The Martial World
E-2 Strange Stone

Chapter 0002 Strange Stone

"Brother Ming, you really dominated back then!" Lin Xiaodong said excitedly as they walked down the street.

Lin Ming remained silent. The things he said back then sounded grand and imposing, however, it would be very difficult for him to surpass Zhu Yan. The amount of effort he would have to pay would be enormous.

He is not afraid of hard work or bitterness. But the same is not true for internal injuries. Medicinal plants were needed to heal those wounds and those medicines were undoubtedly expensive.

Lin Xiaodong could guess what Lin Ming was thinking and saying. “Brother Ming, all you need to do is practice hard. On the financial side, I'll find out for you. Rest assured, even though my grandfather's position in the family was not high, there was still nothing to mock. Taking out a few hundred gold burrows was not impossible for me. "

Lin Ming stopped walking and turned to face Lin Xiaodong. In life, there are many sunny weather friends, but those who offer help in times of need are rare. Among brothers, saying thank you is a hypocrite. However, Lin Ming still stopped and said in a serious tone. “Xiaodong, thank you”

“Enough, stop this. This is too much for me. I am not someone who pursues many things in life. Taking the entrance assessment for the Seven Profound Martial Houses was just a way to protect my father's reputation. Brother Ming, I will bet on you. After you become a master in the future, you should help cover my butt a little, hahaha. ”

Lin Ming smiled widely and laughed. “En! With a brother like you, I will definitely hold on to the Road of Martialism. "

By the time Lin Ming returned to his residence, it was already night. This room is the one he rented. During this period of time, from the day the Seven Profound Martial Houses started registration for the entrance assessment until the day of his assessment, all the residences in Sky Fortune City would be packed and lodging full. The rental rate will certainly increase by half. So, many applicants choose to rent a room. Of course, that in itself is not a cheap option.

Lin Ming had rented a single room with an area of only ten square meters with a very simple arrangement. As he was about to begin his meditation on the bed, someone knocked on the door.

Lin Ming opened the door to see the landlady standing there. The landlady was a woman of about fifty years old with a rather fat body. The landlady's face was usually fierce and rough, but today she showed a pleasant-looking smile, causing Lin Ming to feel that something was amiss.

“Money home, is there something?”

“This... little boy, sorry, but can you empty this room.”

“En?” Lin Ming frowned. "Why?"

"Hehe, I'm sorry, but I've rented this room" said the man's voice. Lin Ming turned around and found a man with large monkey ears walking up from the passageway. The man smiled in a funny-looking manner.

Seeing him for a moment, Lin Ming recognized him as one of the subordinates who followed behind Zhu Yan and the other young man. It turned out that he was the subordinate of the other young man. Just then, the other young man remained silent and only looked at Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong with a look of disdain.

Undoubtedly, the young man was currently trying to obtain Zhu Yan's good books by sending his own subordinates to cause trouble for Lin Ming. All he needed to do was offer a rental fee several times higher than what he had and the landlady would naturally be willing to force him out.

Currently, the Seven Profound Martial Houses were holding their registration event, which caused difficulties in finding a place to live. Finding another place to rent is easier said than done. But even if he did, there was no guarantee that this subordinate would not cause him any more trouble.

Lin Ming's face became heavy and he stared coldly at the landlady. “We used to agree that I would rent for five months. I also paid the rent five months earlier. There are three months left to cross the time limit. But, you want me to leave now? ”

The landlady smiled apologizing. “This... Of course, I am aware of this. How about this? I'll return the rent for three months back to you. How about that?"

"ah! Give me back my three-month lease? You have a pretty calculative mind! " Lin Ming's anger began to boil. If this landlady was forced to expel him due to pressure from others, then Lin Ming would just leave. However, his current actions and words enraged him.

