《Second Patriarch: Rise of the Liu Clan》


 Cultivation Realms/Stages (No Spoilers)

    Body Tempering: Consists of many smaller stages of refining one''s flesh and blood into that of an "immortal". As a cultivator progresses through these stages they gain resistance to mortal diseases and maladies. Each breakthrough during Body Tempering results in impurities exiting the body in the form of black blood. They will also begin to reach the maximum mortal lifespan (99 years old)


    Strength Rendering: One''s strength becomes equal to the greatest of mortal warriors and it makes a foundation upon which to reach the next stage. Requires one to open one''s pores in order to allow natural energies to pass through the body, or the consumption of food/treasures with large amounts of natural energies. Alternatively, some normal, but talented, people who undergo intense exercise (and usually battle) regularly can reach this stage.


    Flesh Tempering: The tempering of one''s skin and outer flesh makes them more resistant to blows. Ordinary people will struggle to leave behind meaningful wounds, even with weapons, although their wounds will still be severe after they enter the body. Old wounds are removed from the body as the skin is, rather painfully, shed. Beauty is increased.


    Bone and Marrow Tempering: The bones and marrow within one''s body are tempered, making them more resistant to bones breaking and increasing their strength. During this stage people often grow a few inches due to changes in the body.


    Blood and Viscera Tempering: The blood and viscera within one''s body are tempered, making previously fatal blows much less dangerous and increasing the body''s vitality. The blood will thicken and one''s body temperature will increase slightly.


    Meridian Opening: The meridian''s within one''s body begin to connect, and one can begin allowing natural energies to flow through them. These energies can now temper the body far more easily, giving a cultivator twice the results with half the effort compared to before.


    Dantian Creation: Now that the meridians within one''s body are open, they begin forming a dantian in order to better store their energies and refining natural energies into a more pure state.


    Qi Refinement: One refines the scant natural energies that entire their body into qi, and this allows them to absorb more energy from the environment and makes it easier to control.


    Qi Emission: One gains greater control over the qi in their body and is eventually able to focus it in various parts of their body, and eventually send it out of their body.


    Dantian Creation/Meridian Tempering: With greater control over their qi, one can begin to create a dantian to store greater amounts of qi than their meridians. If meridians can be called estuaries, then the dantian is a great sea to hold the water from all of them. The time a dantian takes to form depends on the width of the meridians, which is why this may also be called "Meridian Tempering". One''s lifespan is lengthened to 139 years old by this point due to the increased quantity and purity of energies stored within the body.


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    Acupoint Opening: In order to gather greater amounts of qi to fill/widen the dantian, the body''s acupoints must be opened. There is a specific order that must be followed for each person, or a blockage may occur, stopping one from opening all of their acupoints and limiting their further achievements. With each acupoint opened comes an increase in a cultivator''s ability to absorb qi and their strength. Each acupoint opened increases one''s lifespan by a year, ending with a lifespan of 250 years.


    12 main acupoints: All of them must be opened in order to advance to the next stage.


    99 supplementary acupoints: Technically a cultivator can advance to the next stage without opening any of these acupoints, but it will be difficult and their achievements will be greatly limited.


    0 - 10: No hope for a breakthrough.


    11 - 20: If one does breakthrough, there is no hope in any advancement in strength. Breakthrough nearly impossible.


    21 - 30: Breakthrough may be possible, but that will be the end of their martial path.


    31 - 40: Mediocre. Greatly limits one''s future achievements.


    41 - 50: Average. Not seen among those with a high cultivation.


    51 - 60: Good. One retains hope for future breakthroughs.


    61 - 70: Mainly seen among geniuses who have some hope for several breakthroughs in the future.


    71 - 80: Seen among great geniuses with a bright future.


    81 - 90: Seen among peerless geniuses who will naturally make major breakthroughs, given they don''t die.


    91 - 99: Almost unheard of, and will draw great fame and attention.


    (Note: These classifications refer to younger cultivators. Among very old cultivators, they may reach a large amount of acupoints opened but not be considered a genius of any sort, as they''re far too old to make a breakthrough.)


    Soul Foundation: After one opens up their acupoints, they prepare to cleanse their soul. In order to do so they must build a foundation upon which to do so by strengthening their soul. The cultivator will slowly increase the size and strength of their soul by tempering it with qi. This is a major bottleneck for many and is the point at which some begin studying the laws of the universe, although they may only gain very basic attainments in them. Soul Foundation cultivators are exceedingly uncommon with Yutian Country, and as a result Liu Zhu is unsure of their lifespan.

 Prologue

    23 years ago, a massive war broke out between Yutian Country and Hiqui Sect. In the flames of war many heroes were born and stories made. The greatest of these heroes was the ''Demon General'', Liu King. He joined the army at 15, quickly becoming the brightest star of Yutian Country''s younger generation. By fighting through countless bloody battles and prevailing time and time again, he became a general at the age of 20, an unprecedented feat.


    A few years after Liu King became a general the war ended and he left the army. Despite abandoning the military in an attempt to create his own clan, he remained famous. Many predicted that he would become one of the most powerful men in the nation if given 40 or 50 years to cultivate, but tragedy struck before then. While exploring a so-called ''forbidden zone'', Liu King went missing. After nearly a year of waiting the government gave up hope and a monument to Liu King was erected in the capital''s military graveyard. Shortly after this his family gave up hope and held a funeral themselves.


    Liu King may have been gone, but his family clan and legacy lived on. Still, with his death the things he had left behind were in dire straits. Liu King had managed to amass quite a bit of wealth and power in a short time, hoping to form a family clan that would last for generations, but with his disappearance his dream began falling apart. All but one of the elders he had recruited abandoned his family, and others began lusting over what he''d left behind. These evildoers schemed against his family, threatening to take everything from them. If they succeeded Liu King''s family would be doomed to a life of suffering, or possibly even an early death.


    Luckily help came when times were darkest. Two years after Liu King went missing someone else appeared to lead the Liu Clan to safety: Zhu Chao. Zhu Chao annihilated the minor families who had schemed against the Liu Clan, staining their houses in blood and sparing no one. After the slaughter Zhu Chao introduced himself to Liu King''s family- Liu Zhu and Liu Xuan, his two sons, and his wife Liu Xingyu. Zhu Chao said that Liu King had saved him from the jaws of death, and after hearing about what happened he rushed here as soon as he could in order to pay him back and sever the karma between them.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Soon after Zhu Chao became the Liu Clan''s Grand Elder, a temporary leader. He would help train Liu Zhu and Liu Xuan in order to make one of them into a suitable patriarch for the family, one who could strike fear into others and keep the Liu Clan safe like Liu King had. Zhu Chao said that he had something important to tend to, but that he could wait until Liu Zhu, the younger son, became 20 years old. If by this time neither son were fit to become the clan''s patriarch, he would help the Liu family gather what they could and flee to a safer place where they could live a quiet life.


    Liu Xuan, aged 10 at the time, immediately begun to cultivate. Meanwhile Liu Zhu, 7 years old, studied academics, politics, and smithing until he became 10. Several years passed after this, and the two sons grew up while the clan recovered, returning to its former state.


    Liu Xuan focused his attention towards woman and wine, spending most of his time drinking and flirting. He wasn''t a bad person, but he never could focus on cultivating or studying, and certainly wasn''t a suitable candidate to become the Liu Clan''s next patriarch. Still, he was far more talented than his younger brother, Liu Zhu, and so there wasn''t a clear front-runner for who would become the clan''s second patriarch. The days went on with this stalemate as Liu Xuan enjoyed his days and Liu Zhu tried his hardest, until one eventful day when Liu Zhu came upon a massive chance. This chance was one that could completely change his fate and finally allow him to succeed his father and become the family''s second patriarch, if used correctly...

 Chapter 1: A Once-In-A-Lifetime Chance

    As dawn broke Liu Zhu lifted himself out of bed, his foggy thoughts slowly solidifying as he got dressed. After getting dressed Liu Zhu simply stared out the window before lightly sighing. He was in a bad mood. He''d been simultaneously looking forward and dreading tomorrow for a while- his 13th birthday. It''d normally be a happy occasion, but for Liu Zhu it mainly served as a reminder that he was lagging behind his brother. A few years ago, when Liu Xuan had turned 13, he had already reached Middle Flesh Tempering. Meanwhile Liu Zhu was almost 13 but he was still stuck at his bottleneck, unable to reach Flesh Tempering. As a result he had been in an increasingly bad mood for the past week.


    After a few minutes of silently mourning his lack of talent Liu Zhu left his quarters, making his way to the room where he trained. Originally the room was meant for anyone in the clan to train in, but given how often Liu Zhu spent inside no one else used it. Eventually someone, probably passively-aggressively complaining about never getting to use it, put up a sign. From that point onward it officially became his private training room. Liu Zhu spent a few hours cultivating, and in the process vented his displeasure on an unfortunate target dummy. As his thoughts faded away and his focus turned completely to training, a knock came from the door.


    Liu Zhu stopped attacking the dummy and opened the door, an action which narrowly saved the dummy from an unfortunate death. Standing at the door was a genial old man. The old man was dressed in simple blue robes and had a long, flowing beard. Liu Zhu bowed slightly upon seeing him. "Grand Elder Zhu, do you have some business with me?" Zhu Chao nodded, gesturing for Liu Zhu to follow him. "You''re aware about the cave behind the Liu Clan''s estate, right?"


    Confused, Liu Zhu answered. "Yes, I''m aware of it, I played in it as a child. Er, well, I suppose I still am one- as a younger child. What of it?" Zhu Chao continued walking as the two spoke, going outside. "A few odd beasts appeared inside that cave recently. They''re about as strong as someone at Early Strength Rendering, so you should be safe fighting them. Maybe a heated battle with them will help stimulate a breakthrough to Flesh Tempering, hmm?"


    A smile appeared on Liu Zhu''s face at the prospect of making a breakthrough, and he nodded. "Yes, maybe what I needed was a change of pace from my normal training." He began to leave the estate then, but suddenly paused. "But...it wouldn''t be prudent to be fighting vicious beasts the day before my birthday, would it? If I got injured..." Liu Zhu trailed off, but Zhu Chao smiled and shook his head. "It won''t matter. So what if a few families even smaller than the Liu Clan see a scratch or two tomorrow. I''m certain you won''t get severely injured fighting them, but I can wait outside just in case anything happens." Zhu Chao chuckled before continuing. "Besides, I need to remind you that you can make a breakthrough. If you forget about that and keep moping about then it might become a problem."


    Liu Zhu cringed slightly inside- he never realized that his displeasure about his bottleneck was that visible. "Well, if it''s alright I''ll be going then." Liu Zhu rushed towards the cave, Zhu Chao following just behind him.


    Liu Zhu reached the entrance of the cave and begun feeling around near the roots of a tree outside. "It should be here..." After a few moments of searching his hands closed around a piece of wood. He pulled it out from under the tree, and following that he found a match. "Looks like my torch was still there. I hope it still works after so long." Liu Zhu struggled to light the torch for a moment before the cloth on the top suddenly caught fire.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Liu Zhu entered the cave without hesitation now that he had a light, navigating the dark, narrow caverns. He kept on guard, his other hand holding a large knife meant for skinning animals. He trained in hand to hand combat, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t use a weapon if he needed to.


    Liu Zhu moved forward for a quarter of an hour, on guard for vicious beasts. In that time he came across one extremely weak vicious beast. It wasn''t strong enough to be helpful to him and he dispatched it in a few swift blows. Still, encouraged by his find, he hurried through paths he hadn''t explored before, hoping to come across something stronger.


    As Liu Zhu walked forward he suddenly noticed that something felt off, but wasn''t able to react in time before the ground below him began crumbling under his weight. Liu Zhu swore loudly as he looked below him. Past the shards of rock he had been previously standing on, Liu Zhu caught sight of a massive root as thick as his torso. Surrounding the root was a colorful field of flowers blooming through the cave floor.


    Before Liu Zhu could process what was going on he was already falling directly towards the root in the center of the cavern below him. He felt his heartbeat speed up and the lifeblood within him begin stirring before he fell on the root. A burst of pain exploded through Liu Zhu as the root pierced his chest. He began panicking, but much to his surprise his wound wasn''t bleeding at all, and he started to calm down as his pain was replaced with a warm, tingling feeling.


    The feeling spread through Liu Zhu''s body, and he was filled with an inexplicable sense of overflowing vitality. This feeling grew stronger and stronger, but with it his body became wracked with pain. As the pain and energy increased within Liu Zhu, it felt like so much energy was passing through him that he might explode. Suddenly a massive burst of pain several times worse than anything he''d experienced exploded through him as his meridians tore open, creating a proper pathway for the energy to go through.


    Liu Zhu gritted his teeth and did his best to stay conscious through the pain. His fingernails dug into his hands, drawing oddly thick blood as they did so. This blood slowly dripped onto the ground from Liu Zhu''s palm, landing on a flower. Suddenly the flower grew, multiplying in size from a few inches to nearly a foot tall. Liu Zhu''s vision began fading away as his last thoughts were replaced with the horrible, continuous pain. After holding on for an indeterminate amount of time Liu Zhu felt the energy within him focus on a point directly above his heart. As the energy focused on this point it began to disappear from the rest of his body, finally granting Liu Zhu some respite from his suffering.


    The pain eventually disappeared completely, its destination unknown, and Liu Zhu took the chance to look around. The flowers that were once blooming were now completely withered, and the root that was impaled into his chest was now a bed of dry bark scattered around him. Upon examining his chest, Liu Zhu found that the spot he was impaled was covered in soft, tender skin. Once he saw this Liu Zhu let out a sigh of relief. He was confused about what was going on, but at least he wasn''t dead.


    Before Liu Zhu could examine his situation more closely, his mind began slipping away from him again, and he passed out. The flowers and bark around him continued to decay as he laid there, eventually disappearing, leaving behind no evidence of their existence.

 Chapter 2: Taking Stock

    After a few hours Liu Zhu''s unconscious body was retrieved by Zhu Chao, who was none the wiser to what had elapsed inside the cave. Liu Zhu wasn''t visibly injured, but stayed in bed with a terrible fever for nearly a week. After a week passed the fever suddenly subsided, and Liu Zhu regained consciousness.


    Once he was conscious, Liu Zhu examined his body more closely. His meridians, which had been forcefully torn open before, were perfectly fine. The wound on his chest was also completely gone, the skin there having recovered long ago. He let out a sigh of relief upon seeing this. "I was worried about whatever that was killing me, but in the end it looks like I''m perfectly fine. Now I just need to watch out for any hidden traumas."


    Relieved that nothing terrible had happened, Liu Zhu began to notice the upsides of the incident. The first thing he noticed was that his body was filled with an overflowing vitality. The feeling was hard to explain, but Liu Zhu was filled with energy and wouldn''t be surprised if he ended up living longer than the Five Family''s Soul Foundation patriarchs even without cultivating any further. A few moments later Liu Zhu noticed something else, and jumped out of bed, a smile on his face. "Flesh Tempering! I broke through to Flesh Tempering!"


    Liu Zhu was overcome with joy for a moment, but calmed himself down relatively quickly. "Was it possible that nearly dying wasn''t a tragedy, but a great chance?" Liu Zhu fell silent, and while thinking about things one of the family''s servants entered the room. "Young Master Liu has awoken!" This yell caught Liu Zhu''s attention, and he realized that he wasn''t aware of how he returned home. "How long was I out?" The servant stopped for a moment after being addressed and hesitantly answered. "Six... no, it should be seven days." Liu Zhu muttered to himself after hearing that. "Seven days... I guess I''m not celebrating my birthday this year."


    Zhu Chao entered the room shortly after the yell, Liu Xuan and Liu Xingyu following shortly after. Once the three were finished expressing their relief over Liu Zhu waking up, Zhu Chao asked what happened. Liu Zhu knew that the situation was unusual, and worrying about his brother''s ability to keep a secret he left out most of what happened. He simply stated that the cave floor had collapsed beneath him and that he fell into a cavern, knocking himself unconscious. As for the fever that followed, he had no idea.


    After hearing the story Zhu Chao seemed to be thinking about something, while Liu Xuan approached Liu Zhu, patting him on the shoulder. "That''s unfortunate, but at least you''re alright now. If you''d woken up earlier we would''ve had cake, but I''m afraid that it''s all eaten by now." Liu Zhu stayed silent as Liu Xuan continued. "Well, we can always buy another one. Anyways, want to go out tonight?" "Drinking?" Liu Xuan laughed in response, as if confused by the question. "Of course drinking, what else would we do. There''s also a nice woman at the place on 8th Avenue, if you''re interested..."


    Liu Zhu turned his brother down on his offer, reminding him that he wasn''t as interested in women and wine as him. Liu Xuan turned to leave the room, leaving behind one final quip. "It''s fine if you don''t share interests with me, but remember not to have too much of a stick up your ass. It could get in the way if you can''t let loose once in a while." Before Liu Zhu had a chance to reply his brother left the room, forcing him to swallow down his annoyance.


    When Liu Xuan left Liu Zhu spoke to his mother, Liu Xingyu. Their conversation was extremely brief, and Liu Xingyu excused herself after a few sentences. That left Liu Zhu and Zhu Chao alone. Zhu Chao took a seat and began speaking. "Missus Xingyu didn''t get much sleep while you were out of it, so I suppose it''s natural for her to rest now. She''s a mortal after all." Zhu Chao paused for a moment before continuing. "Anyways, we have more important things to focus on. Congratulations Young Master Liu, you''ve broken through from Strength Rendering to the second stage of Body Tempering, Flesh Tempering. Well, I supposed you''ve noticed that by now given the good mood you seem to be in." There''s a short pause before Zhu Chao awkwardly clears his throat and continues. "Anyways, now that formalities are out of the way, I''d appreciate it if you could drip your blood on this piece of paper."This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    Confused, Liu Zhu took the small slip of paper from Zhu Chao, glancing at it. "Grand Elder Zhu, Isn''t that a bit of an odd segue, congratulating me and then asking me to cut myself? What''s the purpose of this?" Zhu Chao shrugged, passing a dagger over to Liu Zhu. "You''ll find out in a moment, just do it first. If nothing happens then we can just chalk everything up to you taking a fall and breaking through while panicking. Just consider this an old man''s hunch."


    Liu Zhu hesitantly took the dagger and cut himself, letting a few drops of blood drip onto the slip of paper he was given. In response, he was met with several surprises. The first was that the tiny cut on his finger was healing rapidly, disappearing at a rate that was visible to the eye. The second was that the piece of paper Zhu Chao had given him was suddenly increasing in area, becoming thinner as the sides lengthened. It continued doing this until it became too thin to stay together, crumbling into pieces.


    Zhu Chao stared at the paper, not noticing what was going on with Liu Zhu''s wound. "Well, it looks like my hunch was right. Congratulations, it seems that you awoke to some sort of innate constitution while in the cave." "...Innate constitution?" Liu Zhu parroted back, confused. "Yes, an innate constitution. That paper is a rare item used for testing which of the five elements one is most compatible with. While that''s its main purpose, it can also find unique constitutions and identify their element based on the reaction. I have no idea about the specifics of yours, but it appears to be related to wood. To be honest I didn''t expect this, but I once knew a man who broke through after awakening an innate constitution, and the circumstances seemed similar enough for me to check."


    Liu Zhu trusted Zhu Chao, but he knew that he didn''t have any sort of special constitution. Whatever happened was related to that root and the energy it sent coursing through his body. Liu Zhu stayed silent for a moment before telling Zhu Chao what actually happened in detail.


    Zhu Chao seemed even more confused than Liu Zhu had been, and the two sat there for several minutes before Zhu Chao spoke once again. "I have no idea what about what was in that cave, but it''s possible that you do have some sort of innate constitution or have acquired a bloodline, just not by birth- whatever that root was implanted it within you. Well, I suppose the specifics don''t matter, just that you broke through and seem to have some sort of affinity with wood."


    Zhu Chao and Liu Zhu finished their conversation after a few more minutes, but Zhu Chao left Liu Zhu with a warning. "Young Master Liu, I''m uncertain of what happened to you, but that doesn''t mean that everyone is. Given that there could be a force who knows what happened to you and who may have ways to... take whatever benefits you''ve gotten back, I recommend that you keep information about what happened to yourself and keep to the story that you just happened to make a breakthrough." Liu Zhu nodded, realizing the seriousness of the situation, and returned to his quarters.


    Liu Zhu sat at the desk in his room, scribbling on a piece of paper as he figured out his priorities. With everything that had happened, there were several things he wanted to do. First of all Liu Zhu wanted to look into the new abilities he seemed to have gained. There was the monstrous recovery from earlier and the flower that suddenly grew when his blood dripped onto it. Liu Zhu wanted to understand whether these phenomena were something permanent or temporary aftereffects from whatever happened to him. To do so he would need to conduct some experimentation. Once that was done he''d find a sparring partner and test his newfound strength from breaking through to Flesh Tempering.


    Now that Liu Zhu had an objective he left the estate, planning to buy some plants. If he could grow them with his blood it could be a great boon, and so he needed to perform experiments as soon as possible.

 Chapter 3: Experimentation

    Liu Zhu picked a flower from the Liu Clan''s estate, planning to test his blood on that first before he bought medicinal herbs to use. Once he made sure he was out of sight Liu Zhu bled slightly onto the flower. As he stared at it the flower quickly grew, going from being only a couple inches tall to being completely grown over the course of a minute.


    Liu Zhu nodded happily after seeing the first test succeed. "It''s not as fast as before, but I guess it wasn''t just temporary." Liu Zhu put the flower away and went to grab his coin purse. "I should go purchase some plants from the family''s shop then. If this works just as well on apothecaries'' ingredients as it does on flowers, then I''ll never have to worry about money again."


    Liu Zhu made the short trip from the Liu Clan''s estate to Vermilion City on foot. The Liu Clan was centered around Vermilion City, and since Zhu Chao took over they had once again become the most powerful family in the city. The Liu Family owned many shops and businesses in Vermilion City, and Liu Zhu was planning to head to one near the center of town that sold plants, balms, and a few pills for cultivating.


    Upon entering the shop an old woman eagerly greeted Liu Zhu. "Young Master Liu, welcome, welcome! I''ll call the manager so that you can look at the books." As the old woman began walking towards the back of the store, Liu Zhu stopped her. "I''m not here to check how the store is doing today, I''m a customer." The old woman seemed surprised, but switched gears smoothly. "In that case just come to me if you need any help. This old woman may not be of much use, but I know this store like the back of my hand." Liu Zhu nodded, thanking her for the consideration, and began to look through the store, trying to figure out what plants would be the best to use for his tests.


    Liu Zhu spent half an hour inside the store, and in the end just made educated guesses at what to get. He wasn''t an expert in herbology so he divided the plants into a few groups based on price and the time they took to mature and then bought one from each group. The price he was very familiar with as he had gone over the Liu family''s books for several years, including this shop''s. The time each plant took to mature was something he roughly knew for the more common plants. For the less common ones, he could simply ask the employee at the counter- she wasn''t just there for show.


    The plants ended up being 29 gold and 8 silver even after Liu Zhu''s sizable discount at the Liu family''s store. The money in his coin purse was immediately reduced by a third, but Liu Zhu wasn''t worried. After all, if this panned out he could make a massive profit off of the plants he had just bought. Liu Zhu returned back to the estate after his purchases, spending the next hour writing detailed observations of the plants and taking measurements so that he could figure out in more detail how they changed once his blood was applied.


    Once everything was prepared Liu Zhu cut his finger and dripped blood onto each plant one by one. It was unpleasant, but he was already growing used to the process. After the blood dripped onto the plants it was slowly absorbed into them, and their growth sped up. Much to his disappointment it was nothing as dramatic as with the flower, but it was still enough to excite him. He took a second set of measurements and wrote down any changes in the plants'' appearances before trying to grow them with more of his blood. Unfortunately the plants barely reacted the second time. "Maybe it only works once? No, it would make more sense if it were once per a given time period. I''ll try again tomorrow and see if it helps." Liu Zhu sighed and put the journal away, realizing that this would take a while to figure out.


    After finishing his experiments Liu Zhu turned his attention to testing out his newfound strength. He hadn''t had a chance to spar with anyone since his breakthrough to Flesh Tempering, and he was raring to go. "There are the children of the elders and the few talents we recruited from the city, but..." Liu Zhu scrunched his brow as he tried to think of someone suitable to spar with. Eventually he snapped his fingers, having found a suitable candidate. "Dai He is still at Late Flesh Tempering. He can help me spar, and then I''ll get his advice on how to profit off of this ability. He''s spent his entire life training to become a businessman, so he''d know more about how to identify goods and what I should do. More importantly, I can trust him."


    Liu Zhu got a servant and had them send a letter to Dai He requesting that he visited. He would go visit his friend himself, but Liu Zhu wanted to train a bit before they sparred and get a proper grasp over his strength. Given the difference in cultivation between the two it was almost impossible Liu Zhu would come out on top, but he wanted to be in his best condition anyways. It''d be a waste to test his strength if he couldn''t properly control it.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Liu Zhu trained for several hours, immediately destroying the dummy he used to use and moving onto a more durable one. By the time someone came to inform him that Dai He had arrived, he felt like he had gained a decent grasp of his power. To be frank, it was far beyond what Liu Zhu had expected- the difference between Late Strength Rendering and Early Flesh Tempering was like night and day to him. Now he felt like it was only natural for a breakthrough from Strength Rendering to Flesh Tempering to be so difficult when the difference in strength was that large.


    Liu Zhu met Dai He in a side room of the manor, and a servant fetched tea while they caught up. "Brother Liu, I haven''t seen you in a couple of weeks! I had a present prepared for your birthday, but the party was cancelled last minute. Were you closed up in training again?" "For the first week yes. After that some things happened, and long story short I made a breakthrough." Dai He chuckled in response. "Yes, I''d noticed. Congratulations, I was rooting for you. Did you call me here to celebrate since you missed your birthday?" Liu Zhu shook his head in response. "I''ll find some time to hang out with you, but that''s not why I called you here. I wanted to spar with you now that I''ve broken through, and there''s also something I wanted to consult you about."


    Dai He responded lightheartedly, keeping the mood jovial. "A little overconfident, eh? Whatever, we can spar later Brother Liu, but let''s take care of that other business first. It''s best to get the other business out of the way in case you''re upset after I beat you." "It''s not that I''m overconfident, but you''re the best sparring partner I could think of- most of the elders'' children and the talents we''ve recruited into the Liu family are either a couple years younger or older than me. Plus, if my loss is a bit embarrassing then I don''t need to mind if it''s with you, right?" "Yeah, you''re right. It''s not like I mind either way."


    The two ended their small talk after a few more minutes, and Liu Zhu led Dai He up to his room. He was hesitant about telling anyone about his newfound abilities or the details concerning his breakthrough given Zhu Chao''s warning, but he needed the help and trusted Dai He almost as much as Zhu Chao. They''d been friends for many years, and Dai He was smart- he wouldn''t just leak something as important as this.


    When Dai He entered Liu Zhu''s room, he immediately noticed the plants and commented on them. "I thought you wanted to become a refiner and forge weapons. Are you planning on switching to pill forging?" Liu Zhu shook his head and grabbed a flower he had prepared beforehand. "Just watch." Liu Zhu cut his finger again, much to the confusion of Dai He, and let his blood drip onto the flower. It immediately began growing, and Dai He''s mouth hung open, confused, as he stared at the spectacle.


    Dai He stayed silent until Liu Zhu spoke again. "The gist of it is that my blood can grow plants now. I''ll tell you in more detail later, but this explanation saves time. I experimented a bit earlier and have the results on that table with all the plants. I was wondering if you could help me sort them out and see how effective this really is." Dai He nodded, a thoughtful look covering his face. Without saying anything he headed over to the table and began reading through the journal placed next to the plants, occasionally grabbing an herb and examining it to double-check the descriptions in the book.


    After a quarter of an hour Dai He put everything down and turned around, a wide smile on his face. "This is great! Just continue to keep your results like that and I''ll look at them after a week. Given how long these take to mature we''ll want to wait at least that long. Unlike a flower that matures in a year at most, medicinal herbs are most useful after decades."


    Dai He tore a piece of paper out of the notebook, muttering to himself as he scribbled on it. "In the meantime I''ll look into a few things. You can also pick up these plants and add them to your experiments. A couple of yours look similar whether they''re old or young, and it would be difficult to tell the age without a specialist. We need to keep this a secret, so obviously that''s out of the question. These are replacements for them where it''s easy to tell the age."


    Liu Zhu smiled as Dai He went on. "I didn''t even think about that, it was a good idea to ask you. I suppose this is the skill of a merchant family''s heir?" Dai He laughed as he finished writing. "Damn right. I''m not just any normal merchant anyways- I''m going to be the best one in Yutian Country, no doubt about it." Dai He continued to get hyped up, but Liu Zhu cooled him down before he forgot the other reason he was brought here. "Brother Dai, it''s good you''re excited, but there''s still something else you need to do." Dai He froze, a confused expression on his face. "Huh? Did I miss something?" "We still need to spar."


    Dai He''s expression became awkward upon hearing this, as he realized that he''d completely forgotten. "I''ll be heading over to the sparring grounds then." Liu Zhu left the room as he said this, Dai He hurriedly following behind.

 Chapter 4: Sparring With Dai He

    The Liu Clan had sparring grounds in name, but they were simply a pair of long rectangles made out of stone tiles. Despite their simple appearance, the sparring grounds served an important purpose. The type of stone the tiles were made out of was very durable, and they could resist blows from cultivators at Qi Refinement, or possibly even Qi Emission. Without these two sparring grounds, the Liu Clan''s estate would be littered with craters and debris from the juniors fighting, increasing the cost of upkeep among other things.


    Inside the larger of the two sparring grounds stood Liu Zhu and Dai He. Liu Zhu smiled as he took position at one end of the area, waiting for Dai He to get ready. "Remember to go easy on me- it''d be bullying to go all out against your best friend when he''s two years your junior, right?" Dai He laughed as he replied. "Don''t worry, I won''t go all out- your defense may have increased now that you''ve entered Flesh Tempering, but I know how much damage I could cause if I went all out."


    Dai He took his position after that, and Liu Zhu began counting down. "3...2...1...go!" The two immediately pushed off of the ground, dashing towards the center of the arena and preparing to engage. Dai He was prepared to hold back his full strength, but didn''t reduce his speed, moving towards Liu Zhu at a rate that showed off his superior cultivation. Liu Zhu was wary upon seeing this, but it didn''t change his tactic- exchanging blows until he couldn''t any more. He could try something more clever in order to come out on top of the spar, but his goals were to test his improved strength, defense, and healing ability. The first two came naturally from a breakthrough to Flesh Tempering, while the last was a special ability of his. Liu Zhu wanted to take advantage of this chance to get a proper grasp on his abilities.


    Dai He approached Liu Zhu from the side, aiming a straight punch towards his chest. Liu Zhu responded quickly, moving even closer to Dai He and launching his own attack. This meant that he would definitely be hit, but in exchange it achieved two things: First, it minimized the force of the blow by reducing the distance Dai He''s punch had to gain force. Secondly, it gave Liu Zhu a better chance to hit. It was doubtful whether he could dodge or not, and even if he could the chance of him landing a blow in retaliation was even slimmer. It was simplest to just move towards any attacks aimed at him.


    Dai He was surprised by this move, but continued with his attack. His fist landed against Liu Zhu''s chest sooner than expected, but Liu Zhu didn''t budge- in fact, the punch didn''t even leave a bruise. Confused, Dai He wanted to move back, but Liu Zhu''s punch was already fast approaching. He simply stood there and watched as Liu Zhu''s punch landed against his chest.


    Neither of the two expected what happened next. Dai He was sent tumbling backwards, bouncing across the sparring grounds like a ball. This was due to both the force behind Liu Zhu''s blow and Dai He''s lack of preparation. He was at Late Flesh Tempering while Liu Zhu had just broken through to Early Flesh Tempering, so he never expected the force behind the blow to be so monstrous. He landed against the other end of the arena after a few moments, and silently began to lift himself off the ground.


    Liu Zhu stood there, confused, before he thought of a reason for this odd outcome. Dai He must be faking it. Annoyed, he yelled towards Dai He. "Take this seriously! This isn''t the time to play around- a weak punch from someone almost a whole stage of cultivation below you isn''t going to send you flying. You''re going to be a merchant, not an actor, right?" Upon hearing this, Dai He wanted to vomit blood. A weak punch?! If that was a weak punch, what did he have- the punch of an old granny?!The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    After a few seconds Dai He managed to get up, while Liu Zhu remained annoyed, oblivious to the actual situation. Dai He stared at Liu Zhu like he was looking at a monster, before speaking. "Let''s continue, but I won''t be holding back." Liu Zhu frowned upon hearing this. "Come on, first you attack with a punch so weak it doesn''t do anything and pretend to get sent flying. Now you want to attack me so hard that I''ll actually get sent flying. Are you just trying to get out of sparring with me?"


    Dai He sadly chuckled to himself upon hearing this. This brother got sent flying with one punch, and now you complain about me trying to injure you? Are we really friends or is this just an elaborate plot to make me suffer? Before Dai He could sort out his thoughts Liu Zhu rushed towards him, wanting to continue the fight. Dai He was forced to take position and focus on the fight, lest he take another blow like that again.


    After that Dai He narrowly dodged several attacks from Liu Zhu, managing to land a couple of his own in the process. Sadly his full force blows only left light bruises. Even more confusing to Dai He was the fact that Liu Zhu''s bruises seemed to be slowly healing as the fight continued. Was he dreaming?


    Frustrated by what was going on, Liu Zhu, exasperated, complained. "You said you were using your full force, but you''re back to those weak attacks again. I know I was worried, but you don''t have to hold back that much." Reaching the limits of his frustrated, Dai He yelled out a retort, dodging Liu Zhu''s next attack as he did so. "Holding back?! Who needs to hold back here- I''m going all out and can''t injure you, while you sent me flying with one punch! Are you sure you didn''t skip past Flesh Tempering and make a breakthrough to Bone and Marrow Tempering without telling me?! Maybe you''re really Liu Xuan disguised as your younger brother?"


    Confused, Liu Zhu stopped for a moment, finally realizing his mistake. "You weren''t acting?" Dai He stopped as Liu Zhu did, continuing to explain. "No! As you said, I''m going to be a merchant, not an actor. Why would I lie to you?! Besides..." as Dai He trailed off he lifted up his clothes, revealing a massive bruise where Liu Zhu punched him. "Unless I''m an actor who could ascend the heavens, I can''t make a bruise like this appear out of nowhere."


    At this point, Liu Zhu finally put the pieces together- something had happened during his odd breakthrough and his strength and defenses seemed to be beyond that of the average Early Flesh Tempering cultivator. If given longer he could''ve figured it out by himself, but given that during a breakthrough to Flesh Tempering a cultivator''s strength and defense both increased the possibility that something odd had happened hadn''t even crossed his mind.


    After figuring this out Liu Zhu called off the spar, realizing that he should spar with someone at Early Bone and Marrow Tempering instead. Dai He was still irritated by what happened, but after a couple apologies and a promise to treat him to a meal, he got over it. It was just a punch and a few hurtful words, so he couldn''t stay angry for too long.


    As the two prepared to return inside, Liu Zhu saw Zhu Chao approach from the other end of the yard. Liu Zhu and Dai He stopped what they were doing and waited for his arrival. The three exchanged greetings before Zhu Chao got to the point. "Young Master Liu, that was an... interesting spar. Still, that wasn''t why I came to see you, the timing was a coincidence. Given your breakthrough, you should start training in a weapon."


    Dai He took his leave, realizing that this would take a bit, and Liu Zhu stood there, excited. He''d been so overwhelmed about what happened recently that any thought of getting a weapon had slipped his mind. His older brother had begun training in the sword upon reaching Flesh Tempering, and it looked like he''d have a chance to choose a weapon of his own now. Zhu Chao stood there, waiting, while Liu Zhu thought about what type of weapon to ask for. This would be a major part of his fighting style in the future, so he needed to put ample thought into it now.

 Chapter 5: Dozen Treasures Pavilion

    Liu Zhu had decided what what weapon he wanted to use in the future. His father had used the spear, the most popular of the polearms. As a result Liu Zhu wanted to use a polearm as a homage to his father. In addition, polearms had the advantage of reach and would be useful on the battlefield if he ever joined the army. After thinking over possible polearms for a few minutes, Liu Zhu had eventually settled on the guandao. He had considered a spear, but he didn''t want to copy his father- he needed to differentiate himself and create his own legacy.


    "I''d like a guandao." Zhu Chao was surprised, and muttered to himself. "Guandao?" "It''s a type of polearm with a curved blade a-" Before Liu Zhu could finish he was cut off by Zhu Chao. "Obviously I know what one is, I''m just surprised. It''s not a particularly common weapon after all. Still, we have a few at the Dozen Treasures Pavilion." Zhu Chao paused for a moment after saying this, thinking about something, before sighing. "Well, I suppose it''s alright. I was planning on giving you a weapon for a Meridian Opening Cultivator, but if I recall correctly the cheapest guandao is a Qi Emission grade weapon. Still, it''s fine if I give it to you- it''s unlikely anyone would buy it anyways."


    Liu Zhu''s face lit up as he heard this. He wasn''t getting a weapon made for Body Tempering cultivators, but instead getting a weapon made for a Qi Emission cultivator? Who knew that his choice would result in such luck! Zhu Chao continued, ignoring Liu Zhu''s clear glee. "Give me a moment to write a note and put my seal on it and then you can go." After getting the note from Zhu Chao Liu Zhu mounted his horse, rushing to reach Vermilion City before the Dozen Treasures Pavilion closed for the day.


    In the center of Vermilion City was the Dozen Treasures Pavilion. It was the Liu Clan''s greatest individual moneymaker and one of the largest shops in the city. It sold (or to be more accurate, mostly resold) weapons, armor, and other equipment for cultivators all the way up to Acupoint Opening. As an anti-theft measure, two Acupoint Opening elders lived on the top floor of the Dozen Treasures Pavilion, and one of them was required to be present at all times.


    When Liu Zhu came to the Dozen Treasures Pavilion the manager was almost ready to close it for the day. Upon seeing Liu Zhu he immediately approached him, a servile look on his face. "Younger Master Liu, it''s a pleasure to see you. Did you come to see how business has been?" "No, I came for a weapon." Liu Zhu dug the note Zhu Chao had given to him out of his pocket as he said this, passing it over to the Dozen Treasure Pavilion''s manager.


    The manager''s face filled with relief upon hearing this, catching the attention of Liu Zhu. "Did something happen?" The manager froze up upon hearing this before quickly shaking his head back and forth. "N-No, nothing happened Younger Master Liu. I was thinking about something else. Anyways, I''ll go fetch your weapon now." Liu Zhu was slightly concerned about the manager''s reaction, but was too excited about his new guandao to care and followed the manager into the Dozen Treasures Pavilion.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    The two walked up a set of stairs, passing by the first and second floors, which housed all the goods for cultivators in Body Tempering. They stopped on the third floor where all the goods for Dantian Creation Realm cultivators were held, including Liu Zhu''s guandao. The manager looked around for a moment, muttering to himself as he did so. "...Not in the Qi Refinement section... Qi Emission?" As the manager looked around Liu Zhu, impatient, saw a guandao and took it off the wall.


    As Liu Zhu took the guandao the manager approached him. "Ah, that''s the one- my apologies, no one has ever come here to buy one so I didn''t know where it was." Liu Zhu ignored him, looking over the weapon. It was slightly larger than him, and the shaft made up just more than half the length. The other half was a blade that curved backwards. The handle was made up of a metal that looked similar to bronze, while the shaft was made out of a light blue metal. Despite studying the art of forging weapons for several years, Liu Zhu wasn''t familiar with either metal. He was, however, familiar with the metal that made up the blade. It was High-quality Etrium, a metal commonly used in weapons and armor for Qi Refinement cultivators up to Dantian Creation - in short, for cultivators in the Dantian Creation Realm.


    The metal making up the blade appeared to not be entirely High-quality Etrium, but an alloy of some kind, and the blade was well-maintained, easily cutting into Liu Zhu''s finger as he applied a bit of force. He pulled back and admired the guandao a bit more, appreciating the small lines carved through the weapon and overall sleek design. "Does this weapon have a name?" The manager responded that it didn''t, and Liu Zhu began brainstorming. "Brown, blue, and grey... River Entering The Mountain? No, that''s too long, it sounds like a technique. Mountain Stream? Hmmm... that sounds kind of weak."


    Eventually Liu Zhu gave up on naming the guandao, figuring that it could cut things just the same whether it had a name or not. His business finished he returned home, much to the relief of the Dozen Treasure Pavillion''s manager, who muttered to himself as he closed up the shop. "I''m stuck between a rock and a hard place, but at least my luck held out. Liu Zhu wasn''t here to check the books today, so I have time to cover this up..." The manager sighed as he said this, shaking his head. "Why do I have such bad luck. Maybe in the next life I''ll have a position where I don''t have to deal with such things..."


    Oblivious to the manager of the Dozen Treasure Pavilion''s worries, Liu Zhu immediately began practicing with his guandao once he reached the Liu Clan''s estate. He didn''t have a teacher, but at the very least he could familiarize himself with how to handle the weapon for the time being. Anything more complicated than making sure he could move the blade properly could come after he was more familiar with the weapon.

 Chapter 6: Making Rounds

    Two days had passed since Liu Zhu recovered from his fever. Since then he had been cultivating and getting used to his new weapon. At first he had worried that the incident in the cave had left behind some sort of trauma, especially from when his meridians burst open, but once he noticed that his cultivation was going smoother than before these fears were washed away.


    Today Liu Zhu was planning to make his rounds through the Liu Clan''s businesses. Liu Zhu knew that in order to thrive one of the most important things an organization needed was money. Whether it was a sect, family clan, or the government, money was a must in order to acquire resources, attract and raise talents, and motivate people to defend the organization. That''s why Liu Zhu had been making the rounds through the Liu Clan''s businesses and checking how things were going once a month for over a year. If he was able to become the family''s second patriarch in the future, then it would be important that he had some understanding of business and the family''s finances after all.


    Liu Zhu left the estate early in the morning, heading to a small restaurant on the outskirts of Vermilion City. The restaurant didn''t make that much money, but the Liu Clan had a 70% stake in it after providing most of the funds to construct it, so Liu Zhu visited it nonetheless. The only person inside the cramped restaurant was the owner, a spinster. She politely greeted Liu Zhu upon his arrival, having long since grown used to him visiting instead of one of the clan''s employees. First Liu Zhu looked over the facilities, and after making sure that everything was in good shape he started to look over the books. He compared the money earned in the past few months to last month, found that it was satisfactory, and took his leave. Most of his stops were like this, and while it wasn''t particularly eventful he enjoyed it. It let Liu Zhu learn about trends he wouldn''t otherwise notice in business, and occasionally he was able to spot something odd and either find out why that was or fix the problem.


    The day wore on as Liu Zhu went through ordinary stores that the Liu Clan had large shares in. They didn''t bring in large amounts of money individually, but combined they were a decent source of income. After this he stopped by the stores targeted towards cultivators, which were all fully owned by the Liu Clan. Nothing much came from the rounds as the family''s businesses tended to be on top of things, although Liu Zhu did learn about a couple of seasonal variations in price and bad decisions in purchasing stock. Finally Liu Zhu went to his last destination, the Dozen Treasures Pavilion.


    "Young Master Liu, it''s a pleasure to see you. You came to see how the Dozen Treasures Pavilion was doing?" Liu Zhu nodded at the Dozen Treasures Pavilion''s manager. He seemed like more of a suck up than usual, but Liu Zhu figured that it wasn''t that odd. There were plenty of people who wanted to form a relationship with him after all. He wasn''t guaranteed to become the clan''s second patriarch, but even if he failed he''d have a high standing within the Liu Clan. "I''ll see how the other employees are doing and then visit you in a bit to look over the books." Liu Zhu went through the four floors open to the public, making sure that the employees were acting competently and that everything was in order.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Satisfied by what he saw, Liu Zhu went to the Dozen Treasures Pavilion''s fifth floor. It was where the manager''s office and a storeroom was located. Above that was the final floor, where the elders on duty stayed. "Do you have the books ready?" The manager nodded as he hesitantly handed a ledger over to Liu Zhu. Liu Zhu began going through it, occasionally throwing glances at the manager, who looked oddly nervous. He didn''t find anything out of the ordinary looking through the ledger, but felt like something was off and decided to investigate further. "Can I check the funds to be sent to the estate?"


    The manager was caught off-guard by the question and paused. For a few moments he simply stood still while gritting his teeth. Just as Liu Zhu was about to repeat his question the manager sighed, his body seemingly deflating as his stance broke and a visible frown covered his face. "That... the funds will be different than what''s expected." Liu Zhu looked towards the manager coldly, realizing that his suspicions had been correct. "...Does that mean you''ve been stealing from the Liu Clan?" Scared, the man shook his head. "No, no, it''s not my fault. It''s your brother, Liu Xuan. He wanted a bow at the Meridian Opening level so... I gave it to him."


    Confused, Liu Zhu inquired further. "But my brother doesn''t use a bow. Why would he ask for one?" The manager nervously continued on. "He wanted to give it as a gift to the young missus Jin Zemin. I wanted to stop him, but I was worried for my job." Liu Zhu''s face turned to a scowl as he heard this. Jin Zemin was a woman who played the zither somewhere his brother frequented. She was a minor figure in an even more minor family. He wouldn''t mind if it were "true love", but if it were then Liu Xuan would have at least 20 wives at this point.


    Liu Zhu stayed silent, beginning to get a headache. A piece of jewelry wouldn''t matter much, but a bow fit for a Meridian Opening cultivator? That''s ridiculous. Liu Zhu looked at the manager, and his face, which had recovered slightly, fell once again as he realized that he wouldn''t be getting off scot-free by passing the blame. "You are under probation. If there are any more mistakes, I will speak to Grand Elder Zhu and the other elders about replacing you." The blood drained from the manager''s face at this point, but Liu Zhu continued. "I understand that you didn''t take action against my brother because you feared retribution, but grow a spine. If my brother tries to take anything else from the Dozen Treasures Pavilion, tell him no. If he tries to use his reputation against you, which is doubtful, you will contact me. It''s not like a Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator will be able to defeat someone at Dantian Creation before I arrive- right?"


    The manager nodded his head, relieved after realizing that he wouldn''t be fired. "Al-alright then Young Master Liu. I''ll make sure to stop your brother if he tries something like this again." Liu Zhu replied and turned to leave. "Good, hold down the fort here then. I don''t want to have to breathe down your neck while you work as I have my own business to tend to. Tell Elder Fan I said hi." Liu Zhu left before hearing the manager''s response and let out a sigh as he returned to the Liu Clan''s estate. The manager here wasn''t the kind of man to amount to much, but he still hadn''t expected him to make such a major mistake. Still, this could also be attributed to his idiot of a brother.


    As he returned home, Liu Zhu strengthened his resolve to overtake his brother and become second patriarch of the Liu Clan. If he didn''t, and his brother became the Liu Clan''s next patriarch, then who knew what kinds of mistakes his stupidity could cause. There would be no medicine for regret if he gave away the clan to a woman in the future, as outlandish as it sounded.

 Chapter 7: Propositions

    Nothing much happened for a while, as Liu Zhu cultivated diligently and got an elder who used the spear to teach him the basics of using a polearm. Of course it would be more helpful to have a teacher who used the same weapon, but since Liu Zhu was just a beginner, he still had plenty to learn regardless of the teacher.


    It had been over a week since Liu Zhu made his breakthrough when Dai He visited him. Liu Zhu greeted him and the two of him immediately headed up to his room, where the plants grown with Liu Zhu''s blood and the data on them was kept. Dai He silently looked through the information after entering the room, interested, and after a while began drawing graphs on a piece of paper. After the better part of an hour he stood up, a smile on his face.


    "I think I''ve figured it out." Dai He paused for a moment before hesitantly continuing. "I can''t be sure, but it seems like the rate of growth decreases as the age and price of the plants increase. This is just a rough trend, and varies with each plant. Of course this isn''t because some law of nature can figure out how much these herbs cost, but because the older they get the more they cost, and the more they cost the better the effects they tend to have. It must take more energy to grow plants like that, or something similar." After Dai He laid out his findings, Liu Zhu interjected. "So it doesn''t matter that much what I grow? They''ll probably yield about the same for what I spend?"


    Dai He quickly rejected this idea. "It may seem like that on the surface, but no. Your profit is the difference between the value of each plant at the starting age and the final age. The change in age isn''t important in the end as it just determines the change in cost. To maximize your profits, you want to find the plants that have the greatest change in cost over the shortest amount of time. This would change depending on how often you wanted to sell the plants, but given that it''s rather suspicious to constantly sell older versions of plants you bought here... let''s say two months. It''s not unreasonable to take a trip somewhere else to sell plants every two months, right?"


    Dai He finished his explanation, looking proud of himself. Meanwhile Liu Zhu stared at him, a bit confused. He had studied the basics of mathematics and business, but couldn''t compare to Dai He''s knowledge. "Every two months sounds fine. I can trust that you''ll help me figure out what the best plants to buy and when to sell them should be from now on, alright? I may have gained this ability, but I honestly can''t use it to the fullest without someone to help me." Dai He patted Liu Zhu on the shoulder, chuckling. "Of course I will, I can''t let my best friend lose out when I could help him. Of course I''ll take a cut, but..."


    Liu Zhu chuckled upon hearing this. He figured that he should give Dai He a cut, but didn''t expect him to bring it up like that. "Alright, what do you want? Is 15% fair?" Dai He looked surprised, and then just nodded in response. "To be honest I was going to ask for 8%, so you can pay me less if you want. I''m not going to rip you off." Liu Zhu kept it at 15%, telling Dai He that he didn''t want to take advantage of him. Dai He left shortly after their meeting finished, telling Liu Zhu that he''d write up a list of plants for the first batch and give them to Liu Zhu within the next few days.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Liu Zhu returned to training after Dai He left, but was interrupted that evening by a knock on the door. After throwing on a shirt and opening the door, Liu Zhu saw a servant standing there. "Young Master Liu, Grand Elder Zhu Chao requests that you visit him when you''re free." The servant hurried off upon delivering his message, leaving Liu Zhu alone. He wasn''t sure why Zhu Chao wanted to see him but hurried over, curious about what was going on.


    Liu Zhu arrived at Zhu Chao''s lodgings within seconds as they were directly above his training room. He knocked on the door and heard a muffled "Come in." Liu Zhu opened the door before bowing lightly and greeting Zhu Chao, who was closing a book. "Show me a few strikes with your weapon, I heard you''d been practicing." Liu Zhu nodded before making a few moves, allowing his guandao to slash through the air without restraint. He would have worried about breaking things in the small room, but Zhu Chao was standing only feet away from him. Liu Zhu doubted he could cause any damage before Zhu Chao reacted even if he tried.


    Luckily Zhu Chao''s intervention wasn''t needed, and Liu Zhu finished his demonstration without incident. Zhu Chao grunted as Liu Zhu finished. "Good, but based on what I know there''s still a lot left to be desired. Variety, momentum, the waste in the moves, things like that. While I can point out some errors like this, I''m not someone who can fix them." After a moment of silence Zhu Chao continued. "Would you like to meet someone who can help you? I asked around and there happens to be a similarly sized family where the patriarch uses a guandao. We spoke a bit and they expressed interest in exchanging disciples. I''ll teach one of theirs for a few months, and you learn there for a few months. Of course you won''t be as respected there, but that''s to be expected. How does that sound? If the deal falls through it doesn''t matter, but it sounded like a good opportunity."


    Liu Zhu was worried about his brother causing trouble while he was gone, but knew that this would be a good opportunity to get acquainted with his new weapon. He might even make some friends in another family in the process. "Grand Elder Zhu, I''d love to participate in an exchange of knowledge, although I do have a few things to take care of here first." Zhu Chao grabbed the four treasures of the study from a nearby desk as he responded, preparing to draft a letter. "That''s fine, it will take about five days to inform them anyways. I''ll send an elder to escort you, and then you''ll spend a few months there. I hope you gain from your time there."


    Liu Zhu smiled as he responded. "I''ll do my best. I''ll see you later then." "See you later Young Master Liu." The door shut and Liu Zhu walked off while thinking about what he needed to do before leaving. He obviously needed to get the plants from Dai He first, and besides that he needed to do a few things to prevent his brother from causing trouble while he was gone. Unfortunately he couldn''t send someone to babysit him no matter how much he wanted to, but if he talked to a few bartenders and other shopkeepers to make sure he didn''t go overboard, things should be fine while he was gone.

 Chapter 8: Departure

    Liu Zhu sighed as he exited the third bar he''d been to that day. Before he left he wanted to speak to his older brother''s friends and make sure he didn''t go wild while he was gone, but they didn''t seem particularly interested in helping him. Well, at least no one could say he hadn''t tried. He exited the downtown portion of the city, heading towards the center. While he was there he visited the Dozen Treasures Pavilion again and made sure that the manager remembered he was still on probation. After that he made his last stop at the Dai family''s manor to pick up the list of plants.


