Resistance

Ouyang Rujing stayed in Boundless City and did not return to the Great Chu capital. There were some things she had not thought through, and she needed some peace and quiet.

The next morning, while Zhang Yu was teaching Wen Hua and Li Yue to cultivate, Niu Mancang arrived as well and raised a question.

"Master, I want to learn a movement technique. Ouyang Rujing clearly can't beat me, but because her movement technique has reached mastery, I simply can't catch her. So I have all this strength for nothing and can't do anything to her."

He had fought Ouyang Rujing all the way and pondered it all the way too.

Zhang Yu had long since made plans for Niu Mancang's cultivation. He said calmly, "Man Cang, you aren't suited to cultivating lightness skills and movement techniques."

"You follow the path of hard techniques. Your more than six hundred pounds of weight have all been compressed into your bones, making you like a small mountain. You can't demand that a mountain have weight and still move as swiftly as if it had wings."

"Nothing under heaven is perfect. If you want to gain something, you must give something up." Zhang Yu's expression was grave.

Though Niu Mancang was already over thirty, he did not entirely understand Zhang Yu's words, but they sounded very reasonable.

After spending a long time at Zhang Yu's side, he naturally overlooked Zhang Yu's age and that youthful face, because deep down, Niu Mancang felt that his master Zhang Yu simply understood far more than he did.

There was even a moment when, like Ouyang Rujing, he wondered whether Zhang Yu might be some old monster who had returned to youth.

"Master, then what should I do if I encounter an opponent like Ouyang Rujing in the future?" Niu Mancang asked.

"Simple. Play to your strengths. Master has already mapped out your path of cultivation," Zhang Yu said.

After using Martial Dao True Intent to assist Wen Hua and Li Yue with their cultivation, he began teaching Niu Mancang.

"Man Cang, your advantage is your invincible defense. So when others attack you, you don't need to divide your attention to defend yourself. You only need to do one thing: seize them."

"Master will teach you a move: Bear Hug combined with Giant Python Flip. Watch carefully."

Zhang Yu found a sandbag as tall as a person. Then he suddenly stepped forward, bent down and wrapped his arms around the sandbag, then leaned back and viciously flipped it one hundred and eighty degrees before smashing it onto the ground.

"Did you understand?"

"Mm!" Niu Mancang nodded.

"Bear Hug has both the force of impact and the constricting force of a bear's embrace. With Giant Python Flip, you must possess the force to smash your opponent straight into the earth." Zhang Yu continued explaining the artistic conception of the move and how its force circulated.

That very afternoon, Niu Mancang began practicing. Only, instead of using a sandbag, he used a ten-thousand-pound pillar of black iron.

Standing two zhang away from the ten-thousand-pound black iron pillar, he suddenly took a huge step, covering more than one zhang in a single stride. Then he bent forward and rammed into it with a boom, while simultaneously wrapping both arms tightly around the pillar.

With a surge of strength from both arms, Niu Mancang clutched the ten-thousand-pound black iron pillar and executed a back throw.

Whoosh...

Boom!

The ground trembled.

The black iron pillar traced a one-hundred-and-eighty-degree arc through the air, then smashed viciously into the ground.

Zhang Yu had been dozing in a recliner when the ground suddenly began to shake, bouncing him straight out of the chair.

"Niu Mancang, get the hell farther away to practice!"

"Oh, yes, Master, hehe!" Niu Mancang scratched his head and chuckled, then carried the ten-thousand-pound black iron pillar away.

"Go practice in the mountains! Practice it twenty thousand times a day—no, thirty thousand times! If you don't finish, don't come back!" Zhang Yu roared.

"Yes, Master!"

"And you two, what are you staring at? Keep practicing! Wen Hua, if you don't reach Dark Force, don't even think about going out drinking and fooling around with that pack of brothers of yours!" Zhang Yu turned and roared at Wen Hua and Li Yue.

