"Damn rat, I'm warning you! My mother said she'll help me practice the orthodox training method for the Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt from now on. All I need to do here is the hot-and-cold body tempering."
Early the next morning, Yue Lingshan ran over to warn him.
Being whipped during training yesterday had been secondary. What really embarrassed and infuriated her was that the fellow had seen most of her body.
Although all the crucial parts had been covered, she still felt thoroughly uncomfortable.
"No problem, but you must reach the Entry-Level Realm of the Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt within twenty days and begin your first skin shedding. Otherwise, I'll help you train."
Naturally, Tian Hao would not object to such a good arrangement. It would also free up two hours for his own training, though he did impose a condition.
By his calculations, Yue Lingshan could begin her first skin shedding in twenty days at most. She had to meet that training target.
"Sooner or later, I'll beat your face into a pig's head."
Glaring furiously at him, Yue Lingshan was sorely tempted to hammer him with her little fists.
I'm a beauty, yet you've put me through all this and left me looking like this. I can barely show my face anymore!
"Go add firewood and take your sauna. Don't interrupt my training."
Ignoring the girl's anger, Tian Hao continued practicing the Embrace Origin Force fist technique.
Of the essence, qi, and spirit attributes of his master's wife and his little senior sister, the mother and daughter both had the highest scores in innate spirit. That attribute was linked to comprehension and provided a substantial boost to martial arts that relied heavily on it.
Of the four external martial arts he currently knew, Embrace Origin Force demanded the most comprehension. With his innate spirit attribute boosted by his two cheats, he could not go wrong making Embrace Origin Force his primary focus.
"Sooner or later, I'll beat your face into a pig's head!"
After shooting him a resentful glare, Yue Lingshan went deeper into the cave for her daily sauna training session.
Meanwhile, Ning Zhongze sat cross-legged in the courtyard, cultivating in a single layer of clothing.
Heavy snow had fallen two days earlier, and now the air was at its coldest as the snow melted. All the flowing water had frozen over.
Even as a Houtian Realm expert, Ning Zhongze found such cold difficult to endure, but she continued to grit her teeth and bear it.
The AFK Training Method Tian Hao had described did make some sense. At least it was theoretically feasible. If they could develop and perfect it, it would greatly strengthen the Mount Hua Sect's foundations.
After years of diligently cultivating the Mount Hua Heart Method, Ning Zhongze had achieved considerable mastery over her mental focus. Although she remained far short of the legendary martial intent, her accomplishments were not to be underestimated.
With such a solid foundation, it took her little time to learn the Self-Hypnosis Method recorded in Tian Hao's notes.
She had tried it the previous night, and it had indeed greatly improved the quality of her sleep.
Normally, she needed six hours of rest, but last night she had woken after only five and remained full of energy throughout the day.
That effectively gave her an extra hour of usable time every day. It did not seem like much, but accumulated over days and months, it would become quite considerable.
Most importantly, she felt this was not her limit. The quality of her sleep could still improve.
The only drawback was that entering deep sleep greatly reduced her awareness of her surroundings. She could only use it within the Mount Hua Sect; away from home, she had to remain sufficiently vigilant.
Still, verifying and perfecting the AFK Training Method was more pressing. Combined with large quantities of medicinal herbs, it would certainly allow the Mount Hua Sect's strength to surge in a short time.
Time flew by. Spurred on by the training fanatic Tian Hao, Yue Lingshan, Ning Zhongze, and Lao Denuo all intensified their training, leaving the Mount Hua disciples no choice but to put in extra practice as well.
Even Linghu Chong and Lu Dayou, those two brothers in misfortune on Reflection Cliff, were stepping up their training. Their master had told them that unless they broke through their current realms, they would not be allowed to leave Reflection Cliff.
They had no desire to spend the rest of their lives at Reflection Cliff.
For a time, a training frenzy swept through the entire Mount Hua Sect, while Yue Buqun and the others outside secretly moved the treasure.
They did not even spare the underground workshop at Guan Family Fort. They took every usable resource, ultimately even prying up the iron rails in the tunnels.
There was no helping it. The imperial court prohibited civilians from forging weapons in large quantities, and even the iron mines were generally controlled by the court and the aristocratic clans.
If the Mount Hua Sect wanted to revive and expand vigorously, longswords were a basic necessity. If their disciples did not even have swords to wear, how were they supposed to train?
And forging longswords required iron and steel-vast quantities of them.
Although meteoric iron longswords were better, that material was scarce and could only be supplied to powerful experts. For ordinary disciples, longswords made of Hundred-Forged Steel would suffice.
Meanwhile, Ru Zhigang led a group in building Mount Hua Academy in a valley on Mount Hua.