“Hey, what are you talking about. At that time, we were just talking about it and not signing anything. This room is mine. To whom I choose to rent it is up to me! " Given the status of Sky Fortune City as the capital of Sky Fortune Kingdom, all the property owners here had a sense of subconscious superiority. To them, all that came from outside were only the villagers; they would look down on them while speaking in a contemptuous tone. Furthermore, this man beside him was clearly someone sent by a rich and powerful family. With someone like this supporting him, the landlady became even bolder.

At this moment, the man with monkey-like ears laughed arrogantly. “If you are of good sense, get out soon. I'll tell you something else. This Young Master is watching you. Even if you manage to find another place to rent, I can still evict you. In these three months before the entrance assessment for the Seven Profound Martial Houses began, you should resign yourself to sleeping on the streets, haha! "

The man laughed.

For those born into an elite circle, it was only natural that they formed an arrogant sense of superiority. However, even when they revealed their arrogance, they still maintained a certain attitude of elegance and utterance, like Zhu Yan. On the other hand, this person standing before him revealed a naked form of arrogance, which suited the bullies who could only rely on others.

Lin Ming looked at the man with monkey-like ears, his eyes turning colder at any moment.

"What do you see? Are you thinking of hitting me? Let me tell you, My Young Master is the second son of the ruler of the Defense Army for Sky Fortune City. If you dare to defeat this Young Master, then this Young Master will ... "

"Scram!" Lin Ming shouted and threw out a punch, hitting the man right in this nose. With a "peng", the man flew out followed by a series of crashing sounds. After which, the man lay on top of a pile of rubble amidst broken furniture and pots, his hair disheveled and his face covered in blood.

A fist capable of jutting into the Iron Tree struck the man's face precisely. The result could be imagined, the man's nose was completely sunk inwards.

The landlady became startled, his eyes glaring for a moment before suddenly shouting miserably. "Please! The murder!"

The landlady rushed out, but her fat legs were unable to work properly and she fell to the floor with a plop.

Lin Ming stepped towards the man with monkey-like ears. Although his First Stage of Physical Training was only the beginner's territory of the martial way, it was completely worthless. After all, many people in Sky Fortune Kingdom were unable to practice martial arts. Lin Ming on the other hand was a good talent to begin with. Besides, he works very hard. Among a thousand peers with the same talent, it might be difficult to find even one with the same level of strength as him. As for this man, he was merely a subordinate and did not require much effort for Lin Ming to deal with him.

The man continued to complain, he never imagined that Lin Ming would actually beat him up. He raised a bloodied finger and pointed at Lin Ming. “You... you dare to hit me, you..

"I don't know what will happen to me, but I do know that you're done," Lin Ming kicked the man's stomach, causing him to shout miserably. Again, he flew. Only this time, he broke down the door and ended up being kicked all the way out of the house.

Lin Ming did not say anything. He went back to his room and packed up his things and started to leave. The entire house had become a mess, causing blood to drip from the heart of the landlady. He timidly said. “You... you can not go like that, you.. must... must compensate.”.

Lin Ming stopped walking, he turned to face the landlady who was slumped on the floor like a human meatball. She asked. "Fixed?"

"Residency .. indemnity ..." The voice of the landlady began to lose its power. He felt as if the gaze of the young man in front of him was like a window to the nine abyss of hell, causing him to shudder.

Without saying anything, Lin Ming punched the wall, his fist piercing through the brick wall of the house, causing the entire house to tremble and dust to fall from the ceiling. The landlady shouted and fainted.

Lin Ming carried his luggage and walked out of the house without even glancing at the fainted man.

Lin Ming was well aware that after beating up this man, the person behind him would never let this go and would definitely bring trouble for Lin Ming. However, Lin Ming had no regrets.

As a man, there is a need to survive. If the person who had come today was a martial artist, Lin Ming would not have acted the way he did and would have chosen to persevere. This loss is one that must be suffered. However, the person who appeared before him was a worthless subordinate, one who could only rely on the support of his master. If Lin Ming had to endure what this kind of person said, then what was the point of him learning martial arts?

