abnabooks Chapter 7 Spirit Fish
Chapter 7 Spirit Fish
For the next ten days, Liang Cheng lived a monotonous life, going back and forth between three points.
They practiced sparring in the morning, learned to read in the afternoon, and secretly slipped away to the desolate beach and reef cave at night to practice the Stone Armor Kung Fu. They endured the burning pain of the ointment every day and the dull sound of the wooden stick striking the ground.
[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (14/500)]
[Introduction to the Wild Bull Strength (84/200)]
[Introduction to Stone Armor Kung Fu (Fragment) (28/200)]
It's just past midnight tonight.
Liang Cheng was applying ointment in the cave when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps on the sand outside. Two dark figures rushed over and stopped in the rocky area to catch their breath.
By the moonlight, Liang Cheng could see the face of the man in front of him clearly. It was Liu Biao, the notorious bandit on the notice. Beside him was a lean man who was tightly clutching a wet oilcloth bag.
"Brother Biao, how about we hide here?" the skinny guy said weakly. "My legs are shaking."
Liu Biao spat, looked around to make sure it was safe, and said, "Damn it, those two hawks are really close. Let's check the stuff first."
The two squatted down, opened the cloth bag, and inside was a strange silver-scaled fish about a foot long. The fish had a fleshy tumor on its head and was already dead, but it still emitted a faint fishy smell.
"Is it really a 'silver-headed shark'?" The skinny man's eyes lit up. "Does eating it really boost my blood and energy?"
"No doubt about it." Liu Biao licked his lips. "Once things calm down, we'll split up, and your skills will at least improve by a significant margin."
"Brother Biao, you're a true friend. I, Skinny Monkey, will follow you to the death."
The skinny monkey looked excited.
Liang Cheng held his breath in the shadows. Both of these men were desperate criminals, but judging from their auras, only Brother Biao had barely broken through to the Ming Jin level, though he was more ferocious than the average person.
He just wants to build up his strength now, doesn't want to cause trouble, and quietly waits for them to leave.
Suddenly, the skinny guy stood up, clutching his stomach, and said, "Brother Biao, I can't hold it in anymore, I need to go to the side to relieve myself."
As he spoke, he walked towards the cave.
Liang Cheng's heart tightened involuntarily.
The skinny man walked to the edge of the cave and was about to unbuckle his belt when he suddenly felt something under his foot. It was the medicine bowl that Liang Cheng had casually put down earlier.
"Hmm?" The skinny man looked down and saw Liang Cheng make his move in that instant. Since he had already been exposed, he decided to strike first.
He pounced out of the shadows like a cheetah, his right fist clenched, unleashing a burst of raw power, aimed straight at the skinny man's throat. The skinny man was instantly startled, hurriedly leaning back as the fist grazed his neck.
He let out a strange cry, and the cloth bag in his arms flew out of his hands.
"Who?!"
Liu Biao, who was not far away, stood up and shouted.
Liang Cheng didn't answer. He had already figured out the current situation in his mind. The moment he landed, he grabbed his cloth bag, turned around, and ran towards the beach.
"You're asking for death!" Liu Biao was furious when he saw the spiritual item he had already obtained being snatched away. He chased after Liang Cheng at lightning speed, closing the distance in just a few steps, and struck Liang Cheng in the back with a palm strike.
Liang Cheng listened to the wind and dodged to the side, then casually tossed the cloth bag far away, where it landed among the rocks. Liu Biao hesitated for a moment, as expected.
In that instant, Liang Cheng had already turned around and assumed a fighting stance.
"Kid, give the stuff back, and I might leave you with a whole corpse."
Liu Biao grinned and cracked his knuckles. He could tell that Liang Cheng was just an ordinary young fisherman, with no distinguishing aura, and he didn't take him seriously at all.
Liang Cheng didn't speak, but slowly adjusted his breathing, silently circulating the Stone Armor Technique, his skin slightly tightening, and the Hunyuan Stance instantly took shape.
Seeing that Liang Cheng didn't respond, Liu Biao lost his patience, rushed forward, and punched straight at Liang Cheng's face with a whistling sound.
At this moment, Liang Cheng neither dodged nor avoided, but crossed his arms to block.
"Thump!"
A dull thud resounded, and Liu Biao felt as if his fist had struck thick cowhide; the recoil made his wrist go numb.
His expression changed: "Hard skills?"
Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, Liang Cheng slammed his shoulder into the center gate with a powerful, forceful strike!
