The Nine Cauldrons

Book 3 Chapter 16 - 30

Book 3 Chapter 16 My Name Is Teng Qingshan

"Qin San, do you know this young brother?" Master Li suspiciously asked.

Qin San was puzzled too.

He didn't know the young fellow in front of him, but Qin San heard from his master, and knew that the person standing in front of him was a friend of the Gui Yuan Sect's Young Sovereign. Thus, he immediately cupped his hands and said, "This brother's name is Qin San, but I'm afraid that I am not familiar with a figure such as yourself!"

At this moment, Teng Qinghu, who had reacted slowly, finally caught up.

"You don't know me?" Teng Qingshan's face was unnaturally cold.

"Qin San! Do you still recognize your grandfather?" With a loud shout, Teng Qinghu ran into the room like a frenzied tiger and grabbed the solid wooden chair beside him. With the strength of several thousand Jin, he threw it furiously at Qin San

"Hu!"

The chair was aimed right on Qin San's head. Slightly stunned, Qin San became angry. "Where did this son of bitch come from?!" At the same time, he pulled out a long sword from his waist and ruthlessly hacked the wooden chair.

"Bang!"

The wooden chair cracked, the pieces flying everywhere. Some smashed against Qin San, and others hit the food on the table, causing the plates to break and the meal to splash out. Li Qingyu suddenly screamed as she bent down to protect her son.

"Stop!" Li Qingyu and her husband, Liu Rufeng, yelled simultaneously.

But how could Teng Qingshan stop once he was blinded by anger? One of the three handicapped villagers was his neighbour, who had cared for him and watched him grow up. Even Teng Qinghu was especially fond of his Second Uncle. When Teng Qinghu first joined the hunting team, it was this Second Uncle who had taken care of him.

In that battle with the bandits, Second Uncle broke one leg! A good man's life was ruined!

"Go die!" Teng Qinghu lowered his body and swiped his leg.

"Qinghu!" Teng Qingshan hastily shouted.

This time, they didn't come equipped with any weapons. Even if Teng Qinghu had his spear, he couldn't guarantee that he would win, let alone without his weapon.

"You are seeking death!" Qin San was also a vicious and merciless person. Qin San had tried to refrain from provoking anyone, so who dared to provoke him? Since someone was trying to kill him, how could he care about anything else? He jumped and dodged Teng Qinghu's leg. At the same time, the long sword in his right hand smashed down firmly.

Teng Qinghu grabbed the leg from a nearby square desk.

"Hu!"

The big desk flew through the air directly towards Qin San.

"Humph." Qin San sneered. His long sword split the table and continued its path towards Teng Qinghu without stopping.

At this moment——

"Xiu!"

A ray of cold light flashed in the room!

"Ah!" A cry resounded as Qin San's long sword fell from his hand.

"DIE!" Teng Qinghu kicked upwards, aiming for Qin San's chest. Qin San's left hand covered his right hand, and at the same time the kick made contact, Qin San's right foot lightly brushed against Teng Qinghu's leg. His whole body flew back three meters, lessening the force of impact while he landed.

His face was pale, left hand holding onto his right wrist.

There was a knife stabbed onto his right wrist!

"That flying knife was so fast!" With eyes that flashed a cold ray of light, Liu Rufeng couldn't help but look at the Teng Qingshan, who had thrown the flying knife within in an instant. Teng Qingshan had seen that Teng Qinghu was in danger, so he helped by wounding Qin San's wrist.

"Stop! Please allow us to understand what it is you want us to do!" Master Li yelled.

"Little bastard, die."

The other two guards saw the knife cut through their junior brother's wrists, so they couldn't help but get angry.

"Kuang!" Kuang!" They made slight noises as they drew their long swords.

"Stop." Master Li shouted at them.

"Master!" One of the guards answered in a hurry. Master Li said in a cold tone, "Let's clear up some misunderstandings first!" Then, he looked at Teng Qingshan, who was near the door. At this moment, Young Sovereign Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing arrived outside of the room.

With a displeased face, Master Li said, "Young Sovereign, what problem troubles your friend? Without asking if he was right or wrong, he came in and wanted to kill my guard, ruined my pleasant feast."

Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing were also very confused.

However, Zhuge Yun smiled and said, "Master Li, why are you so angry? It's just a table of food. If we have caused you any injustice, I will give buy you another one. But first, we need see who is right and who is wrong. Don't you agree?"

"I want to know what's going on too!" Master Li retorted with a cold voice.

"Big Brother Teng, what's happening?" Zhuge Yun looked at Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qinghu angrily shouted, "What's happening? Let this *** called Qin San say it himself!" He stared firmly at Qin San, who was holding his wrist. "Qin San, you didn't forget about Teng Jia Village and the ten thousand taels of silver, right?"
(TL: This was originally censored. Some too offensive words... )

Teng Qingshan was also menacingly staring at Qin San.

"Teng Jia Village? Ten thousand taels of silver?" Qin San was confused as well.

All these years working for Master Li, Qin San had secretly made a lot of money through corrupt ways. But those were all small affairs that Master Li chose to ignore. Furthermore, it happened seven years ago. As for 'Teng Jia Village', there were countless villages in this world with a similar name, such as 'Li Jia Village' and 'Wang Jia Village'. How could Qin San remember?

"Who are you?!" Qin San pulled out the flying knife from his wrist and pressed his acupoint to stop the bleeding. Stepping two steps forward to stand beside his two martial brothers, he shouted angrily, "I don't even know you!"

"Young Sovereign, you heard that, right? Master Li said with a low voice.

"Hu!"

Teng Qingshan moved instantly, creating a breeze in the room, the two martial brothers beside Qin San changed their facial expression. "You are seeking death!" They pointed the swords in their hands as they shouted, but after two "peng!" "peng!" sounds, they flew backwards.

Once they landed on the ground heavily with blood dripping from their mouths, the two crawled up with fear in their eyes.

"Expert!" The two martial brothers were both of the Postliminary Realm, but they didn't think they could survive one round against Teng Qingshan even when holding long swords. They didn't know that Teng Qingshan was originally a Grandmaster of the Xing Yi Martial Arts who was extremely proficient at close-quarters combat, even without weapons.

With Teng Qingshan's keen eyesight, he could direct two smashing fists and maximize the two persons' injuries.

......

Without his martial brothers beside him, Qin San didn't know what to do!

"Ah!" Qin San frenziedly thrusted his perfectly fine left hand like a steel claw, stabbing it towards Teng Qingshan's head. No one doubted that Qin San's fingers could stab through a person's skull.

Teng Qingshan extended his hand, grabbed Qin San's wrist, and twisted!

"Crack!"

Qin San bent his waist, his face turning pale because of the pain. "Who are you! I don't know you!"

"Don't know us?" Teng Qing Shan started at him emotionlessly. "Seven years ago! You ordered 182 Frost Jade Sabers and gave us ten thousand taels of silver. Thirty men from our Teng Jia Village delivered them to Yi Ciy's Yangzhou Merchant Guild. Do you remember now?"

Qin San's eyes popped out like small balls. "Those dead villagers?"

In Qin San's eyes, that group of villagers had already been killed by bandits a long time ago. Even though the bandits didn't succeed and instead were killed, no one had delivered the news to Qin San.

"Haha, the dead villagers?" Teng Qingshan sneered. "Yes, yes, we almost died. Luckily... those bandits weren't great at fighting. They couldn't kill us, and in reverse, they were killed by our clansmen. But we knew...that it was you! You leaked information to the bandits, saying that we had ten thousand taels of silver, right?!"

Qin San's eyes were filled with disbelief.

Teng Qinghu also snarled, "You bastard! Back then when we went to Yangzhou Merchant Guild, I knew you weren't a good person. Frost Jade Sabers, you told your master one saber was worth a hundred and fifty taels of silver, but you gave us only one hundred. Later, you purposely used inner strength to break one in order frame us so that you wouldn't have to give us the ten thousand taels!"

"You f*cking are a big figure? An inner strength expert? You couldn't let go of your money, so you took it out on us poor villagers! I will never forget that fight with the bandits! Second Uncle's life was wasted, and now he often sits on the side of the practice room, blankly looking at the other clansmen practice spear techniques, secret wiping away his tears! You motherf*cker, it was all you!" Teng Qinghu was practically growling.

Other than Teng Qinghu's growl, everyone else quieted down.

Everyone now understood how the incident had transpired.

"It's them, Father, they are that group of villagers," Li Qingyu quietly said.

"I know." Master Li's facial expression wasn't pleasant.

Mater Li knew that his guard Qin San's hands weren't clean. However, this Qin San was very smart; he understood what kind of people he could afford to offend and what kind of people he couldn't. Qin San had worked for him for all these years, and he had never caused any major problems.

Master Li never cared.

Who would know....

From that group of poor villagers back then, two experts would actually emerged. So, the poor villagers' revenge had finally arrived.

"This must be brother Teng." Master Li smile and said, "I understand the whole incident, and it was all my guard's fault. However, what happened back then can't be undone. I hope brother Teng can do me a favor and spare his life. I will make sure to compensate you nicely."

When Teng Qingshan turned around and looked at Master Li, he sneered coldly.

"Master Li, if I killed your daughter and son-in-law and gave you some money in compensation, would you be satisfied?" Teng Qingshan stared at him. At the same time, a flying knife appeared in his left hand.

Master Li became startled.

He didn't doubt that Teng Qingshan was about to throw the flying knife.

"This...." Master Li hesitated.

"So, you'd better shut up." Teng Qingshan's eyesight was sharp and cold. He turned around and looked at the Qin San, whose wrist he had cut with his flying knife. "Qin San, in your eyes back then, the poor villagers were ants that you could step on if you wished. Today in my eyes, you are the ant. Right now, I want to step on you!"

The siblings, Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing, were quietly watching this scene.

Zhuge Qing was scared; she never expected that Teng Qingshan, who was always smiling, polite, and steady, had a side that could be this terrifying and heartless.

Zhuge Yun, however, was the opposite. His eyes were flashing with the light of excitement.

"Stop!" The other two martial brothers both yelled. One of them, named 'Qin Da', even yelled, "Brother Teng, my junior brother was wrong for this incident, but please spare his life. He is our Gold Sword Clan's disciple, so if you kill him, you will be our enemy. Even if he were to die, it should be taken care of within our clan. Please..."

Qin San's eyes still showed his hope to survive.

"Qingshan, kill him. Even when I'm dreaming, all I can think of is killing this bastard!" Teng Qinghu yelled. Teng Qingshan extended his left arm and grabbed Qin San's throat.

"No——" Qin San's facial expression changed drastically.

Teng Qingshan stared at Qin San heartlessly and exerted force from his fingers.

"Pa!"

It was the sound of bones cracking!

Qin San desperately tried to breathe, but he could no longer do so. His face was ghostly pale, his eyes containing a myriad of emotions: unwillingness, fear, and hatred. Soon after, his eyes completely dimmed. When Teng Qingshan let go, Qin San fell to the ground softly.

He was dead!

"You, you..." The two martial brothers were obviously indignant.

"I will kill my enemies myself. I have no need for your Gold Sword Clan's help!" Teng Qingshan glanced at the two coldly. "If any of you from the Gold Sword Clan wants to look for revenge, I will be available at any time! Qinghu, let's go!"

Teng Qinghu glanced at Qin San's body, which was lying on the floor. He furiously spat and cursed, "Piece of dog sh*t!" and then followed Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu turned around and walked towards the door. When they were halfway to the door, Teng Qingshan suddenly stopped. Turning around, he looked at the two martial brothers and said, "By the way, when your Gold Sword Clan looks for revenge, don't mistake the wrong person! Listen carefully! My name is Teng Qingshan!"

Book 3 Chapter 17 The Sixth Stage

Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu walked towards the door.

Standing in front of the door, the Young Sovereign Zhuge Yun looked at the two Qin brothers with a ridiculing smile as he spoke, "Gold Sword Clan? Haha... you actually have the audacity to threaten my Gui Yuan Sect's members? Even the Gold Sword Clan's leader wouldn't dare speak such words in the territory of the Gui Yuan Sect, much less you two junior disciples." A faint smile appeared on his face.

The eldest of the Qin brothers froze.

"This...Young...Young Sovereign..." Qin Er stammered with the urge to speak but had no idea what to say.

"Young Sovereign, these two young fellows were being immature. They said it in order to save their martial brother, since in this world, family is the most important! Regarding this matter, Qin San wasn't being reasonable, so there's no one to blame for his death. I hope the Young Sovereign won't blame us for this." Master Li hastily said at that moment.

"Humph!"

The Young Sovereign Zhuge Yun sneered coldly and turned his head, leaving with Teng Qingshan, Teng Qinghu, and his sister.

The shabby, private room then became silent.

"You two were reckless!" Master Li's face fell as he rebuked Qin Da and Qin Er. "Qin San's hands weren't clean. He provoked someone, so it wouldn't matter if he died! Don't you two notice whom you're speaking to before you talk big?! That was the Gui Yuan Sect! Your Gold Sword Clan's days have been leisurely and carefree. Do you think your enemies were not powerful enough? Or do you think it was easy for Old Brother Wang to support the Gold Sword Clan? If we fall afoul with the Gui Yuan Sect because of you two...I am afraid the Gold Sword Clan won't be able to hold on any longer."