It was incompatible with the Martial Path in Lin Ming's heart.

Thus, Lin Ming left that environment. After a while, he put down his backpack and started thinking about how to solve the problem of his residence. As of now, all the inns were already full; moreover, the price was also too expensive for him. Although he did not mind sleeping in the wild, Lin Xiaodong would probably make a fuss and insist on taking him to his own residence.

If Lin Ming did and the second son of the Army Ruler sent his men there, Lin Xiaodong himself could forget about sleeping in his house. He had to accompany Lin Ming and sleep on the streets.

Moreover, Lin Ming had just provoked a dangerous matter. There was no guarantee that the second son of the Army Ruler would not send some thugs. In the eyes of these people, causing others to become paralyzed was no big deal. Lin Ming did not wish to bring such trouble to Lin Xiaodong.

If that's the case, then where can I go?

After pondering over it, Lin Ming finally thought of a place - the most luxurious dining place in Sky Fortune City - the Grand Clarity Pavilion.

The Grand Clarity Pavilion's consumer base was all of the highest grade. Moreover, they themselves had a strong background. With such a strong power base, the second son of an Army Ruler could do nothing against him.

The reason Lin Ming wanted to go to the Grand Clarity Pavilion was definitely not to spend money to rent a place. He's headed there to find a job. Lin Ming's parents operated a restaurant, it was given that Lin Ming would be able to cook, the taste of the cuisine was also quite good. However, he was not arrogant enough to think that he could compete with the cooks in Sky Fortune City. After all, his expertise did not lie in the field of cooking ...

…

The Grand Clarity Pavilion remained brightly lit even as Lin Ming arrived. This was the establishment with the best business in Sky Fortune City.

Lin Ming's clothes were too ordinary, causing everyone who saw him to enter the establishment to look at him with a strange expression. A person with such a type of clothing would normally not be able to eat inside this Grand Clarity Pavilion. Moreover, there was also the fact that Lin Ming was only a fifteen-year-old teenager.

However, the waiter remained well-behaved as he walked over and asked. Little brother, are you here with your parents?

Lin Ming shook his head and replied. I'm here to find a job.

Hearing that, the waiter frowned. What kind of work can a fifteen-year-old do? Here, the wait requires a beautiful woman who is at least eighteen years old or a handsome man who is at least twenty years old. As for cooking, what kind of cuisine can a fifteen year old make?

"Go, don't cause any disturbance here," The waiter waved his hand impatiently.

The waiter asked in an unhappy voice. "What can you do?"

Lin Ming smiled and replied. "Deboning."

"What?" The waiter became dumbfounded.

…

Deboning is a biased job and not every restaurant will do such a job. This job requires the meat makeup artist to cut the game or game animals into pieces while removing the bones.

A master-level meat dresser can cut a cow easily and skillfully, a good meat dresser can also cut a cow, but will need a knife change every year. Some butchers even need to change their knives once a month. In addition, the efficiency involved is low and they require half a day to cut the cow.

As for the Grand Clarity Pavilion, the material was not beef but the flesh of a Ferocious Beast. The flesh of a Beast was indeed delicious but its scales, skin, bones and veins were extremely strong. Ordinary people would have to fight hard just to cut a small part of it off. The martial experts on the other hand would not be willing to humble themselves to do such work. Even if they wanted to, someone who did not understand how muscles, bones and tendons united would not be able to do so. Using pure power alone in the cutting process will cause it to lose its good taste.

Deboning was how Lin Ming first came into contact with the Martial Path. Inside her parents' restaurant, she trained herself in the deboning process every day for the past ten years.

That's a very exhausting job! Lin Ming had never considered himself a genius in martial arts. All he could rely on was his own hard work, and continued to train continuously. That was how he managed to form a solid martial foundation, by slashing his knife, slashing for the sake of slashes inside the kitchen.

The maid was unable to repel Lin Ming and could only take him to the kitchen…

“Saudari Lan, this younger brother wants to apply for a job as a stone cleaning worker.”

