An Opening

The weather was fine and sunny, with geese flying in formation across the sky.

Chu Tianshu was sitting on the city tower, enjoying the mountain scenery.

A large chair made him very comfortable, but a long table held no guqin (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).

Instead, it contained medicine bottles, pill boxes, brocade cases, lacquer cups, a blood-jade ruyi scepter, a phoenix-shaped mirror, and a long iron flute.

Chu Tianshu held the long flute in his hand, playing with it as his gaze shifted from the distant mountain scenery to the direction of Yingcheng.

In the military camp, a large number of soldiers have already changed into military equipment and armor and are practicing intensively.

These were all young and strong men with some martial arts skills, already able to adapt to sparring in armor, turning the entire camp into a place filled with murderous intent and awe-inspiring military might.

There were also a large number of soldiers who were not armored, wearing only a single layer of clothing, a headscarf, and leggings.

Each group of one hundred men, led by their centurion, carried huge logs on their shoulders, ran out of the camp, ran to the moat of the prefectural city, and then ran back to the military camp.

The centurions shouted commands loudly, and the soldiers running alongside them also exhaled and shouted, using the commands to breathe and adjust their rhythm.

"Good, very energetic."

Chu Tianshu couldn't help but smile when he heard their strong shouts.

Yu Danxia gracefully arrived, landing behind him. She bowed with her sword in her hands and said, "Master, another group of people came to visit just now. The leader is Jing Chao, the leader of the Resolute Sect in Jin Province."

The footprints of Shaolin disciples are truly all over the world, and the homes of the Beggars' Sect disciples are scattered Jiangnan.

The news of Chu Tianshu's brutal killing of the two old men spread far and wide after the battle in the courtyard that day.

Recently, messengers and letters from various forces have been arriving like snowflakes.

This situation can be roughly divided into four categories.

The first type is people from the martial arts world. Their letters are simply polite exchanges, casual conversations, and that's how they make a good first impression.

Many people in the underworld have established relationships with each other even though they've never met; this is how they do it.

This kind of relationship is the most superficial, and its intentions are the easiest to understand.

The second category consists of certain gangs that want to take the opportunity to annex the Beggars' Sect' Sect's branches or have their eyes on local gangs affiliated with Shaolin, and want to find out Chu Tianshu's attitude.

These people, in addition to receiving messengers, often also receive gifts, some of which are quite valuable.

The items on Chu Tianshu's table came from these gangs.

The third category surprisingly came from the government.

It's very mysterious. At least dozens of letters arrived from various provinces and prefectures, accompanied by some small but valuable gifts.

Besides some polite words and attempts to win him over, the letter also contained some veiled meanings. It even went so far as to analyze for Chu Tianshu which of the neighboring provinces and regions was particularly wealthy and which had a docile populace.

It's practically saying, "Better to die for your fellow Daoist than for me."

If you want to rebel, go somewhere else first; there are plenty of rich and foolish people there.

You can't hit me first after you've accepted my gift!

These letters actually made Chu Tianshu laugh.

Just when he thought he had a good enough understanding of the Great Yuan, these people always managed to come up with something new for him.

The fourth category, of course, consists of those who openly rebel and are on the wanted list.

The letters from these kinds of people vary greatly; some are extremely polite and humble, while others are very enthusiastic and generous, but they are all full of nonsense.

Some were more sincere, advising Chu Tianshu in their letters to consider temporarily avoiding the Great Yuan's advance and not to stay in one place for too long.

"Resolute Sect ----"

Chu Tianshu thought for a moment, "Oh, the fourth category? Then I'll treat you with the utmost hospitality."

During the Mongol Yuan's three western expeditions, hundreds of thousands of Western Regions were relocated back to the area. They made significant contributions in the battles to destroy the Southern Song and held a high position.