Wen Hua's fate of loyalty to the death meant that he was always surrounded by a group of brothers. During his half-year as deputy gang leader, he had become brothers with nearly every gang member below him, and drinking banquets filled his days.

"Li Yue, stop constantly thinking about researching how to cook. Put all your energy into cultivating Clear Wind Stance and Clearwind Steps!" Zhang Yu shot Li Yue another glare.

Li Yue had become obsessed with making delicious food. She used her Forged Through a Thousand Trials fate in cooking and had developed many delicacies.

When Yan Dao entered, he heard Zhang Yu scolding Wen Hua and Li Yue, and a wave of envy rose in his heart.

Yes, envy.

Over these past two months, he had watched Zhang Yu's instruction of Wen Hua and Li Yue. Every day, Zhang Yu used Martial Dao True Intent to assist their cultivation, pouring pills and Body-Tempering Paste onto them as though they cost nothing.

I'm so envious. If only someone treated me this well.

Yan Dao sighed inwardly.

He walked before Zhang Yu, bowed, and said, "Gang Leader, more and more Ghost Alliance herb gatherers have been secretly selling their herbs to us. There have already been several clashes among the people below, and the Ghost Alliance is now deeply dissatisfied with us."

Zhang Yu glanced at Yan Dao. "Who in the Ghost Alliance is dissatisfied? Tell them to come find me. You must guarantee the safety of our herb gatherers. Whoever dares to secretly reach out a hand, chop off that outstretched hand. Understand?"

"Understood!" Yan Dao nodded.

"Go get busy."

Wen Hua had been confined by Zhang Yu to the courtyard to cultivate all day, so the Black Tiger Gang was now managed by Yan Dao.

Yan Dao did not leave, his expression hesitant as though he wanted to speak but could not.

"Something else?" Zhang Yu glanced at him.

"Gang Leader, I've joined the Black Tiger Gang for nearly three months now. Didn't you say that as long as I handled matters diligently, you would help me enter Force Transformation, even become a True Qi Realm Blade King?" Yan Dao asked timidly.

Zhang Yu looked at Yan Dao. A month ago, he had accepted Chu Qingwen as a disciple. At the time, he had considered accepting Yan Dao along with her, but in the end decided to test him a little longer.

[Name: Yan Dao]

[Mad Saber Battle Physique (Unawakened)]

"You have the potential to become a Blade King, but why should I nurture you?" Zhang Yu said indifferently.

Yan Dao dropped to one knee. "Yan Dao is willing to die for the Gang Leader!"

"Hehe. First manage the Black Tiger Gang properly for me. Stop thinking nonsense all day. Get lost," Zhang Yu said, no longer paying Yan Dao any attention.

Yan Dao possessed mediocre cultivation aptitude and comprehension, along with an unawakened Mad Saber Battle Physique. To others, that made him trash, worthless rubbish with no value in nurturing.

Only in Zhang Yu's hands could he become a dazzling genius.

But why should Zhang Yu nurture him? Especially someone with a selfish fate.

Zhang Yu also had plans for Yan Dao. People with this sort of selfish fate could only be subdued through force.

He would first temper Yan Dao's disposition. Perhaps one day, when he was in a good mood, he would accept him. In truth, he had already instructed Chu Qingwen to slowly purchase, in secret, the medicinal ingredients needed to awaken the Mad Saber Battle Physique.

Yan Dao left dejectedly.

No one had actually been watching him during this time, and several times he had wanted to quietly leave Boundless City rather than continue selling his life for Zhang Yu.

But Zhang Yu's words from that day continued echoing in his mind.

Zhang Yu had accurately described the sensations and pain he experienced while practicing the blade. That meant Zhang Yu had seen the problem with his body.

Yan Dao was certain that Zhang Yu had a way to resolve his bodily problem, but Zhang Yu simply would not say it, and Yan Dao was growing anxious.

