Night Raven Tower Master Xuan Ying

Lin Zhao's interrogation was clean and decisive, striking straight at the vital point.

The garrison soldier who had tried to sneak out of Qixia Fortress in the dead of night did not hold out for long before confessing everything.

He was indeed a spy planted by Night Raven Tower. When Zhao Tieying had previously left the fortress on official business, it was this man who had secretly sent word, drawing the assassins in for their nighttime attack.

But this spy's rank was too low; he had no idea who the true mastermind behind it all was.

Night Raven Tower had always operated in secrecy, with its intelligence divided into strict tiers. That suited the methods of the jianghu's foremost assassin organization.

Yet the person behind the scenes had deployed assassins twice, even sending a capable mid-stage Entering Martial Master. Their identity was practically written on their face.

"Duke Wei, Xu Qin!"

Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes, his blood and qi faintly surging as killing intent blazed around him.

He knew that Duke Wei would never rest until he achieved his aim. At present, he had only two paths before him:

1. Abandon everything he had built and flee for his life.

2. Stand his ground at Lin Family Fortress and fight, with a road ahead surely bristling with thorns.

In the end, Lin Zhao chose to wait and watch.

He had already touched the threshold of a mid-stage Entering Martial Master. The fortress coffers were well stocked, making this the perfect chance to expand his strength.

So long as Duke Wei did not personally enter the fray, he had room to maneuver.

After dealing with the spy, Lin Zhao instructed Zhao Tieying, "From now on, add a background check to recruitment. Reject anyone with an unclear origin without exception."

Zhao Tieying's face was full of shame. Dropping to one knee, he said, "This subordinate failed in his supervision and allowed this disaster to arise. I am willing to accept punishment."

Lin Zhao reached out and helped him up, saying in a deep voice, "I only need some time. Then every person eyeing Lin Family Fortress and seeking my life will pay a price in blood."

After a pause, he added, "Right. Continue secretly investigating the whereabouts of the Mystic Ice Giant Spirit Technique and the Meng Family Bloodline. Do not startle the snake by beating the grass."

Meanwhile, inside an abandoned beacon tower on the Northern Frontier of the Ming Dynasty.

A pale-faced middle-aged scholar drank alone by the railing. The words "Night Raven" on the black iron token hanging from his waist glimmered with a cold light in the darkness.

An iron-feathered owl landed on his shoulder, a sharply worded secret letter tied between its claws.

Every word in the letter was like a blade: "Two failures, and your work is still dragging! If there is no result again, the alliance pact will be terminated at once."

This scholar was Xuan Ying, one of Night Raven Tower's Fifth Tower Masters.

After reading the letter, his fingers abruptly tightened. As inner qi surged through him, he actually crushed deep finger marks into the bluestone railing.

A moment later, he took up brush and ink and wrote a reply: "Dispatch Gold Rank Assassin Iron Mountain. Kill Lin Zhao. Use any means necessary. This time, success is mandatory!"

Xuan Ying's heart was full of doubt. Six years ago, Lin Zhao had merely been a youth who offered up land to survive. How had he escaped two certain-kill attempts by sheer luck?

Iron Mountain was one of Night Raven Tower's twelve Gold Rank Assassins. At only thirty, he had already reached the high stage of Entering Martial Master, and his hard-body training had rendered him impervious to blades and spears.

If even he failed, then Xuan Ying himself would likely have to make a move.

At that thought, a vicious glint flashed through Xuan Ying's eyes, and the temperature around him seemed to drop by several degrees.

Spring, March, the 24th Year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty.

Within Qixia Valley, streams murmured softly. Grass carpeted both banks, wild flowers bloomed in splendor, and colorful butterflies danced through the air. Everything brimmed with life.

On the reclaimed fields in the river valley, the tenant farmers were busy with spring plowing. Last year had brought favorable winds and timely rains, filling the fortress granaries. Under Hundred-Household Officer Lin Zhao's governance, everyone looked toward the days ahead with hope.

At the training ground, Zhao Tieying was drilling the soldiers.

Of the fifty full-time garrison soldiers under Lin Zhao's command, nearly half had now been issued standard lamellar armor.