“Worker deboning?” Inside the kitchen of the Grand Clarity Pavilion, a beautiful woman in her twenties who was wearing a beautiful dress judged Lin Ming. Looking at the plain clothes on his body and the backpack he was carrying which made him look like a refugee, he frowned. He then spoke in a disgruntled manner to the servant who brought Lin Ming in. “What are you doing, bringing just anyone into the kitchen. Dong Zi, give him the silver and tell him to leave. "

Clearly, this beautiful woman regarded Lin Ming as a depressed child. As for the servant who was scolded, his face was bitter. To be honest, he had tried to push Lin Ming out, but had discovered that Lin Ming's legs seemed to have grown rooted and could not be moved.

A young man had moved to drive Lin Ming away. However, at this moment, he suddenly felt his hand become lighter. He stared in bewilderment as Lin Ming had somehow picked up the boning knife he was holding.

Before the man named Dong Zi could understand what was happening, Lin Ming said. “I'm not here to beg. Sister, it won't be too late for you to expel me after seeing my skills. ”

The beautiful woman was a little surprised; it seemed that this little boy had experience in the craft. He looked at Dong Zi and said. “How useless, you can't even handle a small child. Go to the warehouse and bring in ****. " After that, he turned to Lin Ming and said. "If you can finish it within half an hour (1 hour), then I'll allow you to stay in the Grand Clarity Pavilion."

Dong Zi knew that she had lost face and turned around shyly to go carry that. However, Lin Ming cut him off. No need, I'll do that.

Lin Ming said as he pointed towards the Scaled Draconic Beast.

The beautiful woman was surprised. A Scaled Drconic Beast was a Level Two Ferocious Beast whose body was filled with muscles. These muscles were extremely strong and could withstand even normal sword attacks. However, using certain herbs and boiling them for three days and three nights will result in a thick soup with a good taste.

For such a type of Ferocious Beast, even a deboning master would have difficulty cutting it. This kid's crazy.

"Are you kidding? This Scaled Draconic Beast was worth over a hundred gold burrows. How do you plan to pay us if you end up ruining it? " Dong Zi spoke with dissatisfaction. He was still unhappy at Lin Ming for taking his knife.

The beautiful woman looked at Dong Zi and snapped. "If I let you ruin it, do you think you have the ability to destroy it?"

Dong Zi suddenly found herself speechless. The Scaled Draconic Beast is not the same as**, cow or sheep. An ordinary person would not be able to break his scales even with a knife. Destroying it was not something a normal person could do.

The woman turned to face Lin Ming and said. “I'll let you cut!”

Lin Ming nodded his head and picked up the best boning knife in the kitchen. He had only cut off the Scaled Draconic Beast twice; both times it was during the birthdays of some important figures in the Lin Family. After all, the Ferocious Beast was not something an ordinary person could buy.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Ming carefully stroked the scales of the Scaled Draconic Beast, sensing the existence of its veins. This process takes a stick of incense. In his mind, he formed a blood vessel diagram. Comparing it to the previous Scaled Draconic Beast diagram, he made sure it was correct.

While waiting, some people became impatient and finally asked. "What are you doing? Why don't you cut? "

"Stop trying to be mysterious and stop it."

It is only natural that these people become impatient. A fifteen year old teenager who claimed to be able to defeat a Level Two Ferocious Beast, it just seemed like a joke to them.

Lin Ming turned a deaf ear to these questions. He took his knife, his eyes became very focused. For him, the deboning process was equivalent to a training session.

After confirming the blood vessel diagram, Lin Ming finally began. He did not use an axe or a slaughtering knife; he only used a hard bone blade to use.

In Lin Ming's hands, this ordinary blade turned into an extremely sharp weapon. The blade descended and the scales of the Scaled Draconic Beast were cut apart!

