Chapter 17: The Great Miao Blade

Sanxiang City underwent several days of purging by the Restraint Officers, resulting in hundreds of casualties. However, since the Hundred-Eyed One could not be found, the matter was eventually dropped.

During this period, Ren Qing was not idle. He secretly gathered information, and the forces behind the beggars gradually came to light.

This gang was called the Blood Dogs.

Unlike the chaotic southern part of the city, the western part, aside from those small-time gangs, was unquestionably dominated by the Blood Dogs Gang as the local overlords.

At its peak, the Blood Dogs Gang monopolized all the shady businesses in the western part of the city, and even openly dabbled in many legitimate ventures.

Because the authorities had once launched a deadly crackdown on the Blood Dogs Gang, its scale had shrunk significantly, and its current businesses were all unsavory.

Fortunately, the Restraint Officers did not participate in the suppression; otherwise, even the remaining influence would have been wiped out.

But a starved camel is still bigger than a horse. The Blood Dogs Gang, which possessed the Divine Leg Sutra, was still not something Ren Qing could confront directly. He had to proceed with caution.

Ren Qing did not alert the enemy.

He spent several days wandering around the western part of the city. Relying on his information stream and the vision of his double pupils, he uncovered some of the Blood Dogs Gang's secrets.

The most common members were beggars with leg disabilities, but obtaining the Divine Leg Sutra from them was unrealistic.

Through Ren Qing's observations, these beggars had indeed been exposed to the Divine Leg Sutra, but they were illiterate and even mentally deficient.

Moreover, when they begged, to prevent trouble, gang enforcers were usually nearby to supervise.

The Blood Dogs Gang's enforcers had also practiced the Divine Leg Sutra, and the information stream displayed [Divine Leg Sutra (Incomplete)].

However, they were slightly luckier. Their legs showed no obvious disabilities and were even stronger than those of ordinary people.

This showed just how difficult it was to master a technique. Describing it as a life-or-death struggle was no exaggeration.

Ren Qing initially thought his only option was to take the risk of ambushing a Blood Dogs Gang member and then directly using the Supernatural Remnant left after their death to begin his training.

Unexpectedly, a breakthrough came sooner than expected.

He accidentally learned from Bo Feng that near the outskirts of the western part of the city, there was a martial arts school called "Chen Family Eight Extremities Leg Technique."

Its owner, Chen Yongxing, had once been part of the Blood Dogs Gang in his youth.

Ren Qing, as a last resort, decided to give it a try. When Chen Yongxing went out to make purchases, he used the information stream to inspect him.

[Chen Yongxing]

[Age: Thirty-nine]

[Lifespan: Eight years]

[Technique: Divine Leg Sutra (Fake)]

[Created by the Crippled Taoist. To cultivate this technique, one must sever both legs at the root during childhood while bones are still growing. The practitioner is then confined to a vegetable jar and fed specific medicinal ingredients. If they survive for three years, divine legs will grow.]

Ren Qing guessed that the "(Fake)" appended to the Divine Leg Sutra indicated that Chen Yongxing had mastered it by consuming a Supernatural Remnant, limiting his strength to the Martial Practitioner realm.

At this point, approaching Chen Yongxing to obtain the Divine Leg Sutra seemed the safest option.

Ren Qing's main goal was to find a paper copy of the cultivation technique in the martial arts school.

If that failed, he would resort to targeting the Supernatural Remnant left after Chen Yongxing's death.

He planned to enter the martial arts school openly under the pretext of learning the Eight Extremities Leg Technique.

Ren Qing didn't even need to hide anything. As a Corpse Burner, he was a low-level nobody in the authorities, not a Restraint Officer.

However, he wasn't in a hurry to go. First, he informed Bo Feng and the others that he would be busy for a few days. Then, he prepared to find a blacksmith to forge a weapon.

Having a weapon or not made a huge difference for Ren Qing.

The foresight provided by his double pupils could only reach its full potential when paired with a blade. As long as he seized an enemy's weakness, he could kill them instantly.

Ren Qing had asked several senior constables for advice.

They all recommended a blacksmith shop in the northern part of the city, saying the blacksmith there was highly skilled, though his temper was bad.

The blacksmith, named Liu Hu, came from a family that had passed down the craft for generations, so his forging skills were exquisite.

Ren Qing went three days in a row, but unfortunately, the blacksmith shop remained closed.

Like Liu Bei visiting Zhuge Liang three times, it wasn't until Ren Qing's fourth visit that he heard the clanging of metal and smelled the thick smoke.

He knocked on the door, and an impatient voice inside said, "Don't you have legs? Come in yourself."

Ren Qing couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

He pushed the door open and entered. A brawny man with dark skin stood with his back to him, hammering a red-hot piece of metal.

Seeing the man's unusually muscular arms, Ren Qing's eyes flickered with surprise. Could he also have mastered some technique?

He glanced around. The walls were covered with an array of blades, and the overwhelming killing intent was suffocating.

Liu Hu set down his hammer and asked, "You're a constable? If you want to buy a weapon, take a look at the ones on that wall."

"No, I've prepared a blueprint for a custom-made blade."

Liu Hu glared, his beard bristling. "What do you mean? Are you saying there's a weapon in this world I can't forge?"

"Brother Liu, take a look for yourself."

Ren Qing handed over the roughly sketched blueprint, his fingers brushing against Liu Hu's by chance. Information about Liu Hu flooded his mind.

He was disappointed to find that Liu Hu had not mastered any techniques, though on second thought, encountering a cultivator so easily was unlikely.

Liu Hu noticed the fleeting disappointment on Ren Qing's face and mistook it for disdain. Instantly, his temper flared.

He snatched the blueprint, ready to criticize it, but his attention was caught by the weapon depicted, it was neither quite a sword nor quite a saber.

From Liu Hu's experience, this weapon was more suited for the battlefield, ideal for cavalry charges, with foot combat as a secondary use.

"What kind of weapon is this?"

Ren Qing patiently explained, "A great Miao blade. It's named for its resemblance to a sprouting rice seedling."

The Great Miao Blade was even longer than a standard blade, measuring over three chi in length, with a hilt nearly half a chi long, requiring both hands to wield.

None of the blades in the blacksmith shop came close to this length.

In the movie "14 Blades," Ding Xiu's weapon was this very blade. Its design was somewhere between a regular sword and a long two-handed saber, with a narrow blade capable of cutting down horses.

Logically speaking, a sturdy ring-pommel saber would be more balanced for both offense and defense, truly living up to its reputation as the boldest of weapons.

For an ordinary person, even if they could wield a Great Miao Blade, it would still be excessively dangerous.

But Ren Qing, relying on his double pupils, could focus on maximizing its offensive advantages.

For defense, his strategy was to dodge if possible, block if necessary, and if all else failed, trade injury for injury.

Liu Hu's anger dissipated. With a serious expression, he said, "For someone of your stature, this is a bit unsuitable. Shorten it by one chi."

"I'm only seventeen."

"Hmm..."

Liu Hu opened his mouth but said nothing. Since when were constables this reckless, using such an extreme weapon?

"Fine, have it your way. But let me warn you."

"Unless you're a constable, wearing a uniform doesn't permit you to carry sharp weapons. If you take this blade, be careful."

Ren Qing nodded. Although Sanxiang City didn't prohibit carrying weapons, there were restrictions for constables. The batons they were issued were only for self-defense.

"And one more thing..."

Liu Hu pointed at Ren Qing and said bluntly, "A blade over three chi long must be forged with resilient cold steel, or it'll snap easily."

"You'll have to pay extra!!!"