Firebird

"So that was how it was."

During their conversation, Yang Qingyun finally learned some of the details behind the matter.

As it turned out, Zhou Weilong was practically a half-abandoned disciple of the Sifang Society. Having passed thirty and still unable to break through the Viscera Refining Realm, he was essentially regarded by others as having no potential left.

On top of that, he had offended someone within the Sifang Society and had been kept on the shelf, receiving little use.

Thus, disheartened, he had relied on a few connections to leave the Sifang Society and come to Huangshi Town, intending to build himself a modest career there.

Unfortunately,

during this period, as the Sifang Society gradually stabilized the situation in the county seat and dismantled the opposition from more than a dozen other towns, its ambitious Great Dragon Head once again developed the desire to expand.

However, wary of the lesson they had learned the last time, when more than a dozen towns in Bao'an County had joined forces to pressure them, the Sifang Society had changed its former, extremely crude and brutal method of destroying households and wiping out entire clans.

They had begun trying new methods that would not provoke such fierce resistance from others, using them to seize control of a town.

And so,

Huangshi Town, along with Zhou Weilong within it, had entered the sights of the Sifang Society.

That was how Hall Master Feng of the Sifang Society had come here.

Although Zhou Weilong had left the Sifang Society through his connections, his name was still on the rolls. When Hall Master Feng arrived, he could only obey the man's orders.

"I originally planned to establish a martial arts school in Huangshi Town and build a family business here. Then, after getting married and having children, I would have someone to rely on in my old age. Who could have thought that the world was so fickle? I had no choice in the matter."

Zhou Weilong gave a bitter laugh, downed a cup of tea in one gulp, and sighed.

"Alas, in the end, it all comes down to strength. When your strength is weak, you don't even have the right to choose. You're nothing but a slab of fat on the chopping block, left for others to toy with."

"If I could have advanced to the Viscera Refining Realm, why would I have had to drift into this little town to establish a foundation? And why would the Great Dragon Head have sent people over without even bothering to ask, not long after I had just gained a foothold?"

At that moment, bitterness covered his face.

Whether the Sifang Society's scheme succeeded or failed this time, the Weilong Martial Arts School would no longer be able to continue operating.

The fine foundation he had built would vanish into thin air.

He had once been the master of a martial arts school and a prominent figure in town. In the blink of an eye, he was about to become a pawn in the struggle between two great powers.

No one would feel good if something like that happened to them.

At this,

Yang Qingyun fell silent.

The weak,

had no right to control their own fate.

They could only drift from place to place, praying that they might survive in the cracks between the strong. Yang Qingyun understood that principle all too well.

"Actually, Brother Zhou, although you're now over thirty and have already passed the peak of your Qi and Blood potential, you've cultivated for many years and have already reached the Peak of the Entering Realm. If you could obtain some miraculous medicine capable of greatly increasing your Qi and Blood, you might not be unable to advance to the Viscera Refining Realm."

Seeing Zhou Weilong's spirits sink, Yang Qingyun spoke up to change the subject.

"Ha, treasures like that are first-rate rarities even within the Sifang Society. They're worth ten thousand gold and impossible to buy. What chance would I have of obtaining one?"

"For now, I'll just spend more time training and see whether I can find a chance to break through."

Zhou Weilong shook his head repeatedly, paying it little mind.

If miraculous medicine capable of breaking through a realm were truly that easy to obtain, then the world would be crawling with Viscera Refining Realm martial artists.

"By the way, the guidance you gave me last time was immensely helpful. Over these past few days, I've faintly felt as though I've touched the threshold of a breakthrough. There are just a few things I still can't understand, so I had to shamelessly come knocking again. I hope you won't take offense, Brother Yang."

A martial artist at the Peak of the Entering Realm had come to ask a martial artist who had only recently been in the early-Entry Realm for guidance on cultivation and discuss breaking through to the Viscera Refining Realm.

To anyone outside, such a thing would have seemed exceedingly strange.