During Kublai Khan, they were allowed to cultivate land in places like Liangzhou. However, these men were originally fierce soldiers and had long been believers in other religions. They took advantage of the situation to monopolize the local trade in spices, jewelry, and other goods, and built temples and seized land. Few of them were content to cultivate the land.

Ordinary farmers who had long lived in Liangzhou and other places suffered greatly from oppression and hardship.

The Resolute Sect was originally a sect from Liangzhou. It is said that the sect's founder can be traced back to the end of the Han Dynasty. He was quite famous in the area and raised the banner of rebellion with a single call.

Unfortunately, the previous leader Jing Xiaomei, could not withstand the imperial court's encirclement and suppression, and passed the leadership to her younger brother Jing Chao.

Jing Chao led his followers to flee to Shanxi Province, where they joined a local rebel army.

"Master."

Yu Danxia reminded them, "They came in groups of several hundred, all seasoned swordsmen with outstanding auras. It seems they didn't just come to visit, but rather to seek refuge with us."

Chu Tianshu was a little surprised. "Oh?"

Just as he was about to get up and go back to check, he suddenly saw the Diba Deng also leap onto the city wall.

"Master, I've found out."

The Diba Deng said, "The Taiyuan rebels they joined had their leader die of illness, leading to internal strife. The Resolute Sect people were ostracized, and they happened to hear about what was happening here, so they decided to come and join us."

Chu Tianshu said in surprise, "Coming all the way from Taiyuan to Suzhou and Hangzhou to seek refuge, isn't that incredibly sincere?"

"People in the martial arts world are all fast on their feet."

The Diba Deng man's expression turned serious as he said, "Master, your reputation is truly immense now. Even if everyone knows that our place might become the target of everyone's attacks, there will always be those who want to take the risk."

"Resolute Sect has been wanted by the police for years and doesn't have his own territory, so it's not surprising that they would come to seek refuge here."

O

People like Resolute Sect are not actually the first batch.

However, the people who came before were in groups of three or five, at most ten or so people.

So far, this is the first time that hundreds of swordsmen have come together.

The Diba Deng was somewhat excited, rubbing his hands together and chuckling, "This is what they call instant fame and widespread admiration, isn't it? I never thought I'd actually witness something like this in a play."

"Those people looked travel-worn and haggard. Sun Liang arranged some food for them, and they're enjoying their meal. I think it's better for the leader to rest for the night before meeting them."

People in the martial arts world generally value appearances.

If possible, no one wants to be seen looking disheveled by the boss on their first day of joining him.

Chu Tianshu nodded. "Alright."

Yu Danxia is sincere and down-to-earth, with a very high emotional intelligence (Diba Deng).

Sun Liang —well, he knows a little bit of everything: he's literate, knows arithmetic, martial arts, medicine, and so on.

He is no novice when it comes to any kind of business required for managing an organization, making him well-suited to organize a group of people and take the lead in oversight.

With the right approach and the right environment, most people can develop their talents.

Chu Tianshu sat back down in his chair, stroked the iron flute, and closed his eyes to rest.

In this world, most of the things that are considered treasures by martial arts practitioners have special qualities in terms of affinity with vital energy.

Chu Tianshu appeared to be holding only a flute in his hand, his fingers deftly and casually touching the holes.

In fact, he was taking turns channeling his energy into the treasures in front of him, receiving feedback, and sensing their unique qualities.

Immediately apply the waveforms that you can understand and learn from to your own self-improvement.

For the "Mountain Collapse Combat Calculation," this is the best method of practice.

Yu Danxia and the Diba Deng could both sense that Chu Tianshu was always emitting some colorless and intangible ripples, which would then suddenly recede.

It seemed as if those ripples were striking the bones within his own body.

This feeling is actually wrong.

Chu Tianshu has already mastered the profound skill and true power, Double Leakless. He cannot yet find his own bones or what areas still need adjustment.

So, he was actually colliding with his own soul.

