Cangshan Fist

Chen Yi rose early and saw that Yin Tingxue was still fast asleep.

He got up, placed the clothes Yin Tingxue would change into at the foot of the bed, then went to wash up. Afterward, he set off for the Western Depot.

The moment he stepped through the door, Chen Yi saw Chief Constable Zeng, whom he knew well, jog over to meet him.

"Hundred Household Chen, the director wants to see you."

Chen Yi frowned slightly.

Could it be... I'd let something slip?

After all, his maneuvers had played no small part in the Eastern Depot's falling-out with the Demonic Cult, so Chen Yi could not help growing suspicious.

But after thinking it over, Chen Yi still slowly made his way up the stairs.

If he really had let something slip, they would probably have seized him the moment he set one foot through the door. There would be no need for all this troublesome circling around.

When he reached the reception hall, Chen Yi saw a familiar figure.

It was Lin Yan, the Lin Residence's second young master. When he saw Chen Yi, he merely nodded without rising.

"Greetings, Young Master Lin."

Keeping his expression unchanged, Chen Yi cupped his hands and said,

"May I ask why you summoned me, Director?"

Wu Qingsheng wasted no words and went straight to the point.

"I'm not the only one who wants something from you. Second Young Master Lin does too, and it concerns the same matter."

Chen Yi narrowed his eyes.

When he had started out in Capital City, he had thrown in his lot with Grand Secretary Lin to maximize his gains.

Who was Grand Secretary Lin? He had passed the metropolitan examinations in the second year of Qingchu and entered the Hanlin Academy as a compiler, later becoming vice rector of the Directorate of Education. Favored by the late emperor, he had entered the Ministry of Revenue as a vice minister. From then on, his official career had sailed smoothly, climbing step by step until he became minister of personnel. Six years before the late emperor's death, he had entered the Grand Secretariat and been appointed a Grand Academician. Now, with the empress dowager ruling in the emperor's stead, he served as chief grand secretary.

In Beyond the Heavens, Chancellor Lin was known as the crafty old turtle cultivating immortality because of his deep-laid schemes. Ever since his sixtieth birthday, Grand Secretary Lin had immersed himself day and night in cultivating the Dao and attaining immortality, something everyone on the streets knew.

In Great Yu's Capital City, no matter how the winds and clouds shifted, Grand Secretary Lin remained standing like an evergreen tree. Yet this evergreen tree ceaselessly drew nourishment from Great Yu.

The students and former subordinates under Grand Secretary Lin were known as the Lin faction. They amassed power, accepted bribes, ran rampant with corruption, and undermined official governance-not one vice was missing. Whether among the common people or at court, the Lin faction was held in contempt, yet no one could do anything about it.

After all, Grand Secretary Lin was related by marriage to the An Household, the imperial in-laws. With the imperial in-laws and a powerful minister joining forces, very few forces at court could check them.

"Then may I ask what brings Second Young Master Lin here?"

Chen Yi asked.

"The choice of an acting director for the Eastern Depot."

Director Wu spoke slowly, observing Chen Yi's expression.

Hearing this, Chen Yi immediately realized something.

Although the Lin faction was powerful and few forces at court could check them, that did not mean there were none at all.

The empress dowager, who ruled in the emperor's stead, was well versed in the art of controlling her ministers. In recent years, the Ding'an faction, backed by Prince Jing, had risen as an unexpected force and gradually carved away the Lin faction's richest spoils.

Everyone in Capital City knew that Xue Youge had been Grand Secretary Lin's man, and the Eastern Depot had also been counted within the Lin faction's sphere. But now Xue Youge was dead, the position of Eastern Depot director stood vacant, and the dragons had no head. Although neither the Lin faction nor the Ding'an faction could designate the Eastern Depot's director, they could court the Directorate of Ceremonial and wage their battles in the open and the shadows.

To seize the initiative, the Lin faction would surely submit a memorial first, proposing that he, as someone belonging to their faction, temporarily take the position of Eastern Depot director.

Before he had transmigrated, he probably would have gladly accepted.

But now...

He wanted to cut ties.

I'm stripping myself of my Lin affiliation.

The Lin faction? Never heard of them.

He did not want to be the first one arrested.

Although Beyond the Heavens offered a route of studying, taking the imperial examinations, and rising through officialdom by factional struggles, he had no interest in factional struggles to begin with. Added to that were the treacherous, shifting currents of court politics, where one careless move could capsize a boat in a gutter. Thus, neither of his two saves had involved court struggles.