Seeing this incident, the person who had asked the question immediately shut his mouth. This feat alone would require wrist strength of at least three hundred jin (181.4 kg). To them, the Scaled Draconic Beast's shredding feat usually required an axe or a saw.

The edge of the blade moved through the gap in the vein, cutting it smoothly as if he was cutting paper. Everyone could only hear the "shua shua" sound before the white muscles of the Scaled Draconic Beast were revealed.

Seeing how easily Lin Ming was cutting, the man named Dong Zi rubbed his eyes. He suspected that something was wrong with his eyes. Did this little boy really cut off the Scaled Draconic Beast?

Lin Ming moved gracefully. Sometimes, some unavoidable tendons will interfere with his work. When that happened, he would use brute force to pull it out. Thus, he ended up using about less than half an hour to cut the Scaled Draconic Beast into pieces. Next to the pieces of meat, rows of ribs were arranged in order. This was the most precious part of the Scaled Draconic Beast. The length of these ribs is all consistent, showing almost no loss during work.

This scene left everyone dumbfounded. What Lin Ming had done might have seemed easy, but everyone here knew that the cutting of the Scaled Draconic Beast was a huge project, it takes about five strong people to work together for about half a day. However, the teenager's face was only slightly reddish after completing his task. Judging from his appearance, cutting a few would not be a problem!

As it was already night, the Great Clarity Pavilion was no longer busy, allowing many members of its kitchen to quietly watch the scene unfold. Then, Lin Ming put down his knife and asked. “Can I work here now? My working hours should not be more than two hours long (4 hours) and the monthly salary I ask for is five gold burrows. One more thing, you need to provide food and accommodation for me. ”

The beautiful woman pondered this for a moment before nodding. "Agreed!"

Lin Ming's condition was not low; however, it was worth it. Judging from the speed Lin Ming had shown earlier, many things could be done in two hours. Most importantly, the work was very efficient, causing little harm to the main ingredients.

Thus, Lin Ming started working for the Grand Clarity Pavilion. The two hours he spent there were no losses as it was also a form of training for him. Punching a tree trunk is a form of rough strength training, while demolition is a form of precision training.

On that very night, Lin Ming remained in the warehouse and split three Level One Ferocious Beasts. After doing so, his entire body was drenched in sweat and his arms ached. He prepared to cut off the latter before heading to his inn to rest.

For the latter, he chose another Level Two Ferocious Beast - the Golden Anteater, this Ferocious Beast had teeth that could crush rocks and could drill mountains as if it was tofu.

Having consumed too much primal energy before, Lin Ming had to exert a lot of strength to cut through the scaly belly of the Goldback Pangolin. The reason he chose this Pangolin Goldback was to force himself beyond his limits.

After cutting the scales, the work becomes easier. The edge of the blade slides through the gap between the Pangolin Goldback abdominal muscles. However, it was at this moment that Lin Ming felt his knife being blocked. It felt like the knife had hit something hard.

A bone? No, the middle abdominal area should have no bones.

If not, are they rocks? No, Goldback Anteaters can sometimes swallow stones, but they will shatter into pieces. Even if it did not shatter into pieces, the strong acid inside its stomach would erode it. Such a huge stone could not possibly continue to exist in it, could it be…

Core?

Thinking of this possibility, Lin Ming became excited. The core of a Level Two Ferocious Beast was a precious item. Even if he did not sell it, he could consume it, bringing many benefits to his body.

Lin Ming wore a pair of gloves and carefully picked up the hard stuff while avoiding the stomach acid. Seeing him, Lin Ming became disappointed. It was a square-shaped object, which meant it was not the Inner Core, because the Inner Core was all spherical.

It does look like a rock, but there is something strange about this stone…

The gray cubes seemed to have been neatly cut, with precise corners. Moreover, the six surface areas of the cube were carved with black-colored inscriptions, giving off a mysterious aura.

The metal?

Lin Ming carefully observed it. It did not look like metal, nor did it look like stone. Could it be a jade form?