The Yangjiao Domain

"I'm going for a walk."

After dinner, Zhou Buping clasped his hands behind his back and strolled leisurely down the mountain.

Ever since his injuries had improved considerably, he had often wandered around, just like the retired old men from his previous life.

His master really did have a pretty good outlook on life.

When the sea of qi was damaged, even a slow recovery would mean a severe decline in cultivation, let alone damage to one's Martial Intent.

An ordinary martial artist would probably have fallen into despair.

After all, cultivation was life itself.

What meaning did life have without cultivation?

Outside the Bell Tower.

Chen Yong was practicing the Sword Piercing Fist.

He had just eaten a good meal, and his qi and blood were surging. It was the perfect time to train.

He worked at the Gengluo Room, a night-shift job. During the day, aside from sleeping and resting, he still had plenty of time.

Li Gan sat in a recliner, flipping through a book.

Chronicles of Mountains and Rivers.

It was a book about geography, history, and the mountains and rivers.

It would help him learn more about this world.

"This world is pretty big."

Li Gan sighed inwardly.

Dachang alone, where he lived, was vast, with a full eighty-three prefectures. From what he knew, it was probably much larger than Xia Kingdom in his previous life.

Because its territory was so large and its population so numerous, while transportation was underdeveloped, Dachang practiced a system of enfeoffment.

It had dozens of vassal kings under its rule.

The Dachang court kept control of the military in its own hands, limiting the number of private troops the vassal kings could maintain.

It also supported several powerful martial sects, with the Divine Sword Sect among them.

In general, Dachang's ruling structure was a shared rule between three sides: the court, the vassal kings, and the great martial sects.

Beyond Dachang, there were other countries as well.

This book gave a name to the land where all these countries stood: the Yangjiao Domain.

It was said to be called that because the shape of this land resembled a giant ram's horn.

And this was only the Yangjiao Domain. Beyond it lay an even vaster world.

"This world is so big. One day, I'll definitely go out and see it for myself."

Li Gan thought to himself, then closed the book.

By then, Chen Yong had finished practicing and settled his stance. His qi and blood roiled, his Internal Force surged, and he opened his mouth to breathe out a stream of white vapor more than three feet long.

A smile spread across his face.

This training session had been as effective as several ordinary days of practice.

And the vigorous flow of qi and blood within him still hadn't faded.

He practiced two more sets. Once he felt his energy flagging, he told Li Gan he was leaving and headed down the mountain.

He needed to go home and sleep, or he would get tired and drowsy while keeping the night watch.

The mountain fell completely quiet.

Li Gan returned to the Bell Tower and began working on improving the Blood Burning Technique.

Though he had failed for months on end, he hadn't given up.

In fact, he had grown even more enthusiastic and stubborn.

As he worked on improving the Secret Technique, his understanding of martial cultivation had deepened considerably.

Dong, dong, dong.

As the chimes sounded in his mind, the qi and blood within Li Gan suddenly surged, forming an unusually distinctive cycle. As it flowed through his body, the efficiency with which it transformed into Internal Qi rose sharply, like gasoline catching fire.

"Did I succeed?"

Li Gan hurriedly forced himself to stop.

He calmed the roiling qi and blood.

His body ached a little. These were some of the side effects, and he was used to them by now.

Besides, the Chen Bell's chimes could eliminate them.

He immediately called up the System Interface to check the latest information.

Secret Techniques: Myriad Transformation Sword Qi, Blood Burning Technique.

"So the Blood Burning Technique counts as a Secret Technique?"

Li Gan looked surprised.

But it made sense.

The Myriad Transformation Sword Qi rapidly consumed a large amount of Sword Qi and drew on the Heaven and Earth Origin Qi around him, allowing him to unleash a powerful strike in a short time.

The Blood Burning Technique consumed a large amount of qi and blood in a short time, boosting Internal Qi to a certain degree.

The reason the improved Blood Burning Technique no longer needed the Blood Transformation Star-Absorbing Method as its foundation was that he had adjusted the circulation of his qi and blood to rely on the Immaculate Sword Body.

