Asking for Reinforcements

Zhao Xiu held Master Qin in such high regard for good reason.

Once the carriage stopped at the secondary residence, Wei Luo also learned of Master Qin's deeds from Zhao Xiu.

Master Qin had traveled abroad in his youth and only returned to Pingjiang Town ten years ago.

He had planned to open a martial arts school, but Pingjiang Town was only so large, with the same few schools entrenched there. Anyone else who tried to open one would always be forced out.

Just days after Master Qin opened his school, the other schools began coming to his door under the pretense of friendly sparring.

They called it exchanging fists, yet each time, his disciples would be beaten until they were injured or crippled.

After enduring it several times, Master Qin could endure no longer.

He directly signed life-and-death contracts with the masters of several martial arts schools in public and fought them in the arena.

The several Three Refinements school masters were overjoyed. They believed that with a wheel battle, they could exhaust Master Qin to death even if they could not defeat him outright, so they signed the life-and-death contracts at once.

Yet though they were all at the Three Refinements, Master Qin fought them one after another alone, and not one of those school masters was able to leave the arena standing.

One man was beaten to death on the spot, while the other school masters were carried away with grievous injuries.

From then on, Master Qin became famous in a single battle. Yet because his blows had been too heavy, he had also formed an irreconcilable grudge with the martial arts schools, and his school was no longer kept open.

When the Sun Family learned of this, Master Qin came to be stationed with them as he was now.

Wei Luo was rather astonished when he heard this.

"I think Master Qin may even be a Force Training expert. If he helps us, we will surely survive this crisis!"

After getting off the carriage, Zhao Xiu's eyes still brimmed with hope.

Wei Luo suddenly halted and turned toward the alley beside them. A shadow flashed past at its far end.

He could not help frowning. It seemed his deduction had been correct. Someone had already set their sights on him, most likely one of Yang Xian's people.

The two headed straight for the west courtyard. The moment they reached its entrance, a servant came forward and said,

"Young Master Wei, Master Qin has something to discuss. He is already waiting in the main hall."

"Master Qin is looking for me?"

Wei Luo was somewhat puzzled. After asking a few more questions, he learned that Shen Wu and Liang Jun had already arrived and were merely waiting for him.

Before long, the two entered the main hall.

Qin Changfeng sat upright in the seat of honor, while Sun Chai and Sun Qianchuan were also present.

When Qin Changfeng saw that Wei Luo had brought Zhao Xiu along, he merely glanced at Zhao Xiu without saying anything.

Once everyone had arrived, Qin Changfeng spoke.

"You should all know that things have not been peaceful lately. So if you can avoid causing trouble, then avoid it."

"You are all at least at the Second Refinement now. It is time you understood Pingjiang's current situation. Sun Chai will explain it to you."

Sun Chai cupped his hands toward Qin Changfeng and earnestly described the circumstances of the various martial arts schools.

Yet those schools were not the main concern. After briefly discussing them, Sun Chai's tone turned grave.

"There are no fewer than fifty thousand refugees gathered outside the city. You should know that the three families of the inner city are all doing their utmost to calm them."

"But the most pressing matter is the Pure Fragrance Cult... Of the villages around Pingjiang, fewer than thirty percent remain. It is enough that you know this news. Do not spread it carelessly."

Wei Luo had long been mentally prepared, but everyone in the room froze and sucked in a cold breath.

An ocean of refugees. Vanished villages.

One did not need more than their toes to think to understand what had happened.

Sun Chai did not say much more and merely reminded everyone in the end.

"If you have family or friends, it would be best to bring them to the secondary residence. Just in case..."

He did not finish his sentence before sitting back down. Everyone knew what might happen.

Once the matter had been discussed, everyone went their separate ways.

Zhao Xiu followed Master Qin elsewhere for a more detailed discussion.

Wei Luo found a quiet room instead.

"What level can one and a half pills raise me to?"

What he held in his hand were the pills refined from those packets of Fish-Dragon Gang secret medicine.

The Fish-Dragon Gang's secret medicine could make an ordinary person's blood and vitality surge until it rivaled that of a martial artist. There was no need to say how fierce its medicinal effect was.

After swallowing the pill, Wei Luo immediately began carefully sensing the blood and vitality within his body.

To be honest, he was somewhat nervous.

After all, this medicine had never undergone human testing. Moreover, the side effects of the secret medicine powder were enormous; it was scarcely different from poison.

To ensure his safety, when he had left the Zhao Family today, he had even asked Cheng Ming for quite a few antidotes. Bottles and jars now lay arranged before him.

"The medicine is taking effect!"

A few breaths later, the instant the medicine began to work, Wei Luo was startled.

Before he could finish speaking, a twisting pain like knives stabbing through his abdomen surged up.