    Dai He and Liu Zhu cut to the chase, ignoring small talk as Dai He went over the list of medicinal plants to purchase. Liu Zhu was impressed with how much consideration he''d put into it given that he''d only had a couple of days. After hearing that he would be leaving for a few months Dai He even managed to write up a second set that Liu Zhu could purchase somewhere else and sell off in Vermilion City without looking terribly suspicious.


    Once his business with Dai He was taken care of, Liu Zhu had finished everything he needed to do before he left. The next couple of days passed in a blur as Liu Zhu cultivated and patiently waited for Zhu Chao to tell him that everything had been confirmed. The proposition had been sudden, but now that it was almost set in stone Liu Zhu was excited to improve his guandao technique. There wasn''t anything wrong with hand to hand combat, but Liu Zhu had been looking forward to being able to wield a weapon for a long time, as even before his father''s generation and the founding of the Liu Clan, receiving a weapon was part of becoming a man.


    It didn''t take long for the letter to reach the Yu family where Liu Zhu would be training, and things began rolling once it did. Liu Zhu was told he could set off in the morning after one of the elders was notified and the servants gathered up the relevant supplies. As Liu Zhu was preparing the first son of the Yu family, Yu Bai, was also preparing to set off for the Liu Clan. The preparations on both ends went smoothly, and at the crack of dawn Liu Zhu woke up and readied his personal items.


    Liu Zhu stepped out into the dark, fog-covered yard of the Liu Estate. Birds occasionally chirped, but besides that it was almost dead silent. He stood still, trying to peer through the mist, before he heard footsteps behind him. Glancing behind him he saw Zhu Chao and Liu Xuan. His older brother smiled as he wished Liu Zhu the best. "I hope you enjoy the trip. Good luck with advancing your, er, guandao technique was it?" After Liu Xuan finished talking there was a short pause before he awkwardly chuckled. "I would chat with you a bit more, but to be frank it''s too damn early for me to be up. It wasn''t long ago that I was out, I have a bit of a headache and... well, you know how it is." As Liu Xuan fled into the mansion, Liu Zhu could only think that he really didn''t ''know how it is'', and that was probably a good thing.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Once Liu Xuan left Zhu Chao informed Liu Zhu that Elder Chu would be ready in a moment. Liu Zhu nodded, and as he returned to waiting Zhu Chao pulled a red bead the size of a marble and a necklace from his pocket. Liu Zhu recognized neither object and stared at Zhu Chao, perplexed. "Elder Chu will be with you until you arrive at Yu Mountain, but there''s still a chance you''ll run into danger. Just to avoid any accidents, I''ve decided to give you a couple of life-saving items I''ve gathered over the years."


    Zhu Chao handed the necklace and bead to Liu Zhu as he explained in more detail. "The necklace was forged by a friend of mine some time ago, and I haven''t had a chance to use it until now. It functions by using the stone set in the middle as a power source, and can protect you from a blow up to Dantian Creation. The only downside is that it''s not actually made to trigger against anything below Qi Refinement- it can''t detect attacks at that level. Still, it will help you in case you run into anything far beyond your abilities."


    Zhu Chao pointed to the bead next. "The other item is more directly useful. Put some energy into it, chuck it out, and when it hits something it explodes. It will kill anything below Qi Emission, granted you can hit it, and even above that can cause severe injuries. Just... be careful where you keep it."


    Liu Zhu put on the necklace and gingerly placed the bead in his pocket. "Thanks for the gifts Grand Elder Zhu, hopefully I won''t have to use them." "Yes, hopefully not." As the two stood there, Zhu Chao muttered to himself. "Where''s Elder Ch... ah, speak of the devil."


    An old man sitting on a horse approached the two as they stood there in the fog. He wore an almost pitch-black outfit, and if one looked closely they could see numerous scars underneath his greyish-black facial hair. Despite his imposing appearance, the old man was genial and easy to get along with. This man was Elder Chu, the only elder to remain in the Liu Clan since before Liu King''s disappearance. He was barely at Acupoint Opening, but he had served in the war against Hiqui Sect with Liu King, and was the elder Liu Zhu trusted the most besides Zhu Chao. Elder Chu would be escorting Liu Zhu to Yu Mountain, the home of the Yu family, as he had business along the way anyways.


    "I suppose you''re ready then?" Elder Chu looked at Liu Zhu, who had immediately picked up his pack upon seeing him. Liu Zhu nodded and hurriedly began to mount his horse. Elder Chu laughed after seeing Liu Zhu so excited and followed after him, muttering to himself. "It''s good to see them happy again. Makes it worth it."


    A few minutes later the two left the Liu Clan''s estate on horseback, ready for their five day journey to the Yu family. If one really wanted to they could probably cut it down to four days, but apparently Elder Chu was planning to visit someone in the middle of the trip and so they''d stop for a while along the way.

 Chapter 9: Arrogance

    The first few days of Liu Zhu''s trip went by without much fanfare. He simply rode his horse along the dirt roads stretching throughout the countryside, admiring the multitude of forests and farms along the way. Occasionally a merchant or traveler would pass by the two, but the route they''d taken wasn''t very populated. Overall the experience had been surprisingly calm. It was just riding horses, taking breaks, riding some more, and then camping for the night. This pattern broke on the third afternoon after Liu Zhu and Elder Chu left the Liu Clan''s estate, as they entered into a city.


    "Does your friend live here?" Elder Chu nodded as the two entered into the city. The entrance led directly onto the main street. Despite the small size of the city, the main street was lively and citizens walked to and fro while merchants hawked their wares. Elder Chu turned to Liu Zhu after looking around. "I''m not sure if there''s a stable nearby, so I''ll just bring the horses with me. Do you want to come with me or look around the city for a bit?" Liu Zhu handed his reins to Elder Chu as he answered. "I''ll look around and meet up with you again later." Elder Chu nodded as he began to lead both horses away. "Alright then, come to the red brick manor with the statue of a lion out front when you''re done. As long as you go along the main road you can''t miss it." Liu Zhu grunted in response as he walked away, curious about whether there was interesting to see in this small city.


    Unsurprisingly, there wasn''t much to see in a city of under 20,000 people, which could barely qualify to be a city. Liu Zhu was aware of a couple of ruined forts nearby, but they were too far away for him to visit without spending at least half a day. In the end he just looked through some shops instead. After around an hour of this he gave up on finding anything notable, deciding to grab a meal before meeting up with Elder Chu. The restaurant he chose was empty besides two teenagers eating, and Liu Zhu ordered some food before pulling out a book and silently waiting.


    As Liu Zhu waited for his food, he heard the young man and woman sitting a few tables away start speaking louder. He tried to ignore them and focus on his book, but the volume of their conversation continued to grow louder before he heard something smash. Glancing up, he saw that their plates were lying on the ground, shattered, and that the girl was backing away.


    The teenage boy angrily laughed as he walked forward. "I''ve asked you politely time and time again, so why is it that you continue to spurn me? I just want to... get to know you better Fairy Lin. Alright?" The girl seemed distraught and clenched her fists as she retorted. "I''ll let you off if you drop this, but if you continue my master will have to get involved." The volume of their conversation increased as the man laughed. "Your master? Why would my Fang family be afraid of an old bag of skin and bones like her?" The woman''s face scrunched up in frustration as their argument continued.


    As all this was happening, Liu Zhu saw the cook hide in the back and realized that he wouldn''t be able to eat as long as this was going on. He normally wasn''t willing to stick his neck out for others without knowing the details of the situation and the local powers, but now that this was inconveniencing him the situation had changed. Sighing, he decided to try to defuse the situation.


    Liu Zhu cleared his throat as loudly as he could, drowning out the conversation. The two looked over at him, temporarily pausing their argument. Liu Zhu spoke up, putting on a polite front. "It seems like the cook isn''t going to do anything as long as you''re arguing, and I''m still waiting for my food. Maybe it''d be better to take this outside?"Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    Liu Zhu avoided taking sides with this response, not knowing the specifics nor whether getting on the man''s bad side would affect him in the future. He seemed like an asshole, but Liu Zhu wasn''t in the business of dealing with people''s misconduct unless it actually affected him. The man sneered as he heard this, and looked Liu Zhu up and down. "If you don''t like it you can go outside. Now apologize and leave or you won''t have a good time in this city."


    Liu Zhu took a short breath in before sighing. He didn''t realize that this person would be so undiplomatic and refuse to give him any face. Well, he had already ridden the tiger so he couldn''t back down now. Despite being 16 or 17 the boy was only at Early Bone and Marrow Tempering, so even if he couldn''t win Liu Zhu had confidence in not losing. He had easily been able to take Dai He''s blows, and the difference between Late Flesh Tempering and Early Bone and Marrow Tempering couldn''t be that significant. "I was trying to be polite, but it seems you''ve rejected my kind intentions. I don''t really care about your argument, but keep me out of it."


    Liu Zhu got up as he said this, staring the boy down. A derisive grin covered the older boy''s face as he looked down at Liu Zhu. "You really want to pick a fight with Fang Wu, the young master of the Fang family? I never thought I''d see the day." He chuckled as he approached Liu Zhu, cracking his knuckles. "Don''t worry brat, I won''t cripple you. Although if you really want to make amends you could kowtow now, hm?" In response Liu Zhu struck out at Fang Wu, ignoring his taunting.


    Fang Wu stood still, a smug smile covering his face, as he allowed Liu Zhu to punch him. Unfortunately his arrogance cost him, and once the strike landed Fang Wu''s face immediately changed, his smugness replaced with alarm as he stumbled backwards. "Your strength is impressive, but I''m a whole stage above you. I''ll do you a favor and show you the true power of a Bone and Marrow Tempering cultivator before you anger someone you shouldn''t. Consider this a lesson- It''ll only cost a few broken bones."


    Fang Wu charged forward, attacking Liu Zhu. Liu Zhu wasn''t fast enough to properly counter the blows and was struck several times in quick succession. Pain spread throughout Liu Zhu''s body with each blow, but the actual damage for each one wasn''t significant, and so he countered by simply punching back. Fang Wu was too arrogant to back away from someone a stage below him and five years younger than him, so their fight turned into a contest of endurance. If Liu Zhu only got a hit in for every two or three that landed against him it''d be fine- he''d just endure it.


    This contest dragged on and Fang Wu''s face slowly changed from confidence to astonishment, and eventually to a mix of anger and pain. Fang Wu had landed dozens upon dozens of punches against Liu Zhu, but each of them only left a minor wound. What was more, the wounds immediately began healing as they fought, meaning that he was dealing frighteningly little damage. Liu Zhu couldn''t withstand this forever, but outlasting Fang Wu was easy. Eventually Fang Wu backed down, in a miserable state, and turned to leave.


    Fang Wu left, shouting a few choice threats as he did so, and limped away down the street. Liu Zhu sat down, slightly annoyed, as the girl glanced down the street for a moment before silently leaving in the direction opposite of Fang Wu. As she did, Liu Zhu''s food arrived. Liu Zhu happily glanced down at the plate, glad to get his hard-earned meal, before he saw that it wasn''t what he ordered. The waiter embarrassingly took it back as Liu Zhu sighed, wondering what god he''d angered to have such bad luck. When did getting some lunch turn so difficult?

 Chapter 10: Blackmail

    Liu Zhu left the restaurant and headed down the city''s main street, keeping an eye out for the manor Elder Chu had described. After a couple minutes Liu Zhu spotted the lion statue Elder Chu had mentioned and examined the property it was sitting in front of. The manor was smaller than the Liu Clan''s estate, but it was still fairly large for being inside a city. Surrounding it were a few similar homes, and employees and servants could occasionally be seen tending to the premises through the gates.


    A tired-looking guard approached the gate upon noticing Liu Zhu, and after asking for his name and purpose immediately opened them. Once he was let into the estate Liu Zhu was escorted to the drawing room, where Elder Chu and his friend were currently chatting. Upon entering the two glanced towards Liu Zhu, and Elder Chu''s friend introduced himself as one of Elder Chu''s subordinates in the last war against Hiqui Sect, Fang Qi.


    "I''m sorry for the wait, I''m afraid it''ll be a few more hours until I''m done here Young Master Liu." Liu Zhu nodded, not minding. "Alright then, just tell me when you''re done." As Liu Zhu went to leave Fang Qi mentioned that Liu Zhu might get along with his grandson, and not thinking much of it Liu Zhu said he''d speak to him while he waited for them to finish their reminiscing.


    Liu Zhu made his way upstairs to speak with Fang Qi''s grandson and kill some time, but saw something very surprising along the way. A door on the upper floors was wide open, and glancing through Liu Zhu caught sight of a very familiar figure treating a few wounds on his face. Liu Zhu boisterously laughed at the sight, and the figure immediately turned towards Liu Zhu, shocked.


    "I can''t believe you followed me here! I-I''ll call the guards! I''m not afraid of you!" Sitting there treating his wounds was Fang Wu, the arrogant teenager that Liu Zhu gotten into a fight with not even an hour before. Liu Zhu chuckled as he heard this, unable to hide his amusement given the situation. "If you''re not afraid of me why would you call the guards? Anyways, are you Fang Qi''s grandson?" In response to Liu Zhu''s question Fang Wu put up a proud front, which immediately clashed with his miserable appearance. "Aha, I see you''ve heard of me. Yes, I am Fang Wu, grandson of Fang Qi and son of Fang Zhuchong. You came hoping to apologize after hearing about my grandfather then? I''m not a man to hold grudges, so..."


    As Fang Wu ranted on, Liu Zhu interrupted him. "No, I''m not here to apologize to you. My name is Liu Zhu and one of my family''s elders was your father''s superior. Fang Qi suggested that I speak with you while they talked." Upon hearing this Fang Wu''s face fell slightly, but he soon recovered. "I see. Well, as I said I don''t hold grudges, so I suppose we can let bygones be bygones and start on the right foot, can''t we?"


    Seeing Fang Wu try to ignore what happened, Liu Zhu was amused. He laughed as he responded. "God, you''re the most shameless person I''ve met." Fang Wu''s face soured as he said this, but after hearing that Liu Zhu''s family had one of his grandfather''s war buddies as an elder, he didn''t dare retort. "Hahahaha... yes, I suppose it is a bit shameless. I... I apologize, so can we forget about this?"


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.Figuring that this was the most entertainment he''d get while he was waiting, Liu Zhu continued leading Fang Wu on. "Mmmm... I suppose we can forget about it. Still, I do feel bad about beating you up." Pretending to come to a realization, he snapped his fingers and then looked towards Fang Wu. "I figured it out! You apologized, so I should apologize too. I fought back instead of letting you do as you wished, so clearly I''m at fault too. I mean, a child my age beating up my senior like that is truly regrettable..." Fang Wu looked at Liu Zhu, his eye slightly twitching, as Liu Zhu continued to mock him. "I''ll just pop in with your grandfather and tell him I''m sorry for hurting you that much, alright?" Fang Wu''s face paled as he heard this, and he stuttered as he replied. "T-There''s no need to do that, al-alright? I-I''m fine without an apology, really!"


    Liu Zhu pretended to be guilty and shook his head. "No, no, that really can''t do. How could I leave without telling your grandfather everything that happened- I''d really feel bad." Fang Wu gritted his teeth, a distraught expression on his face, before Liu Zhu continued. "Well... maybe you could convince me otherwise." Fang Wu stared at Liu Zhu, looking confused, before Liu Zhu decided to make his intentions more obvious.


    "Right now I''m a bit short on funds. Maybe a couple dozen gold coins would make me forget about everything." Fang Wu lost his composure as he heard this, shooting up from his chair and exclaiming "Shameless!" Liu Zhu sighed as he heard this. "Pot, meet kettle." Fang Wu''s face reddened after hearing this, but he regained his composure after a few moments and sat down. "I have 20 gold coins on hand. I can give you 15."


    Liu Zhu was satisfied upon hearing this, but realizing that he had the chance at a decent payday, kept pushing. "Well... alright, I won''t tell him about our fight. Still, what about that woman? What''s your grandfather''s stance on that?" Fang Wu''s expression grew even more frustrated as Liu Zhu continued. "Or does your family approve of acting like that? Did your grandfather teach you to bully people?" Fang Wu loudly swore before interjecting. "Shut up, shut up. I don''t care anymore, I can get 25 gold coins if you give me a moment. Just don''t tell that old man whatever you do, I''m not getting shipped off to join the military. I know that old war nut would do it if he found out."


    Liu Zhu smiled at Fang Wu and put out his hand. "Let''s shake on it then!" Ignoring him, Fang Wu left the room. Soon he returned with a nondescript pouch holding 25 gold coins. Liu Zhu took it and nodded appreciatively. "Well, I''m not sure what we were talking about, but thank you. Anyways, my name is Liu Zhu, it''s nice to meet you." Fang Wu ignored Liu Zhu as he left to hole himself up in his room.


    Since his new ''friend'' was gone, Liu Zhu explored the manor and its grounds until Elder Chu finished chatting with Fang Qi. At that point it was late in the afternoon, and Liu Zhu was more than ready to leave the city. As Elder Chu was about to leave, Liu Zhu considered taking the chance to tell Fang Qi what happened with his grandson, but in the end decided against it. As much as he would enjoy getting that prick sent into the military where he could hopefully learn some manners, it would be unfortunate if this incident caused some awkwardness between Elder Chu and Fang Qi. Anyways, he was doing whoever would have to work with Fang Wu a favor by making sure he didn''t get sent into the army.


    Before leaving the two retrieved their horses. They lead them off of the main street before mounting them and continuing onwards towards the Yu Clan''s home, Yu Mountain.

 Chapter 11: Arriving at Yu Mountain

    After a couple more days of travelling through increasingly deserted roads, Elder Chu and Liu Zhu arrived at a small town at the base of a mountain. This signaled their arrival at Yu Mountain, the home of the Yu family.


    The streets were narrow and the houses looked slightly rundown. In stark contrast to the liveliness of Vermilion City, this town was like the majority of the country- extremely rural, and in Liu Zhu''s opinion, slightly depressing. Still, a large population of agricultural workers and other peasants were needed to support the creation of cities and the training of cultivators, so Liu Zhu was thankful for their work in a sort of abstract way.


    A few minutes after passing the farms and scattered houses which made up the ''city limits'', the two came upon a wooden stockade that marked the entrance to the town. The guard at the entrance was only at Bone and Marrow Tempering, and he waved the two through without any trouble.


    "The Yu Clan''s estate is up that mountain, right?" Elder Chu nodded in response. "Yes, it''s only a few hours up that trail. The Yu family owns almost everything in this town, so the trail should be well-maintained." Well, that made sense for a clan similar in size to the Liu Clan- they needed a larger slice of the cake if they only operated in such a minor area. In fact, Liu Zhu wouldn''t be surprised if they owned almost everything in the town.


    The two parted ways at the base of the mountain and Liu Zhu began to make his way up alone. The trail was wide and unlike the rest of the town''s roads, paved. It looked like the Yu family understandably placed a lot of importance on being able to go up and down the mountain easily. After all, if this route was blocked then it would be extremely difficult to reach the outside world. Liu Zhu made his way up the trail at a steady pace, admiring nature for most of the way, until he suddenly caught sight of a flattened area covered in tents and small homes.


    Liu Zhu moved closer to the structures, curious, and saw that the homes were all centered around a mine. He continued up the mountain after looking around for a bit, but not even half an hour later he caught sight of another mine surrounded by homes. After seeing this, he realized that mining must be the main industry of the town. The amount of farms outside the city was far lower than what he was expecting, so it would make sense if most of the unskilled labor population was occupied doing something else- in this case, mining.


    Liu Zhu passed by a few more mines before he reached the peak of the mountain, and along the way resolved to see what they produced before he left. He was an aspiring refiner, so maybe they''d have some metals local to the area that he could experiment with. He''d never be able to forge anything decent if he didn''t practice after all.


    Upon reaching the peak of the mountain Liu Zhu was greeted by a metal gate twice his height. Liu Zhu hesitantly shook it, and a few moments later a guard appeared. Liu Zhu couldn''t sense his cultivation, so he had to be past Bone and Marrow Tempering.


    The guard asked a few questions and confirmed Liu Zhu''s identity before opening the gate. "Yu Qiang, the clan''s patriarch, is waiting for you. If you go straight ahead you''ll be in the main building, and he''ll be in the first room to your left on the third floor." Liu Zhu nodded and handed his horse to the guard before entering the building in front of him.


    The entranceway was decorated with portraits of the family''s previous patriarchs and expensive furniture. As Liu Zhu made his way to the third floor he saw that the rest of the home had similarly expensive furniture and decorations scattered about. This decor may have seemed like posturing to the ordinary person, but in actuality it showed the history behind the family clan- unless a family was a major player within Yutian Country or full of idiots, spending the money to decorate the estate like this would be impossible within a short period of time. The Liu family certainly couldn''t do it, not unless they wanted to clear out their savings. In essence, it was a way of saying that your family clan had survived through history and making sure that any visitors knew that- any aesthetic boons were a side effect.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Liu Zhu entered the first room to the left on the third floor only to see a middle-aged man staring at him, a book lying on the end table next to him. "I heard you coming. You''re Liu Zhu, correct?" Liu Zhu politely responded with a ''yes sir'' before the man continued. "I''m Yu Qiang, the fifth patriarch of the Yu Clan. I''ll be training you in the guandao for the next three months as my sons all seem to have rejected my love for the weapon." After Yu Qiang said this he muttered something angrily under his breath. "I''ll teach you for a few hours each morning, and then you''ll be allowed to practice as you wish for the rest of the day. If you reach a certain level of proficiency before the end of your stay here, I have a few guandao techniques that I could show to you, but that depends on your merit." There was a short pause before Yu Qiang finished. "We''ll begin tomorrow morning- meet me in the third training grounds. The servant outside will show you to your room."


    Liu Zhu left the room, almost running into the butler standing immediately outside. "I''ll be leading you to your lodgings then." The old man said this, ignoring Liu Zhu nearly body-checking him, and the two of them made their way outside. After exiting the building they were confronted by a boy the same age as Liu Zhu.


    The butler began to bow, but was stopped by the boy. "My name is Yu Shi, and I''m the third son of Yu Qiang. You''re the person training here while my older brother is gone?" "Yes, that would be me. I''m Liu Zhu, the second son of Liu King, the Demon General." Yu Shi paused, clearly surprised upon hearing Liu King mentioned, but continued after a moment. "Are you interested in sparring with me? I''d like to test out a new technique."


    Liu Zhu would normally be interested in sparring, but... Yu Shi was far from his match. He was able to thrash someone at Late Flesh Tempering, and Yu Shi was only at Middle Flesh Tempering. The match would end up too one-sided. Still, he couldn''t exactly turn this down by saying he was too strong to fight him- Yu Shi would assume he was being insulted to his face and the whole thing would be blown out proportion. Maybe he could weasel out of it saying that it wouldn''t be appropriate, but Yu Qiang could be attempting to test him through this... what a quandary.


    Once Liu Zhu thought about it, he decided that the best option here was to just accept the challenge. There was no reason to hide his strength, so he should just defeat Yu Shi and hope he didn''t take the loss too badly. "I''d be honored to spar. Is there somewhere appropriate nearby?" Yu Shi nodded and led Liu Zhu towards a dueling grounds similar to the Liu Clan''s.


    When the two took up positions, a large group of juniors training nearby gathered around, curious about what was happening. As they did so a teenage boy around the age of 16 or 17 joined them before yelling towards Yu Shi. "Junior Brother Shi, are you sparring with the cultivator from the Liu Clan?" Yu Shi nodded and the group of juniors grew excited as they realized what was happening.


    Liu Zhu realized that this would establish he standing among the juniors here, and honestly couldn''t be happier given that he had to fight anyways. They''d set up a stage and made sure everyone knew who he was, so what else could he ask for? Yu Shi unsheathed a short sword from his belt before pointing it towards Liu Zhu. "Are you ready?!" He yelled in Liu Zhu''s direction, having determined that enough people were watching.


    Liu Zhu grabbed his guandao from his back and nodded, causing Yu Shi to rush towards him. He launched a slash towards Liu Zhu''s leg, while Liu Zhu swept his guandao through the air, trying to slam the shaft into Yu Shi''s chest. Yu Shi ignored Liu Zhu''s strike, knowing that his attack would land first, but was shocked upon seeing that his strike had only left a scratch on Liu Zhu. Before he could dodge the shaft of the guandao came in contact with his abdomen, and he was sent flying through the air before he crashed into the ground outside of the arena.


    The crowd that had previously been cheering watched in astonishment as Yu Shi bounced across the ground like a human ball. A single hit wouldn''t have been that devastating if he was prepared, but since he was hit immediately after finishing his attack, he had no time to guard against Liu Zhu''s strike.


    After a couple of bounces Yu Shi was caught by someone, and nobody said anything, an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air. Liu Zhu cleared his throat to get everyone''s attention. He figured that if he said something it might fix the awkward atmosphere. "...Would anyone else like to spar?"

 Chapter 12: Fundamentals

    The question left most of the onlookers dumbfounded, hesitantly waiting for someone to respond. After a few breaths a boy stepped onto the dueling grounds, breaking the silence as he introduced himself. "Tian Ru, only son of Elder Tian. 13, Late Flesh Tempering. Glad to make your acquaintance." Liu Zhu was surprised that someone else below Bone and Marrow Tempering took him up on his offer, but figured he must have some level of confidence to do so. As he tried to gauge Tian Ru''s strength, he introduced himself. "Liu Zhu, second son of Liu King, the Demon General. 13, Early Flesh Tempering. Same to you."


    "Let''s begin then?" Liu Zhu nodded in response to the question, causing Tian Ru to dash forward, no weapon in hand. Liu Zhu hastily threw aside his guandao and approached Tian Ru as he saw this. The two neared each other, immediately throwing punches at each other. Liu Zhu''s attack narrowly whizzed past Tian Ru''s side as he dodged, while Tian Ru''s attack managed to strike Liu Zhu directly in the chest. Unfortunately it dealt almost no damage, and before Tian Ru could prepare to dodge again, Liu Zhu struck him in the side.


    Tian Ru stumbled back a few steps but kept standing, much to Liu Zhu''s surprise. He stared at Liu Zhu as he took a fighting stance again, a grin on his face. "I can''t believe you overcame the defense I''m so proud of with such an ordinary blow. Interesting!" Tian Ru charged towards Liu Zhu and the two exchanged blows once again.


    In the second exchange of blows the outcome remained unchanged, as Liu Zhu withstood Tian Ru''s attack, unfazed, before forcing him backwards. This repeated a few more times before Tian Ru gave up, breathing heavily but surprisingly still standing. "I''ll be back to spar with you again after I make a breakthrough. I hope you''ll accept my challenge then." Liu Zhu gave a simple ''sure'' in response as Tian Ru hobbled off the stage, looking oddly happy for someone that just got beaten up.


    Liu Zhu was also interested in Tian Ru, as he was surprised that someone at Flesh Tempering could take that many blows from him without even falling down. Besides that there was his odd fighting style- he could''ve drawn back, played it safe, and tried to make it a battle of endurance at any time, but he instead charged forward and kept going blow for blow with Liu Zhu. He wasn''t sure if this could be called pride or stupidity, but it made Liu Zhu interested in fighting him again. Speed was currently his weak point, so he matched up well against people who decided not to dodge.


    No one else approached Liu Zhu to spar after Tian Ru''s defeat. Everyone in Flesh Tempering had clearly seen that they weren''t a match for him, while everyone at Bone and Marrow Tempering was unwilling to step forward. If they won, it''d bring no glory because they''re a whole stage of cultivation higher, but if they lost they''d never live it down. It was just best to stay silent and wait for this standstill to end.


    Liu Zhu left having a polite but slightly awkward chat with a few juniors. He wanted to make friends here, but his display earlier made it an inconvenient time to do so. He figured it''d be best to wait a day or two before trying to make friends with anyone. After coming to that decision Liu Zhu found his lodgings and where''d he''d be training. Immediately after doing so he locked himself up and practiced with his guandao for the day, excited for the real lessons to begin the next day.


    At dawn Liu Zhu and Yu Qiang met up in order to train. Once they met, Liu Zhu noticed that unlike the day before, an eight-foot long guandao cast in a shiny, golden metal was slung across Yu Qiang''s back. It was clearly a weapon fit for an Acupoint Opening cultivator, and Liu Zhu was immediately impressed by it. He would be happy to admire it and try to figure out more about what it was made of and its forging process for hours, but it wasn''t a good time. Besides, it would be disrespectful- someone who devoted themselves into training a certain weapon would oftentimes be attached to their weapon. Asking to examine their weapon like that for no good reason may as well be asking to feel up their wife. It''d be courting death.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    After observing Liu Zhu''s usage of the guandao, Yu Qiang immediately began drilling the fundamentals into him. The sweep, the thrust, the slice, and all the other basic moves were demonstrated by Yu Qiang several times as Liu Zhu tried to mimic his form. Liu Zhu repeated each attack over and over and over as Yu Qiang watched, correcting him as he did so. Due to the boundless vitality within Liu Zhu he never ran out of energy while practicing, and so Yu Qiang never gave him a break. His entire morning was spent improving his form and his understanding of the strikes while Yu Qiang told him what he did wrong. His afternoon was more of the same, but without supervision.


    Normally this process would be boring, but for a cultivation nut like Liu Zhu, there was nothing quite as enjoyable as training and making measurable progress. This personality went well with Yu Qiang''s plan to form a stable foundation for Liu Zhu, and as time passed Liu Zhu cooped himself up, cultivating and training. He would''ve abandoned his thoughts of making friends within the Yu family completely if it weren''t for Tian Ru, who occasionally dragged him out of cultivation to hang out. During Liu Zhu''s excursions with Tian Ru he also became acquainted with Yu Bai, Yu Qiang''s second son. The three of them got along well despite some rivalry between Tian Ru and Yu Bai, and so Liu Zhu''s secondary goal of making friends who could help him ally with the Yu family was achieved without much effort on his part.


    After several weeks of simply practicing the so-called "fundamentals" and reducing extraneous movement, Liu Zhu started to learn about maintaining momentum in between attacks. This was important when using a guandao or any polearm as properly controlling the momentum behind the weapon allowed one to seamlessly switch from one strike to another, gradually increasing the force behind each as they did so. This was similar to the theory behind many techniques that had multiple strikes growing in power leading up to a final, massive strike.


    While the specifics of Liu Zhu''s training changed, his routine stayed much the same. He trained his guandao technique and cultivated day and night, only interrupted by bodily needs and the occasional appearance of Tian Ru, who would refuse to take no for an answer, dragging Liu Zhu away from his training no matter how long it took. Eventually six weeks had passed and Liu Zhu''s guandao technique had advanced greatly. On top of that, he already felt himself nearing Middle Flesh Tempering. Given that it had only been a couple of months since his breakthrough to Flesh Tempering Liu Zhu was surprised, but at this point had stopped questioning the abnormal growth in abilities. He''d already discovered as much as he could about what had happened to him, so it was up to him to take advantage of it now.


    One afternoon, after Liu Zhu finished his morning training with Yu Qiang, he heard a knock on the door. He pretended not to hear it at first, but as it continued Liu Zhu sighed and opened the door. Standing there was Tian Ru, who pushed his way past Liu Zhu and into the room. "I''m trying to get the hang of how to best combine these movements into each other, if you could come back..." Tian Ru ignored Liu Zhu''s complaints as he interrupted him. "I understand, I understand, but you need to take breaks- without them your progress will slow down, no matter how much practice you put in. Anyways, one thing led to another and most of the juniors are going hunting tomorrow. You''re coming along."


    Liu Zhu surprisingly didn''t protest the arrangement, understanding that there was some truth behind what Tian Ru said. Plus, he''d be lying if he said he wasn''t interested in exploring the area. He''d barely been outside, but the forest nearby was supposed to be dense with flora and fauna. He might come across something interesting if he went along with them.


    Without the protest Tian Ru had expected their conversation ended quickly, leaving Liu Zhu to return to his training while looking forward to the hunting trip.

 Chapter 13: The Hunt (Part 1)

    On Yu mountain, besides the Yu Clan''s manor, there were mines, large stretches of forest, and two rivers. At the edge of one of these forests more than 20 juniors were milling around, an old man watching over them.


    These juniors were going on a hunting trip, and among them was Liu Zhu, who was currently chatting with Tian Ru. "I haven''t gone very far into the woods yet. Anything out of the ordinary?" Tian Ru shrugged. "Not really. There''s a few species of deer that are fast enough to make good sport. The weakest are as fast as Flesh Tempering cultivators, but the fastest can outrun someone at Meridian Opening. Besides that there are wolves, bears. and boars, what you''d expect from the forest. Some of the mutated bears are strong enough to kill someone at Meridian Opening, but most of them are slow so it''s not too dangerous."


    The old man, an elder from the Yu family, loudly cleared his throat over the din of the juniors talking, catching their attention. "Is everyone ready then?" Everyone responded in the affirmative, and the old man signaled for them to follow him. "I''ll lead you into a good spot deeper into the forest, and then you''re all free to split up into groups. Just don''t go too far, or having me here to protect all of you will go to waste."


    The trees were tall and overbearing, but not densely packed. Several people could stand abreast between each tree, and the foliage wasn''t thick so plenty of light reached the ground. Overall, it was a good spot for hunting. The elder from the Yu family led everyone deeper into the forest as they admired the scenery and chatted among themselves. After half an hour the group reached a massive red oak tree, which was probably several hundred feet tall. It dwarfed the other trees nearby, and it was so thick that it would take several people holding hands to reach all the way around it.


    "This is our meeting spot. Come here or return to the estate after informing me before sundown. The forest is relatively safe, but we don''t want you staying here after dark. Anyways, that''s about it, so... split up as you wish." The elder pulled out a book and started to read as the juniors formed groups to go hunting.


    A few groups of three or four formed, but more than half the juniors gathered in a single group, led by Yu Bai. Liu Zhu decided to join them, while Tian Ru went off on his own. In his own words, it was ''the manliest thing to do''. The largest group set off into the woods with Yu Bai and Liu Zhu chatting at the front, and a few juniors at Blood and Viscera Tempering or Bone and Marrow Tempering travelling just behind them. Most of the Flesh Tempering juniors hung out near the back.


    Half an hour into the hunt, Yu Bai''s group caught sight of a deer. Yu Bai made a signal with his hands and everyone silently dropped low to the ground, half of them pulling out bows while the other half flanked the deer in case it tried to escape. This plan went well until someone stepped on a twig and broke it, alerting the deer to their presence.


    The deer tried to dart away, but was intercepted by Yu Bai''s arrow. The arrow caused it to grind to a halt before being hit by two more arrows that were fired a moment later. Desperate, the creature continued trying to escape, but it was caught by Liu Zhu and two others. The deer did its best to charge past them, but someone at Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering grabbed it by the antlers, easily stopping its advance. This gave Liu Zhu a chance to disembowel it with his guandao, ending its life.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Everyone began politely exchanging compliments on archery and such, and Yu Bai mentioned being impressed with how fast Liu Zhu''s guandao technique had improved. Before continuing their hunt the group hid the deer in a nearby bush, smearing some herbs on the corpse to make it harder for nearby predators to smell. After that they continued their hunt, leaving the task of retrieving the deer for their return trip.


    Within the next hour the group had killed three more deer, although two more successfully escaped. They were in high spirits, and were pleased with how the animals were more active than usual that day. As they were talking, Yu Bai suddenly shushed everyone. Everyone quieted down as Yu Bai pointed to a brown figure in the distance- a mutated bear! Liu Zhu wasn''t sure how strong the bear was, but it looked like it could be from Bone and Marrow Tempering to Blood and Viscera Tempering. That meant that it might be risky to fight it, but Liu Zhu wanted to test his strength. Even if the bear inflicted any wounds, he was confident that he could escape before the situation turned deadly. There were several people at Blood and Viscera Tempering here after all, so even if it was that strong they could hold it back if anything went wrong.


    Still, there couldn''t be any harm in reducing the risk further. Liu Zhu approached Yu Bai, whispering. "Do you want to fight the bear together?" "Sure. I''ve been wanting to see your full strength since you beat my brother, so this is a good opportunity." After settling the matter the two moved through the trees as quietly as possible, aiming to flank the bear from both sides before attacking. The rest of the group simply stayed silent and watched.


    Once the bear was flanked the two gestured to each other, counted down with their fingers, and then jumped out of the trees simultaneously. The bear was caught unawares, and before it could react was struck by a slash of Yu Bai''s sword and a thrust from Liu Zhu''s guandao. The curved blade of the guandao made it harder to land a decent blow from the angle Liu Zhu was from, but in the end both of them pierced through the bear''s hide and left behind significant wounds.


    Liu Zhu''s attack was almost as strong as someone at Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering, impressing everyone. Still, the fight wasn''t over yet, and Liu Zhu and Yu Bai resumed their hit and run strategy. They''d jump out from the trees once the bear had lost track of them, leaving behind a single wound and retreating. This slowly wore the bear down while reducing their risk to a minimum, although it was still dangerous. At one point the bear nearly managed to catch Liu Zhu with a paw strike, but the two were able to react in time and counterattacked, weakening the blow with their own attacks. After being blocked by Liu Zhu''s guandao and Yu Bai''s sword the force wasn''t enough to injure Liu Zhu severely, and he was merely slammed into a nearby tree.


    It took 10 minutes before the bear was almost dead due to blood loss, and at this point Yu Bai was beginning to tire from continued high-intensity combat. Liu Zhu was still fine due to his overflowing vitality, and ended up landing the final blow when the bear finally tried to flee.


    After slaying the bear Liu Zhu and Yu Bai exchanged compliments once again. "Ahaha, Brother Liu is really a dragon among men, possessing such strength at a young age. You still have a ways to go, but I''m sure you''ll rise in the future." Liu Zhu chuckled as he gave a compliment back. "You flatter me Brother Yu. Your skill with the sword is extraordinary, and I appreciate your help back there- if I didn''t have it I''d probably be bleeding on the ground right now."


    With their friendship strengthened after a good fight and Liu Zhu''s confidence boosted, the hunt continued.

 Chapter 14: The Hunt (Part 2)

    The hunting trip continued without incident, although the animals were oddly active. Besides this, Liu Zhu noticed something else that was odd. There were a lot of butterflies in this forest. About an hour after he noticed this, he realized that it was even weirder than he thought- what he thought had been many butterflies scattered about the forest was just the exact same butterfly. It kept flying around him, stalking him as the group wandered through the forest. What was even more confusing than the idea of a butterfly following him was the fact that it had to be traveling as quickly as the hunting group. They hadn''t been travelling at full speed, but they were still cultivators after all- how the hell could a butterfly keep up with them?


    Confused, Liu Zhu asked Yu Bai whether this was normal. Yu Bai examined the butterfly as it fluttered about in the distance before a look of surprise appeared upon his face. "Brother Liu, that''s interesting! I may be mistaken, but that''s a Gold Silk Butterfly. It''s native to to this area, but I''ve never seen one myself. It''s beneficial in growing spiritual herbs and as a caterpillar it produces valuable gold silk to spin its cocoon. The silk isn''t horribly rare because it spins many cocoons before deciding on one to use, but it''s still a valuable material.


    Liu Zhu was surprised to hear that such a rare and expensive creature was following behind their group, but quickly turned his focus back to the hunt. After all, the market for the butterflies was small, and he wasn''t an apothecary. Plus, it''s not like he could catch it anyways- apparently it could fly even faster than some of the deer they were hunting if it was threatened.


    Liu Zhu stopped paying attention to the butterfly, but over the course of the next hour it slowly closed in on Liu Zhu before eventually landing on his shoulder. Liu Zhu and Yu Bai shared a confused glance as it did so, and after a moment Yu Bai spoke up. "Are you interested in selling that butterfly? I have some confidence in catching it from such a short distance, and my family would be willing to pay a good price. We happen to know an apothecary interested in breeding them."


    Liu Zhu considered Yu Bai''s offer, but turned it down after a moment. Given his new ability to grow plants with his blood and the... fairly earned gold from Fang Wu, he wasn''t hurting for cash. The butterfly wasn''t worth a huge amount alone anyways. Plus, he''d feel a bit guilty about capturing an innocent butterfly that just seemed interested in him. It hadn''t offended him or anything. Yu Bai shrugged in response to the rejection and returned his focus to the hunt as the butterfly sat on Liu Zhu''s shoulder.


    The butterfly poked at Liu Zhu''s shoulder with its proboscis for the next half hour, seemingly searching for nectar, before eventually flying away. Liu Zhu brushed off the pollen it left behind, confused, as he watched it fly away. That''s when a thought struck him- what if it was trying to get his blood? It helped plants grow, so maybe some animals can benefit from it too?Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Liu Zhu hurriedly excused himself before following the butterfly. Yu Bai was perplexed by the situation but didn''t pursue him, giving Liu Zhu the privacy needed to test his theory. A few minutes after he started following the butterfly he lightly cut his palm. A few drops of blood dripped from his palm, and the butterfly immediately zoomed towards him at a speed faster than his own. It rapidly slurped up the blood left on his palm with its proboscis before darting about between the trees, flying to and fro as fast as it could.


    After a minute the butterfly calmed down from what looked like a stimulant-induced frenzy and Liu Zhu resumed following it. A few minutes later the butterfly stopped, orbiting around a set of trees. Liu Zhu glanced at the trees and saw that they were covered in golden protrusions, which upon closer examination were revealed to be cocoons. Liu Zhu awkwardly stood there for a moment before grabbing one of the cocoons. "I guess this is a fair trade then?" The butterfly, as expected, didn''t respond, and he put the rest of the gold silk cocoons into his bag.


    Just as Liu Zhu was ready to leave, the butterfly fluttered back towards him, half a dozen more following it. All of the new arrivals fluttered around him eagerly, poking at him with their proboscises. The leader, having had his fill, stood back. Liu Zhu scratched his head, a bit amazed by the whole situation. "I guess that was a lot of cocoons for one butterfly... uh, I''ll give the rest of you some too then."


    The cut on Liu Zhu''s palm had already healed, so he cut himself again. Upon doing so the butterflies swarmed him, slurping up the blood as it came out. He ended up having to cut his palm yet again due to how quickly his wounds healed, but eventually the butterflies fell back and fluttered around him, their hunger seemingly satiated.


    Liu Zhu went to return to the rest of the group, the butterflies eagerly following. Liu Zhu was confused on how to handle this, but after some thought decided that if they really wanted to follow him he wouldn''t stop them. He wasn''t one to look a gift horse in the mouth after all. Maybe he could make a garden for them and the plants he was growing, it seemed like a good enough idea.


    Upon Liu Zhu''s return, the rest of the group stared at him in a mix of awe, confusion, and jealousy. Gold Silk Butterflies, a species which most of them hadn''t seen but had heard of, were flying around him frantically. To everyone else, it was like he was surrounded by flying banknotes. Feigning ignorance of everyone else''s greedy expressions, Yu Bai approached him. "Err... Brother Liu, what happened, with, um... that?" Liu Zhu, not knowing how to respond, shrugged. "They, uh... they liked me. I''m not sure what to say."


    Yu Bai stood there a moment before dropping the subject, realizing that it wouldn''t be useful to dig any further. He raised his voice, addressing everyone. "One of you said they saw deer tracks, right? Start tracking it." Everyone snapped back to attention, remembering their goal for the day, as Liu Zhu gave Yu Bai a few gold silk cocoons as thanks for telling him about the butterflies.

 Chapter 15: Visiting Town

    The hunting trip ended without any other surprises, and by sundown everyone returned to the meeting place. The group Liu Zhu was with returned with the most prey because it was the largest, but Tian Ru did garner some attention when he came back covered in minor wounds, dragging a bear behind him. Any admiration aimed towards him was immediately dispelled when the Yu family''s elder spent at least 10 minutes scolding him for going too far out and fighting a bear alone.


    After returning to the Yu family''s mansion Liu Zhu spent nearly an hour scrambling about looking for some sort of container to keep the butterflies in. As he did so they followed him through the hallways, flitting past furniture and housekeepers, and confusing many people in the process.


    Luckily the butterflies didn''t seem to care about being put in a container, and the problem of them flying away or being stolen had been solved. With this done Liu Zhu could once again train without any worries while he waited for Yu Bai to get back to him about a tailor that might be interested in the gold silk cocoons. It was time to sell his first batch of plants soon, so he figured he''d go down to town, sell both, and come back with a pouch laden with gold coins.


    Yu Bai got everything with the tailor arranged a few days after the hunting trip, so Liu Zhu prepared to head down Yu Mountain and meet with them. Yu Bai and Tian Ru both offered to go along with him and show him around the town, but he declined since he needed to sell his herbs without them noticing. He wasn''t an apothecary, so if someone he knew saw him selling a large amount of valuable plants it''d create more questions than he''d like.


    Still, this was more a precaution than anything. In the grand scheme of things Liu Zhu wouldn''t be in danger if someone realized that he was selling an oddly large amount of medicinal herbs. He''d only be at risk if someone could put together everything and figure out that his blood caused plants to grow, driving them to investigate his body, likely after killing him. Sure, the plants Liu Zhu had would sell for over 200 gold coins in total, but that wasn''t enough for someone like Yu Bai to scheme over, let alone the elders above him.


    Liu Zhu left the Yu family''s estate at the crack of dawn, having just finished an early training session with Yu Qiang. On the way down he noticed the mines scattered about Yu Mountain once again, and decided that he''d visit them on the way back and see if he could purchase any metal. If Liu Zhu wasn''t a cultivator it''d be ridiculous to stroll into a mine simply to purchase metal, but since he was looking for higher-quality metal that refiners used to make items for cultivators, it was acceptable. It''s not like they''d turn down a sale that came walking to their door.


    The streets were mostly empty when Liu Zhu reached the town, and he weaved through the maze of streets on his horse before reaching a nicely decorated stone building. Flowers adorned the storefront outside, and a banner with a spool and thread sewn into it hung from the awning. Liu Zhu left his horse outside and entered the building. Inside was a colorful selection of expensive-looking clothes and other handmade goods scattered about- it was almost like being inside a rainbow.


    As Liu Zhu glanced around he heard something to his left, and suddenly a massive man poked his head above the piles of goods. Besides his massive size, Liu Zhu noticed that he was at Bone and Marrow Tempering. Maybe he was the store''s guard? Liu Zhu was about to ask him where the tailor was before the man introduced himself. "I''m the tailor here, Yuan Taichi, but everyone just calls me ''Big Yuan''. Are you the cultivator selling the gold silk cocoons?" Liu Zhu was immediately thankful that he hadn''t asked where the tailor was and risked offending him, and managed to close the sale from there.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After some discussion the final price for the gold silk cocoons was set at 213 gold coins. This sum was clearly a large portion of the tailor''s funds, but apparently gold silk was valuable enough that he was confident in profiting off of the deal. Liu Zhu was overjoyed at this huge windfall, and followed ''Big Yuan'' to collect his payment.


    The money was hidden in a floor safe. The contents of the safe, three golden banknotes and a scattered pile of coins, were immediately reduced to one bank note and a few gold coins. Liu Zhu left quickly after the deal was closed, holding the banknotes close to himself and running his fingers over every line on them, trying to determine their authenticity.


    Once Liu Zhu was out of the store he stared at the two banknotes for a minute, his mouth gaping open slightly. These banknotes were products of the Hi Empire, produced to help expedite trade in what they referred to as ''minor'' countries. Their purpose was mainly to help standardize currency for international trade and to prevent merchants and cultivators from having to carry around hundreds or thousands of gold coins, and as a result were only printed in large denominations. As a result of this, while Liu Zhu had seen the elders of his clan deal in these banknotes, he''d never actually had them himself. They were usually reserved for cultivators beyond him, merchants, or skilled artisans, so it felt slightly surreal holding two.


    After a couple minutes Liu Zhu accepted the reality of the situation, carefully putting the two banknotes into his pocket and hurrying over to the apothecary to sell his herbs. There an old woman slowly weighed out and examined each plant he pulled out, her eyes slowly growing wider and wider as he continued taking them from his pack. The total she quoted gradually added up as she did so, eventually capping out at 209 gold coins and some change.


    Of these 209 gold coins 39 were spent on the plants that Dai He told him to purchase. That left 170 gold coins in profit, making Liu Zhu''s cut 144 gold coins. He immediately reinvested 44 gold coins into new plants to grow before putting another banknote worth 100 gold coins into his pocket. At this point he had almost 400 gold coins to his name, four times what he''d ever had before. He was eager to spend some of it, but held back his urge for the time being and decided to consult Dai He on the matter once he returned to the Liu Clan. He was a better businessman than him, so it would be best to speak with him before he accidentally pissed away his newfound wealth.


    After selling off the gold silk cocoons and plants, Liu Zhu stopped somewhere that advertised ''all-day dinner theater''. He was initially preparing to eat while riding on his horse, but after seeing the promise of ''a show to rival those in the capital'', Liu Zhu decided to check it out. It''d be a shame to ignore what few attractions the town had to offer while he was here.


    Two hours later, the show and meal were done with. Liu Zhu could only hope that no theater in the capital could be compared to the show given here. There wasn''t a single redeeming feature in the stage, acting, or story. The average peasant taken off the street would probably give a better performance than the "actors" they found for their dinner theater. The props were horribly ill-advised and they would''ve been better off with none, and the story was an incomprehensible mess of unconnected plot points. All in all he had been ready to leave immediately after finishing his meal, but some sort of sick fascination kept him watching until the end. He supposed that wasn''t something that could be found in the capital, at the very least.

 Chapter 16: 72 Desires

    On the way back to the Yu Clan''s estate, Liu Zhu stopped at one of the many mines scattered across Yu Mountain. After mentioning that he was training to be a refiner and interested in purchasing any high-quality ores they happened to have, one of the mine''s higher-ups met with him almost immediately. The two met in a small office outside the mine, tea set in front of them and miners resting directly outside the building. The manager started off with a thinly veiled sales pitch for investing in the mine, but Liu Zhu managed to shut down the topic quickly and redirect it to what he was actually interested in.


    The employee speaking with Liu Zhu flipped through a thick, worn book as he spoke. "High-quality ores, high-quality ores.... for Bone and Marrow Tempering to Blood and Viscera Tempering, right?" Liu Zhu nodded in response as the man across from him continued to flip through the book. "There''s a few then. Naturally the most common is low-grade Dark Iron, standard issue in certain military goods. We can sell you anywhere from 5 kilos to 50 kilos under our regulations, most of it is reserved for shipments to the capital. Besides that we have Watersteel, which is a good material, very rust resistant. It''s also popular in the military although it''s a bit more expensive, great for when there''s not time to maintain equipment. Then there''s a bit of mid-grade Dark Iron..."


    Their talk continued for quite a while, as the man spoke about several types of metal in painstaking detail. This went over the common uses of the metals, their traits, their strength, the price, and so on and so forth. If it could be spoken about, the man covered it. Their talk was extended even longer as Liu Zhu asked questions, familiarizing himself with the nitty-gritty about the types of metal he was less familiar with.


    In the end Liu Zhu purchased 30 kilograms of various metals, spending some 100-odd gold coins. He hadn''t meant to purchase this much, but as an avid refiner his excitement got the best of him. Still, it would give him an excuse to make a few weapons and practice. He hadn''t forged anything in quite a while. Luckily, as Liu Zhu was worrying about how to bring his purchase back home, he was given an easy solution. The mine''s director, who spoke to him after realizing that he''d buy more than a few kilos of material, promised to send the metal over to Vermilion City with another shipment of theirs, saving him the trouble of transporting it.


    Liu Zhu''s trip back up Yu Mountain went without any surprises after he made his purchases, and he returned to his frenzied cultivation. His occasional outings with Tian Ru or Yu Bai stopped over the next couple of weeks as he neared a breakthrough to Middle Flesh Tempering far earlier than he had originally expected. The long hours Liu Zhu spent training and cultivating grew even longer, and two weeks after his visit to town and eight weeks after arriving at the Yu Clan, he made his breakthrough. With it his monstrous strength and defensive abilities rose even further, greatly dwarfing those of ordinary Flesh Tempering cultivators. His speed also rose, but it wasn''t unusual for his level, meaning it would continue to be his Achilles'' heel when fighting with people above his cultivation.


    The morning after Liu Zhu made his breakthrough he was ready to train his guandao technique with Yu Qiang, as usual, but Yu Qiang was slightly late. When he did arrive, he brought a small jade slip along with him, and carried a different air than usual. There was a short silence between the two before Yu Qiang spoke. "Go through all the basic combinations and show me what you can do."If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Liu Zhu was curious about the reason behind Yu Qiang''s odd behavior but followed his command, going through all of the basic attacks and combinations he could think of. His movements were smooth and well-practiced, even if they were imperfect, and they flowed smoothly into each other, short sequences of strikes building up momentum to be unleashed in large finishing moves. While Liu Zhu clearly wasn''t a master with the weapon, he''d progressed far faster than Yu Qiang had expected in two months.


