Cultivation Begins with Skill Points-Chapter 157 Beheading

"What’s going on here?"

Old man Xu looked at the mess in Zhong Lin’s house, somewhat dumbfounded.

Just yesterday, the house was perfectly fine. Now it looks like a disaster has struck.

"I was practicing martial arts last night and this happened by accident."

Zhong Lin replied casually and openly.

Old man Xu instantly got so angry that his qi-blood surged, and he shouted angrily, "Couldn’t you practice outside? The courtyard is so big, why did you have to practice inside the house?"

"You just don’t understand!"

Zhong Lin feigned disdain and said, "Martial Artists don’t just practice moving skills; at a certain level, they start practicing stillness skills."

"Are you taking advantage of the fact that I don’t practice martial arts? Middle Third Grade Martial Artists typically practice Pile Skill, refining qi-blood, which wouldn’t cause such a big fuss. I think you, kid..."

"Oh, you’re getting more stingy as you get older. I’ll tidy up later. It’s just some tables and chairs! I’m hungry, what’s for breakfast?"

With that, he dragged old man Xu out of the room, not giving him a chance to speak further.

Before they’d even had breakfast, Mei Haiming came with a big pile of gifts, only to be chased away by Zhong Lin.

He couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

"Zhong Lin, that’s the county magistrate."

Old man Xu was still a bit bewildered. The county magistrate personally visiting first thing in the morning, only to be driven away without even stepping inside, shattered his perception of the world.

"I know!"

Zhong Lin said casually while munching on a large meat bun.

"Then why did you..."

"I told you but you wouldn’t believe me. I’m really powerful now. Not to mention the magistrate, even the princess would have to bow to me and serve me with good food and drink."

"Ha, you really start boasting when someone praises you."

"Forget it if you don’t believe me."

Zhong Lin took a big gulp of millet porridge. This porridge had been simmered for a long time, forming an oily layer on top, making it deliciously fragrant and tasty.

"So, what did the county magistrate want with you?"

"He wanted me to help him out. Don’t worry, it’s no problem, just a rat I can crush easily with my hand."

"Alright! It’s good if you’re aware."

Old man Xu didn’t ask further because when it came to Zhong Lin, he was at complete ease. Whether it was their previous collaboration in selling medicine or his protection of their family, Zhong Lin always demonstrated maturity far beyond his age.

After quickly finishing his breakfast, he got up, went back to his room to tidy up a bit, and continued to meditate and cultivate.

The "Five Elements Mixed Essence Skill" had such an excellent effect on breaking through the meridians, so naturally Zhong Lin didn’t want to waste time. He wanted to complete the cultivation of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians as soon as possible.

Time passed leisurely.

Except for occasionally going out, Zhong Lin spent all his other time cultivating in his room.

No effort goes unrewarded, and in just seven days, Zhong Lin had opened the Yang Wei Meridian and Dai Meridian, advancing his cultivation to the ninth layer of the Meridian Passage.

The Yang Wei Meridian is one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, with "Wei" meaning to connect and maintain. The Yang Wei Meridian functions to connect all the yang meridians of the body, collaborating with the Yin Wei Meridian to help accumulate qi-blood.

It starts at the outside of the heel, moving upwards past the outer ankle, along the Foot Shaoyang Meridian to the hip joint, up the side of the chest to the shoulder, forehead, and the back of the neck, merging with the Du Meridian, with a total of sixteen acupoints.

The Dai Meridian is also one of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians; however, unlike other meridians that run up and down, the Dai Meridian runs horizontally, like a belt constricting heavy meridians, with three points on each side, totaling six acupoints.

The activation of these two meridians caused Zhong Lin’s abilities to surge by several folds, with his inner breath traveling through his meridians at a vastly increased speed.

"Now there are only the Chong Meridian and the governor and conception vessels left. In a month, I must complete the cultivation of the Meridian Passage Scripture."

Zhong Lin’s face was full of joy, especially feeling the constantly growing power, which filled him with a sense of satisfaction.

"Tomorrow is the execution day for that so-called Second Master, time to stretch a bit."

...

Early the next morning, the sounds of gongs echoed through the streets and alleys.

This was a common tactic used by the government office, whenever there was an execution event at the execution ground, to remind the townspeople to come and watch, with at least one person per household required to attend.

The purpose is clear: it’s to kill a chicken to warn the monkeys, telling people not to break the law, or else the person above is their future.

Old man Xu was in the pharmacy, Xiu was in the school, and Zhong Lin held back Mrs. Xu, stepping out of the courtyard and following the crowd towards the execution ground in West City.

When Zhong Lin arrived at the execution ground, a large crowd had already gathered, and there were some small-time vendors weaving through the crowd, selling sunflower seeds and peanuts. For them, a crowd meant business.

On the execution ground, two constables were pressing down the disheveled Qi Feihu, kneeling in the direction of the southern crowd, with a yoke on his shoulder and a stick bound to his mouth, like an animal.

Even so, Qi Feihu was making muffled sounds, his blood-red eyes filled with ferocity and menace.

He refused to kneel when first brought in, until Chief Arrest Officer Xue stepped forward and broke two of his leg bones with a kick.

"Finally going to die, that damned thing."

"Yeah! I say beheading is too lenient, he should be sliced into a thousand pieces."

"I agree, this Qi Feihu has committed all sorts of crimes, killing and burning, countless people must have died at his hands. My wife’s second uncle on her mother’s side was killed by them too. Such a nice family! Just because Qi Feihu found their daughter pretty, he kidnapped her that night and killed her entire family."

"Um... And what about the girl?"

Someone asked curiously.

"She died the next day, after being tortured the whole night, she threw herself into a well."

"Sigh! He deserves to die."

"Deserves it."

Mei Haiming glanced at the sky, then at the nearby Zhong Lin, finally calming his nerves.

He pulled out a death warrant from the tube in front of him, threw it forcefully at the ground, and shouted, "It’s noon. Verify identity and execute."

With this command, Qi Feihu on the execution ground struggled even more, but with his mouth gagged, he couldn’t cry out.

The bare-chested executioner raised a bowl of wine, gulped it down, then sprayed it onto the Ghost Head Blade in his hand.

He stepped towards Qi Feihu’s side, raising the Ghost Head Blade high, its sharp light dazzling in the sunlight.

The burly arm swung down with force, the blade landing heavily on Qi Feihu’s neck.

Suddenly, a cold light streaked across from afar, revealed to be a Flying Stone, targeting the executioner’s head with such speed that it was almost instantaneous, and if it hit, the executioner’s head would explode on site like a watermelon.

In the crowd, Zhong Lin naturally saw this scene too. He flicked his finger and a burst of energy shot out from his fingertip, colliding with the stone in midair.

With a muffled sound, the stone shattered on the spot.

Then a cheer erupted from the crowd, as Qi Feihu’s head flew high into the air, with a stream of blood gushing from his neck.