Refining the True, the Town's Rules

Zhang Pu lifted Zhang Qinghe and took a single step, his figure vanishing in an instant. He came and went like a ghost, leaving not the slightest fluctuation of Qi behind.

Old Mo did not leave. Instead, he raised a hand to block any prying eyes from the town. He wanted to use this chance to tell Yu Tunzhou a few things.

"There are thirty-nine families in the town now, and more than half have already arrived. It's time I told you some of the rules."

"The older generation stationed in the town aren't allowed to make a move against the 'newcomers,' but the newcomers are allowed to compete with one another. Before the 'shared feast,' though, that competition has limits. No deaths or injuries are allowed."

"After the 'shared feast,' the newcomers can be said to have no restrictions, but there are still two lines you mustn't cross. First, don't covet another family's core inheritance. Second, don't trespass into another family's ancestral home."

Hearing this, Yu Tunzhou glanced at his empty hand, a little regretful.

Only after Zhang Pu had carried the unconscious Zhang Qinghe away did he realize that the memory jade pendant in his hand had already sprouted wings and flown away.

Old Mo continued:

"That Zhang boy probably heard about you from Zhang Pu and wanted to grab you early and fleece you. He bet you didn't know the town's rules, and he was sure that, as an ordinary person, you couldn't match the foundation he'd built in his clan, whether in physique or martial arts."

Old Mo smiled with amusement. "He's got a bit of street smarts, but he's still too green. He never stopped to think about what you've been eating these past three years."

"After three years of eating dragonfish, even if your body can't match those scions of great clans or those with extraordinary gifts, the gap can't be that wide."

Yu Tunzhou said sincerely, "Old Mo, I really have to thank you for that."

"No need to be so polite."

Old Mo put his bamboo hat back on and said with a strange smile,

"The early struggles are only allowed to go as far as moderate sparring. There's no rule saying the loser has to give the winner anything, either, unless both sides agreed beforehand. So Zhang Pu didn't actually have to give you Refining the True."

"If you ask me, that fellow might really have taken a fancy to you and wants to recruit you as a live-in son-in-law. I seem to remember he has a great-granddaughter..."

Yu Tunzhou said seriously, "Old Mo, I don't want to get too close to the Zhang family. Zhang Qinghe is too stupid and too useless. If I were teammates with him, I'd be afraid he'd get me killed someday."

Old Mo's expression became quite a sight. Luckily, he had just isolated the place, so the people in town couldn't hear or see them. Otherwise, things would have been interesting.

The man cleared his throat and continued:

"So unless you really wanted to trade your life for Zhang Qinghe's, this is the best outcome you could have gotten."

Old Mo suddenly released Yu Tunzhou's shoulder. He seemed to have noticed something and began examining him closely.

Yu Tunzhou was half lost in thought as he listened to Old Mo's explanation.

Naturally, he didn't want to trade his life for Zhang Qinghe's.

He had only just mastered the Spark Instruction, and his Dao heart was in harmony with it. He had grasped its True Intention in full, and most importantly, he had already uncovered the mystery of the golden text.

With life holding so much promise, why should he trade his life for that fellow's?

Was that fellow even worthy?

The reason he hadn't wanted to back down earlier was that he wanted to use the opportunity to learn the town's bottom lines and more of its rules.

Otherwise, the fight would have been meaningless, and he would have remained on the back foot.

"Old Mo, what kind of Cultivation Method is Refining the True, exactly?"

Some of Yu Tunzhou's attention was occupied by the golden text.

Before Old Mo began speaking with him, the Cultivation Method he had obtained from the Zhang family had already been undergoing reconstruction, and it still hadn't finished.

And judging by what he could sense, progress was slow. It would take at least another...

Half a day?

The Spark Instruction's sublimation and reconstruction last night hadn't been this slow. Was it because this Cultivation Method was special, or was there another reason?

Yu Tunzhou was somewhat puzzled, but he soon came back to his senses and looked at Old Mo.

"Refining the True is a means of circulating Qi..."

Old Mo suddenly looked up toward the town and said meaningfully,

"Actually, that Zhang boy is rather endearing. If he hadn't stirred up all this trouble, as the town's guardian, it really wouldn't have been convenient for me to speak with you in private."

Yu Tunzhou understood at once.

"The people in town have been watching me all this time?!"

"They were watching me. What's there to watch you for?" Old Mo corrected him. "Now that you've gone up the mountain and become neighbors with those two, you don't need to worry about anyone watching you. Those people mainly don't trust me, but they have a lot of trust in those two seniors."

He changed the subject. "You've reached the entry level in a Qi Ingestion method?"

Yu Tunzhou nodded. "I reached the entry level of the Spark Instruction last night."

Old Mo could naturally tell as much, and that was precisely why he was a little puzzled.

In theory, the Spark Instruction was indeed the best Qi Ingestion method Yu Tunzhou could get his hands on right now.

And its overbearing nature was no exaggeration.

Back then, in order to study that Human Emperor of High Antiquity, he had made a particular study of the Cultivation Methods the emperor left behind. Among them was a fragment of the Spark Instruction.

By rights, even with three years of dragonfish to lay his foundation, Yu Tunzhou couldn't possibly have suffered no depletion at all, much less have even more vigorous Qi and Blood.

