A Postnatal Realm Expert

The steady patter of rain outside the window reminded Li Mo of his days as an apprentice in Hua'an Town.

He lay awake for a long time.

With this summer's flood season, Li Mo had been entering the Mystic Dream far more often. On top of that, after more than half a year of grueling cultivation, he could clearly feel himself growing stronger and stronger.

Deep down, he missed Xiao Man.

That heart-wrenching longing had become the drive pushing Li Mo to improve himself, to refuse to settle for things as they were, and to keep striving to change them.

"It'll all be over soon."

He forced himself to close his eyes.

The conflict between the two gangs had ended, and he had kept his promise to Wang Ying by doing what he had agreed to do. He planned to sound her out again after a while and ask what the conspiracy and trap she had mentioned actually were.

That day.

Li Mo was practicing Backward Flash when he noticed a commotion by the stronghold's main gate.

He followed the people rushing out of the stronghold. Before the Pingshan Society's gate stood a nine-foot-tall giant of a man, holding Little Arhat Han Kui by the neck with one hand and lifting him effortlessly above his head.

Four bandits lay sprawled beside them, unable to move. The others didn't dare go near.

Li Mo was stunned.

The other gang leaders who had hurried over from the stronghold looked grave as well. After all, Han Kui's martial arts ranked among the very best of the Pingshan Society's gang leaders.

Only when Bloodface Lion Gao Po and Greenface Tiger Gao Zhen, the two gang bosses, arrived did everyone finally find their anchor.

The Gao Brothers looked at the imposing man.

"Who are you, sir?"

The nine-foot-tall man wore a leather cloak. His hair was silver at the temples, and an unusually large saber was strapped to his back. He wore a proud, cold smile.

"Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon, Tai Shou."

"What!"

The Gao Brothers and several of the older gang leaders stared at him in disbelief.

Li Mo noticed that Wu She seemed to know who the man was, so he quietly asked him.

"Who is he?"

"Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou. More than ten years ago, he nearly unified the Eighteen Mountains, provoking the authorities to send troops against him. After that, he vanished. Only then did the various mountain strongholds start breaking away and acting independently. The Gao Brothers took over the Pingshan Society later. I can't believe he never left the Gan Kingdom."

Wang Ying looked thoughtful.

"The war between the Gan Kingdom and the Lu Country hasn't truly ended, and the vast territories the Gan Kingdom annexed still need to be governed. The Heaven's Mandate Bureau in Muzhou naturally has no time to bother with this place. Perhaps this senior heard the news and traveled all the way back from the Xia Kingdom."

Everyone began discussing it among themselves.

Li Mo wasn't sure whether this turn of events was good or bad.

But Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou had cultivated Inner Strength more than ten years ago and was a First-Rate Expert of the martial world. His strength was bound to be extraordinary.

Bloodface Lion Gao Po stepped forward and cupped his fists.

"So you are Senior Tai. May I ask what brings you here? Please release Gang Leader Han first. Otherwise, if a misunderstanding arises, even with your deep Inner Strength, there are more than three hundred of us here. How could you possibly kill us all?"

In Tai Shou's grip, Little Arhat Han Kui was foaming at the mouth and on the brink of death.

Tai Shou gave a cold laugh.

He flung Han Kui two zhang away, then dusted off his hands.

"I need to stay at your stronghold for a while. Prepare a fine room for me. Also, notify every stronghold in the Eighteen Mountains to prepare tribute silver for me. One tael per person at each stronghold. Otherwise, don't blame me for showing no mercy."

With that,

the Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon suddenly drew the unusually large saber from his back and swung it at a boulder one zhang away.

There was a boom. A streak of white flashed past, and a furrow half a chi deep appeared in the boulder. Everyone present paled in shock.

"Saber qi! That's saber qi!"

Wu She's mouth went dry. He was now certain of the man's identity.

Li Mo's eyelids twitched.

The man could unleash force from a distance and carve a mark into a boulder. No wonder experts who had cultivated Inner Strength could face down large beasts in the forest alone.

The rumors were true.