Qin Da and Qin Er immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

In the Nine Prefectures, the sects also had high and low rankings.

There were eight supreme sects in the Nine Prefectures, and each sect was unquestionably extremely powerful.

As for the Gui Yuan Sect, it was able to rule a single county and had been passed down for over a thousand years. The Gui Yuan Sect was deeply-rooted and firmly planted. With Sovereign Zhuge Yuanhong, who was an extremely powerful expert in the Nine Prefectures....The Gui Yuan Sect was considered a great sect in the Nine Prefectures.

Among the thirteen counties of Yangzhou, the nine counties controlled by Qing Hu Island plus the two counties controlled by the Gui Yuan Sect and the Tie Yi Hall were considered slightly more peaceful. On the other hand, the lands of the other two counties were extremely chaotic.

In Xuyang County, there were over ten small sects, and there were many forces filled with bandits.

Those sects that had a long lifespan were established for at least a hundred years while those that had a short lifespan were destroyed within ten years. New sects would then be established again. When these sects were being compared with the Gui Yuan Sect, it would be like ants being compared with an elephant. The difference was really too large. Although the Gold Sword Clan was considered a rather powerful sect in the Xuyang County, it was still far-off when compared with the Gui Yuan Sect.

Because the Gold Sword Clan didn't even have a single expert.

"Qin Da," Liu Rufeng furrowed his brow and said, "In the past, I have always thought of you as sensible when doing things; why were you so foolish today?! Regarding Teng Qingshan's ability, I think unless you ask the leader of the Gold Sword Clan himself to come help, otherwise, I am afraid no one can defeat him!"

Liu Rufeng was a core disciple of Qing Hu Island.

However, he had heard of the names of some famous experts during his stay in Qing Hu Island, especially the Sovereign Zhuge Yuanhong. Who would provoke Zhuge Yuanhong of the Nine Prefectures?

Qin Da replied helplessly with a sad expression. "Although third brother's character was slightly bad, he had practiced martial arts with me since we were young. It had been more than a dozen years, creating a deep bond between us. When that Teng Qingshan wanted to kill third brother, I was worried, and so I said it that way. I just hoped he could have given our Gold Sword Clan some face and spared third brother's life!"

"It's eldest brother's and my fault for being weak." A sense of sadness appeared on Qin Er's face as he said these words.

Master Li lowered his head and glanced at Qin San, who had already died, and let out a sigh. He then spoke, "Enough is enough. Give Qin San a grand burial and let this thing go. Never mention this again! That Teng Qingshan is so young but so powerful and has a deep connection with the Young Sovereign. I am afraid he will be placed in a high position in the future. It would be better not to offend him!"

At this point, Master Li and his whole family compensated Canvass Lunar Restaurant with some silver and returned home.

Teng Qingshan and the other three walked along the main center street, passed the bridge over the canal, and walked along the east river embankment of the Yu Yang Grand Canal.

"I didn't expect that a day in the life of a commoner was like this." During the journey, Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing asked the two for some stories that happened in the Teng Jia Village. Zhuge Yun then said full of scorn, "It was good those people were killed. Those kinds of scumbags deserve death!"

"Young Sovereign..." Teng Qingshan opened his mouth.

Zhuge Yun said unsatisfyingly, "Big brother Teng, I called you brother. I really don't like people calling me Young Sovereign. Yes, it would be fine if you called me Xiao Yun.

Teng Qingshan froze for a second and immediately flashed a smile, "Alright. Xiao Yun, I would like to inquire about this Gold Sword Clan....Where is this clan from that it would dare to say such threatening words?"

The house had its rules, and the military had its rules!

During the celebratory dinner on the first day after Teng Qingshan joined the Black Armored Army, the army brothers all told Teng Qingshan the rules of the Black Armored Army.

The rules were simple!

When getting into fights outside, whether you were being reasonable or not, win the fight first! No matter what, don't ruin the name of the Black Armored Army!

The words were this straightforward!

However, secretly, the Black Armored soldiers thought of it this way——as long as it wasn't against the members of the Eight Supreme Sects, the members of the other sects could be beaten first regardless of the consequences. At least they still needed to give the Eight Supreme Sects some face. As for that Qing Hu Island, since it occupied nine counties, it was a lot stronger than the Gui Yuan Sect.

"I have never heard of this sect." Teng Qingshan said as he mocked himself. During the first day he entered the Black Armored Army, Teng Qingshan remembered the names of the Eight Supreme Sects of the Nine Prefectures!

"That is just a small sect from Xuyang County!" Zhuge Yun said uncaringly. He then continued to explain, "In the region of Yangzhou and in the eleven counties controlled by Qing Hu Island, the Tie Yi Hall, and the Gui Yuan Sect, it is forbidden for others to establish sects. Therefore, the two remaining counties had many kinds of small sects. However, those sects were just small and weak sects. As for the Gold Sword Clan....Humph...if we wanted to obliterate it, just leading a unit of men would be enough to destroy it completely with ease.

"Oh. That sect is from Xuyang County." Teng Qingshan said in realization.

Gong Yangqing was from Xuyang County.

Xuyang County and Tiannan County were considered the most chaotic counties of Yangzhou.

Under normal circumstances, it was rare for disciples from a large sect to descend into becoming a guard in the house of a wealthy merchant. For sects like Qing Hu Island and Gui Yuan Sect, the government was always a powerful alternative for its disciples.

Being a government official obviously looked more appropriate than being a guard.

"A small sect of the Xuyang County dared to be so arrogant?" Teng Qinghu glared.

"Big Brother Qinghu, those two were just the junior disciples of the Gold Sword Clan who didn't know their own positions." Zhuge Yun humphed and continued saying, "My father often said that no matter who the members of our Gui Yuan face, win the fight first! As long as they're not doing some evil thing, the Gui Yuan Sect will support them!"

Teng Qingshan laughed as he listened.

These were the words that only a truly great sect would dare to say!

"By the way," Zhuge Yun suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Big Brother Teng, when you defeated the two people today, you dashed before them in a flash and blasted them away before they even had a chance to block. Those two should have been First Rated Warriors. The strength and speed that Big Brother Teng showed were stronger than the strength and speed you showed yesterday."

During the competition for the centurions, Teng Qingshan relied on a long spear from the beginning to the end. His strength and speed were quite ordinary. However, when facing the two First Rated Warriors today, Teng Qingshan's bare hands showed an overwhelming advantage.

"Oh, this was thanks to that«Vigor of the Reckless Bull»." Teng Qingshan smiled.

Zhuge Qing, who had been quietly observing nearby, spoke with a slightly surprised tone, " «Vigor of the Reckless Bull»?«Vigor of the Reckless Bull» of the Black Armored Army? How did your improvement in ability have anything to do with that?"

"I practiced this«Vigor of the Reckless Bull»to the sixth stage; therefore, my explosive force and speed experienced great improvement." Teng Qingshan answered directly.

"Ah!" Zhuge Yun yelled in surprise.

"The sixth stage?" Zhuge Qing was shocked. But because her face was covered by a veil, Zhuge Qing's expression couldn't be seen clearly.

"Qingshan, you...you have reached the sixth stage?" Teng Qinghu was also surprised.

"Only a day has passed." Zhuge Yun could hardly believe it.

Teng Qingshan smiled and nodded, "Yes. Although it was just a day, but....my eight extraordinary meridians are mostly opened. Therefore, I practiced to the sixth level in one breath. There is no problem. However...this «Vigor of the Reckless Bull» is powerful indeed. It improved my ability a lot!"

Zhuge Yun suddenly realized something, but he was even more surprised.

"Brother, we have arrived at the north gate." Zhuge Qing said.

When they first entered the sect for the examination, Teng Qingshan came in from the west gate. However, they were returning home from the north gate of the Gui Yuan Sect.

"Big Brother Teng, I really admire you more and more. Yes....My sister and I will be returning to our residence. Big Brother Teng and Big Brother Qinghu also have to go back to the barracks. Let us separate here." Zhuge Yun said with a smile. Immediately after he spoke his words, the two siblings left.

Teng Qingshan gazed at the view of Zhuge Yun's back as it gradually disappeared.

"He now knows that I have practiced to the sixth stage....This news will probably be delivered to Zhuge Yuanhong very quickly!" Teng Qingshan thought silently as he said to himself, "In Zhuge Yuanhong's eyes, my background is clean and is worth the price to be invited to their side. I guess they will make their move soon!"

"Qinghu, let's go back."

Teng Qingshan immediately turned his head and walked towards the barracks of the Black Armed Army with Teng Qinghu.
......

Today had been the day to kill Qin San; therefore, Teng Qingshan didn't hesitate at all.

Because this was the world of the warriors! Fighting and killing happened very often. It was normal for the disciples of those small sects to die. Especially since Teng Qingshan was a member of the Gui Yuan Sect, how could the Gold Sword Clan have the audacity to provoke him?

Venturing in the Nine Prefectures, Teng Qingshan also thought about the security problems of Teng Jia Village.

If it was any of the ordinary sects, Teng Qingshan did not fear them!

Because even the warriors in the Postliminary Realm would die easily when they went against an army of a thousand people, especially an encirclement filled with heavy armored warriors.

For example, the third leader of the Tie Shan Gang was a warrior that had reached the pinnacle of the Postliminary Realm, but he was killed by the attacks of the White Horse Battalion. Although the warriors practiced their inner strength, their bodies were still very weak. Two fists couldn't win against four hands, and a warrior besieged by a powerful army wouldn't stand a chance.

The Teng Jia Village of today possessed hundreds of heavy armored warriors and archers. With such forces, even mounted gangsters wouldn't dare to provoke them.

The three thousand bandits of the Yan Shan Gang had been massacred to the point that the remaining members fled.

Ordinary warriors of the Postliminary Realm didn't dare to provoke a village like this, and they could already be considered a powerful gang.

Among the warriors who have reached the Postliminary Realm...besides Teng Qingshan, that monster, I am afraid there probably isn't anyone that was able to battle against more than a thousand courageous men!
......

As Teng Jia Village itself was very powerful, Teng Qingshan had nothing to fear....In the Nine Prefectures, fighting between one another rarely involved the clans. If Teng Qingshan was unable to kill a person, then would he try to obliterate the person's clan?

This kind of thing.... Except for some insane person, other would think of doing this.

After all, it would cause the whole world to despise you.

Book 3 Chapter 18 A change of heart?

Zhuge Yun he and his sister Zhuge Qing, who had already taken off her veil, were walking on a small path within the Gui Yuan Sect.

"Sister," Zhuge Yun shouted, but Zhuge Qing didn't respond.

"Sister!" Zhuge Yun tried again.

"Ah!" Only just now had Zhuge Qing woken up from her daydream, noticing her brother's smiling gaze. Thinking about what happened a moment ago, she couldn't help but blush a bit and asked, "Brother, why are you shouting?"

"What were you just daydreaming about, you only heard me after shouting a few times," Zhuge Yun chuckled.

"Just now, I ...... " Zhuge Qing cheek started to turn red.

Zhuge Yun whispered, "Little girl, could it be that you have a crush on a young genius ? Could it be Big Brother Teng?" Zhuge Qing blushed so much that it seemed blood was about to ooze out of her cheeks. She replied, somewhat ashamed and angry, "Brother, leave me alone." Actually, with Zhuge Qing's age, she would be an adult after the Yearly Ceremony and was in the period where a young girl started to fall in love.

Zhuge Qing's standard was really high due to having a talented big brother like Zhuge Yun. She didn't pay any attention to other ordinary youths from the sect.

When Teng Qingshan went out and competed for the centurion position, Zhuge Qing had already noticed Teng Qingshan. This time she came because they invited Teng Qingshan for dinner. The important thing was......This time when Teng Qingshan killed that Qin San, his fortitude overawed Zhuge Qing.

Zhuge Qing didn't know if it was due to fear or some other factor, but Teng Qingshan had made a deep impression in her heart.

If talking about filling in love, it would be a bit too early.

However, in Zhuge Qing's heart there was at least Teng Qingshan's shadow.

"It seems I guessed correctly. No wonder, it wouldn't be strange to like an outstanding hero like Big Brother Teng. These martial sisters in the Gui Yuan Sect already came to ask me about Big Brother Teng, the 16 years old First Rated Warrior."

"Sister, you must be careful. If Big Brother Teng got taken away, it would be too late to regret it." Zhuge Yun teased with a smile.

"Humph, brother always likes to tease me. "Zhuge Qing turned her head and intentionally avoided Zhuge Yun, but there were some doubts in her heart: "Do I really love Big Brother Teng?"

Love was always a confusing matter.

Whether it was real love was very difficult to determine.

At that moment, many thoughts gushed out of Zhuge Qing's heart, and it became very chaotic.

"Where did you both go so late?!" At this time, a familiar voice resounded from the distance.

When Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing turned their heads to have a look, they saw Zhuge Yuanhong wearing a white gown while sitting in front a checkerboard. He sat there alone, holding a Chinese chess manual, and in front of him the checkerboard was arranged with a complex layout of pieces.

"Father!" Zhuge Yun and Zhuge Qing shouted while simultaneously walking towards him.

"Father, you're playing chess again. I'll massage your shoulders." Zhuge Qing ran behind Zhuge Yuanhong and started to massage Zhuge Yuanhong's back.