    After a few minutes Liu Zhu was finished and set his guandao to the side. Yu Qiang nodded happily as he did so. "Good! I honestly wasn''t sure about how quickly you''d learn, but you surpassed my expectations. You may not be the talent of a generation, but I appreciate your effort." Yu Qiang tossed the jade slip he was holding over to Liu Zhu as he continued talking. "Still, I suppose that''s enough flattery. The point is that I appreciate your skills and I''d like to pass down one of my favorite guandao skills to you. Normally I''d only pass it down within the family, but it seems no one is interested in following in my path."


    Yu Qiang pulled out his guandao, taking a fighting stance as Liu Zhu stowed away the jade slip he was given and watched him. "The technique I''m going to show you is called ''72 Desires''. A great philosopher once said that humans possessed 72 desires. Inspired by this, a master of the guandao came up with a powerful technique that allows one to use 72 near-simultaneous strikes. Sadly the version I possess only contains the first 36, and of those I''m able to use 23. Still, even if my skills are lacking they''ll be the best demonstration. This is a bit draining, so watch closely."


    Yu Qiang''s muscles tensed up and his body stood completely still before he suddenly burst out with all his strength. The air around him shot out at a high speed as his guandao flew forwards, striking at nothing. Liu Zhu wasn''t able to get a good look at the exact movements, but was astonished by what he could see. Yu Qiang''s guandao was seemingly flashing out in every direction at once. The attack ended as suddenly as it started, and as Liu Zhu looked around he noticed that the training room now had 23 distinct cuts across its floors, walls, and other furnishings.


    Yu Qiang let out a deep breath before putting his guandao away. "Those are the first 23 strikes of 72 Desires. It will be impossible for you to perform all of those with your level of cultivation, but I''ll be looking forward to seeing how you progress. Maybe you''ll be able to go beyond me, and master all 36 strikes I have in my possession one day."


    After showing off the might of the incomplete 72 Desires, Yu Qiang got down to the details related to teaching the technique to Liu Zhu. Liu Zhu was not to pass down the technique to anyone else unless he reached a level of mastery equal to Yu Qiang, an agreement which preserved the technique but limited Liu Zhu from immediately spreading it. Liu Zhu promised to abide by this on his martial heart, which while informal, was more than enough for Yu Qiang. The only other important detail was that Liu Zhu could hold onto the jade slip containing the technique for a few years before returning it to the Yu family, as Yu Qiang had currently reached a bottleneck with the technique and was focusing on other things. This would give Liu Zhu more than enough time to get acquainted with the technique and to begin to master it.


    All in all Yu Qiang''s terms were rather magnanimous, and Liu Zhu appreciated his sincerity in pursuing the peak of the guandao, a weapon which he had admittedly hadn''t had a great attachment to originally. At this point Yu Qiang could be considered a teacher of his, and Liu Zhu was determined to improve his guandao technique even further and master the first few strikes of 72 Desires before he left in order to show his appreciation for his help.

 Chapter 17: An Unfortunate Encounter

    For a few days after receiving 72 Desires, Liu Zhu spent almost all of his time practicing the technique. Despite this, he still wasn''t able to perform the most basic form, 2 Desires. It would take him some time to get used to the way he had to wield the guandao to use the technique and the initial movements, not to mention the arm strength required to properly perform two near-simultaneous strikes. Luckily the pressure on his arms would be greatly reduced once he fine-tuned his movements and could properly perform 2 Desires, but for the time being trying to forcefully execute it could be dangerous.


    After a few days Liu Zhu decided to focus on something else for a day, figuring that he might have a new realization about the technique after a short break. Instead of just holing himself up and cultivating as usual, he decided to seek out Tian Ru. Usually this happened the other way around, but Liu Zhu had recently noticed that Tian Ru went to the forest every few days, and was curious if he''d found a good spot to train.


    "You decided to come out of cultivation for once? What''s the occasion?" Tian Ru stopped beating on a training dummy that had been vibrating furiously back and forth as he said this, turning to face Liu Zhu. The training dummy slowly stopped vibrating as he stopped his assault on it, Liu Zhu''s appearance narrowly saving it from being sent flying out of the ground by Tian Ru''s blows. "Not much. I was wondering if you want to go to the forest together- you train there, right?" Tian Ru chuckled as he gathered a few things off the ground. "Good timing, I was just about to leave. Follow my lead and I''ll show you a good spot."


    A few minutes later the two began travelling deep into the forest, making small talk as they weaved between the trees. "Congratulations on the breakthrough Brother Liu, does that mean we''ll see your face around a bit more?" Liu Zhu chuckled at the remark as he responded. "Maybe, but there''s something I need to practice for the time being. Anyways, I''ll need to congratulate you on your own breakthrough soon, right?" "Oh? You could tell?" "I saw you training earlier, of course I could. That''s more force than you could exert before right?" Tian Ru just grunted in response before stopping and carefully looking around. "It should be around here."


    Tian Ru carefully led Liu Zhu forward as a rumbling sound grew in the background. Eventually they exited the forest, entering a clearing with a waterfall that had been obscured by the trees. At the base of the waterfall was a small lake deep enough that it was hard to see the bottom. Tian Ru approached the lake, dipping his hand into it. He shivered slightly as he did so. "The pressure under the waterfall is crushing and the water is freezing. On the bright side, it''s good for testing your endurance and tempering your body evenly. You might miss out on a few spots during normal cultivation, but water pressure doesn''t differentiate. Just, uh, don''t drown- that would be troubling."


    Liu Zhu quipped back at Tian Ru as he entered the lake. "I was planning to drown myself before you mentioned it, but I guess that would be a problem." As Liu Zhu entered the water he involuntarily shivered. The water was cold, and as he dived further it only became worse. It would be a test of endurance on multiple fronts to cultivate here.


    The lake was around 30 feet deep, but the waterfall itself went two or three times that depth. Tian Ru settled on a spot 20 feet beneath the waterfall, while Liu Zhu went to twice that depth. The water was freezing and the pressure assaulted every inch of his body, but once he got used to it his cultivation became oddly pleasant. He could feel the pressure bearing down evenly on his body, helping to temper areas he normally wouldn''t use much in training. He''d tried to cultivate so that everywhere reached a similar level of strength, but naturally he would miss out on some areas, so training like this was helpful.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Liu Zhu settled into a cycle of cultivating under the waterfall for five minutes, surfacing for a breath, and then returning for more. While cultivating, Liu Zhu heard Tian Ru surface. A moment after that he heard some splashing and a loud noise. Confused, Liu Zhu surfaced as well. Upon surfacing, he immediately saw what all the noise was about- a massive bear was currently standing at the shore of the lake, sniffing at their clothes.


    Tian Ru stayed silent as he just stared at the bear, his face slightly pale. Liu Zhu managed to snap out of it after a few moments, rapidly trying to think of a solution. Even though the water should have washed off their scents and he didn''t think bears could swim, it would be best to leave before it noticed them. Still... he wasn''t willing to leave without his clothes, and to do that he had to deal with the bear. He wasn''t willing to have any weird rumors crop about him streaking through the woods just because of some beast.


    After a couple minutes, Liu Zhu thought of something. "Brother Tian, I have an idea." "Shoot." "I''ll approach the bear, bait it a bit, and try to get it to the shore of the lake. Then we can try to drown it or push it into the lake from there, switching out positions as it attacks us. Whoever''s free will grab our things so that we can run if we need to. What do you think?" Tian Ru''s had an odd expression on his face as he responded. "What do I think... err... it''s a bit risky to say the least. Even with your strength far beyond normal Flesh Tempering cultivators, I''m doubtful we''ll have enough power to drag the bear into the lake. Still, I don''t have a better idea. We''ll go with yours."


    The two went onto the opposite shores and then slowly made their way towards the bear, relying on the water to mask their scent as they did so. After a painful, several minute crawl, they closed in on the bear, flanking it. Liu Zhu acted first, grabbing one of its paws and yanking on it to pull it forward.


    The bear was drawn forward slightly but reacted with an angry roar and a hurried attempt to smash Liu Zhu into paste with its other paw. He managed to dodge due to the lack of preparation and low speed of the bear, quickly making some distance. Tian Ru moved in next, drawing the bear''s attention for a moment. Unfortunately his strength wasn''t enough to do much to the bear, but this distraction allowed Liu Zhu to grab the bear by the leg, pulling it a bit closer towards the lake. The bear angrily pulled its leg upwards, wresting it out of Liu Zhu''s grasp. Liu Zhu dodged as the bear kicked against the ground, creating a small, deep hole where Liu Zhu had been standing.


    The two switched positions once more, Tian Ru grabbing the bear''s attention while Liu Zhu tried to drag it into the lake. They had made some progress when the bear kicked out towards Liu Zhu at an odd angle and Liu Zhu, not expecting an attack from that angle, couldn''t dodge in time. The bear''s leg came in contact with his chest, sending him flying backwards into a rock sitting next to the lake.


    The rock cracked in two as Liu Zhu smacked against it. The impact only worsened Liu Zhu''s wound, but it stopped him from being kicked any further away. Liu Zhu''s focus faded for a moment as pain shot through his chest, but after a couple of breaths he regained lucidity, examining the situation. The bear was still focused on him, and he was bleeding pretty heavily from his chest. He had also broken a couple of bones while he was at it. He needed to run.


    Liu Zhu prepared to run, but Tian Ru got to him first. "I managed to get everything while you were attacked, we''re running now." Liu Zhu just nodded as he stumbled to his feet, beginning to run like his life depended on it. Luckily the two of them managed to get away without any trouble, and Liu Zhu took a look at the clothes he had tried so hard to get back. There were a few claw marks in the shirt, but besides that they seemed fine.


    Once Liu Zhu was dressed, he took a closer look at his wound. The bleeding had already slowed down greatly, probably due to his absurd healing ability. Tian Ru was confused upon seeing this, but happy nonetheless- he wasn''t a medic, and if the bleeding was too heavy he was worried that something bad would happen before they could return to the Yu Clan. The two took a short rest before running back to the Yu Clan''s estate, agreeing to never speak of this incident again.

 Chapter 18: Rematch

    After returning to the Yu Clan''s estate Liu Zhu considered getting someone to look at his wound, but decided to just rest up and wait for it to heal. This was partially because he had confidence in his stupidly fast healing speed, and partially because he didn''t want to embarrass himself retelling the tale of how he got nearly killed by a bear for his clothes. Luckily Liu Zhu''s guess was close to reality, and by the next morning his broken rib was already healed. There were still some surface wounds left, but he could train without any problems.


    Over the next few weeks Liu Zhu continued practicing 72 Desires obsessively, wanting to master 3 Desires before he returned home. Besides this he visited the lake a few times, bringing Yu Bai or someone similarly strong along with him in hopes of finding a chance to kill the bear that had injured him. Despite his repeated attempts Liu Zhu never stumbled upon the bear, dooming his attempt at petty revenge to failure.


    A couple of weeks before Liu Zhu was slated to return home, there was some big news among the Yu Family- Tian Ru had broken through to Early Bone and Marrow Tempering. He wasn''t much older than Liu Zhu, so this was rather surprising, and this breakthrough made him the most accomplished junior in the Yu family outside of Yu Qiang''s three sons. Before Liu Zhu could offer his congratulations he received a formal letter of challenge from Tian Ru, asking for a rematch. All in all it was oddly serious given that he had only lost a spar before, but he wasn''t surprised.


    Liu Zhu didn''t have much reason to decline, as he had wanted to test his strength after breaking through to Middle Flesh Tempering and mastering the first two strikes of 72 Desires. Liu Zhu agreed to it in person, and the match was scheduled for a few days later. This delay was to allow each side time to prepare in theory, but its main purpose was giving the juniors of the Yu Clan sufficient time to gossip and free up time to watch the spar.


    When the day of the spar came almost all of the Yu Clan''s juniors were gathered around the sparring grounds, and Yu Qiang and Tian Ru''s grandfather were stealthily watching from inside a building nearby. Normally the family''s elders wouldn''t bother with something like this, but Tian Ru''s grandfather obviously had an interest in watching his grandson spar, while Yu Qiang was interested in seeing whether Liu Zhu had managed to master the most basic form of 72 Desires, 2 Desires, after a few weeks of training.


    Liu Zhu and Tian Ru took up positions at either end of the sparring grounds, while Yu Bai stood at the side as the referee. In a spar like this the referee served little purpose, but having one was a given when this was scheduled ahead of time. The only important thing they had to do was make sure no one killed each other, which was unlikely given that the two didn''t have some sort of life-death grudge beforehand.


    Yu Bai said a few words before counting down to the start of the spar. During the countdown Liu Zhu grabbed his guandao, while Tian Ru slipped on a pair of knuckledusters. When the countdown hit ''zero'' the two immediately dashed forward, trying to bring the other within striking distance. Tian Ru had a clear advantage in speed given his superior cultivation, but Liu Zhu was hoping to bridge this gap with 2 Desires. It obviously wasn''t able to improve his movement speed, but if he was able to get in range then using it would mean he had superior striking speed, allowing him to block and attack more easily.


    When the two were in striking distance of each other Tian Ru reacted first, throwing out a punch towards Liu Zhu''s face. In response Liu Zhu flicked his guandao upwards, barely deflecting the attack. Due to the hurried response Liu Zhu wasn''t able to muster all of his force in responding, and so both sides were forced backwards despite his slightly superior strength. After this Tian Ru dashed to Liu Zhu''s side, aiming another punch towards his side. Liu Zhu gave up on dodging the attack and attempted to launch one of his own in exchange, but Tian Ru managed to block the guandao''s shaft with his other arm. In the end Liu Zhu was sent a step backwards after being punched, while Tian Ru stumbled back a couple steps from blocking Liu Zhu''s strike before regaining his balance.


    The two exchanged blows like this a few more times, and it was clear that Liu Zhu was on the losing end. Still, it would be difficult for him to lose. His stamina was far above the average, and it would be almost impossible for Tian Ru to deal any major injuries to him given his defensive ability. At the same time, it was similarly difficult for Liu Zhu to wound Tian Ru given his speed. The two were stuck at a stalemate, waiting for someone to begin wearing down first.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    As the battle settled into this rhythm, Liu Zhu decided to use 2 Desires at the next available opportunity. He''d lulled Tian Ru into a sense of security so he wouldn''t expect it, and confirmed that he could face off against someone at Early Bone and Marrow Tempering without using it. There wasn''t a reason to hold back any longer. When Tian Ru launched his next attack, Liu Zhu brought his guandao up to block, but used 2 Desires at the same time. The guandao moved in two directions at once as it blocked Tian Ru''s blow. One blow was blocked, like all the others, but the second blow managed to escape this fate, leaving a light wound across Tian Ru''s arm instead.


    The crowd cheered at this upset as Tian Ru pulled back slightly, confused about the outcome. Meanwhile Yu Bai and Yu Shi stayed silent, more surprised than anyone else. They had naturally recognized their father''s technique, and were amazed that he had passed it onto someone from outside their clan, despite his repeated threats to do so if neither of them started using the guandao.


    After a moment, Tian Ru simply charged at Liu Zhu again, deciding to face him head on. As Liu Zhu saw this, he smiled, preparing to counter Tian Ru again. If he used 2 Desires over and over it would quickly use up his stamina, but it was better than the alternative. He would much rather compete in seeing how many times he could use it in one battle and how quickly Tian Ru could adapt than decide the victor of this spar over who could last longer. If they went the latter route, then would there even be anyone left watching by the time they were finished?


    After Liu Zhu''s third use of 2 Desires, Tian Ru managed to dodge both strikes. He was still left open afterwards, being forced onto the back foot after doing so, but he wasn''t directly wounded. Tian Ru didn''t dodge every single use of 2 Desires after this, but it showed that the element of surprise was clearly gone. The battle dragged on despite each side going all out, and eventually Liu Zhu had used 2 Desires eight times. His arms were very sore, and he was worried that if he used it one or two more times he wouldn''t be able to fight anymore. On the other end, Tian Ru had several gashes going up each of his arms, bleeding slightly as he moved. This decreased his striking force, and it wouldn''t have been surprising if he conceded. Still, Tian Ru knew that Liu Zhu couldn''t use 2 Desires forever, and that if he held on for long enough that victory would be his, so he stubbornly refused to give up.


    Liu Zhu thought of three routes of action from here. The first was continuing to use 2 Desires until his strength ran out, but that didn''t seem viable. Tian Ru was amazingly stubborn, and it was likely that his strength would run out before Tian Ru gave up. The second option was simply stepping back and drawing things out since Tian Ru was already wounded. This was likely to result in a victory, but given that this was just a friendly spar, Liu Zhu didn''t want to opt for such an underhanded form of victory. This left Liu Zhu with one course of action: to try to use 3 Desires. After several weeks of practice Liu Zhu had pulled off 3 Desires once in training, but it was still extremely hit or miss. Still, he was at the end of his rope, and whether he used 2 Desires or 3 Desires again, it was doubtful that he''d be able to continue to fight afterwards. If that was the case, shouldn''t he just go all out? Liu Zhu gritted his teeth and tightened his grip around his weapon, waiting for the perfect opportunity.


    Eventually he spotted it, taking a hit in the chest in exchange for striking out at Tian Ru. Liu Zhu let out a loud roar as he frantically tried to unleash the move. An unbearable pain swept through his arms, almost causing him to drop his guandao, but Liu Zhu gritted his teeth and pushed through it. Tian Ru''s expression changed, as he seemed to realize that this blow was different from the others, but it was already too late. Liu Zhu''s guandao flashed in three directions at once, three slashes bursting through the air. The first barely was narrowly dodged by Tian Ru, but the other two slashed across his chest in an x-pattern, sending him flying back as a trail of blood followed him through the air.


    As Tian Ru landed against the ground with a thud, Liu Zhu''s weapon also clattered against the ground, his arms letting go of it involuntarily. Liu Zhu''s arms laid at his side, limp, as Tian Ru slowly stood up. He stared at Liu Zhu for a moment before letting out a loud laugh. "Damn, that hurts! I guess that makes your second victory then- I may be stubborn, but I know when I''m beat." After that he awkwardly shuffled about, asking around for some bandages.


    Once his wounds were bandaged up Tian Ru went to shake Liu Zhu''s hand, but Liu Zhu couldn''t control his arms that well and so that was destined to fail. Liu Zhu started walking back towards his lodgings in order to rest, so Yu Bai and Tian Ru followed, prepared to assist him with any doors in his path.

 Chapter 19: Surprise

    After the all-out spar between Tian Ru and Liu Zhu, not much else of note took place during Liu Zhu''s stay at the Yu Clan. The fatigue in his arms recovered by the next day, and he returned to cultivating and training 3 Desires to a point where he''d be able to continue fighting after using it. As he did so his foundation solidified, and he quickly began to close in on Late Flesh Tempering. The time he had left in the Yu Clan disappeared before he knew it, and soon it was time to give his farewells to everyone and return home.


    "I''m sure you''re aware, but this will be our last training session." Yu Qiang said this as he demonstrated a few movements with his guandao. "I wish you the best of luck in your future training, and I suppose I''ll get a chance to check up on your progress when you return my jade slip in a few years." Yu Qiang put away his guandao as he said this. "Now then, recreate what I just did." Liu Zhu''s and Yu Qiang''s training session lasted far longer than usual that morning, and by the time it ended even Liu Zhu was beginning to tire.


    After his last training session with Yu Qiang, Liu Zhu was dragged out of cultivation by Yu Bai and Tian Ru. He''d be departing the next morning, so in their words it was "criminal" for him to spend it locked up cultivating again. Despite Liu Zhu''s occasional nutty dedication to training he shared their sentiments, so he agreed to stop training and to just go along with whatever they wanted for the day.


    To Liu Zhu''s surprise, the two roped him into a going away party with most of the Yu Clan''s juniors. Most of the juniors weren''t particularly well acquainted with him, but after watching him send Tian Ru and Yu Shi flying he''d gained some clout in the Yu Clan. As a result, almost everyone gave him some face and showed up when Yu Bai mentioned the occasion. Liu Zhu didn''t expect to see so many people, but he could handle himself socially and smoothly slipped into everyone''s conversations.


    During the celebration quite a bit of alcohol was thrown around, and despite Liu Zhu preferring to remain sober he had a few glasses for politeness'' sake. He wasn''t going to be like his brother and get drunk every other day, but it''d offend the hosts not to drink anything. Unfortunately Liu Zhu underestimated the strength of the alcohol and still ended up a bit out of it despite his caution. This resulted in a few bad decisions, and Yu Shi and Yu Bai left his coin purse slightly lighter after an ill-advised poker game.


    Still, Liu Zhu didn''t do anything horribly stupid, although this wasn''t true for everyone else. He watched from the sidelines for most of the day, quietly laughing at a few people''s drunken antics and horrible, random outbursts of singing. He ended up finding a chance to leave in the early evening. All things said he appreciated the thought, although he would''ve planned something more subdued.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    In the morning Liu Zhu gave his thanks and farewells to everyone before meeting up with Elder Chu at the gates. The two traveled down the mountain, chatting, as they began their journey home. The trip back wasn''t eventful, although they did make a short stop at Fang Qi''s manor once again. Upon hearing that Liu Zhu and Elder Chu would be visiting, Fang Wu immediately left the city, going on a "camping trip". The speed he left at was truly impressive given that he only had 10 minutes warning, but he managed to avoid speaking to Liu Zhu again, preserving his slowly recovering funds in the process.


    After a few days of travelling, the two returned to the Liu Clan''s estate early in the morning. Elder Chu had been here only a week before, but for Liu Zhu it''d been three months. He had enjoyed his visit to the Yu Clan and the chance to sharply improve his guandao technique, but there was something to be said about being home. Liu Zhu first returned to his room, unpacking his things and making sure that nothing had been disturbed while he was gone.


    A few minutes after Liu Zhu entered his room, he heard a knock on the door. He told the person to come in as he continued sorting through things. To his surprise the person who entered wasn''t a servant, but Zhu Chao. Liu Zhu hurriedly stood up and bowed slightly as he greeted him. "Grand Elder Zhu Chao, I didn''t expect you to visit me. What''s the occasion?"


    Zhu Chao stared at Liu Zhu for a moment, an awkward look on his face. This carried on for a few seconds before he sighed. "I came to visit you because some major news came up while you were gone. I''m not sure how best to tell you this, but... your brother is engaged." Liu Zhu''s eyebrows raised, surprised, but he wasn''t particularly concerned. His brother had courted plenty of women, so he supposed that it was only natural he''d get hitched at some point. "Really? Are you sure he didn''t just gift someone a ring- he''s done that a few times if I recall correctly..." Zhu Chao shook his head, not laughing at the remark. "It seems your brother has developed some skills after years of his... activities. Just not the ones you use in battle. That''s the only reason I can think of for this."


    Liu Zhu carried on the conversation, confused by Zhu Chao''s attitude. "It''s not that odd, is it? He''s not a model person, but he gives out gifts and is easy enough to get along with." Zhu Chao shook his head. "No, it normally wouldn''t be that odd. The main point of this is who he''s engaged to. It''s the young miss of the Ji family." Liu Zhu''s brows furrowed as he heard this. "But there isn''t a Ji family in Vermilion City." He paused as he tried to think of what family Zhu Chao could possibly be referring to, before a flabbergasted expression appeared on his face.


    "...You couldn''t possibly mean..." As Liu Zhu trailed off, Zhu Chao nodded. "Yes, the Ji family of Blue Mount City. I''m sure you''re aware, but they''re larger than the Liu Clan has ever been, and aren''t far below the major families." Zhu Chao cleared his throat before continuing. "...and this leads to the most important point. I''m afraid if nothing changes, this means your brother will become the clan''s second patriarch."

 Chapter 20: Blue Mount City

    Liu Zhu and Zhu Chao stood across from each other. Zhu Chao stared blankly forward, while Liu Zhu stared at the ground, frustrated. After an awkwardly long time standing like this Liu Zhu let out a long sigh and faced towards Zhu Chao once more. "Give me the details then." Zhu Chao nodded and started speaking. "As I said, this makes it very likely that Liu Xuan will become the second patriarch. There is some time before the decision is made though. By my estimate... at the minimum a year, but it should be around two. That''s how long it should take the Ji family''s succession race to play out. If Liu Xuan''s fianc¨¦e wins their succession race, there will be no choice but to make Liu Xuan the second patriarch and so that we can take advantage of his connections in the Ji family. If she loses the situation will still be bad for you, but we won''t be forced into a decision immediately. In the best case scenario, we could wait until you''re 20 and we''re forced to make a decision."


    Liu Zhu let out another sigh after Zhu Chao stopped speaking. "So I need to do something to change the situation before then?" Zhu Chao simply nodded. Liu Zhu scratched his had as he took a seat, trying to think of something. Zhu Chao patiently waited nearby, glancing at a book he''d been carrying. After a couple minutes Liu Zhu resumed speaking. "Should I get a fianc¨¦e then?" Zhu Chao couldn''t help but laugh after hearing this, his stern, all-knowing facade breaking slightly. He returned to normal after a few moments, but still had a wry smile on his face when he answered Liu Zhu''s question. "Who do you have in mind? Do you happen to have some relationship with a major family I''ve never heard about? You''re... not exactly a ladies'' man like your brother, if you catch my drift. You''re too young anyways- wait a few years before you consider getting married for political reasons, although ideally you''ll never have to do so. I can say from personal experience that it''s not fun."


    Liu Zhu took the advice to heart, and threw away the idea since it was only a passing thought. "So I suppose the only option left is to raise my cultivation quickly enough to make my brother''s connection with the Ji family irrelevant before their succession race ends?" Zhu Chao paused a moment before shrugging. "More or less." Liu Zhu chuckled to himself and stood back up. "Well, this hasn''t changed anything then- I just need to surpass my brother, it''s just that I have a time limit now. Before that though... I guess I''ll congratulate my brother on his engagement. Where is he? Or is he sleeping?"


    Zhu Chao answered the question as he prepared to leave. "He''s currently in Blue Mount City. For the past few weeks he''s been staying there with his fianc¨¦e." Liu Zhu groaned internally as he heard this. He unpacked his things only to immediately learn he needed to travel somewhere else? How unlucky could he be? He was even tempted to wait until his brother returned to Vermilion City, but he had to be courteous and take care of everything properly. If he decided to ignore the matter completely then he''d end up slapping his own face. "Alright then, I''ll set out in the afternoon. I don''t need anyone to accompany me, the roads are heavily populated on the way there." Zhu Chao left without saying anything, apparently having no objections to this.


    Liu Zhu repacked his supplies and killed time by training for a bit before setting off on his horse. He traveled the roads at a fast pace, covering a large portion of the distance between Vermilion City and Blue Mount City before night fell. Liu Zhu kept this pace his entire trip, and managed to reach the Ji family''s estate after two days.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The Ji''s family''s estate was slightly larger than both the Yu Clan''s and the Liu Clan''s estates. From the outside it was clear that several large buildings were scattered about, and there were obviously even more past the walls that couldn''t be seen from the outside. Just from looking at it, it was evident that they were wealthier than the Liu Clan.


    As Liu Zhu approached the gate to the estate, he was stopped by a guard whose cultivation he couldn''t sense. "Halt! Please state your identity and purpose." Liu Zhu brought his horse to a stop and answered the guard. "I''m Liu Zhu, younger brother of Liu Xuan. I''m here to congratulate my brother on his engagement and visit his fianc¨¦e, Ji Quxin." The man nodded before waving Liu Zhu past. It''s likely that he would''ve been more cautious in a different situation, but given Liu Zhu''s cultivation, as long as he was under supervision it''d be impossible for him to cause any trouble.


    Another guard opened the gate as Liu Zhu neared, leading him into a large building to the side of the main mansion. Immediately after entering the building Liu Zhu saw his brother drinking wine from a tall glass and eating candied fruits, laughing at some book.


    After the door opened Liu Xuan caught sight of Liu Zhu and waved the guard away. He haphazardly threw the book he was reading to the side before wandering over. "Good to see you! How was your time at, er, the Yu Clan?" "Good, good, I made lots of progress with the guandao. More importantly, congratulations on your engagement! I heard you got engaged to Ji Quxin?" Liu Xuan laughed slightly lecherously as he tapped his younger brother on the shoulder. "Yes, and that was a great stroke of luck! She''s a beautiful woman, and we seem like kindred souls! She has a beautiful sister, if you''re interested..." Liu Zhu immediately declined the offer, slightly disappointing Liu Xuan. It''s not that he had anything against the Ji family, but if he married someone that was directly below his brother''s fianc¨¦e, then that''d be like yelling out that he didn''t want to be the clan''s second patriarch from the top of Mount Tai. Wouldn''t that just be a joke?


    Liu Xuan convinced his brother to sit and talk before quickly shifting the conversation to other topics. As they spoke Liu Zhu stalwartly refused his repeated offers to drink together sometime, knowing that accepting would only encourage him to drink even more than he usually did. Their small talk continued for a while before Liu Zhu got up to leave. "It''s been nice speaking to you, but I should go into the city. I didn''t have time to prepare a gift for sister-in-law before setting out, so I want to buy something before I run into her." As Liu Zhu stood up his older brother followed, only a step behind him. "Alright then, I''ll come along! I''ve been here for a bit, so I can show you around, huh? Obviously I''d know the shops here well, right?" Liu Zhu sighed, pushing his older brother away. "I''ll hang out with you, but I''d rather go alone. You know the shops, but you also know the bars, right? If we go together I know you''re going to try to make me drink with you." Liu Xuan nervously laughed after this remark, a guilty smile on his face. "Alright, alright, you go then. Make sure to be back by dinner though, I''ll introduce the two of you."


    Liu Xuan stated that he''d be back in time and went to grab his horse, trying to brainstorm ideas for what sort of gift to buy once he arrived in the city.

 Chapter 21: Ji Quxin

    Blue Mount City was bigger than Vermilion City, but they were largely similar in makeup. Due to the short distance between them there wasn''t a major difference in local specialties or industries, mainly just who owned what. As Liu Zhu went through the city he noticed that while there were quite a few shops owned by the Ji family, there were also some owned by other similarly large family clans, and in one case a major family. This made it clear to Liu Zhu that while the Ji family considered Blue Mount City a main base of theirs, they must have had holdings somewhere else in order to grow to their current size. Either that, or they had investments in some industry he wasn''t aware of. This was unlike the Liu Clan, who relied almost solely on shops in Vermilion City and Zhu Chao''s efforts to bring in money.


    Several hours passed as Liu Zhu traveled down the densely packed streets of the city center, and eventually he found an expensive looking clothing shop and decided to purchase something there. He didn''t know what gift Ji Quxin would like, but most women liked beautiful clothes, so that was probably a safe bet. Hell, even his brother liked beautiful clothes, so he supposed the sentiment wasn''t gender specific. Feeling increasingly confident that this was a good idea Liu Zhu went inside and settled on a dress worth 30 gold coins and some change. Liu Zhu would''ve never spent this much on a gift before, but now that he had a reliable source of income and hundreds of gold on hand, he didn''t mind it. After all, even if he was unhappy about the situation it''d be best to make a good first impression.


    Once Liu Zhu bought his gift he looked around the city a bit more, but didn''t find much of note. There were a few old statues, but most of them were dedicated to figures Liu Zhu hadn''t heard of and which he currently didn''t have time to learn about. He ended up returning to the Ji family''s estate with plenty of time left before dinner.


    When Liu Zhu returned, his brother was once again drinking, but this time with a woman. She looked to be somewhere between 16 and 18, the same age range as Liu Xuan, and was also drinking. As Liu Zhu entered the room the two threw a glance at him, and a smile showed up on Liu Xuan''s reddish face. "Little brother, you''re back! This is my fianc¨¦e, Ji Quxin!" As he said this the woman waved towards Liu Zhu, a smile on her face. "You''re Xu''er''s brother? It''s nice to meet you."


    The two shook hands and introduced themselves. After that the three chatted, Liu Xuan dominating the conversation while Ji Quxin and Liu Zhu mostly kept to themselves. Liu Zhu tried to analyze Ji Quxin as they spoke, curious about what kind of person would want to marry his brother and whether they had any odd tendencies of their own. He wasn''t able to glean much though, and only saw what he already knew- that she was a lady from a large family clan, and that she lived up to the position.


    Liu Zhu had dinner with his older brother and a few members of the Ji family, and the conversation was mostly pleasant. Oddly enough, in the middle of the meal Ji Quxin seemed to hint towards setting him up with a minor member of the Ji family, putting Liu Zhu in an awkward position. After some consideration he simply decided to ignore the odd behavior and pretend not to notice her hints. If he acknowledged what she was saying then he''d have to directly turn her down, and that would only cause trouble. Once the meal was over Liu Zhu decided to stay in the Ji family for a week or two in order to make sure nothing odd was going on with his older brother. The engagement was rather sudden, so he had a nagging feeling that he should stay and make sure everything was normal.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Five days after arriving at the Ji family''s estate Liu Zhu broke through to Late Flesh Tempering, prompting his brother to once again invite him out for a round of drinks. This offer was declined, but after a fierce round of negotiation Liu Zhu managed to bring it around to a meal out, no alcohol provided. After making his breakthrough he received a brief congratulations from Ji Quxin, but since they barely knew each other that was it. Liu Zhu observed his brother for another six days following this, but didn''t see anything particularly odd. He did notice that his brother never seemed to be alone, and always had someone with him when he left the estate, but... that wasn''t very odd. People like him made friends quickly, and it would be natural for the Ji family to be watching him. Liu Zhu did something similar because he was worried about his brother doing something stupid, so it''d be normal if the Ji family was similarly worried, especially since he was half a stranger to them.


    After spending 11 days at the Ji family Liu Zhu figured that he''d seen all there was and said goodbye to his brother before making his way back to Vermilion City.


    ...


    Meanwhile, inside the Ji family''s estate:


    Ji Quxin sat in her room, slowly sipping from a glass of mead. As she did so she wrote a letter, occasionally stopping to think what to write. While writing, the door opened and Liu Xuan entered. "Qu''er, I''m back!" "Your brother is gone then?" Liu Xuan nodded, taking a seat. "Yes, he left just now." "Still not interested in marrying into the Ji family?" Liu Xuan nodded again, a perplexed look on his face. "No, he wasn''t. Why were you pushing for that anyways?" Ji Quxin shrugged. "No big reason- there are a few people under me who were looking to wed someone, and I figured it''d help tie our families even closer. It''d be nice if it happens, but it''s fine if it doesn''t." Liu Xuan let out a quiet "Ah." after hearing this, seemingly understanding.


    The two chatted for a bit before Ji Quxin asked Liu Xuan to leave the room, claiming that she wanted to rest for a bit. After Liu Xuan let out a cheerful goodbye Ji Quxin waited a moment and peeked out the door, making sure he was gone. After confirming nobody was nearby Ji Quxin closed and locked the door, taking a seat on a couch and loudly groaning. "Fuck, what am I going to do about this. They said his brother wasn''t worth worrying about, but his cultivation is higher than those incompetent halfwits told me..." After a short pause Ji Quxin grabbed a quill and resumed writing. "Whatever. It''s worse than I thought, but Liu Xuan should still get the position. Still, I suppose it wouldn''t hurt to get some chess pieces in place. It''d be preferable that I don''t need to go that far, but I need the Liu Clan if I''m going to win the succession race. I can''t afford to have my plans ruined now."

 Chapter 22: Investing in Vermilion City

    Before Liu Zhu had left Blue Mount City, he sold the second batch of plants grown using his blood. Visiting the Ji family was a good opportunity to offload goods without leaving any traces in Vermilion City, so he took advantage of it. To make doubly sure no one caught onto his activities he disguised himself and made sure the shop he was using wasn''t owned by the Ji family, but even he would admit that these actions were more cautionary than necessary. In all likelihood no one would ever notice anything unusual about these sales, but better safe than sorry. If someone was able to piece together some of the mysteries about his blood and whatever happened in that cave, then it''s possible both his life and the Liu Clan as a whole could be put in danger.


    The second batch of herbs being sold increased Liu Zhu''s funds once again, bringing it back to 388 gold coins even after accounting for Dai He''s cut and the new set of plants he needed to purchase. Almost immediately after Liu Zhu returned to Vermilion City he sought out Dai He, planning to give him his cut of the profits and then inquire into a few business related matters now that he had so much money on hand.


    Liu Zhu and Dai He met in a secluded corner of the Liu Clan''s estate, a pile of gold coins and a few banknotes sat between them. Dai He silently stared at the money before taking a small coinpurse and beginning to count coins out from the pile. "1...2...3..." Liu Zhu didn''t say anything until Dai He finished counting, a smile on his face. "...and that makes 53 gold coins, 8 silver, and 4 bronze." After Dai He finished counting out his cut he considered asking Liu Zhu if he was sure a cut of 15% was fine, but given that the matter was already settled. It would be unprofessional to bring it up again.


    Once Dai He''s cut was taken out Liu Zhu provided a list of prices for each plant he''d sold among some other data he''d collected. He wouldn''t have considered writing down this much information beforehand since it was a pain, but Dai He insisted that it was necessary. They were making quite a bit off of Liu Zhu''s ability, but if they collected further data then it wouldn''t be difficult to increase the profits by 10% or 20% in the short-term by changing up their purchasing patterns.


    Dai He looked over the data for a moment before putting it away. "I''ll look over a few books and write up potential plants for the next batch that might mature better. You said you bought another batch at Blue Mount City, so it should be safe to sell it here, although maybe a representative would be better..." Dai He thought for a moment before lightly sighing. "Well, I shouldn''t think about it too much now. Want to get a meal? Since you''ve been travelling we haven''t hung out in a while." Liu Zhu accepted the offer, vaguely mentioning that he''d wanted to get Dai He''s help on something else anyways, so it''d be a good chance to talk.


    The two got a private room in a relatively expensive restaurant near the city center. Funds weren''t a concern for the time being and they needed privacy while they were speaking, so this was the best arrangement Liu Zhu could think of. Their conversation opened up with the normal pleasantries and small talk, and as they spoke Dai He gave Liu Zhu repeated compliments on his rapid rise in cultivation. He''d known Liu Zhu for years, and watched as he kept struggling to break through into Flesh Tempering, so it was unbelievable that his cultivation had risen from Late Strength Rendering to Late Flesh Tempering in under five months. Despite being confused, Dai He was genuinely happy for Liu Zhu.


    As their conversation winded down Liu Zhu found a chance to turn it back towards business. He explained what happened with the gold silk butterflies while he was staying with the Yu Clan, and asked Dai He what he thought he should do with his sudden influx of funds. Dai He stayed silent for a moment, thinking, before shrugging. "Isn''t it obvious? You have these valuable butterflies and are raising plants used in pills and medicinal powders, so just follow the route of an herbologist or apothecary and make a garden."


    Liu Zhu had thought of the idea, but had several reservations about it. "I''ve thought of that, but if the garden is going to be large, isn''t that, uh... too much of my blood? I''m only human after all. Besides that, if the plants grow too quickly we could stand out. How are we supposed to keep this hidden?" Dai He chuckled, a smile on his face. "That''s an easy problem to fix. You''ll take out 100 or 200 coins and buy a large plot of land. Then we''ll rent it out to farms, businesses, whoever wants a chunk. Vermilion City isn''t a major center of commerce, but if we buy land in a good location then it shouldn''t be terribly hard to rent it out. Anyways, that''s just a cover- the main point is to make sure no one is suspecting that we''re buying the land for our own use."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    As Dai He went on, Liu Zhu started to get the point. "So this is how we''ll hide the garden?" Dai He nodded. "That''s part of it. We''ll put it in the most hidden spot we can find on the land, make it look as ordinary as possible, and cover our tracks when we visit it. Naturally one of us will have to go by in order to water the plants, but depending on what we plant, we could get by with visits every two or three days."


    Liu Zhu was convinced, and accepted that the garden could be hidden from the public before they tried to sell the plants. Still, he had concerns about how much blood he had to provide. He voiced this to Dai He, and got a reply he didn''t expect. "Naturally, that is a problem, and I do have a way to partially solve it. Still, you will need to provide more blood. I''m not sure how much it''s possible for you to... let out, but it shouldn''t be a dangerous amount." As Dai He stopped speaking an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Dai He was the one who broke it, trying to explain further. "If you''re bothered by the prospect then I''m fine with your decision, but... it''s probably in your best interests to go along with my idea. I''ve heard some mutterings from the Liu Clan, and I know your position isn''t as steady as before. If we can show that we''re bringing in a large amount of funds and attribute it to something else, then it could help stabilize your position in the family. I''ve known you for a long time, and I''m saying this as a friend- now is the time to do whatever you can."


    Liu Zhu sighed and hesitantly nodded after Dai He''s explanation. "You''re right. Alright, I''ll do what I can. So how will whatever amount I provide sustain a whole garden in addition to what I''m already growing. Is it that small?" Dai He''s smile grew bigger as he talked about the last point. "This is what I think is the masterstroke, and it will also reduce how suspiciously fast the plants are growing- we''ll dilute your blood! Of course we haven''t done experiments yet, but I believe that if we dilute it we should be able to get enough to run a garden while it still has a large efficacy. Once it''s diluted I could also try and mix it with some sort of fertilizer to reduce how suspicious it looks and possibly increase the effectiveness further, but to be frank... that''s beyond my skills. I''m a businessman, not a farmer. For the time being we can stop at finding a good ratio to dilute it at. There''s still the problem of the plants suddenly appearing in the market, but if we use plants which can be regrown and sell them across different cities using my connections, then nobody should suspect anything."


    Liu Zhu was surprised by Dai He''s idea to dilute his blood, and felt a bit dumb when he realized how simple it was. He felt like he should''ve thought of it before now. After the main ideas were laid out the two spent an hour working out the details. Liu Zhu decided to purchase a large parcel of land that ran by a nearby river and which had a forest they could hide the garden inside. That took up 163 gold coins, and then the garden itself would probably take 60 gold coins to set up. These funds would go towards the initial batch of plants, construction, and gardening equipment. That left Liu Zhu with a bit over 150 gold coins, 130 of which he gave to Dai He to invest. It wouldn''t do anything sitting in Liu Zhu''s coin purse, and making some investments at this point would make a good cover for why Liu Zhu was making so much money in the future. Plus, according to Dai He, this was simply another opportunity- to make the most of it, they needed to reinvest the money they earned and avoid becoming satisfied with whatever they currently made. Liu Zhu understood this, although Dai He was naturally more excited about this since he was a merchant at heart.


    After the talks ended the two parted, still excited. Liu Zhu was simply happy to earn more and possibly improve his standing in the family without much effort on his part, while Dai He was fired up for different reasons. He was receiving a sizable cut for taking care of the day to day affairs of the garden and the other investments for Liu Zhu, but his main motivation wasn''t his personal profits. It was whether he could turn this into a sizable business and begin forging his legacy as an able merchant and businessman. It was yet to be seen whether he would crash or burn or turn this opportunity into a foundation for his future achievements, but either way it would be interesting.

 Chapter 23: Three Months

    After Dai He and Liu Zhu''s meeting, not much happened for a while. Liu Zhu focused on his cultivation, hoping that he could make a breakthrough to Bone and Marrow Tempering within the next three to four months given his ridiculously fast cultivation speed, while Dai He took care of the business they''d discussed and sent Liu Zhu the details.


    In the week after Liu Zhu''s return he found several chances to spar with others and test his strength. With his breakthrough to Late Flesh Tempering, along with his increase in strength, he was now able to use 3 Desires multiple times in a single battle. This allowed him to compare evenly with some Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering cultivators and unexpectedly raised his prestige within the Liu Clan and throughout Vermilion City as a whole. Liu Zhu didn''t take advantage of this, preferring to focus on his cultivation, but even without the urging of him or his brother factions began to solidify within the Liu Clan.


    There had been factions supporting both him and his brother before, but due to how long there was until a second patriarch was decided upon, they weren''t well-defined. Only a few people made their allegiance known, and neither side did much. However, with Liu Xuan''s recent engagement and Liu Zhu''s astonishing rise in strength everyone in the Liu Clan began picking sides. Ultimately Zhu Chao had the final decision as the grand elder of the Liu Clan, but if there wasn''t any support behind the candidate he chose, then what would happen after he left? Wouldn''t there be a chance of who he chose being removed from their position, or hired elders leaving en masse? That''s why these factions mattered a great deal, and how Liu Zhu unintentionally began stabilizing his position among the Liu Clan. He was still behind his brother, but his situation was far less bleak than when he returned from Yu Mountain.


    A month after Liu Zhu''s return from Blue Mount City these factions had finished settling, and the atmosphere in the Liu Clan was uneasy. Funnily enough this happened without any intervention from the ''faction heads'' in question, as Liu Zhu had focused on cultivating and Liu Xuan was in Blue Mount City, meaning that both of them learned about this after the fact. Luckily, before things got too heated between the two groups Zhu Chao made a few passive-aggressive remarks which calmed down the more zealous members of each side.


    Once Zhu Chao made his stance clear things settled down, but what had already happened couldn''t be undone after the fact. To escape the new, odd atmosphere and other juniors the Liu Clan had recruited telling him about their petty schemes to help him in the succession race, Liu Zhu simply spent even more time than usual cultivating. At this point he even requested for his meals to be sent to him. Amusingly enough, Liu Zhu avoiding his supporters didn''t reduce their support for him, as most of the people supporting him were doing so because of his work ethic anyways. Dai He gave Liu Zhu occasional briefs on how progress was going with the garden and the other investments, while Liu Zhu gave him blood he''d saved up. Anyone who saw the sight would be both disgusted and terrified, but Dai He had already thought up a cover and managed to sneak it all out without anyone suspecting anything.


    Two weeks after Liu Zhu had began secluding himself in training, Dai He finished setting up everything with the garden. Liu Zhu took a short visit to examine it, noticing that several farms and businesses were being constructed on the way there. Those were the people land was being rented out to as camouflage, and Liu Zhu was surprised that Dai He had managed to get that many renters in only in only six weeks. Vermilion City wasn''t growing quickly after all, so the demand for land was mediocre at best.


    The garden was hidden away in a clearing in the middle of a thick patch of trees. A stone wall with no gate surrounded it, and Dai He had to leap with all of his strength to reach the top. As Liu Zhu admired the unique security measures, Dai He bragged. "It was interesting getting this built. I had to get two independent groups of masons to construct each half of the wall to avoid it looking suspicious- otherwise they would''ve realized there was no gate. Anyways, no one''ll wander in here now, right?" Liu Zhu stared back at him, a doubtful look on his face, but seeing how proud Dai He was he didn''t want to say too much. "Er, yeah. The masons who built the wall won''t come around here again, will they?" Dai He shook his head in response. "Nope! I had them build it elsewhere and then carried it here part by part and connected them myself. Took a lot of reading, but I got it done!" Liu Zhu was struck silent after hearing this and simply complimented Dai He on the good work, although he was internally wondering whether the wall was actually safe. Within seconds he had jumped off of the wall and into the garden, afraid of the wall toppling down while he was sitting on it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Past the wall was a patch of level soil with various types of plants scattered across it. Walking paths split the garden up into squares, which allowed one to easily take care of the plants without stepping on them. This area was around 5x5m. Surrounding this were a few trees and plenty of space to expand the garden if needed. The Gold Silk Butterflies Liu Zhu caught fluttered about, occasionally stopping to perch on budding plants or nearby trees. Buried in the ground nearby, hidden under some foliage and gardening tools, was the diluted blood Liu Zhu had provided. Everything was neatly organized in the small area and Dai He had done a good job despite his lack of familiarity with gardening and construction.


    Dai He went over some of the minutia as Liu Zhu looked around, telling him about the specifics of when the first harvest would be and when the Gold Silk Butterflies would begin to mate. Liu Zhu simply nodded his head, not too interested in the specifics, and left that to Dai He. After going over this there wasn''t much left to speak about and Liu Zhu returned to the estate, happy that his assets were in mostly capable hands.


    Seven weeks later, in the dead of night, Liu Zhu was training outside. He felt a massive amount of energy flowing through him, and couldn''t help but extend his training long past reasonable hours. He allowed this energy to flow through him, trying to rapidly use it up by training at the highest intensity possible, but the sheer amount of energy within his body made that impossible. The better part of an hour passed like this before Liu Zhu felt a change in his body, and the energy suddenly converged in on a point directly above his heart.


    Intense pain spread throughout his chest when this happened, and the vitality in his blood began rushing towards this point as well. The pain came in bursts, and as Liu Zhu focused his attention on it, he noticed that this reminded him of something- when his chest was pierced by that root in the cave. Still, the pain wasn''t as bad as then, as eventually it plateaued at a level far more tolerable than that time. The pain continued for around half an hour before it settled down and the energy within him suddenly increased far beyond what had been in his body, bursting out and filling every nook and cranny of his body.


    Liu Zhu let out a loud scream as this happened, pain clouding his mind for a moment. When he regained his senses he heard a cracking noise, and a layer of white dust and dead skin covered his body. Upon noticing this Liu Zhu''s pained suddenly expression broke out into a smile, because he knew what this phenomena meant- he''d broken through to Bone and Marrow Tempering. The dead skin was from him completing Flesh Tempering, while the dust was from his bones expelling their weakest parts and using the energy from his breakthrough to remodel themselves and begin hardening.


    Before Liu Zhu completely recovered from his breakthrough, he examined the point near his heart where the energy and vitality had gathered at, and later been provided from. He was hoping to find something there to answer his questions, but unfortunately he couldn''t discover anything. For the time being he simply knew that whatever happened to him before had left something at that spot and that he didn''t understand it.


    Liu Zhu was once again confused and curious about what had happened to him, but knew that it was futile to hope for any further information at this point and returned to bed with his focus turned to his breakthrough. He''d managed to go from Strength Rendering to Bone and Marrow Tempering in under 8 months, advancing his cultivation at a rate that would''ve seemed ridiculous to him before now. Thinking of this, Liu Zhu went to bed with a happy smile on his face.


    The next morning Liu Zhu informed Zhu Chao of his breakthrough, and the news instantly spread throughout the Liu Clan. A small celebratory feast was prepared, and in a dark corner of the Liu Clan''s manor a recently hired maid rapidly scribbled down a note. It was written in code, but translated read "Liu Zhu broke through to Early Bone and Marrow Tempering at 13 years, 7 months of age. Nearly half a year ahead of Liu Xuan in terms of cultivation. Situation will grow worse if given longer to grow."


    The maid hurried to her quarters before strapping the note to the leg of a pigeon, opening the nearest window, and setting the bird free. The carrier pigeon flew south towards Blue Mount City while the Liu Clan remained happy, ignorant to what had just occurred and the consequences it would bring about...

 Chapter 24: Third Times The Charm?

    Liu Zhu let out a loud grunt as his guandao shot out in multiple directions near-simultaneously, sending out four slashes at once. Two missed the target completely while the other two left a sizable wound in his opponent''s side. At the same time a sword passed by Liu Zhu''s side, leaving behind a minor wound after most of the force was absorbed by his resilient defenses. The two disengaged, both sides examining their injuries, before they sheathed their weapons. Liu Zhu nodded his head at the girl he was fighting before leaving the sparring grounds. "We''ll call that a draw then. I''m going to bandage this."


    This was Liu Zhu''s first spar since he broke through to Early Bone and Marrow Tempering, and it was with someone at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering who was nearly two years his senior. His speed was, as expected, underwhelming, but by taking out 4 Desires as a trump card he was able to deal an unexpected blow to his opponent after around a dozen rounds of combat. The two called the fight there since they had no enmity with each other, but if it had been a life or death battle then it would''ve gone to a battle of endurance from there, so he had a slight advantage.


    Liu Zhu silently cleaned and bandaged the sword wound whilst thinking. Last night many of the minor families throughout the city had sent juniors to celebrate his breakthrough, but the lasting impact wasn''t as great as he''d expected. Everyone seemed rather impressed by him, but the internal factions didn''t show signs of changing. As things were, there was still a significant chance of Liu Xuan becoming the second patriarch with the Ji Clan''s backing. It turned out that the halo around the Ji Clan was even brighter than he''d expected.


    As Liu Zhu sighed to himself, mulling over the problem, he heard a knock from behind him, jolting him out of his thoughts. He instinctively responded "Come in.", slipping his shirt back on now that he''d bandaged himself. When he turned around he saw Zhu Chao, who was smiling and holding a jade slip and a thin book. Before Liu Zhu could say anything Zhu Chao spoke, getting directly to the point of his visit. "Young Master Liu, your strength is exceptional, but your speed is lacking. Or at least I assume that''s what you''re thinking." Liu Zhu nodded, not surprised that Zhu Chao had noticed. It wasn''t particularly hard to find out, but to fix it was another thing entirely. Without saying anything Zhu Chao handed over the book and jade slip over to Liu Zhu, gesturing for him to inspect them.


    Liu Zhu glanced at the jade slip, and as he did noticed that it was slightly darker than the ones he''d normally seen. As Liu Zhu began examining it he let out an involuntarily gasp, surprised by the contents within. It was a movement technique of some sort, with many detailed diagrams of muscles and movements. It wasn''t to an unbelievable extent, but the quantity and quality of information given about the technique were beyond anything Liu Zhu had seen. As Liu Zhu stood there, silent, Zhu Chao laughed and broke the silence. "That''s a personal possession of mine. I didn''t have a reason to take it out before, but given that your cultivation and talent both seem to meet the mark, I thought I may as well pass it on to you. It''s not like I''ll need it after I''m done here anyways." Zhu Chao paused before adding a final statement. "As a sidenote, I recommend that you don''t show that to anyone. That type of jade slip isn''t nonexistent in Yutian Country, but outside of the Five Families and the Royal Family, they''re very rare."


