In that instant, Qiao Zhi felt as though all his years of martial arts cultivation had gone completely to waste.

After knocking Chen Gang out with a single punch, Chu Qiguang gently exhaled, and he felt much better. The aggression in his chest had faded away, as had the menacing look on his face.

There was a bang just now, wasn’t there?

Chu Qiguang mentally retraced the process behind the punch, and he tried to repeat it a few more times, but he was unable to replicate the same bang.

Qiao Zhi let out an inward sigh of relief at the sight of this, and he explained, “It seems like you were only able to throw that punch just now because you were in good condition and had built up some momentum with a run-up. Your physical constitution most likely still isn’t at the minimum level required to reach the first state, so you’re going to have to continue nourishing your body with food and medicine.”

“Alright, I’ll go to the Daoist temple to buy some medicine tomorrow,” Chu Qiguang replied with a nod.

He then looked down at the unconscious Chen Gang, and panic immediately welled up in his chest.

I didn’t kill him, did I? Please don’t be dead! I’ve only just begun my rise to the top; I can’t afford to get in trouble with the law!

Chu Qiguang hurried over to check on him, but just then, Chen Gang came to, and he immediately tried to scramble back to his feet.

He knew nothing about martial arts, so he didn’t know how extraordinary that punch from Chu Qiguang was. In his mind, Chu Qiguang had only managed to land a lucky blow on him, and he was furious. “How did you do that? What did you—”

Chu Qiguang let out a sigh of relief, then stomped down on Chen Gang’s head as he threatened menacingly, “If you attack me again, I’m going to stomp on your head until it explodes!”

He stomped on Chen Gang’s head again to drive the threat home, nearly knocking him out again. Chen Gang was trembling with rage, but he was powerless to do anything.

After that, Chu Qiguang headed for the rear mountain, planning to finish his daily cultivation there.

Along the way, he examined his own hands and feet as he remarked, “Looks like all this cultivation really is paying off. I wouldn’t have won so easily in the past.”

Qiao Zhi leaped onto Chu Qiguang’s left shoulder, then revealed, “Chen Gang actually has a pretty bright future ahead of him.”

“Oh? Do you want to tell me about it?” Chu Qiguang asked, intrigued.

Qiao Zhi turned his head to the side, not daring to meet Chu Qiguang’s eyes as he said sheepishly, “In the future, he’ll catch the eye of the Wang Clan, and he’ll be sent to take part in the martial examination after a few years of training. After that, he’ll be sent to the north to study in a martial arts academy, and right after graduating, he’ll end up fighting the number one cultivator under the heavens.”

Chu Qiguang turned to look back at Chen Gang with an incredulous expression.

This idiot can fight against the number one cultivator in the world? Should I kill him right now? What if he comes after me for revenge in the future?

“He then gets beaten to death with a single blow,” Qiao Zhi continued.

Chu Qiguang fell silent for a moment at the anticlimactic conclusion to the story. He then rolled his eyes and asked, “Is there an officially recognized number one cultivator under the heavens? If so, who is it?”

“Don’t look down on him just because he gets killed by a single blow,” Qiao Zhi said. “For the number one martial artist under the heavens, he doesn’t even have to lift a finger to kill the average person, so it already takes an elite cultivator to be worthy of taking a blow from him.

“As for who the number one cultivator under the heavens is, that’s obviously the pope of the Heavenly Master Religion. His name is Huang Daoxu, and it’s already been twenty years since he reached the Dao Comprehension state.”

“The pope of the Heavenly Master Religion, eh?” Chu Qiguang mused. “He must be quite an impressive guy if he can strike down Chen Gang with a single blow like I just did.”

“Ptui!”

Qiao Zhi was unable to suppress the urge to spit on the ground.

After arriving on the rear mountain, Chu Qiguang continued with his cultivation and literacy lessons until daybreak.

Energized by his crushing victory over Chen Gang, he was able to produce a few more audible bangs with his fists during his martial arts practice, indicating that he was fast approaching the first state. In fact, he could sense that his technique was already up to par, so the only thing he lacked was physical prowess.

