First Board the Train, Then Buy the Ticket (Seeking Recommendations and Collections!)

"Worthy Brother, these cultists have operated in Jiaozhou for quite some time and may well have colluded with the local authorities. We cannot report this to the officials rashly, or we will only alert the enemy."

Wu Que had finished scouring the Fairy Temple, gathering the money and land deeds into one pile, and spoke to Huang Shang.

Huang Shang flipped through the deeds, noting that many were sacrificial fields—land used to support ancestral graves and family shrines. He sighed inwardly at the Ming Cult's painstaking efforts, replying, "Brother Hua's caution is well-founded; that is indeed the correct course."

It is common knowledge that while the martial arts world is full of experts, one rarely finds a good outcome when clashing with the imperial court.

Yet, the Ming Cult of this world was able to launch repeated rebellions and amass such immense influence not merely through martial prowess.

This tactic of land annexation was truly formidable.

The Great Song Dynasty did not suppress land annexation, and the buying and selling of property were incredibly frequent.

There is a saying: "A thousand-year-old field changes eight hundred masters."

One can imagine how high the frequency of land turnover was.

Often, a large, contiguous plot of land would be sold off in pieces, eventually belonging to dozens of different households.

Even the estates of wealthy families were scattered, sometimes spread across different prefectures and counties.

The Ming Cult took advantage of this, quietly annexing land and colluding with local gentry.

This gave them a foundation, transforming them from mere bandits into something far more dangerous.

It is no wonder that Fang La would later boast of dividing the empire with the court and destroying the Great Song within a dozen years.

Of course, the Fang La of that time was too arrogant, truly believing victory was certain.

The current Ming Cult was still in its accumulation phase.

As Wu Que looked through the documents, an idea formed in his mind.

They had no need for these fields, but Huang Shang's family could use them to build their own power base.

In the Great Song, to become a wealthy and long-lasting official family, one needed more than just the status of a scholar-official; one needed a foundation in the local region.

Huang Shang's family was too poor. In the original plot, even though Huang Shang placed first in the Provincial Examination, he lacked backers in the imperial court and his post held no profit, leading to his family being wiped out by martial artists.

Wu Que felt it was necessary to resolve these worries for Huang Shang.

Moreover, this He woman, under the guise of a fairy, had connections with officials and gentry throughout the Jinghu South Circuit; this was a significant piece of leverage.

Huang Shang was here for the Provincial Examination; if any short-sighted fools tried to obstruct him, they could be taught a lesson.

Wu Que felt it was necessary to pave a smooth path to glory for Huang Shang.

Thinking of this, the burden was heavy and the road was long!

Wu Que did not dare delay and walked toward the two women.

The two women, one old and one young, sat slumped on the ground. There was no fear in their expressions; instead, they began to chant.

Without a doubt, it was that same "Burn my remnant body, the holy fire glows bright" nonsense.

Huang Shang watched from afar, inexplicably reminded of Madame Roland's words during the French Revolution.

"O Justice, O Justice, how many crimes are committed in thy name!"

Religious doctrines are, in essence, mostly good—encouraging people toward kindness and a positive outlook in the face of suffering.

The problem is that those who execute them often twist the doctrines for their own selfish gain, turning them into tools for religious brainwashing.

Take the Ming Cult, for example.

One cannot judge the Ming Cult solely by the generation of Zhang Wuji. At that time, opposing the Yuan Dynasty was politically correct, and with the protagonist joining their ranks, it seemed as though they had been misunderstood by the righteous sects.

In reality, since the Ming Cult was introduced during the Tang Dynasty, they had a brief honeymoon period before falling out with the authorities, going underground, and spending the Five Dynasties and Song-Yuan periods in constant rebellion.

Was it always the officials forcing the people to rebel?

Hardly. It was nothing more than the ambition of those in power, hiding behind the mask of justice!

The Ming Cult's propaganda likened themselves to light, and their actions naturally took on symbolic meaning.

Much like the Zealots, who were cold-blooded terrorists, yet believed they were fulfilling the will of God.

Consequently, He and Zhu Yan had no intention of confessing, no matter how Wu Que threatened or tempted them.

Wu Que thought for a moment, looked at Nightingale, and transmitted his voice: "I know you have truth serum from the Harry Potter world. Do me a favor and pry their mouths open."

Nightingale sneered, "We are competitors. You expect me to help you?"

"No, we are internal competitors but external partners!"

Wu Que corrected, "Don't forget the Queen and the Prince. We snatched Huang Shang away; do you think they will let it go? Huang Shang is currently taking the Provincial Examination. Once he passes and returns to the capital for the Metropolitan Examination, that will be the second round of the struggle."