"This pill... has some kick!"

In an instant, cold sweat covered Wei Luo's forehead.

A violent torrent of blood and vitality erupted with a boom, swiftly coursing through every inch of flesh and skin.

Under the impact of that blood and vitality, Wei Luo's flesh continually tore apart and reformed. The instant sweat emerged from his pores, wisps of white mist rose from it.

A moment later, his blood and vitality continued to swell without end. Wei Luo could only grit his teeth and endure it with all his strength.

Hiss—when that familiar swelling pressure appeared within his body, Wei Luo drew in a cold breath.

He had not been far from the threshold of Three Refinements to begin with. After taking this pill, he seemed to have already reached that threshold!

Then he would use this chance to break through!

Wei Luo steeled his heart, endured the excruciating pain, and assumed his fighting stance to begin tempering his blood and vitality.

In another room, Zhao Xiu sat with an anxious expression, waiting for Qin Changfeng's response.

Sun Chai sat to one side drinking tea, wearing the air of someone who hung matters unrelated to himself high in the sky.

"Master Qin, if you are willing to act and kill Yang Xian, my Zhao Family is willing to offer up the Bone Sculpting Pill formula with both hands."

After thinking it over, Zhao Xiu felt that the stakes still seemed insufficient, so he raised them further.

"If the Zhao Family can survive this calamity, we are willing to go to Cloud Prefecture and hire someone to refine Bone Sculpting Pills."

Cloud Prefecture was the capital of the province. The Zhao Family could not refine Bone Sculpting Pills not because they lacked ingredients, but because Cheng Ming's alchemy was not skilled enough.

Zhao Xiu had laid every card he could on the table. With his forehead pressed to the floor, he refused to rise, asking only that Qin Changfeng help him this once.

Yet what Qin Changfeng cared about was not the "Bone Sculpting Pill." After a long silence, he finally said,

"That Yang Xian truly belongs to the Pure Fragrance Cult, correct?"

Zhao Xiu raised his head, somewhat unable to understand why he was asking, but he answered honestly.

"Wei Luo saw that man last night as well. If Master Qin does not believe me, you may seek proof from others."

"No need. I believe you."

After studying Zhao Xiu's expression for a moment, Qin Changfeng said leisurely,

"Wiping out entire families and acting without a shred of restraint—it is indeed those beasts from the Pure Fragrance Cult."

"Go directly to Shen Wu. Leave this matter to him."

Zhao Xiu was stunned. How had this matter ended up falling on Shen Wu's shoulders?

He hurriedly said, "Master Qin, I fear Shen Wu—"

"Stop your nonsense. If you are unwilling, then forget it."

Before he could finish, he was interrupted. Zhao Xiu did not dare say more and withdrew from the room with a complicated expression.

"Master Qin, Shen Wu only just broke through. How can you send him to face someone from the Pure Fragrance Cult?"

The moment Zhao Xiu left, Sun Chai could no longer sit still.

Shen Wu had long been designated as a pillar of the Sun Family. Yet with a single order from Qin Changfeng, he was being sent to fight a Three Refinements martial artist.

Should anything go wrong, the loss to the Sun Family would be immense.

Upon hearing this, Qin Changfeng immediately frowned.

"Sun Chai, have you forgotten? Shen Wu is first my disciple, and only then your Sun Family's live-in son-in-law."

After a pause, Qin Changfeng spoke again.

"What kind of martial artist never sees blood? Shen Wu's path has been too smooth. It is time for him to be tempered."

"But... what if the Pure Fragrance Cult retaliates against us?"

Sun Chai looked troubled. Seeing him like this, Qin Changfeng said with a trace of disdain,

"Foolish! Do you truly think the Pure Fragrance Cult are kind-hearted saints? If you do not provoke them, will they spare you?"

After saying that, a flicker of amusement flashed through Qin Changfeng's eyes.

"Have you still not figured out why the Pure Fragrance Cult knew of the Zhao Family's inherited pill formula?"

Sun Chai seemed to think of something, only then realizing the truth.

"You mean... someone has become the Pure Fragrance Cult's spy!"

Very few people knew that the Zhao Family possessed the Bone Sculpting Pill formula. Even Qin Changfeng had only learned of it today.

Yet the Pure Fragrance Cult already knew. That meant something was wrong.

More than that, Yang Xian's appearance meant that the Pure Fragrance Cult had already infiltrated the city.

Cold sweat immediately beaded on Sun Sheng's forehead. Qin Changfeng merely waved a hand and said,

"Why are you still standing there? Hurry back and tell Sun Sheng. Do you need me to see you off?"

Sun Chai wiped away his sweat with his sleeve, immediately cupped his hands in farewell, and ran out of the secondary residence like smoke.