    Liu Zhu put the jade slip away after a moment, taking note of what Zhu Chao said. Next he flipped through the book Zhu Chao had handed him, which had drawings and diagrams strewn throughout walls of text, words and drawings flowing into each other in a tight scrawl. Liu Zhu felt like the handwriting was familiar, and realized after a moment that it belonged to Zhu Chao. "You wrote this?" "Mhm. It''s not a technique, but that contains some observations of mine on how to leverage muscle strength properly in order to increase speed. I wrote it over the past few days, and hopefully you can get some use out of it."


    Liu Zhu got up and bowed towards Zhu Chao. "Grand Elder Zhu Chao, thank you for the gifts. I''ll do my best to improve." Zhu Chao gestured for Liu Zhu to stand properly. "It''s no problem, you''ve earned it. I would''ve provided the same opportunity to your brother, but he wouldn''t have taken advantage of it. Just do your best and I won''t care regardless of the outcome." Zhu Chao left after saying this, leaving Liu Zhu alone with the items.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Liu Zhu looked over the jade slip and book more closely later. The jade slip described a movement technique that could be better described as a dodging technique. Instead of requiring the user to increase their movement speed, it taught them how to most effectively use their muscles to make small movements and to reduce the need to move quickly. It had a high requirement on the user''s perception and instinct to use it in combat, but Liu Zhu was hopeful that he''d adapt to it in time. The few dozen pages of Zhu Chao''s writings were mostly over how Liu Zhu could leverage his abnormal strength for powerful dashes or lunges. The movements weren''t nearly as delicate as with the dodging technique, and it was only good at a mid to long range, but if Liu Zhu was able to learn something from it''d also be helpful in combat. Both items complimented each other well, and it was clear that Zhu Chao put quite a bit of thought into this.


    The next few days Liu Zhu put his focus onto his movement, and at the same time news of his breakthrough reached the Ji Clan. Liu Xuan was happy about it and could be seen merrily drinking in a side room of the Ji Clan''s mansion, while Ji Quxin stayed in her room, claiming to be ill. That night several letters were delivered by men in black, setting into motion a plan that managed to come together only a week after Liu Zhu''s breakthrough.


    On that particular day Liu Zhu woke up early, preparing to examine the family''s businesses before visiting a couple of minor families the Liu Clan was close to in Vermilion City. The elders would normally do the latter, but given Liu Zhu''s recent rise in prominence, plenty of minor families were fine speaking to him instead. Since the elders and the people he was visiting had no objections, Liu Zhu obviously wouldn''t shy away from the opportunity to become more experienced and show his importance within the Liu Clan.


    Liu Zhu went visited most of the businesses without incident, checking through ledgers as the sound of rain provided calming background noise. The streets were almost deserted that day, but while going from one business to another, Liu Zhu happened to run into someone carrying a few umbrellas, their face and body obscured by a thick raincoat. Liu Zhu didn''t take much note of them, but as the two neared each other the passerby nudged one of their umbrellas, causing the end to poke into Liu Zhu''s leg, barely piercing through the skin. Liu Zhu threw a glance at them, but wasn''t able to make out their face as they continued to quickly walk away. The umbrella hitting him had hurt slightly, but Liu Zhu decided not to pursue the issue since it was probably just an accident. As he made his way to the next shop he began scratching his leg, which had started itching.


    At first it was just his leg that was itchy, but the itching quickly began to spread over Liu Zhu''s whole body, intensifying greatly. Liu Zhu swore to himself, wondering what plant he''d accidentally gotten a rash from, ignorant to the fact that he''d actually been poisoned. The itching was from a repeated cycle of the poison causing countless small wounds, his wounds recovering, and then the poison continuing to wreak havoc. After an hour of this the poison wore off, causing the itching to disappear, much to Liu Zhu''s relief. And so the first assassination attempt of the day ended in a failure.


    Once Liu Zhu finished visiting the family''s businesses he began going from minor family to minor family, having short talks with various figures from these influences. The third family was located a ways outside the city, and it took Liu Zhu half an hour to get there. Upon arriving he was offered a slightly late lunch and accepted, chatting with the family''s head as he did so. The man tended to ramble but was otherwise pleasant, and so the time passed as they happily talked.


    As the two spoke, gossiping about local politics, the cook was making the soup inside the kitchen. When the cook glanced away a new hire poured a poisonous powder into the soup while the cook wasn''t looking. Unfortunately not all of it dissolved by the time the cook returned to see how the soup was doing, and so the cook simply poured the soup out and started on a new batch, assuming that he''d messed up the recipe. As a result Liu Zhu''s lunch passed without anything eventful happening, and he survived his second assassination attempt of the day.


    Liu Zhu left the estate after eating and began walking back to Vermilion City. After five minutes of walking he heard a zooming sound, which quickly drew closer. Liu Zhu focused on the source of the sound and saw a figure dressed in black, holding a dagger, who was rapidly closing in on him. Before he could react the figure stabbed at him, dagger in hand. The dagger stopped inches away from his neck, and the necklace Zhu Chao had given him before leaving for the Yu Clan gently lit up, blocking the attack.


    And so began Liu Zhu''s third assassination attempt of the day.

 Chapter 25: Standstill

    Liu Zhu stared at the robed figure attacking him in shock, trying to figure out what to do as they continued to stab at him. After four failed attacks aimed at his vitals, he fully processed the situation and hurriedly rifled through his pockets. Liu Zhu was doomed in head-on combat against this assassin, so he needed someone who could help him. Within a few moments he pulled out a short-distance sound transmission talisman connected to Zhu Chao, immediately tearing it as he sent a message. "Assassination attempt 10 minutes down the road from the Huquang family. Heading towards the Huquang family now."


    The sound-transmission talisman scattered into powder after Liu Zhu finished sending his message to Zhu Chao, its duty done. The assassin stopped their barrage of attacks for a moment, wary, but gritted their teeth and decided to redouble their efforts even though their initial attempt had failed. Even if that necklace Liu Zhu was wearing could block their strikes, it was unlikely that it could do so indefinitely. They just needed to make it run out of power before reinforcements arrived.


    The assassin chased after Liu Zhu as he ran towards the Huquang family, hoping that the head of the family there could help him. Their family wasn''t very strong, but since the assassin was probably only at Qi Refinement or Qi Emission, they''d have a good chance of defeating him. As Liu Zhu ran away constant attacks rained down on him, each one of them being blocked by faint flashes of light from his necklace.


    Liu Zhu''s attacker spared no effort to try and injure him, but despite his attempts he was making no progress. He was correct in assuming that Liu Zhu''s necklace could only last for a limited amount of hits, but misjudged how long it would take to drain the power from it. After a minute under assault the attacker paused, tensing up, and then ran away at an extremely fast speed. Soil flew behind them as they ran away, and in the distance a small figure appeared. The figure rapidly approached Liu Zhu''s position, and after a moment it became clear who it was- Zhu Chao! Every step he made caused large piles of soil to appear in the air, and he created small holes in the ground from his every step. As Zhu Chao passed by Liu Zhu he slung him over shoulder, carrying him like luggage as he continued chasing after the assassin.


    A few breaths after Zhu Chao picked up Liu Zhu the assassin was in view, trying to trying to run away through the treetops of a nearby forest. A furious expression appeared on Zhu Chao''s face as he loudly yelled "Some snot-nosed brat at Qi Refinement can''t get away from me!". He launched off of the ground, immediately jumping dozens of feet into the air, flying past the treetops and towards the assassin. The chase lasted only a few seconds after this, as Zhu Chao rapidly caught up and then stopped the assassin by violently kicking him into the ground below.


    A small crater was formed in the ground where the assassin landed, blood and broken branches surrounding him. The assassin''s robe had been destroyed by Zhu Chao''s attack, and he was revealed to be a young man with several scars and a pale, almost sickly-looking face. Liu Zhu was lightly tossed to the side as Zhu Chao pulled the bleeding assassin from the ground. He closely examined him, as if trying to recall something, before snorting and throwing the man to the ground. "I don''t recognize you. Were you hired?" The assassin''s shallow breathing could be heard before he let out a weak yes. "Who hired you?" The man stayed silent before hesitantly replying. "I can''t tell you that. Customer privacy is important in our business."


    Zhu Chao glared a hole through the assassin at that response, and an almost-imperceptible chill ran down his spine. In a much more solemn voice, Zhu Chao asked again. "Tell me who hired you or I''ll bring you to the brink of death and then make you tell me." The assassin seemed slightly afraid, but stuck to his guns. "I told you, I can''t tell you. I''d die." The man was pulled off of the ground again, letting out a groan of pain as Zhu Chao picked him up. "If you don''t tell me then I''ll kill you myself." He stayed silent, staring at Zhu Chao, before eventually being slammed down again. Zhu Chao sighed, turning his attention to Liu Zhu. "I''ll... reeducate him later. For the time being you will stay on the estate. Someone has a grudge against you, and I need to find out who."This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    The two returned to the estate, captive in tow. Liu Zhu went to train and calm himself down, while Zhu Chao returned to his room. A moment after parting Liu Zhu could hear loud screaming coming from Zhu Chao''s room, but after a moment it suddenly stopped. He wasn''t sure whether it was because something happened to the man or because Zhu Chao used some sort of special item to muffle the sound, but he didn''t want to think about it too deeply.


    The assassination attempt was kept a secret as Zhu Chao investigated, and so the only unusual thing to happen on the outside was Liu Zhu cancelling a few meetings. Liu Zhu secluded himself on the estate, cultivating and trying to improve his movement, as Zhu Chao tried to find out who hired the assassin. The morning after the assassination attempt Zhu Chao found out that the assassin was hired through a middleman a couple of cities over, and so he gave the middleman the visit. The middleman was surprisingly unfazed in the face of an expert, and refused to answer Zhu Chao''s questions, saying that he''d die if he told on one of his clients. Much like the assassin, the middleman ended up in a state worse than death after resisting, and ended up spilling everything he knew to Zhu Chao after a couple of days.


    The person who hired the middleman was apparently a young woman wearing a thick, yellow robe and a mask from a festival. They didn''t state why they wanted to order the killing, and simply said that they were willing to pay whatever it took. Zhu Chao was unable to track down any information about this woman and ended up at a dead end, not even knowing whether she was another middleman or someone who worked for the mastermind behind all this.


    At the Liu Clan''s estate, Liu Zhu''s seclusion continued as he patiently waited for things to blow over. During this time Liu Xuan was brought back from Blue Mount City by one of the elders in order to prevent anything from happening to him. He was unhappy about being brought home since he was enjoying his time there, but given the situation he could only grumble a bit before giving in. The situation remained awkward among the direct lineage family of the Liu family and the few elders who knew about it, as they couldn''t do anything. Their trail had ran cold and they knew nothing about the assassin. Not the reasons behind the assassination attempt, what lengths they''d go to, or even whether Liu Zhu was the only one they wanted to kill. Discussions remained subdued among Zhu Chao, Elder Chu, and Elder Fan as they decided what to do about the situation.


    Eventually, two weeks after this frustrating stalemate began, Zhu Chao visited Liu Zhu. Once they exchanged greetings, Zhu Chao got directly to the point. "Young Master Liu, I was planning on sending you out for experiential training, but the attempt on your life ended up derailing my plans. Still, I feel the need to ask- despite the situation, are you interested in going?" Liu Zhu didn''t immediately given an answer, responding with a question of his own. "Wouldn''t I be fine training here until things blow over?" A sad smile covered Zhu Chao''s face as he replied. "We could do that, but to what end? It''s not like whoever''s targeting you will just become impatient and give up. Anyways, if you just stay here and cultivate day in and day out, it may work, but it will definitely stunt your growth. Cultivation is built on experience as well as effort, and despite your time with the Yu Clan, you don''t have enough of the former- that was more to hone your technique than anything. I think you need to live up to your potential, quickly raise your cultivation, and then eventually reach a state where you can''t be killed, even if they want to."


    Liu Zhu was initially wary about the idea, but couldn''t refute Zhu Chao''s words. He thought it over for a minute before slowly nodding. "Alright. I''ll leave the Liu Clan then."


    Volume 1, A Once-In-A-Lifetime Chance, End


    Volume 2, Year in the Northern Wastes, Begin

 Chapter 26: A New Journey Begins

    After deciding to leave the Liu Clan for training, the first major decision to make was where to go. There were four possible destinations, one in each cardinal direction. To the west there was Hiqui Sect, on and off enemy of Yutian Country for hundreds of years. Despite the tension between the two countries their relations were fine right now, so Liu Zhu wouldn''t have any trouble crossing the border. Once he was across he''d have a chance to explore Hiqui Sect and spar with juniors from their many subordinate sects scattered throughout the country. Travelers like these weren''t unusual, so Hiqui Sect had long since set up rules for travelling challengers and for people joining sects on a temporary basis. These rules may have seemed odd on the surface, but Hiqui Sect wasn''t running a charity and did benefit from them. The challengers served as a whetstone for their juniors, while temporary sect members offered valuable manpower for almost no resources spent. Despite the training opportunities, this direction was ruled out immediately as Liu Zhu was a fervent patriot and held no fond feelings towards Hiqui Sect.


    To the east was the heartland of Yutian Country, the capital. The capital was a massive city of over 400,000 people, more than 10% of the country''s population, and it served as the economic, political, and cultural center of the country. Many movers and shakers wandered the streets there, and becoming acquainted with just one could be a great chance. Besides that all sorts of rare goods were sold there, and even if Liu Zhu lacked the money to purchase any it could serve as a chance to broaden his horizons. Still, going to the capital and the surrounding regions wouldn''t give many opportunities to improve his cultivation. It''s not that the capital had no chances like this, but they were destined for the Royal Family, not for a relatively poor and unimportant figure like Liu Zhu. This direction was ruled out after the west, as Liu Zhu was going on a journey for training opportunities, not for political ones.


    This left the south and the north. To the south was Yutian Country''s coastline, and the bustling ocean that lied beyond. The ocean stretched on for a great distance, and many islands, large and small, were scattered throughout it. To take advantage of the situation the countries in the region made a rule regarding most of the islands: If you can defend it, you can keep it. As a result the shipbuilding industry was huge throughout the region, and large amounts of people went out to sea, hoping to claim an island for themselves or find treasure while exploring. Of course with this came a wave of piracy, which the government was content to watch happen as long as it didn''t reach too large a scale. In truth, some of the countries even hired pirates to target the others, which complicated the environment further. Liu Zhu was interested in heading to sea, as plenty of interesting tales of treasures found and strange creatures encountered abounded, but in the end decided against it. The investment to head out to sea was significant, and he''d have to purchase a ship and hire a crew, among other things. Besides draining his wallet, it would also make it more difficult to remain low-profile while travelling, and if he attracted attention then he''d just be asking for another assassination attempt.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    In the end, Liu Zhu decided to head north. In the far north of the country were the Northern Wastes, an area around half the size of Yutian Country proper. It was a sparsely populated stretch of forests and grasslands populated with many powerful beasts, and the only entrance was through a city built around a mountain pass, Border City. The main occupants of the Northern Wastes were various scattered tribes, although they did set up some large cities. Due to the low population, large land area, and the vicious beast problem, the government had minimal involvement in the Northern Wastes, refraining from performing a census or collecting taxes. As a result the Northern Wastes were mainly self-governed, and cultivators looking for work had plenty of options, as tribes always needed more cultivators. There were also a large amount of criminals who fled to the area due to the minimal government presence, and as a result there was a similarly large amount of bounty hunters.


    The Northern Wastes had plenty of opportunities for Liu Zhu to gain practical experience, and it was a vast land that Liu Zhu could explore without anyone getting in his way. He''d also blend in easily, as there were plenty of itinerant cultivators there. Besides that there were also many rare plants and animals in the Northern Wastes, which interested Liu Zhu, especially given his affinity with them.


    Liu Zhu told Zhu Chao where he was planning to go, and so Zhu Chao quickly began arranging things. It was announced throughout the Liu Clan that Liu Zhu would be going into a session of closed-door cultivation that would last for up to a year, and that he wouldn''t be seeing anyone in the meantime. No explanation for this was given, leaving everyone besides those who knew about the assassination attempt extremely confused. This was Liu Zhu''s cover for leaving the Liu Clan, and hopefully the assassin would think Liu Zhu had panicked and decided to hide. The only people who knew the truth of the matter were Zhu Chao and Liu Zhu, and so their preparations were all done personally, and as secretively as possible.


    Before Liu Zhu''s departure he paid Dai He a visit, informing him of his departure and that he''d need to take care of things in Vermilion City for anywhere from six months to a year. Dai He was worried for Liu Zhu, but seemed fine with the responsibility, and told him he''d make sure everything was taken care of while Liu Zhu was away. With that matter taken care of Liu Zhu was relieved, and left with very little to do while Zhu Chao got everything ready.


    After a few days of secretive preparation all the needed supplies were ready, including rough maps of the area and a safe route. Once Zhu Chao told Liu Zhu everything was ready he said goodbye, as he didn''t plan to see Liu Zhu off. Liu Zhu stayed up all night after the preparations were made, leaving the estate around 3 AM and retrieving a horse that had been newly purchased and hidden a ways away. Along with the horse was a satchel full of supplies, which Liu Zhu hurriedly checked before mounting his horse and riding away into the darkness.

 Chapter 27: Arriving in Border City

    After leaving Vermilion City, Liu Zhu started making his way north. Even by horseback it took two weeks to reach Border City from Vermilion City, so Liu Zhu was destined to spend quite a while on the road. For the first few days it could be considered calming, but after that the calmness quickly transitioned to boredom. At a couple points during his journey Liu Zhu ran into small groups of bandits, but since none of them were made up of cultivators, he just beat them up and left them on the side of the road. He would have brought them to the authorities, but given that he only ran into them in extremely rural areas, it would''ve been far more trouble than it was worth. The fact that there were this few bandits was already an admirable accomplishment on the government''s part. It was hard to keep a place as large as Yutian Country completely safe, especially when it had so many rural areas.


    Liu Zhu''s time on the road passed quickly, and besides a bit of idle tourism he just spent his time riding his horse and cultivating. As he went further north the roads grew better maintained, and the land a bit more steep and rocky. In the distance Liu Zhu could see the Junao Mountains, the natural barrier which separated the Northern Wastes from Yutian Country proper. This indicated that he was close to his destination, and a few days after seeing them he caught sight of Border City, the entrance to the Northern Wastes.


    Border City was situated in the only large, navigable mountain pass between the Northern Wastes and the rest of Yutian Country. The rest of the paths between the two were small and extremely hard to reach, so almost all the trade going between the two regions had to pass through Border City. That''s why while the capital may have been, in most regards, the best developed city in the country, it couldn''t compare to Border City in terms of volume of trade. In fact, some rare plants and animal byproducts only found within the Northern Wastes never got out of Border City, their supply completely bought up long before they reached the capital.


    As Liu Zhu drew closer to Border City, he was amazed. It was built like a fortress. A massive, menacing wall bridged the length of the pass, and the path up the mountain wound back and forth over and over, meaning that if anyone attacked they''d have to suffer through endless rounds of fire from archers. At the moment the path was simply full of merchants and travelers, but the intent of its design was clear. Liu Zhu went up the path, blending in with everyone else, and once he reached the top he was greeted with another surprise. An extremely deep, artificially made moat was dug through the rock in front of the city, bridged by a single metal drawbridge. Guards were swarming across the drawbridge and the gate to the city, checking goods and waving travelers in.


    When Liu Zhu approached the city he was stopped for a moment, as a guard looked over what he was carrying. The check was over in under a minute, and he was let in without any trouble after paying a small amount as an entry fee. Upon entering the city the oppressive atmosphere immediately transformed, as he was greeted by bustling, cramped streets. Merchants hawking their wares wandered to and fro, and a dense set of stalls impeded his way further into the city. Liu Zhu squeezed his way past them, looking around, and saw that the city looked nothing like Vermilion City or Blue Ridge City. The buildings were cramped together due to the limited space the mountain pass provided, and they looked like they were made out of whatever was on hand at the time. The mish-mash of materials extended to the road, as some areas had well-paved roads made of stone, while other roads right next to them were only made of dirt. It was a disorganized, messy place, but it was full of life.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    The most pressing things to do after entering the city were to find somewhere to stay and figure out what to do from here on, so Liu Zhu killed two birds with one stone and stopped at a massive tavern called ''Stick Of Incense'' located near the edge of Border City. Upon entering Liu Zhu froze, surprised once again. A massive amount of cultivators were wandering about the seemingly normal looking tavern. Most of them had a low level of cultivation, but the sheer quantity of them was amazing. Whether or not the Northern Wastes lived up to their reputation as a land of opportunity for itinerant cultivators, that reputation was clearly successful in drawing more of them here.


    On the inn''s wall was a giant map of the Northern Wastes, but it was incredibly vague. Plastered over it were a few ads advertising where to buy a better one. Next to it was a wooden notice board, filled with ads and job postings. The job postings were all things like going out to hunt vicious beasts, escorting caravans, or protecting cartographers trying to map out certain areas - there was definitely no lack of work for cultivators in the area.


    Liu Zhu looked at the job postings, but nothing in particular caught his eye. The work was relatively generic, and while he wouldn''t turn it down if he couldn''t find anything else, he wasn''t sure if he''d gain much from doing it. He was here to gain experience after all, not earn money. After examining the job postings Liu Zhu bought a meal and spoke to the bartender, trying to figure out if there was any interesting gossip. The bartender shrugged. "People die or get eaten, caravans get lost, but it''s not unusual." "Well, fair enough. Is there anywhere decent to look for work?" The bartender walked away as he responded, too busy to hold a conversation for more than a few sentences. "There''s a board over there with job postings, or you can swing by the place on 3rd Street."


    Liu Zhu asked a few of the other cultivators about "the place on 3rd Street" before he left, and discovered that it was some sort of job agency for wandering cultivators. They were paid by employers to evaluate job postings and find suitable cultivators to take care of them in a reasonable amount of time. In exchange for their effort they got a small portion of the payment. Despite the slightly reduced income, almost no one was greedy enough to just ignore them and look for work on their own. The agency helped employers find work easily, but it was also a great help to cultivators. They gave freedom to the cultivator to choose what work to do, and as long as you finished what you were hired for, you were allowed to take breaks as long as you liked. Most importantly, they vetted employers as well as cultivators. If they refused to pay someone or did something similarly bad, they ended up blacklisted. This made cultivators less fearful in taking jobs from unknown groups, and it was the main reason they were so popular among the cultivators throughout the city.


    Now that he had a decent idea of where to go next, Liu Zhu headed towards the center of the city in a bid to find worthwhile work.

 Chapter 28: Building Rapport

    The center of Border City was paved completely in stone and extremely well-organized, which stood in stark contrast to the chaotic outer edges. A couple streets away from the city center was a wide, two-floor building made of reddish bricks. A sign on the front read "NW Job Agency", and cultivators of all sorts steadily flowed in and out of the building. Inside was a clean, well-decorated lobby where several receptionists at Blood and Viscera Tempering stood, helping cultivators find work. Liu Zhu was currently standing in the second line, looking at several pieces of paper the receptionist had handed him.


    Liu Zhu had been asked to state his name, age, cultivation, and battle strength to help find appropriate work. Liu Zhu came up with a fake name on the spot, Zuo Shi, and to draw less attention to himself he lied and said he was 15. The rest of the information given was accurate. The receptionist didn''t question him further, simply jotting down the information and briefing him on several jobs they thought were appropriate. So far Liu Zhu had turned down a job helping take down a pack of mutated wolves where he''d be the second strongest cultivator, and a job helping gather medicinal ingredients for an apprentice apothecary in some dangerous forest the better part of a week away. The latter job interested him a bit since it was a chance to learn about plants unique to the Northern Wastes, but in the end he decided against it, forcing the receptionist to continue pitching jobs to him.


    Luckily, the next job hit the mark. Apparently a village four days march away was seeking any and all assistance regarding an incoming beast horde. Pay was proportional to cultivation and how much one contributed during the beast horde. When Liu Zhu heard about this job he quickly accepted. This was an opportunity to fight in a massive group combat situation somewhat similar to a war, and he''d even be able to see cultivators above his level fight en masse. What else could he ask for?


    Liu Zhu was told to leave go to the Western Gate shortly after dawn the next morning in order to meet up with a group of cultivators leaving for the same job. Besides that he was given a few other minor bits of information, but nothing much. After leaving Liu Zhu went to shop for a bit, aiming to purchase some books over the Northern Wastes'' flora and fauna before he left Border City. Besides Liu Zhu''s waxing interest in plants and animals and the long period of time he''d be spending in the Northern Wastes, there was another reason he made this purchase immediately. The settlements throughout most of the Northern Wastes wasn''t as large as Border City, so logically he''d find the most complete information here.


    Shopping for books and a few maps more specific than the ones Zhu Chao gave him took up a good portion of the afternoon, and so it almost evening by the time Liu Zhu was done. Since he wasn''t interested in the city''s nightlife, he found a room at a decent-looking inn, got some food, and then read for the rest of the night. The books he bought weren''t going to read themselves, and he had nothing better to do.


    The next morning Liu Zhu woke up extremely early and got a quick meal before heading to the West Gate. In front of the gate were quite a few groups of people, many of them merchant caravans preparing to set out. Among these groups of people was a large group around 40 or 50 people in size, made up of only cultivators. Liu Zhu joined them after checking that they were the correct group, and was told they''d be leaving in half an hour. Liu Zhu was planning on striking up a conversation with one of the other cultivators in the meantime, but no one seemed particularly talkative. He figured that it was early in the morning and everyone was busy with their own arrangements and decided that he''d try again after they set out.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Unfortunately, Liu Zhu''s efforts were blocked at every turn. The rest of the cultivators were at the very least 18, and many of them were far older than that. Besides that, quite a few were either lone wolves, or veterans of the Northern Wastes who already had friends who they were speaking to. As a result, it was difficult for him to speak to anyone. Just when he was ready to give up, a lanky cultivator at Late Blood and Viscera Tempering approached him, introducing himself as Feng Jun. He was in his early 20s and stood out from most of the group, as he didn''t have any battle scars yet.


    Feng Jun was amiable enough, and after learning that Liu Zhu was new to the area was happy to just speak on while Liu Zhu listened. "I''ve been here nearly 10 years now, so I recognize most of the veterans in the group. Over there is ''Rockhead'', he''s a stubborn son of a bitch, but he can put a lot of force behind his hammer. Besides that there''s..." Feng Jun introduced some of the members of the group he recognized, focusing on the ones who had already reached Meridian Opening. There was also a hunchbacked old woman at Qi Refinement travelling with them, but all Feng Jun had to say about about her was to leave her alone no matter what.


    According to Feng Jun most of the group kept to themselves, but a few of them loosened up once they had a couple of drinks at night, so Liu Zhu would have better luck then. The two continued to make small talk on and off for a couple of hours, but eventually Feng Jun wandered off and spoke to someone else he had business with. Liu Zhu turned his focus to seeing if he could recognize any of the plants they passed by from his reading the night before after that, although he occasionally threw glances over to Feng Jun. Interestingly enough, he always seemed to be talking to someone, and occasionally multiple people. This led Liu Zhu to idly wonder if a cultivator could get a sore throat from talking too much, but he figured that was a question only Feng Jun would know the answer to.


    When night was about to fall the cultivators stopped, and a few of the cultivators at Meridian Opening assigned duties. Liu Zhu was sent to gather wood, and so he dutifully did so. After returning he saw that the camp was set up and a pot of some sort of soup was cooking. Thinking back to his previous conversation Liu Zhu approached someone with a relatively low cultivation and bought a bottle of alcohol off of them at twice the normal price, planning to give it to a Late Meridian Opening cultivator Feng Jun mentioned liked the brand to break the ice.


    Once everyone had begun eating Liu Zhu approached the man, alcohol in hand, in an attempt to make conversation. Since the man had just run out of booze Liu Zhu''s gift ended up being like charcoal in winter, and the 40-something cultivator immediately acted buddy-buddy with him.


    The two sat next to each other, part of a large circle of cultivators sitting around a fire and eating. The man hurriedly scooped spoons of soup into his mouth as he spoke, occasionally stopping to take a swig of wine. "Mm, so how old you say you were?" "15." "Damn, that''s pretty young for Bone and Marrow Tempering. I think you''d be better off doing something other than busy work here, but fuck, what do I know. We''re all just trying to make some cash, eh?" Liu Zhu nodded and as the two carried on their conversation a couple of other cultivators joined, giving Liu Zhu a chance to acquaint himself with them. He wasn''t a part of their group yet, but as he grew to know people things would only grow easier. He needed to thank Feng Jun for his earlier info when he had the chance, as without it a teenager like him would''ve had no chance breaking the ice with a bunch like this.

 Chapter 29: Wolfden Village

    "Pass the flint." "Got it." "And some more dry leaves, I don''t think this is enough." "Mmm." Three days had passed since Liu Zhu left border city, and he had blended into the group better than he expected. Although he didn''t mind the manual labor, one of the cultivators he''d become acquainted with had been kind enough to assign him with firestarting duty instead of gathering wood or helping set up camp, saving him some time. This wasn''t a big change, but it showed that he was appreciated more than most of the lone wolves or other newbies. Liu Zhu was happy that he''d managed to make this much progress in making connections on the way to the beast horde, although it was doubtful he would''ve managed to break the ice without Feng Jun''s help, and he ended up making better friends with him than anyone else in the group.


    The group of cultivators reached the outskirts of the village the next morning. The amount of farmland was small given the size of the village, as the villages in the Northern Wastes were more reliant on hunting and gathering than agriculture. The farms that were there had carts loaded up with luggage sat in their fields, as the farmers were ready to retreat into the village at any time. They''d suffer greatly if their fields and homes were ruined during the beast horde, but it was better than making a last stand on their land and dying because of it. Past the farms, at the edge of the village proper, was a massive pile of logs. These logs were partway through being made into a makeshift wall. As the group of cultivators walked towards it hundreds of workers, some cultivators, some citizens of the village, moved about, hurriedly trying to move the logs into place.


    When the group of cultivators were around 100 meters away from the wall, they were stopped in their tracks by a representative of the village. Liu Zhu could tell he was a cultivator, but their cultivation was too high for Liu Zhu to sense. The village''s representative was a tall, burly man with a farmer''s tan and a tattoo peeking out from under his shirt. If it weren''t for the tattoo and his clothing, which was distinctive to the Northern Wastes, he wouldn''t seem out of place on any farm throughout Yutian Country.


    "Welcome to Wolfden Village, and we appreciate your help. On that note, we''ll also be keeping an eye on you. Everything is tense given the looming thread of a beast horde, and we won''t be tolerating any misbehavior given the circumstances. We have cultivators of our own, so minimizing unrest is worth losing a bit of strength." This disclaimer was more or less expected, and while a couple of people with ill intentions seemed put off by it, the vast majority of the cultivators weren''t bothered. "You''re free do what you wish, as long as you cooperate with us in defending Wolfden Village against the upcoming beast horde. At the lower level how you organize yourselves is up to you, but the village chief would like to meet with anyone at Qi Refinement or higher to speak. Meals and housing will need to be paid out of pocket, but we''ve managed to convince quite a few business and home owners to temporarily open inns, so there shouldn''t be a problem finding a place to stay." There was muttering about the village being run by misers after hearing they''d have to pay for their room and board, but everyone quieted down quickly, knowing they''d get paid far more than what they spent here.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    After a few more minor details were covered the man from the village was done speaking, and the cultivators were allowed to pass. As they entered the old woman at Qi Refinement detached from the group, presumably to speak to the village chief. The group didn''t draw much attention as they entered the village, as many like them had been swarming into the village throughout the previous week.


    Everyone separated after entering the village, although quite a few stopped after noticing a few hastily erected notice boards near the village''s entrance. This group included Liu Zhu and Feng Jun, who were standing next to each other. At the edges of the notice board were ads for many of the temporary inns that had been erected or other services the cultivators might want to use while they were in Wolfden Village, but covering around 80% of the board was a massive notice. It was essentially a guidelinee for how many men someone should be leading depending on their level of cultivation. No one was going to force anyone to follow it, and a large portion of the cultivators who were strong enough to lead others fought on their own since it was easier, but the numbers provided were a good rule of thumb to go by.


    Liu Zhu smiled after looking at the notice, pleasantly surprised. Going solely by cultivation, he was supposed to be commanding a squad of around five men. If he went by his battle strength it could be a bit higher, but recruiting five people would already be difficult given his age, so he didn''t need to compound those problems by trying to recruit ten. As Liu Zhu was thinking about how to go about recruiting some Strength Rendering or Flesh Tempering cultivators to work under him, Feng Jun interrupted his train of thought. "Something pretty similar to this was posted at the only other beast horde I''ve fought in. Wonder if these were circulated between the tribes at some point."


    After hearing Feng Jun speak, Liu Zhu had an idea. Feng Jun was at Late Blood and Viscera Tempering and seemed like the type to voluntarily lead rather than fight alone, so he''d probably be leading a few squads. Liu Zhu thought that if he joined him, it might help in his efforts to recruit a squad. People who joined organizational chains like these were looking for stability after all, so knowing that they wouldn''t be part of a small, detached group would be a great boon to them.


    Liu Zhu asked Feng Jun if he needed anyone to fight under him during the battle, and after some hesitation Feng Jun nodded. "I have a few friends who I was going to make my squad leaders, but most of them will be fine on their own. I don''t mind turning one away given the situation." As Liu Zhu''s mood soared, happy that the first part of his plan had succeeded, Feng Jun brought him back to earth again. "Still, that''s only if you can actually recruit a squad. I honestly don''t mind helping you out, but I can only provide you with one or two men at most. You better get at least a few on your own, alright?" Liu Zhu said that he understood and took his leave, determined to convince a few people to join him. If he failed he''d just be fighting beasts on his own, but if he succeeded then it''d be like having his first taste of war, even if it was against vicious beasts instead of Hiqui Sect.


    Liu Zhu had only really spoken with people with a higher level of cultivation than him on the journey there, so he was prepared to visit the taverns and start scouting. He didn''t believe that with almost a thousand cultivators in the village, he wouldn''t be able to recruit at least a few.

 Chapter 30: Forming a Squad

    The first thing Liu Zhu did after entering Wolfden Village was hurry to find a room. Despite the effort the village had put forth to provide room and board for the temporary flood of cultivators and various relief staff such as medics, there weren''t many places left to stay. As a result it took him nearly an hour to rent a room in a small, brick house. Fortunately, after renting a room Liu Zhu didn''t have anything else pressing to attend to, so he could put his full effort into attempting to form a squad for the upcoming beast horde


    Liu Zhu''s first stop was the largest gathering place in the village, a massive longhouse. It was built to host major social events, but it was currently serving as a dual tavern and cafeteria for the cultivators staying in Wolfden Village. The building was extremely loud, and the smell of cheap alcohol and warm food drifted through the air. Cultivators sat at long tables crammed together, talking and eating.


    Liu Zhu decided to target anyone at Late Strength Rendering or higher. He couldn''t be too picky since he might have trouble getting anyone at all, but if he went below that then whoever he recruited might be a burden instead of a help. His first few attempts were clumsy and mostly ignored by the people talking to him, but after the initial failures Liu Zhu became more determined and made his presence known over the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. In response his rejections turned from simply ignoring him to outright telling him that they weren''t interested. Of the people he asked six already claimed to be in groups, three said they weren''t following some "snot-nosed brat" or some other similar phrase to battle, and the last couple said they were fighting alone.


    After suffering around a dozen failures, Liu Zhu left the building and went towards a smaller tavern a few streets away. The customers inside were mostly cultivators, and so he tried his hand at finding squad members there. Unfortunately the first person he approached quickly declined and shooed him away, wanting to be left alone. As he moved onto the next person to ask if they wanted to fight under him in the beast horde he simply received a stern glare, which served as enough of a rejection in his book.


    Dejected, Liu Zhu sat down and bought a meal. He considered heading back to the cafeteria to eat, but considering how crowded it was he''d much rather eat in a smaller tavern. It''s not like the difference in price mattered to him anyways. As he waited for his food he heard footsteps behind him, and turned around to see a wrinkled old man at Late Flesh Tempering and a boy a couple years older than him at Middle Strength Rendering.


    The old man sat down next to Liu Zhu as he introduced himself. "My name is Yin Yuhan. I heard you were recruiting for the upcoming beast horde?" A smile involuntarily came over Liu Zhu''s face at the prospect of actually managing to recruit someone, and he nodded. "Yes, I''m currently forming a squad under someone at Late Blood and Viscera Tempering and was looking for members. You''re interested?" "Yes, I am. Of course, you''d have to recruit both of us." As Yin Yuhan said this he glanced towards the boy at Middle Strength Rendering, who was staying silent. Liu Zhu replied quickly, making sure he got his response in before the old man changed his mind. "Sure! I look forward to working together!"Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    Since the boy, Yin Bai, was only a 15 year-old without any experience fighting, he''d had trouble joining a larger group. His situation was amusingly similar to Liu Zhu''s, and it allowed Liu Zhu to pull in his grandfather by agreeing to recruit him. At this point he was desperate enough for recruits that he''d mentally lowered his recruiting standards, and he would have even accepted Yin Bai if he''d asked to join him by himself. This first success boosted Liu Zhu''s confidence, and he told the two where he was staying before hurrying to find a third member before nightfall. In the worst case he''d be able to borrow one or two men from Feng Jun if he couldn''t reach five people himself, but he needed to recruit at least three people. If he couldn''t even do that, then he wasn''t carrying his own weight.


    As the day turned into the evening Liu Zhu went about his second round of attempted recruitment. He still received many, many rejections, but after several hours of attempts at recruiting a third squad member he succeeded. In the corner of a tiny bar, Liu Zhu spotted a man in his 40s drinking alone. Since he was at Early Flesh Tempering Liu Zhu approached him and tried to recruit him, and to his surprise he succeeded. Immediately after saying he''d join his squad the man began complaining about having to work under a kid. Liu Zhu was more than a bit annoyed by this, and had a hunch about why the man couldn''t find any other groups to join, but held his annoyance in. As long as they followed his orders during the beast horde and could fight, it''d be fine. This wasn''t the army, so he wouldn''t pay too much attention to some idle complaining before then.


    Despite looking for the rest of the night Liu Zhu couldn''t find a fourth member, and in the end he figured he''d done all that he could. He could continue asking around the next day, but the chances of recruiting another person would probably be even slimmer than when he started. The best he could do was keep an eye on the new arrivals, try to recruit someone from them, and then speak to Feng Jun if it didn''t work out.


    As expected, Liu Zhu''s attempt to snatch a fourth or maybe even fifth squad member from the next day''s arrivals failed. As a result he reluctantly gave up and decided to meet with Feng Jun and ask if he could fill in the gaps. He''d done his best, and hopefully that would be enough.


    Liu Zhu met Feng Jun in the cafeteria, where he was happily speaking to a few cultivators. As Liu Zhu walked in Feng Jun spotted him, gesturing for him to come over. Liu Zhu sat down, and before he could say anything Feng Jun spoke. "So, you got three men?" Shocked, Liu Zhu stared at Feng Jun like he''d seen a ghost. "You weren''t exactly low-key trying to recruit people, I heard about it. Anyways, you did your best and I should be able to convince a couple of my friends to work with you. They might not be available much before the beast horde starts, but you gotta take what you can get, eh?"


    As Feng Jun finished speaking he reached out to shake hands with Liu Zhu. "I look forward to working together." Liu Zhu shook his hand and smiled as he replied. "Same to you chief! Er, Sergeant? What exactly..." What followed was an awkwardly drawn out discussion of military rankings, followed by an agreement to just call Feng Jun ''leader'' during the battle.

 Chapter 31: Teambuilding

    Liu Zhu and Feng Jun made small talk for a bit before parting ways. Liu Zhu returned to his lodgings and read for a bit, while Feng Jun went to fill up the two vacancies left in Liu Zhu''s squad. Liu Zhu would much rather spend his time familiarizing himself with the surrounding area or getting used to commanding people than reading, but decided that it was best to wait until Feng Jun introduced him to the other members before doing so. It''d be awkward to work with three people now and then have to take a step backwards and get two new people caught up afterwards. It was more efficient just to start when all of them were available


    Feng Jun visited Liu Zhu later that day to inform him that the two new members would be coming over the next morning, and so Liu Zhu decided he''d start working with his squad the next afternoon. He wasn''t familiar with the area, and he doubted most of his squad was, so the first order of business would be to survey the area so that they wouldn''t be at a disadvantage come the day of the beast horde. In all likelihood they wouldn''t stray very far from the village''s makeshift walls while fighting, but it was much better to know something useless than to die because he got lost in the nearby forest during a beast horde.


    Liu Zhu purchased a map of the area from a farmer and spent around an hour studying it before going to sleep. The map was originally a proposal for an irrigation system and wasn''t targeted towards what Liu Zhu needed to know, but it wasn''t useless. It showed sources of water, a few nearby landmarks, and the height of the area. There was no replacement for looking around firsthand, but hopefully this information would be able to give Liu Zhu a rough grasp of the area if he needed it. The next morning he woke up slightly after dawn and read for a couple of hours about the plants in the Northern Wastes before being interrupted by a knock on his door. He excitedly opened it, revealing two men who appeared to be in their late teens or early 20s. Both of them were at Early Flesh Tempering.


    The two were the men Feng Jun had recruited for Liu Zhu''s squad, and they more than lived up to his expectations. They politely exchanged greetings and after a short chat Liu Zhu got to the point. "I was planning to take the squad to look around the nearby forest this afternoon. We''ll figure out the lay of the land and hopefully meld a bit better after we''re done. Are the two of you free?" There was a short pause before one of them awkwardly shook their head. "Sorry, I have a prior engagement. I won''t be available for most of the week." Before Liu Zhu could say anything the other person responded to say that they were free. Liu Zhu told him where to meet and made sure the other man knew it was alright if he was busy. Liu Zhu may have been in charge, but this wasn''t the military. On top of that, the two of them were already doing him a favor just by working under him. He understood that they probably had a better opportunity lined up, and he didn''t want to make them feel obligated to spend all their time preparing for the beast horde if they had better things to do.


    After speaking to the two new squad members Liu Zhu visited Yin Bai and Yin Yuhan. He informed them of his plans, and they said they''d be fine with anything he wanted to do before the beast horde. Neither of them had acquaintances nor other matters to take care of in Wolfden Village, so they were free for the entire week. This was in stark contrast to the other man Liu Zhu had recruited, who complained repeatedly about having to go out into the middle of the woods despite saying he was willing to go. Liu Zhu simply sighed and ignored his grumbling, silently leaving. Liu Zhu figured that he was the kind of person who complained about things out loud to get rid of stress. He''d rather not have to deal with the man, but he couldn''t be picky.


    The five met just outside the village''s steadily growing wall that afternoon. All of them arrived on time, and Liu Zhu began surveying the wilderness with them while making idle chat and trying to get to know them. As they explored they referenced the map Liu Zhu had purchased, scribbling landmarks and notes down on a second piece of paper meant for cartography when needed. Occasionally they''d run into vicious beasts wandering about, but even the strongest of them were only at Early Flesh Tempering. These vicious beasts lived nearby and had arrived long ahead of the beast horde, but they probably wouldn''t become a major problem for a few days since their strength was generally low.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Over the next several hours Liu Zhu got to know the members of his squad fairly well. Yin Bai was a hot-blooded young lad like himself, and he was in the Northern Wastes with his grandfather to earn funds for his cultivation. Most of his grandfather''s thoughts were focused on his grandson, but he also mentioned a love for board games such as chess and backgammon. Despite the squad''s subtle requests for Yin Yuhan to stop, he ended up giving them a half hour long lecture on chess tactics and the profoundness of "The E2 Opening". Liu Zhu was also experienced in these games due to his upbringing, but didn''t dare to challenge him to a match given that he had over 60 years of experience. A privileged upbringing could bring about a lot of advantages, but it couldn''t give him decades worth of chess skills. The man Feng Jun had sent to join Liu Zhu''s squad was an avid hunter, and mostly kept to himself.


    As Liu Zhu learned about his squad members, he also learned about the man he''d recruited at the bar. He didn''t seem reliable, and directed several complaints towards Liu Zhu. Most of them were towards his age, which Liu Zhu had no power over. Luckily he seemed to read the mood, and after the rest of the squad started throwing him glares he wisened up. Besides that he wasn''t that bad to deal with, and he started to fit into the squad as the day continued. Just as Liu Zhu began to notice this change, he also noticed something else: a gradual increase in the ''wildlife''. The rate at which vicious beasts showed up had began increasing, and the strongest of them had grown from Early Flesh Tempering to Late Flesh Tempering. Liu Zhu could escape as long as the beast''s weren''t as powerful as a Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator, but after considering the safety of the rest of the group decided to turn back.


    Liu Zhu''s order to turn back relieved the group, as they''d grown a bit worried about the increased vicious beast presence. Liu Zhu claimed his strength was at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering, but most of him believed he was exaggerating and were ready to turn back if anything strong than a Flesh Tempering cultivator showed up. Just as the group was turning around, Liu Zhu had a bad feeling. He paused and looked around, catching the attention of the rest of the group, before noticing a shadowy figure in a nearby bush. After noticing the first his vigilance was piqued, causing him to notice several others.


    Liu Zhu quickly noticed what was happening and yelled out. "There''s a pack! Group up by me, we''ll fight them off and then get back to the village!" He could''ve ordered an immediate retreat, but if several of the beasts were stronger than Flesh Tempering it''d be difficult for him to hold them all back himself. In that case Liu Zhu would probably be safe, but the beasts would pick off one of his retreating squad members before he could do anything. The safest option was for him to stay with the rest of his squad, where he could leverage his superior strength and protect them.


    As the beasts suddenly appeared from the shadows most of the group formed up around Liu Zhu. He quickly examined the situation, trying to grasp where everyone was and how strong the beasts were. While he was doing this, he heard an obnoxious yell from behind him. "Thanks for covering my retreat! I''m not going to risk my skin for some snot-nosed brat like you!" Liu Zhu grit his teeth upon hearing this, but couldn''t do much else. He hated traitors and cowards who ran without even trying to fight, but it was more important to focus on surviving. Still, despite his outward inaction, many thoughts did pass through his mind. These mainly consisted of things such as "Fuck!" and "I''m going to punch that bastard later."


    As the coward ran away, the rest of Liu Zhu''s squad began their fight of four against many.

 Chapter 32: The Beast Horde Appears

    Five wolflike creatures charged out at the group from the bushes. The vicious beast leading the group was twice as large as the rest of the group, and its strength was around Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering. Liu Zhu would be able to defeat it without much trouble, but it would take more than a few blows. A few seconds after the beasts left the bushes they reached the four and engaged in combat. Liu Zhu pushed their leader back with a heavy swing from his guandao. Two of the other four were forced back with the leader, and the other two clashed with the three squad members. In the meantime the rest of the group would have to do their best to hold out.


    The beasts were slightly weaker than an Early Flesh Tempering cultivator, so the three were able to keep them at bay without too much trouble. It''d be harder to defeat them, but since they just had to avoid getting injured and wait until Liu Zhu could help them, it wasn''t too difficult. As Liu Zhu and the pack''s leader fought more of the beasts appeared, trying to take him down. Despite their enthusiasm, they were simply killed as collateral damage in the fight between both forces'' leaders. With their low intelligence and Liu Zhu''s overwhelming strength, they could be seriously injured in a single strike. Beast after beast went down protecting their leader, while it occasionally got blows in against Liu Zhu. Said blows only bruised him, not affecting his battle strength in the slightest. Eventually the beast realized this, causing it to turn tail and flee. That decision sealed its fate, and as it ran away Liu Zhu aimed a parting blow at its back. Its retreat had caused the beasts following it to fall back, and without any beasts to help guard against the attack it cut all the way through it. Blood splattered everywhere as the wolflike-beast collapsed, its back split in two. Now that their leader was dead the attackers whined and sped up their retreat, the instinctive fear of a predator kicking in.


    Liu Zhu promptly killed the stragglers, but didn''t pursue the rest of the pack. If the beasts were much stronger it would''ve been seriously dangerous, so it was a fools'' errand to head deeper into the forest to follow after the escapees. Liu Zhu turned to the other three, who were splattered with blood but uninjured. "We''re leaving. Follow me." They simply nodded their head and followed after him, but as they left a hairy hand came out from a nearby tree, holding a rock. Liu Zhu''s eyes narrowed upon seeing this, and he pushed Yin Bai out of the way as a rock was sent flying at his skull. It missed, slamming into Liu Zhu''s arm instead.


    The squad members paused, confused, as the hand withdrew itself and the leaves of the tree began rustling. Not wanting to let whatever creature was there get away and possibly alert more, Liu Zhu threw his guandao into the tree''s canopy. A spray of blood covered the leaves as the guandao flew through the leaves and impaled itself into another tree, carrying some sort of monkey along with it. Liu Zhu retrieved his guandao, letting the animal drop to the ground, but as he did so noticed that several of the nearby trees were also showing signs of movement. He immediately jumped back, avoiding several rocks aimed at his head.


    As Liu Zhu dodged he noticed two flashes of brown in the nearby trees, allowing him to narrowly avoid a second set of projectiles. As he did so the monkeys jumped down from the surrounding trees, viciously charging towards him. There were around a dozen of them, and based on their speed and strength several of them were as strong as a Bone and Marrow Tempering Cultivator. Liu Zhu sighed and yelled towards the others. "Head back to the village! I''ll cover your retreat, but I''m not confident in keeping you safe if you stay here." The three hesitated for a moment before the man recommended by Feng Jun left, followed shortly after by Yin Bai and Yin Yuhan.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Truth to be told telling them to leave by themselves was also risky, as there was a decent chance they would be attacked by yet another group of vicious beasts. Still, it was probably safer than having them assist with the monkeys. If Liu Zhu had to protect them he couldn''t go all out, and this seemed like a situation where he couldn''t afford to let his focus wander. As he saw the three leave he threw himself into an all-out fight with the pack of monkeys, using 2 and 3 Desires wherever it could cause a fatal blow. He needed to keep the monkeys'' attention on him so that they couldn''t go after the others, and to do that he had to be a threat. There was no room to conserve his strength.


    Within a couple of minutes all of the monkeys were wiped out, their corpses scattered throughout the surrounding trees. After killing them Liu Zhu ran out of the forest as quickly as he could, wary and slightly tired. He kept an eye out for his squad, but never caught sight of them. Luckily they met him shortly after he exited the forest, only having encountered a few weak beasts after parting with him. The training was called off for the day, and Liu Zhu returned home.


    After that incident their next exercises were kept within 100 meters of village walls, and were mainly focused on hand signals and other useful subjects. Liu Zhu couldn''t go over much since he had less than a week and had to spend part of that with Feng Jun and his other squad leaders, but the exercises were still useful. The few people Liu Zhu had in his squad caught on quickly and were pretty amiable, so he was more than satisfied with them. As for the man who ran, he''d spent a few hours looking for him, but as far as he could tell the man had disappeared. It seemed that while he was a coward he wasn''t an idiot and had decided to lay low for a while. Upon realizing this Liu Zhu was at a loss, and decided to just leave the matter up to fate. If he ever ran into him again then he''d get his revenge, but if they never met then that was fine too. It''d be petty to think about it more than that.


    As the beast horde began to approach, the village filled up but quieted down. Along with the new cultivators arriving, the last of the farmers had retreated into the village. Their mood was downcast, and this caused the discussion among many of the less experienced cultivators to die down, Liu Zhu included. Only veterans like Feng Jun stayed unfazed in the face a massive battle like this. It wasn''t like they had a huge stake in the outcome, so why be glum over it? If they lost, then they might not get paid, but that was the worst of it. Unlike the villagers, neither their family nor their property was at risk.


    Eight days after Liu Zhu''s arrival in the village, the sound of a horn filled the air. After a moment this was joined by another one, and eventually five were sounding out at once. This indicated that the beast horde had been sighted, and was the signal for all of those fighting to get onto the now-finished palisade surrounding Wolfden Village. It was time to fight.

 Chapter 33: The First Wave

    As the sound of horns spread throughout the village, Liu Zhu woke up from his uneasy sleep and stumbled out of bed. He hurriedly got dressed and grabbed his weapon, preparing for battle. As he did so he listened for another set of horns, but after the first set of horns ended the night returned to its relative silence. He let out a sigh of relief upon noticing this, and his preparations slowed ever so slightly. One set of horns indicated that a large wave of beasts had been spotted, two meant that the entire horde was arriving, and three meant that Wolfden Village was indefensible and called for an immediate retreat.


