Work Prophet
Chapter 545 - 163: A New World

Chapter 545: Chapter 163: A New World

After the purification ceremony, Zhu Zhigang continued to acquaint himself with his new body in the courtyard.

He started with some standing meditation, as the saying goes, "A hundred practices are no match for one stand," and when Masters took on disciples in the past, the first thing they taught was the standing meditation.

The variations of fist routines later in the Xing Yi Quan are also closely related to the standing meditation practice.

This is a foundational method in martial arts, which externally strengthens muscles, bones and enhances lower body strength while internally it helps clear meridians and nourish qi and blood, storing potential within the body.

Among the myriad forms of standing meditation, Zhu Zhigang was practicing the Tai Chi stance from the Wudang Taiyi Sect, which is also the most widely practiced form among martial arts enthusiasts today.

And as soon as Zhu Zhigang adopted the stance, he immediately felt the extraordinary nature of this body.

Strength was surging from within the meridians!

Zhu Zhigang had started martial arts training at the age of fourteen in his previous life and had practiced for over twenty years. His body, though not as exaggerated as those of bodybuilders, was far superior to most ordinary people.

It was indeed a pity that he couldn’t bring his body with him to Bratis.

But after getting used to the new body, Zhu Zhigang realized that not only had he not become weaker, but he seemed to have grown even stronger.

This strength, this flexibility, especially the degree of agility in comparison to before, had all improved, particularly in terms of agility.

Zhu Zhigang then performed a set of Yong Chun Fist and discovered his movements were more than twice as fast as before. Paired with the swift punches of Yong Chun, he was nearly producing afterimages, leaving Ireya, who was watching from the side, completely dazzled.

Isn’t this much more advanced than the clumsy sword swinging during knightly duels?!

As for actual combat effectiveness, anyway, Miss Rabbit had never trained a day in martial arts and couldn’t understand it. In her eyes, Zhu Zhigang, the new servant from Saturday, seemed more formidable.

Zhu Zhigang also felt that he had become stronger, and he hadn’t even fully adapted to his new body yet. His limbs were somewhat uncoordinated; otherwise, he should be even stronger.

Moreover, the pair of wings on his back also felt a bit awkward, changing the center of gravity of his body. Because of this, many of his previous moves felt strange when executed with the new body.

Wait... wings, Zhu Zhigang’s pupils suddenly constricted as if he just realized something.

The wings shouldn’t be a hindrance, but an aid to his power!

With these wings, he could execute some moves that were previously impossible, defying gravity and even those mystical martial arts that only ever appeared on TV.

For example, a certain palm technique that descended from the sky... Zhu Zhigang now had the conditions to perform it.

Indeed, not only that, but the martial arts he had previously trained, along with the wings, could also potentially receive an epic enhancement. It just required him to explore and experiment bit by bit.

Looking back on the thousand-year history of the martial arts community, there were no previous examples for him to reference, and the difficulty exceeded that of creating a new martial art. Moreover, even if he perfected his divine skills, he would most likely not be able to find a successor and couldn’t establish a sect.

But Zhu Zhigang was still greatly energized because he felt he had glimpsed a brand-new world of martial arts, and maybe someday he could attain enlightenment through martial arts and become a grandmaster of an era.

The more Zhu Zhigang thought about it, the more excited he became, and he immediately threw himself into the deductions.

...

On the other side, Imperial Forest Guard Captain Duren stealthily arrived at Pork Fat Street. It is said that this place was originally outside Lion Heart Castle, where pigs were raised and butchered. Later, as the Royal Capital expanded, the pig herders and butchers moved elsewhere.

Eventually, Pork Fat Street gradually became a market. However, unlike another market on the east side of the city, Pork Fat Street was mainly frequented by the poor.

The goods sold here were mostly cheap, low-quality trinkets. Aside from these, contraband items were often traded secretly, provided you could find the right connections.

Although Duren had always lived in the Royal Capital, he had never been here before. Fortunately, he was unaware of the place but knew someone who would be familiar.

—The city defense forces, those guys were responsible for guarding the Royal Capital and maintaining public order, dealing with all types of people from every walk of life.

So Duren found the commander of the defense forces, Essos, and got a guard nicknamed Little Thumb who had been patrolling the Pork Fat Street area.

Little Thumb easily located several underground merchants in the market known for selling contraband goods.

Duren met those sneaky fellows behind a pickled fish store, and the Imperial Forest Guard Captain couldn’t help but frown, asking Little Thumb beside him,

"You’ve known all along what these fellows are up to, yet you’ve allowed them to continue selling contraband in this marketplace?"

Little Thumb heard the implicit reprimand in Duren’s words and hastily protested his innocence.

"Ah, Your Honor, I despise these people just as much as you do. These scoundrels are brazen and only have eyes for money, disregarding the Empire’s laws as if they were nothing. With just one word from you, I’d arrest them all right now and throw them into the dungeon."

Duren was not a fool. He heard the subtext in Little Thumb’s words and thus asked further, "If that is so, why haven’t you done anything until now?"

"Because even if I arrest them now, others will come out later to continue selling contraband goods. You know as well, this kind of thing simply can’t be stopped.

"Previously, the great Furious Lion Alexandro tried to prohibit the public from privately brewing ale and changed it to have it produced and sold exclusively through specialized wineries, but that didn’t succeed either, right? It’s the same with other contraband; where there’s demand, there will be supply.

"The city defense can’t stop it, so it’s better to keep these few merchants and cooperate with them. That way, if anything happens, we can quickly find suspicious buyers through them, just like we’re doing now."

After listening, Duren fell silent and eventually accepted Little Thumb’s explanation, walking up to the three men.

The three merchants immediately greeted him with smiles. They recognized Little Thumb and, though they had never seen Duren, they could tell from Little Thumb’s respectful attitude that he was someone important.

As for inquiring any further, the three did not dare; in their business, knowing too much wasn’t always a good thing.

However, they were all guessing the reason for Duren’s visit in their minds. When Duren spoke up, all three were startled.

"The poison that killed the Emperor, did it come from you?"

"No, no, we would never dare sell such a thing."

"What poison? Certainly not from us!"

"Isn’t it said that Wing Tribe infiltrators have recently sneaked into the Royal Capital? Maybe it’s their doing."

Hearing this, the three merchants’ complexions changed dramatically as they hurriedly asserted their innocence. Being implicated in the assassination of the Emperor would mean not only their own execution but likely also the demise of their family and friends.

Duren, of course, knew what the three were thinking and continued, "Rest assured, I only seek to find the assassin and the mastermind behind them. I won’t hold you accountable."