Li Mo didn't know how long the man's Inner Strength could last, but it surely wouldn't be a problem for him to kill a few Second-Rate Experts who hadn't cultivated Inner Strength.

Li Mo knew full well that without a disciplined army pressing forward wave after wave, the bandits of the Eighteen Mountains would stand no chance against an expert like this. Even if they surrounded him, once he unleashed his thunderous methods and killed a few leaders, the rest would scatter like birds and beasts.

And this was no place for discipline. There was no way Gao Po's imagined scene of everyone charging forward one after another until the man's Inner Strength was exhausted could come to pass.

Unless this man committed a grave offense and provoked the wrath of heaven and earth.

As a veteran brigand of the Eighteen Mountains, Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou naturally knew the rules of this underworld.

He had another purpose here and wouldn't stay long, so he didn't want to fall out too badly with the Gao Brothers. That was why he stated his terms.

The Gao Brothers relaxed as soon as they heard his demands.

"Senior Tai, you honor our humble stronghold with your visit. We brothers welcome you with open arms."

The Pingshan Society had no choice but to follow the gang leaders and usher Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou into the Gathering Hall, where they treated him as their honored guest.

For the next half month,

the bosses of the various strongholds in the Eighteen Mountains sent people to the Pingshan Society, ostensibly to pay their respects to Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon.

In truth, they were there to confirm his identity.

Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon knew the score. He repeatedly demonstrated the methods of a true expert, intimidating the spies and keeping the Pingshan Society from making any rash moves. They could only serve him well.

Li Mo had seen this Postnatal Realm expert's saber qi several times by now.

He had to admit that, at his current level, facing this man would mean certain death. The man truly lived up to his reputation as a First-Rate Expert of the martial world.

Li Mo also drew a few conclusions. Even among First-Rate Experts, this Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon couldn't be an unknown nobody. After all, he had cultivated Inner Strength more than ten years ago. By now, the depth of his power was unfathomable, and splitting tigers and leopards in two with a single blow must have been child's play.

But the brigands who made it to the Eighteen Mountains were no soft touches. Naturally, none of them wanted to hand over their silver for nothing. The various strongholds kept making excuses to put him off, and the Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon's plunder progressed rather slowly.

"Hmph, you won't take the wine, so you'll get the punishment!"

Tai Shou gradually lost patience.

After leaving the Pingshan Society, he launched a string of surprise attacks and killed the bosses of two strongholds. Only then did the others finally grow afraid and start sending silver, one delivery after another. Tai Shou's demands weren't particularly harsh, after all, and no one wanted to provoke such a baleful fiend.

Even the Pingshan Society had to pay tribute.

Fortunately, the Pingshan Society was quite wealthy by then. A little over three hundred taels of silver wouldn't cripple them.

In no time, the various strongholds had sent the Pingshan Society four or five thousand taels of silver.

Then Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou cleared out the cave that housed the Gathering Hall. After setting up an altar, he took out several stones and inserted them into grooves in its surface. Blazing flames rose from the altar, and from then on, he shut himself away.

And so,

the chaos at the Pingshan Society finally came to an end.

Li Mo sought out Jade Fox again to ask about the supposed conspiracy and trap. He was gradually running out of patience.

Jade Fox brought him to the cave outside the Gathering Hall. She peered at the roaring flames inside, her face alight with excitement.

"That's Spirit Fire kindled by Spirit Stones."

Seeing Li Mo's confusion, Wang Ying briefly explained.

"Spirit Stones are the currency of cultivators, and they contain inconceivable power. They say that if martial arts experts who know the secret manuals use Spirit Stones while comprehending them, their cultivation of Inner Strength will be twice as effective with half the effort."

Li Mo couldn't help feeling a surge of excitement.

But he hadn't forgotten why he had come. The way she kept changing the subject, leaving him dangling, really irked him. Lately, he'd felt that he was drawing closer and closer to mastering Three-Way Swordplay.

It was a very strange feeling.

It was as if some shackle inside him was about to break. He felt full of energy.

Inside the cave, Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon suddenly burst into laughter. As if by magic, he produced a furnace and set it up on the altar, then began tossing the tribute silver from the various strongholds into it. In an instant, the cave blazed with light, as bright as day.