    Within a couple of minutes Liu Zhu had reached the Eastern Wall of the village, which Feng Jun had designated as the meeting place for his squads ahead of time. It was hard to find a specific person on the crowded wooden walls, but fortunately Liu Zhu was able to catch sight of Feng Jun and a couple of his squad members shortly after arriving. He met up with them and then sat down, waiting for everyone to arrive. As he did so he stared out into the distance, watching for vicious beasts. He wasn''t able to spot any, and overall the scene looked oddly calm given that there were supposed to be hundreds of vicious beasts charging towards them.


    As Liu Zhu stared out into the distance, trying to make out shapes through the inky darkness, Feng Jun spoke, breaking his concentration. "It''s a bit sudden, but someone I know arrived here yesterday. He needed to join a group and my other two squads are at 9 and 10 men, so I need you to add him to your squad. You lost a member anyways, right?" Liu Zhu quietly responded, running through how this would affect him in his head. The squad was working together much better than a week ago, but the balance was fragile and a new member could affect that. Still, he needed the numbers. Overall it should be a positive rather than a negative. Plus, he could view it as gaining a bit of Feng Jun''s recognition. If he hadn''t been viewed as competent over the last week, there''s no way this would''ve been asked of him. The new member would''ve been moved somewhere else, whether they already had 10 members or 20.


    Over the next five minutes Liu Zhu met up with his squad members, including the new one, and then gathered with Feng Jun''s other squads. Although not all of their hearts were calm, at this point they were ready for battle. They were simply waiting for the command from the village''s army. There were more than a few battle maniacs who would have ignored what the villagers said and charged out early to gain merits, but the strength of the scattered cultivators and the village were about equal. Since the cultivators were just scattered grains of sand, while the army assembled from the nearby villages were a monolith, maintaining order wasn''t a problem.


    20 minutes after the horns sounded out, the first beasts could be seen from the village wall. They were approaching from the east and north and numbered at least a thousand. This group was merely the first wave and their numbers would only grow from this point onwards. At first they''d come in waves, but later on they''d flow out from the nearby mountains and forests continuously, taking down everything in their path.


    As the beasts neared, coming into the sight of the less exceptional cultivators, a booming voice filled the walls. The source of it was a muscular, tattooed old man who was standing on top of a tower. Liu Zhu couldn''t see through his cultivation at all, and it was likely that he was at Dantian Creation or maybe even Acupoint Opening. "Comrades. Wolfden Village, Kinship Village, Tirhut Village, and several others among us have been thrown into crisis! This is a fight for survival, and if we fail, we''ll simply be wiped off the map before Border City or some other major force cleans up the mess. In the process, your friends and family will die. The lands of our ancestors will be trampled over, and their spirits will be unable to rest in peace. We cannot let this happen! Charge out with your life on the line and help forge a legend that our people will never forget!"


    The forces of the nearby villages loudly cheered after this announcement, and a few of the cultivators who came cheered along with them, caught up in the mood. As this was happening the familiar sound of a horn could be heard, and orders to charge were given by numerous commanders throughout the wall. After a middle-aged man with a scar over his eye yelled to charge, Feng Jun gestured for everyone to move forward, and so Liu Zhu led his squad off of the wall. The three squads Feng Jun controlled began separating, taking positions around 100 meters from each other. The other two squads took the left and center, while Liu Zhu''s squad took the right area where the beasts were less crowded. For the time being Feng Jun would sweep from side to side, clearing out any beasts that might put the squads in danger. These arrangements had been discussed beforehand, and once everyone was in place they began to move forward, putting themselves on the frontlines.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    The mass of cultivators pushed forward until they had some space to move around, and then suddenly stopped. Many of them, especially those related to the villages, were eager to wipe out the beast horde. Still, pushing too far forward would spread themselves too thin and lead to them being caught up in it, trampled by the wave of vicious beasts. Time slowly moved forward as the sides grew closer, the dripping maws and sharp claws of the beasts coming into sight. Unlike normal animals they looked enraged, their eyes bloodshot and breath heavy. Liu Zhu was curious about what caused this, but didn''t have time to mull over this as the two sides began to clash.


    Liu Zhu led his squad forward, slashing out in all directions with his guandao and slaughtering vicious beasts left and right. The ones at the front weren''t his match, and morale was high as his five group members helped cover him. Most of them struck out in concert, their teamwork having improved over the past week, but the new member was mostly isolated. He hadn''t trained with the others so he couldn''t strike out in time with them, and the pressure on his side ended up being a bit heavier as a result. After noticing this, Liu Zhu focused on his side, trying to lower the amount of beasts he had to face so that he had time to get adjusted. Hopefully by the time the main beast horde arrived they''d be ready to attack and retreat as a group.


    As the fighting continued the beasts grew stronger, and the pressure on Liu Zhu''s squad grew. Whereas they were easily able to slaughter the beasts they encountered before, at this point it was taking several rounds of combat for them to clear out their opponents. Luckily Feng Jun and the other stronger cultivators were protecting them from the bulk of the dangerous enemies, and the first wave wasn''t terribly strong. Otherwise they''d be forced to fall back and pull the defensive line closer to the village walls.


    As the first battle drew to an end, the situation stabilized. The villages had levied many cultivators at Strength Rendering or Flesh Tempering to be archers, and their arrows began to rain down continuously, the archers arranged into several lines on the wall so that the barrage never stopped. They had very little training and couldn''t aim well, but it didn''t matter. The beasts were crowded together, and one arrow shot was one more injury. At the same time the front lines steadied, the tribesmen bracing their shields against the waves of beasts, holding them at bay. They steadied the formation while the hired cultivators slaughtered the beasts, reducing the pressure on them further.


    The first wave was completely wiped out within half an hour. Only scattered beasts came afterwards, and the stragglers were easily wiped out by a few squads patrolling the area. The rest of the cultivators cleaned up the battlefield, carrying the dead animals into the village. While the beast horde was dangerous, it also served as an opportunity. The vicious beasts were strong enough to threaten cultivators, which meant that the animals were made up of materials as valuable as the beasts were dangerous. Pelts that could make armor, tendons used in bows, and other such rarities were scattered across the battlefield. Rich cultivators like Liu Zhu wouldn''t pay much attention to it, but who was rich in the Northern Wastes? The vast majority of the cultivators there were working because they needed to, not because they wanted to. How else could they pay for resources to advance their cultivation? Even if they didn''t use pills, there were plenty of other things that needed to be paid for. Techniques, cultivation manuals, expensive training equipment, their increased food consumption, and so on and so forth. Raising a cultivatior wasn''t cheap, and it only became more expensive the higher their cultivation became.


    As the battlefield settled down, everyone let out a collective sigh of relief. The first wave was over with, and it had served as a valuable training opportunity. Everyone was prepared for the final battle and the forces of the nearby villages had a chance to gain experience. Still, as the confidence of the newbies was raised, a few people looked on with solemn expressions. A beast horde wasn''t that easy to deal with.

 Chapter 34: Becoming a Wall

    After the first group of beasts were wiped out, the battlefield returned to its previously calm state. Still, the first wave of beasts marked a transition to an atmosphere of wary anticipation, and throughout Wolfden Village the tension could nearly be cut with a knife. Immediately after the first attack the civilians were forcefully moved away from the wooden palisade surrounding the village, and many of the cultivator''s lodgings, Liu Zhu''s included, were moved closer. Now that danger was closing in on Wolfden Village, it was important to distance the civilians from the action. It would have been best to evacuate the majority of them entirely, but that course of action had been decided against long ago. Many of the locals didn''t want to abandon their ancestral grounds and their homes and had refused to leave before the idea of evacuating was even brought up. Even for the ones who wanted to leave, there was the question of how much manpower it would take to escort them to a nearby town that could be otherwise spent protecting the village. Besides these reasons, there was another, more selfish reason for them staying. As long as the villagers were in the city, the warriors local to Wolfden Village would fight like men possessed. Cultivators might be able to escape if things went south, but their mortal families couldn''t.


    Liu Zhu spent the hours after the battle helping his squad clean up the battlefield before returning to the makeshift barracks he''d been moved to. The place was rather cramped, with only a cot and a footlocker belonging to each person, but it ensured that the cultivators would be able to react quickly if beasts were sighted again. It also made it easier to keep an eye on them in case anyone tried to take advantage of the chaos to cause trouble in the village. The building was clearly not originally meant to be a barracks, and was probably some sort of storehouse before being hastily modified.


    Liu Zhu was going to spend the rest of the day reading since he had nothing better to do, but he ended up taking Feng Jun''s advice to get some sleep while he could. He didn''t know when there would be trouble, so it was best to conserve his energy. That advice ended up being helpful, as the next morning another wave of beasts attacked. Most of the cultivators were relatively well rested, and with the increased cohesion amongst the makeshift army that wave passed with very few casualties. Later in the day third and fourth waves appeared, each one slightly stronger than the last. As the cultivators responded to these crises they were continually pulled away from meals and sleep, forced to hold out on the frontlines. They had endurance beyond that of mortal men, but by the last wave of the day, the weariness on the weaker cultivators'' faces was visible. They could only hope that the beast horde would end soon.


    Much to the pleasure of the cultivators, there was a gap of around half a day between the fourth wave and the next appearance of the beasts. Unfortunately for them, this appearance was marked by two rounds of horns instead of one. The main horde had arrived. After the horns sounded Liu Zhu''s squad quickly grouped up and waited for orders, used to the procedure by this point. A few minutes after the horns sounded out, the front of the horde came into sight. Behind it was an endless stream of vicious beasts, slowly coming into view. The sound of hooves filled the air, and the ground rumbled slightly as the distance between the two forces began to close. Then the orders to charge were issued.


    Liu Zhu''s squad took the same position as before. Liu Zhu was calm as he spoke to them, but there was a lurking feeling of nervousness. They''d all gotten through the past 36 hours waves without injury, but that was true for the vast majority of the cultivators. Everyone was aware that this would be the true test of their competence.


    Despite their worries, they had no time to dwell on them. The two sides clashed, the cultivators from the village leading the way. They held up large wooden shields, putting all of their weight behind them in order to force back the beasts. Afterwards they''d slice out with their swords to finish off the concussed animals, although the hired cultivators often did so first. While they couldn''t hold the line as well as the more organized villages'' cultivators, their mobility and killing ability were far higher. As this battle at the front raged on, the archers rained down upon the horde, thinning them out. At this point they didn''t need to aim at all, and they just had to focus on the steady movements that had been ingrained into them over the past couple of days.


    Liu Zhu''s squad was small, but despite that he was able to keep the situation stable. This was mainly due to his stamina and defensive abilities. The former kept Liu Zhu''s strength at its peak at all times, while the latter allowed him to attack recklessly while staying safe. This easily carried him and his squad through the first hour, but at that point things became more difficult. The weakest beasts were dead, and many of the cultivators at the frontlines were already starting to tire after an hour of constant combat, no matter how easy it was. First Yin Bai began to slow, as he was the only Strength Rendering cultivator in the group, but within the next half an hour the signs of exhaustion spread throughout the group. The only problem was that unlike the earlier waves, this battle wouldn''t be ending any time soon.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    This battle situation continued for another hour, the troops at the front dragging out all of their strength to avoid dying. Despite everyone efforts, after several hours of fighting the casualties spiked. These casualties still weren''t enough to seriously endanger the village, but they were signs of what was to come. At this point the villages poured in a small amount of cultivators they''d held back to refresh the frontlines, but these scant reinforcements weren''t a substitute for rest. Liu Zhu looked at Feng Jun, uneasy, and after nearly three hours passed managed to find a chance to ask him when they''d be able to rest.


    Feng Jun fought as he spoke, not daring to slow down given the situation. "I''m not sure. Based at what the people higher up are saying the beasts will be too strong for people below your level in an hour. Maybe two. You''ll need to make sure your squad lasts until then." Liu Zhu couldn''t help but think that the orders were unreasonable and that they should fall back to the pallisade, but he had no say in the matter. Neither did Feng Jun, nor the person above him. The only ones with speaking rights were probably the village elders or cultivators who were at Qi Emission or Dantian Creation. All he could do was ride the storm out. Liu Zhu just muttered "I understand." as he rushed back to his squad.


    Liu Zhu had been observing his squad out of the corner of his eyes as he spoke, and with him gone for less than 20 seconds the situation was already deteriorating. It was clear that at this point he was stabilizing pillar of the situation. He''d managed to pull them through three grueling hours, so he just needed to pull them through one or two more. Liu Zhu plunged back into combat, slashing beasts into ribbons left and right with his spear, straining all his concentration to try to filter incoming threats. By doing this he was able to pull through the next hour, but there was no sign of a retreat being called for the ordinary members and the strength of the vicious beasts was still rising. This was the first point where he was legitimately worried.


    The squad members fell back to playing a support role as the beasts began to equal Flesh Tempering cultivators in strength, or occasionally even Early and Mid Bone and Marrow Tempering. The sweepers like Feng Jun at the front of the squads had to focus on stronger beasts at this point, so they had to start handling these in their half-exhausted states. Luckily Liu Zhu was still in peak condition, but he still had to use flashy moves like 2 Desires and 3 Desires to end some fights quickly so that his squad wouldn''t fall apart while he was fighting.


    Despite Liu Zhu''s best efforts, the defensive line around them began falling back. At this point, casualties spiked massively. Even the cultivators of Wolfden Village, who had seemed like they were made out of iron up until this point, started collapsing. Unfortunately, while the horde ahead of them was clearing out and turning into a narrow sea of highly-powerful beasts, it still wasn''t enough. There were mutterings of a retreat, but it wouldn''t be for another 10 or 20 minutes. Throughout this chaos Liu Zhu simply focused on the people near him, protecting them as best he could.


    During the last stages of this battle of endurance, Liu Zhu served as a wall. He stood in front of his small group of men, taking attacks from claws and beasts'' jaws casually. Most of them did no damage to him, but he still looked like a blood covered mess. As this was happening, he suddenly saw something and leaped back. As he did two beasts in front of him were killed, smashed in between two massive red claws. Liu Zhu unconsciously gulped as the beasts around him fell back, giving him some breathing room. Filling the empty space was a massive beast at least seven feet tall. It had two reddish-grey claws covered in blood, and was similar to a giant crab.


    Liu Zhu grimly chuckled as the crab-like monster approached him. "I... I thought this wasn''t near the ocean? Why are there crabs here?" Behind him he heard the faint voice of one of his squad members. "I think that''s supposed to be some sort of mutated Banchian. It''s a type of crustacean local to the lakes in the area, but it''s normally only a foot or two tall." "Oh... fun."


    Before Liu Zhu engaged with the Banchian, a sound louder than the yells of the cultivators and growls of the beasts filled the battlefield. "Everyone with a battle strength below Early Bone and Marrow Tempering retreat and defend from the walls! Those with a battle strength above that, form up and draw closer to the walls!" Liu Zhu smiled and made a thumbs-up upon hearing the order. "You all made it! Retreat, and I''ll deal with... this. Stay safe on the way back." The Banchian, having recovered from the shock of the extremely loud retreat order, stopped hesitating and attacked Liu Zhu again, forcing him into a head-on-head battle.

 Chapter 35: From Leader to Soldier

    A red pincer narrowly scraped by Liu Zhu''s face, a small gust of wind from the blow stirring up the dusty soil underneath him. Despite his best attempts to dodge the blow, an extrusion on the pincer scraped away at the skin on his cheek, drawing blood. In response to the blow Liu Zhu stabbed his guandao towards a joint on the creature he was fighting. Unfortunately it was oddly agile for its size, and moved slightly, trying to block the attack with its hard exterior. In response Liu Zhu slowed down slightly and put more force behind his blow, but even then it only left behind a crack on its shell. His fight against the mutated Banchian would be a long one.


    The force behind the creature''s blows was stronger than Liu Zhu''s and its speed wasn''t lacking either. As the pincers went towards him he could only barely dodge, and he was forced into positions unfavorable for attacking while doing so. This made it hard to counterattack, and he was forced on the backfoot. This continued on for around ten rounds. At this point he was in a hurry to finish the battle, because if it dragged on for too long then there was a decent chance that another beast nearly as powerful would show up and join in on the fight. He needed to finish this up and meet up with Feng Jun before he was flanked.


    Liu Zhu tried to think of something as the Banchian launched its next blow and suddenly had an idea. Instead of dodging he stayed in place, digging his heels into the ground. He gripped his guandao tightly and sent it flying towards the inside of the creature''s pincer. If he won out in this exchange he could disable the creature and create a spot to wound it further from, and if he didn''t he''d be severely injured. Even if it wasn''t a life or death gamble, it was a risky move- if he lost out here then he''d be forced to fall back to the village walls. His guandao flashed out in four directions as he used his trump card, 4 Desires.


    The pincer pushed Liu Zhu back as it advanced forward, nearly knocking him down. Luckily the force of four attacks was enough to bring its attack to a stop, and when Liu Zhu glanced at the pincer he saw that it was half-destroyed. Viscous, green blood covered the blade of his guandao, and the plates of chitin making up its exterior were shattered into pieces that were now scattered upon the ground. If it attacked with that pincer again, it would immediately lose it. Since his gamble worked Liu Zhu wasn''t going to waste the chance he made for himself, and he swiftly pushed forward. He was able to cut off the pincer he injured after a few more blows, and once that happened the pressure on him was greatly lessened. With the beast injured and looking for a chance to retreat, he found a chance to jump on top of it and try to stab its vitals through one of the joints. This took a few tries since he wasn''t sure where its vitals were, but in the end it went well.


    With the giant Banchian dispatched, Liu Zhu needed to group up with Feng Jun. As he looked around he saw Feng Jun with the two other squad leaders about 150 feet away, engaged in combat with a what appeared to be a six-legged tiger. It had a steely-grey fur, and a tail covered in bone spurs. Liu Zhu crossed the distance in an arc, aiming to land a blow from behind the vicious beast while the others distracted it. When he was 30 feet away he dashed towards it and the six-legged tiger immediately reacted, sending its tail towards his neck without looking. Its speed was above Liu Zhu''s, and he would have been sent flying backwards with a damaged throat if it weren''t for the others attacking the tiger at the last second. It was forced to fall back and abandon its attack against Liu Zhu to avoid being injured, and he met up with the group without injury.


    The four dispatched the tiger within 20 seconds, and then Feng Jun addressed everyone. "The three of you will be out here for an hour or two, so conserve your strength if possible. Stick close together, and don''t attack on your own." As Feng Jun said this, he threw a glance towards Liu Zhu. "You know the hand signals, so I don''t have to go over that. Let''s get to it, and... don''t die I suppose."


    After that there wasn''t much to say, so the four got to work. Most of the beasts they fought were as strong as a Bone and Marrow Tempering cultivator, and Feng Jun was able to make easy work of them while the three squad leaders kept them occupied. Occasionally they''d stumble upon something stronger, equal to something between Bone and Marrow Tempering and Blood and Viscera Tempering, or occasionally at Early Blood and Viscera Tempering. Since Feng Jun was at Late Blood and Viscera Tempering he still had little difficulty killing them, but the fights took longer. At the same time the three squad leaders were forced back, as they''d risk death or injury if they took a stray blow.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    The other squad leaders grew visibly tired after half an hour, and Liu Zhu realized that even he would start to be exhausted if this dragged on for a few more hours. Unlike before, he was frenziedly using all of his strength against each and every beast and was in a state of constant tension. Luckily the battlefield was far less crowded than before, and there were less than 10% of the beasts there were before. If he had to face a massive wave of beasts like before, he wasn''t sure how he''d handle them when they were this strong.


    After an hour had passed, the remaining beasts were even stronger than before. The weaker ones had been picked off, and the only ones left were as strong as Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivators. Feng Jun''s group was slowing down, and they took out at most a few beasts a minute. As they were continuing their sweep across the battlefield, Feng Jun suddenly stopped moving. Liu Zhu and the other two squad leaders stopped, confused. Feng Jun let out an annoyed grunt before he turned to them. "Follow me but keep back. The boss is fighting some massive snake and it seems to be a hard fight. If you can contribute do so, but if you can''t just stand around and watch the perimeter."


    Liu Zhu was wondering if Feng Jun was over exaggerating how dangerous the situation would be, but as the snake entered his field of vision he realized that he hadn''t been exaggerating at all. It was massive, at least 30 feet long, and covered in metallic looking purple scales. Comically large fangs protruded from its mouth, dripping poison, and it looked like it could swallow a man whole. Two cultivators at Meridian Opening were currently fighting it, rapidly alternating between who attacked and who defended.


    Liu Zhu felt like the snake was watching them as their group drew nearer, even though it seemed to have its hands full fighting. Still, it didn''t act against them. It stayed a standstill with the two Meridian Opening cultivators, occasionally threatening to crush one of them with its massive body before being forced back by the other. Once they were a couple hundred feet away Feng Jun gestured for them to stop and dashed forward. "Only help if you can." He approached the battle after saying this, beginning to harass the snake from behind.


    The scales were tipped in the cultivators'' favor after Feng Jun was added to the fight, and within a few minutes two more Late Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivators had shown up. The fight proceeded more cautiously at this point, and Liu Zhu only watched it out of the corner of his eye while clearing out weaker beasts in the area nearby. The cultivators would force the snake to attack, protect the one acting as bait, and then aim for a major wound. They didn''t always succeed at leaving a wound, but they always saved the bait. This tactic caused two large holes to be bored into the snake within five minutes, which were used as a way to inflict internal wounds. Eventually the snake slowed down as it bled out, and the two Meridian Opening cultivators managed to decapitate it. As they cut through it it thrashed about in a final struggle, and Feng Jun and another Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator were sent flying backwards by its writhing body. They weren''t fatally injured, but they were in bad enough condition that it wasn''t an option to continue fighting.


    Feng Jun walked back to the three slowly, gripping his side. "We''re pulling back now. I''m injured and according to the boss there''s a few more beasts like that. They''ll probably make the official retreat order in a few minutes anyways." With that said the four made their way back to the wall, carrying Feng Jun with them. He was injured and they needed to move quickly in case they ran into anything past Bone and Marrow Tempering. Luckily they made it back to the wall without trouble, and as Feng Jun had predicted, within a few minutes an order was called for everyone at Early Bone and Marrow Tempering to retreat. This would slowly scale up over the next 15 minutes, and within half an hour this battlefield would only be home to experts.

 Chapter 36: Wolfden Villages Survival Decided

    After arriving at the walls Liu Zhu immediately checked on his squad and found that they were all, for the most part, alright. A couple of them had suffered minor wounds in the hurry to retreat, but they would heal very quickly. Managing to safely bring his men back in a situation where around one in seven of the cultivators were dead or severely injured made Liu Zhu proud. Luckily he had some understanding of tact and kept this to himself, simply thanking everyone for their efforts. It''s not like he could brag about his "commanding skills" to them, they''d volunteered to fight with him. Anyways, his achievement could be attributed more to his stamina and durability rather than any exceptional leadership abilities. As far as commanding went, this had been a good experience but he still had a long way to go.


    Liu Zhu made some small talk with his squad before turning his attention back to the battlefield. As he did so he occasionally spoke with Feng Jun, who had already bandaged his wound. The bloody fields surrounding Wolfden Village were full of experienced veteran cultivators at this point. For Liu Zhu, watching them fight was quite the spectacle. Sure, there were plenty of Acupoint Opening elders in the Liu Clan, and Zhu Chao was almost unrivaled within the Acupoint Opening realm, but Liu Zhu barely ever had the chance to see them fight. Even if he did, it wouldn''t be them going all out. This beast horde provided him with the chance to see many cultivators stronger than him fight with all their strength, even if they were far weaker than his family''s elders. Seeing life-death struggles of this caliber could be a valuable experience, although in the end how much Liu Zhu got out of it depended on his perception.


    Ultimately Liu Zhu didn''t get much out of watching the battle besides a certain appreciation for the fragility of human life. This wasn''t a teaching session made for him nor a skillful battle between famous cultivators. It was a violent struggle between the working poor of cultivators and waves upon waves of bloodthirsty beasts. This, along with participating in the battle itself, helped instill Liu Zhu with a certain respect for fighting and war. The patriotism for Yutian Country and his enthusiasm towards war hadn''t decreased, but he now had some understanding of how many lives it took. It may not have been a valuable lesson in terms of advancing his cultivation or helping him fine-tune his techniques, but just watching had taught him quite a bit. Whether it would serve to be useful in the future was yet to be seen.


    As the battle drew on even these experienced cultivators fell back, and eventually the many small groups turned into just a few, and by the end there was only one squad wandering about, slaughtering beasts far more terrifying than the one Feng Jun was injured fighting. There were still some weak beasts wandering about, but they were either slaughtered like pigs when they passed near the group of cultivators at the frontlines, or cleaned up by squads of cultivators standing by the walls. Eventually the few beasts the last squad was taking care of were killed, and they had little left to do. Just when it felt like the beast horde was about done with, all of the group besides two men left the battlefield and a terrifying beast entered into view of the cultivators protecting the village.


    Beast hordes are usually triggered by some sort of natural event which either scares or excites beasts across a wide area, sending them into a prolonged, frenzied state. This mainly affects vicious beasts and normal beasts, domesticated or otherwise, are generally spared. As the beasts are thrown into this bloodthirsty state, they swarm about, fighting each other. In this massive fight somewhere between 10 and 20 percent of them are culled, and a leader is decided. This leader stands at the top of the beast horde''s pecking order, and chooses what direction the horde goes in. The chief of Wolfden Village and a cloaked cultivator were currently fighting against this beast horde''s leader.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The leader of the beast horde was a terrifying mix between a snake and a spider. It rose far above the tree-tops, held up by eight scaly, hairy legs. In the middle of the legs was a massive snake wrapped in a greyish-white web, and it possessed the ability to spin and shoot webs from most of its body. It struck an instinctual fear into the men on the wall, and was a terrifying sight. Fortunately the two cultivators who went up to fight it weren''t affected by its vile appearance, and attacked without hesitation.


    The final battle between the two sides dragged on, and there were many times where one of the two cultivators fighting the creature almost got caught up in its webs. It was tricky in deploying them, so the earliest stage of the battle was the roughest, as it took some time to discover all of the tricks behind when and how it could deploy it. However, eventually the two realized the range of the webs and the monster''s attacks, greatly reducing the danger in fighting the beast and allowing them to take a safe and steady approaching in doing so. After nearly 20 minutes the beast, impatient, tried to charge past them and attack the village, but this led to its downfall. One of its legs, unprotected, was sheered off by a combined strike between the two. This caused the beast to stumble, and with its defenses compromised, the rest of the battle went smoothly.


    With the beast horde''s leader death the last few stragglers ran away, their tails held between their legs. Wolfden Village, and by extension the surrounding villages, were safe. The civilians wouldn''t be slaughtered by the approaching beasts, and they could carry on their way of living. Unfortunately, this wasn''t without sacrifices. They''d spent quite the sum of money preparing the village and hiring cultivators to help defend, and this was only the monetary losses. In terms of human life, they''d lost nearly 20% of their cultivators. Whether this 20% was dead or severely injured didn''t matter much to the villages. The crux of the matter was that they''d lost both powerful hunters and members of their militia, and that it would take decades for them to fully recover. The losses among the hired cultivators were comparatively lower, around 10%. This wasn''t just an indicator of superior skill, but also showed that cowardice could be a virtue. Still, despite the deaths from both parties, the goal of defending the village had been achieved, and this was a far better outcome than the alternative.


    With the dark cloud of the beast horde removed from the village, the civilians began celebrating, preparing tables full of food and taking out their best drinks. The reaction among the cultivators was also to celebrate, but they did so in a vastly different manner. Namely, by swarming the battlefield and taking whatever materials they could lay a claim to so that they could sell it later. The warriors of the village were doing so both partially as a bonus and to help the village recover from their losses, while for the hired cultivators it was purely an extra source of income. Liu Zhu didn''t need the money but went out anyways, soaking in the crowded but pleasant atmosphere.

 Chapter 37: Payment

    Looting the battlefield took several hours, and during this time Wolfden Village began moving, gathering all of their officials and funds. It was time to pay the cultivators. Besides the trouble that would naturally arise from leaving a bunch of cultivators waiting for payment for an extended length of time, there were a couple of other reasons that the village was eager to get payment done with as soon as possible. The first was so that they could begin sorting out their internal affairs without any outside influences, and the second was to help recoup some of their losses from the beast horde. Everyone was in a good mood with the beast horde vanquished, and despite various other economic losses the beasts hadn''t affected the village''s stores of alcohol in the slightest. The inner village was also more or less converted into a bunch of inns to contain all the fleeing civilians and hired cultivators, meaning that more or less everywhere was also functioning as a tavenr and restaurant. If there was an ideal time to make some of their money back selling food and drink, it was now.


    Some of the cultivators began to leave the battlefield and headed towards the inside of the village, eagerly awaiting their payment. Said payment was based on one''s combat strength, reported kills, and observed kills, and ended up roughly corresponding to how useful one was during the beast horde. The combat strength portion was obvious and easily verifiable, and reported kills were up to the cultivators to track during the battle. Sometimes they''d bring parts from the strongest beasts they killed as proof, but it wasn''t a requirement. As for observed kills, the village had set aside small numbers of cultivators to observe the battle and take down notes on cultivators while tallying up how many beasts they saw them killed. The system wasn''t completely accurate, but it reduced fraud greatly and was shown to save villages several times the money lost in casualties by keeping small numbers of cultivators on the back lines.


    Liu Zhu''s squad left the battlefield as the pickings began to thin out, taking their place in a massive line of cultivators waiting for payment. It moved at a slow but steady pace as each cultivator reported their information and provided any needed evidence. Most of the line simply made small talk while waiting, as watching everyone get paid wasn''t particularly entertaining. The exception to this was if a cultivator reported far above their observed kills, as this could result in an amusing scuffle. While this was entertaining when it happened, lying like this could cost them all of their payment and so it happened very rarely. As for cultivators reporting far below their observed kills, this was similarly rare, and seeing someone cause an incident over it was impossible. Obviously a cultivator wouldn''t deflate their kills on purpose, and even if they did the village had no reason to correct them. Wasn''t that just donating their wages to them? Why would you look a gift horse in the mouth?


    Liu Zhu occasionally glanced at the front of line as he waited. Most of the cultivators were being sent away with maybe five gold coins, which from his biased perspective wasn''t worth anywhere near the risk of participating in the beast horde. Still, they seemed happy, so he supposed the rates wouldn''t be adjusted any time soon. All of Liu Zhu''s squad members got between 5 and 10 gold coins, and Liu Zhu got 28 gold coins and some change for his participation. It was significantly higher than the rest of his squad due to his cultivation, but it was honestly worth very little to him. Even before he''d broken through to Flesh Tempering and his income had gone through the roof, he could have easily save up that much while sitting at home. He''d long understood the difference in wealth between normal cultivators and the family clans, but this was the first time it was shown this clearly to him and he was honestly rather shocked. The difference in resources between them and him seemed nearly as massive as the difference between the top juniors of the Five Families and himself.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    After collecting his payment Liu Zhu''s squad went to a nearby tavern. Liu Zhu left them for a bit, promising to return after he thanked Feng Jun for all of the help. His search took a bit, but eventually Liu Zhu found him still sorting through all of the corpses on the battlefield. When Liu Zhu approached Feng Jun paused to greet him, his equipment and body still caked in mud and dried blood from the day''s battle.


    Feng Jun mumbled a greeting in Liu Zhu''s direction, still focusing on cleaning up the battlefield. "Senior Brother Feng, thanks for your help in assembling my squad, I appreciate it." Feng Jun''s tone was exceedingly neutral as he replied. "Don''t feel indebted because of it, I understand how much of a pain it is in your circumstances. I started working here around your age with an even lower cultivation and it was a massive pain in the ass. Just don''t fuck yourself over while you''re here and I won''t regret the effort." As Feng Jun spoke he continued to loot the animal corpses despite the fact that most of the valuable body parts were taken, effectively looking through the scraps.


    "Are you interested in investigating the source of the beast horde? A group is heading towards the epicenter now that it''s cleared out. Should take about a week. It''s unlikely, but there might be some great opportunity there. Beast hordes don''t just happen for no reason after all." Feng Jun casually threw this out while looting. Liu Zhu frowned slightly as he replied. "I''d be lying if I said I wasn''t interested, but if there are any benefits there won''t the Dantian Creation and Acupoint Opening cultivators split it up among themselves? There''s not much of a point." Feng Jun shrugged in response. "Sure, but luck matters just as much as strength sometimes. Even though it''s not likely, there could be benefits they couldn''t monopolize, or possibly ones I find myself that they''ve missed. Of course on the other hand there could be nothing, but that''s the nature of being an independent cultivator. Chances come once in a blue moon, so we have to strive for them. Throwing away a chance to get ahead for the easy, guaranteed route will only doom us to failure. No matter the results we need to put our lives on the line to seize every chance we get - it''s not like we''re born with the resources to cultivate. If I just settled for making some money doing work in the wastes and scraping what resources together I would likely reach Meridian Opening before I die, but I''d never go beyond that. That''s why I try to build all the connections I can and seek all the opportunities possible while I''m here. I may not be able to become a powerful master, but I have faith that I''ll be able to reach Qi Refinement or Qi Emission some day far in the future."


    Feng Jun sighed to himself before repeating his question. "So, are you interested?"

 Chapter 38: A Turncoats Compensation

    "Sure." Liu Zhu answered quickly, as he had little reason to refuse. He didn''t see any major benefits coming from the trip, but it wouldn''t cost him anything either. It''s not like he had any other plans for his time in the Northern Wastes, so he may as well take the chance to explore with someone he was already acquainted with. "When are we leaving?" "There will be a group heading out tomorrow morning. If we lag behind them there''s even less of a chance we''ll get anything out of this." Liu Zhu nodded in acknowledgement as he turned to leave. "See you at dawn then. Guess I''ll go enjoy the festivities." Feng Jun simply grunted in response as Liu Zhu returned to the village.


    As Liu Zhu navigated through the rapidly darkening street, he weaved past small crowds of cultivators and civilians. Most of them were in a good mood, and happy conversation and the cries of villagers trying to sell food and drink from hastily erected street stalls filled the air. While returning to the tavern his squad was at, Liu Zhu saw a familiar face scattered among the crowd. Heading into a sidestreet, a wide grin on his face, was the man who had abandoned Liu Zhu and the rest of his squad when they were attacked by vicious beasts before the beast horde began. He was currently slowly walking down the street, happily glancing at shops and taverns while lovingly caressing his small coinpurse.


    Liu Zhu followed the man, his previously neutral expression replaced with a slight smile. He''d decided not to waste time searching for the man, but if he came across him by coincidence, then he wasn''t just going to pretend that nothing had happened. The two had no great enmity or life-or-death grudge, and Liu Zhu didn''t enjoy hurting others, so any sort of violent revenge was off the table. He simply wanted to teach the coward a lesson about common decency, and he didn''t need to break any bones to do that.


    While trailing the man down the street, Liu Zhu went through his options for a bit of petty revenge. Since violence was out of the question, that left two methods of retaliation. The first would be to humiliate the man, but after thinking about it for a few seconds this option was also discarded. As far as Liu Zhu could tell that coward didn''t care about face at all, and so while he might be angered in the moment, he wouldn''t care at all after leaving Wolfden Village. Liu Zhu had found out that his reputation was already fairly bad when he searched for him, so what would one small incident do to worsen it? This left one last method of revenge- taking something he cared about. In this case, his money. Every cultivator would care about funds, and this was even more important for wandering cultivators. Changing his gains from this battle into a net loss would teach him a lesson that he''d remember in the coming months at least.


    As the middle-aged man walked down the street, he felt someone grab him by the shoulder. He turned around, confused, and was greeted by the sight of Liu Zhu behind him, still tightly gripping his shoulder. "I was never able to get a hold of you after we went scouting in the woods. What happened?" Liu Zhu smiled as he said this, temporarily putting on a wide grin while keeping a firm grip on the man''s shoulder. The man scowled upon hearing this. "I left. I didn''t ask for your help in the battle, so it''s fine." The man tried to shake off Liu Zhu''s grip as he said this, but it stayed on his shoulder like an iron vice. Liu Zhu had the raw strength of someone at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering, so it was a joke for someone at Early Flesh Tempering to try to shake off his grip.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    The man''s impatient scowl changed slightly as he realized that he wouldn''t be able to immediately leave, and his eyes began rapidly shifting about as he looked for a way out of the situation. Before he could do so, Liu Zhu continued their chat. "Look, I''m not that angry about you leaving us out to dry. Still, it''s only fair that you take responsibility for your actions. Right?" The man didn''t respond to this, still hurriedly looking about. Seeing that he wouldn''t get anything out the man until he finished speaking, Liu Zhu continued. "To be frank, you should pay us compensation. You made four people risk their lives fighting savage beasts and reduced our squad''s fighting strength during the beast horde. I went over the losses and they were relatively sizable, but for you, I''m willing to make a deal. Give me your coinpurse and we''ll call it even."


    As Liu Zhu made his request he split into a wide grin. Upon seeing this the man across from him finally spoke again. "Who the fuck do you think you are you little brat?! I don''t owe you shit. I can leave a fight if I want to leave, we didn''t sign any contract. Fuck you!" This outburst drew a few stares by cultivators walking past, but no one intervened. It just looked like a minor squabble, and no one cared much about either side. It''d be a different situation if the man who had previously joined Liu Zhu''s squad had a good reputation among the hired cultivators here, but any bridges he''d built were burnt long ago. In response to this Liu Zhu sighed and tightened his grip again, leaving a mark on the man''s shoulder. He didn''t want to injure him, but if a little reminder of his strength would help finish the confrontation, he wasn''t opposed. A similar policy went for threats- he''d never carry them out in a situation like this, but if they worked they worked. "Remember what kind of place the Northern Wastes is. If we don''t finish this now, I can finish it later."


    The man loudly swore before taking his coinpurse and throwing it at Liu Zhu with his free arm. The coinpurse was easily caught by Liu Zhu and after checking that it actually had money in it he let the man go. He immediately began running after being freed, and Liu Zhu resumed his journey back to the tavern. Upon arriving he saw that his squad was still there, waiting for him and chatting, and sat down with them. Once Liu Zhu sat down he split the money inside the coinpurse into three portions. "I ran into that asshole who abandoned us in the woods the other day. Here''s some compensation from him."


    Liu Zhu grabbed the few gold coins in each pile and handed to them to the three members who were with him that day. As he did so he gave a short explanation to the other two. "Sorry, this is to settle an incident, it''s not a bonus. So..." As he trailed off the member who joined shortly before the battle spoke. "It''s fine, I''m not going to be jealous. They mentioned what happened while we were chatting, they deserve it. Anyways, let''s not dwell on stuff like that, today''s a time to celebrate." With that said everyone launched into a new conversation, eating and drinking without a care and enjoying the fruits of their victory.

 Chapter 39: Origin of the Beast Horde

    The morning after the beast horde was unusually calm. Many of the locals and cultivators had celebrated late into the night so instead of going about their usual morning routine they were sleeping in. Besides a few small squads keeping watching at the edge of Wolfden Village and the cultivators leaving for where the beast horde originated, almost no one was awake. The latter group was scattered, leaving the village when they pleased, sometimes alone and sometimes in small groups. Amongst them was Liu Zhu and Feng Jun, who were making their way there in a small group with a few other cultivators. There was no way their speed could keep up with the cultivators past Meridian Opening, many of whom had left even earlier, but if they kept a good pace it wouldn''t be a problem to reach their destination ahead of most of the others. This gave them a faint possibility of sweeping up any leftover benefits the fastest cultivators couldn''t claim for themselves. Of course to do so they''d have to act in an extremely disciplined manner, travelling until it got dark and waking up before dawn, all while keeping an extremely fast pace. Even for cultivators it wasn''t an easy march. Still, the slightest possibility of benefits were enough to make them go through this. Raising one''s cultivation wasn''t easy after all.


    After several days of this hurried march, which tested everyone but Liu Zhu''s endurance, the group of five arrived at the beast horde''s origin. It was a massive clearing with a hill measuring several hundred meters tall in the center. The parts that were visible were covered in grass and flowers, but the top was hidden from sight by a thick wall of plants. Surrounding the hill were scattered sets of tents, assumedly the camps of the cultivators who had arrived first. Besides these expected sights, Liu Zhu saw something extremely odd. Near the bottom of the hill many cultivators were simply standing still, facing the top of the hill. Some of them were slowly inching forwards, while others stood still, an oddly exhausted expression on their face. Most of these cultivators were clustered together in the bottom dozen meters of the hill, although a few cultivators which Liu Zhu recognized as being past Meridian Opening had walked a bit higher.


    Seeing that the situation wasn''t chaotic, a couple of cultivators in their group went to set up camp, while Feng Jun, Liu Zhu, and one other cultivator approached the statuesque group of people slowly advancing up the hill. As they approached the hill Feng Jun shouted out a greeting to someone he recognized, keeping his distance from the hill just in case. "Oy! You enjoying the view up there?" The man turned around, wearily grinning at Feng Jun. "Yes, the view of a bunch of sweaty, exhausted cultivators standing on a hillside was exactly what I was hoping for when I came here. I need a break, so I''ll come down and brief you on what''s happening." With that the man, face slightly pale, descended the hill to speak with Feng Jun.


    The group returned to their small camp, where the tents were being rapidly assembled by the two cultivators they''d left behind. Before speaking further about what was going on the four hurried to find somewhere to sit, Feng Jun''s friend wanting to rest before speaking any further. After a short search they found a log nearby and pulled it over, draping a cloth over it in order to construct a makeshift bench. Once they sat down the man who had been on the hill began speaking, catching his breath as he did so. "Despite what it may look like, we''re not all standing there because we want to. The first group of cultivators arrived here, the rough location where the beast horde spread out from, and started looking around. After a look around they tried to climb the hill, as it was the biggest feature in the area. Confusingly though, they just... weren''t able to. It''s the same for everyone else. Whenever I try to climb up it feels like there''s a weight on my chest, restricting the strength in my body. It''s exhausting. The stronger cultivators are able to get up a bit further, but at this rate I doubt anyone will make it up there. For the time being everyone is just using the pressure to help train, although I have doubts about how useful it is."This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    The man''s explanation left many questions unanswered, but at the very least it gave some information to work off of. An awkward pause settled among the group as everyone processed this information. Eventually this was broken by one of the cultivators speaking. "I guess this is a bust then. I''ll stay for a few days to see if something happens and then leave. What about you guys?" In response to this everyone gave answers that varied on the surface, but which could be roughly summed up as "I''ll train here for a bit and see if anything happens before leaving." Among these only the definition of ''a bit'' varied. Similarly to the others, Liu Zhu decided to stay for a while, intrigued about the odd hill. He''d come to the Northern Wastes to broaden his horizons and train, and this was a chance to do both.


    Once the tents were set up and their things unpacked everyone slowly headed towards the hill, which now had even more people clustered about its lower reaches. Liu Zhu nonchalantly walked forward with the others, waiting for some sort of pressure, or a weight on his chest to show up, but as he did he noticed that everyone else''s pace was slowing down. Realizing that something was wrong, Liu Zhu slowed down to match their pace, although he was a bit slower than the rest in doing so. Feng Jun glanced towards Liu Zhu, faintly noticing this odd behavior. "I had my doubts, but he was right, huh? It''s pretty harsh." In response to Feng Jun''s comment Liu Zhu nodded, continuing to slow his pace down. He couldn''t feel any pressure upon him yet, but it was clear that he was supposed to. It''d stand out far too much to just walk up the hill normally.


    Eventually Liu Zhu found a height a few meters past where Feng Jun and the others stopped, which was mainly occupied by Meridian Opening and Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivators. He got a couple of compliments about his position, but since cultivation didn''t directly correspond to where one stopped, it stopped after a few compliments and aroused little curiosity. After taking this spot up he pretended to struggle, eventually descending the hill after around an hour of feigned strenuous activity. Once that was over with Liu Zhu made up an excuse to leave the hill alone for the day and explore the nearby area. He wanted to inspect the hill further and see whether the pressure would affect him at all or if he could just stroll to the top without any trouble, but to do that he needed to wait for night to fall. It would simply be too conspicuous to do so now.

 Chapter 40: Newfound Discovery

    The day quickly wore onwards as Liu Zhu wandered about the nearby area, taking care of minor chores such as collecting firewood and cleaning up their camping site as he did so. Of course, all of this was just an excuse to avoid the hill for the day. Trying to blend in with everyone else was both extremely useless to Liu Zhu and rather exhausting. If it were up to which activity he''d rather do, without other future opportunities factored in, Liu Zhu would rather withstand the pressure the others were feeling on the hill than just stand there and pretend. At least that didn''t test his acting abilities- he was a cultivator, not an actor.


    Once night approached most of the cultivators had worn themselves out and rested for the day, returning to the camps scattered throughout the surrounding area. Liu Zhu chatted with Feng Jun and the other cultivators who had accompanied him from Wolfden Village, enjoying the break after their rapid march there and the chance to speak with ''average'' cultivators. Besides the obvious fun involved in chatting with others, their conversations were a good chance to learn how to connect with others. Before now Liu Zhu had mainly spoken with cultivators who either had some sort of influence or who worked for his family. This meant he had very little experience speaking with people like Feng Jun or the other cultivators he''d worked with at Wolfden Village, although since his arrival in the Northern Wastes this weak point of his had begun improving. While talking with juniors from other decently sized influences or cultivators of some importance was both more common and more useful for Liu Zhu, being able to connect with the average cultivator was a more important skill than one might think, especially if he planned to enlist into the army at some point. Fortunately his starting point hadn''t been too low given his upbringing, and he was rapidly improving with these near nightly talks.


    Once the conversation settled down everyone went to their own devices. Most of the group quickly went to sleep, although one of them stayed up for several hours in order to whittle some sort sort of wooden sculpture out of a stray log. Liu Zhu would''ve been rather annoyed about this delaying his visit to the hill, but since he''d been planning to wait quite some time to ensure most of the other cultivators there went to sleep as well, this minor annoyance didn''t set him too off course. Around 1 AM it was finally time to take action, and so Liu Zhu slowly rose from his feigned rest, going into the forest with his things before eventually circling around back towards the hill. He didn''t know if there would be something at the top of the hill that would ensure he spent a night up there (assuming he was able to reach it and, of course, that there was something there at all), so in case there was it''d be best that it looked like he''d left the previous night.


    Once Liu Zhu circled back towards the hill he carefully scanned the nearby area, making sure that no one was watching him. Luckily the coast was clear, so he began slowly stepping up the hill, paying more attention to his surroundings now that he was alone. As he began walking up the hill, focusing almost all of his senses on the state of his body, he could feel an extremely slight pressure weighing down upon him. If he''d focused earlier he could''ve as well, but he was so busy keeping up the charade of struggling under said pressure earlier in the day that he couldn''t even notice it. As Liu Zhu walked up the hill, quickly approaching the halfway point, the pressure slowly grew. Eventually it was enough to slow down his progress, but it was only that- it wasn''t enough to stop him from moving. Within a few minutes Liu Zhu reached the top of the hill, walking the whole way at a steady pace. Upon reaching the top there wasn''t much special in sight. The top of the hill was exceptionally clear, and in the center a growth of weeds and grass could be seen covering up an oddly smooth, possibly manmade, surface.Stolen story; please report.


    Curious, Liu Zhu approached the seemingly manmade area. As he did so the pressure he felt increased greatly, slowing down his pace to a slow walk. Figuring that this area was likely related to the mystery of this hill, Liu Zhu began pulling out the weeds and grass that had taken root on it. While pulling out the plants he also started to clean the dirt off of the surface. These acts revealed that he was standing on a smooth, blue stone a couple dozen feet in diameter. Further investigation revealed that the stone was set into the top of the hill in a large circle, with thin, intricate lines carved throughout and a large line set throughout the middle.


    After examining the stone for a bit Liu Zhu noticed that most of the carvings looked like they were directed towards the center. He crouched down, preparing to clean off that spot so he could see what was there, but as he touched it he felt something shake near his heart. Suddenly vitality began spreading throughout his body, using it as a pathway to flood into the stone beneath him. It wasn''t draining any of the vitality from his body itself, but instead seemed to be coming from whatever object had made its home near his heart. Unfortunately Liu Zhu was still unable to tell what it was despite putting all his effort towards sensing it. In the end he simply sighed as he continued to press his hand against the stone, watching as a viscous green blood began filling up the narrow lines throughout the carving. Around this time he considered the possibility of it being a trap, but quickly pushed these thoughts aside in an effort to be hopeful. Most people would rather believe that they were figuring out the mysteries to a secret inheritance or some ancient palace full of treasure rather than falling into a trap in this situation, and Liu Zhu was no exception. After around half a minute the lines seemed to be completely saturated with the ''blood'', and it stopped spreading out as greater and greater amounts of vitality poured out from him, who was merely a conduit for energy at this point.


    A minute after everything started the withdrawal of vitality from Liu Zhu suddenly stopped, before it rapidly surged back into him, causing the green blood spread throughout the stone to disappear. Perplexed, he prepared to stand up, but before he could he suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound. To his prolonged confusion, the stone beneath him began splitting open from the line in the center, sending him plummeting into a chamber built into the hill.

 Chapter 41: Cautious Examination

    Liu Zhu didn''t fall far after the stone slid open, coming to a stop after a couple dozen feet. Falling from this height hurt a bit, but since even a mortal might survive the fall without wounds it wasn''t even close to a problem for a cultivator. As he stood up, regaining his bearings, he noticed that the opening he''d come through was slowly closing again. "Hopefully I can still leave with that closed." Liu Zhu paused for a moment before worriedly muttering. "Fuck, could I have even reached that high if it was open?" After the entrance closed, cutting off the majority of the light flooding into the room, he suppressed his doubts and began to look around the room. It was a circular chamber made of the same blue stone as the entrance. The floor was covered in more abstract carvings, and murals covered the length of the wall, although they were caked in dust and impossible to make out completely. At one end of the room was a stone pedestal with a couple of small objects on it.


    When Liu Zhu got up he stirred up a cloud of dust, making him involuntarily cough "This place must have been untouched for ages." First he went towards the wall opposite of the pedestal, hoping to clear off some of the dust that had gathered and take a look at the murals covering the wall first. He had no idea why this chamber was built, or by who, so it only seemed prudent to try to discern that before touching what appeared to be the only important thing in the room.


    As Liu Zhu cleared the dust from the walls, coughing all the while, he was able to make out the murals covering the wall. They were all carved into the stone and each section formed a single picture when the dust that had been previously caked on was removed. The first section that Liu Zhu cleared of dust was a picture of a giant fish. Surrounding it were small fishing boats full of people bowing towards it, along with many smaller sea creatures seemingly showing reverence towards the giant fish, facing towards it. To the immediate right of it was a smaller carving of the fishing boats coming back, their boats and nets laden with fish. Liu Zhu quietly muttered to himself as he moved to clear off the next section of the mural. "Some sort of mythological creature? Maybe a god this area used to worship?"


    Dusting off the walls filled the area with even more dust, but at this point Liu Zhu had already become accustomed to it. In total the mural covering the wall was split into nine sections. Eight of them were cleared off, but Liu Zhu had ignored the last one as it was directly behind the stone pedestal, which he wanted to keep his distance from until he was sure it wasn''t trapped. Each carving depicted some sort of massive animal, and all of them were being worshipped by humans. He wasn''t able to determine the exact meaning of this, but Liu Zhu''s best guess was that some tribe near here had made these creatures up as either gods or personifications of nature, and that this chamber was some sort of temple built for them, long since abandoned.


    This conclusion left a few questions left for him to mull over, namely "Why is everything so simple if it''s a temple?", "What''s the force surrounding this place?", "Why could I enter when others couldn''t?", and "Why would a beast horde originate from this place?" The first question didn''t seem to be very important either way, so Liu Zhu just decided that whatever tribe made the place must have preferred a minimalistic style and left it at that. The second and third were definitely interconnected, and figuring out one question would probably reveal the answer to the other. The fourth might also be related, but since figuring out the answer to that seemed impossible for the time being, Liu Zhu tried to figure out what was different from him than others for the time being. His defense, stamina, and physical strength were all above average for his cultivation. Especially the first two factors. Still, there were people with a cultivation far beyond his here. If it had anything directly to do with that, then they would''ve been able to come up here first.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After a couple of minutes, Liu Zhu came to the only reasonable conclusion he could: It was because of his vitality. Without even considering anything else, the entrance seemed to be triggered by draining out a large amount of vitality and then returning it to him. Liu Zhu wouldn''t believe that this method of opening the door wasn''t some sort of test. Besides this, he also wouldn''t believe that out of a few hundred randomly chosen cultivators in the Northern Wastes, one of them would have as much vitality flowing through their blood as he did. Since the lucky chance he''d experienced in the cave, his body contained enough vitality to rapidly speed up the recovery of his wounds. Soul Foundation cultivators could probably recover from their wounds as quickly as he did, but they had more than just their body''s vitality aiding them. That meant that based on his guesses, his vitality matched, or possibly surpassed that of a Soul Foundation cultivator. If there was any one factor, it had to be related to that.


