Early morning.
Lin Lang woke in bed, feeling refreshed and clearheaded.
After being away for so long, he had finally quenched his pent-up fire. Although his Reverse Golden Body Child Skill had not reached perfection, it had improved considerably.
Xiao He had already prepared breakfast and brought it into his room.
They now lived in a sprawling residence with five successive courtyards in Pingyang Prefecture, but there were few servants in the household. Xiao He was the only one who attended to Lin Lang, which delighted her immensely.
Although she still had plenty of chores to do, she no longer had to worry about anyone competing with her for Lin Lang.
She firmly believed that one day, her status would rise through her child, and she would successfully become Lin Lang's concubine.
Once, she had only dreamed of becoming a Probationary Hundred-household's concubine. Now she was going to become a Deputy Thousand-household's concubine!
"My lord, now that you hold the esteemed rank of Deputy Thousand-household, you need a few more sets of brocade robes. Your old clothes no longer suit your status."
Xiao He spoke as she fastened Lin Lang's buttons.
Lin Lang said, "You're right. I do need some new clothes. Have a seamstress come over, and I'll speak to her. We'll have a couple of outfits made for you, too."
Xiao He beamed. "Thank you, my lord."
"All right, go outside. I'm going to cultivate. Until I open the door and come out, don't let anyone disturb me."
Xiao He obediently left. Lin Lang shut the door and sat cross-legged on his bed.
"My true qi is abundant enough now. It's time to break through to the Grandmaster realm."
The difference between a Martial Arts Grandmaster and a Martial Arts Master lay in opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
The two easiest to open were the Ren Meridian and the Du Meridian. Once opened, they allowed true qi to circulate through the Microcosmic Orbit, making it purer and greatly increasing its replenishment speed. One's strength would take a tremendous leap.
He closed his eyes and rapidly circulated his cultivation technique, battering at the Ren and Du Meridians.
Lin Lang felt his true qi draining at a tremendous rate. Had he not drained so many people beforehand, he would have been unable to keep going.
Just as his true qi was about to run dry, the Ren and Du Meridians burst open simultaneously. His true qi immediately began circulating through the Microcosmic Orbit, rapidly replenishing what he had expended.
A long while later, Lin Lang opened his eyes.
"Everyone says opening the Ren and Du Meridians is extremely dangerous, that the slightest mistake can cause a backlash and damage your meridians and dantian. It seemed pretty easy to me."
"Thank goodness for the Reverse Star-Sucking Great Skill. Otherwise, who knows how long it would have taken me to break through?"
Host: Lin Lang. True qi: fifty years (innate Evil-Warding qi). Martial arts: Reverse Golden Body Child Skill (external body conditioning · Wulin Secret Art, major mastery); Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique (Wulin Secret Art, major mastery); Reverse Star-Sucking Great Skill (Martial Arts Masterwork, minor mastery); Five Tigers Severing Gate Saber (third-rate saber technique, major mastery). Realm: early Martial Arts Grandmaster stage (Ren and Du Meridians opened).
"The total amount of my true qi hasn't increased, but it has become innate true qi. It's more condensed and more powerful."
"Just opening the Ren and Du Meridians has improved my strength this much. If I open the remaining Extraordinary Meridians and reach the peak of the Grandmaster realm, my strength will be even more terrifying."
He had been in this world for less than a year, yet he had already risen from a second-rate martial artist to a Martial Arts Grandmaster.
If word of that speed spread, it would scare countless people out of their wits.
Even the renowned geniuses of the martial world had never progressed so quickly.
Even among the prodigies of the great orthodox sects, few could become Martial Arts Grandmasters in their early twenties.
After running through the Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique in his room, Lin Lang felt that its power had increased dramatically.
"If I can bring the Reverse Evil-Warding Sword Technique to perfection, my strength will rise another step."
Lin Lang decided to devote this period to practicing his swordsmanship, preparing for the day he went to kill Dongfang Bubai.
He had no need to worry about affairs at the Thousand-household Office. With Wang Wu and Jia Liu there, they would report to him immediately at the slightest rustle of wind or grass.
He thought he had only been cultivating in seclusion for a little while, but when he checked the sun, it was already afternoon.
As he stepped out of his room, Xiao He immediately approached. "My lord, the seamstress is here."
After having his measurements taken, Lin Lang looked at the seamstress and asked, "Can you make traditional Miao clothing?"