Under Zhao Tieying's harsh training, every one of them stood tall and straight, their spirit and bearing growing ever sharper.

The five most dependable Squad Leaders had even been specially permitted to cultivate Night Raven Tower's foundational method—the Bone Softening Technique.

Though this technique did not primarily cultivate strength and qi, it loosened the muscles and bones and increased the agility of one's movement. Once armored, it allowed swifter dodging and shifting amid battle formations.

Unfortunately, constrained by finances, Lin Zhao could only focus on cultivating these five Squad Leaders for the time being.

He planned that if the results proved notable, then once provisions became sufficient, he would gradually equip the entire force with warhorses and armor, while spreading the Bone Softening Technique among them.

Even if only one out of the fifty ultimately broke through to become a low-stage Entering Martial Master, it would be an immense boon to Lin Family Fortress.

One had to know that in the Ming Dynasty's guard post system, many hundred-household posts had only a single low-stage Entering Martial Master stationed there as commander.

Looking across all the hundred-household posts in the Northern Frontier Military Commission, Lin Family Fortress's current wealth and military strength already ranked among the upper-middle tier.

As for Lin Zhao's own cultivation, he had not relaxed for a single day.

Today, he successfully cultivated the Bone Softening Technique to the Fourth Rank!

Lin Zhao—

Bone Softening Technique: Fourth Tier (Complete), Special Effects: Basic Movement Technique, Bone Shrinking Shapeshifting (Cannot be improved).

"Even among foundational techniques, there are distinctions between high and low. The subtleties of this Bone Softening Technique clearly surpass those of the ordinary Mystic Wolf Technique."

Reaching the Fourth Tier from entry in just four months was certainly supported by his foundation as an Entering Martial Master, as well as the fact that both the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique and Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique had reached the Fourth Tier. Yet it was also inseparable from the proficiency accumulated through daily bitter cultivation and the nourishment of ample medicinal meals.

And the rewards of this technique were truly astonishing—after the Fourth Tier, it had awakened two special effects!

One had to know that even an Upper Grade technique like the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique had awakened only one special effect.

The Bone Softening Technique deserved its reputation as Night Raven Tower's standard method.

Basic Movement Technique overlapped somewhat with the effects of the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique, offering only limited improvement to Lin Zhao's speed.

After all, the Mystic Wolf Breathing Technique had already refined his movement to the utmost limit of his rank. Unless the Bone Softening Technique advanced further, it would be difficult to achieve a qualitative leap.

What Lin Zhao truly valued was the second special effect—[Bone Shrinking Shapeshifting].

"Use soft force to adjust the gaps between the bones, shrinking one's body within the limits the flesh can endure, while greatly increasing bodily flexibility. This effect is inherent to the technique and cannot advance."

"If this skill is used properly, it can preserve one's life in a desperate situation—and even enable a counterkill!" Lin Zhao murmured.

It was quite similar to the "Bone Shrinking Technique" spoken of in jianghu rumors.

He knew well that many techniques focused on cultivating strength and qi often caused their practitioners to grow increasingly burly.

That Heavenly Gang Realm Grandmaster Warrior of the Meng Family who cultivated the Mystic Ice Technique stood nearly a zhang tall, the most vivid example of all.

A robust frame could certainly bring advantages in strength and physique, but it also made one too conspicuous a target and inevitably restricted the flexibility of one's movement.

Now that he had Bone Shrinking Shapeshifting, he could avoid an enemy's edge in a critical moment. He could even alter his physical outline and, combined with disguise arts, change his appearance completely, making his actions all the more secretive.

Besides the Bone Softening Technique, Lin Zhao's other skills had also improved greatly.

The progress of the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique had already broken through the ten-thousand mark, and the inner qi within his body had grown ever denser and more refined.

Two months ago, his inner qi could only cover his palms. Now, once he circulated his technique, the Mystic Dragon inner qi in his dantian—which commanded the Mystic Wolf inner qi and the Bone Softening Technique—spun like flight, like a second heart.