    If the restriction surrounding the hill was related to vitality, that would explain a lot. Body Tempering improved the strength and vitality in one''s body. The increase in physical abilities was more evident, but the vitality that improved one''s resistance to disease and ability to heal also went up, although it was more dependent on each individual than one''s cultivation. This matched how people had been spread out across the hillside- roughly based on cultivation, but with many exceptions. The concept of vitality being improved in Body Tempering was something that Liu Zhu had heard a long time ago, and the full depth of it wasn''t necessary knowledge for the average cultivator, so it''d taken him a bit to think of, but it made sense. This realization led to the new question of why this restriction existed in the first place, but maybe it was just set up to keep people away from this place of worship. At this point there wasn''t a way to narrow it down by much, so it wasn''t worth wondering about.


    Now that Liu Zhu had come up with plausible answers to most of his questions, that simply left the question of why a beast horde would have originated from this place, which he had no way of finding out for the time being. Given that the only thing left of interest in the place was the pedestal, Liu Zhu sat down and began examining it from a distance. He would have gone towards it immediately, but since the place was likely some sort of temple, that meant that whatever was on the pedestal was probably an offering. Offerings could be booby-trapped. There was also the chance of stealing getting him cursed by some sort of god, but as far as those things went Liu Zhu wasn''t particularly concerned. There was a decent chance of there being some god, whether they were an incomprehensible martial artist who had overcome the laws of the universe and become immortal or some other all-powerful being. What there wasn''t any chance of was a tiny tribe in the Northern Wastes coming into contact with them and then worshipping them somewhere like this.


    With these concerns in mind, Liu Zhu grabbed a stray rock from the ground and threw it towards the objects on the pedestal, curious what would happen. If there were any traps then there was a good chance they''d only be set off near the pedestal while he''d be safe by standing across the room. Still, Liu Zhu prepared to leap for the ceiling as he watched the rock hit whatever was on the pedestal. Much to his surprise, besides some dust being thrown into the air, nothing happened. No booby-traps were set off, nothing cursed him, and the objects didn''t do anything in response. His worries lessened at this point, and he proceeded to throw more stray rocks and pebbles at the objects, forcing them off of the pedestal. He did this in case there was a trap activated by the weight of the objects. To his continued surprise, there were no such traps. The now dustless objects fell to the ground without any fanfare, and Liu Zhu, now unconcerned, curiously went to examine them more closely.

 Chapter 42: Seizing Every Chance You Get

    As Liu Zhu approached the two items on the ground, a long, thin jade slip in a dull red and an ordinary-looking red pearl broken into two, he suddenly heard something. He stopped in his tracks, confused and wary, as incomprehensible words started sounding out in a deep, drawn out voice. He wanted to figure out where they were coming from, but the source of the voice was impossible to determine, almost as the voice was originating from inside his head. This voice spoke in an incomprehensible, gutteral language and stopped after around after half a minute. A few seconds later the voice was replaced by one he could understand.


    "...on the off chance that the one who accesses this chamber is not intelligent enough to understand my language or is from a different bloodline, here''s a simpler message that even non-sentient beasts may understand. Consume the pearl-like object I''ve left here. It will grant you sentience, giving you a chance to become equal to those sentient races like the humans, and possibly rule over millions. Eat it, and help pass down my bloodline. If your blood was strong enough to undo the seal and come here, then you''ll be able to withstand it. Please." As Liu Zhu heard this second message, he was flabbergasted for several reasons. The first of these was how the message was transmitted. Instead of hearing normal words, he seemed to hear feelings rebounding through his head, as if the intent of the message was being taken and only later translated by his mind. The other, more important, reasons for his surprise, arose from the content of the message. If he was to believe what he''d just heard, there were sentient "races"- not just humans. Besides that, the ordinary looking pearl on the ground was some sort of object that could grant beasts sentience. It all just seemed too odd to be true. Liu Zhu took a moment and sat down, processing the situation.


    After coming to terms with the situation and realizing that there was almost no chance of some ancient figure setting up something like this as a joke, Liu Zhu examined the pearl-like object in his hand. It was a couple inches in diameter, and split into one large piece and one piece many times smaller. The outside was smooth, but the inside was filled entirely with small crystals in a deep crimson. "Eating this would make a vicious beast sentient if it was strong enough? Hm." After a short pause, he continued muttering to himself. "...Wonder what it would do to me."


    Liu Zhu stared intensely at the smaller portion of the pearl for a moment before placing it aside and scanning through the jade slip. Inside was some sort of body tempering technique for vicious beasts. Learning that there were techniques made specifically for beasts was surpising, but in the wake of hearing that beasts could gain sentience, the shock was greatly reduced. Liu Zhu simply shoved the jade slip in his pack as he currently couldn''t make use of it. No matter what he wasn''t a vicious beast, and it was highly doubtful he could use any of their cultivation methods. The best use for it would be to wait until he either found some sort of beast that could actually make use of it, or to sell it off once he found a way to do so without drawing the attention of every powerful cultivator in Yutian Country due to the implications of the slip.


    Once the jade slip was dealt with Liu Zhu''s attention returned to the pearl. It was supposed to grant sentience to beasts, but he had no idea at all what it''d do to humans. The composition of humans and beasts were, for the most part, vastly different. It might kill him as often as not. As he mulled over it, he sighed to himself. "I could use this to raise some sort of contract beast, but... I have no such beast and it''s doubtful I ever will. I''ve heard of beast tamers, but there''s probably only a handful of them in Yutian Country anyways. Ugh. It said if I was able to undo the seal to this room I''d be able to survive eating it. I''ll probably be fine then?" While saying this he took the smaller of the two pieces, hesitantly putting it on his tongue and swallowing.Stolen story; please report.


    A few moments passed with nothing odd happening, and Liu Zhu began to fill that he was silly for considering the risks of such a course of action. As he was thinking this, a burning feeling spread throughout his stomach before beginning to flow through his veins. Surprised, he exclaimed "Oh? It''s taking effect?" Liu Zhu stood there as the feeling slowly intensified, but before long he was forced to lie down as the burning feeling turned into a scorching pain rampaging throughout his body. In response to this unyielding force throughout his body, his meridians tore open once again, as they were only viable path for the energy. When this happened all the vitality within his body became strained to the max, struggling to keep him alive through the near-catastrophic injury. Fortunately the force near his heart immediately sent massive amounts of vitality to every corner of his body, saving him from the grasp of death.


    This kept Liu Zhu alive, but it doesn''t keep him from feeling the pain. The immense, unimaginable pain spread throughout every single inch of his body. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see that his body was covered in endless tears and scratches which healed ridiculously fast, only to immediately tear open again. Blood quickly began to cover his body and the ground around him. At this point it was clear that the energy in the pearl was far too much for him to absorb, but whatever was near his heart kept him clinging to life, allowing vitality to permeate every inch of his body and simultaneously holding back the energy within him, keeping the majority of it contained while the rest raged through every blood vessel and meridian within him.


    All Liu Zhu felt was pain as he lay on the ground, covered in a mix of dried and wet blood, the energy continuing to split open every part of his body. As the hours dragged on the energy made its way towards his brain, seeming to sink into it. It felt like needles were being constantly stabbed into his skull, but he gritted his teeth and waited it out. Or to put it more truthfully, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and wait it out. Liu Zhu couldn''t die right now even if he wanted to, and for some reason he wasn''t passing out from the pain either, so the only option was to constantly bear with it.


    After an unknown period of time the pain began fading, and Liu Zhu glanced through the crack in the ceiling trying to estimate how much time it had been. As he did so, he saw the sun almost directly above him. Noon. It was only a couple of hours until noon. "That... took over six hours? " Liu Zhu grunted this out, still somewhat pained, while he examined himself. He felt no different from before besides the pain, and the only difference in his surroundings was the blood spread around him, almost keeping him stuck to the ground.


    Liu Zhu shuddered slightly upon seeing this. "So I bled myself to the floor, and in exchange... nothing seems to have happened." As he muttered this, slightly annoyed, he stared at the rest of the pearl. "I suppose I could cut my losses now... or maybe." Now quiet, he tore himself from the ground and grabbed the red pearl, closely examining it. "That portion cracked off from here so its structure is already weakened. Maybe if I..." As he said this Liu Zhu suddenly attacked the pearl at what seemed like the weakest point using 4 Desires. In response several pieces cracked off, both small, but nearly twice as large as the one he''d just eaten.


    As Liu Zhu stared at the two pieces he''d cracked off, he steadied his breathing and tried to calm down. Once a few minutes passed like this, he slowly examined of the pieces before carefully taking hold of the smaller of the two. "''No matter the results we need to put our lives on the line to seize every chance we get.'' I agree with that, and I should act on it now." Upon saying this he clenched his eyes shut and tossed the piece into his mouth, preparing to tide through the pain again for the slim chance of benefitting from the experience.

 Chapter 43: A Journey Resumes

    Once Liu Zhu consumed the second piece of the pearl, there wasn''t any going back. The energy began spreading through his body once again, and before long the same phenomenon was happening as before, only slightly worse. Fortunately, besides speeding up the recovery of his wounds, the object near Liu Zhu''s heart seemed to be restraining the energy somewhat and forcing it to dive into him bit by bit. If it weren''t for that, it might be impossible to survive such a baptism of energy, even if he did have an insane ability to recover when his body was forced to the limit.


    The next two pieces took quite some time to dissolve into energy, and by the time they were completely absorbed the better part of a day had passed since Liu Zhu had begun consuming the pearl. Instead of resting after the third piece was completely absorbed, he immediately broke off more pieces from the pearl with the energy he''d recovered, ignoring the pained cries from his body as he did so. As long as he could stay alive, then some pain was fine. This led to a repeated cycle of taking a piece, consuming it, suffering through hours upon hours of torture, and then eating another piece of the pearl. He continued with this cycle until the pearl was completely gone, in the process coating the ground around him with massive amounts of blood and fatiguing himself to the extreme.


    The process of consuming the pearl took an unknown amount of time. There was a small opening in the entrance above Liu Zhu, so it wouldn''t be impossible for him to track the passage of days, but he simply didn''t have the focus to do that. His best guess was that using the whole pearl had taken at least a couple of weeks. Probably more. Once he was finished eating the pearl he simply moved somewhere less bloody, collapsed, and rested. When he woke up he immediately changed out of his blood-soaked set of clothes and into a new one. Luckily he''d left his pack on the opposite side of the room when he went towards the pedestal containing the pearl and the jade slip, so his other pairs of clothes hadn''t been stained by the massive amount of blood that now covered a portion of the chamber.


    Now that he was reasonably rested and had his affairs in order, he needed to leave. There wasn''t anything left in this room and loitering around wasn''t to his benefit. Someone may not have shown up who was able to enter the room yet, and as far-fetched as it was, if a Soul Foundation cultivator with a strong enough vitality happened to enter while he was still there it would be unfortunate to say the least. Still, the main reason he left was because there was nothing left to do here. There were probably only a few Soul Foundation cultivators in the Northern Wastes at most, and they had better things to do than investigate the source of a beast horde.


    Liu Zhu did a circuit around the room, hoping that he''d be able to feel around for an alternate exit, but unfortunately there was no such thing. Well, he supposed that was reasonable given the caliber of beast the owner expected to come here- they might be ridiculously tall, and even if they were small a distance of a couple dozen feet wouldn''t be difficult for them to jump. Why go through the trouble of an alternate exit? It probably wasn''t very easy to get the chamber constructed in the first place, so any bells or whistles like that were unlikely to be included. Even if the beast who made it was sentient, it''s doubtful that he had the dexterity or skill to construct the place. It was probably made by a large amount of humans who either offered or were forced to offer their services.


    Despite the practicality of only including one entrance/exit, it was rather difficult for Liu Zhu to jump that high. Fortunately, by using the pedestal to increase his height by a few feet and grabbing an indent in the rock halfway up, he was able to make the jump towards the top without too much trouble. The door wasn''t open, but once it came in contact with him it began sliding open again. This process was slightly quieter than last time, probably since some accumulated vines and such were cleared out the first time he opened it, but it was still rather loud- he''d have to hope no one nearby could hear it.This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it


    Once Liu Zhu was out of the chamber, he was greeted by the ground, which was breathtakingly soft after his stay in that stone chamber. It wasn''t neccesarily a problem to sleep on stone, but normally one wouldn''t choose to, and Liu Zhu was no exception. That''s why the feeling of the ground and the thought of getting a decent night''s sleep after so long was a bit of a relief. After a couple seconds of awe at being outside for the first time in what felt like ages, he began slowly creeping down the hill. It was very late at night (which was part of the reason he''d left immediately in the first place), but he didn''t want to dismiss the possibility of someone hearing the chamber open and telling people to stand guard around the hill. It was best to be cautious. Liu Zhu took a full half an hour to leave the vicinity of the hill, his pace slowed greatly by his caution. Much to his relief he wasn''t spotted by anyone, and after exiting the immediate vicinity of the hill (which now had very few tents nearby), he dashed through the nearby forest and into a random direction. He wasn''t sure where he was going, but that could wait for later- he still needed to get further away for now. He hadn''t seen anyone, but it didn''t mean that no one could be tailing him. It might not even be possible to shake any pursuers off if he was being followed, but even if that was the case he''d still have a better chance losing them while it was still dark.


    When the day broke Liu Zhu stopped moving, his paranoia about being followed more than satisfied. He''d gone far enough that he''d just look like a wandering cultivator with no relation to that place by now. Unfortunately, he''d gained a new worry that night. As time dragged on and the pain faded, he had expected to sense some sort of gain within his body. He wasn''t sure what sort of improvement he expected, but going through such a long period of pain couldn''t have been for nothing, even if he couldn''t notice any benefits yet. Right? After worrying for a bit he eventually just sighed and decided to stop thinking about it. He might just be too impatient- he was sure he''d notice something soon. Or maybe that was just the blind optimism talking.


    After leaving the area, Liu Zhu''s first task was to look for any landmarks and figure out where exactly he was. He was able to do this without rather easily while gathering firewood, food, and water. From there he decided where to go. Before he would''ve just gone along with Feng Jun and his group since he knew him somewhat and two were stronger than one, but it was almost certain he''d left the area by this point. To track him down he''d have to return to Border City, and while he considered themselves friends, it really wasn''t worth the effort. The best course of action would be to head to a nearby tribe and ask for work there. While work was more plentiful in Border City than in the tribes, they generally had a shortage of cultivators and wouldn''t turn away a helping hand. If he could save time by going there instead, why wouldn''t he?


    Once a course of action was decided on Liu Zhu set out, walking towards a small tribe a day to the north. The tribe looked far more peaceful than Wolfden Village, with no visible defenses or cultivators on patrol outside the village. It wasn''t very far from the beast horde, but since the beasts had mainly gone in one direction it was spared from its wrath. Upon entering the village Liu Zhu asked around and found where the chief of the village was. This normally wouldn''t be proper, but the village was even smaller than Wolfden Village- a cultivator with strength almost equal to a Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator was a valuable asset. Thus resumed Liu Zhu''s wandering after what he would soon learn was over a month in that chamber.

 Chapter 44: Short-term Goals

    As Liu Zhu expected, the chief of the village was happy to hear that a relatively powerful cultivator was looking for work and took the time out of his day to meet him. The village chief was an unimposing, wrinkly old man, but as a cultivator who was probably at Qi Emission he still gave off a light pressure. His conversation with Liu Zhu was quick and to the point, covering what jobs the village needed a spare cultivator for and the pay offered. The pay was disappointing, even for a wandering cultivator, but since Liu Zhu was only here to gain experience he didn''t pay attention to that, basing his decision solely off of what skills he might gain by doing a specific task. If it wasn''t useful in that regard, then it was best to continue wandering and find something else to do.


    Apparently the village, like many others, put forth a great amount of effort to forage through the nearby forests for herbs. This foraging was both to keep the village well-stocked with medicinal herbs and other essentials that they could use and to produce trade goods that would eventually be taken from the village, to Border City, and then possibly out of the Northern Wastes entirely. A small village like this might only sell it off to wandering traders, not even taking it to Border City themselves, but the profits from this trade route were still large enough to influence the tribes'' behaviors greatly.


    This situation concerned the one task Liu Zhu found interesting among the many dull ones he was told of- escorting a group of herb gatherers into the forest. It wasn''t particularly glamorous, work but Liu Zhu had recently developed an interest in plants for obvious reasons. Going into the forest with a bunch of locals and guarding them while they gathered herbs would be a good opportunity to learn about various herbs, or at least the ones local to the area. Even if they ended up not being particularly skilled, it was easier to learn from someone else than from a book.


    With this in mind, Liu Zhu agreed to keep a group of men gathering herbs safe in exchange for the right to bother them with his questions about herbology. The village chief was expecting to have to haggle with him over their low wages, but after realizing that Liu Zhu didn''t care about that, the chief hastily agreed to the condition and ended the conversation, racing to get the deal closed before Liu Zhu changed his mind.


    With some decent work found for the time being, Liu Zhu went to find an inn to stay at. Even if the village was small, there had to be someone renting out rooms to travelers. Eventually he succeeded in his search, coming across a long building that had been converted into a single-floor inn. A large window peering into the inn revealed a common room where a random people were eating and chatting, and in front of the inn were several villagers peddling wares. One of them was a tanned old man smoking a cheap-looking pipe, carving something from a piece of wood. He sat on a roughly woven blanket, a random assortment of plants and small wooden sculptures in front of him.


    Liu Zhu was about to ignore the man and go inside when he was suddenly intercepted by his sales pitch. "Please, please, take a look young hero! Maybe you need herbs? This Grey Root, you can buy it for four silver from me and resell it for at least five silver and some change in Border City! It''s a good deal! Or maybe you''re interested in one of my carvings." Liu Zhu was stopped by the man''s attempt to market his goods, and stared for a moment at what he had on display. He recognized a couple of the herbs from the guide he had begun reading, which were all the cheapest and most common types. As far as Liu Zhu could tell the Grey Root the man spoke of was probably the most expensive thing he had.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Next Liu Zhu turned his attention to the carvings and started closely examining them. A couple were six-inch tall statuettes of people, and a few more were of trees or normal animals. The rest, numbering eight, were carvings of vicious beasts. Liu Zhu recognized a few of these from the beast horde, and they were honestly pretty good depiction. After he finished looking at the carvings he noticed that there was one more right next to the old man. As Liu Zhu looked more closely at it, he was shocked! The carving had a close resemblance to one of the beasts carved on the walls of the chamber he fell into. This carving didn''t look nearly as fierce, but it he knew that it couldn''t just be a coincidence.


    Liu Zhu quickly hid his shock and picked up the carving. "I like this carving. What is it?" The old man looked up from what he was idly carving and perked up, hoping to make a sale. "That is the a carving of one of the descendants of The Winged God. I''ve never seen one in person, as they''re few and far between, but I''ve seen many depictions of them. It should be fairly accurate, not that it matters." Still a bit confused, Liu Zhu inquired further. "What''s The Winged God?". The old man responded with "Oh, you''re new to The Wastes?", slightly surprised. Liu Zhu nodded in response and the old man continued. "The Winged God is one of the Nine God Beasts. Legend says that some time in the ancient past there were nine gods in the form of beasts who watched over us. We worshiped them, and in exchange they protected us. At some points the gods dwindled in number, going from nine to four, and in the end they disappeared completely. Still, there are some who have distant descendants left in the Northern Wastes, and they are revered as holy beasts. If anyone kills one, outsider or not, then the faithful would hunt them down."


    The old man took a puff from his pipe before continuing on. "That''s the gist of it. I''m a follower of The Winged God, but it''s in name only. This old man has never bought into the legends much. This carving was intended to be sold to another tribesman for use as an offering, but I don''t mind letting you have it for a few silver." Liu Zhu took three silver out of his coinpurse and in return got a wide grin from the old man as he cackled and passed the carving to him. "Ooh hoo, thanks for the business!" Liu Zhu walked away after that, wanting to spare himself from any more sales pitches, and examined the carving. The more he looked at it, the more he was sure it had a resemblance to one of the beasts carved into the side of the chamber. That meant that whatever that place was, it was probably related to these ''Nine God Beasts''. While these beasts obviously weren''t anything as supernatural as gods, they seemed to be extremely powerful given the reverence the locals had towards them. Liu Zhu wouldn''t be surprised if they had been stronger than a Soul Foundation cultivator whenever they were alive.


    With this small revelation, Liu Zhu had two goals for his stay in this village:


    1. Learn about herbology and the herbs local to The Northern Wastes for more effective use of his abilities.


    2. Figure out whether going through a month of suffering to consume that bead actually did anything. To this end, learn more about the ''Nine God Beasts'', and hopefully find some information concerning any items they may have left behind.


    With this decided, Liu Zhu put the carving down and began chatting with the locals, hungry for more information.

 Chapter 45: Setting Off With Herb Gatherers

    After some asking around in the village, Liu Zhu gathered all the information concerning The Nine Gods that he feasibly could without consulting some sort of historian or priest on the subject. Some undefined time in the past, likely thousand of years ago, there were nine "gods in the form of beasts". Given the information Liu Zhu had these were probably just beasts which had gained sentience through some odd means, but the legends had long since gone out of control. At some point five of these "all powerful" beasts disappeared, causing the nine gods to reduce to four. The four remaining were the only ones with names and depictions- or at least ones that are common knowledge in The Northern Wastes. Eventually the last four beasts disappeared as well, and what was left behind was evidence that didn''t quite prove they existed and lots and lots of religious iconography.


    The four named "gods" were The Winged God, The Clawed God, The Horned God, and The Scaled God. The Winged God was depicted as a massive bird, hundreds of feet long. The exact species varied, but it was generally some tropical species with vibrantly-colored feathers that seemed to form a rainbow. The Clawed God was more vaguely depicted, but was most-often depicted as a wolf. No matter the species, wolf, bear, or something else, it was always large, although it was several times smaller than The Winged God, and its claws were ridiculously oversized for its scale. As for The Horned God, it seemed to be some sort of elk, moose, or deer. Apparently it was smaller than the other "gods", even smaller than The Clawed God, but its massive horns were supposed to be larger than the rest of its body. Lastly was The Scaled God, which was some sort of fish or sea serpent that was hundreds of feet long. No one Liu Zhu spoke to could name an exact species, which made sense if the beast it was based on was normally underwater.


    Gathering this information served as a great way to kill time until Liu Zhu began his work escorting the village''s herb gatherers. He finished his investigation the morning after his arrival in the village, around an hour before he was scheduled to leave. Without anything pressing left to do he passed the next hour cultivating. As he did so he faintly noticed that something felt off, but since he was unable to pin down exactly what it was he decided to just ignore the feeling, figuring that it was just him getting to used to training again. After all, he''d spent a month to consume that bead, and he had never gone that long without cultivating before. It wouldn''t be unusual if he needed to "warm up" after taking such a long break from cultivating. As he brought his cultivation to a close he noticed a small group of muscular, tanned men. They were the village''s herb gatherers, and he would spend the next week protecting them as they scoured the nearby forest for plants to trade to the merchants going to Border City.


    The group set off at a brisk pace at first, as everywhere surrounding the village was more or less picked dry, but once they got deep enough into the forest for there to be relatively valuable plants, they slowed down. The men would search the surrounding area at a painfully slow pace, carefully brushing away the dirt to find plants clinging to the ground, sorting through bushes to find out of season berries, and sometimes even peeling away bark in suspicious places to reveal invasive plants growing under it. As they did this, Liu Zhu would bombard them with questions, trying his best to quickly learn about what they were doing and get some benefits from this job.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    "So as I was sayin'', the dry spots on the bark there showed it was lackin'' in nutrition. Of course that could be for quite a few reasons, but when it looks like that usually cause something is leeching nutrients from the tree. And if you can''t see a cause on the outside, then check inside. There are only a few things that cause that, and most of what does is worth some cash. You got it?" As the old man finished pulling a vine out from under the bark of a tree he glanced back at Liu Zhu, who was taking notes. He whistled and shook his head lightly as he went back to work. "Whoowee, I guess all you cultivators can write? Most of the ones in the village can too and I''ve always thought it seemed pretty handy." As the old man said this another one of the herb gathers laughed, a tinge of mockery in his voice. "Oh come on, why''d we need to know about all that? You pay attention, you learn everything there is to learn about herb gathering. Save that for the merchants and the cultivators." The old man put on an embarrassed expression before shaking his head. "Suppose so, suppose so. Anyways, next..."


    The men were more than happy to talk about their work to someone that seemed interested, especially after they had been forced to stay near the village for the past couple weeks due to a shortage of cultivators to escort them. Small lessons like about the local flora continued throughout the day, and the sun slowly passed through the sky as Liu Zhu filled up his notebook with all the information he had gathered. The books he''d gotten at Border City had a wealth of information, but as he''d expected, they paled in comparison to the experience of a professional. These people may have been mostly illiterate and have lived in this village for their entire lives, but they did have a deep level of knowledge about their field, as extremely specific as it was.


    Despite his interest in their work Liu Zhu only kept his partial attention on it, as the job he was paid to do was to protect these men. As their small group wandered throughout the forest he kept his eyes and ears peeled, taking note of anything that seemed out of place. A few times throughout the days he had to kill a vicious beast, but they were all rather weak. Still, they were more than enough to kill several of the herb gatherers if they approached their group unnoticed. Later in the evening, as they were about to stop for the day, Liu Zhu noticed a set of tracks that seemed to belong to a vicious beast. After a closer examination, he spotted a few more pairs. He immediately put away his notebook, straining his senses to detect danger, and that''s when he heard a faint growling coming from several different directions. His first real challenge for the day was approaching.

 Chapter 46: Being In Two Places At Once

    Liu Zhu turned around and unsheathed his guandao with no warning, startling the herb gatherers around him. Before they could ask what was happening they saw a vicious beast similar in appearance to a panther dash out from the bushes behind him, letting out shrill mix between a growl and a purr as it lunged at his vitals. He looked unfazed upon seeing the creature and finished the strike he had already set in motion, cleanly decapitating it in the middle of its failed sneak attack. The vicious beast that attacked him was about equal to an Early Bone and Marrow Tempering cultivator, so it was a bit risky to try to go for the kill in a single move like that, but with the element of surprise on his side he managed to pull it off, slaying the beast before it realized that it''d been noticed.


    Upon noticing the vicious beasts Liu Zhu had also noticed that the one closest to the group was sneaking towards him. At that point he decided to pretend not to notice its presence so that he could launch a sneak attack and get a good idea of the beasts'' strength. If they were all as strong as he was he''d be forced to grab who he could and run away, but fortunately the situation wasn''t that dire. Now he just had be on guard and make sure he could protect the herb gatherers while they formed up. As the first vicious beast''s head hit the ground, Liu Zhu had already began to yell out orders. "Gather towards the clearing 20 feet in front of me. There are more."


    The herb gatherers were surprised by the sudden appearance of such a powerful vicious beast but had been through many expeditions in these forests and this wasn''t the first time they''d been threatened by vicious beasts. They wouldn''t be any help in winning a fight, but at the very least they knew how to reduce their chances of dying. They moved as quickly as they could towards where Liu Zhu had specified, trying to form up so that he could protect them. Unfortunately, despite the men''s best efforts, the vicious beasts were approaching them far faster than they were approaching each other. At this rate the vicious beasts would maul at least one of them to death before they were able to gather up. Liu Zhu needed to act now.


    Liu Zhu''s first instinct was to charge forward and cut off the vicious beasts before they could kill anyone, but that wasn''t an option here. The vicious beasts were approaching from two directions at once, so if he went to cut off one then he''d be even farther away from the other when it reached one of the herb gatherers. As Liu Zhu thought about this, he internally sighed. The only way to take care of this problem was to be in two places at once. While that was impossible, the thought had given him an idea.


    Liu Zhu''s idea was a last ditch effort to reduce the amount of casualties to zero. He couldn''t be in two places at once, but that didn''t mean it was impossible to attack two vicious beasts in two different places at once. It was just extremely difficult. Since he had his fists and his guandao to fight with, he figured he could throw his guandao at one beast while he fought back the other with his bare hands. That would nearly kill one vicious beast and delay the other, giving the herb gatherers the time to form up into one group and making it possible to protect them. Of course, this was much easier in theory than it was in reality. To pull this off required good timing, aim, and more than a bit of luck. Still, it was the only option he could think of so he had to try it.


    Liu Zhu turned towards an herb gatherer to his right, yelling to make sure he was heard. "Zexi, when you see me move dive for the ground immediately! That''s the only way you''ll be able to react in time!" Without any further context the man this was directed at was extremely confused, but since it was a life and death situation and Liu Zhu was far more capable than him he didn''t question it. Immediately after he was able to process this he saw Liu Zhu dash in the opposite direction, his arm already pulled back and his guandao held in an odd fashion, similar to that of a javelin. The old man dived for the ground as quickly as he could, and while he was doing so he heard a loud whooshing sound coming towards him. Moments later a warm sensation covered him as blood splattered all over him. The old man, confused, glanced behind him and saw that the vicious beast who was chasing him had been sent flying backwards, impaled into a tree with Liu Zhu''s guandao sticking through its chest. Normally it would''ve had the time to dodge a weapon thrown from dozens of meters away, but since the herb gatherer had been obscuring its vision until after the guandao was thrown it never had a chance to react. After staring at the corpse of the vicious beast for a moment and regaining his bearings the old man stumbled to his feet and dashed towards the other villagers.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    As Liu Zhu''s guandao brutally killed one of the vicious beasts, he managed to leave some minor wounds on the other one in a single round of hand to hand combat. This delay allowed the herb gatherers to form up about ten meters behind him, and since Liu Zhu was closer to them than any of the vicious beasts it would be impossible for one of them to snatch a villager up as food without him intervening. With the pressure on him greatly alleviated, Liu Zhu let out several powerful blows, injuring the vicious beast he was fighting and sending it tumbling several dozen feet back. He didn''t pursue it, simply watching as he came to a stop.


    As Liu Zhu beat up this vicious beast, the noises of the vicious beasts nearby became much quieter. The growling disappeared, replaced with a few faint, fearful noises. He had been prepared to kill these beasts one by one, fighting in a battle of endurance while making sure no one died, but it seemed like he wouldn''t have to do that. Vicious beasts would naturally attack humans, but they, like most animals, had some limited intelligence. Unless they were driven into a bloodthirsty rage, like during a beast horde, they''d consider whether or not who they were attacking would be able to kill them. This meant that after seeing three of their number be easily defeated by Liu Zhu, any thoughts of snatching up his group as easy prey disappeared and were immediately replaced with ones about getting away. Upon noticing that the beasts were going to leave Liu Zhu retrieved his guandao, not wanting to pursue the beasts. His job was to be an escort, not to serve as animal control for all of The Northern Wastes.


    With the worst over, Liu Zhu quickly made sure everyone was alright before having them follow him. The risk was low, but there was always a chance that the vicious beasts might just be temporarily retreating and that they would come back after meeting up with the rest of their pack. To avoid this hypothetical they would need to ignore the main task of gathering herbs for a while and cover ground as quickly as they could, exiting the territory of these beasts. This precautionary measure took up an hour, but after that things went back to normal, although everyone was more wary after that scare.


    Still, the herb gatherers had had closer brushes with death and most of them had seen at least one of their coworkers die before their eyes before. Something like that wouldn''t shake them up for too long. For the rest of the day they continued answering Liu Zhu''s questions and teaching him all about the local plants and how to find them. This lasted until it was almost dark out, at which point they set up camp and prepared to cook one of the vicious beasts Liu Zhu had slain earlier for dinner. Many of the vicious beasts living nearby had tough, unpalatable meat, but not what they were going to eat tonight- apparently the variation panther species that had nearly killed some of them earlier was incredibly tasty, and everyone was more than ready for some posthumous revenge.

 Chapter 47: Meanwhile, Throughout Yutian Country...

    "Are you fucking daft?! It''s yellow, not grey! Why would we call it Grey Root!" "Because! Who gives a shit- it''s a plant, that''s its name. It might make more sense to change it, but think about tradition- how would you feel if you discovered a plant, died, and then some idiot like you changed it without your permission? That''s a legacy right there!" "Ok, ok, but- HE WAS COLORBLIND! COLORBLIND PEOPLE SHOULDN''T NAME THINGS AFTER COLORS! I don''t care how a corpse feels- we should change the damn name!" Liu Zhu watched on in awe as the herb gatherers screamed at each other, debating over the name of Grey Root, an herb common throughout the Northern Wastes, and whether or not it should be changed. This all started when Liu Zhu had been speaking to one of the herb gatherers, hoping to learn more about herbology. The discussion was enjoyable at first, but then the conversation turned to the Grey Root. The herb gatherer continued speaking for far, far too long as he went on a lengthy diatribe about how Grey Roots aren''t grey, the origin of the name, and why it should be changed. Liu Zhu tried to change the topic several times, but failed every single time. At some point the other herb gatherers heard them speaking, and since they also had confusingly strong opinions about the subject, the situation had developed into this. This farce had served as Liu Zhu''s entertainment for the night, and as he cultivated and practiced the movement techniques Zhu Chao had given him, it could be constantly heard in the background.


    That night, as Liu Zhu practiced with the movement technique and the book of observations Zhu Chao had given him, he felt like it was... clicking more than usual. Parts that had previously confused him were much easier to put together. This odd feeling reminded him of when he was cultivating back at the village. Everything just seemed slightly simpler than before. He stopped training, mulling over this oddity, and came up with a hypothesis- his perception had increased. Of course this was just an assumption, and if his training didn''t go as smoothly within the next few days that would disprove it, but this made sense. If that pearl made a beast sentient, then it had to increase their intelligence. In that case, why wouldn''t it do the same thing for humans? He felt most of the energy within it go towards his head, so it would make sense if it had change his brain somewhat.


    Although an increase in perception didn''t directly increase his cultivation, Liu Zhu was still overjoyed. As one''s cultivation increased, they''d naturally search for stronger cultivation methods and battle techniques. This was a difficult task in itself, and even assuming that one could find these things, they needed to have a certain level of talent and perception in order to understand and then cultivate them. While Liu Zhu''s cultivation had rapidly risen after his lucky chance in the cave, his perception hadn''t. That meant that eventually his cultivation would rapidly slow down. Body Tempering relied one''s talent for cultivating far more than their perception, and that''s why Liu Zhu''s cultivation had increased so much. Whatever happened in the cave affected his body and made it better for cultivating with, or at least more suitable for Body Tempering. But when trying to break through to Acupoint Opening, or possibly even earlier than that, his mediocre perception would become a massive problem. But if his perception had increased, this problem was a non-issue. Of course, that was all assuming that this wasn''t just a coincidence. Liu Zhu would need to pay close attention to his cultivation over the following days and make sure this sudden clarity was a trend and not just a one-off event. If this had happened when he wasn''t feeling nervous about spending a month in pain without any visible benefits he wouldn''t have paid much attention to it, so there was a chance this was just a coincidence. Still, Liu Zhu was hopeful and ended that night''s cultivation in high spirits before going to sleep.


    After waking up the expedition through the woods continued with much of the same, and over the next week Liu Zhu settled into a comfortable cycle of spending his days learning about herbology and plants local to The Northern Wastes before training and cultivating through the evening. Every few days they''d stop at the village for a night to deposit their plants and other gains, but they wouldn''t stay long, departing again the next morning. Apparently this season was highly profitable, and the herb gatherers didn''t have much time to spend in the village. During this time Liu Zhu confirmed that his increased perception wasn''t an illusion, which made him extremely happy. Within a few weeks he''d need to leave, as it wouldn''t take too long for a well-educated cultivator to learn most of the knowledge these men had to share, but for the time being it was a useful experience. However, while Liu Zhu was in the woods, several developments related to him were occurring without his knowledge.


    A few men stood next to a hill, guarding it. If Liu Zhu was here he''d recognize the hill as the origin of the beast horde and the place where he''d found the mysterious red pearl. The men suddenly stood at attention as a massive elk dashed out of the forest. On the back of the elk were a teenage boy and an old man. The men standing near the hill bowed, greeting the two newcomers. "Low Protector greets the Highblood and High Protector!"


    The boy waved his hand, causing the three to stand back up. "Is the site where the ruin may be?" One of the men stepped forward and nodded in response to the boy''s question. "Yes, this is where the ruin should be. There''s a force stopping us from reaching the top of the hill so we can''t confirm it, but given the odd phenomena and our records, it''s likely that the first patriarch left a ruin behind here."Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The boy simply nodded in response and began walking up the hill with the old man. They reached the midpoint of the hill without much trouble, but as they advanced further the two began sweating and straining. As the two continued their slow ascent the old man''s footsteps suddenly began to leave deep imprints on the ground, his back straightening as he resumed his leisurely walk forward. Not to be shown up the boy grunted, causing two small antlers to begin growing from his head. They grew to a length of half a foot before stopping, allowing the boy to walk up the hill unimpeded. The two quickly reached the top of the hill before staring at a carved piece of stone set into the ground. As they stood there the boy glanced at the old man and hesitantly asked a question. "These are the symbols of the Horned God, right? I''ve seen them in our records before, but unlike you I''ve never seen a ruin of ours before." In response the old man carefully examined the piece of stone, even going so far as to rub his hands over it. After several minutes he nodded. "Yes, these are the exact symbols. This is definitely a ruin left behind by the first patriarch. We should just need to stimulate our vitality and bloodlines to open it. Hopefully the two of us are enough, or else we''ll be forced to share our harvest with the Lowbloods."


    The two placed their hands against the stone, and after several minutes the stone began slowly parting with a great rumbling noise. The two entered into the chamber, and seconds later let out joyous laughter. The boy excitedly exclaimed "These murals! This is beyond my wildest expectations! This is definitely one of the chambers where the first patriarch left behind a Bloodline Core!" The old man responded with a similar excitement. "Yes, yes, that''s right. The clan hasn''t obtained a Bloodline Core in time immemorial. Since the first patriarch refined them from the monster core of the Horned God, there should only be a few left. If we can use it both of us should have bloodlines purer than countless generations of Highbloods, and with what''s left we can nurture the future generations!" The boy''s excitement dimmed slightly after he heard the old man mention saving part of the Bloodline Core for future generations, but he quickly hid his displeasure.


    The two looked around the chamber, a mixture of joy and greed in their eyes. After several minutes their joy disappeared, changing into a combination of confusion, frustration, and anger. As the search continued veins popped out of the old man''s head and his emotions peaked. "The Bloodline Core... it''s not here. Nothing is here! I... someone must have came here before us. The ruin only surfaced a couple of months ago and most of the time it was surrounded by vicious beasts, so they probably entered when that rumbling phenomena was noted. I didn''t pay much attention to it before since these ruins trigger plenty of odd phenomena, but that was probably the door being unsealed."


    The two stood there silently, processing the situation, before the old man continued speaking. "There are two possibilities. The first is that a peerless expert who practices body transformation techniques took the Bloodline Core. Only they''d have enough vitality to open this place without being a part of our clan. If this happened then we have no choice but to suck up this misfortune and speak of this to no one. The second possibility is that someone else from our bloodline came here first. They could be from a rival faction of the clan, or they could be someone who left the clan generations ago. Either way their bloodline would either need to be powerful enough to unseal the door alone, as I don''t believe an entire family clan descended from our lineage could escape Horned Island''s notice. This second case means we have a chance of getting the Bloodline Core back, but only if we can find them. If we find them, we need to eliminate them- with a bloodline that powerful they could replace you as Highblood and take control of the clan." As the old man said this an odd expression crossed his face for just a moment, hinting at some emotions he was hiding, but the boy didn''t seem to pick up on it.


    The boy regulated his breathing and closed his eyes, trying to calm down. After a few seconds he turned towards the old man, a cold look in his eyes. "We''ll have to assume it''s the second option. Do everything you can to track them down."


    At the same time as all of this, Liu Xuan arrived at the Liu Clan''s estate. One of the Liu Clan''s elders greeted him and Ji Quxin, who had accompanied him. "Young Master Liu, Young Master Ji, we didn''t expect that the two of you would be coming. Please, come in. How was your time at the Ji family Young Master Liu?" Liu Xuan and the elder made small talk as his fiancee looked around. "So, your younger brother is here, right Xuan''er?" Liu Xuan looked at his fiancee before nodding. "Yes, he should be in seclusion right now. I''m not sure what happened, but he has made a lot of progress recently. Maybe it''s related to that." "Mmm... Xuan''er, it''d be rude not to greet him. Would he mind being disturbed for a moment?" "Probably not, but I don''t know where he''s holed up. You''d have to ask Grand Elder Zhu, he''s the one who said he was secluding himself." Ji Quxin stopped the conversation there, simply gritting her teeth and continuing to walk.


    Later that night Ji Quxin walked into her guest room, vacantly staring at the furniture before slamming her fist against the desk. "He can''t even come out of seclusion for a damn meal... shit, how am I supposed to do anything like this. Food is given to his ''quarters'' twice a day, maybe I can bribe the cook. No, just get rid of the maid and send my own. Wait... urgh, how will I cover that up. Dammit!" Ji Quxin ran her fingers through her hair violently, as if trying to pull an idea out of her skull. Despite her efforts nothing came out though, so she simply sat there, a violent expression on her face.

 Chapter 48: Physical Abnormality

    Two weeks had passed since Liu Zhu began escorting the herb gatherers around the forest and enjoying a peaceful yet rather fulfilling time learning and cultivating. During this time his gains were greater than he''d expected. Firstly, he was becoming a competent herbologist rather quickly. Given his increased perception and natural affinity with the subject, there wouldn''t be anything he could learn from these herb gatherers in another week or two. At that point he''d either need to go back to consulting books or look for a more competent teacher. Given that herbology was only a minor focus for him, in the near future he''d rather spend time cultivating and gaining more experience. After leaving the village it was unlikely he''d do much beyond occasionally reading up on the subject.


    Besides the obvious increase in knowledge, Liu Zhu had made great strides towards Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering and mastering the movement technique Zhu Chao gave him. It''d been around three months since Liu Zhu had broken through to Bone and Marrow Tempering, so at his current rate of cultivation he could make a minor breakthrough within the next couple of weeks if he wished to do so. As for the movement technique, Liu Zhu wasn''t particuarly skilled with it yet, but the superficial understanding of it he had was beneficial. After all, Liu Zhu considered his greatest weakness his speed, so any improvement in the area was appreciated. Although in that regards Zhu Chao''s observations on properly leveraging one''s strength to increase speed were currently more useful to Liu Zhu than the technique he was learning- these observations were relatively simple, but that also meant they were easier to learn from and integrate into his fighting style.


    One night Liu Zhu was suddenly jolted awake by a strong pain near his forehead. As his eyes shot open he instinctively glanced around to see if anything odd was happening. This quick look around didn''t reveal anything obviously dangerous, but even in his half-asleep state he felt that something was off. After a few seconds he realized what it was- the moon was out and everyone was asleep, but it was almost as bright as day. Before Liu Zhu could make an attempt to figure out why that was, he felt a dull, throbbing pain spread out from his forehead. He quietly grunted in pain as he stood up and put a hand to his head. His grunt shifted from annoyed to confused as his hand neared his forehead. A moment before it was supposed to touch it the hand was blocked, coming into contact with something that felt like bone before it could reach his forehead.


    Despite not being able to tell what he had touched, a basic understanding of human anatomy was all Liu Zhu needed to know that it wasn''t supposed to be there. As he lowered his hand he carefully looked around the camp, checking to see if he''d woken anyone up. After confirming that he was the only one awake he snuck away from the camp, hoping to find somewhere where he could see his reflection. He didn''t have a mirror, so that would be the easiest way to figure out what was going on.


    A few minutes after Liu Zhu''s search began he found a pond. Upon spotting it he slowly approached, a nervous expression on his face. As he neared it the reflection of his head came into view, causing him to stop moving, his mouth hanging open like that of a fish. His hands reached towards his forehead again as he stared into the pond. After a moment the hands slowly came into contact with the source of his astonishment- a foot long pair of antlers that had suddenly grown out of his forehead.


    Liu Zhu muttered to himself as he stood there, working back to try to figure out the cause of this... growth of his. "The only things I can think of that could cause this are that red pearl and whatever''s lurking near my heart after falling in the cave. I... don''t think it''s the latter? Its been more than 10 months since that happened, so I don''t think it would take so long for something like... this... to suddenly occur. It''s more likely to be that pearl. It''s related to beasts, and that ''Horned God'' had antlers like these, so I suppose this is some sort of side effect. Still, I have no idea what triggered this, and that''s what worries me. Shouldn''t I have had some warning? I was completely normal last night."Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    "I hope these disappear soon, I can''t show my face like this. Even if I don''t understand the exact meaning of this that doesn''t mean someone else won''t, and on the off chance some random village worships me as a descendant of their ''god'' it would definitely bring a calamity upon me." Liu Zhu sighed and sat down by the pond, nervously hoping that the antlers would suddenly disappear or that this was all a dream he would wake up from. As he did so he continued talking to himself, trying to cheer himself up. "Still, I suppose it''s not all bad. I can see really well in the dark, and now that I''m paying more attention I''m starting to notice a lot of smells I wouldn''t be able to before."


    Liu Zhu tried to maintain a hopeful optimism as he sat by the pond, but over time he became more and more worried. "I... won''t have to cut these off and then hide my forehead, will I? ...And don''t deer shed their antlers anyways? I''d have to deal with it again soon." He grumbled to himself with thoughts like these for the next couple of hours. Around sunrise he was beginning to seriously consider removing them by force so that he could return to the camp before anyone became suspicious of his absence, but then he suddenly noticed that the size of the antlers had decreased slightly.


    Liu Zhu''s expression lit up, a smile covering his face. "They shrunk! They must be temporary then, great, great! I really don''t want to be hunted down like some sort of animal... still, these will take at least a few hours to disappear completely and I if I leave the herb gatherers alone for that long then I can say goodbye to this job. Plus, it''d be my fault if they thought I was patrolling nearby and then something attacked them because they were cooking breakfast. I need to hide these antlers, but I''m not letting anyone die from my negligence." At this point he finished talking to himself and thought for a moment. Seconds later he stood up as another smile covered his face. Still smiling, he walked over to his pack and began searching through it.


    Minutes later Liu Zhu returned to the camp, where the first of the herb gatherers were beginning to wake up. His appearance immediately caught their attention as he waltzed into the clearing with his spare bedroll fashioned in a massive turban. This turban had been his ''genius plan'' to hide the horns still jutting out from his head, but after enacting this plan he was quickly beginning to have some regrets. One of the men recovered from his shocked silence and was about to ask what was going on. Not wanting to answer any questions, Liu Zhu immediately interrupted him. "I''ll gather some firewood, since you''re up get ready to make breakfast." He dashed away after saying this, beginning to pick up wood just out of speaking distance.


    Liu Zhu''s odd attire was immediately noticed by the herb gatherers that morning, but despite their interest none of them asked him about it. Or more accurately, no one could ask him about it. Liu Zhu engaged in verbal warfare up through the afternoon, cutting off anyone who looked like they would ask him about it and dominating every conversation he was in. By noon even the densest people in the group had realized he didn''t want to talk about it and dropped all thoughts of asking.


    Fortunately the horns disappeared by one or two in the afternoon, freeing Liu Zhu from his dilemma. At this point he wanted to take off the turban, but realized that he couldn''t suddenly take it off after acting so defensive about it. As a result he wore it for the rest of the day, still mentioning nothing about it. By the evening he''d calmed down and had a chance to think. He needed to take precautions in case this happened again. For the time being he would sleep somewhere where the others couldn''t see him under the excuse of patrolling for vicious beasts. He would also continue wearing his makeshift turban for the near future. Once he figured out more about what was going on he could adjust his actions from there.

 Chapter 49: Returning to the Bustling Border City (Part 1)

    The night after Liu Zhu grew antlers, he was awoken once again by their appearance. Significantly less panicked than the first time, he spent most of the night focusing on the antlers, trying any method he could think of to make them disappear. Unfortunately none of his ideas yielded any results. Undeterred, this process of experimentation and failure continued every night for the next week. While Liu Zhu wasn''t able to assert any conscious control over their appearance or disappearance, he could tell that they were taking less time to disappear each night. Whether that was due to his efforts or the disappearance of some other stimuli, he had no idea. Either way this improvement gave him some relief, as while Liu Zhu was a cultivator, he was not yet at the stage where he could survive without sleep. The day he gained control over when the antlers appeared would also be the day he was finally able to get a good night''s sleep, and it would be a great day indeed.


    During this time Liu Zhu broke through to Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering and had more or less finished learning anything these herb gatherers could teach him. It was time to leave. After spending more than three weeks accompanying these herb gatherers he announced that he would be leaving the next time they returned to the village. The herb gatherers seemed disappointed, partially because it was still their peak season and it would be hard to find another capable escort and partially because while he had seemed ''eccentric'' to them recently, he was one of the only people who had shown so much interest in their work. The night before they were set to return to the village, the herb gatherers stopped working early and prepared a small celebration in the camp. A few men brought out some alcohol they''d stashed away in their packs, while others rolled up their sleeves and showed off their family recipes and other local cooking. Liu Zhu wasn''t one to drink and he had been to more lavish parties, but he still appreciated the genuine gesture of goodwill from the villagers. It had a certain warmth more formal occasions usually lacked. That night he took a break from his cultivation, drinking a bit and playing some sort of local card game with the villagers. The next morning they returned to the village and exchanged goodbyes before going their separate ways. Liu Zhu hadn''t spent long here, but it had been a valuable experience in several ways.


    Liu Zhu had decided where he was going long before leaving the village. The two most populated areas and the best places to gain experience for relatively weak cultivators were Border City and the center of The Northern Wastes. In Border City there was plentiful work, a constant flow of rare and interesting goods passing through the city, and many talented people to learn from. Unfortunately, a thriving city came with its drawbacks. Due to the position of the city and the combined strength of the cultivators there, there were very few dangers nearby. As for the center of The Northern Wastes, its population was comparable to Border City if you combined the five largest tribes'' population, but if you knew where to look there were far more danger zones. Of course Liu Zhu couldn''t venture into the true danger zones, but there were still plenty of good spots in that area where he could temper himself, unlike near Border City. That''s why Liu Zhu was intended to head for the center of The Northern Wastes. Unfortunately he needed to make a detour to Border City first, as the increased presence of vicious beasts and bandits further into The Northern Wastes made travelling alone more dangerous. While Liu Zhu would most likely be safe, he''d rather not take chances. Plus, if he had someone to show him around once he arrived it would be easier to figure out where to go from there.


    Liu Zhu took five days to reach Border City. During this time he ignored the roads and just took the most direct path there, cutting through anything in his way. He took this route because roads weren''t particularly important for lone cultivators and it gave him a chance to practice identifying various plants and herbs he''d been told about over the past month. By the end of this trip, much to Liu Zhu''s relief, he stopped growing antlers every night. He wasn''t sure if this was a coincidence or due to his own efforts, but either way he was pleased. It''d be best if he could control when they appeared and when they disappeared as they were useful in some situations, but if he had to settle for one extreme or the other he''d rather not have them appear at all. Mainly because he didn''t want his head mounted above a fireplace by some eccentric cultivator or someone drinking his blood trying to gain the power of their god. He assumed most sane people wouldn''t go so far, but unfortunately sanity went out the window when power and religion came into the picture.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Upon arriving at Border City, Liu Zhu noticed that it seemed more crowded than usual. The path leading into the West Gate was flooded with massive amounts of cultivators, merchants, and travelers, the guards struggling to sort through them all. After nearly 20 minutes of waiting he was allowed to enter the city. Once he was past the gate Liu Zhu headed directly towards the center of the city, planning to find a place to stay before searching for Feng Jun. He was willing to go with any group heading towards his destination, but Feng Jun was an amiable fellow and they seemed to have some rapport, so it would be best to check if he was interested before searching for anyone else heading for the area.


    The search for a free room took a bit longer than expected due to the influx of people, but Liu Zhu was still done before noon. After putting his things away at the inn and eating lunch he went to the center of the city and paid a visit to the NW Job Agency. The NW Job Agency was where Liu Zhu had initially gotten information on the beast horde and was the largest source of cultivator-focused work in the city, so they would probably be the easiest place to find information on Feng Jun among the 150,000 plus people in the city. Unfortunately, they weren''t willing to give much information out. While they did confirm that Feng Jun was currently in the city, they were not willing to provide an address, not even commenting on whether he had a permanent residence or not. Liu Zhu''s emotions were split between some frustration at being stonewalled and slight relief that this group wasn''t freely giving out personal information to anyone who asked. Even if Liu Zhu had given a fake name and age, the extra layer of security was nice.


    Since Liu Zhu knew that Feng Jun was currently somewhere in Border City, he decided to visit some of the taverns catering to cultivators and see if anyone knew how to contact him. Feng Jun wasn''t particularly powerful, but from what Liu Zhu knew he had operated out of the city for several years to a decade and made a point of forming connections with other people. Tracking him down would be easier than finding most wandering cultivators.


    Reality lived up to Liu Zhu''s expectations, and within a couple of hours he had Feng Jun''s home address. In exchange he''d spent a small amount to bribe people with drinks, been forced to visit far too many near-identical looking taverns, and had used up all his patience on a rather drunk-looking cultivator who had led him on for half an hour before telling him anything useful. Liu Zhu went to the address he was given and arrived at a small building at the edge of the city. It was split up into a few floors, each one belonging to a single person. It wasn''t much, but given that the land prices in Border City were said to be horribly overpriced, it was more than what most people had.