"Yun'er, where did you go?" Zhuge Yuanhong asked with a smile.

Zhuge Yuanhong was a relatively benevolent father. Although his son and daughter were always a bit awed in front of their father, they were usually very playful around him.

"Sister and I went and invited Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu to go out for dinner." Zhuge Yun said before he reluctantly continued, "However, I never would have expected that we would encounter trouble during the middle of our dinner. Brother Teng Qingshan ran into an old foe and killed him out of anger."

"Oh?" Zhuge Yuanhong's complexion didn't change in the slightest, and he said with a faint smile, "Let me hear this story in more detail."

"Father, it was like this." Zhuge Yun immediately started to tell the story. Lady Qing, who was massaging their father's shoulders, would add details her brother missed from time to time. In a few minutes, they had told the whole story.

Zhuge Yuanhong listened, before nodding and saying: "Teng Qingshan's killing intent is really decisive!"

Regarding the so-called Gold Sword Clan, Zhuge Yuanhong didn't care in the slightest ......In Zhuge Yuanhong's eyes, that Gold Sword Clan was nothing more than an ant that he could trample to death. It wasn't worth ruining his mood thinking about them.

"By the way, Father." Lady Qing continued, "When Big Brother Teng killed that man called Qin San today, he easily defeated that man's two fellow apprentices. Afterward we asked Big brother Teng ...... and unexpectedly, we've found that he's already reached the sixth level of Vigor of the Reckless Bull!"

"What sister said is true." Zhuge Yun said excitedly, "It was indeed the sixth stage. In merely one days time, he's already achieved the sixth stage of Vigor of the Reckless Bull. Teng Qingshan said that he's opened most of the eight extraordinary meridians, and that's why he could cultivate so quickly."

"Oh?" Zhuge Yuanhong eyes lit up.

Lady Qing continued: "If Big Brother Teng and Big Brother Yue Song competed now, Big Brother Teng would definitely defeat Big Brother Yue Song with ease." Immediately, a hint of cunningness flashed in Lady Qing's eyes, before whispering, "Father, Big Brother Teng has already reached the sixth stage, but that stone only has the first six stages of the secret technique. Shouldn't we give Big brother Teng the cultivation methods for the remaining three stages?"

Zhuge Yun shot a look at his younger sister and smiled.

"That's right, Father. Big Brother Teng doesn't have a secret technique to cultivate, so his strength can't improve. It's a waste of time." Zhuge Yun also said.

"It seems that you two have a pretty good relationship with Teng Qingshan."

"However, the Vigor of the Reckless Bull is a medium Human Class secret technique of my Gui Yuan Sect! The first six stages are available to the public, but the latter three can't be easily made available. After all, Teng Qingshan just entered my Black Armored Army." Zhuge Yuanhong continued, "Once he's stayed in the Black Armored Army for several years or contributed some great merit, we can talk about it again."

"Several years? Contributed to some great merit?" Lady Qing was gentle and quiet in front of others, but in front of her father she liked to act like a spoiled princess, "Didn't Father allow Yue Song to read all our Human Class secret techniques? He also just entered the sect."

"He is he, and Teng Qingshan is Teng Qingshan." Zhuge Yuanhong intentionally didn't agree since Yue Song was Wei Wuya's disciple. Zhuge Yuanhong was entrusted him by Wei Wuya, therefore he would of course give the warmest hospitality towards Yue Song, who was also a junior nephew.

Lady Qing stood there sullen and deliberately didn't speak.

"Oh, it seems like my baby daughter has taken a liking to that Teng Qingshan. If it's like that......Yun'er, you accompany Qing Qing and go to the secret chamber to take out a complete copy of Vigor of the Reckless Bull. Choose a time and give it to that Teng Qingshan!" Zhuge Yuanhong helplessly said, "There's no other way. If my daughter wants to give Teng Qingshan the secret technique and I don't give in, then in the future nobody would give her father a shoulder massage, ah."

"Yes, Father!" Zhuge Yun readily replied.

Lady Qing's face reddened a bit.

"Father, I'll go back and sleep now." Lady Qing quickly ran away and left.

"Father, I'll also go back first." Zhuge Yun said and left as well.

Zhuge Yuanhong looked at his pair of children and a smile appeared on his face. He then looked in the direction of the Black Armored Army, "That Teng Qingshan unexpectedly reached the sixth stage in one go. It seems I guessed right, he indeed had some fortuitous discovery and ate some natural treasure with so much inner strength. That natural treasure changed his constitution and helped him break through so many meridians...... I will just give you the Vigor of the Reckless Bull and see how far you can reach with it! Want to be my son-in-law? Show me what you got!"

Zhuge Yuanhong could no longer spend time on it and immersed himself in his chess game.

......

Late at night.

Teng Qinghu was already asleep, but Teng Qingshan calmly sat cross-legged in the courtyard to meditate. He had already practiced the Internal Martial Arts to the pinnacle, and whether it was his internal organs or his blood flow, Teng Qingshan could already control them perfectly. While in this calm state of meditation, his breathing was so weak that it was barely detectable, having slowed down to once every few minutes.

While sitting cross-legged, it was like a spatial boundary. If he meditated for an hour, it was the same as catching up to 3-4 hours of sleep.

When the darkness of the dawn broke and the first ray of light appeared between heaven and earth, Teng Qingshan opened his eyes.

Teng Qingshan immediately got up to practice the Three Body Postures until tea time before finally stopping: "In the past, he achieved the Grandmaster Realm of Internal Martial Arts, and everyone thought that it was the ultimate level. Founder Ji Jike created the«Godly Tiger Form Technique»so that he could advance further even after reaching the Grandmaster Realm! Could I now be like founder Ji Jike, and use the previous people's foundation to create a stronger secret technique while improving the Internal Martial Arts' might?"

Internal Martial Arts was Teng Qingshan's foundation.

As of now, the«Godly Tiger Form Technique»was no longer useful to Teng Qingshan since his body strength had already reached a limit and was unable to improve again.

"Within the Three Postures of Xing Yi Martial Arts, I can only look for the answer within the Three Body Postures. However, how do I find it?" Teng Qingshan also felt that from evolving his spear arts, his Internal Martial Arts Realm would also improve to a point higher than he had ever reached in his past. However, this was temporarily unhelpful and didn't improve his physical qualities.

"Forget it, nobody was able to break through and reach a higher realm of Internal Martial Arts for thousands of years. This cannot be rushed! To enhance my strength, the only method is to improve my inner strength!" Teng Qingshan knew this very clearly.

Now he cultivated the Vigor of the Reckless Bull to the sixth stage.

With his meridians' capacity, he had an explosive force of 30,000 Jin. In addition, with his powerful arm strength of 180,000 Jin, his would be able to burst out 200,000 Jin from his arms by combining both inner strength and physical strength.

Regarding powerful warriors.

Most were relatively weak. Those with 1,000-2,000 Jin of physical strength would be counted as quite strong, but it could be ignore when compared to their inner strength. However, Teng Qingshan was the opposite, since his body was stronger.

"Unfortunately, I have only the first six stages of the Vigor of the Reckless Bull! I don't know when I can get the last three stages." Teng Qingshan thought to himself.

......

That same morning, the sergeants of the Black Armored Army started their morning practice after breakfast.

"He!" "Ha!"

The sergeants were wearing heavy armor and continuously stabbed out with their spears.

Teng Qingshan was practicing his Spear Art beside his hundred man team; however it was different than his sergeants. In Teng Qingshan's hands, the long spear was as fast as lightning and left dozens of afterimages in its wake. One spear shadow after another appeared. It was as if the Reincarnation Spear existed endlessly.

"My Lord!"

"My Lord!"

The sergeants who were practicing suddenly shouted.

"Hm?" Teng Qingshan turned his head to look at the sergeants and one of them pointed at a place far off in the distance: "My Lord, there!"

Teng Qingshan turned his head to look and saw that Zhuge Qing, who was wearing a green gown, was waving at him from inside the training field. Teng Qingshan put away his spear and walked towards her.

"Lady Qing, how come you've come here?" Teng Qingshan asked somewhat surprised.

"Ah, it's my brother." Zhuge Qing said, "He asked Father for this book of Vigor of the Reckless Bull yesterday to give to you. However, right now he is cultivating and doesn't have the time, therefore he made me come to give it to you. This is the complete book and has all nine stages."

Book 3 Chapter 19 Reckless Bull Power Burst, Ninth Stage!

"It's nothing much. I was free, so I came over." Lady Qing revealed a smiled on her face and immediately took out the book from her bag to give it to Teng Qingshan. "Here, for you!"

Taking the book, Teng Qingshan could still feel some body heat radiating from the cover. When he looked down on this book, he noticed that there were five words on the cover: "Vigor of the Reckless Bull"!

He finally obtained it!

Now that he received the last three stages of "Vigor of the Reckless Bull", he could improve his strength once more.

"Ah." Lady Qing continued, "I won't disturb Big Brother Teng's morning practice anymore. I'll go back first." Before Teng Qingshan even had time to say anything, Lady Qing had already dashed away. In the cold winter morning, Lady Qing's clothes fluttered in the wind. Just looking at her sprint away in her robes was already a worldly pleasure.

Teng Qingshan smiled and placed the secret technique manual in his bosom. He then turned his head to return to the training field in order to continue practicing his Spear Arts.

Giving off furious roars, the sergeants of the Black Armored Army were training hard, but many of the centurions paused as they witnessed Teng Qingshan meeting Lady Qing before separating in different directions.

"Hey, did you see that? Lady Qing and brother Qingshan talking together. It seems......they are very close."

"Haha, brother Qingshan is a young hero. From my point of view, Lady Qing and brother Qingshan fit each other well. Now the number one flower of Gui Yuan Sect will eventually fall for us, the sergeants of the Black Armored Army."
......

These centurions discussed with each other while smiling. Within the Gui Yuan Sect, many people pursued Zhuge Qing. The Gui Yuan Sect was mainly divided into their core disciples and the sergeants of Black Armored Army. Secretly, these two sides were also fighting to see which side would finally marry that beauty Lady Qing.

"Quiet down! This is the training field, not your chitchatting place!" A cold shout could be heard.

When these centurions turned their heads to have a look, they noticed that it was Lieutenant Bai Qi who had screamed.

The centurions looked at each other and smirked twice, but they no longer said a word.

Lieutenant Bai Qi shot a cold glance at Teng Qingshan and sneered. "A poor punk comes to my Gui Yuan Sect and seduces martial sister Qing Qing! It seems like I need to find an opportunity to make you understand your true status!" Among the numerous men who pursued Lady Qing, Lieutenant Bai Qi was one of them.

Most of the warriors who practiced inner strength had a long lifespan, and as a result, there were many thirty year-olds who weren't married yet.

Among the four commanders, Zhang Feng and the female commander hadn't gotten married yet. Lieutenant Bai Qi wasn't married either.

During the morning practice, the weather was still pleasant, but after a short while, the weather got windy and murky. When Teng Qingshan left to eat lunch, feather-like snow floated down from the sky.

"An auspicious snow will bring a good harvest season! Getting heavy snow before the Yearly Sacrifice is an auspicious sign." As Teng Qingshan felt the ice-cold snowflakes falling on his palm, joy emerged in his heart. He immediately glanced at Teng Qinghu, who was right next to him, and said, "Cousin, you seem to have something on your mind this morning. What are you thinking about?"

Teng Qinghu lowered his head and didn't speak.

"Cousin!" Teng Qingshan shouted.

"Ah?" Teng Qinghu suddenly became startled and lifted his head to look at Teng Qingshan "What's wrong, Qingshan?"

"You still need to talk to me about what's bothering you. Two days ago, you were laughing happily, but looking at your current appearance, you have a preoccupied look. It's as if you have the words "I am annoyed" written all over your face! What is it that you can't tell me? Say it, there's no need to keep it in your belly." Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

Teng Qinghu twitched and looked at Teng Qingshan with clenched teeth before asking, "Qingshan, could it be that you like Lady Qing Qing?"

"Huh?" Teng Qingshan was shocked.

Where did this come from?

Do I like Qing Qing?

Teng Qinghu wiped his face and said, "Ah, actually, it's nothing much! I will be open about it with you. After seeing Lady Qing Qing, I don't know what happened, but I started to like her. I also know that I am not worthy of her! Because of this, I kept it in my heart and didn't dare say how I felt! Today, when I saw Lady Qing Qing come looking for you, I confirmed that the Lady Qing Qing likes you. I am happy for you but also a bit uncomfortable in my heart."

"However, Qingshan!" Teng Qinghu urgently said, "Don't worry about me. Anyways, I don't have the ability to marry a good girl like Lady Qing Qing. You need to bring our Teng Jia Village honor and marry her."

Teng Qingshan was dumbfounded!

"Pa!" Teng Qingshan slapped Teng Qinghu's head with his hand and cursed with a smile, "Cousin, is your brain full of mud? I like Lady Qing? Who told you this?"

"Uh, you don't like such a good girl?" Teng Qinghu asked back.

"She is a good girl, but does everyone have to like her?" Teng Qingshan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and he immediately stared at Teng Qinghu. "Cousin, you listen to me. As for this little girl, I didn't give any thoughts to her. You can certainly impress her with your battle prowess, giving you a good chance to obtain her hand in marriage. As for me ......Hmm, she is not to my liking."

