Zhao Qing covered in blood, was panting heavily, with multiple wounds all over his body, almost all his power exhausted. He fell off the horse's back, looked at Jiang Shi, and gasped:

"Compensation, what compensation do you want? I can give you anything—silver, elixir pills, secret manuals, these are not a problem, but please help me save my young master. The Yi Ming Army is under attack from three fronts, scattered everywhere. Now, my young master is surrounded at Qing Niu Mountain and is in peril. As long as you can rescue him, I will give you anything you want!"

"Rescue your young master? Who? Lu Chengtian?"

Jiang Shi frowned.

"Yes."

Zhao Qing responded promptly.

"I think you've misunderstood something. Now I'm not asking you for a reward, I'm asking you for compensation. You dragged me into this for no reason, making me a rebel in the eyes of the Fengzhou Army. From now on, I'm sure to be wanted by the Court. You expect me to help you save someone without compensating for this enormous loss? Are you drunk?"

Jiang Shi half-squinted his eyes, flashing with a dangerous glint, looking at Zhao Qing.

"It's true that this is my fault. I just blurted out inadvertently and sought your help. I will compensate you right away. I still have some silver notes amounting to a thousand taels; do you think that's enough?"

Zhao Qing panted heavily, hurriedly took out a few blood-stained silver notes from his bosom, and handed them to Jiang Shi.

Jiang Shi took the silver notes, glanced at them, and coldly snorted: "Far from enough. Considering the enormous loss, do you think a thousand taels of silver are sufficient?"

"But I really have nothing else on me right now. If you like, you can take my weapon and this bow."

Zhao Qing smiled bitterly.

"I doubt that's all you have left."

Jiang Shi stared at Zhao Qing and said, "For me, what's in your mind is more important than anything."

"You want to kill me?"

Zhao Qing's face changed dramatically.

"Wrong, I want what's in your head. Surely, you must have some secret manuals in there, maybe some profound Horizontal Training secrets or some body techniques, leg techniques, staff techniques, etc.?"

Jiang Shi spoke.

Due to his [Dragon Elephant] talent, he had a unique gift for cultivating hard skill secret manuals and could achieve great success in just a few days. Therefore, when picking secret manuals, hard skills were his first choice.

"Horizontal Training secrets?"

Zhao Qing's face registered surprise, then he relaxed, quickly recalled something, and his eyes lit up: "I remember I once practiced a hard skill called [Dragon Tiger Vajra Force], which is a renowned ultimate skill in the Jianghu. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to enter its initial stage for years. If you like it, I can write it down for you."

"Very well, let's go back to the village first and write it down for me."

Jiang Shi turned around and spoke.

"Wait, Brother Jiang, my young master is in extreme danger, his life is constantly at risk..."

Zhao Qing hurriedly spoke.

"There are countless people in this world whose lives are in danger, not just your young master alone?"

Jiang Shi replied without even turning his head.

The implication was that if he went about minding every business, how could he manage it all.

"Brother Jiang, our Yi Ming Army has an outstanding hard skill, profoundly mysterious, within the realm of super-grade martial arts, called [Barbarian Elephant Divine Skill]. If you save my young master, I will present the [Barbarian Elephant Divine Skill] to you. In terms of power and level, it surpasses the [Dragon Tiger Vajra Force] by several times."

Zhao Qing hurriedly spoke.

Jiang Shi paused, frowning.

Super-grade martial arts?

There are hard skills among super-grade martial arts too?

Ever since obtaining the [Primordial Divine Palm], he naturally understood how strong super-grade martial arts were. In one way or another, it has transcended the boundaries of ordinary people.

For instance, everyone who has watched Dragon Ball would know, ordinary martial arts in Dragon Ball would be equivalent to regular punches and kicks, whereas super-grade martial arts in Dragon Ball would be akin to [Turtle School Qi Gong].

However, super-grade martial arts in this world are extremely hard to cultivate. Firstly, they require immense physical strength, and without reaching a certain level of strength, attempting to operate super-grade martial arts would cause one's body to collapse first.

Secondly, some secret medicine is required to master super-grade martial arts, but now, anything related to martial arts is basically controlled by the military and rebels, making it extremely difficult for ordinary Jianghu people to obtain.

However, on another note.

With the [Dragon Elephant] talent, Jiang Shi could cultivate any hard skill incredibly quickly, and his immense strength and dense muscles and bones ensured he could easily operate super-grade martial arts.

Therefore, the [Barbarian Elephant Divine Skill] would certainly be an invaluable divine skill for him.

For a moment, he quickly contemplated in his mind.

"Since the [Barbarian Elephant Divine Skill] is a super-grade martial art, it must be highly valued in your Yi Ming Army. Can you, with your status, really give it to me? Won't your Marshal get angry?"

Jiang Shi inquired.

"Don't worry, my word is as good as the Star Marshal's. Remember I mentioned before? Our Marshal Lu respects talent and is eager to recruit people. For the sake of acquiring talent, he uses every possible means—what is a mere super-grade secret manual?"

Zhao Qing replied.

"Hold on, just to be clear, I'm only helping you save people for the secret manual, not to join you. You should make sure to understand that."

Jiang Shi corrected him.

Zhao Qing paused, then smiled wryly: "Alright."

"Let's go, back to the village first, and write down the [Dragon Tiger Vajra Force] for me."

Jiang Shi spoke.

If they're late and Lu Chengtian is dead, wouldn't it be a wasted trip?

So it's best to obtain the [Dragon Tiger Vajra Force] first.

"Brother Jiang, time is running out, my young master is in constant danger..."

Zhao Qing hurriedly spoke.

"No need to rush. This much time has already been wasted, what's a few more moments?"

Jiang Shi said flatly.

Zhao Qing's face shifted, then he could only bitterly bow his hands.

Afterward, Jiang Shi led a horse from nearby and mounted it, heading towards the village.

Zhao Qing immediately followed behind.

Within about ten minutes, the two of them arrived in the village.

Village chief Liu Feng immediately greeted them with a changed expression, saying: "Brother Jiang, I heard you encountered the Fengzhou Army and even had a conflict with them."

"Yes, I accidentally killed a few hundred Fengzhou soldiers. You'd better run; it's likely that the Fengzhou Army will soon send a large force to search for you."

Jiang Shi said.

Although these villagers were innocent, the Fengzhou Army wouldn't see it that way.

They would assume collusion with rebels and certainly slaughter the village.

Probably, not a single village within a dozen miles could survive.

"How could this happen?"

Liu Feng was so anxious that he stomped his feet.

"There's no time for talk. Run while you still can. Head up the mountain for a slim chance of survival. Oh, and lend me the pen and ink in your study!"

Jiang Shi headed towards the village chief's study.

Zhao Qing, feeling guilty, glanced at the village chief, then sighed, pulling out a few taels of loose silver and a token from his bosom, saying: "I still have ten taels of loose silver. Please accept it, village chief. Think of it as compensation. If our Yi Ming Army survives this ordeal, you can hold onto this token and lead the villagers to join us. I assure you, I'll take good care of everyone."

He knew if it weren't for his own actions, these villagers wouldn't have been dragged into this.

"Quickly come and start writing down the secret manual!"

Jiang Shi's voice called out.

Zhao Qing quickly walked over.

The village chief stomped his anxious feet, collected the silver and token, and hurried outside to rally the villagers to prepare to hide in the mountains.

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