One night passed quietly.
The next morning.
As the sun had just risen, Zhou Chen opened his eyes and, as usual, the first thing he looked at was the personal panel's point column.
[Wind and Moon Points: 650]
"Not bad, with Fengxia's blessing, I can get six or seven hundred every night!"
Zhou Chen was quite satisfied. With a thought, he added all the Wind and Moon Points to the Yi Arrow Skill.
Boom.
Zhou Chen's muscles trembled, his tendons twitched, and his blood boiled as if he had been practicing hard for years, making another breakthrough, his physical body expanding significantly.
[Realm: Body Refining Third Stage - Refining Tendons (2018/4000)]
"Halfway through refining the tendons!"
Zhou Chen felt his powerful body and surging strength, immersed in joy, his arm muscles and veins bulging like dragons.
However, with a shift in his thoughts, the Breath Concealment Technique activated, and his aura converged, returning to his original appearance.
"Mmm..."
Qin Hongyu, startled by the dragon-like awakening aura from Zhou Chen, knew from previous experience that Zhou Chen had broken through and become stronger again.
"Brother Chen is truly a genius!"
Looking at Zhou Chen's handsome and masculine profile, her eyes were soft, her fair hands gently stroking the strong muscle lines, full of fascination.
The man's strong muscle lines were like a woman's voluptuous curves, making one eager to touch.
Zhou Chen, while stroking Qin Hongyu's smooth jade-like back, felt the urge as well, but today was the shop's opening day, and there was also work at the government office.
He couldn't indulge in laziness.
With strong willpower and self-discipline, Zhou Chen got out of bed.
Qin Hongyu assisted Zhou Chen in dressing and washing up.
Too lazy to make breakfast, Zhou Chen took Qin Hongyu out to eat, intending to check on the shop as well.
When he arrived at the noodle shop opposite the store, he found that a long line had already formed at the entrance of Yang Dingtian's shop, nodding silently to himself:
"Not bad!"
He was very satisfied with Wild Dog and Er Ma's performance this time.
"Brother Chen, is… this our shop?"
Qin Hongyu's mouth opened wide, hardly believing her eyes.
This was so bustling!
"Of course it's our shop. Didn't I tell you it would definitely sell well?"
Zhou Chen smiled happily, for it was all shiny silver.
Although money isn't everything...
Without money, nothing is possible.
"Brother Chen, you are amazing!"
"Of course!"
Zhou Chen leaned over to Qin Hongyu's ear, teasing:
"If I weren't amazing, could I make the teacher's wife call me dad?"
"You're not allowed to say that!"
"I won't say, come, eat noodles!"
As Zhou Chen and Qin Hongyu ate beef noodles, Yang Dingtian's shop remained just as bustling.
Passersby stopped to watch the excitement.
"What are they selling? It's so lively!"
"I heard it's a shop opened by Constable Zhou Chen, selling a miraculous medicine all men love. Just look at the store's name!"
"Yang Dingtian? What a bold name!"
"But I heard the medicine is indeed very effective. Many people at Snow Moon Square tried it last night, and the results were extraordinary!"
"I heard it was tough on the girls at Snow Moon Square!"
With more and more people gathering, the name of Yang Dingtian spread far and wide.
Zhang Long, accompanied by Zhao Hu, Yang Dali, and Yang Dageng, walked over while eating meat buns and drinking soybean milk.
"Is it actually a shop opened by Brother Chen?"
Zhao Hu's eyes widened. They thought something had happened with such a crowd, but it turned out to be the opening of Yang Dingtian's shop.
"How could there be such a crowd?"
Yang Dali found it hard to believe that Zhou Chen, having just opened the shop today, already had such a long line in the morning. It seemed unscientific.
Zhang Long casually approached someone who had bought the medicine to inquire, finally understanding that Zhou Chen had advertised at Snow Moon Square last night.
"Who could have imagined that Brother Chen was so business-savvy? It's simply divine!"
Zhao Hu and the others were amazed when they heard about the events at Snow Moon Square the previous night.
"Impressive!"
Zhang Long was equally astonished. If he were in charge, he would have set off firecrackers to attract a crowd, then used his reputation to draw in customers.
But Zhou Chen merely had two ruffians boast at Snow Moon Square, subtly spreading the word about the medicine, attracting such a crowd.
Of course,
this also included Zhou Chen's strong performance at Snow Moon Square as a gimmick.
"Could it be that Zhou Chen had already planned to advertise when he went to Snow Moon Square, which is why he spared no effort with the girls he favored each time?"
Regardless, the more Zhang Long thought about it, the more Zhou Chen seemed unfathomable, adept in both social dealings and business, unlike any eighteen-year-old country bumpkin.
"This lad is no ordinary person!"
Zhang Long couldn't help but feel fortunate for recognizing talent early and befriending Zhou Chen. The more formidable Zhou Chen became, the more he would benefit in the future.
Not to mention the future; with the shop's booming business, it seemed like a literal goldmine, and he owned 40% of it, which was quite a handsome income.
It was as though he had just invested and immediately saw dividends!
"Brother Long!"
Zhou Chen waved at Zhang Long, calling out.
Zhang Long turned to see Zhou Chen eating noodles and brought Zhao Hu and the others over. After exchanging greetings, they sat down to eat noodles as well.
"Congratulations, Brother Chen, on a great start and may wealth flow in!"
Zhao Hu and the others congratulated.
"It's all thanks to Brother Long's shop location; otherwise, there wouldn't be such good business!"
Zhou Chen smiled modestly.
"Little Chen is too modest. This isn't about location; we all heard about your methods at Snow Moon Square last night. It was truly an eye-opener!"