Inner qi poured ceaselessly into his limbs and bones. As his veins bulged, they transformed into dark blue-green tendons like ink-black dragons coiling around him, glimmering with a faint metallic sheen. Fine white vapor rose from his body as well—the sign of inner qi overflowing at full abundance.

"What a powerful body!" Lin Zhao praised sincerely as he looked at his arms, which seemed cast from Fine Steel.

He smashed a fist into the stone wall. Amid a thunderous boom, the entire wall shuddered violently, and broken stones rained down in a rustling shower.

"The force of this punch would likely be difficult for an ordinary mid-stage Entering Martial Master to receive head-on."

"If the quantity and quality of my inner qi continue improving, and my body continues growing stronger, perhaps one day I will not need a weapon. With fists and feet alone, I may unleash fierce internal force. Then, with a single palm strike, splitting steles and shattering stone, cracking armor and destroying mail will not be difficult!"

The thought flashed through his mind, but he did not rush to attempt it.

Fierce internal force was too tyrannical. Without a weapon to serve as an outlet, it could easily shock and injure his own meridians.

Perhaps after reaching the high stage of Entering Martial Master, when his body and inner qi were more condensed, he could give it a try.

"It really worked!"

Lin Zhao suppressed the surging excitement in his heart, his gaze sharp as a blade.

"Next comes one word—practice!"

He was now a cultivator who truly practiced with bitter diligence. The more he trained, the more vigorous his spirit became, while his inner qi circulated ever more smoothly.

To ensure that the Blood Poison Qi Breaking Powder could prove useful in actual battle, Lin Zhao decided to expand its production and refine a sufficient stockpile in one go.

When he tired of refining medicine, he meditated and practiced qi. When his qi sensation grew sluggish, he took up his sword and drilled techniques. Once he had thoroughly practiced swordsmanship, he went to the Blacksmith Shop to temper his muscles and bones. Finally, he took a cold bath to invigorate his blood and qi, then could fall into sound sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

Day after day, the cycle repeated without a moment's rest.

Seven days later, he finally refined a full hundred portions of Blood Poison Powder.

Though the number seemed large, it only filled a fist-sized packet of medicinal powder.

Lin Zhao stored the powder away in a secret case with satisfaction.

With such a secret medicine capable of obscuring vision and numbing the senses, things like quicklime, useful only against ordinary commoners, should be eliminated completely.

At the same time, his medicine-refining skill had reached fruition naturally, smoothly breaking through to the Second Tier.

"I wonder where the limit of this medicine-refining art truly lies..."

"Enough. I've been cooped up in the fortress for too long. It's time to go out and get some air."

Lin Zhao stretched his muscles and bones, and a faint series of crisp cracks sounded throughout his body.

The Blood Poison Spider Sensing Technique he had bitterly cultivated during this period had already touched the threshold of entry; it only lacked that final step.

There was no helping it. Techniques like this, which required one to stir bloodline resonance, were inherently far more difficult to enter than ordinary Breathing Techniques.

When he arrived at the training ground, Zhao Tieying was meticulously drilling the soldiers.

From a distance, Lin Zhao saw him personally instructing a Squad Leader in sword practice. That Squad Leader was the very soldier who had lost his composure after being frightened by the wolf demon.

Though the boy was timid by nature, Zhao Tieying's strict tempering had made him increasingly steady. He could now stand on his own.

More rare still, he possessed considerable talent in Breathing Exercises.

Among the five Squad Leaders in the fortress cultivating techniques, Wang Er alone had successfully entered the gate. Zhao Tieying thus paid him special attention.

"Young Master, has your cultivation improved recently?" Seeing him approach, Zhao Tieying hurried forward to greet him.

"Not bad." Lin Zhao nodded and went straight to the point. "Any leads on the Mystic Ice Giant Spirit Technique?"

Zhao Tieying shook his head with a bitter smile. "There are still no clues. This subordinate followed the traces of the Meng Family Bloodline, only to discover that most related records had been deliberately destroyed. This subordinate suspects that perhaps the Military Commission Office acted to erase all traces of their existence."

"Keep investigating. You must act cautiously and absolutely cannot let the authorities notice the slightest thing," Lin Zhao said solemnly.