Teng Qinghu blinked his eyes while staring at Teng Qingshan.

"Alright, let's go back instead of stupidly standing here." Teng Qingshan hugged Qinghu's shoulder, and the two cousins put their arms around each other's' shoulders. They walked towards their house in this heavy snow.

"I fell in love with Lady Qing?" Teng Qingshan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Seeing this Lady Qing was like seeing his younger sister Qingyu. It was purely the feeling of an elder brother's for his younger sister. Moreover ......he lived for 29 years in his previous life and 16 years in his current life. He no longer had the mentality of a youngster. After having so many experiences, his mind was already firm like a stone. How could his heart be that easily moved? As for this type of innocent girls, Teng Qingshan did not hold them in his heart, nor did he have the urge to play around with them.

Take a wife?

If it wasn't for his father and mother's request, Teng Qingshan wouldn't worry so much. Unless he met someone who truly moved him, he wouldn't marry otherwise.
......

The snow was getting heavier and heavier. A thick layer of snow had already accumulated in Teng Qingshan's courtyard by the time the afternoon rolled by.

While sitting cross-legged in the snow, Teng Qingshan was covered by a layer of snow.

Inside the stable, his green Treading in Show Horse lifted its head and looked at Teng Qingshan, who was meditating nearby. It then lowered its head and continued to eat its hay.

"To cultivate inner strength, one needs to break open all of the body's channels and meridians. As more and more meridians opened, the cultivation speed would accelerate faster and faster. Many people spent decades or hundreds of years but were still unable to open the hardest Conception and Governing Vessels. However, all of my eight extraordinary meridians, twelve standard meridians as well as the numerous small meridians have all been opened. Compared to other cultivators, cultivating inner strength is much easier and relaxing."

Teng Qingshan felt relaxed and satisfied in his heart.

Cultivating inner strength was like a boundless flat land to him.

In the futuristic world of his previous life, the most troublesome problem for transportation was building all the highways. Each highway consumed an endless manpower and material resources to construct, but after the highway was successfully constructed, it would facilitate transportation and rapidly improve the economy. Opening the meridians was like the process of building highways.

It was the most troubling, but for Teng Qingshan, the highway was already built from the start. The transport cargo, which was inner strength, could be transported quickly and easily.

"Eighth stage!" Teng Qinghai had already started cultivating the eighth stage of the technique method.

Within his body, inner strength billowed and circulated through each acupuncture point. A numb feeling was spreading throughout the body.

"While cultivating the eighth stage, the speed of refining the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth is hundreds of times faster than using when I used Xing Yi Martial Arts. It seems that even if I consume all my inner strength, I would only need several hours to completely recover it." Teng Qingshan cried in grief, "During my previous life, inner strength was regarded as a treasure and couldn't be wasted. I had to refine it from my body and blood. But in this world, inner strength isn't valuable at all!"

Unconsciously.....

Teng Qingshan entered the ninth stage of Vigor of the Reckless Bull!

Inner strength was like a flood that crossed the eight enormous and powerful extraordinary meridians. The most difficult part of breaking through to the ninth stage was opening the Conception and Governing Vessels.

"The numb feeling is getting more and more intense! I didn't expect that using my inner strength to stimulate my acupuncture points and meridians could actually strengthen them while making them more tenacious." Teng Qingshan cultivated according to the secret manual and continued stimulating his acupuncture points. He surrounded them with inner strength and slowly rubbed against them, fearing that he would injure them if he wasn't gentle enough.

According to the secret manual, once an acupuncture point was injured, the circulation of inner strength would slow down excessively every time it reached that point.

"Acupuncture point? If the meridians are the highways, then these points are like a bridge to cross the river from the highway! Once the bridge is damaged, then the speed of crossing the river would slow down. Once the bridge is broken, the entire highway needs to be abandoned." Teng Qingshan felt that his inner strength was accumulating rapidly, becoming increasingly vigorous.

A massive amount of inner strength rushed towards his Dantian, which acted like a bottomless pit, unceasingly absorbing the inner strength.

After a prolonged period of time, Teng Qingshan felt as if his Dantian was full and unable to store any more inner strength.

"Ah, full?" Teng Qingshan secretly sighed, "According to the Vigor of the Reckless Bull, the Dantian is small during the early stages of inner strength cultivation. The longer I train, the bigger the Dantian will grow. One day, the Dantian will reach a limit and be unable to expand again. However, I am still a bit away from my Dantian's limit."

The Dantian's size had a limit, which also limited the amount of inner strength it could store. It was by no mean inexhaustible.

Because of this, the warriors would exhaust their inner strength while fighting.

However, along with cultivation, the Dantian would gradually enlarge. It resembled a person's stomach; the more food a stomach ate, the more it could hold in the future. Of course there was a limit! Once the limit was reached, even if he cultivated more, it would be unable to expand any further.
......

In the snowy courtyard, the cross-legged Teng Qingshan turned into a snowman.

"Hu!"

Teng Qingshan stood up, causing the snow on his body to fall down.

"Ninth stage? I managed reached the ninth stage so easily. For me, the ninth stage is the most important because it grants me a method to to burst out with inner strength!" With one thought, the inner strength in his Dantian suddenly erupted. It fiercely rushed along the eight extraordinary meridians and immediately emerged from the meridian on his right arm.

"Urgh!"

Teng Qingshan's facial expression completely changed as he felt an extremely sharp pain from his meridians. The inner strength quickly dispersed from the minor meridians within his arm.

"Chi, chi!"

Some inner strength shot on the snow, digging small holes.

"So dangerous." Teng Qingshan's face turned pale.

Just now, he used the eighth stage to circulate inner strength through his eight auxiliary meridians and shoot it out from his arm. However, his arm meridian's capacity to withstand inner strength was inferior to his eight extraordinary meridians. The inner strength circulation was so strong that it almost ruptured Teng Qingshan's arm meridian. Fortunately, he had already opened all the meridians, so he immediately managed to disperse the inner strength through several minor meridians.

"My meridians are too wide, and although I can instantly release out a lot of inner strength, I have too few meridians on my arms, like a cannon opening that is too small! There is a lot of ammunition, but they are unable shoot out instantaneously! What a pity." Teng Qingshan smiled helplessly.

Earlier, when he used the sixth stage, the flow of inner strength was less strong, and Teng Qingshan's arm meridians were still able to endure. However, that was no longer possible.

"It seems what was written in the secret manual for Vigor of the Reckless Bull was right. I need to spend more time to widen and nourish my meridians," Teng Qingshan thought to himself.
......

In the coming days, Teng Qingshan stayed in the Black Armored Army leisurely and carefree. Besides practicing his Spear Arts, he occasionally led his sergeants and trained them in horse-riding. For the rest of the time, he would mostly cultivate Vigor of the Reckless Bull to nurture his meridians. As time went by, Teng Qingshan's meridians were gradually becoming wider and more tenacious.

Book 3 Chapter 20 Summoned Late At Night

The day of the Yearly Sacrifice soon arrived. On that evening, Teng Qingshan truly understood just how many Gui Yuan Sect disciples there actually were!

Numbering over ten thousand, the core and outer disciples of the Black Armored Army and Gui Yuan Sect were divided into three massive groups. They gathered in the largest training field of the Black Armored Army. Under the lead of the Sovereign, Zhuge Yuanhong, and many elders, the crowd of over ten thousand people started the Yearly Sacrifice, worshipping Emperor Yu!

Then, the exciting competition began! Rewards would also be given to the winner of the competition.

However.....

Teng Qingshan didn't join the Yearly Sacrifice Competition, as the one in the limelight was the Young Sovereign, Zhuge Yun. Zhuge Yun's Azure Lightning Sword Technique possessed extremely great power and continuously defeated more than ten people. Because Yue Song participated in the end, Zhuge Yun was forced to use the Nine Lightning Sword Technique and actually defeated Yue Song!

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed since Teng Qingshan had joined the Black Armored Army. The dead of winter had passed, and the beginning of spring was now arriving.

In Teng Qingshan's courtyard.

"Brother, you have to win this time!" Lady Qing shouted happily in the courtyard.

"I still think he's going to lose." Teng Qinghu said as he smiled proudly.

In the courtyard, Teng Qingshan and Zhuge Yun were currently sparring. Zhuge Yun seemed to transform into an illusion as he moved at lightning speed around Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan only moved within an area of one Zhang, holding his spear with one hand as he blocked Zhuge Yun's lightning fast trenchant sword every single time.

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!" ......

The clashing sounds of the long spear and trenchant sword were very concentrated.

"Such a fast sword,." Teng Qingshan said to himself in awe. "With just the speed of his sword, he could be considered the number one of the younger generation in the Gui Yuan Sect. Plus, Xiao Yun's speed is as fast as mine when all of my physical strength is exerted." Teng Qingshan's body could be called monstrous. Even if Qingshan didn't perform Crossing World, just the extreme speed his body could achieve was already terrifying.

Through this, one could see how amazing Zhuge Yun's speed was.

"Haha......Xiao Yun. Your Nine Lightning Sword Technique is indeed as fast as lightning and as fluid as water. It's also incorporated in your steps perfectly. Unfortunately, you couldn't break my Spear Arts. No matter how fast your movement speed is, how could it overtake the speed of my spear?" Teng Qingshan laughed and said while he blocked, "If you don't have any unique moves, you will still lose today!"

This was the third time Zhuge Yun and Teng Qingshan had competed in secret.

During the first two times, he lost. However, after every lost, Zhuge Yun would improve and be even stronger during the next fight. Unfortunately, Teng Qingshan's defensive Spear Art, Transmutation Unity Law, could be called a turtle shell.

Whew!

Zhuge Yun backed away rapidly and looked at Teng Qingshan solemnly as he spoke, " Big Brother Teng, the two previous fights with you caused me to successfully cultivate my 'Nine Lightning Sword'. During this half a month, I have been learning One Line Sword. Within the Gui Yuan Sect's Sword Arts, this is considered the supreme sword technique. I only have a limited understanding of it. However, you should be careful!"

From Azure Lightning Sword Technique, Nine Lightning Sword, to One Line Sword; it was an advancing technique, progressing from one technique to another.

The practitioner could only learn One Line Sword after the Nine Lightning Technique was achieved.

"Oh?" Teng Qingshan's eyes brightened.

"Don't disappoint me then." Teng Qingshan said as he accumulated strength for the next clash.

Zhuge Yun held his three Chi long Azure Trenchant Sword and gathered momentum.

Suddenly——

Zhuge Yun's eyes suddenly became fierce and the three Chi long sword disappeared from his hand. Teng Qingshan could only see a beam of azure light glowing in the front of him.

Just this beam of azure light!

"Bang!" Teng Qingshan's physical strength instantly burst forth as the long spear in his hand changed into a mirage!

"Clang!"

The long spear blasted away the Azure Trenchant Sword and touched Zhuge Yun's chest once.

The Azure Trenchant Sword was thrown far away forcefully, and when it hit the wall, it caused the wall to shudder and a few cracks to appear. As for Zhuge Yun himself, after being touched by the spear, his whole body was thrown into the air by the powerful force. Crashing to the ground, Zhuge Yun stood up without any injuries. Teng Qingshan's control of his strength was very good, thus, Zhuge Yun was not wounded at all.

"The sword just now was so quick." Teng Qingshan was secretly surprised as he said, "I actually had to use more than twenty percent of my physical strength just then!"

Zhuge Yun's sword was only a beam of azure light!

It was so quick that Teng Qingshan had to use twenty percent of his strength just to allow his long spear to catch up to the sword.

"Brother, you lost again." Lady Qing chuckled and said.

"The sword just now was so fast." Teng Qinghu praised, ""But Qingshan's spear was even faster!"

Zhuge Yun smiled helplessly and cast a glance at Teng Qingshan as he spoke, "Big Brother Teng, you really are a monster! I achieved understanding in both the Azure Lightning Sword Technique and Nine Lightning Sword and have scanty knowledge of the One Line Sword. The power required by this One Line Sword consumed a massive amount of my inner strength! And the speed of my Nine Lightning Sword was extremely fast, yet you could still resist it!"

"Xiao Yun, your Sword Art is very terrifying indeed. If it was even faster, I'm afraid that even I wouldn't be able to handle it." Teng Qingshan praised, "If it wasn't because I practiced the«Vigor of the Reckless Bull», I wouldn't be able to go against that strike."

Zhuge Yun's sword was very fast indeed!

"My father said that among the Sword Arts of this world, only fast speed is unbreakable! Once I have succeeded in comprehending the One Line Sword, I will definitely be recorded in the seventy-two people of the«Earthly Ranking»!" Zhuge Yun said confidently.

"Only fast speed is unbreakable?" Teng Qingshan smiled, yet he did not agree with this point.

Nothing was invincible or unbreakable. For a Sword Art to be extremely fast was indeed scary, but if the opponent's body was extremely strong and one's strike couldn't even wound the opponent, how could someone possibly win?

Extreme Yang against extreme Yin. Extreme speed against an extremely strong defense......

In this world, the paths were divided into millions other paths, and when each path reached the end, it would always be terrifying.

"When I can attain ten percent of my father's ability, then I can win against you and rule the world." Zhuge Yun said.

