Famous Throughout the County, the Great Dragon Spear!

Wang Ping walked out of the inner offices looking torn between hope and fear.

His steps quickened. Instead of going to the training ground, he hurried away, his face taut for fear that the slightest lapse would make him burst out laughing.

Chen Haoyan was clever indeed.

That included the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow manual offered as payment. It was too long for Wang Ping to take away, so he could only study it by "borrowing" it.

That greatly reduced the chance of the martial art leaking out.

Chen Haoyan was probably also certain that Wang Ping could not finish reading the manual in three days. That was why he had been so generous with it.

In all fairness, his judgment was sound.

Provided Wang Ping was merely mortal.

Too much to read? One sweep of my Spirit Sense, and I've read it all. In fact, I've already committed the entire manual to memory!

Besides, with the Otherworldly Celestial Demon to fall back on, what did it matter if the task was almost certain death? He looked like the one being coerced in this bargain, but he was the one making a killing. He had given up next to nothing and gained an intermediate martial art—and that was not even all.

As he thought, Wang Ping arrived before a storehouse.

This was the armory.

Wang Ping stepped forward and handed over an order stamped with the chief constable's seal. "I'm Wang Ping. I've been ordered to retrieve the Black Chi Bow from the armory."

"What?"

The official guarding the armory froze. He took the order and checked it carefully before opening the door with a frown.

"Strange. What could they need a prohibited weapon like the Black Chi Bow for?"

Even so, an official order carried the weight of a mountain. With the instruction there in black and white, he could hardly disobey. Soon he brought out a huge bow of dark gold.

Its limbs curved like two coiling Hornless Dragons, each dragon head gripping one end of the bowstring. The string itself was jet-black and as thick as a thumb—more giant python than string. Three arrows the size of short spears rested against it, giving off a bone-chilling cold.

"What a magnificent bow!"

Wang Ping's eyes narrowed. This was what Chen Haoyan had offered after Wang Ping said he would need more: a weapon suited to the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow.

With this bow, I might master the basics within three days!

At the thought, the contents of the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow manual flashed through his mind. The art focused on bones and blood, with the sinews working alongside them.

The six stages of external martial arts were skin, flesh, sinews, bones, blood, and marrow.

Bones provided the ability to withstand pressure, blood provided explosive force, and sinews provided strength. Only by uniting all three could one fire the mightiest arrow.

So that's why he said True Dragon Sinew was best suited to this art.

The art doesn't train the sinews itself. With its innate divine strength, True Dragon Sinew would fill that gap perfectly and bring out the art's true power.

And unlike the lesser arts Wang Ping had practiced before, the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow was an intermediate martial art that offered a tremendous gain at every step: Blood Like Fire at the basic stage, Bones Like Tigers at minor mastery, the battlefield technique One Arrow Frost Chill at major mastery, and the battlefield technique Heavenly Dipper Breaks the Formation at full mastery.

The thought filled Wang Ping with anticipation. If I can master this art completely, I'll have passed through half of the six stages of external martial arts.

The next morning.

It was the first day of his three-day deadline. Wang Ping dared not waste time. Before dawn, he changed clothes, picked up the Black Chi Bow, and strode into the training ground.

He had come to practice archery!

Once again, Spirit Sense showed the worth of the Immortal Dao. With its help, Wang Ping was not so much shooting arrows as guiding them.

For every arrow, his Spirit Sense laid out its path and target in advance. All he had to do was release the string. Every shot struck home without fail.

Thud!

Another arrow struck the bull's-eye, but Wang Ping frowned. His hands ached from holding and drawing the bow, and his blood and qi were no longer flowing smoothly.

My body can't keep up.

The demands of an intermediate art were plainly on another level from those of a lesser one. He had practiced for less than an hour, yet his stomach already felt empty.

Grrr!

His stomach rumbled. Wang Ping lowered the Black Chi Bow and found that his legs had gone weak. He swayed a few times before barely managing to stand steady.

Yet he had eaten breakfast. The only explanation was that the free nourishing meals at the Joyous Arrival Tower could no longer replenish the blood and qi he consumed. He could either spend heavily on better ingredients or balance effort with rest, practicing a little each day and advancing step by step.

