A madman

Not long after Tian Feiguang left, Tian Yuan rose and walked out of the pavilion himself.

He returned to his room and carefully disguised himself, transforming from an old man into a middle-aged man with a sallow complexion. He bore no resemblance whatsoever to his original appearance.

On top of that, he made a point of putting on a pair of height-increasing boots.

Only after completing his disguise did Tian Yuan quietly slip out through the estate's back gate.

Once on the streets of the Inner City, he avoided the main roads, choosing secluded alleys instead.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Tian Yuan arrived outside an unremarkable house. He confirmed that no one had followed him before knocking on the door.

Creak.

A fair-faced young man opened the door and gestured for Tian Yuan to enter.

"Family Head Tian, what brings you here?"

The young man's face wore a gentle, serene smile that somehow seemed utterly false.

"Something happened to the Black Snake Gang..."

"Did word of my contact with you people leak out, prompting those above to start testing me?"

Tian Yuan sat directly on a bench inside the room and asked flatly.

"It has nothing to do with us."

"My contact with you is strictly personal. No one else knows."

"The fact that I can still speak with you means nothing has gone wrong."

The young man smiled.

"Is that so..."

"But I've heard that those above seem to know about your existence."

Tian Yuan spoke coldly.

"That has to do with the Han Family."

"We originally recruited someone from a collateral branch of the Han Family. We intended to help him break through to the first realm: qi accumulation, so he could become our mole in the Demon Extermination Palace."

"Who would have thought that useless fool would fail... and draw the Evil Surveillance Palace's attention to us?"

The young man explained.

"It seems you've planted quite a few moles in the Inner City."

Tian Yuan sneered.

The young man's access to so much information showed just how extensive his reach in Thousand Chimes Commandery City had become.

"The Old Gods have passed away... the world of the New Gods will descend."

"Though some people remain hopelessly obstinate, there are also clever people like you."

The young man smiled.

"I don't believe any of that nonsense."

Tian Yuan sneered.

He had chosen to contact the other party only because he wanted to hedge his bets.

Great clans had always done so throughout history.

"You'll believe soon enough."

"The Evil Surveillance Palace is currently investigating us in secret."

"I imagine they'll trace things back here before long."

The young man spoke as though it were nothing.

"What do you mean?"

"So you intend to stay here rather than leave?"

Even an old fox like Tian Yuan was completely bewildered.

Knowing they were about to track him down, he would rather stay here and wait to die?

It was truly beyond comprehension.

The young man freely admitted, "That's right. I intend to wait here for the Evil Surveillance Palace to come knocking."

"But don't worry. This won't be our last meeting."

"We'll meet again very soon."

Confusion filled Tian Yuan's face.

Despite all the years he had lived, he couldn't make sense of the man's words.

He even began to question his own ability to understand.

"You'll understand when the time comes."

"Go back."

"This place is no longer safe."

The young man offered no further explanation.

Tian Yuan stood. "If you're truly determined to die, you'd better make it quick."

He feared the young man would fall into the Evil Surveillance Palace's hands.

Once his connection to the young man was discovered, a devastating calamity would befall the Tian Family as well.

"What you're worried about won't happen."

The young man smiled.

Tian Yuan drew a deep breath.

In that instant, he felt an urge to strike the young man dead on the spot!

Only that would be truly safe, leaving him no need to worry about being exposed.

Yet Tian Yuan had no confidence he could do it.

He couldn't gauge the young man's cultivation, and his personality was so bizarre.

If his attempt failed, he would only enrage the young man.

"Family Head Tian, don't worry."

"I absolutely won't betray you."

"Selling you out would do me no good whatsoever."

As though seeing through Tian Yuan's thoughts, the young man smiled faintly.

Tian Yuan said nothing. In the end, he still couldn't resolve to attack, and said coldly, "I hope you keep your word."

With that, Tian Yuan turned to leave.

"Family Head Tian, you must come on the day I die."

The young man gave a strange smile.

Tian Yuan's steps faltered, then he hurried away.

Outer City, Artisans' Hall.

Lu Mian left carrying bags large and small of Blood-Replenishing Medicine Potion.

Killing Yin Qianlang and the Black Snake Gang's three leaders had earned him a tidy sum.

What a shame... Yin Qianlang's residence probably still has plenty of valuables.

But the Tian Family must be watching it now. Making a move would be difficult. Better forget it.

Lu Mian chose not to take the risk.

He was confident that they couldn't trace his actions this time back to him.

But if he did anything more, that might no longer hold true.

In any case, the money he had earned this time should support his cultivation for quite a while.

After carrying the medicinal ingredients home, Lu Mian began brewing them.

While they simmered, Lu Mian took up the Golden Melon Hammer and began pounding his entire body.

After gaining an initial grasp of Iron Shirt, he had deliberately ground the hammer's spikes even sharper.

Although his skin was already as tough as cowhide, every blow still left it bright red and burning with pain.

Next, Lu Mian needed to hammer his skin even firmer and make his muscle fibers as tough as iron wire. That would mark his attainment of minor mastery.

Before long, Lu Mian had battered his entire body until his fascia and bones felt as though they were splitting apart.

He didn't hold back in the slightest, striking as though he meant to beat himself to death.

Only through this relentless punishment could he advance his mastery of Iron Shirt faster.

Grimacing in pain, Lu Mian poured out the finished medicinal broth, opened his mouth, and blew out a great gust of air.

With his current lung capacity, his breath was practically an electric fan, producing a powerful current of air.

The scalding broth soon cooled somewhat under his breath.

Lu Mian drank it down in one gulp.

Gulp~

As the broth entered his stomach and intestines, his gluttonous stomach began working, frantically absorbing its medicinal essence before converting it into life essence that spread through his body, repairing his severely damaged muscles, bones, skin, and fascia.

"Once I've cultivated Iron Shirt to perfection too, I should be able to reveal a little of my talent and obtain a Qi Accumulation Technique."

Lu Mian muttered to himself.

Entering the qi accumulation realm required a special technique for cultivating a qi mechanism.

These Qi Accumulation Techniques were extremely precious and rarely shared with outsiders.

In Thousand Chimes Commandery City, there were generally only two ways to obtain one.

The first was to have a family inheritance, like Han Can, which made obtaining one easy.

Someone of Lu Mian's background could only choose the second route.

That was to apply to the Guard Hall.

Generally speaking, as long as someone's cultivation had reached blood-qi perfection, the Guard Hall would seldom be stingy.

The problem for Lu Mian was that he had joined the Guard Hall too recently.

He had reached blood-qi perfection in less than a month.

Such talent was too outrageous. It would likely draw excessive attention to him.

So he intended to solidify his foundations further first.

After all, qi accumulation itself involved nurturing qi from blood qi.

The more vigorous his blood qi, the easier it would be to nurture a qi mechanism-and the stronger that qi mechanism would be!