From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

Seeing this, Cao Wanhai rolled his eyes, turned his head away, and snorted coldly.

"He got the benefit but is now acting innocent."

Wang Zhenshan's eyes flickered slightly, but he didn't ask any more questions.

He got up without making a sound, returned to the main case, and found the file that he had given to Lin Jizhi that day from the pile of files, spreading it out on the table.

Pick up the wolf-hair brush, suspend your wrist, and begin writing:

"Achievements:

One wolf on the ground is counted as ten merits.

One Black Mountain Giant Bear is worth fifty points of merit.

At this point, Wang Zhenshan paused slightly, glanced at the two men, and then wrote: "One case has been closed, and the two men have exceeded their quota, so they are awarded twenty merit points."

"Wait, boss!"

Lin Jizhi suddenly remembered something, rushed to the table, moved his mustard seed bag, and presented the mangled head. "Of those three porters, this is the only one missing. I searched the whole area and only found this one. At least this is some kind of explanation."

"Although the body was mutilated, the evidence is conclusive, so the case can be considered closed."

Wang Zhenshan glanced down at the hideous head, his expression unchanged, and simply nodded slightly, adding: "Twenty merit points, totaling one hundred."

After finishing writing, he closed the scroll, took the official seal, and pressed it onto the cover.

Where the mark was left, a faint glimmer of light flashed and then disappeared, and the case was considered "closed." It would be submitted to the police station for approval at the end of the month to be completely resolved.

"Bring me the waist tag."

Wang Zhenshan put down his official seal and glanced at the two men indifferently.

"Hey, here it comes!"

Lin Jizhi hurriedly took off his waist tag, presented it with both hands, and said with delight, "Boss, are you going to record my merits?"

Seeing this, Zhu Hong handed over the card with a mixture of doubt and curiosity.

How are merit points recorded on the waist tag?

Wang Zhenshan took the two waist tokens and placed them side by side on the table.

He pulled out a drawer from under the table, reached in and took out a bronze seal with a coiled dragon on the knob, and gently pressed it onto his waist tag.

"Buzz—"

The plaque glowed with a milky white light, and several characters flickered intermittently before sinking into the plaque, leaving only an ordinary iron plaque, with no trace of anything unusual.

"alright."

Wang Zhenshan picked up the two waist tokens and casually tossed them back to the two men: "Fifty points each, do you two have any objections?"

"No, no!"

Lin Jizhi gripped the waist token tightly, turning it over and over, rubbing it repeatedly, and grinned broadly: "Fifty-fifty split, nothing could be fairer!"

"I have no objection."

Zhu Hong held the plaque with both hands and bowed respectfully.

"The merit points of this plaque can be verified by Guangchulou."

Wang Zhenshan shifted his gaze slightly, looking directly at Zhu Hong, who had just arrived, and advised him: "In the future, if you want to exchange for pills, weapons, or martial arts manuals, just bring your token to exchange them."

"Yes."

Zhu Hong nodded in agreement, lightly pinching the waist token between his fingers, thinking to himself:

"Those methods just now were probably the work of those Soul Refining cultivators again..."

The mustard seed bag contains a universe within itself, and the small iron plate can record merits. In this world, there are still many mysteries that he has never heard of.

A strange light flashed in his eyes.

monk.

He became increasingly interested in their spiritual cultivation, and a thought began to rise in his mind: Is it possible that a martial artist's physical tempering and strength training are inferior to a cultivator's spiritual cultivation and spirit refinement?

If not:

Is it possible to cultivate both body and spirit?

……

After recording their merits in the side hall, the two returned to their official residence together.

Fifty merit points.

Zhu Hong sat alone on the edge of the couch, his fingertips lightly tapping his knee as he silently calculated: "At first glance, it seems quite substantial, but that Black Mountain Giant Bear was incredibly ferocious. I almost risked my life to fight it, narrowly escaping death, and only managed to kill it. In the end, I only gained fifty merit points." A slight smirk appeared on his lips, revealing a hint of self-mockery:

"It really is difficult."