Taking it step by step isn't an option.

I only have three days. After that, I have to help Chen Haoyan escort the Lotus Blade, and chances are I'll die on the spot.

He was likely to die soon anyway. Now was the time to train like his life depended on it!

Wang Ping decided to visit the Joyous Arrival Tower later and see whether he could buy better ingredients to replenish his depleted blood and qi.

But come to think of it, how much would nourishing food cost in his current state? He had just received a gold ingot worth a hundred taels of silver.

That should be enough, shouldn't it?

As Wang Ping calculated, another person entered the training ground, pipe in hand. The moment he spotted Wang Ping, he let out a hearty laugh.

"I knew I'd find you here, Brother Wang."

It was Liu Ye.

Before Wang Ping could speak, Liu Ye said, "Congratulations, Brother Wang! Your reputation has soared. Your name has spread across the whole county."

"Oh?"

Wang Ping paused, then nodded calmly. He had cut down Xie Shi with a single stroke on a rainy night. What style! It was only natural that he had earned a title.

"What title?" Wang Ping asked curiously.

Liu Ye gave him a peculiar grin and said, enunciating each word, "Quite a title, too: the Great Dragon Spear!"

"The Great Dragon Spear?"

Wang Ping blinked, puzzled. "Why? I cut down a White Lotus rebel with my blade. Shouldn't it be something like Night-Cleaving Blade or Dragon-Cleansing Blade?"

"What's one rebel? They're everywhere these days!"

Liu Ye shook his head. "Last night, you took on a hundred women at the Vermilion Phoenix Tower and conquered them all with your spear. That was legendary. That's where the Great Dragon Spear came from. Quite a few widows in town have been asking around, hoping to see the legendary Great Dragon Spear for themselves and learn a thing or two from you!"

Wang Ping: "..."

So that's what the Great Dragon Spear means? Damn it! I thought you'd finally come to appreciate my talent, but you're only lusting after my body.

Bah! Shameless!

Wang Ping promptly shook his head. "Brother Liu, you've badly misunderstood me. This isn't what I want. I'm actually not interested in women."

The brat has no shame at all.

I haven't even settled the Vermilion Phoenix Tower's losses with him.

Though Liu Ye grumbled inwardly, he raised a thumb in praise. "Brother Wang is devoted to the Martial Dao, with ambitions higher than the heavens. Your old brother can't compare."

"It's nothing... Oh, right."

Wang Ping looked around. Seeing no one nearby, he pulled Liu Ye close and slipped a manual into his arms.

Liu Ye froze. "This is...?"

His expression changed sharply when he saw the title on its cover. "The Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow! You accepted that task?"

Wang Ping nodded. "Don't worry. His Lordship has allowed me to pass it on to one person. I have no elders to care for and no children to raise, and you've treated me better than anyone. I caused you plenty of trouble with what I did to the Vermilion Phoenix Tower last night, too. As promised, I'm passing this art on to you."

"This copy is only the table of contents, though. You'll have to ask His Lordship to let you borrow the full manual."

Liu Ye did not answer.

The old constable stared at Wang Ping's earnest face, too stunned to react. He stood rooted to the spot for a long while without another word.

At last, he said somewhat awkwardly,

"Kid, you really meant it?"

When he had all but given Wang Ping the Iron Ox Skill, he had never expected anything in return. Once Wang Ping had risen in standing, he had expected even less.

Yet Wang Ping had kept his promise. An intermediate martial art—and he had handed it over just like that. The way he was doing it was almost like entrusting his affairs to someone before death. Remembering that he had just been fretting over the Vermilion Phoenix Tower's losses, Liu Ye wanted to slap himself.

He treats me with sincerity, and all I can think about is business.

I'm old. I really am.

The young man before him was about the same age as his son. And from the way he stood, he looked a little unsteady. His blood and qi were clearly depleted...

"...Hm?"

Liu Ye frowned. "Brother Wang, have you already tried practicing this art? You must have overdone it. Your blood and qi can't keep up."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Wang Ping laughed heartily and took out his gold ingot. "I've just received a reward. I'll go to the Joyous Arrival Tower later, buy some better ingredients, and recover."