Zhuge Qing beside giggled and said, "Brother, do you think you can catch up to Father with your character? You don't even practice your sword for three hours everyday. You should go ask the martial uncles. When Father was young, he practiced the sword everyday and even slept with his sword in his arms! During that time, he was called the Sword Demon. Father is far more diligent than you. However, it's weird that father won't even touch sword now. All he does everyday is draw or play chess. Wouldn't father worry that his ability might decrease?"

"What do you know? Father's sword has reached an unfathomable level!" Zhuge Yun said with veneration in his eyes.

Teng Qingshan felt his heart move.

"Just how strong is the Sovereign, Zhuge Yuanhong?" Teng Qingshan asked himself. Teng Qingshan really wanted to challenge Zhuge Yuanhong once. "However, he is hiding his ability so deeply that I can't feel how powerful his ability actually is! But the strength Xiao Yun showed is already powerful enough. Then what about Sovereign? An innate expert?

Teng Qingshan only admired Zhuge Yun's ability, but he didn't care about it at all.

Among the Postliminary Experts, no one could be considered his opponent. The only ones that could threaten him were the far more frightening innate experts.

Although Teng Qingshan did desire to challenge the Sovereign, he didn't want to expose his last trump card. Therefore he could only resist this desire.

......

During the night, Teng Qingshan was practicing his Spear Arts alone in his courtyard.

Whew! Whew! Whew!

His long spear transformed into an shadow and sped through the air at an extremely fast pace.

"This Pursuing Shadow Spear Art was developed through the Smashing Fist. With wood as its element, it should grow continuously. This Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique not only has to be quick, it should also have the conception of endless growth and continuous succession."

Teng Qingshan was gradually improving upon the three great Spear Arts, Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique, Transmutation Unity Law Spear Technique, and Toxic Dragon Drill Spear Technique.

"Bang!" "Bang!"

Knocks on his door suddenly resounded.

Teng Qingshan withdrew his spear and walked over to open the door. A male disciple of the Gui Yuan Sect stood outside the door.

"Teng Qingshan, please come with me. The Sovereign requests your presence," the disciple said.

"The Sovereign wants to see me?" Teng Qingshan asked in surprise.

"Yes." The male disciple said as he nodded.

Although he was suspicious, Teng Qingshan still followed the male disciple out of the room with his long spear in hand and headed towards the region belonging to the core disciples of the Gui Yuan Sect.

......

Outside Zhuge Yuanhong's study room.

Teng Qingshan had already arrived outside the door. Glimpses of light could be seen coming from inside the study. The male disciple then bowed and said, "Sovereign, Teng Qingshan is here." With this, the male disciple left.

"Qingshan, come in." A calm voice resounded from within the study.

"What does this Zhuge Yuanhong want? To take me in as his disciple?" Teng Qingshan had doubts in the depths of his heart, but his actions showed no hesitation. He went directly forward and pushed open the door of the study.

Creak!

The door to the room opened, and Teng Qingshan saw Zhuge Yuanhong sitting in front of his study desk, reading a thread-bound book. When Zhuge Yuanhong heard the sound of the door opening, he placed his book down and looked towards Teng Qingshan with a smile,"Oh. Qingshan, carrying your spear even when you're just coming here to see me. Now this explains why you could attain such a high level in Spear Arts at such a young age.

"I, Qingshan, know nothing else except for practicing assiduously." Teng Qingshan replied.

"Ah!"

Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and nodded, "Neither proud nor arrogant, very good! I was really surprised when I heard that you broke Little Yun's One Line Sword when you competed with him. It looks like the burst of your inner strength has grown a lot more stronger than during the competition for the position of the centurion. Regarding your«Vigor of the Reckless Bull», what stage have you practiced to?"

"The eighth stage." Teng Qingshan answered.

Of course Teng Qingshan had successfully practiced all nine stages, but because of the meridians' limit, the burst of strength Teng Qingshan exerted by relying on the inner strength would equal to around fifty thousand Jin of his physical strength.

However, Teng Qingshan wouldn't dare to tell Zhuge Yuanhong this.

If he had said that all nine stages had been successfully practiced, wouldn't that mean that his eight extraordinary meridians were all fully opened?

"Yes. Your eight extraordinary meridians are almost all opened. Only the Conception and Governing Vessels haven't opened..... It looks like... you encountered something very extraordinary in your past." Zhuge Yuanhong praised. For someone to rely on himself to open this many meridians and only being at the age of seventeen was absolutely impossible.

"You have reached the eighth stage, and combined with your Spear Arts, you should have the ability to be recorded in the«Hidden Dragon Ranking»of the Nine Prefectures." Zhuge Yuanhong praised. He then continued saying, "However, don't get too proud. Although your Spear Arts are very powerful, it seems like you have never learned the foundation of Spear Arts.

With this, Zhuge Yuanhong threw the book in his hand towards Teng Qingshan. Teng Qingshan caught it with a dumbfounded expression, and when he looked down, he saw that there were four words written on the cover of the book: "Ardent Flame Spear Art."

"This Ardent Flame Spear Art has a total of eighty-one techniques, and each move is performed in cooperation with the inner strength. This can be considered a good Human Class secret martial arts. Learn the foundation of Spear Arts well. I believe this will also benefit your understanding of your own Spear Arts." Zhuge Yuanhong said with a smile.

Teng Qingshan was secretly delighted.

His own Spear Arts were developed from the Five Elements Boxing, and he hadn't learned even one technique of this world's Spear Arts.

"Thank you, Sovereign." Teng Qingshan hastily said.

"Alright, do your best on practicing. If you do, you will be able to be recorded in the«Hidden Dragon Ranking»and the«Earthly Ranking», which will reflect honor back onto the Gui Yuan Sect!" Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and said, "By the way, your barrack's men will be heading to guard the Gui Yuan Sect's gold mines at Huafeng City in a few days. You should prepare yourself first...... Plus, that Huafeng City is not far away from your hometown, Yi City. If there's a chance, you can go back and take a look."

Book 3 Chapter 21 Obsessed

"Ah, you can leave now." Zhuge Yuanhong faintly smiled.

"Yes, Sovereign." replied Teng Qingshan. He slightly bowed and quietly left the study, the door automatically closing behind him.

"Hm? Closing the door from a distance?" Teng Qingshan glanced at the door in surprise, "I can't replicate this feat. A powerhouse of the Innate Realm is indeed extraordinary." Although Teng Qingshan had an astonishing physical strength, it didn't have an effect on things in the distance.

Not spending any more time thinking about it, Teng Qingshan's heart was filled with joy.

"I'm finally able to go home!" Teng Qingshan was somewhat excited in his heart. He had been an orphan in his previous life; but in this life, he had spent many years in Teng Jia Village, already having gotten attached to the feeling of familial warmth. Teng Qingshan was already excited at the thought of going home, even though he had only left it for two months..

Home is where the heart is, after all.

......

After shoving open the front gate, Teng Qingshan looked at his cousin Teng Qinghu's room and saw there was still a light shining through the window: "Is cousin still awake?" Thinking about it, Teng Qingshan walked towards the door and knocked: "Cousin, it's me!"

"Qingshan, come in."Teng Qinghu called.

After opening the door, Teng Qingshan discovered his cousin covered in sweat and continuously walking around the room in a mysterious pattern. Seeing this, Teng Qingshan spoke with a smile, "Cousin, this set of steps are the foundations of the Qing Gong «Crossing Worlds». They must be practiced until you know them by heart. Only when these steps become as fluent as passing clouds or flowing water can they become Qing Gong."

The Qing Gong«Crossing Worlds»was divided into three stages, but the second and third stages could only be practiced once one had reached the Innate Realm.

Teng Qingshan himself could only use the first stage.

Just after Yearly Sacrifice, in order for his cousin to have a skill that could save his life in an emergency, Teng Qingshan passed on the first stage of«Crossing Worlds»to him. After all, his cousin's inner and physical strengths were only average. With this kind of strength, there was still a large distance between him and the First Rated Warriors.

With this superior Qing Gong technique, he would have a little life insurance.

However, no matter how strong the secret technique, it all depended on the individual. Teng Qingshan, for example, was an expert with high comprehension skills, and his pure body strength gave him a terrifying speed. Adding on Crossing Worlds, his Qing Gong was even more amazing. However, when Teng Qinghu displayed it, it was lacking by a huge portion.

"Qingshan, I have practiced these steps for a month, but they still feel uncomfortable." Teng Qinghu complained as he finally stopped to rest.

"Uncomfortable? That's because you're still on a lower state of mind!" Teng Qingshan smiled. "If one day you don't feel these steps as uncomfortable and actually find yourself enjoying them, then you will be able to walk with them unknowingly for a whole day. Not only would you not grow tired, your spirit would actually increase!. That is when you know the foundation of the first stage has been achieved."

Teng Qinghu stared at him and asked: "Walking for a whole day and not growing tired? Instead my spirit would even increase? Is that really true?"

"Of course it's true." Teng Qingshan still remembered the first time he practiced the steps of Crossing Worlds in his previous life. He had quickly entered the perfect state and didn't grow tired.

"Cousin, I have great news to tell you." A smile appeared on Teng Qingshan's face when he thought of the prospect of going home.

"What great news?" Teng Qinghu's eyes lit up.

"In a few days, our battalion of men will leave for Huafeng City to become a garrison in charge of guarding a gold mine! That Huafeng City is very close to our Yi City. Moreover, the road to Huafeng City will pass by Yi City. When that time comes, we can use the opportunity to go home!" Teng Qingshan said with a smile, "We guard the gold ore and can occasionally go home."

"Go home? Return to Teng Jia Village?" Teng Qinghu felt extremely happy, "That is truly great news!"

Regardless of whether it was Teng Qingshan or Teng Qinghu, they had had always lived in Teng Jia Village since birth, and both had a deep attachment to their village.

"Alright, cousin. You should practice for another hour before resting again." Teng Qingshan said and immediately turned around to leave Teng Qinghu's room.

"An hour? No problem!" Teng Qinghu had already trained desperately hard during his childhood, so his will was very strong. Of course he could still continue to do so.

Teng Qingshan returned to his room and lit the oil lamp.

"Chi—"

With the oil lamp lighting up the room, Teng Qingshan sat down and took out the secret technique «Ardent Flame Spear Art»from his bosom. On the cover there were four large characters «Ardent Flame Spear Art». Seeing this let Teng Qingshan's heart burst out in happiness. Immediately after, Teng Qingshan began to read through it. Under the dim light of the oil lamp, the handwriting could be seen clearly.

Once Teng Qingshan started to read, he became completely immersed in it.

He read one page after another.

Some were full of handwriting, some with pictures of the Spear Art, and others with pictures depicting the meridians in the human body with inner strength running through them.

"It is pretty similar to Crossing Worlds, which stimulates acupuncture points with inner strength to produce a strong explosive power!" With a few looks, combined with knowledge of the secret technique Crossing Worlds, Teng Qingshan immediately understood the Qing Gong within these Spear Arts.

The acupuncture points on the human body were very amazing.

Some acupuncture treatments and massages stimulated the vital energy and blood, causing them to circulate throughout the body.

As for this secret art, it simulated the acupuncture points through inner strength. One must know that the acupuncture points of the human body were as numerous as the stars in the sky, and there are also many hidden acupuncture points. When the acupuncture points were being simulated, it was also very dangerous. Because people had different physical qualities, the endurance capabilities of their acupuncture points were different.

Once the acupuncture points were simulated beyond their limits, they would cause minor injuries like losing power or major injuries like paralysis or death.

The degree and order of the stimulation of the acupuncture points, the effect produced by the stimulation of certain acupuncture points, etc. All of those were very complicated.

For numerous years, for the sake of creating secret arts or techniques, countless geniuses had suffered from Qigong Deviation, their inner strength having been eradicated or even suffering to the point of death.

"In comparison to the «Crossing World», the stimulation of acupuncture points of this «Ardent Flame Spear Art» is obviously a lot easier, and even the degree is a lot weaker." Teng Qingshan said as he smiled. "However, even if it is simple, it's still impossible for me to perform one." Teng Qingshan still cherished this secret art since this was his first secret art on Spear ArtS.

Creation could be combined.

Controlling the inner strength during the practice of the Spear Art was not a simple thing.

"The power of every move of this Spear Art seems alright. I will try practicing the eighty-one techniques." Teng Qingshan immediately went out of the house and entered the courtyard.

With the Reincarnation Spear in one hand, Teng Qingshan began to seriously practice according to the description of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art».

"Whew!"

"Chi!"

Once the long spear was used, the sounds of air exploding rang out. In coordination with inner strength, an immense power actually burst out from the seemingly simple moves of the Spear Art. For example, when a back thrust was coordinated with the circulation of the inner strength, the invisibility and instant explosiveness of the back thrust would increase in power many times over.

After performing each of the 81 techniques once, and having seriously studied the secret art's manual, Teng Qingshan remembered almost all of the moves.

He then performed the eighty one techniques in a single breath.

Teng Qingshan did not stop, but instead continued practicing the eighty-one techniques. The second performance was obviously a lot easier and far more proficient. Teng Qingshan then practiced the 81 techniques a third time, and this time, Teng Qingshan's «Ardent Flame Spear Art»had attained the conception of lifting heavy things with ease and convenience.

Teng Qingshan withdrew his spear and stood still.