    Liu Zhu knocked on the door and after a moment it popped open, Feng Jun appearing in the entryway. He seemed surprised upon spotting Liu Zhu, but smiled nonetheless. "Junior Brother Zuo, I didn''t expect to run into you again, you suddenly disappeared while we were investigating that hill. Its been a couple of months, hasn''t it?" Feng Jun waved Liu Zhu in as he said this. Liu Zhu took a seat on a old leather chair next to a bookshelf, while Feng Jun sat down on a couch opposite from him. A amateurishly made wooden table with papers scattered all over it filled the gap between them. As Liu Zhu took a seat he responded to Feng Jun''s question. He clearly couldn''t tell the truth about why he had disappeared, but he didn''t want to appear flaky so he needed to give a believable lie. "I was called back to my sect due to some urgent business. I apologize for not informing Senior Brother Feng ahead of time, but I had to hurry back."


    Feng Jun nodded in response to this, not particularly surprised. He noticed that Liu Zhu had made a breakthrough to Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering, and with a cultivation of Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering at what he thought was 15, it made sense for Liu Zhu to be associated with some sort of influence. "I was just curious so I won''t delve any further. Let me prepare some tea and we can talk about whatever you came here for." As Feng Jun said this he went into the adjoining room to prepare tea, while Liu Zhu glanced around the room. After a few minutes Feng Jun returned, a simple tea set in hand.

 Chapter 50: Returning to the Bustling Border City (Part 2)

    Liu Zhu explained the reason he came while Feng Jun listened, seemingly intrigued. After hearing him out there was a short pause before Feng Jun replied. "I have some business in Green City so while I am interested, I''m not able to leave right now. There''s a lot going on in Border City and I was hoping to get acquainted with some major figure during all of this. It''s probably a long shot, but I won''t be able to leave for at least a week because of that. It will also take some time to form a decently strong group. Still, as I said, I am interested. So... give me a week, a week and a half, and then we can head out. Is that fine?"


    Liu Zhu grinned, glad that he had been able to work something out. If he went alone there would be some risk involved, but if Blood and Viscera Tempering and possibly Meridian Opening cultivators accompanied him, most of it would be gone. "That''s fine with me, I can wait a while. Still, I do have a question before I leave- exactly what are you talking about? I just got back here, so while I noticed that it''s crowded, I don''t know why."


    "Eh, it''s a lot. It''s late in the busiest season for gathering herbs so a massive caravan came into the city with much of this year''s harvest. Apparently they found a few rare items which made certain major figures come here in person in hopes of purchasing them, but I can''t confirm those rumors. This wouldn''t cause much of a stir by itself, but a couple of other things happened at the same time. About a month ago an old refining expert came out of seclusion in the wilderness. He announced that he''d be taking forging requests from anyone who could pay enough or had an interesting idea until the first of next month. This already raised quite the frenzy, but then he added that he would be holding a competition to search for a direct disciple on the first of next month. The competition to become his disciple will be open to anyone who under 20 and who has ''basic knowledge'' in the field, so hundreds upon hundreds of hopeful refiners have flooded into the city recently. Lastly, an... anomaly recently appeared in the city''s arena. He''s a teenager with a cultivation at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering, but he has a winstreak of 20 matches against Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivators. People are estimating that his strength is just below a Late Blood and Viscera cultivator. Once it became clear that the Five Families weren''t going to lay claim to him, some of the major families sent out envoys trying to recruit him. At the same time even more juniors came to the city to challenge him, and... you see where this is leading, right?"


    Liu Zhu nodded as Feng Jun left off with a question. "Once enough attention is drawn here then everyone talks about it and you''d come here as an excuse to mingle with others even if you didn''t have business here before. The first of the month is about a week away, so... I guess Border City will be this crowded until then?" Feng Jun shrugged as he responded. "Roughly." At this point the conversation drew to a close and the two exchanged some pleasantries before Liu Zhu got up to leave. "I''ll see you later then Senior Brother Feng. You can leave a message at my inn when the group is put together." "Mmhm, I''ll see you later then."


    After departing from Feng Jun''s home Liu Zhu made his way to the city''s market. Given the ridiculous volume of trade passing through Border City there was a good chance he''d find something interesting. Even if he didn''t he needed to sell his latest batch of herbs grown from his blood, so the trip would be worth it either way.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Border City''s market was actually an entire district in the city. On the outer edges of this district even more street stalls were propped up than in the rest of the city, but as one went deeper into it, the street stalls disappeared completely, replaced by neat and orderly shops. At the center of the market were a few governmental buildings, a merchant''s guild, some trading associations, and an auction house. Liu Zhu didn''t have any use for these but was planning to make a large transaction, so he went past the street stalls and into the well-maintained shops. He split the sales of his latest batch of herbs among a few shops, buying more plants to grow with his blood as he did so. Once he was done he took a look in his coinpurse, calculating how much he had available.


    "Combining the money I have from this latest sale of plants and the other two after I handed over most of my funds to Dai He to invest, there''s 523 gold coins. It''d be stupid to spend all of that, but I could definitely make a few needed purchases with that..." After gleefully noting that he had more than enough money saved up, Liu Zhu wandered around the market, examining whatever took his fancy. After a few stops he narrowed down what he was searching for. There was no need to get a better weapon given his level of cultivation, and even if he wanted a new one he might not be able to find or afford it, so looking at weapons was meaningless. As for armor, speed was already his limiting factor and his defenses were exceptional for his cultivation. Buying armor would be a waste of money. This led him to look through pill shops and stores selling battle techniques. Given that the Liu Clan was only a minor family he hadn''t used many pills before, but increasing one''s cultivation was always useful, and his variety of attacks was... lacking at best. Both pills and battle techniques could quickly add to his strength.


    Liu Zhu spent an hour wandering through the market before spending a sizable sum on a variety of pills and a polearm technique that struck his fancy. He wasn''t particularly knowledgeable in regards to pills, but he could vaguely recall hearing of this or that cultivator belonging to a larger family using what he had bought around his cultivation, so after checking with the shopkeepers he decided to purchase them. After all, he didn''t need to be an expert to take them. All one had to do to use a pill was absorb the energy and use it to temper their body, right? As for the polearm technique, it was part sneak attack and part finishing blow which the creator simply named the "Extended Blow". It would allow the user to attack the enemy, discretely dislocate one of their shoulders mid-attack, and extend the range and power of their strike slightly. This tactic wasn''t necessarily impossible without the jade slip containing the technique, but the technique taught the user how to strike out, dislocate the joint, and then pop it back in one fluid motion. Without it this gamble would be far, far riskier. The Extended Blow wasn''t particularly powerful, but it would serve as a valuable tool to trick an opponent and end a battle that was dragging on.


    Once Liu Zhu was done shopping, he was left at a bit of a loss at what to do. "I suppose I could hole myself up reading and cultivating, but that seems a bit of a waste given everything that''s going on. On the first of the month I should join that ''expert refiner''s'' competition if only to see how I stand compared to other juniors, but that won''t be for a while. Hm... well, I suppose for the time being I''ll head to the arena. Maybe I could learn something from watching this ''anomaly'' who''s tearing up the arena in action." Having decided on a course of action Liu Zhu headed towards the arena, curious about the exceptional fighter Feng Jun had mentioned.

 Chapter 51: Meeting Friends Old and New

    Border City''s arena was crowded, the seats packed up through the nosebleeds. Given that space in Border City came at a premium and that the founders of the arena had never expected the city to grow to such a size, every single seat went for a high price. To deal with the large numbers of seats and the demand for them to be vacated as quickly as possible, the Border City arena implemented a system which had come from abroad around more than half a millennium ago. They would sell tickets for a given number of matches, note down the seat number, and then once the matches were over immediately sell the seat to someone else for however many matches. This required a team of well-educated people constantly updating a chart behind the scenes, but in exchange it removed the need for ticket-checkers and guards to wander around the arena and remove people who overstayed their welcome. This system made the arena-goers feel more comfortable and maximized the amount of time each seat was being sold. When this system was introduced it received great praise from businessmen throughout Yutian Country, and it''s still studied by young merchants like Dai He up to this day.


    Despite the relatively high cost of tickets, it didn''t matter to Liu Zhu. The price only inconvenienced mortals or wandering cultivators- anyone from a decently-sized influence, even one on the level of the Liu Clan, wouldn''t need to care about it. He bought a ticket for five matches in a decent position and then took his seat. The first few matches would be men versus beasts, the fourth would be between two Meridian Opening cultivators, and the last would be the highlight of the afternoon- the talented junior on a 20 match winstreak, Meng Zhao, versus one of the top talents of a major family. Both of them were at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering, and both were at a level of strength far above the cultivators who normally fought in Border City''s arena. As a result the match had attracted a lot of hype, and everyone who was interested was forced to buy tickets at least a few matches beforehand- after all, almost no one was going to watch the opening acts and then leave right before the climax.


    The first match didn''t look like it''d be particularly exciting, but Liu Zhu decided to watch anyways. After all, he''d spent good money on that ticket- if he didn''t make the most of it then it''d be a waste. The first match was between a woman at Early Flesh Tempering and some sort of wolf-variant vicious beast. This match dragged on for around ten minutes, and in the process both sides sustained fairly heavy wounds. In the end the vicious beast launched an all-out strike, using up the last of its strength in an attempt to settle victory in one massive strike. Unfortunately for the beast the woman saw the attack coming and countered it, slicing open the wolf''s stomach from below and killing it before it could even touch her. This explosive conclusion was rather exciting to those there for betting or entertainment, but the match was at a rather low level and Liu Zhu was a bit bored. As people who had just bought tickets entered the arena, Liu Zhu heard someone start talking to the right of him. An older man at Qi Refinement or Qi Emission had been sitting there, and was now speaking with a boy at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering who seemed to be just a bit older than Liu Zhu.


    "I have a ticket for the next four matches a couple rows in front of you- how many matches is your ticket for?" The old man looked confused, but still responded to the boy after a short delay. "I''ll be here for the next four as well." The boy took out his ticket upon hearing this. "Alright then, want to switch seats? You''ll have a better view up there. I just want to talk to the guy next to you." The older man grunted and swapped tickets with the boy, taking his new seat while Liu Zhu glanced at the boy, trying to figure out if he knew him. After a few moments he was sure he hadn''t seen him before, leaving him perplexed. As he sat down, Liu Zhu questioned him. "Did you scam him with a fake ticket? I don''t believe we''re acquainted."


    The boy laughed upon hearing this and shook his head. "No, I don''t need to scam people just for a seat. I guess you don''t recognize me then?" Liu Zhu, still puzzled by the situation, shook his head. "Have we met?" The boy stopped laughing as he responded. "If you don''t recognize me then I suppose not. You''re probably one of the outer disciples then? I''m Duan Ping, that son of the third elder." After a moment of consideration Liu Zhu gave the fake name he''d been using in The Northern Wastes. He was unwilling to give his real name to someone he didn''t recognize, but Duan Ping seemed to have some status, so maybe it''d be beneficial to befriend him. "I''m Zuo Shi." Duan Ping paused after hearing this and began muttering to himself. "...Zuo Shi? I don''t remember there being a Zuo family. Were you recruited from the outside?"Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Beginning to realize that this was some case of mistaken identity, Liu Zhu tried to clear up the situation. "...I don''t know what influence you''re from, but it would make sense if there''s no Zuo family in it. There is no Duan family in the influence I''m a part of. We aren''t related to each other." Duan Ping stopped talking after hearing this, looking incredibly confused. As he tried to figure out how he''d misled himself, someone else interrupted their conversation.


    "Brother Liu, I didn''t realize you''d come to Border City! It''s nice to see you!" Shocked to hear his real name Liu Zhu turned around, preparing to run if needed. Fortunately he saw the face of Yu Bai, who seemed genuinely surprised and happy to see him, and not that of an assassin. "Brother Yu, I didn''t expect to run into you either! How is your father?" "Good, good, apparently my older brother learned quite a bit with your Grand Elder and so my father seemed pleased." Before the conversation went any further Duan Ping interrupted by clearing his throat. "...Nice to meet you, I''m Gin Dune. ''Brother Liu'', which name of yours should I remember?"


    Liu Zhu wasn''t sure if he was being mocked for giving a fake name or if Duan Ping was actually supposed to be maintaining some level of secrecy, but he didn''t care much either way. "...Er, that''s my real name, but I''d prefer if you used Zuo Shi. While we''re on this topic, you should probably come up with a better name yourself- you sound like you just came up with it in a matter of seconds." As Yu Bai looked on, bemused, Duan Ping clicked his tongue, a smug look on his face. "Of course I came up with it in a matter of seconds! I have dozens of fake names! If I thought of good ones every time then it''d take far too long! What, do you expect me to keep a list of fake names?"


    Liu Zhu and Yu Bai blankly stared at Duan Ping, baffled at his explanation. Duan Ping was left unfazed by this, and still looked like he was explaining something obvious. At this instant he was probably the smuggest person in the entire arena. Eventually Yu Bai broke the awkward silence, ignoring Duan Ping and turning to Liu Zhu. "Um... why would you be using a fake name?" Liu Zhu awkwardly squirmed for a few seconds, considering whether he should explain the specifics before responding. "That... sorry, it''d be best not to explain the specifics. Just don''t refer to me by my real name in public."


    Yu Bai decided not to dig deeper after hearing this and then addressed the elephant in the room. "So, this man is..." "Yes, him, he''s my new acquaintance. He''s, uh... do I have to use that fake name? You should really consider a better one." As Liu Zhu once again questioned Duan Ping''s dubious choice of name, Duan Ping did budge slightly. "Yes, but if it sounds better then I suppose you don''t have to use the full name. What about Brother Gin?"


    As Duan Ping said this Yu Bai and Liu Zhu began laughing uncontrollably. Extremely confused, Duan Ping hurriedly questioned them. "Is... is there something wrong with calling me Brother Gin?" The two''s laughter only intensified with his query, but after a bit they calmed down. Liu Zhu was the first one to gasp out a response in between breaths. "Brother Gin... Brother Gin is the name of a brand of alcohol local to the the region where I live. It''s extremely popular. Oh... oh... oh my god, that''s great." Duan Ping quieted down, finally somewhat embarrassed. As the three regained their calm they were interrupted by loud cheering- by the looks of it a match had just ended.


    The three decided that they should probably watch what they''d come here for and leave the bantering for later, and Yu Bai returned to his seat, which was a short ways away. Before he did so he mentioned that he''d come here with his older brother, who was intending to participate in the competition to become the expert refiner''s disciple. Apparently his brother was chatting with some other juniors at a gathering place somewhere else in the city. Liu Zhu made plans to head there with him after Meng Zhao''s match, and Duan Ping inserted himself into these plans as he had nothing better to do. Neither Yu Bai nor Liu Zhu objected to this, as while they had no idea what influence Duan Ping was a part of, it was probably on pars with theirs at the very least.

 Chapter 52: The Power Of Experience

    Two figures dashed about Border City''s arena, rapidly exchanging blows. These were the Meridian Opening cultivators who were scheduled to fight before Meng Zhao, and despite their seemingly ordinary appearances they managed to excite the crowd far beyond expectations. Their moves were vicious, striking at their opponent without regard for themselves, and within a short time both sides had been heavily injured in the mad melee. Despite this, the two dragged themselves forward, continuing to fight with an odd, sullen determination. Some would attribute this to both sides having extraordinary willpower, or maybe too much pride to give in. Others would assume that it was about money. These people would be correct, as the two Meridian Opening cultivators were being paid a handsome sum so that the match before Meng Zhao''s was exciting enough to get the crowd pumped up. Of course, most of this sum would go to the victor- if they offered the same amount to both, why would they care about winning?


    Fortunately the fight before Meng Zhao''s went off without a hitch thanks to a liberal dose of capitalism, successfully exciting the crowd and helping pull in more bets for the next fight. The arena didn''t want this mood to fall apart and immediately after the fight ended Meng Zhao and his opponent both appeared on the arena''s battlefield. Meng Zhao had a rough, tanned body that reminded Liu Zhu of a farmer, and a few light scars could be seen scattered across his body. His opponent looked rather ordinary for an elite of a major family- handsome face, overpriced armor, et cetera. This appearance showed off a certain pride and strength, but it didn''t stand out like Meng Zhao''s peculiar appearance. As the two took their positions the loud voice of an announcer could be heard throughout the arena- by the sheer volume of his screaming it was clear that he was a relatively powerful cultivator.


    "I''d like to thank everyone for patronizing the Border City Arena on this fine afternoon, and I hope you''re all enjoying yourselves! This match is what many of you are waiting for, so I''ll get to it- on a 20 match winstreak, Border City''s very own rising star, Meng Zhao! He possesses strength far beyond his boundary, but today he''s facing another talent from his generation- Mao Jia, the most talented junior of the Mao family! Both sides are at Late Bone and Marrow Tempering, and both sides are able to display strength beyond their cultivation. Still, clearly you all see a forgone conclusion, as today the betting odds have settled at eight to one in Meng Zhao''s favor. Will we see Meng Zhoa''s legend move forward here, or will Mao Jia forge his own? It''s time to find out!"


    Seeing that the crowd was beginning to get impatient, the announcer had hurriedly wrapped up his spiel. The crowd yelled out happily as the two took center stage in the arena, standing only a dozen feet away each other. Mao Jia unsheathed his sword, ready to start slashing out at any moment, while Meng Zhao stood across from him, fists raised with no intention of taking a weapon out. Seeing this the crowd let out a cheer, heckling Mao Jia and cheering on Meng Zhao, who they''d taken as a local hero despite his sudden appearance. Border City was a big place, but unlike most of the cities in the country, it wasn''t really controlled by a large force of cultivators- only the Ki family could be said to have some clout here. That independence meant that despite the amount of people here there weren''t many talents able to stand out throughout Yutian Country as a whole. Correspondingly, when one did appear the city would quickly latch onto them as a young hero, cheering them on and gossiping about how they might take the position of Border City Lord eventually. In truth this ''might'' could more accurately described as a one or two percent chance, but a talent like this would excite the city anyways- even if they didn''t reach Half-step Soul Foundation another high-level Acupoint Opening master appearing in their city meant that there was another powerhouse to protect their relative independence.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Mao Jia was a bit uncomfortable after the crowd''s sudden outburst, but he closed his eyes for a moment and seemed to recover. He may have been out of his comfort zone, but even so he was a chosen elite from one of the major families- he wouldn''t crack under the pressure of just because of some yelling. Once he calmed down he let out a deep breath, reaching his peak condition and then slashing out at Meng Zhao at his greatest speed. As Mao Jia strike out a small cloud of dust shot up, forced upwards when Meng Zhao shot away from the blow. To Liu Zhu''s surprise the dust didn''t scatter out normally, but instead flew towards Mao Jia. This dust obviously wouldn''t cause any direct damage, but it would blind him for a moment. Seeing what was about to happen Mao Jia forcefully pulled back his sword and stepped backwards. As he scanned his surroundings he saw that Meng Zhao had slipped behind him and aimed a heavy kick at his shin. He moved to dodge, but given that his sword was still in motion the momentum affected his movements, making them a bit slower and less exact. This small variable was enough for Meng Zhao to land a solid hit on him. While it wasn''t a heavy injury it made the gap in skill obvious and set the tone for the rest of the match.


    For the next five minutes, Mao Jia suffered greatly at the hands of Meng Zhao. He launched attack after attack, slashing with one sword strike after another, but he hadn''t been able to land a single decent blow. Every time he''d attack Meng Zhao would dodge and launch a counterattack. At no point did he show off using strength or speed far beyond his cultivation to counter Mao Jia, but instead leveraged a fearsome amount of skill and practical experience. Whether his strength or speed was beyond average wasn''t clear- there was just too much of a gap. Meng Zhao''s smallest movements were calculated to put Mao Jia in the most uncomfortable positions, blinding him, putting him off-balance, forcing him back, and so on and so forth.


    At one point Mao Jia had managed to lightly injure Meng Zhao, but in exchange he''d received a heavy injury of his own- this exchange had probably been calculated beforehand. Even at the tail end of the match, as Mao Jia unleashed his family''s trademark technique, the "Melancholic Whirlwind", all it did was manage to force Meng Zhao back. He was unable to counter such a blow head-on, but at the same time Mao Jia was unable to do anything more than scratch him with it. After his greatest technique failed to show any results Mao Jia hesitantly forfeited, realizing that there was very little he could do at this point. He was already covered in bruises and too tired to show off his full strength, so why would he drag this out? He was here to fight, not to make sure the arena-goers got the most out of their tickets.


    Upon Mao Jia''s forfeit the crowd shouted out once again, even louder than before. Around this point Liu Zhu drew in a sharp breath, idly discussing the fight with Duan Ping. "That... that level of skill is scary. I can''t fathom what he''s gone through to have so much battle experience at our age." Duan Ping nodded before letting out a small chuckle. "I agree. How do you think you''d fare against him?" Liu Zhu let out a sigh as he thought through the fight and tried to calculate his odds. "I doubt I could hit him, but at the same time it should be hard for him to injure me. I probably wouldn''t be a serious threat, but I could force him to use his weapon at least." Duan Ping nodded throughout Liu Zhu''s response, not paying complete attention. "As for me, I could... I''m not sure. My chances of victory are slim, but let''s hope that he''s not hiding too much of his strength. I think I have a 20% chance to win."


    A 20% chance of victory was more than Liu Zhu thought he could eke out, but what surprised him more was how seriously Duan Ping was taking his own hypothetical. "That''s a bit exact, isn''t it? It''s not like you''ll have to think about it, will you?" Duan Ping bitterly smiled as Liu Zhu said this. "Er... the reason I came here today is because I will have to worry about it. I''m his opponent tomorrow. Before this fight I assumed that we''d be roughly even, but now I''m having some doubts." Duan Ping sighed upon saying this, deflating slightly, but after a moment he sprung back up. "Anyways, enough of that- it''s not like it''s a life or death battle, so the outcome doesn''t matter, just that I do my best. Weren''t we going to that gathering with your friend?" Realizing that he did have to look for Yu Bai, Liu Zhu came to his senses. "You''re right. Let''s meet up with him then."

 Chapter 53: Butterfly Loft

    "This is it- The Butterfly Loft, one of the best venues in the city and where most of the visiting juniors have gathered to socialize." As Yu Bai said this he pointed to a relatively large building near the city center. The building stood out among its surroundings, toeing the line between being fancy and gaudy. An old man with a cultivation Liu Zhu couldn''t sense stood in front of the building, speaking to anyone trying to enter. The three approached him, and upon seeing them he nodded at Yu Bai. "Welcome back Young Master Yu. May I ask for the other young masters'' names?"


    In response to this request both Liu Zhu and Duan Ping paused. Liu Zhu was pausing because he was wondering if he''d be blocked at the door for using a fake name, while Duan Ping paused to pull a small jade token out of his pocket. He tossed it to the old man too quickly for Liu Zhu to get a look at it, and after spending a moment examining it the old man respectfully nodded and handed it back to him. "You''re more than welcome in." Immediately after saying this he got out of the group''s way and waved them in. "Basic amenities are being provided by the Ki family for the time being. If you want anything not provided then speak to one of the waitstaff and they''ll give you a price."


    Liu Zhu was curious as to what the token was, but decided against asking about it. Since Duan Ping hadn''t mentioned it on his own initiative, that meant that it either didn''t matter or that it wasn''t Liu Zhu''s place to know. Since the old man seemed to care enough to not even ask about Duan Ping''s identity after seeing the token it probably did matter, but for some reason Liu Zhu couldn''t be told about it. The first possibility that came to mind was that the old man was important enough to know about it, but that seemed unlikely- he did work for an establishment owned by the Ki family, but that didn''t mean he was an important figure in it- if he was than he would in their headquarters, not working a full-time job in Border City. A slightly more likely possibility was that this information actually wasn''t that important by itself, but that Liu Zhu couldn''t know about it in more detail because Duan Ping already assumed they were part of the same influence and had given out his name. Liu Zhu couldn''t imagine why that would be the case but it was the only other possibility that immediately came to mind so he filed it away as an explanation before turning his attention to the festivities.


    Juniors from across The Northern Wastes and the rest of Yutian Country were scattered throughout the room. The vast majority of them were from major and minor families, although a scattered few were juniors from the Five Families'' who were visiting here for the upcoming refining competition. As the three walked forward Duan Ping stopped, staring at a table full of food. He cleared his throat as he slowly distanced himself from Yu Bai and Liu Zhu. "It''d be rude to ignore the hospitality of one of the Five Families, so I''ll be taking my leave for now. More importantly than that, I see lobster. I may or may not have been on the road until yesterday, so good food sounds tempting to say the least." As Duan Ping left the two behind, led astray by the offer of free food, Yu Bai led Liu Zhu to where his older brother was.


    Yu Bai''s older brother, Yu Fu, was speaking with a woman in her early 20s and two other men his age. Upon noticing Yu Bai approaching Yu Fu waved in his direction. "Little brother, I see you made it back. How was Meng Zhao''s fight against Mao Jia? Mao Jia got destroyed, right?" Yu Bai gestured for Yu Fu to come over as he responded. "Yes, he got destroyed. If he''s the best talent they have then maybe the Mao family won''t be a major family soon." Noticing Yu Bai''s gestures Yu Fu paused his conversation and approached the two of them.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Older brother, this is Liu Zhu, the boy who visited our family while you were training at the Liu Clan. Liu Zhu, this is Yu Bai, my older brother." The two shook hands and quickly exchanged compliments, but as Yu Bai was preparing to introduce him to the others Liu Zhu interrupted him. "Sorry for the awkwardness, but for the time being I can''t use my real name. I''d appreciate it if you could just call me Zuo Shi while I''m here." Yu Fu paused, clearly confused, but after a moment just shrugged and began introducing him to his friends.


    The group Yu Fu was with was composed of himself, another junior from a minor family, the child of a large merchant family from the capital around the same age, and the woman in her early 20s, who was apparently a member of the Ki family. Everyone exchanged introductions upon Liu Zhu and Yu Bai''s arrival, and Yu Fu chatted with Liu Zhu a bit about his time at the Liu Clan, although he did remember what Liu Zhu said and excluded any names.


    "Ah... ha, that really was a good time. I mean, your older brother really can party. I''ll have to pay him a visit sometime. Your Grand Elder was very powerful as well, he gave off quite the pressure during training. It was completely different from my father." "Mhm, my brother is quite the... special person. Anyways, how''d you get acquainted with a member of the Ki family? I wouldn''t think you''d get many chances to interact with them." "Oh, that? It''s not really a big deal- a few years ago we met at the Yutian Martial Conference and she gave me some tips on refining armor. I wouldn''t say we''re good friends, but I gain from our conversations and she seems to enjoy them."


    As Liu Zhu replied, traces of mild bemusement appeared on his face. "The Yutian Martial Conference? I wouldn''t have expected that, our clans are about the same size but we''ve never been able to get a slot." Yu Fu coughed upon hearing this and threw a glance at his brother, who awkwardly shrugged. "That... er, your clan has had a slot, I heard that one was given to you days after your Grand Elder arrived. That being said, I haven''t heard it mentioned for a long time and every year the slot remains empty. I only know you still have the slot because our families are always listed near each other on the paperwork."


    Liu Zhu was surprised upon hearing that Zhu Chao had just decided that neither he or his brother should be going to Yutian Country''s largest gathering of juniors without their input, but in hindsight it made sense. Until recently Liu Zhu would''ve just embarrassed himself if he tried to compete, and it would''ve made him more frustrated about not being able to break through to Flesh Tempering. As for his brother... he might have had a decent showing, but given his antics there was a chance he could piss off someone that he really shouldn''t have. It''d be safest just to keep him at home.


    Liu Zhu quickly jumped away from this awkward topic and got the conversation back on track. The woman from the Ki family didn''t show much interest in the conversation and only chatted with Yu Fu about refining for a bit. Liu Zhu was able to follow their conversation and was honestly more interested in it than what he was chatting with the others about, but didn''t interject out of politeness. After a bit she left, leaving their group to chat among themselves.


    After around an hour Liu Zhu left the group. Initially he was planning to speak with Duan Ping for a bit, but after seeing that he was still vacuuming in food like a human interdimensional ring at the catering table, he abandoned the idea. At that point he decided to speak with some of the juniors around his age and try to make connections. He couldn''t give out his real name, but to be honest that didn''t change too much since the Liu Clan wasn''t a major force anyways. People would just assume he was part of some minor force they hadn''t heard of, and that wouldn''t be too far from the truth- the only reason most people would know about the Liu Clan would be because of his father. Of course it''d be a bit awkward reintroducing himself in the future, but that was a future problem for future him.

 Chapter 54: Hidden Depths

    Liu Zhu spent the next few hours chatting with the other juniors scattered throughout the Butterfly Loft, trying his best to form relationships. In this regard he didn''t have a ton of success, but he did make a few acquaintances. They were mainly members of minor family clans like the Liu Clan. Others might consider this result lackluster, but he was fine with it. It made sense that he''d only be able to make friends with people on his level, and, well, gossiping and trying to make friends was fun regardless whether it ended up benefiting him or not- not everything had to be about cultivation or politics.


    Later in the day, as the rowdier of the guests were beginning to get tipsy and people began to return to their lodgings, an incident took place. Chang Yijun, an important member of a major family and an Early Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator, harassed a member of a minor family and tried to strong-arm him into selling his sword for less than half the market price. If it were just a matter of money, maybe the one being bullied could''ve sucked it up, but his weapon was a piece of family history, a sword that had been passed down from his grandfather to his father to him. The only way he''d let go of his sword would be if someone could grab it from his cold, dead hands.


    The youth struck out against Chang Yijun with his sword, but there was a difference of two stages of cultivation between them and he wasn''t able to do anything. Chang Yijun smiled, as if he had been waiting for this response. As he was about to retaliate in "self-defense" he heard the thud of wooden sandals behind him and turned around. Behind him was a 15 or 16 year-old boy in a plain white robe. His face was covered with a gentle, pleasant expression and his head was shaved. The boy greeted Chang Yijun with a smile as Chang Yijun stared at him, confused. "This humble monk asks that you stop what you''re doing. Our scriptures don''t approve of thievery or envy like you''ve exhibited today, so I just couldn''t stay silent."


    Chang Yijun didn''t recognize the new arrival, but he could sense their cultivation- they were at Late Blood and Viscera Tempering. He didn''t know how close they were to breaking through to Meridian Opening, but whether it was in cultivation or talent, they clearly exceeded Chang Yijun. It wasn''t difficult for everyone watching to see this as well, and so everyone had a certain feeling of schadenfreude- Chang Yijun had used his position to pick on someone else, and now an even bigger fish had appeared. After evaluating the situation Chang Yijun immediately apologized and tried to leave, not wanting to anger this hidden dragon more than he already had. Unfortunately for him, he had to embarrass himself quite a bit to do so. He ended up genuflecting and apologizing to the youth he wronged, handing him a small pouch of gold coins before promptly leaving the Butterfly Loft. This resolution was a bit of a letdown for those waiting to see Chang Yijun get his comeuppance, as many of them had been hoping for more of a show. Unfortunately for the onlookers, while Chang Yijun may have been an asshole, he wasn''t a fool- whoever had targeted him was definitely part of an influence equal to one of the Five Families, and they weren''t an unimportant member of it either- if he tried to act prideful and resist then things would get much, much worse for him. In comparison to pissing off someone who could ruin his life, what was a little bit of money and pride?


    Most of the guests in the Butterfly Loft, Liu Zhu included, had watched this scene unfold. Liu Zhu had initially considered helping, but even if he could resist Chang Yijun''s blows and force him to back off he couldn''t take action since he didn''t want to cause a scene while he was trying to hide his identity. Of course it''s unlikely that he would''ve helped even if he wasn''t hiding his identity, as he didn''t want to anger some major family on someone else''s behalf. But the reasoning that he had to stay uninvolved for his own safety was a comforting excuse that made him feel like more of a good person than he actually was. Dozens of excuses like these existed throughout the room, stopping most of the onlookers from doing anything.


    Thankfully for the one being harassed, the monk had intervened before things took a turn for the worse. After this incident most conversations began discussing this odd, talented junior. Fortunately the juniors from the Five Families'' were just as interested as everyone else, and so a couple of them approached him and figured out what was going on. According the gossip that spread out afterwards, the monk was ''Samten'', one of the peak geniuses of The Church Of Ajita Buddha, a force which was part religious organization part sect. In terms of strength it surpassed any single one of the Five Families, but since it was only present on the eastern border of Yutian Country and mainly operated in other countries, Liu Zhu had never seen a member of their church before, let alone such an important member. Today''s sighting was rather unusual.


    No matter how interested in him Liu Zhu was he couldn''t just approach Samten for no reason, so he left soon after this incident and went to sleep. The next morning he awoke early and began brushing up on his refining knowledge. His plans for the day were to study a bit, watch Duan Ping''s match against Meng Zhao, and then return to studying. He had initially considered fighting a few matches in the arena himself, but he wasn''t particularly interested in fighting more vicious beasts, and even if he could get a match against Meng Zhao he''d just end up losing by a landslide. It''d be less a growth experience and more a bad memory.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Duan Ping''s match against Meng Zhao was around 2 PM, but Liu Zhu had to arrive more than an hour early in order to get seats. Apparently Duan Ping had fought a few matches when he arrived in the city and the arena had already seen his strength, causing a large amount of hype to build up around the match. The odds still weren''t even, but Duan Ping did a hell of a lot better than Mao Jia in that regard- he was at 1:3 instead of 1:8. Liu Zhu glanced between the arena matches and a refining reference book that he''d picked up yesterday, and when Duan Ping eventually showed up he stowed away his book and began to watch the match in earnest.


    "As always, thanks for coming to the Border City Arena today! We have an earth-shattering match for you all, but before I get too into it, we have a message from our sponsor..." As the arena announcer suddenly went from talking about the match to advertising some high-end weapons shop near the center of the city, massive amounts of booing could be heard throughout the arena. Despite this the announcer remained unfazed, concluding the advertisement and resuming his announcement about the match. The booing quieted down, the crowd''s anger appearing to be gone, but Liu Zhu had a faint premonition that the shop mentioned wouldn''t be getting much of a return on their investment- they''d probably have more angry cultivators show up after this match than new customers.


    "Ahem, anyways, I''m sure most of you know both contestants in today''s match very well! On one hand we have Meng Zhao, the arena''s unofficial champion with a 21-match winstreak! On the other hand there''s An Gip who appeared two days ago and won four matches in a row! Based off his name it''s clear that he didn''t even have his parents supporting him, but his power is undisputed! The odds are closing at 1:3.3, showing a clear bias towards our hometown hero, but who knows what surprises might occur! Fight!"


    As the announcer went on Liu Zhu stifled his laughter at Duan Ping''s fake name, although a small part of him wished that Duan Ping had come up with something worse than ''An Gip'', as he clearly had that ability. Despite his amusement he didn''t focus on this topic for too long, as the match started and stole his attention away. As the match started Duan Ping and Meng Zhao immediately charged towards each other. Duan Ping was holding a sword with a hilt and scabbard made out of some sort of treated wood instead of metal, while Meng Zhao stayed unarmed as before. This situation didn''t persist for long though, as after the two first exchanged blows Meng Zhao was put on the back foot and was forced to pull out his weapon. The weapon he took out was a whip made out of a vine, thorns covering everything except the handle. Liu Zhu got excited for a moment since he recognized the species of the vine from one of the herbology books he''d looked at, but he didn''t have much time to dwell on this fact before the two clashed once more.


    For the first few blows the two were even, but that was just because they were both probing the other. After six or seven blows Meng Zhao began showing off his unfathomable battle experience once more, moving his whip in odd patterns that were extremely difficult for anyone who hadn''t used the weapon to follow. The weapon seemed to be made for him as it fluttered through the air, its small movements forcing Duan Ping back over and over and beginning to stack up small wounds. Meng Zhao didn''t seem to be giving it his all, only attacking with skillful yet ordinary moves, but Duan Ping was already at a clear disadvantage. If he couldn''t start landing blows of his own then he would lose.


    Duan Ping ignored the next strike Meng Zhao sent his way, suddenly leaping backwards instead of trying to land a counterattack. Duan Ping stood low to the ground, regulating his breathing and preparing for something. At this point he quietly muttered something, although it was impossible for anyone to hear what. Meng Zhao closed the gap during this time, wanting to land a finishing blow, but then suddenly pulled back, as if noticing some unknown danger. As he did Duan Ping shot out at a speed far faster than he''d displayed before. His sword flashed through the air, cutting towards Meng Zhao''s body. The first blow was narrowly deflected by the whip, as was the second, but in the face of Duan Ping''s extreme speed Meng Zhao couldn''t keep up for long. The third and fourth blows both left non-trivial wounds, and to the audience it seemed the match was going to come to a sudden end.


    As Duan Ping was about to land a major blow, Meng Zhao sent his whip out to block it. Duan Ping began to change his angle of attack, unfazed by this attempt to block, but then suddenly part of the whip shot out in a completely inexplicable direction, the second half of it bending in a completely different direction from the first in order to shoot directly at Duan Ping. The speed of the whip wasn''t as fast as Duan Ping, but given the positions both were attacking from, he''d be hit by the whip before he could counter it. Gritting his teeth, Duan Ping''s muscles bulged and he forcefully abandoned his movement, veering in another direction. Despite his best efforts he slowed down slightly during this period, and with this small gap of time Meng Zhao had sent out a leg, using it to block Duan Ping''s way. Duan Ping slammed into the leg, bowling over it, and in the short time he was down Meng Zhao''s attack suddenly bared down on top of him. An exhausted Duan Ping stared at the whip, panting on the ground as he watched it approach. Meng Zhao''s whip embedded itself into the ground next to Duan Ping, who now seemed almost too exhausted to move, his sudden burst of strength from before completely gone.


    "The winner of the match is Meng Zhao!" In response to this announcement a resounding yell burst out throughout the arena along with cheers for both contestants. If nothing else, it had been a heart-pounding match to watch.

 Chapter 55: Refiner Longs Disciple Selection (Part 1)

    "Man, I can''t fucking believe it. Since when do plants work like that?!" Duan Ping spoke, half annoyed, half surprised, as he ate. "They don''t usually, or at least that species doesn''t. I don''t know why exactly his weapon is different, but maybe it''s some sort of variation on the normal species or maybe a refiner did something to it." Liu Zhu said this as he grabbed a dumpling, eating it as he listened to Duan Ping go on. The two had met up shortly after the match for a chat, going over his loss and a few other topics. "You won''t be at the refiner''s gathering, will you?" "Mmm, not unless I learn how to make a sword in the next few days. Is that an offer to teach me?" Liu Zhu chuckled before shaking his head. "It''d take a bit longer than that so I''ll have to say no. Guess I''ll see you around then." "Yup, guess so. I''m leaving Border City in a few days, but hey, if you manage to do something big we''ll probably run into each other."


    The two parted on good terms and Liu Zhu returned to his lodgings. He had just under a week left until that refiner''s competition, and even if he couldn''t do that well he wanted to give it his all. While he''d constantly heard of others'' achievements in cultivation and battle and could roughly compare himself to other juniors in that regard, there was far less talk about this young refining talent or that talented new apothecary. This competition would be his first chance to see how he measured up to other young talents in terms of refining.


    The next six days passed uneventfully. Liu Zhu would stay in his room, looking through refining reference books and making sure that his mind was clear of cobwebs for the big day. He avoided learning much new during this time, making a point of checking that he could recall everything he was already supposed to know and that he was in peak condition for the big day. The only things that interrupted his studying were meals and a couple visits to the Butterfly Loft. Said visits weren''t incredibly productive, but besides helping Liu Zhu make friends they served as a chance to destress and were ultimately helpful in his week-long cramming session.


    Eventually the day of the refiner''s competition arrived and Liu Zhu made his way there. The competition''s venue was a mansion near the edge of the city, and today the area was crowded with both rubberneckers and hopeful refiners. Guards stood next to the mansion''s gate, screening everyone trying to enter and driving away anyone who was clearly too old or who couldn''t answer basic questions on refining. Liu Zhu was let in without any trouble and led to a large pavilion a ways away from the gate. Hundreds of young men and women were scattered throughout the area, some in clothes that clearly showed their wealth, others with tanned skin and worn-out clothes that showed their lack of it. There were a wide variety of competitors today, although there was little suspense around whether the talents of the large influences or the grassroots refiners would come out on top. The competitors without some force backing them served mainly to fill in the numbers.


    Over the next quarter hour the number of participants inflated even further, reaching around 400. After a few more minutes of waiting, a man in a suit approached the crowd and cleared his throat loud enough to drown out a scream. "Refiner Long will be entering." Everyone went silent as an old man exited the mansion, closely examining the crowd as he approached the pavilion. The old man was wearing simple clothes covered in grime, and a sweaty shirt was slung over his shoulder. He must have been forging something up until now. As Liu Zhu kept staring at him he also noticed that while he was clearly old, he was full of life and covered in tanned, bulging muscles.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Refiner Long stood there for a moment, glancing over each and every one of the hundreds of excited juniors. What he said next immediately killed most of that excitement. "If I find out that any of you are lying about being under 20 or don''t have experience in refining, don''t blame this old man for getting nasty. These muscles aren''t just for making things- they can also break them." After that he paused and gruffly said "I''ll give a minute for anyone who needs to leave to do so. After that the grace period is over." As Refiner Long closed his eyes dozens of people began making their way to the mansion''s gate, most of them poorer or older looking than most.


    When the minute ended Refiner Long opened his eyes and began looking over the crowd. After a long pause he continued speaking. "That makes 328 people left. I would invite you all inside, but there''s far too many of you. I''d like... 30 left at most?" Refiner Long sighed and then turned to his servant. "Give them the written test. I wouldn''t have to resort this if only those who were qualified came, but an event like this is certain to attract plenty of the inexperienced dreaming for a miracle. Still, that being said, this is honestly less than I expected. It looks like this old man isn''t as well known as he used to be..."


    The servant nodded in response to Refiner Long and grabbed a stack of papers from a nearby table as Refiner Long made his way back to the mansion. As he left, he gave one last set of instructions. "The test will be 10 questions. If you get a question wrong, you will be eliminated. If you forget your name or age, you will be eliminated. If you cheat in any way, I will find out, and you will be eliminated from more than this competition."


    A small group of servants left the mansion as Refiner Long entered it. These servants led everyone to different areas throughout the yard and provided inksticks, inkstones, and brushes to write with. After everything was handed out the leading servant said the time limit was an hour and had the rest of the servants hand out the testing papers. Liu Zhu initially assumed an hour was rather generous for 10 questions, but he quickly realized how naive he had been. The first question was rather complex, and was about purifying iron and the required purity of iron before using it in several different alloys. It wasn''t hard for Liu Zhu to answer, but it would take at least a few minutes for him to do so properly. From there the questions only got harder, and glancing over them Liu Zhu realized that he might run out of time. Not wanting to be knocked out so early, Liu Zhu put his head down and began filling out the test as best as he could.


    As Liu Zhu began filling out the test, all around him people began leaving. Many of the people here were only ordinary in terms of refining knowledge, and upon seeing the test had realized that they had zero chance of actually passing it. As the hour went on more and more people left, and by the end of the exam there weren''t even 150 people left. Once the hour was up a servant yelled "Time!", and the exams were rapidly collected.


    Liu Zhu had finished the exam with five minutes to spare, and felt that he had probably avoided the worst case scenario of being immediately eliminated. Even if he didn''t focus all of his energy towards refining, he had put forth a lot of effort towards it when he was younger- it would be embarrassing if he wasn''t even able to pass through the preliminaries. As Liu Zhu looked over the exam again, his train of thought was interrupted by Refiner Long''s head servant. "183 people left during the test, leaving 145 tests to be graded. You''re free to enjoy some refreshments, speak to each other, or wander the yard as the results are graded. As soon as one of your questions is graded as incorrect we will call out your name and you must vacate the premises." After saying this the head servant went into the mansion with the test papers, leaving the prospective apprentices to their own devices.

 Chapter 56: Refiner Longs Disciple Selection (Part 2)

    Despite being everyone being told that they were free to chat among each other, almost no one did. After all, the servants would make you leave immediately after finding a mistake on your test- who would want to talk to someone when you could be kicked out mid-conversation? That would be too embarrassing for words. This situation caused an awkward atmosphere to form around the event. Those who were worried about whether they passed found spots away from the crowd to obsess over their answers, while those who either had some confidence or who were just here to rubberneck went to the pavilion they''d initially gathered at to eat.


    Liu Zhu was among the latter group, as he was around 70 to 80 percent sure he hadn''t gotten any questions wrong. As he went to get some food, he was... surprised to say the least. The "refreshments" mentioned consisted of water, lemonade, and some greasy food from nearby street stalls. This food could just reflect Refiner Long''s preferences, but that seemed unlikely. Combined with his earlier behavior, the underlying message was clear- he didn''t want to waste any of his time or money on those with no ability. If you were treating his competition as a street festival, you would get treated like you were at a street festival.


    Whether the choice of food had a message behind it or not, food was food. Liu Zhu grabbed a few kebabs and some lemonade and found a place on the grass to lie down. He calmly waited there, systematically devouring his way through the food as he listened to names being called out in the background. Within 15 minutes there were only 100 people left, and after half an hour the number had dwindled to under 70. Just lying down and just watching the sky while he ate was actually quite relaxing for Liu Zhu, who didn''t take much time to do things like this. Sure, the atmosphere was a bit... off, but waiting for the perfect situation to relax just meant that you never would.


    After nearly an hour spent waiting, something other than the endless stream of names could be heard. "Everyone who failed has had their name called out. The remaining 28 may enter the foyer." Upon hearing this Liu Zhu smiled to himself and made his way into the mansion. He wasn''t too worried about the preliminaries, but the test still wasn''t easy so hearing that he passed had made him happy.


    The foyer was a rather bare but stylish room, and as Liu Zhu entered he noted that the furniture appeared similar in price to the Liu Clan''s. A chandelier provided lighting for the enter room, and seating was scattered throughout, although it wasn''t enough for all 28 of the potential disciples left. At the far end of the room Refiner Long could be seen sitting down with a sheet of parchment. He had now switched out of his working clothes, and was in an expensive-looking black robe.


    Once everyone entered the room the head servant took the sheet of parchment from Refiner Long and began speaking. "I will now announce the rankings among those who passed. All of you answered the questions correctly, but due to factors such as age and how in-depth your answers are your ranks may vary. All of you are scored on a scale of 1 to 100. 1st, Hi Min, 80 points. 2nd, Kin Wei, 78 points. 3rd, Ki Xinya, 71 points. 4th, Ki Cai and Hi Qinyue, 70 points." The list went on and on, and unsurprisingly juniors from the Five Families made up the first eight spots on the list. Liu Zhu waited for his name, excited, and to his surprise it was announced earlier than he expected. "12th, Zuo Shi, 58 points." Immediately after that, he was greeted by another pleasant surprise. "13th, Yu Bai, 56 points." Upon hearing Yu Bai''s name Liu Zhu glanced around the room, and after a moment saw Yu Bai, who had also glanced at him. The two nodded at each other before breaking eye contact. The two of them didn''t know each other too well, but it was still nice to see that they knew someone else still in the running.


    The rest of the names were read off without any further surprises, ending with 28th place, whose points matched their position. When the names were all read off, Refiner Long stood up, gesturing for everyone to follow him. The group followed, and after snaking through his mansion they reached the backyard. Refiner Long then stopped in front of a small hut. It appeared dirty on the outside, had no windows, and the door was made of iron. Upon arriving at the hut Refiner Long began describing the second part of the competition. "This is the site of the first real test. I''ll give you all a lump of ore varying based on your age- if your cultivation is too low to use it, that''s your problem. Your job will be to refine it into a brick. Nothing fancy, just make me a brick. Simple, right? Now, who wants to go first?"If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Liu Zhu stepped away from the group, volunteering himself. There was some risk to going first, but Refiner Long seemed like someone who would appreciate not having his time wasted- if he had to stand around waiting for someone to volunteer then he might just increase the test''s difficulty. Refiner Long simply nodded at Liu Zhu before muttering "Er... Zuo Shi? 13 years, 11 months?" Liu Zhu confirmed this, and upon hearing his response Refiner Long entered the shed for a moment. When he returned he tossed a chunk of ore to Liu Zhu, muttering something about it "being about right".


    As Liu Zhu caught the ore, he immediately noticed something- it was heavy! Before he could figure out much else, Refiner Long spoke again. "You''ll have a few minutes to study it. After that you have as long as you can last to turn it into a brick. Time starts now." Liu Zhu didn''t expect the situation, but quickly composed himself. He would need to determine what type of ore this was quickly if he was going to successfully refine it into anything. He closely examined the color of the ore, its luster, the fine particles that he could rub off of it, anything that might help him identify it. As he did so he focused completely, trying his best to shut himself off from the world around him.


    After two minutes of intense concentration, Liu Zhu reached his answer- it was Etrium Ore. The piece he had was a low-quality strain, but there was no mistaking it. Etrium Ore required a very high temperature to properly smelt, and the force required was even more than Liu Zhu had imagined from the weight. Someone would either need great technique or unyielding strength and endurance in order to properly shape this ore into a weapon at his level. While Liu Zhu didn''t excel in the former, he didn''t think anyone with his cultivation was stronger or had more stamina than him- he could do this.


    "Are you ready?" Liu Zhu nodded in response to Refiner Long''s question, causing him to push open the iron door and usher him into the shack. The first thing Liu Zhu noticed was the heat. It felt so hot that Liu Zhu wouldn''t be surprised if any water brought in here immediately started boiling away. In the center of the room was some sort of fire pit full of brightly burning flames, and next to it was a rack full of well-maintained refiner''s tools and an anvil. Besides the many ores and other materials scattered throughout the room, there were also several barrels full of liquid that were surprisingly not boiling despite the ridiculous temperature in the shack.


    Seeing Liu Zhu pause upon entering, Refiner Long smiled at him. "Hot, isn''t it? You''ll need it to smelt the ore." Liu Zhu immediately realized that he was right- the melting point of Etrium, even low-quality Etrium, was very high. It was only natural for it to be this hot. With this remark he regained focus, made his way over to the anvil, and placed down the ore. Next he grabbed some tongs and thrust the ore into the fire, rapidly heating it up. It would need to as hot as possible to properly smelt it. After a couple minutes Liu Zhu deemed that he''d gotten the ore as hot as he could and put the chunk of ore, now red-hot, back on the anvil. At this point he put aside the tongs and grabbed a hammer. As he grabbed the hammer he walked over to a nearby container, smearing a type of "smelting powder" on his hammer. Its function was to wear away at the ore as the hammer was slammed down on it, eating away at the weaker impurities in the ore while leaving behind the strongest material, in this case Etrium.


    Liu Zhu slammed the hammer down on the ore repeatedly. During this process he used all of the power of his body in every strike, mustering every bit of strength he could. All his focus was put towards the smooth transfer of his strength from the body to the hammer, towards his attempt at smashing the ore and fanatically trying to remove the impurities within it. As he smelted the ore beads of sweat began to drip down his forehead in a torrent, lingering for a moment but boiling away as they rolled down his face.


    As Liu Zhu tried to remove the impurities from the ore, he realized something- the fire''s temperature was too low. At this rate he wouldn''t be able to purify the ore to a high standard, not with his abilities. The only problem was that if the temperature was raised, he wasn''t sure how long he could last. The higher it went, the higher the drain on his strength would be. He stood still for a moment, thinking about it, before lowering his hammer and turning towards Refiner Long, who was staring at him from the other side of the room. "Refiner Long, I can''t smelt out all the impurities from this Etrium Ore with this temperature. Could you raise it?"


    Upon hearing this request Refiner Long seemed shocked, but after a moment broke into a wide grin and began laughing. Refiner Long''s boisterous laughter filled up the cramped room as he grabbed a device similar to a bellows. "Raise it? That''s a good one. Sure kid, I can raise if you can handle it! You have balls, so best of luck to you- if you''ll pass out I''ll make sure to grab you."

 Chapter 57: Refiner Longs Disciple Selection (Part 3)

    Liu Zhu watched as Refiner Long grabbed a container from a nearby shelf and removed a pinch of red powder from it. After putting the container back he grabbed the bellows and dropped the red powder into it through the hole in the thin end. Next he roughly shoved the thin end of the bellows into a small hole in the bottom of the structure containing the fire. With the bellows ready and in position Refiner Long slammed his foot down on the thick end, sending the powder shooting into the fire. As the powder came in contact with the fire the flames immediately intensified, causing the room to become even hotter than before. "That''ll be enough for the ore kid. Now get to it."


    Liu Zhu did his best to ignore the scalding heat throughout the room and grabbed the ore with the tongs once more. As he did so used an attachment on the tongs to suspend a special type of pan under them. This pan would catch the slag that melted away from the ore, reducing cleanup time and keeping the slag for future use. Using the tongs he thrust the chunk of now-flattened ore back into the fire, causing the temperature to quickly rise and the ore itself to redden.