That was why Old Mo couldn't resist asking. He wondered if those two had broken their vows and secretly taught Yu Tunzhou their own exclusive Qi Ingestion method.

"The True Intention of this Qi Ingestion method lies in two things. First, holding all living beings in your heart; second, striving ceaselessly to better yourself; third, taking..."

"Do your best to work on striving ceaselessly to better yourself..."

After some thought, Old Mo passed on to Yu Tunzhou some of the insights he had gained from his research back then.

To be honest, he thought it would be very difficult for Yu Tunzhou to develop this Qi Ingestion method to the tenth layer. After all, holding all living beings in one's heart was not something a youth could comprehend.

After turning it over in his mind, he could only catch a few more dragonfish to nourish the youth.

Just then.

More than a dozen gazes from the town had already fixed on them, carrying a warning. The reason, naturally, was that he had spent a little too long talking with Yu Tunzhou.

Old Mo muttered that those fellows really didn't trust him.

He could only give Yu Tunzhou some quick instructions:

"Develop your Qi Ingestion method to the seventh layer as soon as possible and cultivate a sense of Qi. In twenty-eight days, there'll be a small-scale 'dispersion of fortune.'"

"Also, don't spend too long practicing the Qi Ingestion Instruction each day, or you might damage your 'origin Qi.' In the remaining time, you can practice this Qi-nourishing method."

"Refining the True is a method of circulating inner Qi popular among sects and noble clans. Its aim is to make inner Qi denser and open up wider meridians, in preparation for drawing in 'profound Qi' later on."

"Refining the True is only a minor technique, but it's quite ingenious. It also has the effect of tempering inner Qi. They say that if it's practiced to the utmost, inner Qi can gain the marvelous properties of 'profound Qi' as well. But I never practiced it back then, so I don't know whether that's true."

"As for the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple's place, you really can go and clean it more often."

"Lastly, remember this: there will be more and more strangers in town. They won't directly interfere in the young people's struggles, but they'll throw obstacles in your way behind the scenes. There's good and bad among them, so don't trust them lightly. But when a fortuitous opportunity comes, you must seize it."

Old Mo finished his instructions at a rapid clip.

Yu Tunzhou's eyes lit up. Both Old Mo and Daoist Shouxin had spoken indirectly, but they had undoubtedly pointed him down the same path.

Could it be that once the Heavenly Peng Daoist Temple moved in, he had a chance of joining it?

According to what Old Mo had said earlier, once the formal "shared feast" was over, people like them would have no restrictions. They could fight to the death as they pleased, but they absolutely could not trespass into another family's ancestral home.

Under those circumstances, an ancestral home was effectively a safe zone.

He had no ancestral home to rely on. He would probably have to watch every direction even while cultivating, let alone resting.

"Old Mo, why didn't you practice Refining the True back then?"

Old Mo waved a hand, wearing the lonely expression of a master without equal. "My Qi was too abundant. I didn't need it."

"Old Mo, I have another question," Yu Tunzhou said. "Are the people who came to town this time the finest disciples of their respective families' current generations?"

Old Mo shook his head. "They came here to use the opportunities here to become one of the finest young people of their generation in their own families. Even then, it's only a chance."

Yu Tunzhou understood. No wonder they were called candidates.

"All right, all right, stop rushing me."

Old Mo looked toward the town, sighed, and removed the barrier. He raised both hands high, looking terribly aggrieved.

"I'm only cleaning up your mess for you bastards!"

Several cold snorts immediately came from the town, mixed with mocking laughter. Others remained expressionless. Not one of them gave Old Mo any face.

That made Old Mo a little sad. They had been knocking around together for nearly thirty years, so why were they still so distant? With a face like his, it made no sense.

"Hey! You there, I'm talking to you! Did you greet me when you came in? Did you ask me before setting up a stall? Did you pay your protection money?"

Old Mo suddenly rolled up his sleeves, looking ready for a fight, and vanished from Yu Tunzhou's sight in an instant.

Yu Tunzhou went to the river and washed the mud from his hands.

Looking at his reflection on the surface of the lake, the youth saw that his features still held a trace of boyishness, yet there was already a composure beyond his years, like a bluestone in a mountain stream worn smooth by years of mountain winds.

He warned himself again not to be weak, to yield not an inch, to train hard in martial arts, to seize his opportunities, and finally, to be himself.

He rose and stepped onto the stone bridge. Another unfamiliar young girl was approaching from the other side. Yu Tunzhou's mind tightened slightly, and at some point his body went taut as a great bowstring, ready to spring into action at any moment.

The girl, however, ambled along. Her exquisite little face, no bigger than a palm, was full of indifference and disdain. As she brushed past Yu Tunzhou, she gave a soft snort, seemingly mocking the youth's caution.

Yu Tunzhou suddenly frowned.

As they passed, he thought he had seen a glimmer of gold shine in the depths of the girl's eyes.

Was it an illusion, or a reflection of the sunlight?

He gave it no further thought and strode on.

Beneath the stone bridge, the river murmured, reflecting the sky and clouds as it had for hundreds and thousands of years. Today, it also reflected the youth's receding figure and the girl who had stopped in the middle of the bridge.

At the thought of the dragon Qi that had nearly overflowed from the youth who had just passed her, the indifference vanished from the girl's face, replaced by a fierce look as she ground her teeth.