I Contracted Myself

Chapter 13 – Martial arts school

Zhang Ping weighed the Corpse-Eating Dog's paw in his hand and asked, "Grandpa Liu, what's the difference between a Corpse-Eating Dog and regular dogs?"

"The fur of a Corpse-Eating Dog is always black, its eyes are red, and the most distinctive feature is its human-like teeth. Once you see those teeth, you can be sure it's a Corpse-Eating Dog," Liu Tiefeng replied.

That makes it pretty easy to identify.

Zhang Ping thought for a moment, recalling a photo he had seen online of a dog accidentally wearing false teeth, and almost burst out laughing.

Next, he carefully examined the paw of the Corpse-Eating Dog.

The paw was heavy, about ten pounds despite being the size of a regular dog's paw, and it had a decaying smell.@@@@

"Come over here, this is the grinding tool, I'll show you how to use it," Liu Tiefeng said, walking over to a green machine.

"Yes, sir!"

Zhang Ping carried the paw over.

He spent the entire morning learning.

Compared to the knowledge he gained in school, what Liu Tiefeng taught was more practical. With his rich life experience, including his early years in the Investigation Team, Liu Tiefeng was well-versed in the monsters around Mingzhu City. His teachings could save Zhang Ping a lot of trouble in the future.

After lunch.

While Liu Tiefeng took a nap, Zhang Ping sat by the stove practicing his Fire Eater abilities.

Currently, he could only wrap the flames around his hands.

If he tried to wrap them elsewhere, his clothes would burn first.

He didn't have the ability to control the flames; even with constant practice, he could only concentrate the fire elemental energy in his body to a single point for output.

This would form a flame in the shape of a palm print, which could be used for both attack and defense.

He named this move Flame Palm.

Besides Flame Palm, he had come up with several other uses.

For instance, he could burst flames from his feet or shoot flames from his shoulder blades, but the former would destroy his shoes, and the latter would damage his clothes, making them impractical for casual use.

Last night, he had burned through the soles of his shoes and felt heartbroken for a while.

But in a life-or-death situation, he would definitely use these moves if necessary, though he preferred not to if he could avoid it.

In fact, bursting flames from his feet and shooting flames from his back didn't require much skill.

The real skill lay in another move, Flame Blade.

The technique for Flame Blade was simple: release fire elemental energy from three points on the side of his hand. When increasing the output, two of the flames would pressurize the middle one, forming a sharper flame.

This way, when he slashed at an enemy with his hand, it would have a powerful attack effect.

"Excuse me, how much is this knife?"

A weak voice came from behind him.

A customer?

Zhang Ping turned around in surprise and saw a slender, somewhat effeminate-looking boy timidly watching him.

He stood up, walked over to the boy, glanced at the knife he was asking about, and replied, "This knife is not for sale. Only the ones with price tags are for sale."

The knife the boy was interested in was a Mingzhu Blade that Qiu Qiang had casually forged and then set aside. If the boy hadn't asked, Zhang Ping might not have remembered it for a while.

"Those knives are too expensive," the boy said, embarrassed.

Zhang Ping sighed, "I'm just an apprentice helping out in the shop. Sorry, I can't make decisions on this."

Zhang Ping left the alley first, looking back to find Liu Sishan already gone.

He guessed that Liu Sishan either had the ability to manipulate water elemental energy for invisibility or possessed an invisibility tool.

Unfortunately, his Appraisal Skill wasn't strong enough.

If only he could appraise the equipment his targets possessed as well.

Emerging from the alley, Zhang Ping continued his night patrol. With Liu Sishan secretly protecting him, he felt more confident exploring places he previously dared not go.

Mingzhu City didn't have a city planning department, so its structure was highly complex and chaotic. If not for the risk of attacks from flying Mutated Beasts, the city would likely have many architectural wonders.

Half an hour later, Zhang Ping found a martial arts school.

The school occupied a large area and had a rather imposing name: Beast King Boxing School.

Even at night, the school was brightly lit, with many adventurers coming and going. Zhang Ping guessed that the school's clientele were mostly adventurers.

He thought for a moment and decided to enter the school.

Under the lights, his Night Walker effect was diminished.

"Welcome, is there anything I can help you with?" A young lady in martial arts attire approached with a flyer, smiling as she handed it to Zhang Ping.

Zhang Ping took the flyer, which detailed the pricing.

Basic Boxing Technique: 500 Mingzhu Currency.

First Three Forms of Beast King Boxing: 3000 Mingzhu Currency.

Middle Three Forms of Beast King Boxing: 3500 Mingzhu Currency.

Last Three Forms of Beast King Boxing: 5000 Mingzhu Currency.

Ultimate Technique of Beast King Boxing: 9999 Mingzhu Currency.

One look at the prices told Zhang Ping that Beast King Boxing was out of his reach.

He put down the flyer and asked, "Can I take a tour inside?"

"Sorry, that's not allowed. We've had cases of Copycat Awakeners stealing our techniques during tours, so the inner training rooms are off-limits," the young lady replied with a wry smile.

Zhang Ping was puzzled, "But the thing is... if someone really had copying abilities, they wouldn't need to enter the school. They could just watch your students practicing outside."

"I'm not sure about that. Sorry, but those are the school's rules," the young lady said, still smiling.

Alright.

Rules were rules.

Zhang Ping left the school and continued his night patrol.

From the Beast King Boxing School, he understood the purpose of martial arts schools.

Even adventurers needed to learn new skills, especially those who enhanced their physical bodies. Their combat required various fighting techniques and weapon skills.

These things were hard to master through life-and-death experiences alone. Without multiple lives, it would be difficult to achieve great success.

Thus, martial arts schools emerged, providing fertile ground for their existence.

Zhang Ping continued gathering information on martial arts schools, visiting several expensive ones.

The owners of these schools usually had a unique martial skill, and some were powerful Awakeners or renowned adventurers before opening their schools.

The schools themselves had strong cohesion.

The students and even graduated Awakeners would naturally protect the school's reputation, and some adventurer groups used the school as a bond, only accepting Awakeners from the same school.