Taking Office, Rapid Advancement

About an hour later, Lin Xuankong finished a round of Pine Crane Mind Method cultivation while sitting cross-legged on his bed. He felt his entire body grow light, as though he might float away into immortality.

This sudden lightness of body felt very much like when the Pine Crane Technique had advanced in realm and increased his lifespan!

He carefully looked at his Destiny,

[Lin Xuankong: Remaining lifespan: Fifteen years and seventy-two days]

[Mortal Transformation Vitality: 736/100000]

Seeing the changes in his Destiny, Lin Xuankong was overjoyed. This medicine was too miraculous. Pretty Taoist Nun had truly treated him well!

His Mortal Transformation Vitality had already increased by nearly twenty points. A dose of Nine Revolutions Qi Nourishing Soup only increased vitality by a little over thirty points... and his vitality was still continuing to rise slowly!

Most importantly was the Turtle Agaric Miracle Pill's effect of increasing lifespan.

This effect might seem vague and intangible to others. After all, they might sense some changes in their bodies, but how could they be certain that their lifespan had increased? Much less know exactly how much it had increased?

But with his Destiny, he could see it clearly and precisely, down to the day!

A single Turtle Agaric Miracle Pill had actually added three years to his lifespan!

Such miraculous medicinal effects... If he took another ten or eight pills, even if drug resistance developed, it would probably still extend his life by at least ten or twenty years. What if he took hundreds, or thousands?!

He just did not know what sort of merits one had to earn in the Yin Talisman Sect to obtain Turtle Agaric Miracle Pills. Still, now that he had become a Full Manager of the Yin Talisman Sect, there would always be opportunities to get his hands on them!

Anticipation appeared in Lin Xuankong's eyes. Joining the Yin Talisman Sect had truly been the right choice. For him, there were medicinal ingredients to collect every day, opportunities to learn Yin Talisman Lightning, and Pretty Steward's pills. The benefits were countless!

The next day, before dawn,

Lin Xuankong finished cultivating early, washed up, changed into his steward's Taoist robe, and hung the sandalwood token of office at his waist.

Just as he was about to leave, Li Xiaolan's crisp, pleasant voice sounded behind him. "You're already a steward of the Yin Talisman Sect. You should at least wear a Taoist topknot to look the part!"

Lin Xuankong froze. "I don't know how to tie a Taoist topknot either!"

Whenever he went out to sell flatbread, he merely tied up his hair however he pleased. How could poor folk afford to be so particular? Who had the time and energy to fuss over hairstyles?

Li Xiaolan shot him a glance and said helplessly, "Come sit over here. I'll do your hair!"

After Li Xiaolan carefully gathered his full head of silver hair and tied it into a Taoist topknot, the Young Lady looked at Lin Xuankong in his brand-new Taoist robe and topknot, unable to stop herself from laughing.

Lin Xuankong said, "What are you laughing at?"

"With how you look now, if you carried a banner reading 'Iron Divination, Divine Fortune-Teller,' you'd look exactly like a wandering con man!"

"What wandering con man? This is called immortal bearing and Taoist bones!" Lin Xuankong said with an unhappy expression.

Yet after he stepped out of the Wooden Building and recalled how the Young Lady had just carefully combed his hair, a smile crept onto his lips.

By then, quite a few neighbors had already risen early and gathered along both sides of the street.

When they saw the Yin Talisman Sect Taoist robe he wore, astonishment immediately filled their faces. They hurriedly moved aside, bowed respectfully, and saluted him.

How could these neighbors have imagined that Old Man Lin, who had been selling flatbread only a few days ago, would transform in the blink of an eye into a man of the Yin Talisman Sect!

Once Lin Xuankong had gone far away, the neighbors immediately gathered together and began chattering away in discussion!

They simply did not know the meaning of the sandalwood token at Lin Xuankong's waist. They did not know that he had already become the man in charge of Five Streets Forty-Two Alleys. Otherwise, the expressions on their faces would have been even more spectacular!