A villain save had its own path to follow, and Chen Yi had already walked it before, only to be killed in the end by the Demonic Cult's Holy Maiden after she had grown strong. This time, even though Yin Tingxue was under his control, Chen Yi did not want to walk the same road twice.

"Director Wu, I'm afraid this matter... calls for further discussion."

Chen Yi drew a deep breath and spoke.

Director Wu could not help giving him a sidelong glance.

Lin Yan, however, said with a smile that did not reach his eyes,

"It seems you've already guessed, Hundred Household. No, I should call you Thousand Household now."

Chen Yi did not deny it.

"Everyone knows that, like Director Xue, I belong to your Lin Residence. It's just... forgive me, but I cannot take this post."

Wu Qingsheng said nothing, seeming to quietly observe Chen Yi's every word and action.

Lin Yan picked up an invitation from the desk and said,

"If that's the case, you'll displease my father. Here is an invitation asking you to come to our residence to discuss it."

"Thousand Household Chen, you're the most suitable candidate. Promotion and wealth are things everyone desires. So many people never get an opportunity like this."

"You follow the rules in your work. With you overseeing the Eastern Depot, my father can rest easy and devote himself to mystical cultivation."

Chen Yi furrowed his brow.

The Lin faction was dead set on binding him even more tightly to them.

The Lin faction was powerful, leaning on Grand Secretary Lin, but where in this world was there a truly evergreen tree? After the Prayer Daoist Grounds, once Grand Secretary Lin died, the Lin faction would naturally scatter like monkeys when their tree fell.

"My abilities are limited. I would struggle to shoulder such a great responsibility."

Chen Yi refused again.

A trace of impatience flashed through Lin Yan's eyes, and his tone grew heavier.

"Chen Yi, my father has always looked after you.

"I simply don't understand. This is a chance to soar straight into the clouds, something that benefits both my father and you. Why do you keep refusing? Don't forget, you eat our Lin Household's food and use our Lin Household's resources. You ought to keep our Lin Household in mind!"

With that, Lin Yan pressed the invitation onto the desk rather than handing it to Chen Yi. He rose and left.

After Lin Yan left, Wu Qingsheng, who had watched from the sidelines for a long time, had already reached his own judgment. He picked up the invitation from the desk and pressed it into Chen Yi's hand.

"Thousand Household Chen, don't act on impulse.

"I know you've endured for a long time. Why not endure a little longer?"

Hearing this, Chen Yi was slightly surprised.

Chen Yi turned and saw Director Wu looking at him earnestly.

Could it be... he'd taken all my vile behavior during the first ten hours of the game as me biding my time?

What an imagination...

Chen Yi silently snarked.

Outwardly, however, Chen Yi still went along with him, accepting the invitation and revealing a bitter smile.

"It seems there's no escaping this time."

Seeing this, Director Wu sighed inwardly.

Wu Qingsheng turned, went to a corner of the room, and pressed something. A hidden compartment slowly slid open.

Chen Yi looked over curiously.

Wu Qingsheng drew a yellowed volume from the hidden compartment.

"Thousand Household Chen, take it.

"Consider it a small consolation from me."

Director Wu handed the volume to Chen Yi. Looking down, Chen Yi saw a line of large characters emblazoned on it: "Cangshan Fist."

Looking at this martial art manual, Chen Yi was still slightly stunned despite having cleared the game once.

Cangshan Fist... wasn't this one of the two great fist cultivation arts that ranked alongside Taishi Fist in the middle of the game?!

Moreover, it was one of the indispensable arts for fist cultivators. Its description had mentioned that Cangshan Fist's founder had once slain a Celestial Person with his fists.

Under normal progression, this martial art would not appear until at least the major midgame event, Martial Chaos Under Heaven. At that time, a martial artist calling himself Xu Deng would burst onto the scene, fighting his way up from tenth place on the Martial Ranking. He would defeat the sixth- and fifth-ranked fighters in succession, kill the fourth-ranked fighter with his fists, and only stop at third place after challenging Wei Gang, the second-ranked fighter under heaven, to a contest of fists.

To obtain this martial art, one had to lend Xu Deng a hand when he was down on his luck and save his life at three moments of greatest peril. Only then would he generously gift this family fist art.

Of course, if you were playing a female character, there was an easier way...

Chen Yi silently snarked.

"Where... did this fist manual come from?"

Suppressing his excitement, Chen Yi asked.