However, Liu Biao was experienced in life-or-death battles and quickly retreated half a step, pressing down with his left hand to deflect the attack. But he did not expect that Liang Cheng's collision was just a feint. The real killing move was to throw lime on his hand. Liu Biao screamed in agony and scratched his face with both hands.
I had leftover lime from last time, so I kept it close to my body.
Immediately afterwards, Liang Cheng kicked him squarely in the shinbone. It was thanks to his minor mastery of the Hunyuan Stance that Liang Cheng was able to make such a quick move.
"Snap!"
The sound of bones cracking rang out clearly. Liu Biao screamed and his body swayed. Liang Cheng seized the opportunity, stepped forward and closed in, and slammed his right elbow into Liu Biao's heart!
"Ugh!" Liu Biao vomited blood, his eyes bulging out.
But at this moment, he became extremely ferocious. Ignoring his injuries, he tightly gripped Liang Cheng with both arms and bit down on Liang Cheng's neck.
Liang Cheng's head snapped back, his forehead slamming hard into Liu Biao's nose.
"puff!"
Blood splattered from the nose.
Liu Biao, in pain, instinctively let go. In the instant Liang Cheng broke free, he drew a short knife from his waist. With a flash of cold light, the blade precisely sliced across Liu Biao's neck.
Liu Biao clutched his neck with both hands, made a few hoarse sounds, then collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and remained motionless.
Liang Cheng was panting heavily, his hand holding the knife trembling slightly.
This was his first life-or-death battle with a martial arts expert, and he managed to defeat the enemy despite being of a higher level, thanks to his extraordinary foundation.
"Brother Biao!"
A scream came from not far away. He had been stunned by Liang Cheng's punch and only now came to his senses. When he saw Liu Biao dead, he was so frightened that he turned and ran away.
How could Liang Cheng possibly let him escape?
He immediately gave chase and stabbed the skinny man in the heart from behind. The skinny man collapsed to the ground, dead.
Liang Cheng gasped for breath, and it took him a while to calm down. He quickly checked his surroundings and found no one there.
He immediately retrieved the cloth bag, then searched the two bodies. Liu Biao had a money bag in his arms, which he weighed in his hand; it contained more than twenty taels of loose silver. The skinny man only had a few taels of change on him.
Liang Cheng carefully put away all the silver and took Liu Biao's fine dagger. He didn't touch anything else, nor did he intend to report to the authorities for a reward.
Thirty taels of silver is a lot, but the trouble is even greater.
He dragged the two bodies to the deep water, tied them to the rocks, and sank them into the sea. The waves quickly wiped away all the bloodstains. After doing all this, Liang Cheng finally calmed down.
Liang Cheng carefully hid the money pouch close to his body, and looking at the silver-headed shark, he couldn't help but feel excited at the thought of it increasing his blood and qi.
Liang Cheng found another reef cave to ensure safety, then used a dagger to cut off pieces of fish meat and swallowed them directly.
Fifteen minutes later, after finishing all the fish, a warm current rose in his stomach, and his blood and qi surged. He immediately set up the Hunyuan stance, and the warm current circulated with the stance, nourishing his muscles and bones.
An hour later, the warm current continued, and the effects of the spirit fish had not yet been fully realized, with the energy stored in Liang Cheng's body.
[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (33/500)]
[Introduction to the Wild Bull Strength (122/200)]
[Introduction to Stone Armor Kung Fu (Fragment) (68/200)]
No wonder cultivation emphasizes wealth, companions, methods, and environment. After consuming the silver-headed shark, the results in just one hour were comparable to several days of arduous cultivation.
Although tonight was dangerous, the rewards were substantial.
As dawn broke, Liang Cheng rushed back to the martial arts school. Everything seemed normal, and he continued practicing as if nothing had happened.
However, he plans to avoid going to the shore of the reef for the time being, just in case, and will make further plans after the storm has passed.
Liang Cheng's life continued as usual, five days later, on the eve of the small exam.
With the full effect of the strange fish, Liang Cheng's blood and qi were vigorous, his skin was tough, and when he practiced boxing in the courtyard, his breathing was calm and solid.
[Minor Success in Hunyuan Zhuang (73/500)]
[Introduction to the Wild Bull Strength (199/200)]
[Introduction to Stone Armor Kung Fu (Fragment) (140/200)]
Breaking through to the Ming Jin level is just around the corner!