand are the Immovable King Seal with the character "Lin", the Great Vajra Wheel Seal with the character "Bing", and the Outer Lion Seal with the character "Dou".

The Immovable King Seal is primarily for defense.

Once activated, it can gather all the body's internal energy to form a Vajra Barrier to protect the body, possessing absolute defense, which can only be forcibly broken by using ten times the force.

The downside is that it consumes a great deal of internal energy and prevents movement.

The Great Vajra Wheel Seal is primarily used for attack. It can compress internal force to unleash an ultimate attack, allowing even second-rate martial artists to pierce through black iron with their fingertips.

The downside is that it consumes a great deal of internal energy.

The outer lion seal can stimulate potential.

The burning of Qi and blood, and internal energy, can instantly increase one's power several times over. However, if one's physique is not strong enough, the body will enter a period of weakness after using this technique.

(End of this chapter)