Nightingale's eyes darted around upon hearing this, and Wu Que added, "Besides, I've been thinking—internal competition is unnecessary. We could form a partnership and share the Character Card of Huang Shang!"

Nightingale was stunned: "A partnership?"

Among Reincarnators, there are three forms: Covenants, Partnerships, and Teams.

A Covenant is a temporary alliance, a Partnership consists of two to four Reincarnators traveling together, and a Team consists of five or more.

Take Xu Yue and Xu Feng, for example; because they are siblings, the Main God Temple designated them as partners, ensuring they always enter the same Heavens Consciousness world to complete missions together.

Wu Que now extended an invitation to Nightingale: "If the two of us keep fighting like this, tearing each other down, the end result will be that neither of us gains anything—a total waste of effort. It would be better to join forces. Besides, once Huang Shang becomes powerful in the future, looking after one person is the same as looking after two; it won't be a problem."

Nightingale fell into deep thought.

What Wu Que said was not without reason.

Although Huang Shang secretly liked her, the Love Potion had worn off, and these ancients were notoriously pretentious. If he ended up bottling his feelings inside, it would be a difficult situation to resolve.

By becoming allies, the chances of conquering Huang Shang with their combined strength would undoubtedly be much higher.

When the time came, if she secured Huang Shang's heart, could Wu Que really compete with her even if he managed to secure Huang Shang's body?

Nightingale felt she was truly a girl of great schemes, and she nodded with feigned reserve: "I will consider it!"

Setting aside the secret transaction between the two Reincarnators, Huang Shang pondered the battle that had just taken place, reviewing the past to learn the new.

Zhu Yan's strength was definitely not low.

Whether it was the refinement of her internal energy or the technique of her moves, she could have easily made a name for herself in the martial arts world.

Yet, from the moment he officially began his cultivation, only two months had passed.

Two months against twenty years!

And he had won!

While there was certainly an element of surprise involved, it also proved that Huang Shang's approach was correct.

At this moment, he could feel a surging power within his brow, pulsing slightly and driving his true qi to circulate throughout his limbs and bones.

This was the result of the initial development of the Ancestral Aperture.

In martial arts, there was a common concept that one must clear the Twelve Standard Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels to allow qi and true qi to flow throughout the body, which was considered the hallmark of internal energy mastery.

But in reality, the term "clearing the meridians" was not entirely accurate.

Because these meridians were already open to begin with.

The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon contained the phrase: "All illnesses originate from blockages in the meridians."

There was also a folk saying: "If the meridians are blocked, one will suffer a stroke while walking."

If the meridians were truly blocked, a person would already be paralyzed; there would be no point in practicing martial arts at all.

Therefore, rather than calling it clearing the meridians, it was more accurate to call it widening them.

The meridians were originally open, but they were thin and fragile, unable to withstand true qi and only capable of circulating blood and vital energy.

Only by widening the meridians so they could support true qi could a martial artist increase their power.

Because the meridians were so fragile, this process was naturally very difficult.

The more exquisite the internal martial arts, the more efficient and safe this process became.

This was the very reason martial artists pursued legendary techniques.

But even with the best internal cultivation methods, the process was inevitably cautious and gradual.

Huang Shang, however, was different.

He did not widen his meridians one by one; instead, he used the Ancestral Aperture in the Upper Dantian to refine a trace of subtle, pure true qi, circulating it through every meridian to form a complete cycle.

During this cycle, his meridians naturally widened, and his internal energy grew rapidly.

While others started from zero, he began directly by opening the Ren and Du meridians.

Getting on the carriage first and buying the ticket later.

This maneuver was truly brilliant.

Indeed, no one practiced like Huang Shang.

Those who obtained high-level inheritances were usually in Heavens Consciousness worlds rich in natural energy, so they had no need for such redundant efforts.

Those without such conditions could only follow the step-by-step path in low-martial worlds and had no way to do this.

"I cannot get arrogant. My current amount of true qi is still very weak, and I cannot compare to those powerhouses."

"But those powerhouses also started from humble beginnings. By the time they opened their Ren and Du meridians and began the grand cycle, they were already quite old, their blood and qi beginning to decline, requiring true qi just to maintain their vitality."

"Calculating it this way, perhaps in twenty years, I can surpass them in power!"

"And that is without even considering the progress of my Literary Qi or the strengthening of my soul."

Thinking of this, Huang Shang looked toward the direction of the Examination Hall: "The imperial examinations are the very opportunity for my strength to leap forward. Provincial Examination, here I come!"