Whenever he practiced his blade, he had a feeling that as long as he could see clearly what lay beyond that patch of mist, his future path in martial arts would become a broad, open road.

A True Qi Blade King was not a dream.

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became, yet Zhang Yu never even gave him a proper look.

"Hmph, just wait. Once I become a Blade King, I'll kill you with a single slash." The more Yan Dao thought about it, the angrier he became, and he involuntarily muttered the words under his breath.

Whoosh...

Boom!

The ground beneath his feet suddenly shook. Not far away, he saw Niu Mancang, like a ferocious beast, clutching the ten-thousand-pound black iron pillar and executing a back throw.

Step forward, strike, Bear Hug, back throw.

Niu Mancang mechanically repeated those four movements. He was focused, even more focused than before.

How did I carelessly say what was in my heart out loud just now? Yan Dao was startled when he saw Niu Mancang. He probably didn't hear me, right?

From so far away, he shouldn't have heard. I need to be more careful in the future. Yan Dao silently warned himself.

Looking at Niu Mancang, who resembled a ferocious beast, fear rose in Yan Dao's heart.

Not long after Yan Dao left, Ouyang Rujing appeared near where Niu Mancang was practicing. She watched Niu Mancang repeat those monotonous, simple movements like a wooden puppet, frowned slightly, and said, "Niu Mancang, is this the move your little master taught you?"

"It's too simple. What use could it possibly have?"

"With movements as slow as yours, could you catch me?"

Niu Mancang ignored her and said nothing, continuing to practice with full focus. Zhang Yu had told him to practice thirty thousand times a day, so he practiced forty thousand times. He trained nearly from daylight to midnight, sleeping only an hour and a half each day.

Every day, Ouyang Rujing came to watch Niu Mancang practice, then mocked him a few times. A month passed like this.

At forty thousand repetitions per day, Niu Mancang had practiced one million two hundred thousand times in a month.

When a simple, monotonous movement broke through one million repetitions, it suddenly gained a trace of rhythm and charm.

Niu Mancang's forward step and strike became faster and faster. Though he was heavy, his explosive speed in an instant was incredibly swift.

After the strike came the Bear Hug. As his two arms circled inward, even the surrounding air seemed compressed and distorted.

Then came the Giant Python Flip. The ten-thousand-pound black iron pillar, one zhang tall, was smashed viciously into the earth, leaving only three chi exposed above ground.

The more Ouyang Rujing watched, the more alarmed she became.

She realized that if Niu Mancang had known this move a month ago and possessed his current speed, she really might have been caught off guard and seized. Once seized, she would basically have no chance of surviving.

"Why could that youth turn decay into magic?" Ouyang Rujing was astonished.

At first, she had not thought much of this simple movement. It had no variations at all and was utterly rigid. But now... merely watching it made her somewhat afraid, and she had no desire to approach Niu Mancang again.

It carried an aura of danger.

Chirp, chirp...

An unfamiliar large bird flew over in the sky. Ouyang Rujing looked up, then took out a bamboo whistle and blew it once. The bird landed on her shoulder.

This was a messenger bird from their Punitive Justice Bureau.

She removed the letter tied to the bird's leg. After one glance, her expression changed drastically.

The next second, she hurried back to the house she had rented, mounted a fast horse, and left Boundless City.

In the distance, Niu Mancang, who was practicing, glanced at the departing Ouyang Rujing and breathed out. "That woman has finally left."

After saying that, he continued practicing that set of simple, rigid movements: strike, Bear Hug, Giant Python Flip.

The more he practiced, the more he felt it suited him, and the more he sensed the trace of inner spirit within it.

Simple, direct, without twists and turns. He liked it.

Just like his state of mind right now.

On the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains, in a valley, the Ghost Alliance's herb slaves were secretly selling the herbs they had gathered to Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers.

As they traded, a Ghost Alliance Dark Force hall master suddenly appeared in the valley with more than a dozen men.