Zhang Long looked at the composed and unassuming Zhou Chen, secretly admiring him.
As the saying goes, young people often get carried away with a little success.
Zhou Chen's methods seemed simple, yet why didn't others think of it?
It's easy to give hindsight advice.
Moreover, Zhou Chen achieved such results with just two ruffians; it was indeed a remarkable feat.
After breakfast, Zhou Chen settled the bill.
The group headed towards Yang Dingtian's shop.
"County Captain!"
Many people recognized Zhang Long and made way respectfully.
"County Captain, Brother Chen, Madam, you're here!"
Wild Dog and Er Ma quickly stepped forward to greet them, nodding and smiling broadly.
Zhang Long gave a slight nod.
Zhou Chen nodded and encouraged them:
"Well done, I'll give you a bonus later!"
"Thank you, Brother Chen!"
The two were overjoyed and felt a surge of excitement.
Zhou Chen and Zhang Long's group took a tour and then went to work.
Their purpose here was merely to show whose store this was, to ward off any troublemakers!
Qin Hongyu stayed at the shop for a bit and then went home to prepare medicine.
It's all money, after all.
Thinking of the gleaming silver, Qin Hongyu was filled with energy.
...
Qinghe County Government Office.
Zhang Long took Zhou Chen to the County Magistrate to register and receive a lower-tier martial art.
But even among the lower-tier martial arts, choices were limited.
A saber technique, the Three-in-One Saber.
A fist technique, the Three Harmonies Fist.
A finger technique, the Three Harmonies Finger.
Looking at these three manuals, Zhou Chen was baffled.
Are they stuck on the Three Harmonies?
"Actually, these three martial arts were created by the Grand Ancestor Emperor of Great Qian as simplified versions of the Eight Desolates Saber, Eight Desolates Fist, and Eight Desolates Finger."
Noticing Zhou Chen's confusion, Zhang Long explained: "If you achieve notable feats, you might earn a middle-tier martial art like the Six Harmonies Saber, Six Harmonies Fist, or Six Harmonies Finger."
"Even achieving great feats might earn you the Eight Desolates Saber, Eight Desolates Fist, and Eight Desolates Finger!"
"Great Qian officials without martial arts training all practice this!"
"I know you have martial arts training, so choose whether to train or not as you wish, but do not teach it to others without higher approval!"
"Got it!"
Zhou Chen nodded and chose the Three-in-One Saber.
He had the Yi Arrow Skill and needed a close-combat martial art.
"The Three-in-One Saber is good; I trained in it too. If you have questions, you can ask me!"
"Thank you, County Captain!"
Having received the saber technique, Zhou Chen went to the government office's martial practice ground.
There were many governmental constables training, some standing in stances, some practicing moves.
Zhou Chen found a corner to begin reading the Three-in-One Saber.
In this world, martial techniques include moves, and both his Yi Arrow Skill and the Three-in-One Saber have accompanying body refining poses.
Many martial arts can be practiced together.
However, training consumes a lot of energy, so most martial artists choose one main focus, using others as supplementary aids.
Zhang Long didn't know what martial arts Zhou Chen practiced, but it was likely lower-tier martial arts.
And lower-tier martial arts can only be trained up to Body Refining Sixth Layer.
Thus.
Zhou Chen might as well focus on mastering the Three-in-One Saber early on, so when he reaches the Body Refining Sixth Layer, he can train the Six Harmonies Saber in succession, which is more advantageous.
But Zhou Chen would not give up the Yi Arrow Skill.
He looked at his personal panel.
[Three-in-One Saber Level 1 (0/100)]
"So cheap?"
Zhou Chen widened his eyes, knowing this was for the Body Refining First Stage, whereas the Yi Arrow Skill required a full thousand Wind and Moon Points.
"Could this be the difference between lower-tier and upper-tier martial arts?"
"No!"
Zhou Chen quickly realized, since he had already completed skin refining, the energy consumption was greatly reduced, so the Wind and Moon Points were so few.
If he hadn't trained the Yi Arrow Skill and was just an ordinary person, even if the Three-in-One Saber Level 1 didn't require a thousand Wind and Moon Points, it would require five hundred.
"Add points!"
Looking at the three hundred Wind and Moon Points he accumulated over this time by multitasking and making efforts with Ji Fengxia in the Wind and Moon Treasure Mirror, Zhou Chen said without hesitation.
Buzz!
As a hundred Wind and Moon Points were consumed, Zhou Chen felt like he was diligently practicing the Three-in-One Saber day by day, strike after strike.
That day.
Under his diligent practice, the Three-in-One Saber finally made a breakthrough.
Zhou Chen felt a change in himself, as if he had become a saber, his skin tingling.
This feeling was very familiar to him.
He had completed another skin refining.
However, the effect wasn't as significant as the first time, as he had already completed skin and tendon refining.
But under the overlay of the Three-in-One Saber.
Zhou Chen could clearly feel his defense had increased by at least ten percent, which was a substantial breakthrough.
His battle power at least doubled.
"This hundred Wind and Moon Points were really worth it!"
Zhou Chen sensed himself, and not only had his skin's defense greatly increased, but his vitality had also become more robust.
Especially since his saber technique had reached the minor achievement level.
He reached for the saber at his waist, and an incredibly familiar feeling surged through him, as if it were an extension of his arm, moving as desired.
"Now my close-combat ability has skyrocketed!"
Zhou Chen was secretly thrilled, looking at the changes on the panel:
[Three-in-One Saber Level 2 (0/200)]
His eyes shone even brighter with delight:
"Continue, add points!"
...