"The Joyous Arrival Tower? What good ingredients would they have?"

Liu Ye shook his head. "Brother Wang, if you trust me, leave this to me. I guarantee I'll find something that can sustain the blood and qi an intermediate art demands."

"Wouldn't that be imposing?" Wang Ping asked, making a show of reluctance.

Liu Ye waved a hand. "Not at all. Your old brother has spent decades making his way in this county town. I know people everywhere. It's a small matter!"

"Then... sorry for the trouble, Brother Liu."

Wang Ping was delighted. With enough nourishing food and Spirit Sense to assist him, he could train through the nights. He was certain to master the basics of the Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow within three days!

Outside Longxing County, in a remote village.

"Xie Shi is dead..."

An old farmer with a bamboo basket on his back had just returned from the Grass Market outside the city, dusty from his journey. After exchanging a few words with a neighbor, he went back to his farmhouse.

But once he had shut the doors and windows, his stooped back straightened. Clarity returned to his cloudy eyes. His face and body suddenly twisted, and in the blink of an eye he became an aged Daoist priest of ethereal bearing once more. Smiling, he gazed toward the county town in the distance.

It was Shouchong.

Unexpectedly, he showed no grief for the death of his prized disciple Xie Shi. He even nodded in satisfaction.

"A good death!"

As Shouchong saw it, Xie Shi had uncovered the most important piece of information: Chen Haoyan really was keeping watch in the county office day and night for the sake of the Lotus Blade.

"He believed it. He truly believed it!"

"If I'm right, he's already trying to lure the snake from its hole, hoping to force me into his trap to retrieve the Lotus Blade."

At that thought, Shouchong sneered.

Was the Lotus Blade important?

Of course. But a cunning hare had three burrows. When he sent it away, he had prepared to abandon it if there was no other choice. How could he have failed to leave himself a way out?

Besides, the White Lotus Sect's Destiny on it had dissipated, greatly reducing the throwing blade's value to him. Giving it up would certainly sap his vitality and set back his martial arts. The price was steep, but he could just about bear it—so long as he gained even more elsewhere.

How, then, should he gain more?

"He wants to lure the snake from its hole? Then I'll lure the tiger away from the mountain."

"The Spirit Wandering Temple..."

His decision made, Shouchong entered the inner room. A shrine came into view, its contents completely hidden behind a curtain.

Shouchong reached into his robe and took out three long incense sticks.

He lit them with a flint, then approached the shrine by a peculiar ritual, taking one step and bowing once each time.

He set the three sticks before the shrine. They burned brighter at once, sending up billows of blue smoke. An unseen wind caught the smoke and carried it deep into the shrine.

Then Shouchong spoke in an ethereal voice, as though reciting an incantation.

"Revered Liansheng Bodhisattva, I beseech you to save the people of this world."

Whoosh!

Though the doors and windows were shut tight, a fierce wind roared through the room. The three long incense sticks, which should have burned for ages, turned to ash in a few breaths.

The wind also swept aside the curtain before the shrine, revealing the statue within.

It depicted a woman of breathtaking beauty, merciful and holy. Dressed in robes white as jade, she sat upon a lotus pedestal, her hands forming the Fire-Born Lotus Seal.

Her title was inscribed above her:

[Liansheng Bodhisattva]

This was the origin of the White Lotus Sect.

Fervor gradually filled Shouchong's face. He owed all his martial arts to this bodhisattva. She was a heaven-sent opportunity that belonged to him alone.

Back then, he had been just one of the Great Shun Court's countless subjects, leaving before dawn and returning after dark to till the fields and grow grain, yet somehow never having enough to eat. Only when he dug this statue out of a field one day had his life truly been transformed.

How wondrous was that?

Naturally, then, he wanted to share that wonder with everyone. It was an act of kindness on his part, and it was Liansheng Bodhisattva's wish.

He believed that if more and more people joined the White Lotus Sect and shared in Liansheng Bodhisattva's compassion, the world would surely become a better place.

"Pity the people of this world, burdened with so much suffering..."

As Shouchong bowed in sincere worship, the bodhisattva's features gradually distorted amid the curling blue smoke, as though a satisfied smile had appeared on her face.