One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

"This, this... Recalling the founding of the empire by the Great Ancestor, numerous resources and efforts were spent in vain to complete this infinitely powerful Secret Technique, which became a great regret in his life. Over the thousand years that followed, countless extraordinary individuals sought advancement in this Secret Technique, but all returned in vain."

"But now, dammit, in such a trivial place, it’s simply inscribed on a stone stele..." Ding Meng danced around, momentarily speaking incoherently.

A martial arts Secret Technique is to a Martial Artist like a beauty is to a lover.

At this moment, Ding Meng felt as if the most beautiful woman in the world had stripped naked before him, surrounded by a crowd of rough men. His feelings were extraordinarily complex, and even he, an experienced spy, found it hard to remain calm.

"Let me take another look, just one more look, and I will die without regrets!" Ding Meng tiptoed, trying to squeeze through the crowd.

"We must leave immediately!"

A cold breeze blew.

It was Zhou Hu who shivered and came to his senses. The noise they had made was not insignificant. At this point, he felt the subtle glances of the people around them, and for spies, this was already quite dangerous.

Zhao Hu grabbed Ding Meng by the arm, ignoring his screaming pleas, and dragged him away from the crowd.

After a while,

Ding Meng finally started to come to his senses.

"I lost my composure just now, thanks for the reminder, Brother Zhou," Ding Meng said somberly, first sighing, then bowing to Zhou Hu.

"We’ve been brothers for many years, no need for such words!" Zhou Hu waved off the comment cheerfully.

"Wait a minute!" Zhou Hu scanned around, then paused. He realized that unknowingly, they had arrived next to a temple. Incense smoke wafted through the air, and the temple was bustling with visitors, a lively scene truly.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Weren’t they fighting to the death with the monks from Skull Plain recently? How is it that the temple’s incense offerings are still so thriving, completely unaffected?" Ding Meng blinked and caught on.

"Let’s go in and see," Zhou Hu suggested.

"Alright!"

The two entered the temple, following the pilgrims to the main hall.

To their surprise, the main hall did not enshrine the dignified Buddha or the wrathful and majestic Arhat.

It housed a statue of a fierce deity with a robust figure, blue face, and fangs, eyes filled with rage.

It wore armor-like muscles boldly protruding, eyes glowing red. On its head was a crown-like set of horns, and a long tail that extended segment by segment from its back. It resembled a barbarian king who picked his victims and conquered the world, an aggressive aura rushing forth.

Though it was an inanimate object, at first sight, both felt a sudden shock in their hearts, and cold sweat broke out on their foreheads.

Zhou Hu and Ding Meng hurriedly bowed their heads, took up the sticks of incense, and bowed fervently.

Only then did they feel slightly better as they hastily left the main hall.

"Who is enshrined in this main hall?" Once outside, Zhou Hu grabbed an old man dressed like a fisherman and handed him a silver coin, asking in a low voice.

The old man pushed the silver coin back to Zhou Hu and chuckled, "You two must be from out of town."

"Good eye," Zhou Hu laughed, "we brothers have come from North Province to seek refuge here."

"I see," the old man replied, "the one enshrined in this main hall is the local magistrate. There may be no gods or Buddhas in this world, but the magistrate maintains the peace around here, truly possessing Divine Skills to calm the seas, vanquish demons, and subdue monsters."

"It’s said that praying here in this temple,"

"with the magistrate’s mana protecting you, even if you walk alone in the mountains at midnight, ghosts and spirits will flee at your presence."

Having said this,

The old man in the straw hat waved his hand nonchalantly and left, leaving Ding Meng and Zhou Hu, both with faces stricken by horror.

"Merely by calling its true name, he could scare away ghosts and deities. What level of cultivation must he possess?" Ding Meng thought more and more frightened. In the end, he was even trembling uncontrollably. He reached out to support himself on a large red pillar nearby, barely managing to stand stable. Yet, his face remained ashen, extremely unsightly.

"That ordinary old man, what does he know?" Zhou Hu said unconvinced, "Don’t scare yourself."

"Though you say so, along the way, there indeed have been many unusual occurrences," Ding Meng said gravely.

"Such as..."

"Firstly, this place has no demons. From the deadly great lords to the newly born small fish and shrimps, not one is present. It truly feels like a forbidden area for demons, overly clean, making me quite uncomfortable."

Ding Meng continued, "Moreover, the climate here, despite it clearly being deep winter, doesn’t feel very cold."

"There’s also the stele, the Martial Artist, the worship of evil deities... and a certain indescribable, unclear charm that makes my heart chill."

"Look over there..." Ding Meng pointed towards the distance.

Zhou Hu followed the direction of Ding Meng’s finger, only to see a nine-story high tower standing in the middle of the city. Chains wrapped around the tower, and the sky above was shrouded with leaden clouds. The heavy, oppressive clouds hung low, swirling around, with occasional flashes of crimson lightning, rolling with celestial might.

"Winter thunder is booming, there must be demon spawn about. Yet the people around seem to have grown accustomed to it, not even sparing it a glance."

"I looked up the information; that originally was Demon Suppression Tower, later repurposed as the local governmental office," Ding Meng said with an inexplicable expression, "Now it seems, there’s something strange about the Demon Suppression Tower too."

"Hiss..." Zhou Hu tightened his clothes, "Now that you mention it, I also feel this place is full of demonic energy."

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"How about we leave first and then decide what to do?" Zhou Hu suggested.

"Good!" Ding Meng immediately agreed.

They left the temple and followed the same path back. However, as they walked, they gradually began to sense something was wrong.

Whoosh!

A cold wind blew, sweeping up the fallen leaves on the ground.

The sky had become overcast at some unknown moment; the once bustling street was suddenly left with only the two of them.

Even the bustling shops on both sides of the street, though their doors and windows were wide open at this moment, were utterly empty, pitch black inside, resembling gaping maws ready to devour anyone. Even if their reactions were dull, they knew that their cover was blown and they were being watched.

"Hiss..."

Ding Meng felt a chill down his spine, stopped in his tracks, and abruptly looked back.

The street behind him was shrouded in a mist, as if leading to a boundless distance, but a locust tree could vaguely still be seen, its emaciated branches sprawling out like the claws of a demon.

Ding Meng felt his heart continuously sinking, cold. His neck was stiff to a frightening extent. Just turning around, such a simple action seemed to require all his strength. And when he finally managed to redirect his gaze forward, a chill surged through him once more.

He saw a towering figure approaching from within the shadows.

The figure was burly, almost demonic, with shoulders as high as the eaves on either side.

Upon closer inspection,

This person had white hair, and his exposed muscular arms were covered with scars.

His face bore no particular expression, but his eyes radiated a fierce red light.