Vajra Bodhi Fruit

"An inch of lovesickness, an inch of ash... Lovesickness Tower was an exceptionally terrifying assassin organization."

Liu Qingni spoke solemnly as she slowly explained the inner workings of Lovesickness Tower to Su Qingyang.

"Lovesickness Tower's assassins had been tempered by harsh heart-forging methods since childhood, stripped of the seven emotions and six desires. There was neither good nor evil in their hearts; they obeyed only the Tower's orders."

"Ordinary deathsworn still had attachments and weaknesses, but Lovesickness Tower's assassins had long since extinguished their humanity.

"To complete a mission, self-mutilation, poisoning their own bodies, and perishing alongside their targets were everyday occurrences. The Green Plague Corpse-Burst Poison Sacrifice Technique we saw today was merely one of their many vicious methods."

"Lovesickness Tower had many ranks. That gray-eyed assassin just now was, at most, middle-tier. Above him were the elite assassins of the Waning Moon and Lovesick ranks. Every one of them possessed combat strength at the Peak Acquired Realm, or even the Innate Realm."

"The phantom image of a Waning Moon that appeared in midair just now was the mark of a Waning Moon-ranked assassin making a move."

"They had failed this time. Next time, a Waning Moon-ranked assassin might personally take action."

Su Qingyang nodded lightly, then asked, "Lovesickness Tower is this brazen—has Great Jin's imperial court never acted to suppress and restrain them?"

Liu Qingni's expression darkened slightly. She shook her head. "No, the Secret Bureau has investigated and besieged Lovesickness Tower several times."

"But every time, they came up empty-handed. Even if they were lucky enough to kill a batch of assassins, within half a year, a new batch of cannon fodder would fill the gaps, like weeds that could never be fully uprooted."

"From this, I conclude that within the Secret Bureau, and even among the high officials of the court, there must be people secretly feeding Lovesickness Tower information and sheltering them."

"And..."

"It is said that Lovesickness Tower also has an exceedingly mysterious Tower Master. Though no one has ever seen his true face, one thing is certain: he must be a Grandmaster."

"Oh! Why?" Su Qingyang asked.

"Because in all of Great Jin, only Grandmasters had the right to stir the court and the wilds, to part the clouds and churn the rain." Liu Qingni suddenly spoke those words, a faint reverence appearing in her eyes.

Great Jin was vast, with twelve prefectures and sixty-four commanderies. The government ruled over the masses, sects carved up the mountains and forests, firearms flourished by the day, and the imperial court commanded a million armored troops.

Yet all rules, balances, and struggles ultimately could not avoid the watershed that was a Grandmaster.

A duke commanding vast armies!

A prime minister whose power overshadowed court and country!

A sect with a thousand years of foundations!

They seemed to possess heaven-shaking might, yet once they faced a Grandmaster directly, all authority would seem illusory and insubstantial.

A thousand troops could not stop one man; ten thousand suits of armor could not protect one city!

Grandmasters came and went alone, unbound by law and unchecked by military power.

Without an expert of equal realm to restrain them, a Grandmaster could enter and leave the imperial capital at will, trample prefectures and commanderies flat, or secretly support factions and manipulate the struggles of all sides beneath the surface.

Lovesickness Tower had stood firm through the court's repeated campaigns of extermination, endlessly training deathsworn assassins, with spies in the court escorting and protecting it...

Most importantly, it was because a Grandmaster stood guard behind it!

"Interesting!" Su Qingyang smiled faintly. "I wonder whether a Grandmaster-level assassin could be drawn into appearing in person over this matter?"

He truly wanted to witness the power of a martial Grandmaster, so that he could determine his own standing and level in this world.

"Hard to say!" Liu Qingni said.

"But I do not believe Su Chang'an had the standing to invite Lovesickness Tower's Tower Master, even if they might have some connection."

Great Jin's imperial court was now immensely powerful, its might pressing down upon the entire realm!

Ordinary assassinations by Lovesickness Tower were one thing, but if they truly dispatched a Grandmaster!

There were quite a few martial Grandmasters within the imperial capital who wanted to follow the vine to find the trace of Lovesickness Tower's Tower Master and take his head!

"Ha, if everything is hard to say, then let us continue onward!" Su Qingyang chuckled lightly, reached down to pat the Dragon Horse beneath him, and set off down the road ahead.

At this moment!

Beneath him was a colossal Dragon Horse.

Two curved horns stood upright from its forehead, making it truly resemble some kind of Demonic Beast. Its muscles bulged all over its body; with the slightest movement, its sinews rippled like flowing water. Thick black scales covered it from head to hoof.

Its eyes gleamed with ferocity, and when it opened its mouth, sharp fangs were revealed.

Liu Qingni had changed mounts as well.

It was a magnificent horse entirely crimson in color, with powerful limbs and a body filled with both strength and beauty. Its fiery-red mane, in particular, resembled burning flames with the slightest stir.

Though it was far inferior to the Dragon Horse, it was still incomparably precious, something that could be encountered only by chance.

These two horses were naturally Black Cloud Sect's doing.

To make amends for offending a Grandmaster, Black Cloud Sect had willingly presented these two fine steeds.

That Dragon Horse had been given freely. Its temperament was violent and unruly, and rumor had it that dragon blood flowed in its veins. In truth, it had been born from the mating of strange, exotic beasts.

It was innately incapable of breeding; in all the world, there was likely only this one.

An ordinary martial artist would be slashed by its scales or wounded by its fangs before even getting close, but no matter how fierce a steed was, before a Grandmaster, it could only lower its head in docile submission.

It did not dare reveal even the slightest trace of its unruly spirit.

At this moment, a bright moon emerged from between the clouds, illuminating the mountain forest ahead and making it seem especially tranquil and pristine.

Su Qingyang lightly rubbed the storage ring on his finger. A flash of light passed, and three fruits, entirely golden and the size of an infant's fist, suddenly appeared in his right hand.

A pungent medicinal fragrance slowly spread out. With only the faintest wisp drifting through the air, the qi and blood throughout his body began to stir faintly.

These were Vajra Bodhi Fruits, precious medicines said to strengthen the flesh and set one's qi and blood boiling.

Su Qingyang pondered inwardly: The dignity of a Grandmaster truly transcends the ordinary. A casual brushstroke could make an entire sect swarm after it.

These three Vajra Bodhi Fruits were treasures specially offered by the Black Cloud Sect's master after he had earnestly begged Su Qingyang to leave behind a piece of his personal calligraphy or painting.

In terms of medicinal efficacy, they were not as rare and heaven-defying as high-grade Scarlet Blood Grass, but they were still treasures difficult to find in the world.

Offering three at once could indeed be considered a heavy loss.

With his insight, he naturally saw through Black Cloud Sect's calculations.

With a Grandmaster's personal calligraphy or painting in hand, it would become their finest talisman whenever they roamed the martial world and dealt with the forces of the various prefectures.

It might even help Black Cloud Sect safely weather the current calamity of unrest in Cloud Prefecture.

"Mm! I need to advance further. My fifth qi-blood breakthrough is still not enough, but I can carry out the Formless Qi Weapon Body-Tempering Art and begin tempering my qi and blood!"