But as it happened,

Zhou Weilong looked completely at ease.

"Brother Zhou, your accumulation is already sufficient for a breakthrough. The only thing lacking is that your body has grown old and set, leaving your Qi and Blood lacking vitality."

Yang Qingyun shook his head.

Under Zhou Weilong's puzzled gaze, he took a jade bottle from his robes and placed it on the table.

"This is a pill I refined. After taking it, it can replenish a large amount of vital essence. When Brother Zhou is preparing to break through, take one pill and rely on the vital essence to refine your Qi and Blood. With the temporary increase in the richness of your Qi and Blood, it should be enough to make up for the lack of vitality and use it to break through the bottleneck of the Viscera Refining Realm."

Zhou Weilong took the jade bottle somewhat doubtfully and opened the cap. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately wafted out.

In an instant,

the Qi and Blood within his body actually began to stir faintly!

Zhou Weilong's expression changed.

He carefully put the wooden cap back on, his face revealing clear hesitation.

But after thinking for a moment,

he ultimately endured the pain in his heart, set the item down, pushed it back in front of Yang Qingyun, and let out a long sigh.

"Brother Yang, this thing is too precious. It's worth ten thousand gold on the market and impossible to buy. I wouldn't dare accept it. You should take it back. And it would be best not to let word get out, or else trouble will follow."

Zhou Weilong spoke with difficulty, turning his gaze away at the same time, afraid that he might agree the very next moment.

Although he did not understand pills,

just by smelling it, he could feel the fluctuations in his Qi and Blood.

There was no doubt that it was an extremely potent treasure!

He had not the slightest doubt about Yang Qingyun's claim that it could help him break through the bottleneck of the Viscera Refining Realm.

It was just that,

this thing

was far too valuable!

So valuable that even the Sifang Society would find it difficult to produce a pill with effects comparable to this one!

It was easy to imagine that,

once word of this leaked out, Yang Qingyun would probably never know peace again.

Seeing this scene,

Yang Qingyun smiled and waved his hand.

"Brother Zhou, I only took it out because I trust you."

"And how should I put this? In someone else's hands, it would be a priceless treasure worth ten thousand gold. But to me, it's nothing special."

"During my previous trip out, I gained a small opportunity. Without the first batch of medicinal materials Brother Zhou sent over, this pill probably would never have seen the light of day."

This pill

truly was not anything precious.

It had been refined from the remaining dregs of demonic beast bones and flesh after Yang Qingyun had drunk all the soup's essence from that pot of All-Encompassing Tonic Soup. He had boiled the leftovers once more with a certain amount of medicinal materials, absorbed the final essence, and refined it into pills.

"Brother Zhou, you may as well take it. Consider it compensation for neglecting you today, or thanks for the medicinal materials you've sent in the past!"

Under Yang Qingyun's firm insistence,

Zhou Weilong gritted his teeth.

In the end, the temptation of the Viscera Refining Realm won out, and he accepted it.

"Brother Yang's great kindness today will be engraved in my heart. If you ever need anything in the future, I, Zhou Weilong, will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

Zhou Weilong clasped his hands and spoke solemnly.

"There's no need for that."

Yang Qingyun waved his hand.

"But there really is something I'd like Brother Zhou's help with."

"Brother Zhou has many disciples under his command. I wonder if you could gather information about any rare treasures that have appeared in the surrounding area recently, or strange rumors about places where Falling Stars have occurred, and tell me about them? This matter would be of great use to me."

"Rare treasures and strange rumors about Falling Stars?"

Zhou Weilong first frowned and thought for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh.

"There really is something!"

"Hmm?"

"When I was running the martial arts school in Huangshi Town, I once heard that several years ago, in the Western Mountain Land west of Huangshi Town, a large bird with flames burning all over its body seemed to have descended from the sky, starting a mountain fire. Later, the Black Tiger Gang sent a large number of people to seal off the area. The Black Tiger Gang's leader, Shi Meng, even seemed to have gone there personally, and apparently brought something back from the mountains."