Lin Xuankong had barely stepped onto Cattle Horse Street and had yet to reach the steward Barracks when several burly men hurried toward him.

At their head were Bald Li Er, Double Halberd Guo Yun, and Long Spear Yang Shan. The three wore Yin Talisman Sect Taoist robes and saluted him from afar with cupped fists. "Steward!" "Steward!"

The other Martial Cultivators who had joined the Yin Talisman Sect yesterday had also changed into Taoist robes and followed behind, cupping their fists in salute.

Seeing how respectful they were, Lin Xuankong could not help feeling emotional. A few days ago, whenever he saw a Taoist from the Yin Talisman Sect, he had to avoid them from afar and hide at the roadside. Now, the tables had turned.

Lin Xuankong said, "No need for such ceremony, everyone. Let's return to the Barracks together! Our Barracks has not been established for long and everything is waiting to be done. I'm afraid everyone will have to work hard for a while!"

The group headed together toward the steward Barracks.

After entering the Barracks, which covered several acres, Lin Xuankong stood before the Steward Building with its upturned eaves and looked toward the forty Taoists standing on the Assembly Ground.

These forty Taoists were all veteran disciples who had cultivated in the Yin Talisman Sect for many years. Every one of them had cultivated the Yin Talisman Art before, and most were around the Early Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer One or its middle stage.

The Taoist at the front of the formation wore a solemn expression. Neither humble nor overbearing, he cupped his fists and said, "This subordinate is Ma Rusong, currently Deputy Manager. Leading the thirty-nine disciples of the Cattle Horse Street Barracks, I welcome Steward Lin!"

All the Taoists cupped their fists in salute and shouted in unison, "Welcome, Steward Lin!"

The voices of these forty people sounded as if they had come from a single person, neat and perfectly unified!

Moreover, every one of the forty wore a solemn expression and stood tall and straight, their bearing imposing. Their clothing and weapons were all neatly uniform.

Lin Xuankong thought to himself, The number of subordinates under me, a Full Manager of the Yin Talisman Sect, is pitifully small. Forget comparing myself to a Black Tiger Gang Deputy Steward like Zhang Wu—I don't even have as many men as one of their minor bosses. But what I lack in numbers, I make up for in quality!

Judging from the bearing of these sect disciples alone, they are nothing like those Black Tiger Gang members, who hang around without a care in the world and seem to wish they could grow their dicks on their faces!

Although the Yin Talisman Sect had declined from a great sect of a thousand years ago into a small sect that even the Black Tiger Gang could provoke, it still possessed the foundation of a millennium-old great sect. It was not like the Black Tiger Gang's upstart air!

In addition, Lin Xuankong was actually somewhat surprised. The scene he had expected, of old Yin Talisman Sect disciples giving a newcomer a show of force, had not appeared!

Although Deputy Manager Ma Rusong had not run out of the Barracks to welcome Lin Xuankong like Li Er and the others had,

And although Ma Rusong remained neither humble nor overbearing and did not seem close to him, he had still behaved properly and according to the rules!

At the very least, everyone was getting along peacefully, so Lin Xuankong would not need to light three fires upon taking office!

After the formal welcome for the new steward was complete, the next matter was arranging the various affairs of the Cattle Horse Street Barracks. This included the Yin Talisman Sect's businesses, such as the Food Hall, gambling houses, Wine Taverns, Pleasure Houses, and Brothels.

There were also arrangements for disciples on duty, patrols, collecting street-clearing fees, and the disciples' usual cultivation and battle preparations.

Cattle Horse Street and the other Five Streets Forty-Two Alleys lay close to Black Tiger Gang territory, so the area could not be called particularly safe. However, Lin Xuankong had Li Er and Ma Rusong beneath him, both experts at the Early Second Layer whose realms did not lag behind his own in the slightest.