"Practicing this in one breath actually consumed thirty percent of my inner strength." Though Teng Qingshan said these words, a smile appeared on his face. "However, the inner strength incorporated with the moves really produces an immense power! Some could obviously be used on my Five Element Spear Art!"

The Five Element Spear Art was created according to the Five Element Boxing, one of Teng Qingshan's three techniques.

When Pursuing Shadow, one of the three techniques, was performed, it was as quick as a mirage and as fluid as water. This Spear Art was the one most suitable for group battles.

'Transmutation Unity Law' Spear Technique, the second of Teng Qingshan's techniques, had the most incredible defense.

And lastly, Toxic Dragon Drill. Teng Qingshan's most terrifying technique. Even the flood dragon's scales had been pierced by Teng Qingshan when he used this technique.

However, Teng Qingshan's Spear Arts had nothing to do with the stimulation of acupuncture points.

"I can use the «Ardent Flame Spear Art»'s method of increasing speed through the circulation of inner strength on the Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique and allow the speed of the Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique to be even faster!" Teng Qingshan felt great joy in his heart at the prospect of this. "This «Ardent Flame Spear Art» actually has eighty-one techniques. Most of these techniques have similar concepts and can be completely combined into new moves."

Teng Qingshan had already reached an extremely high level in this realm.

He had only practiced the technique a few times yet he had already realized that the moves of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» were repetitive and could be combined to create new techniques.

As he pondered this, time crept on. It was soon late at night.

Finally, at midnight, Teng Qingshan began to rest. However, the second dawn broke and night became morning, Teng Qingshan started to research the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» again. While this might have seemed easy, doing so was extraordinarily difficult! Teng Qingshan could easily tell that the concepts behind the eighty-one techniques of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» could be divided into five or six types.

However, combining them would be rather difficult.

......

During the morning training, Teng Qingshan stood on the edge of the training field and held his Reincarnation Spear in his hands. He would occasionally thrust his spear out over ten times in rapid succession before shaking his head and falling deep into thought once more.

"What is Brother Qingshan doing?"

"No idea. I just called out to him and he didn't even react. He's totally obsessed with researching the Spear Arts."

"Indeed."

Once Teng Qingshan became immersed in something, it would truly be entering a state of obsession. Everyday, besides eating and resting, he spent all his time on researching the Spear Arts. Teng Qingshan carefully researched every move of the 81 techniques, reflecting on that kind of conception repeatedly.

"This «Ardent Flame Spear Art» has eighty one techniques and can be divided into five kinds of conceptions. If succeeded, it should be able to be combined into five techniques!" During the evening, Teng Qingshan stood in his courtyard, and a bright smile appeared on his face as he continued saying "Talking about this... these five kinds of conception all have the element of fire! If one day, I could combine these five techniques into one, then my Cannon Fist should be able to evolve completely!"

As Teng Qingshan pondered the process of combining the techniques, he had already noticed that the more he researched the «Ardent Flame Spear Art», the more his understanding of the fire attribute Cannon Fist increased.

This was mutually promotive!

It was only because he had a profound knowledge about his Cannon Fist that Teng Qingshan could research the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» in such a deep manner.

......

In the blink of an eye, three days passed.

During the dark night, sounds were heard.

Chi! Chi! Chi......

In the dark courtyard, dense streaks of cold lights appeared. Under the glow of the moonlight, the dense cold lights covered almost three Chi of the region. The large amount of cold light formed a blossoming ardent flower.

Teng Qingshan withdrew his spear and stood up straight.

A smile crept up Teng Qingshan's face as he exclaimed, "Among the five conceptions of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art», I finally succeeded in achieving the first move! This is the most illusionary and perplex move —Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree!" After researching for three days, and in addition to the achievement on fire attribute Cannon Fist, Teng Qingshan finally created the first move—Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree!

"Qingshan." Teng Qinghu walked out of the house.

"Cousin." Teng Qingshan asked with a smile, "You haven't rested?"

"I just finished practicing the steps. By the way, we will be departing towards Huafeng City tomorrow. We can drop by our village and visit the clan members. I'm so excited that I can't sleep." Teng Qinghu said excitedly.

"We're departing tomorrow? Who said it? Why didn't I know?" Teng Qingshan said puzzledly.

"It was announced during the morning training today. The lieutenant announced it publicly, did you not hear?" Teng Qinghu said confusingly.

"It was announced this morning?" Teng Qingshan laughed.

During the whole day, he was immersed in deep thoughts about the Spear Arts. Even when he was eating, all he thought about was Spear Art. Thus, how was it possible for him to hear what other people were saying? Unless someone directly approached and disturbed him, Teng Qingshan ignored everything. Obviously, he didn't notice this news.

"Oh, we are departing tomorrow."

Book 3 Chapter 22 Yan Danchen

On the training field the next morning.

The chilly spring air hovered over the training field as numerous cavalry units huddled at the front gate. The sight of the seemingly endless sea of blackness within the cavalry battalion was like looking into a deep black pool. Many felt a suppressing aura, forcing themselves to hold their breath..

"Commander, all of my battalion's soldiers have arrived," said Bai Qi while wearing heavy cold-steel armor and wielding a one Zhang (3.3 meters) long pitch black spear. He sat on top of his lively crimson horse, which stood taller than nine Chi (3 meters).

"You may depart!" The silver-haired old man in a black gown, the first commander Lord Yi Hong, said emotionlessly.

"Depart!" Lieutenant Bai Qi ordered.

Behind him the numerous cavalries moved.

All five hundred soldiers wore high-quality heavy armors, held long spears in their hands, and sat on their black-marked horses that were each worth a thousand taels of silver.

As for the five centurion leaders, they all wore hematite heavy armors, held long spears, and sat on Azure Maned Snow Horses, each worth five thousand taels of silver.

Under the command of Lieutenant Bai Qi and the five centurions, five hundred soldiers of the Black Armored Army's first and third battalions soon left Jiangning County City, following the road towards the direction of Huafeng City.

On an official government road, approximately eighty Li outside of Jiangning County City.

"Jia!" "Jia!" Jia!"
(TLN: Jia is the sound to order a horse move forward.)

More than ten fine horses galloped across the road. Countless dust splashed.

"Grandpa! Why are we running? Could it be that deceitful man still dares to kill us in County City?" A youngster was riding on a fine horse, at the same time asking the old man beside him. That old man sighed, "Danchen, you don't understand!" If we don't run, our Yan family is really going to be finished!"

"Your father trusted that Wang Fang too much; not only did he fall into a huge trap, but he also gave Wang Fang dangerous information. Your dad's business is finished! In addition, he now owes Wang Fang fifty thousand taels of silver! Fifty thousand taels of silver—even if we gave all that we have, it is still not enough! Let alone we actually don't owe him anything, but it was this vicious wolf who took advantage of our Yan family. Now the only thing we can do is run, leaving Jiangning County and going somewhere else."

The boy stayed silent.

He didn't know what was going on....

Originally in Jiangning County, his family owned a wealthy business. Yan Danchen never had any problems with food or clothing ever since he was born. When he was younger, he went to Qing Hu Island and became a disciple of Qing Hu Island. He never thought that when he came home to visit this time, he would be welcomed with this incident.

His Yan family was doomed.

His dad's business was finished, now, and the only option left was to bring all the valuables they had left and leave Jiangning County.

Originally, according to family tradition, when Yan Danchen grew up, he would return home from Qing Hu Island and start running his own businesses. On Qing Hu Island, Yan Danchen was considered a hard worker, and among a group of youngsters, he was considered pretty skilled. When Yan Danchen had nothing to do, he would imagine his life after he returned home and started his business. He would hire a few pretty maids and a few guards, and he would run his business smoothly and steadily. He would maintain his family properties and live a comfortable and peaceful life.

However, at present, his fortune was going to change.

"Father..." Yan Danchen looked at the man riding a horse in the very front from afar—that was his father Yan Xing! He was an astute businessman, but who would've thought that in just one tumble, the Yan family's hard work of several generations would disappear instantly. The only thing remaining was the last little bit of valuables in the house.

Just when this youngster's mind was still muddled from thinking of such things.

"Haha....old master Yan, where are you going in such a hurry?" Clear loud laughter was echoing in the sky, and the Yan family riding on their horses changed their facial expression.

They merely saw horses upon horses riding out from far away behind the weeds where the road splits. The first person had a head of loose long hair and his body was strong, holding a dark red long saber almost five Chi (1.65m) in length. This man with loose hair laughed, "Haha, old master Yan, do you want to take your valuables and run?"

At least one hundred mounted bandits suddenly appeared.

"Mounted bandits!" Someone from the Yan family shouted in shock.

They only had about a dozen people, so how could they win against the hundreds of valiant mounted bandits.

"Run!" The Yan family didn't slow down, and they desperately sped up in hopes of escaping.

"Haha, our brothers have been waiting here a long time for old master Yan." Another laughter resounded, and from the front of the fork in the small road, another crowd of one hundred mounted bandits rode in.

The Yan family immediately pulled on their horses' reins.

"Master!"

"Brother!"

Quite a bit of people looked toward the head of the Yan family, Yan Danchen's father, Yan Xing.

There were mounted bandits blocking them from the front, and mounted bandits chasing them behind. What were they supposed to do?

"Brothers, please let our Yan family go; I would be most grateful! All of you brothers, how many taels of silver do you want; just say it out loud." Yan Xing said loudly. At this stage, the only thing he could do was to use money to negotiate for their lives.

"Oh, old master Yan, how much are you willing to pay?" The mounted bandits' leader with loose long hair laughed. "We have so many brothers who have to get married and raise their kids—that all costs money."

"Here are fifty thousand banknotes!" Yan Xing pulled out a thick stack of banknotes and said, "If your brothers spare us, you can have all of these banknotes." The Yan family looked at those mounted bandits and did not even try to fight back, considering they were extremely outnumbered.

"Tsk, tsk, so generous."

The mounted bandits' leader smiled. "But I am a little bit greedy."

Yan Xing bit his teeth, "Our Yan family's valuables can all be given to you! Please let us live. Otherwise... when the bank notes are ripped, it would be worthless." Yan Xing's tone contained a thinly veiled threat; at worst, they could rip the bank notes so that the mounted bandits couldn't use them either.

"Eh?" The mounted bandits' leader laughed, "Old master Yan, the gold and silver you are carrying should be all of your valuables. Actual gold and silver are of course hidden inside the house! You can ruin the bank notes, but can you ruin your gold and silver?"

Yan Xing's facial expression changed.

Indeed, when he ran away, he put strips and strips of gold behind the last horse. These strips were all of their savings for emergencies over the generations. Of course, their valuables would not be banknotes.

"Our brothers not only want your silver taels, but we also want Master Wang's silver taels! If we don't kill you, how can we receive Master Wang's silver taels? So, all of you must die!" The bandit leader laughed, "Master Wang also ordered us to bring this message to you, have a good journey!"

Yan Xing's face was turning purple due to anger, he mournfully yelled, "Old Wang, if I am dead, I won't let you be happy even if I become a ghost!"

"Brothers, kill them!" The bandit leader suddenly yelled.

Suddenly, the two groups from the front and the back, numbering about two hundred horse bandits, rushed towards the group of a dozen people.

Yan Xing growled angrily, and at the same time, he pulled out his battle knife from his waist.

"Father, bring Danchen and run." Yan Xing roared and then immediately rushed to the front.

Facing about two hundred horse bandits, how could this small group of a dozen people survive?

"Pu chi!" "Ah!"

The young men from the Yan family were killed one by one, and there were only four people remaining who had inner strength. Yan Xing, Yan Danchen, his third little brother, and his grandfather.

"Mother!" Yan Danchen mournfully yelled, as he dodged a knife from a mounted bandit and stabbed the bandit's throat with a sword.

His mother who didn't have any inner strength died in the first wave of killing.

Yan Xing was like a crazy person. Even after being stabbed three times in a row, he was still killing non-stop. "Father, you must hurry and bring Danchen away!" Yan Xing persevered in creating an obstacle in front of his father and son to let them escape. After he fell for the trap, he finally realized the truth in the end. His business was all over, and he had no more regrets.

There were many times when he considered killing himself!

Yan Xing felt ashamed, and at this moment, he wasn't afraid of death anymore. He only wanted his son to stay alive!

"Danchen, hurry up and go!" Yan Xing raged.

"Danchen, go!" Grandfather also yelled.

"Father." Even though Yan Danchen was in the midst of suffering, nevertheless, his grandfather dragged him away. They dashed out of the crowd, filled with the flashing of knives and swords, and ran towards the west.

"Bu!" "Bu!"

A knife stabbed through Yan Xing's chest, and another one slid directly through his neck, sending his head flying.

A shocked Yan Danchen turned around and saw that scene.

The mounted bandits' rampage only lasted a few breaths, and soon the only people left in the Yan family were Yan Danchen and his grandfather.

"Haha, want to escape?" A few mounted bandits were chasing after them.

"Father, mother, uncle..." Yan Danchen, who had always lived like a prince, never thought that he would see this scene today. After taking a quick glance behind him, he saw the roaring mounted bandits waving their battle knives coated in blood, riding on war horses, and chasing after them. The mounted bandits always rode on horses, so they were experienced riders, moving closer and closer in a very short period of time.

"Danchen, run!" Danchen's grandfather yelled. At once, he held a long knife and tried to stop the mounted bandits.