The seamstress paused. "Yes."
"What about nuns' robes?"
The seamstress's eyes widened. What sort of tastes did this lord have?
"...Those, too."
Lin Lang pointed to Xiao He. "Then take her measurements and make two sets of each. Make two sets of gauze tops, gauze trousers, and the like, too."
Since there are no stockings, gauze trousers will have to do. If there aren't any black ones, she can wear white.
The seamstress: "???"
She knew what gauze tops were, but what were gauze trousers?
Xiao He stared blankly at Lin Lang. This was completely different from what she had imagined.
She had wanted pretty clothes she could wear outside. Traditional Miao clothing was one thing, but what on earth were the nuns' robes for?
Still, seeing her lord's expression, she dared not say anything. She only hoped he truly liked them. If so, perhaps not wearing them outside would not matter.
"Ren Woxing still needs some time to recover, but I can't let Dongfang Bubai sit idle in the meantime."
"Without my permission, neither the Sun Moon Holy Cult nor the Five Mountains Sword Alliance gets to stop fighting!"
That evening, Lin Lang summoned Wang Wu.
"Wang Wu, I have a task for you. Spread two pieces of news through the martial world: Dongfang Bubai is preparing to wipe out the Five Mountains Sword Alliance immediately and turn Zuo Lengchan into a human swine."
"Zuo Lengchan of Mount Song intends to uproot every Branch Altar of the Sun Moon Demon Cult and use Chief Steward Yang Lianting's head as a chamber pot."
The Mount Song Sect.
Zuo Lengchan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, cultivating his Cold Ice True Qi.
Suddenly, a disciple called out from beyond the door, "Sect Leader, something terrible has happened!"
Zuo Lengchan's eyes snapped open. "What happened?"
Has another expert been killed by the Sun Moon Demon Cult?
Last time, outside Hengshan City, members of the Sun Moon Demon Cult had ambushed and killed six of his Mount Song Thirteen Guardians, along with dozens of his Mount Song Sect disciples.
He had personally led men to wipe out three Branch Altars of the Sun Moon Demon Cult in return, preserving the Five Mountains Sword Alliance's dignity.
For now, he intended to suspend the fighting against the Sun Moon Demon Cult, gather his strength, and complete the merger of the five mountain sects.
Then, as the sect leader of the Five Mountains Sword Sects, he would lead his men straight to Blackwood Cliff and annihilate it.
He was uncertain of the others' strength, but Mo Da, the sect leader of Hengshan, and Yue Buqun, the sect leader of Mount Hua, were both early-stage Grandmasters. The Mount Tai Sect and Hengshan School each had more than one peak Martial Arts Master as well.
If all these people obeyed his commands, the Five Mountains Sword Sects would be no weaker than the Sun Moon Demon Cult.
He would also gain access to the other sects' martial arts manuals. Perhaps, by drawing connections between their teachings, he could advance his own strength another step.
At such a critical juncture, the Mount Song Sect truly could not afford to lose any more experts.
The disciple knelt on one knee before Zuo Lengchan. "Sect Leader, a rumor has suddenly spread through the martial world. They say Dongfang Bubai has declared he will destroy our Five Mountains Sword Alliance and... and turn you into a human swine."
Zuo Lengchan flew into a rage. "Dongfang Bubai is far too insolent! It seems destroying three of the Sun Moon Demon Cult's Branch Altars wasn't enough to teach him a lesson. Issue an order in the name of the Five Mountains Alliance Leader: this month, every sect must wipe out one Sun Moon Demon Cult Branch Altar!"
"Let's see whether the Sun Moon Demon Cult dares come to Mount Song and run wild!"
His Mount Song Sect was not the only sect on Mount Song. Northern Shaolin was there, too.
This would not only crush the Sun Moon Demon Cult's arrogance, but also inflict losses on the other sects of the Five Mountains Sword Alliance. If their senior members died, no one would be left to obstruct his planned merger.
Blackwood Cliff.
After hearing the report, Yang Lianting, Chief Steward of the Sun Moon Holy Cult, flew into a rage. "Zuo Lengchan is far too arrogant! He wants to uproot every Branch Altar of our Holy Cult? And he says he'll twist off my head and use it as a chamber pot?"
"Pass down my orders! Whenever you encounter anyone from the Five Mountains Sword Alliance, spare no one-man or woman, old or young!"
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