The Mystic Ice Technique was key to whether he could wield the Mystic Ice Patterned Armor.

If he could cultivate it successfully, then even against a Heavenly Gang Realm Grandmaster Warrior, he would be fully confident of escaping unharmed.

More importantly, Lin Zhao had long yearned for the secret art contained in the Mystic Ice Patterned Armor's third level of power.

But he was not impatient. He had both the patience to wait and the time to make arrangements.

Now that he possessed three Fourth Tier techniques, with the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique among them being Upper Grade, even Lin Zhao himself could not say clearly what level his strength had reached.

He only knew that with merely half his strength, he could fight a mid-stage Entering Martial Master to a standstill, and subdue three juvenile Mystic Arm Snow Apes barehanded without difficulty.

"Old Zhou, we need to put the cavalry establishment on the agenda." Lin Zhao looked north, his expression grave. "I have a feeling that the Northern Frontier will find little peace in the coming years."

"We need to train an elite cavalry force, and we must also find a way to expand the fortress population."

Zhao Tieying looked troubled. "Warhorses are desperately scarce right now. The imperial court and the major Feudal Kings are all reorganizing their armies and preparing for war. The several major horse ranches along the frontier have long since been contracted by them. We cannot even get in line."

"Do not worry about silver. Just keep watch for information." With that, Lin Zhao turned and headed toward the Blacksmith Shop.

He needed to hurry and train Martial Arts Blacksmithing to the Fifth Tier. Only then could he avoid wasting such an extraordinary material as Pangolin Dragon Scale and forge himself a set of light yet sturdy scale armor.

Before the Mystic Ice Patterned Armor became usable, this scale armor would be his most important protective equipment.

The 24th Year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty, the blazing heat of June.

Lin Zhao successfully entered the Blood Poison Spider Breathing Technique, then advanced all the way to the Third Rank within a single month.

At this point, he had mastered no fewer than four techniques.

It could not be said that he was unprecedented and would never be surpassed, but in these Jiajing years, he was absolutely as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

After all, the threshold of bloodline resonance alone was enough to block ninety-nine percent of martial artists.

Not to mention that without the proficiency gained from daily bitter cultivation, no one else could possibly advance with such astonishing speed.

Though the Third Rank Blood Poison Spider Breathing Technique had not yet awakened a special effect, Lin Zhao could already clearly sense that his ability to perceive through his body surface had increased enormously.

Even minute changes in temperature and the faintest brush of airflow could be clearly captured by him.

Meanwhile, the Mystic Dragon Breathing Technique continued advancing steadily, drawing ever closer to the Fifth Tier.

The inner qi within his body grew thicker by the day. It had previously covered only his arms, but now it could spread all the way to his neck.

Lin Zhao estimated that once he officially advanced to mid-stage Entering Martial Master, his inner qi should be able to cover his entire body.

As for the Mystic Ice Giant Spirit Technique, Zhao Tieying still had made no progress.

Lin Zhao quietly calculated that if there was still no news after another month, he would go to Xuanyao Tavern in the city and post a reward.

That place was a chaotic mix of dragons and snakes, with the best-informed intelligence network. Perhaps it could provide a clue, though the risks were indeed considerable.

At the end of the blazing month, a towering figure appeared at the border of Qixia Valley.

He wore refined iron scale armor and rode a purebred Hetao War Horse, which was itself covered in light armor.

Looking at the tranquil pastoral scene before him—the tenant farmers weeding the fields, the children catching fish by the river—his lips curled into a disdainful sneer.

"For such a remote, impoverished backwater, they actually need me to come personally? The organization is becoming more and more worthless."

He swung down from his horse and hid the warhorse deep in the forest.

The next moment, a series of crackling bone sounds rang through the woods. His nearly zhang-tall body actually shrank by half, while his build grew considerably leaner.

Following the traces, he found a passing tenant farmer, cleanly knocked him unconscious, changed into the man's coarse cloth tunic, and calmly headed toward Lin Family Fortress.

He was Iron Mountain.

One of Night Raven Tower's twelve Gold Rank Assassins.

A new storm was already quietly brewing in Qixia Valley.