"Grandfather!" Yan Danchen's facial expression changed.

Just at this time, the ground shook drastically.

"Huh?" The mounted bandits' leader quickly turned his head around. He saw a majestic black current behind him rushing over from far away. Everyone was wearing heavy black armor, including the war horses. Every war horse was eight Chi tall, and every cavalryman was holding a long spear.

Their terrifying speed made them look like a growling steel flood!

"Black Armored Army!!!" The bandit leader's facial expression changed, "Scatter, brothers, scatter!!!"

However, quite a few mounted bandits didn't realize the Black Armored Army that was still originally a hundred Zhang away could rush over in just a few breaths. The majestic Black Armored Army didn't slow down even for a moment, as if they were crushing ants. They rushed into the forefront of the mounted bandits and killed them. The occasionally shining light from the long spears took countless amounts of lives.

"This..." Yan Danchen looked at the terrifying army in shock.

"The Black Armored Army; it's the Black Armored Army." However, Yan Danchen's grandfather was happy, and right after that, he changed his facial expression. "Danchen, hurry up and get out of the way." During the Black Armored Army's charge, it would not be a surprise if they got killed along the way.

But it was too late!

The Black Armored Army's speed was too fast.

From crushing the mounted bandits to rushing beside Yan Danchen and his grandfather, it took less than one breath.

"Hu!" A long, black spear whistled through the air.

Yan Danchen and his grandfather were completely shocked by the tense majestic aura the Black Armored Army was emitting; they didn't even have the will to fight back. Under such pressure, as if the sky was falling down on them, when the Black Armored Army rushed in and killed, even warriors wouldn't have the will to fight back.

"Peng!" A long spear suddenly turned and shook twice in front of Yan Danchen and the old man. Yan Danchen and his grandfather were blasted away into the field away from the battle.

"I, I am not dead?" Yan Danchen blanked out for a little while, as did his grandfather.

A spearman from the Black Armored Army wore a dark red heavy armor. He pulled up on his reins while holding his long spear and stopped beside them.

Yan Danchen stared at the spearman blankly, remembering that he was the one who had used his spear to blast them away, saving them.

"You two, hurry and go. Don't let those lucky survivors of the horse bandits kill you." The spearman smiled lightly.

"Brother Qingshan, what nonsense are you telling them, hurry up!" Another spearman wearing a dark red heavy armor yelled.

"Jia!"

At once, the spearman speaking to them was on his horse and left quickly.

The grandfather looked at the departing Black Armored Army and sighed. "We are so lucky. Danchen, that is the Gui Yan Sect's Black Armored Army! If the Black Armored Army run into normal people while hurrying on their journey, they will slow down and not harm anyone. However, once they see gangsters or mounted bandits that kill and take valuables from people, they will kill them all to practice before a real battle."

While looking back, he saw some lucky, pallid survivors of the mounted bandits far away, "Danchen, let's hurry up and leave."

"Brother Qingshan? Qingshan? Black Armored Army?" Yan Danchen murmured. Immediately afterwards, at his grandfather's urging, he mounted the wae horse, which escaped into the field beside him, and quickly ran away following his grandfather.

Book 3 Chapter 23 I gave an inch, he took a mile

Clop! Clop! Clop!

The concentrated sound of horse hooves banging against the ground could be heard as a speedy cavalry unit advanced on the public road rapidly, as if they were a black dragon.

The soldiers of the Black Armored Army formed groups of a hundred men and advanced in formation. The first hundred-man group was at the forefront with the fifth at the back. Although the sergeants had to advance according to the formation, the five centurions and the lieutenants were allowed to patrol around and inspect the troops.

"Elder Brother Tian Dan, if my Black Armored Army encounters bandits or robbers, should I just attack immediately?" Teng Qingshan was still slightly surprised from the reaction of the Black Armored Army just now.

An hour after departing Jiangning County City, the Black Armored Army had encountered a team of bandits. Lieutenant Bai Qi had only shouted "Kill!" once and the entire Black Armored Army had charged toward the team of bandits, which numbered over hundred people, with no hesitation — as if they were crushing a group of ants.

"Brother Qingshan." The other centurion, Tian Dan, who was riding beside Teng Qingshan, smiled and said, "It seems that it's your first time bringing a big army out! Therefore, you don't know about the rules of our Black Armored Army. Whenever our Black Armored Army marches, if we encounter bandits or robbers, we kill them all with no mercy. At the same time, this can also be used as training for the soldiers! These bandits and robbers used to rob and kill ordinary people, thus, we should kill them!"

Teng Qingshan nodded with a smile.

He felt ill-disposed toward the bandits and robbers. Men have strength and courage, so why kill and rob people?

"However, you're really kind-hearted. You actually saved that elder and youngster just now." Tian Dan said. Tian Dan had seen the scene clearly. Teng Qingshan wasn't originally at the front. To save the elder and teenager, he'd immediately accelerated to the forefront and had flung away the elder and teenager.

If Teng Qingshan had been slightly slower, the two would've been pierced to death by the huge mass of the Black Armored Army.

Since it would be impossible for the ordinary Back Armored soldiers to hurl away the two instantly while they were charging speedily.

"I saw those bandits pursuing the elder and that youngster from afar. To me, it's just helping casually without any need to exert a lot of strength. But to them, it meant that their lives would be kept safe. So why not?" Teng Qingshan said as he rode on the Azure Treading in Snow Horse.

When Tian Dan heard, he laughed.

In the midst of the laughter, the Black Armored Army advanced rapidly.

......

They departed during early morning and the sun hung high up in the sky now.

On the public road, the Black Armored Army continued to advance without any rest.

"It's the Black Armored Army. Quickly, make way!" The merchants and pedestrians that saw the Black Armored Army from afar hastily ran to the side of the public road, worrying that they might be trampled to death if they blocked the way.

Teng Qingshan rode on the war horse and scanned the pedestrians beside the road. Those pedestrians either had a frightened or admiring expression on their faces. They didn't even dare to look at the Black Armored Army with their backs straight. When they smelled the bloody scent of the Black Armored Army, those pedestrians' faces even became pale.

"That spearhead has bloodstains!"

"There's mince meat on the armor of that horse's leg," the pedestrians said softly, as the fear in their hearts increased.

The Black Armored Army swept past like wind and soon became distant.

"In the past, when I went to Yi City with my father and the others, we would be worried about encountering bandits. However, the bandits are the ones afraid of us now!" Along the way, Teng Qingshan noticed the domineering attitude of the Black Armored Army. Along the way, no one dared to block them, and not one person dared to walk before the Black Armored Army.

This was the prestige of the Black Armored Army!

Unstoppable!

"Qinghu, we have entered the region of Yi City. Our troops will enter Yi City later for lunch and some rest. You and I can go home and eat lunch and assemble with the army later." Teng Qingshan rode his war horse by Teng Qinghu's side and said.

"Yes. It's been a long time since we have last returned home." Teng Qinghu was looking forward to it.

To go to Yi City, they would have to advance along the big road, but to go to Teng Jia Village, they would have to follow the route along the mountainside before they could get to Teng Jia Village.

"Jia!" Teng Qingshan hastened the horse and dashed to the vanguard part of the troops.

"Eh?" The lieutenant, Bai Qi, at the vanguard cast a glance at Teng Qingshan, who had accelerated to the front, and furrowed his eyebrows involuntarily.

"Lieutenant." Teng Qingshan opened his mouth and said.

"Oh, Qingshan. What do you want?" Lieutenant Bai Qi said with a smile.

"Lieutenant, there will soon be a junction of three roads in front of us! My home is in the region of Yi City. I plan to go home with my cousin. You can eat lunch and rest in Yi City. my cousin and I will assemble with the army later. It has been some time since I have went home and I really do miss home." Teng Qingshan smiled and replied.

Lieutenant Bai Qi furrowed his brows.

Teng Qingshan then continued, saying, "The Sovereign also permitted this!" That Zhuge Yuanhong did talked about this. Thus, Teng Qingshan dared to make this request.

"The Sovereign permitted?" Lieutenant Bai Qi's face fell and he scolded, "Teng Qingshan! The officers of different levels are responsible for all minor matters in the Black Armored Army! The Sovereign does not care about all of these. The Sovereign only intercedes and take over only when it is a big thing. As for a trivial matter like you going home, that is under me! You just joined my Black Armored Army. and you want to ignore the martial law when it's only your first time leading a unit out?"

Hearing his words, Teng Qingshan furrowed his brows.

This Lieutenant Bai Qi was making it difficult for him again.

"Lieutenant, three soldiers went home to visit their family." Teng Qingshan said. As they are just heading to the garrison, going back during lunch and rest time should just be a trivial matter.

"They are ordinary soldiers!" Lieutenant Bai Qi reprimanded, "You are the centurion and should set an example! How can you leave so casually? Moreover, they are veterans! They haven't been home for a year or more, but what about you? How long has it been since you left home? Seventeen years and you still haven't grown up? A man's aspiration is to travel and make his mark! How can you miss your home already?"

This Lieutenant Bai Qi scolded Teng Qingshan as he wanted with a superior tone.

Teng Qingshan's face fell as he spoke, "Regarding these, there's no need for the lieutenant's discipline!"

"I have no authority over those stuffs. However, whether you leave the army or not is under my supervision! Veterans can visit their relatives temporarily, but rookies cannot go home!" Lieutenant Bai Qi said coldly. "Teng Qingshan, during the march of the army, if you dare to disobey the orders, I can order your arrest! I'll have you kicked out of the Black Armored Army! Or even have you killed on the spot!"

Rage burned in his heart, but he had to endure it.

"This bastard is using a chicken feather as an authoritative token!" Teng Qingshan also knew the rules of the Black Armored Army. During the march and during mission, the leader of the army had the authority to kill the person who disobeyed the martial law, no matter who the person was! This army rule was not something extraordinary, since the order of an army couldn't allow to be disturbed during a crucial moments of the mission. However, this is only an ordinary mission of guarding the mines.

"Teng Qingshan, wait until the next time you carry out a mission. By that time, if you want to visit your relatives, I won't stop you. However, I won't allow it this time." Lieutenant Bai Qi then said 'sincerely and earnestly', "You must learn to grow up! How can a man miss his home so much?"

Teng Qingshan did not say anything. He pulled his reins, and the horse slowed down, decelerating to the back of the big army.

Seeing Teng Qingshan back away, Lieutenant Bai Qi sneered secretly and thought to himself, "This fellow wants to fight with me? An outsider like you will be a centurion under me for your whole life. I will crush you as long as you live!" The first time Teng Qingshan shone under the limelight, Bai Qi only had a sense of jealousy in his heart, but after he saw the relationship between Lady Qing and Teng Qingshan become closer, envy burned in his heart.

An officer with one rank higher could crush you to death!

It would be very easy for Bai Qi to go against Teng Qingshan. Using the army's law as an excuse, Teng Qingshan really couldn't refute him. Unless Teng Qingshan didn't want to serve in the Black Armored Army, that is.

......

Teng Qingshan and Teng Qinghu rode beside each other.

"Qingshan, what's wrong?" Teng Qinghu asked. "Your facial expression doesn't look very good."

"We can't go home this time." Teng Qingshan's facial expression really looked bad.

"What happened?" Teng Qinghu became worried. Both Teng Qingshan and Qinghu had been expecting to go home.

"It's that Bai Qi, he suppressed me using the army's rules!" Teng Qingshan shook his head and said, "Qinghu, although the words that Bai Qi had said were quite unpleasant, if we disobey him, that would meant disobeying the martial law. He would have the right to kill us on the spot! Therefore, we can only endure for now and go home after a while."

Teng Qinghu felt his great anger burning in his heart, but there was no other way he could respond.

Disobeying martial law was a big crime.

In Yi City.

The five hundred soldiers of the Black Armored Army mounted their war horses and advanced on the broad street with great strength and vigor. On the streets, whether it was the carriage of the wealthy and nobles or the war horses of the warriors, they all moved to the side of the street. No one dared to block the Black Armored Army's way. At this time, even the vendors didn't even dare to call for customers.

"Stop!" Lieutenant Bai Qi commanded. All the men and horses halted.

On the streets, an elegant man dressed in a white gown stood before them. A dozen soldiers followed behind him.

"Lieutenant Bai Qi, Haha. Long time no see." The elegant man cupped his hands while greeting.

Bai Qi jumped down from the horse and cupped his hands as he smiled. "Elder Brother Yang, we haven't seen each other for a year now. You, my brother, have been living a carefree life while your fellow brothers, are weather-beaten."

"I know you brothers have worked hard. I have already prepared banquets at the four restaurants around us." the elegant man smiled and said.

Immediately, the black armored soldiers dismounted and scattered to eat at the four restaurants. All four restaurants had been reserved, and not one customer was dining in the restaurants. Eight black armored soldiers sat at each table. The four restaurants were soon packed. As for Teng Qingshan and the other four centurions, they were also gathered at one table.

As for Lieutenant Bai Qi, he ate at the table with the Lord of Yi City.
......

In a private room, Teng Qingshan and the other four centurions sat at one table.

"Brother Qingshan, that lieutenant despises us outsiders. Don't mind it. He's just a narrow-minded fellow!" the bald dude smiled and said to Teng Qingshan as he drank his liquor.