    As the ore''s temperature rose, Liu Zhu kept an extremely close eye on it. He needed a high temperature to refine away the impurities and then shape the metal, but if the temperature became too high then it could melt away part of the Etrium, or, in the worst case, permanently weaken the metal. As he waited for the ore to heat up waves of heat washed over him, the hairs on his arm occasionally burning away. When he felt it was the perfect temperature he forcefully pulled the tongs away from the fire, slamming the ore onto the anvil within a second.


    Once the ore hit the anvil he grabbed his hammer and began slamming it against what was left of the ore, removing any impurities that hadn''t melted away into the slag. As Liu Zhu hammered away at the ore he stared closely at it, visually confirming whether there were impurities left- he didn''t want to waste too much energy here, but if he messed up and let the metal cool down with impurities left then he''d have to heat it up again. Given the temperature in here he wasn''t sure if he''d have enough energy to make it through that and still finish the refining process.


    Several minutes passed, Liu Zhu''s arms growing tired and his body weary. Eventually he put down his hammer, staring at the block of metal on the anvil. It had taken a lot of effort, but he''d done it- he''d refined a chunk of nearly pure Etrium from the ore he was given. Now he just have to quench it, shape it, and add a few finishing touches. A certain method of quenching Etrium increased the metal''s hardness while reducing its flexibility, which was perfect given that he was making a brick- the metal just needed to be as hard as possible. Of course shaping the metal would be increasingly difficult the harder it was, but that didn''t matter to him. If he tried his hardest and poured forth all of his energy he was sure it would work out. Endurance was one of his strong points, so he needed to believe in his ability to pull through if nothing else.


    Liu Zhu plunged the chunk of high-purity Etrium into the fire again, heating it up. Once it had reached an extremely high temperature he then took it to one of the barrels on the side of the room, submerging it in a special type of oil. This process rapidly cooled the metal, hardening it in the process. During this process Liu Zhu was forced to bear the weight of the tongs and metal for several minutes, all while resisting the heat of the fire and the "steam" coming off the hot oil.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    As Liu Zhu began the second round of quenching his body screamed out in protest, the excessive exertion starting to affect him. Despite these aches and pains, he continued with the quenching process. He thought he had a decent grasp of his strength, and if he put his mind to it he was sure he could hold on. Still, he couldn''t hold on for too long. After the third round of quenching Liu Zhu prepared to shape the metal. Going for a fourth round of quenching would make the metal a bit harder, but the benefits were reduced each time he did it. It wouldn''t be a major loss if he stopped here.


    Liu Zhu grabbed the hammer and pounded away at the chunk of hardened Etrium, forcing it into the shape of a brick. First he used hard, forceful blows, but later he switched to small, gentle strikes to pound minor protrusions back into place. This process dragged on for a while, and he settled into a bit of a zen state during it. This part of the refining process was relatively simple and allowed one to rest their mind a bit- especially if what they were refining was being shaped into something as simple as brick. Eventually the shape of the brick was settled and Liu Zhu broke out into a grin. He''d managed to finish the shaping process before he ran out of strength. That meant that the most exhausting parts were all over with. Still, he couldn''t get too relaxed- he wasn''t done yet.


    Once the brick was shaped the refining process was almost done, but there were still some finishing touches he had to take care of. Liu Zhu stared at the brick of Etrium for a moment before tiredly grabbing a nearby piece of sandpaper-like material and roughly rubbing it against the brick''s surface. This eliminated rough, annoying bumps in the metal that were too small to hammer out, and was generally needed for most items one refined. It was normally fine to do this any time before the item was sold. Unfortunately Refiner Long didn''t seem like he was going to give Liu Zhu the luxury of doing this after he took a rest- the test was to forge a brick in one go, not to forge half now and half after a tea break.


    The minutes seemed to drag on as Liu Zhu roughly dragged the material against the surface of the brick. The material caused tiny pieces of Etrium to flake off the brick, dropping onto the anvil below it. Throughout this last step his breathing was ragged and his legs were trembling, but eventually the brick was smooth enough to satisfy him. Liu Zhu turned towards Refiner Long, exhausted but pleased, and held up the brick. "I-I''m done. I did it." Refiner Long simply nodded in response and exited the shack.


    Liu Zhu stumbled out of the shack, his appearance shocking the other 27 refiners competing. They knew they''d have to refine something, but Liu Zhu was exhausted and covered in more grime than they thought existed in that shack- they''d clearly underestimated the difficulty of this test. As the others stared at Liu Zhu, Refiner Long, clearly amused, began to poke some fun at them. "What, did you all think it''d be easy? A walk in the park? There wouldn''t be any meaning to it then, would there? Anyways, whoever wants to go next should come up, I don''t have all day. Oh, by the way- if you aren''t skilled enough then I''ll eliminate you during the forging and save some time, so if you''re worried about tiring your little selves out, you might not have to worry about it."


    After handing his brick to Refiner Long Liu Zhu lurched over to a nearby tree and sat down. Most of the strength was gone from his body, and his limbs felt a bit... noodley. Strength and endurance may have been his strong points, but he had taken things to the extreme back there. Etrium, even low-quality Etrium, is not something he should''ve been able to forge properly with his level of strength. Fortunately he''d gotten through it somehow, but now he needed to rest. As the others began taking the test he immediately fell asleep, resting before the next challenge.

 Chapter 58: Refiner Longs Disciple Selection (Part 4)

    After several hours Liu Zhu woke up, feeling much better than when he had gone to sleep. Upon looking around he saw that only half of the refiners who passed the written test were left. "...Did the test already finish? I hope I passed." Liu Zhu stood up and approached Yu Bai, who was still in attendance. "Looks like I was out for a while. Did we already go through another round of eliminations?" Yu Bai shook his head. "No, the last person is in that shack right now. Everyone who''s gone was kicked out during the refining process." Liu Zhu was shocked by this elimination rate, but was more happy for himself than sad for the others- if they all failed then that meant he did better than at least half the people here. "That means you finished fine then?" Yu Bai shrugged his shoulders in response to the question. "Technically? To be honest, I barely finished. I''m probably going to be eliminated after this."


    The two chatted for a bit, but after a few minutes they were interrupted by the sight of Refiner Long leaving the shack with the last refiner. All of the competing refiners stopped talking, waiting for the test''s results. Once the last refiner took a place among the rest of the group Refiner Long spoke up. "That makes the last of you. I''ve already come up with my results so I''ll just announce them here." As everyone stared on, some nervous, some confident, Refiner Long began announcing the results. "The cutoff is 60 points. 1st place, Cai Fang, 94 points." Upon hearing this everyone''s collective gaze settled on a boy with rough, blackened skin and simple clothes. Cai Fang had scored 26th on the written test and appeared to be an ordinary blacksmith, so not many people had taken note of him before. Now they had little choice but to take note of him.


    Ignoring everyone''s surprise, Refiner Long continued speaking. "2nd, Kin Wei, 83 points. 3rd, Zuo Shi, 81 points. 4th, Hi Min, 79 points." The point totals rapidly dropped after this, and the cutoff of 60 points was reached by the 8th person. At this point even some of the juniors from the Five Families had been eliminated. The announcements ended with "14th place, Yu Bai, 48 points". Liu Zhu felt bad for him, but while he had scored last among the people still here, he had finished making his brick. That was better than what half the people participating could say.


    "The eight who passed can rest until six at the latest. When you want to take the test get one of the servants and they''ll lead you to me. I''ll announce the results and who I decided to make disciples at seven." Refiner Long went to leave after saying this, but before he got far he suddenly paused. "Oh, I almost forgot. The eight of you passed, so you do deserve a reward. As a show of good will, you can all have your bricks back. They''re all made from good materials, so they''re worth keeping. Maybe you can use them as paperweights or to beat some sense into someone or something. I''ll leave it up to all of you." After saying all this Refiner Long disappeared into the mansion, leaving the eight remaining refiners with the bricks that served as tickets into the final part of the competition.


    Liu Zhu decided to forgo any further rest and to go take the last test immediately. Even if half the people present hadn''t finished refining their bricks, the last test had just dragged on for a long time. He''d slept for long enough to regain most of his strength. As Liu Zhu left the group and walked towards the mansion, he was suddenly approached by Cai Fang. "Are you going to do the final test now?" Liu Zhu nodded. "I went directly after you so I''m well rested. I''ll go with you then." The two headed into the mansion and a servant led them to Refiner Long.


    "The two of you couldn''t even give an old man time to rest, huh? Oh well, follow me." Refiner Long led the two out of the mansion and to a large wooden building on the edge of the mansion grounds. Upon entering Liu Zhu saw that it was separated into a main room and a side room. The main room had several long, metal tables with sets of tools scattered across them. A smaller side room contained piles of metal ingots, ores, spare tools, both finished and unfinished armor and weapons, and much, much more. All of these items was messily scattered about the room, completely unorganized.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "This is where you''ll take the second test. Here I have two identical rings. You''ll have five minutes to examine one, and then you''ll have to engrave as much of the pattern on it as you can onto an unengraved ring." As he said this Refiner Long took two gold-colored rings out of his pocket, handing them to Cai Fang and Liu Zhu. Liu Zhu''s first impression was, just like with the ore, that it was heavy. The ring wouldn''t be as hard to deal with as Etrium ore, but it would probably take a lot of strength to carve anything onto a ring made out of this metal. Not having very long to dwell on things like this, Liu Zhu quickly began examining the ring. Upon doing so he was greeted with the sight of hundreds of thin lines and complex patterns scattered across the ring. He wouldn''t have time to carve all of this even if the length of the test was increased several times over, and he wasn''t sure if he''d be able to memorize all of these patterns even if he was given enough time to carve them. Still, all he could do was his best- he focused on a section of the ring, trying to commit all of the small patterns and variations on it to his memory before it was taken away from him.


    Five minutes after the two received the rings Refiner Long took them back and gestured towards a couple of stools in front of the metal tables. "I''ll be back in an hour." He left immediately after saying this, leaving the two youths to their struggles. Liu Zhu sat down at one of the stools, where a golden ring with nothing carved into it and a set of burins and other tools sat in front of him. The first thing he did upon sitting down was to spend a minute checking if all the burins were properly sharpened. He figured they would be, but better safe than sorry- if they weren''t sharpened then it would affect the engravings.


    Besides the ability to keep all of these lines and patterns burned into one''s memory, this test mainly focused on one''s precision and their ability to control their strength. If someone wasn''t precise enough then they''d end up engraving wiggly lines and lopsided patterns onto what they were working on, and if they couldn''t properly control their strength then they''d get the wrong depth. Normally it wouldn''t be difficult for Liu Zhu to engrave basic patterns onto something, but these lines and patterns were smaller than anything he''d worked on before and the metal was much harder than most things one would engrave. It''d be a struggle.


    Liu Zhu slowly carved lines and stippled dots into the metal, pouring massive amounts of force into his tools as he did so. This test required him to spend an hour focusing on extremely small areas and despite Liu Zhu''s best efforts he inevitably lost focus at some points. Fortunately he was able to pinch himself, get his head straight, and pull through it. After an hour had passed he''d finished around a fifth of the carvings. As he was about to tackle the next portion he heard a door open behind him followed by the announcement "Its been an hour. Time is up." He sighed, disappointed that he hadn''t been able to do more, but didn''t linger on it too much. This competition had been a good experience for him, and this final test had helped him temper his will and practice carefully using his strength. It had been worth competing.


    As the two handed their rings to Refiner Long, Liu Zhu threw a curious glance at Cai Fang''s ring. He was surprised to say the least. The carvings on Cai Fang''s ring were neat and looked nearly identical to the original ring. On top of that, he''d finished almost double what Liu Zhu had been able to. Even if his refining knowledge was lacking, these last two tests showed that his skills clearly weren''t. After staring for a second Liu Zhu tore his gaze away from the ring and went to leave. After all, there wasn''t any purpose lingering around here for the rest of the day- the only thing to do here was try to chat with a small group of people who didn''t want to talk to him.


    As Liu Zhu prepared to leave, Cai Fang approached him once more. "Zuo Shi, I was about to grab a late lunch. Want to come with?" Liu Zhu didn''t expect Cai Fang to be so outgoing given the circumstances, but quickly accepted the offer. Cai Fang was probably going to win the competition so he''d be worth making friends with. More importantly, Liu Zhu wanted to discuss refining with him- knowledge was better gained in the company of others than from books.

 Chapter 59: Refiner Long Selects Disciples

    "That old missus runs the fruit stall over there. Always has the best apples. Oh, that stall over there, I used to buy wood from there. Good, sturdy planks- not that termite-eaten crap you''ll find near the gates. Not that I''m much of a carpenter, I''ve just made a few pieces of furniture. Do you see that statue over there? Do you know who that statue is modeled after?" As Liu Zhu followed Cai Fang through the city, he noticed that he was very... talkative to say the least, as if he would share every single detail about Border City if someone let him. Liu Zhu, not too bothered by this, just shut up and let him talk until they got to their destination, a small restaurant in a sleepy corner of Border City.


    Liu Zhu left ordering the food to Cai Fang, as he knew the menu front to back and promised that "everything here is delicious". As Cai Fang decided on what to order, Liu Zhu made small talk. This small talk was focused on Cai Fang initially, as Liu Zhu wasn''t eager to talk about himself given the whole assassination incident and would rather not hear even more about Border City. As Liu Zhu had expected, Cai Fang was local to Border City. Like many young youths, had dreamed about becoming the City Lord, but at some point these dreams faded and were replaced with those of becoming a skilled blacksmith. This dream led him to become a blacksmith''s apprentice, then a proper blacksmith, and then at some point he started cultivating and switched to refining. Liu Zhu wasn''t sure how exactly this happened given that Cai Fang was from a normal family and shouldn''t have had the funds to do either, but given that they had just met he wasn''t about to inquire into it. It might seem rude even if it didn''t turn out to be a big deal in the end.


    After speaking about himself for a while Cai Fang asked Liu Zhu about himself. Liu Zhu mainly spoke in broad, vague strokes to avoid specifying too much about his family or what area he was from. It was unlikely that Cai Fang would let anything slip to anyone that mattered, but it was better to be safe than sorry when it came to life and death matters. Fortunately the food came before Liu Zhu ran out of nonspecific things to say and he used the interruption to shift the conversation over to refining. Cai Fang gave Liu Zhu many practical pointers, while Liu Zhu talked more about obscure facts and theory. One was lacking in knowledge while the other was lacking in skill, so they were a good match.


    This conversation went on for quite a few hours as both of them were extremely interested in the subject, evidenced by the fact that they had poured several years of their life into refining by this point. Fortunately they remembered when Refiner Long would be announcing the results for his test and cut their conversation off before then, returning to the mansion to hear how the final test had went and which people would become disciples.


    On the way back to Refiner Long''s mansion, Liu Zhu asked a question he''d been wondering about for a while. "Did you just approach me because we happened to take the test at the same time? It''d be more useful to get acquainted with the juniors from the Five Families." Cai Fang seemed surprised upon hearing this question, but readily answered. "It may be more ''useful'' to speak with people from the Five Families, but I''m just a commoner. I don''t understand what goes on with them and am afraid of accidentally offending them. You''re wearing cheaper clothes than all of them and scored higher on the second test than the first one, so I thought we might be similar. You''re from some decent background, but you''re sure as hell a lot closer to my standing than the rest of them are." Liu Zhu hadn''t thought about this before, but in hindsight it did make some sense. He''d been wearing cheaper clothes in The Northern Wastes as to not stand out, but once the refiners left were almost all from the Five Families they had had the opposite effect.


    The two returned to Refiner Long''s mansion, where the servants recognized them and led them to Refiner Long. He nodded at the two as they entered. "Good timing. The last two will be out in a few minutes. They took a seat, quietly drinking tea and awkwardly glancing around at the room''s decorations and the other juniors scattered about. Five minutes later Refiner Long returned with two of the competitors in tow, staring at the rings they''d made. He continued examining the rings for a couple minutes until putting them both down and turning his attention to the eight juniors before him.


    Instead of announcing the results to the final test, Refiner Long just spoke to Cai Fang. "I need to speak to you for a moment, follow me." The two left the room, leaving the others to sit there in awkward silence. At this point everyone more or less knew that they hadn''t won the competition but stayed anyways. After all, Refiner Long never said that he''d only be taking one disciple in- there could be positions left for others.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Refiner Long returned after a mercifully short wait to announce the results. "I''ve taken at look at all of your work and am ready to announce the results. Not as many people came as I expected, but there were a few interesting talents. Maybe it will be a good age for refiners in Yutian Country." The room was filled with a tense atmosphere as Refiner Long cleared his throat and began announcing the results. "1st, Cai Fang, 91 points. 2nd, Kin Wei, 81 points. 3rd, Hi Min, 80 points. 4th, Ki Xinya, 72 points. 5th, Ki Cai, 68 points. 6th, Hi Qinyue, 65 points. 7th, Zuo Shi, 59 points. 8th, Kin Yun, 58 points. Cai Fang is the most talented refiner in attendance and will be my next direct disciple. I would also like speak with Kin Wei, Hi Min, and Zuo Shi. Everyone else may leave now."


    After Refiner Long finished speaking a servant opened the door behind them, gesturing for those not named to leave. Liu Zhu got up as he saw this, but paused after he realized that Refiner Long said he could stay. He silently wondered why Refiner Long would have business with him when he placed lower than most of the people he had told to leave, but he decided to just hold any questions for now and sit down. His confusion would probably be cleared up in a moment.


    Once the other juniors were gone Refiner Long addressed those left. "None of you are talented enough to become my direct disciple, but I am interested in your futures. Kin Wei, Hi Min, both of you are good all-around talents. You may not be talented enough to get your family''s attention, but your skills are appreciated here. You''re free to become a normal disciple of mine and receive my teachings while you''re in Border City. Zuo Shi, to be frank, you don''t meet the requirements to become a disciple of mine. I normally wouldn''t pay attention to you given your level of skill, but you possess an extraordinary level of strength and endurance for your cultivation. These are important traits for refiners, and I''m curious what you''d achieve if you were able to gain enough knowledge and skill. For the time being I''ll just call you a ''probationary disciple''. I''ll treat you the same as a normal disciple, but if I realize that you''re not going to meet my expectations then I''ll just end our relationship on amicable terms."


    After thinking for a moment, Refiner Long wrapped up what he was saying. "That''s about it. As normal disciples you won''t learn any of my core skills or techniques, but besides that I''ll do my best to teach you when I have time. You''ll also allowed to use the facilities here and lent materials when needed. What do the three of you think about this offer?" Kin Wei immediately responded and accepted the offer. Liu Zhu took a bit longer to respond as he honestly hadn''t expected to be offered any sort of position, but accepted after a few seconds. He''d be leaving the city in a few days, but he''d have to return to Border City sometime before he returned home, and he could take advantage of this chance then. There weren''t any refiners this skilled under the Liu Clan and accepting didn''t cost him anything, so it''d be a waste to turn down the offer.


    Hi Min was the only one not to respond immediately, saying that he''d have to think about it for a while. He was probably be prepared to accept if he won and became a direct disciple, but given that Border City and the Hi family''s headquarters were separated by nearly a month of travel his hesitance was understandable. Refiner Long said Hi Min could have a few days to work things out and turned to the three left. ""Alright then, from this point on Cai Fang is my direct disciple, Kin Wei is a normal disciple, and Liu Zhu is a probationary disciple. My full name is Long Shi, but you can just refer to me as Teacher Long. Some people prefer ''master'' but they''re generally blowhards, I really don''t care much. There are around a dozen others I''ve taught, so if you run into them show them respect. That''s unless they''ve forgotten to take care of their juniors, in which case you have the freedom to be as rude as you''d like."


    After going over a few other things Refiner Long handed Liu Zhu and Kin Wei a small emblem. Apparently a few forces in The Northern Wastes would recognize it and he could use it to show that he was Refiner Long''s disciple if he really needed to. Refiner Long threw in a note that if it was used for any acts of ''evil or arrogance'' then he''d directly kick them out whether they were probationary or not. Refiner Long gave another, more intricately carved, emblem to Cai Fang. Liu Zhu curiously asked why the emblems for normal and probationary disciples were the same when the one for direct disciples was different, and Refiner Long replied that it was because he didn''t have special emblems for positions he made up half an hour ago to fit his needs. There wasn''t much to deal with after this so Liu Zhu congratulated Cai Fang for winning and introduced himself to Senior Apprentice Sister Kin Wei before returning to his inn.

 Chapter 60: Leaving Border City

    As Liu Zhu walked into the inn he was staying at the innkeeper waved him down. "Got a message for you. ''The group is nearly put together and we''ll be leaving on the 5th, 6 AM, West Gate.` A younger lad said to pass it on and that his name was Feng Jun." Liu Zhu nodded and thanked the innkeeper for passing on the message. It looked like his travel plans had been finalized now and he would be leaving the city in a few days. In that time he''d just have to tie up things with Refiner Long, pack his things, and pick up any necessities he might need for the trip.


    The next morning Liu Zhu woke up early, headed over to Refiner Long''s mansion, and found one of the servants who was already awake. Apparently Refiner Long was preoccupied, so Liu Zhu just asked to be informed when he was free. Liu Zhu still needed to inform him of his plans now that the date of his departure was finalized, and it was too impersonal to do so through a servant.


    While waiting for Refiner Long''s schedule to free up Liu Zhu cultivated in the mansion''s yard. His inn room was far too small to do so and Border City was filled with buildings wall to wall, so he hadn''t cultivated much since arriving in the city. Fortunately the mansion had a lot of clear space, making it one of the few spaces inside the city walls where one could cultivate without feeling cramped. It normally wasn''t too inconvenient to leave the city to practice techniques and cultivate and then re-enter when you were done, but the gates were a lot busier than usual so Liu Zhu hadn''t cultivated much over the past week.


    Liu Zhu felt some relief as he normally didn''t spend such a long time without properly cultivating and happily practiced as his body approached peak condition. While absorbed in his cultivation he heard a small sound, which was then followed by a much louder noise. Confused, Liu Zhu stopped cultivating, and saw that the servant from before had returned. He was staring at Liu Zhu and looked annoyed about something. "...As I said, Refiner Long is free, you can see him now." Liu Zhu''s face reddened as he realized that this servant had probably been trying to get his attention for quite some time. Figuring that the best course of action was to just act like nothing had happened, Liu Zhu abashedly nodded and told him to lead the way.


    "Morning." Refiner Long lazily greeted Liu Zhu as he entered the room, gesturing for him to take a seat. "What''d you need?" Liu Zhu sat down as he responded. "I''m leaving the city on the fifth and figured I should inform you." Refiner Long just nodded in response, not seemingly particularly bothered by this. "How long until you''re back?" "About seven months from now? My time frame might change but it shouldn''t be much later than that." "That''s fine then. Destination?" "Green City."


    Upon hearing his destination Refiner Long broke into a small grin and inquired further. "Do you need to stay in the city or is it fine to wander around a bit?" Liu Zhu didn''t get the point of the question but answered anyways. "No, I''m just heading to the central wastes. Green City just happens to be where I''m going first." Refiner Long seemed very happy upon hearing this and gestured for the head servant to come in from the other room. "I have a few things I need to take to the Refiners'' Guild in Red City, if you don''t mind dropping by there I''ll send them with you. I was about to look into courier services, but if you''ll be in the area then it saves me the effort."The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Five minutes later Liu Zhu left the room with a few sealed letters and an unmarked box. Fortunately their meeting had ended up invoking both the master and disciple part of their relationship. Refiner Long had told Liu Zhu to go over to the forge in an hour so that he could teach him a few things. It looked like he would get something out of his apprenticeship before he returned to Border City.


    Over the next few days Liu Zhu spent most of his time in Refiner Long''s mansion. His days were mostly a loop of Refiner Long telling what he was doing wrong, him practicing, Refiner Long popping in and telling him that there were more things he was doing wrong, and then him practicing some more. This practice was occasionally punctuated by sleeping and eating. Refiner Long said that these few days were to get him, Kin Wei, and Hi Min (who had decided to accept the offer) ''up to speed'' before he focused on Cai Fang and personal matters for a while.


    On the last night before Liu Zhu left the city he wrapped up his practice early and was about to head for his inn. As he was giving his farewells to everyone Refiner Long said something he couldn''t really understand. Among the normal ''stay well''s and other such things that go along with a goodbye was a reminder to ''make sure you''re ready before making a breakthrough''. Liu Zhu said he would, although on the inside he was perplexed by this remark. How could he make a breakthrough without being ready- if someone was able to make a breakthrough didn''t that mean they were ready by definition?


    Liu Zhu didn''t mull over this minor incident for long, as he was back at his inn and asleep within half an hour. The next morning he got dressed, grabbed his things, and headed for the West Gate. There he saw Feng Jun and a couple other cultivators. Over time this group grew to over a dozen cultivators. Most of them were at Blood and Viscera Tempering, although there were a couple at Bone and Marrow Tempering and a single Early Meridian Opening cultivator to ''lead'' the group. As the group gathered together everyone began chatting and Liu Zhu used the chance to introduce himself to everyone.


    After chatting for a bit the leader spoke up and began going over their travel plans. The trip to Green City could be done in around two weeks if they were in a hurry, but since they were juggling travel and work they would probably end up taking closer to a month. For the first part of the trip they''d take the road and haul goods to a village further out in the wastes for some easy money, and then after that they''d cut through the wilderness and hunt vicious beasts. If all went well then they''d arrive at Green City with heavier coinpurses than they left with.


    Liu Zhu didn''t need the money but wasn''t particularly opposed to the plan, so he didn''t say anything as the man spoke. After a few more minutes of talking everything was settled and the group picked up a couple carts of goods from a nearby merchant before heading for the gate. His stay in Border City had been very eventful, but it was finally time to leave Border City again and see what the rest of the wastes had to offer.

 Chapter 61: People Dont Realize How Useful Safety Regulations Are Until They Need Them

    Nearly a week had passed since the group had left Border City and so far their trip had been rather uneventful. Liu Zhu''s most pressing duties had consisted of making sure nothing fell off the cart, helping set up camp, and helping with some odd jobs whenever they stopped in a village. All in all he''d had plenty of time to chat with the others during the day and cultivate when they stopped for the night. These days of calm travel were interrupted a week into the trip, when Liu Zhu woke up in the middle of the night, a familiar pain spreading throughout his head.


    As Liu Zhu woke up to feel the antlers that had inconvenienced him weeks ago begin reappearing he unconsciously scowled. He''d bought a turban in Border City in case this happened again, but he really didn''t want to stand out. Especially not when he was with a group of cultivators- it''d be much more likely that he''d make a mistake and have the new addition to his forehead discovered here than last time. Liu Zhu nervously lay there and focused on his forehead, futilely trying to stop the antlers from growing. Much to his surprise, what he''d thought was wasted effort seemed to have some effect. The antlers were only about half the length of last time, and they were disappearing much faster than before. He wasn''t sure if this was due to his efforts or just a coincidence, but either way he was thankful. He didn''t want to don a turban again and stand out for the entire trip. The Northern Wastes were still a ways south of The Deserts and even if he insisted that it was a fashion thing it would put people off.


    This process took around half an hour, and at the end of it Liu Zhu felt oddly exhausted. After making sure the antlers had disappeared completely he sighed and closed his eyes, immediately falling back asleep. He woke up around dawn, the sounds of everyone packing up their things and gathering for breakfast forcefully awakening him from his rest. Feng Jun greeted him as he joined the rest in eating. "Morning. You look tired, you sleep?" "Mmm... yeah, I slept fine. Just out of it this morning." Liu Zhu tiredly grabbed a bowl and started shoveling porridge in it as he woke up, still a bit groggy from the incident the night before. As Liu Zhu began eating and coming to his senses, Feng Jun asked whether they were still going to spar this morning. After some slight hesitation Liu Zhu shook his head, muttering something about not feeling up to it before returning his focus to his porridge.


    Liu Zhu was back to normal an hour or two after waking up. His earlier exhaustion had surprised him given his normally exceptional endurance, but he didn''t think much of it and just did his job. On this day in particular, his job was to part from the rest of the group, hunt whatever beasts he found in the nearby forest, vicious or otherwise, and then bring their corpses back. Normally they''d only hunt enough so that there would be fresh meat for their meals, but they happened to be arriving at a small village this afternoon. That made the matter of transporting the meat less significant since they could sell or give away anything extra, and so Liu Zhu just killed whatever looked like it might taste good. By the time they arrived in the village most of the group had animal corpses slung over their shoulders and many of the majestic creatures of the forest were now destined to someone''s meal.


    Upon arriving in the village the group split into three smaller groups. One went to talk to whatever merchant was supposed to collect the goods they''d hauled there and see if they had anything they needed them to escort to the next village up the road. The answer was generally a yes. Another group went to look around the village and look for work. If it was a job big enough that they needed everyone that''d be for the best, but everyone was permitted to do odd jobs if they didn''t take too long- they might hold the group up for a little while, but as wandering cultivators their primary focus was earning money. It was important to get to their destination, but if they were told they couldn''t pick up some work along the way then the group might just fall apart. The last, and smallest, group was made up of those not particularly interested in work. They''d generally do whatever they felt like and then meet up with everyone else later in the day.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Liu Zhu wasn''t particularly in need of money and wasn''t assigned to help with the merchant at this village, so he fell into the last group. He had quite a few hours free, so he''d look around the village, see if any of the locals had any interesting stories, and if nothing came up inevitably cultivate when he ran out of other activities to do. On this particular day Liu Zhu''s cultivation was interrupted by another member of the group. Apparently one of the farmers was complaining about some sort of beast showing up and eating some of his farm animals at night and at this point was desparate for someone to deal with it. The cultivator who heard about it didn''t mind helping, but he decided to look around for somebody to help him out first. Since Liu Zhu was the nearby and had nothing better to do, this task had fallen upon him.


    Liu Zhu wasn''t really that interested but figured that he may as well kill the beast if it would help someone out, payment or not. "Does it sound bad enough that you need my help? I''ll go either way, but..." The battle-scarred cultivator that Liu Zhu was speaking to shrugged. "Kid, when you do this for long enough you learn a few important things. One of them is the buddy system! Based off that guy''s description that beast might not even be as strong as a Flesh Tempering cultivator, but that doesn''t mean shit. Maybe I get injured by accident, maybe another beast shows up that I wasn''t looking for. If that happens I need someone who can either help me or get more people who can help me out. That''s why I''m bringing you along. I''ll split the money with you too, losing a coin is better than gaining a scar."


    The two returned to the farm and a followed a set of small tracks left behind by the beast they were tracking. They followed these tracks into the forest, passing through generic patches of bushes and trees before coming across a small stream. While following the tracks they hadn''t bothered to conceal their presence, as they didn''t think there was a reason to. Unfortunately there had been a reason to. They''d expected the beast they were tracking to be as strong as a Strength Rendering cultivator or maybe a Flesh Rendering cultivator, but it was actually equal to a Middle Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator. Even worse, instead of them finding the vicious beast, it found them first- as the two crossed the stream in order to continue following the tracks, the vicious beast, a small, green panther, shot out of the underbrush and dashed towards them.


    The two were caught by surprise, but fortunately the area around the stream was mostly clear. They both caught sight of the panther as it rushed towards them and immediately pulled out their weapons, hurriedly counterattacking. Liu Zhu hastily swept out with his guandao to intercept the panther''s dash towards him, while the man besides him pulled out his sword, slashing towards its side. The beast growled at the two of them and its claws shot out at both of their weapons, forcefully pushing them aside. After pushing through the attacks it went for Liu Zhu, aiming to tear his throat out and get rid of their numbers advantage early. Fortunately this attempt was intercepted by the man next to him, whose sword cut down once again and aimed to maim the panther. The panther forced back this strike before it landed, but the time it bought allowed the two to draw back and engage the beast on more equal terms.


    As the two settled into a defensive stance, the man next to him let out a worried sigh. "...Thank god for the buddy system."

 Chapter 62: Frenzied Melee

    The panther was undeterred by the failure of its sneak attack and jumped towards the two again. The water from the steam splashed everywhere as the panther leapt from the ground, spittle and hunger covering its face. The two braced themselves as the panther neared, and once it was within striking distance they immediately attacked. Liu Zhu was the first one to launch an attack since his guandao was several feet longer than the other man''s sword. He let out a deep breath as he struck out with the strongest move he could muster without wearing becoming incapable of combat - 4 Desires. Since breaking through to Middle Bone and Marrow Tempering he''d become capable of performing 5 Desires, but he was only capable of doing so once before he lost most of the strength in his arms. Unless he could land a fatal blow it was risky to use it here, where his opponent was slightly stronger than him.


    The panther''s green fur was cut through in multiple places by 4 Desires, small lines of blood spreading out from every spot his guandao came in contact with. Due to the creature''s thick pelt he wasn''t able to deal any serious damage, but a wound was still a wound- they''d made progress. Unfortunately, even if he''d made progress towards killing the beast, what 4 Desires hadn''t made much progress towards was stopping it from shooting towards the two. It''d definitely slowed its momentum, but in a couple seconds it would pounce upon one of the two and tear them apart with its terrifyingly sharp claws and teeth.


    At this point the man beside Liu Zhu showed his full strength. He was an Early Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator, and even if he didn''t know many fancy techniques and would be stuck at this level of cultivation for the rest of his life, he was far from useless. He let out a fierce yell as his sword rapidly came into the green panther''s field of view, threatening to dive into one of the wounds opened by Liu Zhu''s 4 Desires. Realizing how dire the situation would be if the sword pierced through its side and reached its insides, the panther ducked under the attack, turning its attention to the man. Before he could draw back his sword and defend properly the panther managed to land a blow on his arm, leaving behind a deep claw wound near his wrist. The only solace here was that since it was a hasty counterattack, that was all it could do. This wound was much lighter than anything it could''ve made with the momentum from before.


    As the panther threatened to leave a longer-lasting wound on the man beside him, Liu Zhu attacked with 4 Desires yet again. This time the panther moved away, having nothing to gain from taking yet another blow, but as it exited Liu Zhu''s range the guandao suddenly shot out farther than expected, leaving behind a single wound near the panther''s throat. As this happened Liu Zhu let out a pained groan before shakily pulling his weapon back. His attack was initially going to miss, leaving behind a single unimportant wound in the best case scenario, so he''d taken a gamble. He''d practiced a bit with the "Extended Blow" technique he bought a couple weeks ago, and since it was a rather simple technique he had a good grasp of it. In order to make his attack successful he''d forcefully switched from 4 Desires and dislocated his shoulder in order to extend the range of his blow. This method was similar to the "Extended Blow", but due to the sloppy execution there was a small problem- he hadn''t been able to quickly pop the bone he''d dislocated back in. He needed to rely on the man next to him to stall for a few seconds while he did so.


    The panther paused for moment as blood began flooding out from its wound. It wasn''t going to die from blood loss, but Liu Zhu had clearly left behind more than a minor wound. It let out a furious growl once it processed the situation and then shot towards Liu Zhu, wanting revenge for its wound. In response he rapidly ran away and prepared to pop his shoulder back in. The man next to him responded quickly to the panther''s retaliation, trying to block the panther''s path and buy him time. Despite the valiant effort the panther was only delayed for a moment, pushing the man to the ground before continuing on its way. He grunted loudly as he stood up and began to rush towards Liu Zhu, who was now only feet away from the panther.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    At this point Liu Zhu still hadn''t popped his shoulder back in, which was very bad for him. The guandao was a two-handed weapon, and if he couldn''t properly use his arms then he was severely handicapped. He had the bead Zhu Chao gave him that he could detonate at the panther in case things became deadly, but he hadn''t expected everything to go south so rapidly- by the time he had realized how serious the situation was the panther had gotten so close to him that he''d probably blow himself up if he used it. As the panther leapt towards Liu Zhu, lacking the ability to use his trump cards like 5 Desires or the bead, he just instinctively reacted. His leg violently shot up from the ground, scattering pebbles and soil from the stream bed everywhere, shooting towards the panther''s throat as he stumbled backwards.


    The panther, surprised and still in motion, wasn''t able to get out of the way in time. It got a brutal kick to the throat, adding a burst of blood to the cloud of soil and rocks. At the same time, another burst of blood was added to the mix- Liu Zhu''s blood. The panther''s claws came in contact with his lower chest, his flesh providing all the resistance of jello as the claws tore away skin and flesh and caused blood to shoot everywhere, dying the stream red. This wound wasn''t enough to kill a cultivator, but it was bad.


    The panther would have finished off Liu Zhu here, but it wasn''t able to- this wasn''t a one-verus-one fight- it was a melee. The man who''d accompanied Liu Zhu showed up behind the panther, frantically bringing his sword down towards it. The panther rolled away from this attack, a light path of blood following it across the ground. It glared daggers at the two of them once it go out of the way, letting out a raspy growl from its heavily-injured throat. After doing so it stared at the two of them for a moment longer before darting away into the undergrowth. It''d already been heavily injured after being kicked in its already-wounded throat, and had apparently decided to abandon its prey this time. This decision left the two extremely relived, and the man began to clean and bandage Liu Zhu''s wound.


    As the man began to treat Liu Zhu''s wound, Liu Zhu sat in the stream, quietly panicking. This was the closest he''d personally come to death, and unlike the assassination attempt against him, he hadn''t had anyone like Zhu Chao to rely on. If he''d messed up here he would''ve just been another corpse in the forest, the same as anyone else. When the man began to bandage the wound, Liu Zhu murmured something. The man, concerned, spoke up. "What is it? Injured somewhere else?" Liu Zhu slowly shook his head. "No, it''s... it''s not... not really that. I... I almost fucking died. I almost died. I didn''t even get to show my full strength, and... I almost died like that." This remark was directed at himself as much as the man he was speaking to. "Me too. It''s scary but it happens. Just give it a few days." Liu Zhu just nodded his head, getting up to help the man with his wrist once he was done assisting Liu Zhu with his wound.


    After the two treated their wounds they carefully returned to the village. They were out of their depth here and needed to get help. They couldn''t just leave a beast like that to recover and then wander around the nearby forest, threatening to kill the villagers if it ever got too hungry. They needed to get help from the rest of the group and deal with it. Besides safety concerns, there was one more reason they had to kill it... at this point things were personal.

 Chapter 63: The Hunter

    After returning to the village the two made their way to to where the village''s largest merchant lived. Outside his home about eight cultivators could be seen loading and unloading goods, half of them loading new goods onto the cart and the other half bringing away the goods they''d just unloaded to somewhere else on the premises. As the two approached the group several people noticed them, their dirty appearance and bandages drawing quite a few worried glances. Yan Da, the group''s leader and the only Meridian Opening cultivator among them, approached the two upon seeing the sorry state they were in and asked what happened.


    Liu Zhu was still a bit out of it, so his companion explained the situation. Yan Da just nodded and listened, and after the man was done speaking he did his best to deal with the situation. "Xie Hua, Zuo Shi, good job not dying. I''ll talk to the merchant and then head out to finish it off, keep doing what you''re doing- er, the not dying thing, not the bleeding thing. Stop doing that." Yan Da immediately requested that the merchant call for a doctor, and the merchant sent one of his employees out to do so. After dealing with that Yan Da hurried to the woods with Feng Jun and another Late Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator to finish off the panther.


    After the village''s doctor arrived he took a look at Liu Zhu''s wound first. Xie Hua had expected him to need stitches when he bandaged his wound, but when the doctor took a closer look at the wound he decided against it. The panther hadn''t punctured anything important and the bleeding had already slowed down so there was a good chance the wound would heal naturally given two or three weeks. The only advice given was to apply bandages, keep the wound clean, and to apply pressure if it bled too much. Xie Hua was confused since he could''ve sworn the wound looked a bit worse when he bandaged it, but just shrugged it off as a side effect of him panicking. After all, that was a far more reasonable explanation than the teenager sitting next to him having the ability to recover from wounds at an ungodly speed.


    Xie Hua, on the other hand, did have to get a couple of stitches. He grit his teeth and sat through the procedure without any complaints, and by the time the doctor was done Yan Da and the others had returned, the panther slung over their shoulder. Its windpipe was crushed completely, so it appeared that they''d finished the job by targeting the wound Liu Zhu had left behind. As the three approached the group Yan Da nodded at Liu Zhu and Xie Hua. "Good job, this thing was half-unconscious when I found it. Could''ve recovered but it would''ve taken a long time. You fucked it up good." After saying this Yan Da had everyone return to dealing with the merchant while he left the group, muttering something about ''visiting the village chief real quick''.


    After Liu Zhu spent half an hour slowly moving crates while making sure he didn''t exasperate his wound further, Yan Da returned to the group with a grin on his face. Everyone threw a glance at him, confused, and paused their work for a moment. "Get everybody together, I just got some good work. Long story short there are more of those panthers nearby and if we kill them we get paid. Get this done with, get everybody together, and then I''ll go over it in more detail."


    With everyone put to work and motivated by the promise of a job that paid well the old cargo was moved to a storehouse and the new cargo shoved onto the cart in record time. Once they were done Yan Da took the group inside and gave them the rundown on the situation. "Xie Hua and Zuo Shi almost got murdered by a Reed Panther earlier today. Fortunately they managed to get it worse than it got them and we went and finished it off. That would be the end of things, but when I took the body to the village''s chief to get some payment for it, he informed me that it was pregnant. He also informed that based on a few marks on it, it had probably been pregnant before. That means there''s a few more lurking around the area, and while most of them are probably only as strong as an Early or Middle Blood and Viscera Tempering cultivator, the adult male might be almost as strong as me. And that means we have some work to do! Go out, kill the cats, and we all get paid! Long as we stay in a group we should all stay safe and make some cash. Alright?"This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Everyone seemed more than eager to take the job, as with a group of over a dozen cultivators it was unlikely that anyone would get killed as long as they stayed on guard. Liu Zhu was still a bit shaken and couldn''t use his full strength without risking tearing open his wound again, but went along with the plan. He wouldn''t gain much from sitting here in the village, and with a small horde of cultivators around him is was doubtful anything would happen.


    As everyone came to a consensus Yan Da made a point of giving Xie Hua and Liu Zhu the payment for killing the first Reed Panther in front of everyone else, as they "did most of the work and took on most of the risk". The payment was a little less than 20 gold coins each. Liu Zhu thanked Yan Da for taking care of the aftermath for him and took the money, putting it into a deflated coinpurse he kept on his belt. Most of his funds were in his backpack to avoid standing out from the rest of the group, so this influx of money caused the previously sad-looking coinpurse to more than double in size.


    Most of the cultivators were told to do whatever they wished for the next few hours as long as they could be easily found later. After saying this Yan Da called Xie Hua, Fang Jun, and Liu Zhu over. "I''m heading over to speak with a hunter the village chief mentioned and you''re coming with me. Xie Hua, Zuo Shi, the two of you saw the Reed Panther so think about if there are any important details about it you need to mention. Feng Jun, you''re good at talking, I''ll leave him to you if I mess up. The village chief said he was hard to predict but would probably help us, so I''m hopeful." The group of four left the rest of the cultivators, retrieved the Reed Panther''s corpse from the village chief so that the hunter could examine it if need be, and then began their trip to where the hunter lived. Apparently he didn''t like interacting with others much and had made his home by a lake several hours away from the village. Fortunately everyone was a cultivator so the trip was under an hour, but the trip was still a pain and left Liu Zhu wondering why he would want to live this far away from civilization.


    As the four neared the lake, they saw a small wisp of smoke rising up into the air. They changed direction slightly to approach it and found an old man sitting by a fire. A scraggly, unkempt beard dominated his face, and his body was obscured by a crudely-sewn fur cloak several sizes too big for him. As the four neared they saw that he was staring in their direction. "Heard ya comin'' from a mile away. Whatcha want." The man coughed several times before saying anything, and spoke in a rough, slow fashion, as if he if wasn''t used to talking. His speech or appearance weren''t the most surprising things about him though- the truly shocking part about him was his cultivation. Yan Da mentioned that he was at Bone and Marrow Tempering, but that was clearly false- he''d reached Meridian Opening already.


    Yan Da took the lead in speaking with him. "Some Reed Panthers showed up in the forest next to Thornbrush Village. We wanted your help tracking them down." The hunter paused for a moment before gesturing to a log next to his fire. Getting the hint, everyone took a seat. "How''s Kang doing?" Everyone sat there for a moment, perplexed by the question, before Yan Da seemed to realize something. "The village chief? He seemed lively when I saw him." The hunter just nodded, going silent for a moment before prodding at the fire and putting more firewood onto it. "Good to hear that old buzzkill is doing fine. Haven''t seen him in a couple decades. I guess he mentioned me?" Yan Da just nodded, and the hunter eventually wheezed out a response. "Of course. Well, he sent you to the right man. You aren''t willing to let me take care of everything, are you? I find them, kill them, take the corpse, you get paid whatever''s left without the body?"


    Yan Da didn''t even think about it before declining. "No, this is our work and the body is what most of the payment is for. That won''t do." The hunter sighed. "Of course it isn''t. Well, was worth asking. The thrill''s in the hunt for me, so if I could get rid of you guys I would. Course I could just turn you down, wait for you to get tired of looking and then see if I can find it later, but since it''s my friend''s village it''s that''s going a little too far. I''m in as long as you can spare me a few parts- as you can see, I could use a new cloak." Yan Da thought about it for a moment before agreeing. "That''s fine. We can work out the exact split later. I''m Yan Da, and it''s a pleasure to be working with you. Your name is...?" The hunter laughed as he stood up and shook Yan Da''s outstretched hand. "I don''t need a name. I''m the hunter who lives by the lake, and that''s all I need to be."

 Chapter 64: The Hunt Begins

    After coming to an agreement with the hunter the group Liu Zhu was with met up with the rest of the cultivators and prepared to set out. Once everyone was gathered Yan Da asked the hunter how they should proceed from there. The man, whose voice was only a tad less raspy than before, began explaining their next steps. "Head into the forest, go to where you found the Reed Panther, search from there. If you guys stomped round there too much it''ll be troublesome but I''ll manage. First you all need to cover yourself in Reed Panther blood though. We have a corpse, the blood isn''t worth much, I''ll get the blood so you can all smell nice and bloody without damaging anything valuable. I''ll start butchering, someone get a container."


    The hunter immediately took a few items from his pack and prepared to dismember the Reed Panther they''d killed. A few people loudly objected, complaining about having to stain their clothes in blood, but upon being told that they''d have to leave if they didn''t and that it was ''better than urine and feces at least'' they quickly capitulated. The rest of the group watched as the hunter skillfully cut up the body into different pieces, letting all of the blood drip off into a large container held beneath whatever part of the corpse he was working on. After around half an hour his work was done, and everyone was told to come up and use a little over a cup of blood each to mask their scent.


    Once everyone was doused in Reed Panther blood the dismembered corpse was turned over to the village and the cultivators left. Their first stop was at the stream where Liu Zhu fought against the Reed Panther, and from there they followed the path the Reed Panther took from the stream to where it stopped and rested. Once they reached this area the hunter simply told everyone to ''stay far, far away and not to touch anything'' before leaving the rest of the group behind to examine the area.


    The hunter spent half an hour looking over the area before returning to the rest of the group. As far as he could tell the Reed Panther had been living there for some time, at least a week or two, and it was alone. The lack of a mate made sense given that the animals generally only socialized during mating season and the male would usually leave shortly after mating, but it was unfortunate that they were too late to catch the Reed Panther together with its mate. With the male missing it meant they had quite the search ahead of them.


    Their best bet now would be to search around any rivers or streams in the area, especially any with dense underbrush nearby. As the name implied Reed Panthers tended to make their home very close to water, and their coloration was similar to that of reeds and many other plants, allowing them to stalk prey more easily. If there was one in the area then they''d be living in that sort of habitat since there weren''t any marshes nearby. The groups split into two once the hunter went over what signs they should keep an eye out for and where to search. A smaller group of around six people left with the hunter. Liu Zhu was part of this group. The rest of the cultivators went with Yan Da. With a Meridian Opening cultivator in each group everyone would be relatively safe, and according to the hunter both should have a good chance of running into any Reed Panthers nearby. The other cultivators initially thought this was a compliment, but after the hunter added on "you all might not find much without me, but if the Reed Panther smells you it''ll come looking. Maybe it''ll be hoping for a mate, maybe it''ll be trying to get rivals out of its territory. Either way it''ll find you." they realized they were more or less just non-sacrificial bait.


    Once the ''bait group'' left, Liu Zhu''s group began their search. Or more accurately, the hunter began his search. Everyone else followed a short distance behind and chatted as he did so. Their role was to serve as backup if things got nasty and to help attract the Reed Panther. Liu Zhu tried to spot any signs of a Reed Panther throughout what felt like a glorified hike, but knew that doing so wouldn''t serve much use- if he spotted anything than the hunter going along with them probably would''ve saw it first.


    After several hours of searching along any stream or river in the area, the hunter leading the group paused for a moment. Upon stopping he whispered "Act the same as before but get closer to me." and then resumed walking. This order put some people on edge and made others excited, but no matter their emotion the cultivators did their best to hide them and ''act the same''. They just continued their conversations and gradually shortened the distance between them and the hunter leading them.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    A few minutes after the hunter gave that order, a nearby bush exploded into motion. A green-coated panther suddenly appeared and darted towards the hunter, claws ready and jaws open. A split second later the panther stopped moving as it was suddenly skewered by a sword the hunter had been holding. This sudden interruption caused everyone to quiet down before the hunter broke the silence with some light laughter. "Could''ve lived a bit longer but it had to choose the strongest one here." After saying this the hunter roughly shook the panther off of his sword, letting it drop onto the forest floor.


    The hunter stared at the panther''s corpse for a few minutes before sighing. "It''s a Reed Panther and it''s a male but it''s not the one we''re looking for. Too young. I guess that means it''s one of the children. We''ll keep looking around for a couple more hours before meeting with the rest." This statement signaled the start of the second part of their search. This search yielded nothing except boredom for most of those present and the occasional happy surprise for Liu Zhu when he noticed a medicinal herb growing nearby. Once the sun set the group stopped their search and went to where they''d agreed to meet up with Yan Da''s group.


    Yan Da''s group hadn''t come across a single Reed Panther, much to their chagrin. As everyone settled down for the night, setting up camp, making food, and continuing their conversations from earlier, the hunter and Yan Da disappeared. When they reappeared Yan Da spoke to the now eating cultivators to explain their next course of action. "According to the expert here there probably aren''t any more Reed Panthers in this location. We searched along most of the running water sources in the area and three Reed Panthers living in such close proximity seems unlikely due to the amount of prey or something like that. Tomorrow we''re gonna head west a bit and cross the gorge. The hunter says that''s our best bet and I''ll listen to him on this one."


    This announcement was followed by a quick rundown of who would be on watch when just in case something did show up. Those who were spared from staying on watch that night started drinking, eager to party a bit after picking up some alcohol at Thornbrush Village. Liu Zhu had the last watch and went to bed early, hoping to make up for the sleep he''d lost the night before.


    Much to Liu Zhu''s annoyance, he once again woke up to the pain of his antlers trying to burst out of his skull. Being spotted with antlers wasn''t much of a concern even with a few people on watch since he''d hidden his head under a spare blanket he''d kept in his bedroll beforehand, but the half an hour spent in extreme discomfort was. After this interruption Liu Zhu went back to sleep, took the last watch still a bit out of it, and then come dawn ate and gathered his things before heading to the gorge with the others.


    That morning everyone got some good news and some bad news. The good news was that the gorge was only a short distance away and that there happened to be a rough trail they could take for part of the journey. The bad news was that the wooden bridge across the gorge was broken. There had been a thunderstorm the week before, and apparently the bridge had been struck and no one had been able to cross since then. As the group of cultivators stood there, trying to figure out what to do, Yan Da and the hunter parted from the group once more before Yan Da made yet another announcement.


    "Finding another way across would take more than a day, so it''d more than a bit of an inconvenience. Fortunately the gorge isn''t very wide here and I''ve thought of a way to get across." This statement improved everyone''s moods, and they quieted down as Yan Da continued. "Somebody should have a rope, so as long as we have one that''s long enough we can make a zip line. We can take a boat down the river after we''re across so we don''t have to worry about getting back to this side afterwards." A few people began digging around in their packs for ropes after Yan Da said this, but one of the cultivators, confused, asked a question. "If we''re on this side how exactly do we tie the rope on the other side?"


    Yan Da nervously smiled upon hearing this. "That''s a very good question. The answer is, uh, we need someone light. We''ll tie the rope to a tree on this side of the gorge, give the rope to them, and then throw them across to the other side so that they can tie it." Liu Zhu frowned as he heard this, and this frown only intensified as he saw Yan Da direct his nervous smile towards him. He didn''t like where this was going.

 Short hiatus

    Dealing with a lot of irl stuff right now, i''m fine but don''t have time to update. The next chapter probably won''t be for 2-4 weeks depending on how quickly things clear up. I''ll delete this ''chapter'' whenever I''m back. I was intending to include this as a post-chapter note but I haven''t had time to finish the next chapter and I didn''t want to just say nothing until it was done with.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    CHAPTER MUST BE 500 CHARACTERS LONG


    500 CHARACTERS, SO IMPRESSIVE


    WOW


    are we at 500 yet