"I understand now. He's refining Silver Essence!"

Just then, Jade Fox Wang Ying noticed someone bringing more tribute silver to the stronghold. Her eyes darted about, and she turned to Li Mo with a coquettish look.

"Young man, Dragon Boat Festival next year is still a long way off. Don't rush. Once this is over, I'll tell you that secret. You'll thank me for it, I promise!"

With that,

Wang Ying slowly rose and walked over to the people escorting the tribute silver, personally accompanying them as they carried it into the cave.

Li Mo sighed. He had no choice but to let it go for now. Then he turned and left.

A little while later,

the people who had escorted the tribute silver left one after another, but Wang Ying remained in the cave. Laughter and conversation drifted out again and again. Greenface Tiger Gao Zhen, who was also watching from the shadows, couldn't help grinding his teeth.

"That vixen. Just you wait. I'll make you pay someday, hmph!"

Day after day passed.

The people of the Pingshan Society had gradually grown accustomed to Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon occupying the cave that housed the Gathering Hall.

After extorting a vast sum in tribute, this former master of the Eighteen Mountains rarely left the cave. Every day, he kept his eyes on that battered furnace of his, busy with who knew what.

Until the third day of the second month.

A tense, breathless, excited voice rang out from inside the cave that housed the Gathering Hall.

"Four qian of Silver Essence at last! Hahaha, I've done it! Now I can... Hm? Who are you?"

After the brief shout, a string of explosions rang out from inside the cave.

The gang leaders and members of the Pingshan Society rushed out of their rooms.

They saw two figures fighting their way out of the cave. One was undoubtedly Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou, but the other was a young bandit who had joined the gang just half a month earlier.

"Isn't that Zhang Tiedan?"

"H-he can do that?"

Everyone who knew Zhang Tiedan stared in shock.

Zhang Tiedan's hands flashed through a series of incantations. A flying sword darted like a dragon, forcing Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou to retreat again and again. Tai Shou's saber qi was razor-sharp; it could cleave even a tree as thick as a bowl clean in two. Yet he still couldn't get close to Zhang Tiedan and was driven backward again and again by the flying sword.

"A cultivator?"

Someone cried out in alarm.

No one dared to approach the battle between the two.

Then Zhang Tiedan gave a low shout, and two fireballs shot out. There were two thunderous booms, and shattered stone and splintered wood flew everywhere. Two huge craters appeared in the ground.

Everyone who witnessed the incredible power of the attack drew a sharp breath.

Yet Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou leaped backward as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water, smoothly dodging the spells with his lightness skill. His gaze grew grave.

His Inner Strength and saber qi were unstoppable against ordinary people, but against cultivators who wielded all kinds of immortal arts, his methods were far too limited. His opponent could toy with him and manipulate him as easily as a puppet in the palm of his hand.

At that moment,

another Spirit Talisman appeared in Zhang Tiedan's hand.

After a brief incantation, the talisman flashed and transformed into a blazing fire spear. It shot toward Nine Rivers Thunder Dragon Tai Shou, who was still entangled by the flying sword. Tai Shou once again forced the flaming spear back with his astonishing saber qi, but the flying sword that had been circling him flashed with light and pierced through his back and chest.

"You're from the Heavenly Talisman Sect."

Tai Shou's chest was soaked in blood. Despair and unwillingness showed on his face as he collapsed with a thud.

Zhang Tiedan's expression was indifferent. He didn't answer Tai Shou.

He was extremely cautious. Only after controlling the flying sword to dismember Tai Shou and confirming that the brigand was truly dead did he form a series of hand seals, turning the flying sword and fire spear in midair back into two Spirit Talismans, which he put away.

Then he took out a token.

"The Heaven's Mandate Bureau is on official business. Bystanders, stand back!"

The people of the Pingshan Society didn't even dare breathe loudly.

Zhang Tiedan ignored them, looking at them as if they were ants by the roadside. After taking care of everything, he swaggered out of the Pingshan Society. Only then did the crowd come back to their senses.