"Bold herb slaves! You dare conduct private dealings? You're courting death!" Chen Lie roared.

Over the past month, the Ghost Alliance had received fewer and fewer herbs, and the Ye Family had already begun to express dissatisfaction.

Mo Old Ghost therefore had Chen Lie secretly keep an eye on the herb slaves, eventually discovering where they conducted their private transactions.

Pfft! Pfft...

Blade light flashed, and several Ghost Alliance herb slaves were instantly killed. The others screamed and scattered in every direction.

Yet the Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers remained remarkably calm, because Yan Dao and a group of men stood beside them.

During this period, Yan Dao had faithfully done his duty, providing excellent protection for the herb gatherers and giving them a great sense of security.

The Black Tiger Gang had divided into twenty teams of martial artists to enter the mountains and protect their safety. This valley where private transactions occurred had always been guarded.

"Chen Lie, tell your people to watch themselves. Don't injure our Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers. Whoever dares injure our people dies!" Yan Dao said coldly.

"Yan Dao, don't let your Black Tiger Gang go too far!" Chen Lie glared at Yan Dao and roared viciously.

"So what if we go too far? Want to draw blades with me? Are you qualified?" Yan Dao looked at Chen Lie with disdain.

He was half a step into Force Transformation. He could not defeat Niu Mancang or Zhang Yu, but dealing with Chen Lie, a Dark Force martial artist, was effortless.

Chen Lie drew his blade halfway, then viciously shoved it back into its sheath.

He knew he was no match for Yan Dao, so he could only vent his anger on the Ghost Alliance herb slaves. For a time, screams rang without cease throughout the valley.

"Elder, aren't we going to do something?" A Black Tiger Gang member could not bear it and quietly asked Yan Dao.

"The Gang Leader said we only need to look after our own herb gatherers. We don't interfere in other matters," Yan Dao said.

That very night, a major incident occurred in Boundless City.

More than ten thousand Ghost Alliance herb slaves collectively came to Zhang Yu's courtyard, knelt and kowtowed, begging to become Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers.

During the day, Chen Lie had killed over a hundred herb slaves to kill the chicken and scare the monkeys, and public outrage erupted at once.

In the past, they would never have dared to resist, believing this was simply their fate.

But now, they had seen the lives of the Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers. Over three months, every Black Tiger Gang herb gatherer had gone from being gaunt and sallow, too hungry to eat, to rosy-cheeked and glowing, with light in their eyes and hope for life.

Children's cheerful voices rose from the Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers' side, while the Ghost Alliance herb slaves' side remained steeped in lifeless gloom.

"They too wanted to live like the Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers. They were all herb gatherers, so why could those people live so well while they themselves continued suffering the Ghost Alliance's exploitation and enslavement?"

The thought of resistance sprouted in their hearts. This valley killing became the fuse, and the flames suppressed in their hearts suddenly blazed up.

More than ten thousand Ghost Alliance herb slaves joined together. Knowing they could not fight the Ghost Alliance, they came to kneel before Zhang Yu's courtyard and petition him.

Because the Black Tiger Gang herb gatherers all said that Zhang Yu was a living Bodhisattva reborn, rescuing the suffering and relieving hardship, full of mercy and compassion, saving them from misery.

Zhang Yu was eating with his disciples. Li Yue had developed a dish called Crystal Meat, using the meat of a second-rank demonic beast. It had been cooked until crystal-clear and translucent, melting the moment it entered the mouth, far more delicious than the boiled demonic beast meat they had eaten before.

Zhang Yu ate several pieces. Once he set down his chopsticks, Niu Mancang and the others immediately snatched up every remaining piece.

"Delicious. Senior Sister, cook it again tomorrow," Niu Mancang said.

"Fine. Go hunt me a third-rank demon bear in the mountains tomorrow, and I'll keep making it," Li Yue said.

"No problem." Niu Mancang thumped his chest.