Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

Movement technique?

Xu Hao's eyes lit up.

Now, with the added strength of the "Overturning River Force," he becomes stronger when facing stronger opponents. However, his footwork is his only weakness; the "Agile Cat Step" is not very effective in water.

If you encounter a tough opponent, it's difficult to even run away if you can't beat them.

"What's next?" Chen Yuanzhi couldn't help but ask again when he saw that Xu Hao hadn't moved for a while.

Xu Hao stuffed the sheepskin book and token into his pocket, grabbed a box in each hand, stepped on the well wall, and flipped up in a few leaps.

"then."

Xu Hao tossed the sheepskin book to Chen Yuanzhi, then plopped down on the edge of the well, patted the two wooden boxes, and said, "This box of gold is mine, as compensation for your hard work along the way. This box of jewels and jade is your capital."

Chen Yuanzhi hurriedly caught the ancient sheepskin book. After looking at the cover, he stroked the rough spine with a complicated expression: "This is the Chen family's ancestral movement technique. It is said that when mastered, one can walk on flat ground amidst raging waves."

"That sounds impressive." Xu Hao glanced at it. "Too bad I'm not surnamed Chen."

After a moment of silence, Chen Yuanzhi suddenly held the ancient book in both hands and handed it to Xu Hao: "This is for you."

Xu Hao raised an eyebrow: "Young Master, this isn't just a matter of a few taels of silver. In the martial arts world, this stuff would be enough to make several gangs spit their brains out."

"You said it yourself, this is the martial world." Chen Yuanzhi looked at the corpses all over the courtyard, his gaze falling on Old Ma. "The Chen family is gone, what use is this dead thing? My talent for martial arts is mediocre, I... I'll give this to you."

He paused, then looked directly at Xu Hao: "This is the deposit. You take these two boxes too; they're for travel expenses, as agreed. Once we get to Mingzhou, I will keep my word on the remaining 30% profit."

Xu Hao stared at Chen Yuanzhi for two seconds, then suddenly laughed and grabbed the ancient sheepskin book.

He casually flipped through two pages, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This footwork emphasizes using leverage in unstable terrain, which perfectly compensates for his weakness in agility. Combined with the "Turning River Force," he won't just resort to head-on confrontations when encountering water-related situations in the future.

"Deal." Xu Hao dusted off his backside. "But let me make this clear beforehand: if we encounter any grandmaster-level experts along the way, I'll take these with me and run."

Chen Yuanzhi gave a bitter laugh: "If you really encounter a grandmaster, it's your skill if you can escape."

Special item detected: Sea Avoidance Permit (Shengzhou Pass)

[Bound Blessed Land: Sunset Fish Market LV1 (Ruined)]

[Obtained a Blessed Land Specialty: Water-Repelling Pearl (Fragment)]

[Note: Holding it in your mouth allows you to breathe freely underwater for 15 minutes.]

Xu Hao picked up a bead no bigger than a fingernail and was overjoyed.

With this, even without a boat, he could escape by water with Chen Yuanzhi. As for the Sea Avoidance Token, he still needed to study how to use this so-called Shengzhou Pass.

Xu Hao put away "The Steps of Surging Waves" and saw Chen Yuanzhi still kneeling beside the old man's corpse, looking dazed as if he had lost his soul. So he walked over and kicked the corpse of the strong man whose throat he had slit.

"Young Master, I can't be stingy after receiving such a hefty deposit from you." Xu Hao toyed with the Sea Avoidance Token in his hand, "I'll also give you a lesson on surviving in chaotic times as a bonus."

Chen Yuanzhi looked up, his eyes red-rimmed, clearly still reeling from Old Ma's tragic death: "What lesson?"

"Looting the corpse."

Xu Hao squatted down, nimbly reaching two fingers into the burly man's arms. In no time, he pulled out a money pouch, tossed it around, and listened to the crisp sound inside, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. They can't take this money with them, so we can spend it for them." Xu Hao glanced at Chen Yuanzhi. "Want revenge? Want to go to Mingzhou? Gold alone isn't enough; you also need this 'scavenging' mentality."

Chen Yuanzhi looked at the pair of hands rummaging through the bloodstains, his throat tightened, he felt like vomiting, but he swallowed it back down.

"What are you standing there for? Let's do it." Xu Hao pointed to the corpses scattered all over the yard. "The five on the left are yours. Don't mind the dirt; don't leave the soles of their shoes or the linings of their belts. These pirates are desperate for money; they'll hide it in places you can't even imagine."

Chen Yuanzhi gritted his teeth and tremblingly reached out his hand to the nearest corpse.

The moment my fingertips touched the cold, stiff skin, they recoiled as if burned.

"What, you think it's bad luck?" Xu Hao didn't even look up, as he was prying a crumpled silver note out from under one of the henchmen's shoe insoles. "Think about how Old Ma died, and then think about how much grain these bastards could buy, how many people they could hire to kill their way back."

Xu Hao's words were like a whip, sending a shiver down Chen Yuanzhi's spine.

He began to rummage through the body clumsily, his fingertips trembling at first, before he tore open the corpse's clothes with a blank expression.

"There's nothing here..." Chen Yuanzhi said, holding a few copper coins in his hand, somewhat dejected.

"You just didn't find the right place." Xu Hao walked over, grabbed the corpse's arm with one hand, and twisted it hard. He pulled out an oil paper package from a hidden pocket sewn inside the pirate's clothes under his armpit. "See? These guys are afraid of getting their treasures wet when they go to sea, so they like to hide them in places where it's not easy for water to get in."

The oil paper package was opened to reveal several nautical charts depicting reefs and ocean currents, along with a silver note.

Watching Xu Hao's fluid movements, Chen Yuanzhi felt that all the classical texts he had read before could now be used to feed dogs.

"What's this?" Chen Yuanzhi suddenly touched a hard, round ball that had fallen out of the burly man's undershirt.

It was a wax pellet, with a skull printed on the seal.

Xu Hao took it, squeezed it hard with two fingers, and with a "crack", the wax shell shattered.

There was no poison hidden inside, but rather a strangely shaped key covered in rust, and a piece of silk as thin as a cicada's wing.

Xu Hao unfolded the silk scroll, glanced at it by the moonlight, and chuckled.

"The Turtle Breathing Technique?" Xu Hao raised an eyebrow.

This technique is substandard; it can neither be used for fighting nor for resisting. Its only purpose is to hold one's breath and pretend to be dead, or to hold one's breath underwater for a little longer.

But this thing, when paired with the newly acquired "water-repelling bead," is a perfect match.

"This key looks like an old object." Xu Hao twirled the bronze key in his hand twice and then put it in his pocket.

"Let's go, we can't stay here any longer." Xu Hao put away his things and was about to call Chen Yuanzhi to leave.

Suddenly, a deep horn sound came from the sea outside the town, piercing through the night and sounding particularly mournful.

Xu Hao's expression changed, and he scrambled onto the roof, gazing into the distance.

On the dark sea, several huge official ships flying black dragon flags were cutting through the waves. The lanterns hanging at the bow of the ships formed a fiery dragon in the night, illuminating half of the sea.

It was a warship belonging to the Bureau of Astronomy.

"These scoundrels..."