There were also capable fighters such as Yang Shan and Guo Yun, who had reached First Layer Perfection, as well as numerous new and veteran disciples. Therefore, Lin Xuankong was only somewhat wary of the Black Tiger Gang's threat to the Cattle Horse Street Barracks. He had not yet reached the point of worrying over it!

After roughly setting the direction for the many affairs and assigning personnel to the various businesses, Lin Xuankong leisurely returned home!

His calculations were very clear. Had he joined the Yin Talisman Sect to rise in office, make money, and change wives?

Of course not! He had done it for medicinal ingredients, for cultivation, for the Yin Talisman Art! Now that he had obtained the ingredients, cultivation was naturally the most important thing.

That bearded cultivator from the Black Tiger Gang had put immense pressure on him. Naturally, he hoped to advance to the later stage as soon as possible and become a terrifying expert impervious to blades and spears!

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

That morning, Lin Xuankong was practicing the Green Pine Stance in the courtyard when he suddenly felt the Mortal Transformation Vitality in his body rapidly decreasing.

The speed of that decrease was like a torrent pouring forth during severe diarrhea.

His gaze flickered, and he hurriedly looked toward the Destiny in his mind.

The amount of vitality shown in his Destiny had originally become extremely abundant from the double replenishment of the Turtle Agaric Miracle Pill and the Nine Revolutions Qi Nourishing Soup, yet it was now rapidly falling.

[Mortal Transformation Vitality: 1217/100000]

In the blink of an eye, it became:

[Mortal Transformation Vitality: 1187/100000]

And it continued to decrease without pause!

Joy suddenly appeared on Lin Xuankong's face.

He knew that after more than ten days of cultivation, he had finally made gratifying progress.

This rapid decrease in vitality did not mean his vitality was vanishing. It was becoming more condensed, like cotton turning into wood, wood turning into steel. The quantity was decreasing, but the quality was rising at astonishing speed!

After nearly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Lin Xuankong withdrew the Green Pine Stance. Feeling the vitality within him become exceptionally condensed, he looked toward the information in his Destiny.

[Realm: Mid Stage of Mortal Transformation Layer Two]

[Mid-stage layer two Vitality: 568/100000]

[Technique: Pine Crane Longevity Technique: Mastered 48/150]

Just as he had expected! Lin Xuankong could not help clenching his fist in excitement.

In a total of only eleven days, the Pine Crane Longevity Technique's progress had already reached roughly one-third. If this pace continued, he would likely need only another dozen or so days to reach that bearded cultivator's realm of being impervious to blades and spears!

The original Mortal Transformation Vitality had finally undergone a qualitative transformation after days of cultivation. Its amount had fallen by more than half, condensing into mid-stage layer two vitality!

He stood in place and silently activated his mid-stage layer two vitality. The next moment, warmth spread through every part of his torso—his five viscera and six bowels, chest, and back.

Gradually, his breathing became exceptionally deep and long, his heartbeat steady and powerful. As his stomach and intestines wriggled, they sounded like millstones grinding beans. He seemed able to feel the food within being crushed and ground into powder, then rapidly absorbed by his body.

These wondrous sensations made Lin Xuankong sink deeply into fascination.

It was not until more than half an hour later that he awoke from the changes in his torso and internal organs. Suddenly, his throat itched, and he spat out a large clump of congealed black-red matter. With a wet splat, it fell to the ground.

Lin Xuankong immediately felt fresh and incomparably relaxed inside his torso, as though every organ within had been replaced with newly born, even more powerful ones! He was certain that if he pissed with all his might now, he might be able to spray two zhang high.

Just then,

Lin Xuankong's pupils contracted. He suddenly sensed that some terrifying thing was approaching from behind him. The whistling sound of tearing air reached the area near his back in an instant!

People from the Black Tiger Gang? A demon? This was definitely a terrifying expert, to have slipped into his home without making a sound!

There was no time to think.

There was no time to turn around.

He abruptly shot toward the front and side, trying to evade the other party's sneak attack, while simultaneously driving his mid-stage layer two vitality into his back!