These merit points are by no means easy to obtain.

Zhu Hong's eyes were deep and focused, and he was already devising a plan.

His current strength is barely at the minor completion stage of the Body Refining Realm. With the right martial arts, he might not be afraid to fight a monster of the same level in a one-on-one battle. Moreover, if he wants to accumulate strength quickly, the best strategy is to train alone and eat alone.

Otherwise, when will we ever get there?

While I was pondering this.

A ray of moonlight streamed in through the window, casting a slanted shadow over the headboard, making the small room feel cold and quiet.

Zhu Hong looked up and saw the moon hanging high in the sky outside the window, its clear light shining everywhere. A sense of weariness washed over him. Although he was a martial arts performer with energy far exceeding that of ordinary people, he was still a mortal and did not have the ability to abstain from food and sleep. He could not live without food and rest.

"sleep."

He immediately lay down on his side and soon fell into a deep sleep.

……

As dawn broke, the sky began to lighten with the first hint of white.

Zhu Hong had already woken up, turned over and sat up, feeling refreshed and much more energetic than before.

He got up, quickly washed up, splashed a handful of cold water on his face, and the coolness invigorated him. He then took off the iron plaque at his waist that recorded fifty merits, gently stroking its surface with his fingertips, thinking to himself, "Fifty merits, though not much, should be enough to exchange for a rudimentary sword technique."

After killing the bear yesterday, he deeply felt that he had suffered from "inadequate weaponry".

While his own Tiger Claw Fist, which he had practiced, was indeed fierce and domineering, and a trump card in combat, it was ultimately inconvenient to use it all the time. When encountering enemies on ordinary journeys, it was always better to have a martial art with a handy weapon by one's side.

As for:

Why not add another style of boxing?

No matter how fierce the fists and palms are, they can never match the awe-inspiring and domineering aura of a sword flashing past, slaying demons and removing obstacles.

Once the decision was made, Zhu Hong no longer hesitated.

He carefully tucked the waist token into his clothes, pushed open the door, and headed straight for the Guangchu Building deep inside the government office.

……

Inside Guangchu Building, the air was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

Veteran Han Wu leaned back in his chair, his chin resting on his arm, his eyes half-closed, seemingly half-awake, staring intently at the wisps of smoke rising from the table, oblivious to the slightest noise around him.

Suddenly, a soft "tap" was heard as the iron plate gently tapped the jade table.

"Old Han."

Zhu Hong bowed respectfully, his tone polite and courteous.

Han Wu slowly turned his eyes, lazily sweeping them over Zhu Hong, his gaze lingering briefly on him: "What do you want?" he asked in a hoarse voice, as if to greet him.

"Pills, or equipment?"

"Martial arts." Zhu Hong stood with his hands at his sides. "This junior wishes to exchange merit points for a sword technique."

Han Wu glanced sideways, casually reached his one arm to the shelf behind him, and somehow managed to touch the spine of a book, from which a thin booklet fell into his palm.

"The martial arts techniques are all written down here; choose one yourself."

With a flick of his wrist, the booklet flew across the jade table and landed in front of Zhu Hong.

[List of Donors]

Zhu Hong took it with both hands, bowed his head, and opened it.

His eyes were immediately drawn to the dense, tiny characters of regular script, neatly categorized and clearly organized. He focused intently, turning the pages one by one:

There are about a hundred kinds of common martial arts.

Swords, fist weapons, and all sorts of other weapons are available. Each weapon is clearly marked with its rank: from Lower Mortal to Upper Mortal.

Turning to the next page, I suddenly noticed that it was different from the previous one.

The paper was slightly darker in color, and the handwriting was sparse, listing only a few martial arts techniques. Zhu Hong looked at it and was deeply moved.

【Light-Splitting Shadow Blade】

Martial Arts Skill - Low Grade

Two thousand merit points.

【Nine Transformations of Thunder】

Martial Arts Skill - Low Grade

1,800 merit points.

【Mystic Ice Finger】

Low-grade martial arts

Two thousand two hundred merit points.