As a perfect body-refining technique, the Immaculate Sword Body was part of the Flawless Vajra Method. Its flawless nature allowed qi and blood to be used with exceptional efficiency, making it a powerful driver for the Blood Burning Technique.

Only by combining the Immaculate Sword Body with the Blood Burning Technique could he truly unleash the power of this Secret Technique.

But Li Gan knew the improved Blood Burning Technique could still be further adjusted.

Another two months passed.

Li Gan's cultivation life continued as usual.

His master, Zhou Buping, still went for walks every day, but he had also taken a liking to country life. Whenever he had time, he would sling a hoe and sickle over his shoulder and clear land on the mountain.

At first, Li Gan had only cultivated one plot of land.

Now there were two more plots beside it, both even larger.

Zhou Buping also planned to build a wooden house in another part of the mountain, where he could live in retirement.

He no longer mentioned moving to Linjian City.

The task of building the wooden house naturally fell to Li Gan.

Chen Yong often came over to help.

For a martial artist, building a wooden house was simple enough.

One slash of a sword could fell each thick tree.

A few quick cuts, and the logs were trimmed nice and straight. The work was quite efficient.

It did, however, use up a bit of Internal Qi.

With everyone working overtime, the wooden house was mostly finished in a little over half a month.

After Zhou Buping bought various household items, he moved out of the Bell Tower and officially settled into the wooden house.

One day, while Li Gan was instructing Chen Yong in the Sword Piercing Fist, Hall Master Xu of the Chore Hall suddenly came up the mountain.

"Senior Brother Li, someone from your family has come again. Would you like to see him?" Hall Master Xu asked respectfully.

As the Chore Hall's deputy hall master, he was well-informed and knew the situation among the Inner Disciples very well. He knew Li Gan wasn't an ordinary Inner Disciple.

"Bring him up."

Li Gan thought for a moment before answering.

"Understood. I'll bring him up right away."

At that, Hall Master Xu hurried down the mountain.

"Brother Gan, I'll get going first."

Seeing that someone from Li Gan's family was coming, Chen Yong spoke up at once.

Li Gan nodded. Then, as if he had remembered something, he asked, "Chen Yong, the Chore Hall's Combat Ranking List should be starting soon, right?"

"Yes, it should be next month."

Chen Yong nodded.

Compared with a year ago, his cultivation and strength had improved quite a bit. He was confident he would put on a much better showing on the Combat Ranking List.

"Here are three Blood Vitality Pills. Try to reach the first rank of martial cultivation before the Combat Ranking List begins."

As he spoke, Li Gan tossed him a porcelain bottle.

"Brother Gan, these are too valuable. I can't accept them."

Chen Yong caught the bottle, at a loss.

He had heard of Blood Vitality Pills. They were far more effective than Blood Vitality Pills, and their price was outrageously high.

He couldn't even bring himself to spend Contribution Points on Blood Vitality Pills, let alone these.

"Just take them. You don't want to be a Menial Disciple forever, do you?"

Li Gan said calmly.

Over the past few years, he had come to know Chen Yong well. He was honest and kind, and he knew how to repay kindness. Chen Yong was someone he could trust, and well worth cultivating.

If Chen Yong became an Inner Disciple someday, Li Gan would be able to put him to work for his own purposes.

"Thank you, Brother Gan."

Chen Yong's lips trembled slightly, betraying how moved he was.

With these three Blood Vitality Pills, he was confident he could break through before the Combat Ranking List began.

"Go on."

Li Gan waved him away.

Not long after Chen Yong left, Hall Master Xu brought a middle-aged man up the mountain.

It was Steward Xu of the Li Family.

The moment Steward Xu saw Li Gan, he hurried over, dropped to his knees before him, and said excitedly, "Young Master! I've finally seen you!"

He had thought things would go just like last time.

But he hadn't expected the young master to let him come up the mountain.

No wonder he was so excited.

Besides, he had already asked Hall Master Xu about the young master's circumstances. Li Gan wasn't merely an Inner Disciple; he had likely even become a certain elder's disciple.

That news was enormously uplifting.

If the master knew, he would be even happier.