By using the detection and feedback from these treasures, one can forge their own soul, enabling their spirit to possess a higher affinity with vital energy.

Yu Danxia did not want to bother him any longer. After gazing at him for a moment, she quietly took her leave.

The Diba Deng hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Master, it's not enough for us to just grow stronger on our own. Should we send some spies to Dadu to find out what the court is planning to do against us?"

As the old saying goes, "Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated."

Chu Tianshu didn't open his eyes, but smiled and said, "Baiyu has already planted spies over there, so you don't need to worry about this."

Han Baiyu understood the importance of intelligence very well.

Before she died in her previous life, it was the peak of the spy drama genre. Whether it was set in ancient times, the Republic of China era, or a foreign country, it all had to be about espionage.

That really brings to mind the idea that all streams converge on espionage.

Back then, she went to Miao Territory to find some Miao Territory Gu Arts so she could transmit intelligence as quickly as possible. Finding Zhang Yining was an unexpected bonus.

Upon hearing this, the Diba Deng breathed a sigh of relief and felt very comfortable.

The flaws I could think of had already been covered up by my friends, which made me feel exceptionally pleased.

"I asked you to select three hundred warriors, how's that going?"

Chu Tianshu asked about something else.

Chu Tianshu has already extracted the Yaksha blood energy from the Monk Busha's body.

He tried a little himself, but felt the effect on himself wasn't very noticeable. Besides, soaking in an old monk's blood had a certain...

However, after figuring out the approximate effects and considering it carefully, he felt that finding three hundred young and strong martial artists who had not yet entered the Taboo to share the blood of the Yaksha was the best solution.

The Diba Deng scratched his face. "Martial arts skills, character, and temperament all need to meet the standards; it's really hard to find someone like that."

"I think we can definitely find some qualified people from the Resolute Sect, but they've just arrived—"

Chu Tianshu said, "Then let's have a medicinal bath for the people we've already found tonight."

Diba Deng nodded and turned to leave when he suddenly saw a figure flash by.

Chu Tianshu actually arrived in front of him and stood on the inward side of the city wall.

The Diba Deng asked in surprise, "What's wrong?"

"There's an uninvited guest."

Chu Tianshu's brows relaxed, and he inexplicably smiled.

"However, his timing was off, and his eyesight wasn't very good either."

Inside the Spirit-Calming Hall.

A wisp of colorless and formless water vapor drifted close to the ground, like a wise and nimble serpent, exploring everywhere.

Neither the busy minor officials in the corridors and courtyards, nor the Resolute Sect diligently eating in the halls, noticed anything amiss.

The water vapor didn't find its target either, so it continued to probe deeper.

Suddenly, a faint sound, like an eggshell cracking, came from a room in a small courtyard.

A profound and lingering aura of Celestial Person emanated from that small room.

"We do not know where our esteemed guest comes from, nor why he/she is hiding in seclusion."

The door opened wide, and a refined young man in white stepped out, his gaze fixed on the wisp of steam.

The young man had bright eyes and white teeth, his hair was tied up with white silk, and he wore a robe and trousers made of snow-white silk.

Even the belt appeared to be woven from silk, pure white and flawless.

"Where is this top-quality silk produced? I've traveled extensively throughout the north and south, and I've never seen anything like it. You're truly a discerning person."

The water vapor secretly praised itself, then expanded and transformed into a transparent, faceless humanoid shape.

He noticed that Heavenly Maiden Han, whom he had met once before, was with the young man, and immediately understood.

"We are all comrades in the fight against the Yuan dynasty. I have come here today to learn from you and see if your great reputation truly justifies your actions in upholding the banner of anti-Yuan sentiment."

The faceless man lowered his body slightly, spread his arms, and assumed a boxing stance.

"Please confess!"

Zhang Yining understood immediately, reached out and pinched her earlobe, about to explain.

The faceless man's eyes lit up.

There's a flaw!

The faceless man immediately attacked!