As for the million-plus taels in banknotes gathered during their earlier trip, those had merely been a show for outsiders. Even Linghu Chong, who had accompanied them, had been fooled.
This was precisely to conceal the source of their wealth, lest anyone with ulterior motives connect it to Guan Family Fort.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion. It took Yue Buqun and the others a full month to transport all the treasure back.
They divided it into more than a hundred portions and buried them in secluded locations around Mount Hua, ready to be retrieved later.
Most of the silver, however, was taken by Yue Buqun's fellow disciples aboard boats heading east along the Yellow River's waterways. They traveled throughout the country gathering precious medicinal herbs to form another major reserve for the Mount Hua Sect.
As the saying went, the poor studied letters, while the wealthy practiced martial arts. Medicinal herbs were the greatest expense in martial training. They were mending the roof before the rain came, preparing to do something big.
For instance, they could first set a modest goal: recruit ten thousand disciples from the mountain villages in the Qinling Mountains and train them.
Of course, gathering medicinal herbs was only one of their goals. They also needed to collect basic martial arts like the Iron Shirt and remarkable medicinal formulas like A San Divine Oil, creating yet another foundation for the Mount Hua Sect.
They had money to spare now. Moreover, their sect leader and senior brother had authorized them to offer internal cultivation methods in exchange. Surely those martial artists in the jianghu who toiled at external arts would gladly trade their external techniques for internal cultivation methods.
After moving all the treasure from Guan Family Fort, Yue Buqun threw himself into the construction of Mount Hua Academy and stayed close to protect Ru Zhigang.
Once they finished revising the first Dictionary, they sent someone to deliver it to the capital. It was bound to cause a considerable sensation.
The aristocratic clans would never let the matter rest, and the Confucians would certainly not relinquish this juicy piece of meat either. Mount Hua would be anything but peaceful in the days ahead.
Still, the current emperor was surely no fool. Perhaps experts from the Eastern Depot and the Imperial Guard were already racing toward them, whipping their horses onward.
Under these circumstances, the emperor cared more than anyone about the safety of Ru Zhigang, his imperial tutor.
Once those men arrived, Yue Buqun's task would be complete.
Yue Buqun was correct. After receiving the Dictionary, the Southern Ming Emperor indeed attached tremendous importance to it and immediately summoned the directors of the Eastern and Western Depots.
His gaze lingered between Cao Zhengchun, director of the Eastern Depot, and Yu Huatian, director of the Western Depot, for a long time before he finally issued his command.
"Yu Huatian, hear my command. Take your men to Mount Hua Academy at once and protect Master Ru without leaving his side. If the slightest harm befalls him, you need not return.
"Take the Imperial Sword with you. You may execute first and report afterward. Even if a member of the imperial family stands before you, you may execute them."
"Your servant obeys!"
Accepting the Imperial Sword bestowed by the Southern Ming Emperor, Yu Huatian rose and headed outside without the slightest delay.
The moment he left the hall, he even used his lightness skill to hurry to the Western Depot, preparing to lead his men to Mount Hua Academy at top speed.
The emperor's order this time was absolute. If anything happened to the imperial tutor, Yu Huatian could forget about staying alive.
"Minister Cao, keep a closer watch on my imperial uncle. I hear he has been secretly corresponding with several generals in the border garrisons. Have you heard anything of this?"
The Southern Ming Emperor turned his gaze toward Cao Zhengchun and spoke pointedly.
He was deeply wary of this powerful eunuch left behind by the previous emperor. If he had not needed him to counterbalance his imperial uncle, he would have dismissed and eliminated him long ago.
"Your servant has heard such rumors as well, but the Iron-Gallant Divine Marquis acts in secrecy. Your servant has found no concrete evidence and dares not speak recklessly before Your Majesty."
Kneeling below, Cao Zhengchun hurried to explain. Although his power now overshadowed both court and country, he was still a servant. His status placed him at an absolute disadvantage, and there were certain rules he had to observe.
"Then turn those reckless words into a proper remonstrance as soon as possible. I prefer to strike first. Also, do not let my imperial uncle interfere in Master Ru's affairs."
His voice remained cold, betraying neither joy nor anger. The Southern Ming Emperor possessed at least that much depth.
"Yes. Your servant will see to it at once!"
Cao Zhengchun bowed as he accepted the command, then withdrew from the hall as well.
"Father, the whetstones you left me are far too good!"
After a long silence, the Southern Ming Emperor suddenly gave a helpless, bitter smile. He understood the previous emperor's intentions: his imperial uncle and Cao Zhengchun were meant to hone him. Only when he could eliminate both would he truly possess the ability to hold the imperial throne securely.
But eliminating those two was no easy feat. Even now, he had yet to devise a flawless plan and could only wait passively.
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