Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

The morning's events had left Shen Qing ravenous, and the spread prepared by Li Linfeng was particularly to his taste. Once the others had left, he let his guard down and ate with abandon, a departure from his usual manners.

This prompted his aunt, Shen Xiu, to make some other associations.

Shen Qing couldn't be bothered to explain any further, fearing that it would only add to the confusion.

After he had his fill of food and drink, Shen Qing patted his distended belly and said, "Aunt, I'm heading back now."

"Alright," responded the disinterested Aunt Shen Xiu. "I wasn't thorough enough with today's arrangements, don't let this affect your mindset and concentrate on your Martial Arts."

"I understand."

Shen Qing gave a slight smile and strode out of the main hall, a lingering sigh echoing behind him.

Li Linfeng's efforts to connect Shen Qing through Li Lingchan had been relatively secretive and hadn't been publicized, so few were aware of it.

Yet somehow, it had come to the attention of some interested parties.

"Junior brother, I heard that the master introduced you to junior sister, but you turned her down?" Ouyang Tiezhu asked with curiosity after a sparring session with Shen Qing.

Shen Qing frowned and said, "You all know about it?"

"There aren't many people in the courtyard. When the junior sister didn't come by this afternoon, a bit of inquiry was all it took. It's not that hard to find out."

Shen Qing didn't deny it and said, "There was such an incident, but it's more that the junior sister wasn't impressed with me."

"I see. The master's junior sister has been spoiled by him since she was young. She sets her sights very high, indeed too high to take an interest in you."

Ouyang Tiezhu clapped Shen Qing on the shoulder and said, "I know a few girls around here; do you want to meet them? Rest assured, they all come from decent families. Some even belong to business families, and they are quite beautiful. You are now a martial master in the Bone Refining Realm, you should really start considering this."

"Well..." Shen Qing waved his hand and said, "I'm not thinking of settling down just yet, we'll talk about it later."

"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you, and when you're ready, just let me know. You're young now, your potential is limitless, so it's easier to find a suitor. Otherwise, if you wait too long, if you have made a name for yourself, fine, if not, it becomes harder to find a good in-law, so it's better to act early."

Shen Qing nodded and said, "Sure. If I change my mind, I'll tell you right away."

"Right, one more thing to remind you, the Zhou Family's compound was bombed by the Huang Tian Sect today, and the county government is currently hunting down the remnants of the sect. Be careful when you go out."

Shen Qing guessed it was probably because of the Martial Mechanism Bomb, making the Huang Tian Sect take the fall for him.

This was for the best, as taking on another burden from the Huang Tian Sect was something he didn't mind.

He might as well task them a bit more.

"The Huang Tian Sect again?" Shen Qing said helplessly, "It never ends."

"Just be careful."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Ouyang."

...

The minor incident of Li Linfeng setting up Shen Qing with Li Lingchan caused quite a stir among the younger brothers in the backyard.

But as quickly as it arose, it subsided.

In Linfeng Hall, where men predominantly resided, such gossip didn't capture much attention.

They felt it was more beneficial to invest time in training and strengthening their capabilities than in prying into such trivial matters of relationships.

By the time Shen Hour arrived.

After dozens of bouts with other martial brothers, Shen Qing returned to the Outer Court's pharmacy sore all over. He peeled off his clothes only to find large bruises all over his body.

These were injuries from those instances during the sparring when his skills were slightly inferior to his brothers'.

If it were a real battle and his martial brothers unleashed the full power of the Wind Defying Finger, the bruises would have been the least of his worries – it could have been a matter of life and death.

"In actual combat, I must consider defense as well. As long as an opponent's strike doesn't kill me, I have a chance to fight back. If someone's strike is fatal, then everything ends there, and there's nothing beyond that. My body's resilience to physical blows is still not sufficient."

Shen Qing collected his thoughts, soaking in the medicinal bath as usual, tempering his flesh and refining his muscle and bone.

As evening approached, Shen Qing concluded his day of cultivation and was preparing to leave the city with Shen Xiaohu to return to their residence in the Outer City.

On the left side near the road, a shop had its doors tightly shut, and faint sounds of smashing and screams could be intermittently heard from inside.

As Shen Qing passed by, the door violently burst open.

A middle-aged man, covered in blood, stumbled out from inside, trying to escape.

However, he hadn't gone far before a ruffian from behind grabbed his hair and forcefully dragged him back inside.

The door slammed shut again, leaving only a trail of blood on the ground.

Both Shen Qing and Shen Xiaohu were somewhat startled by this scene.

In his memory, the Inner City had always been stable, with gang conflicts generally confined to the Outer City, and few dared to openly engage in such fierce fights.

"Who are they to be so brazen in the Inner City?"

After a while.

The screaming inside the house abruptly stopped.

The door opened again.

A burly man who looked not to be trifled with walked out.

He loosened his muscle and bone, glanced over the crowd that had gathered on the street, and bellowed, "Mi Gang is handling affairs, bystanders keep away."

The burly man's voice was mightily robust.

Under his fierce shout, the onlookers who were craning their necks quickly scattered.

"So it's the Mi Gang?"

Shen Qing narrowed his eyes slightly, stealing a glance at the man without leaving a trace.

He knew that the Mi Gang had some conflicts with Li Linfeng and having recently attached themselves to the powerful government office, their aggressive style posed bad news for Linfeng Hall.

"Let's go."

Without further delay, Shen Qing and Shen Xiaohu quietly left.

Walking on the main street.

He wasn't sure if it was an illusion, but Shen Qing noticed that there were far fewer people on the streets.

Many storefronts were already empty and evacuated.

The Inner City felt somewhat desolate.

Shen Qing returned to the slum area and inquired about the conditions of the newly managed area for that day.

Seeing that there were no issues, he did not inquire further.

Later that evening, after having a simple meal of coarse tea and light rice, Shen Qing set aside all other affairs and laid out the Martial Arts Secret Manuals he had obtained that day on the table.

"Li Linfeng told me today that a person's energy is limited; one should not practice too many Martial Arts, mastering another discipline is already at the limit, and one should make careful selections. But with the Water Ink Panel, I don't need to do this."

After many days of practice, Shen Qing already knew that his Water Ink Panel was a permanent asset, ever advancing without regress, thereby learning multiple Martial Arts Skills wouldn't drain too much of his energy.

"I have twelve Shi Chen in a day, with two to three reserved for practicing the Wind Defying Finger, and two to three for rest; hence, I still have time left over. After calculating, I can learn two more Martial Arts Skills and one more skill outside of Martial Arts. For those I've already mastered, I can increase proficiency through application; there's no need to practice them separately."

"So, the question now is, which two Martial Arts should I practice next?"

Shen Qing lowered his gaze to the several Martial Arts Skills Manuels lying in front of him.