Thus, he set off for the county town first thing that morning and purchased a batch of Hundred Refinement Ointment from the Daoist temple.

***

The Azure Sun Daoist Temple wasn’t particularly famous, but it was still a very grand and impressive-looking building from afar.

There was a constant stream of worshipers entering and leaving the temple to offer incense, and Chu Qiguang had even spotted some people kowtowing once with each step on their way to the temple, even from far away.

After entering through the front gates, one would immediately be greeted by the sight of a red feng shui eight trigrams wall.

As Chu Qiguang approached the Daoist temple, he noticed several bailiffs from the county office hurrying over from another direction with concerned and anxious looks on their faces.

“Have you heard? There was a corpse reanimation incident in Kiln Head Village,” a nearby old man said, instantly drawing Chu Qiguang’s attention.

“Wasn’t the corpse reanimation incident in Bo’xing County?” a young man exclaimed. “How has it happened in our county as well?”

“Those demonic cult members must’ve come to our Azure Sun County,” the old man sighed with a shake of his head. “Those bailiffs must’ve been sent to the Daoist temple by the county magistrate to seek help from the Daoist Master Azure Spirit.”

How ironic that Daoist Master Azure Spirit is being called upon to vanquish demons and fiends when he’s a fiend himself, Chu Qiguang thought to himself as he eavesdropped on the conversation.

After the bailiffs entered the Daoist temple, Chu Qiguang followed them inside. He made his way around the feng shui wall to see a magnificent main hall with a deity statue of the Profound Origin Dao Lord placed at its very center. On either side of the statue were two rows of ornate pillars, and worshipers knelt on cushions before it, quietly chanting prayers.

In the rear hall were golden statues of all the past heavenly masters, which were worshiped with incense, paper sacrificial offerings, and whole roasted pigs and lambs all year round.

Beyond a side entrance was where the Daoist priests cultivated. It was a beautiful place filled with lush grass, vibrant flowers, and flourishing trees, but it was closed off to the public.

How much taxpayer money has been spent on this place? Chu Qiguang lamented to himself. If all of this money were given to me, everyone in the entire empire would be living in prosperity without having to pray to deities and Buddhas!

Qiao Zhi didn’t want to enter the Daoist temple, so Chu Qiguang had come in alone.

He wandered around in the main hall for a while before heading through a side door to the right of the main entrance, which led him to the pharmacy. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

The pharmacy was enormous. The floor was paved with marble, and the surrounding walls were lined with portraits of all kinds of deities from the Heavenly Master Religion.

Even though Chu Qiguang had come very early, there were already people lined up, including old farmers in coarse garments, academics in scholarly robes, as well as manual laborers and servants dressed in rather shabby clothes.

It seemed that people from all walks of life in Azure Sun County came here to purchase medicine.

Not only was Hundred Refinement Ointment sold in the pharmacy, they also sold medicines for things like fertility and longevity, as well as a wide range of talismans, making this a must-visit place for all followers of the Heavenly Master Religion.

However, according to Qiao Zhi, aside from Hundred Refinement Ointment, everything else sold in the pharmacy was a complete scam.

***

After waiting in line for a long time, it was finally Chu Qiguang’s turn to be attended to. He stared intently at the employee in front him to ensure that they didn’t overcharge him.

The employee felt somewhat unsettled under Chu Qiguang’s intense scrutiny as he placed the silver on a scale and weighed it.

He then used a pair of pliers to cut off a corner from one of the silver ingots, weighed it again, and finally said, “That’ll be thirty-four taels and eight qian.”

All the Hundred Refinement Ointment in Daoist temples was priced by weight, and the unit price varies depending on the year and place of production.

The batch of Hundred Refinement Ointment Chu Qiguang had purchased had been produced that year by the White Cloud Daoist Temple of Divine Capital City. The White Cloud Daoist Temple was world-renowned for the quality of its medicine, and this was a new batch refined that year, so it was naturally a bit more expensive than the average.

Chu Qiguang accepted the batch of Hundred Refinement Ointment and his change from the employee, then asked, “Have the prices gone up recently?”