"Old Du, I don't think that it's that simple. Doesn't Bai Qi have feelings for Lady Qing? Can't you guys tell?" Tian Dan said. "It must be because Lady Qing became close with Brother Qingshan that Bai Qi feels jealous. Thus, he is always against Brother Qingshan. Isn't this just a mission about guarding the mines? Is it necessary to make a big deal out of such a trivial matter?"

As Teng Qingshan drank the liquor, he made a plan in his mind. He then responded, "He didn't allow Qinghu to be dispatched to my team last time and I conceded. It looks like he thinks I am good to bully because of my young age! I gave an inch, but he took a mile!"

Teng Qingshan was someone who had lived for two lives. Qingshan then thought to himself, "The more I yield, the more malicious he becomes! lt seems like I need to find a chance to really teach him a lesson. Otherwise, I would have to endure it in the future. Plus......I can't disobey the martial law. I need to teach him a lesson that will even render him speechless!" Teng Qingshan pondered for a while, and a plan was formed.

Book 3 Chapter 24 Purple Gold Mine

After the five hundred Black Armored Army soldiers finished eating lunch, they rested for almost two hours before departing Yi City and continuing on their journey. In the blink of an eye, they had already traveled 300 Li (150km). When night fell, they finally reached their destination. Just outside of Huafeng City lay Tielian Mountain, where a gold mine was located.

Tielian Mountain was a great mountain with a circumference of over ten Li (5km). Of course, it was much smaller than Great Yan Mountain.

However, Tielian Mountain harbored an abundant gold mine within. Currently, this was Gui Yuan Sect's greatest source of income.

At the foot of Tielian Mountain, a majestic group of one hundred people had gathered. The two leaders of the group had similar features, and they were presently rushing to greet the five hundred Black Armored Army soldiers, who had arrived from Jiangning County.

"Haha, Younger Brother Bai Qi!" From a distance, the two leaders let out a clear yell.

Bai Qi finally reached at the destination along with the five hundred soldiers.

"Martial Brother Gui Tao, Martial Brother Gui Qing." Bai Qi dismounted from his horse and cupped his hands while laughing.

Gui Tao and Gui Qing were both brothers already over the age of 40. They were also Gui Yuan Sect's famous Double-Bladed Gui Brothers. The younger brother, Gui Tao, was a general of the Black Armored Army and possessed the cultivation of the peak of the Postliminary Realm. His strength was shocking. As for the elder brother, Gui Qing, he was Huafeng City's City Lord, and his strength was not inferior to his younger brother's.

The grandfather of these two brothers was a Gui Yuan Sect Elder whose strength was unfathomable. Moreover, these two were the pillars of the Gui Family, and within the Gui Yuan Sect, there were many younger generation disciples of the Gui Family. Typically, people didn't dare provoke the children of the Gui Family.

"Younger Brother Bai Qi, these war horses are unable to climb the mountain, so why don't you give these war horses to me temporarily." Gui Qing laughed.

"Haha, then I will require Martial Brother's help to look after these horses." Bai Qi said.

"It's only natural." Gui Qing waved his hand and the myriad of soldiers behind him immediately ran forward. From there, they began to corral the horses. They gathered the 500 war horses in a spot at the foot of the mountain, and a few Huafeng City soldiers began to watch over them.

"Let's go and scale the mountain!"

Immediately, Teng Qingshan and the others began climbing the mountain.

......

Teng Qingshan and the other four centurions were walking together.

"This Tielian Mountain is our Gui Yuan Sect's most precious treasure! Even Qing Hu Island coveted this treasured mountain. However, envying us is of no use; this treasured mountain is within our Jiangning Shire's boundaries." Among the five centurions, the eldest Du Hong exclaimed. "The interior of this mountain is riddled with hidden gold."

"What use is gold, when the interior of this gold mine harbors a purple gold mine." The tall and lean Wan Fanxiang said.

"A purple gold mine?" Teng Qingshan inquired, "What is that?"

While traveling on the road, Teng Qingshan had a general idea regarding the gold mine within Tielian Mountain. However, he didn't know any details about it.

Standing nearby, Tian Shan said: "Qingshan, my brother, the extent of this gold mine is so vast that the difficulty of mining gold is no small feat. Deep inside the gold mine, there is a place where no gold exists. Instead, there is purple gold! According to legend, the Celestial Emperor Qing Lin's heavenly sword, which he used to sweep the land underneath the heavens, was made of Purple Gold Metal! Zeze, a single tael of purple gold is equivalent to 100 taels of gold. Moreover, the heavenly sword called Purple Gold Immersed was made with over 100 Jins of purple gold. That's the same as 1,000,000 taels of gold! It is truly a priceless treasure."

"Even if the Celestial Emperor Qing Lin's weapons were made of soft iron, they would still be priceless treasures." Someone next to him also spoke up.

"Truthfully, purple gold isn't too suited for creating weapons. Although the Celestial Emperor Qing Lin possessed a heavenly sword, he relied on his own hands to create the weapon. The heavenly sword only represented his position. Regarding its hardness, purple gold is slightly inferior to Darksteel! However, purple gold has a venerated status. A few wealthy merchants, sovereigns from various sects, and other sorts of people also like to use purple gold. That's because they desire reputation." The tall and lean Wan Fanxiang said.

Teng Qingshan learned a lot from listening.

The reason for purple gold's exquisite price was because of reputation!

The glorious Celestial Emperor Qing Lin unified the land under the heavens as an emperor. He constructed the Nine Cauldrons, which represented the Nine Prefectures. It was worshiped by everyone. Celestial Emperor Qing Lin used the rare purple gold to construct the heavenly sword that unified the land under the heavens. Therefore, purple gold was extremely precious.

Using purple gold was giving oneself prestige!

"Younger Brother Bai Qi, I heard that in the last centurion competition, there was someone called Teng Qingshan who was 16... ah... he should be seventeen now. He successively defeated a multitude of people, and even the disciple whom Senior Wei Wuya was most proud of, Yue Song, was defeated by his hands. I've heard that he is in this battalion."

A sound heard from far ahead couldn't help but cause Teng Qingshan to raise his head.

Bai Qi and the Gui brothers were walking together. Just at that moment, Bai Qi turned around and brought the Gui brothers over.

"Martial Brother already recognizes these four people. As for this new person, he is Teng Qingshan!" Bai Qi pointed at Teng Qingshan while speaking, "Qingshan, this is Huafeng City's City Lord, Senior Gui Qi, and this person is Lieutenant Gui Tao."

When Huafeng City Lord Gui Qing glanced at Teng Qingshan, he instantly smiled warmly and said: "Junior Brother Qingshan, I have even heard of your famous name in Huafeng City. Haha... you are about the same age as Junior Martial Brother Yun, and your strength is equally shocking. It seems that in the future, my Gui Yuan Sect will have to rely on you, Junior Brother Yun, and Junior Brother Zang Feng."

Lieutenant Bai Qi's face suddenly fell.

"Brother, Junior Brother Bai Qi's current strength improved by leaps and bounds! I've heard he has almost reached the large success stage of his 'Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun'. His strength, compared to Junior Brother Zang Feng, shouldn't be that much different." Lieutenant Gui Tao laughed.

At this point, Lieutenant Bai Qi proceeded to laugh and say: "In the past few days, my "Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun" has improved while I was at Longan. Occasionally, I would comprehend something, and I ultimately managed to make a breakthrough in comprehending this "Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun". If I were to spend a bit more time cultivating, I would be able to master the technique to the large success stage. Of course, compared to Martial Brother Zang Feng, I am still a bit lacking." Although his speech emitted modesty, his face contained a trace of arrogance.

Bai Qi was rather content with his ability to comprehend the ways of the spear.

In his eyes, when compared to the number one in his generation, Lieutenant Zang Feng, he wasn't too inferior. However, in order to be more modest, he didn't dare say this.

"Eh? Then I shall offer my congratulations to Junior Brother." Gui Tao and Gui Qing couldn't help but be slightly surprised.

"That's right, younger martial brother, how are we going to arrange the defense duties for this gold mine?" Du Tao said, "We should deal with it today because tomorrow morning, my battalion will immediately start heading back to Jiangning County!"

"This is only natural." Bai Qi turned around and commanded, "Tian Shan, you will lead 100 of your soldiers to be in charge of the gold mine's first area!"

"Yes." Tian Shan bowed.

"Du Hong, you will lead 100 of your soldiers to be in charge of the gold mine's second southern area!"

"Yes" Du Hong bowed.

"Liu He! You will lead 100 of your soldiers to be in charge of the gold mine's third western area!"

"Yes!" The short man called Liu He bowed.

"Wan Fanxiang, you will lead 100 of your soldiers to be in charge of the gold mine's last area, the fourth area!"

"Yes!" The tall and lean Wan Fanxiang bowed.

At this moment, amongst the five great centurions, Teng Qingshan was the only one who hadn't received a mission.

The adjacent Du Qing exclaimed in shock: "Junior Brother, you plan on letting Brother Qingshan lead his troops and watch over the purple gold mine? This is brother Qingshan's first time leading troops and also his first time defending this area. Thus, he is not too familiar with the job. In my opinion... you should swap him with another person."

"There's no need! Qingshan's strength isn't bad, so I have faith that he will do fine." Lieutenant Bai Qi looked at Teng Qingshan, "Qingshan, am I right?"

Teng Qingshan cupped his hands and received the order.

......

On the second day, Lieutenant Gui Tao led his 500 troops and left for Jiangning County. As for Teng Qingshan and the other troops, they stayed garrisoned on Tielian Mountain. However, aside from the Black Armored Army soldiers, approximately another 1000 troops from Huafeng Ciy and Yi City were helping to defend.

Nonetheless, the responsibility of the purple gold mine was so significant that normal soldiers were not allowed to intervene in this matter.

In the eyes of the Gui Yuan Sect, only the Black Armored Army was worthy of this task.

......

At the break of dawn, Teng Qingshan was walking along Tielian Mountain. There were many Black Armored Army soldiers, garrison soldiers, and miners in the midst of hard labor.

"Purple gold is incomparably precious. A tael of purple gold is the equivalent of 100 taels of gold, which is also 10,000 taels of silver! Ordinary people will only make 20 taels of silver in a year. One tael of purple gold is something that they will never accumulate in their lifetime. Purple gold is capable of moving one's heart, so many people will put their life at stake to obtain purple gold." After defending for one day, Teng Qingshan completely understood why manning the purple gold area was such a poor assignment! It was tedious!

Protecting the area well without any mistakes was his duty, but it didn't reap any rewards.

However, if an accident happened, it was his responsibility, so he would receive punishment.

Therefore, since the purple gold mine area was such a popular area, being in charge of defending it was an arduous and unrewarding task.

"It seems that this Bai Qi will really oppose me to the bitter end." Teng Qingshan squinted his eyes and expeditiously walked to the east.

"My Lord!" The neighboring soldiers and Black Armored Army Soldiers respectfully saluted when they saw Teng Qingshan.

Teng Qingshan lightly nodded and continued to advance forward.

As a martial artist, one had to undergo bitter training everyday. If one wanted to establish oneself in this world, one had to rely on strength. Morning training seemed to be a habit among the Black Armored Army soldiers. Of course, the centurions and lieutenants were no exception.

"Haha... Old Du, although your spear's strength is large and profound, its speed is lacking a lot. You should continue to train harder." When Teng Qingshan heard the complacent laughter from the west, he instantly recognized that it was Lieutenant Bai Qi's voice. After walking a bit closer, Teng Qingshan immediately saw Lieutenant Bai Qi and the other four centurions in the distance.

Amongst them, Du Hong had fallen to the ground and was presently using the spear to support him as he stood up. It seemed that his leg had been injured.

"Comparing notes?" Teng Qingshan laughed.

Within the Black Armored Army, the centurions, lieutenants, and officers were all First Rated Warriors. In order to increase their strength, these people would compare notes with each other. Of course, there was a prerequisite that they couldn't kill.

"Qingshan, we are already doing morning training. Why have you just arrived?" Tian Shan yelled from afar. Amongst the five of them, he had the best relation with Teng Qingshan.

"I was cultivating my Spear Arts in my residence for a while." Teng Qingshan gripped his Reincarnation Spear as he walked over. He proceeded to laugh as he looked at Lieutenant Bai Qi, "Lieutenant Bai Qi's Spear Arts truly are terrifying. Even Old Du is not his opponent! I've heard that Lieutenant's "Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun" has almost reached the large success stage. I don't know if he dares to compare notes with his subordinate."

Teng Qingshan's voice was clear and resounding. The plethora of surrounding Black Armored Army soldiers, regular soldiers, and a few people working hard all heard him.

Dare?

Dare and "be willing to" had two different meanings.

Teng Qingshan asked if he dared to, thus, his intent to provoke was too severe. If Lieutenant Bai Qi didn't agree, then that could only mean that he didn't dare compete with Teng Qingshan. If a martial artist lacked courage, then in the future, he would be mocked surreptitiously by people in the Black Armored Army.

"Junior Brother Qingshan is truly savage." Tian Shan and the other four centurions snickered.

When the surrounding myriad of Black Armored Army soldiers saw this, their eyes lit up.

Would Lieutenant Bai Qi ultimately dare to accept the challenge?

As for Lieutenant Bai Qi, his face was flushed red. He subsequently let out a laugh and said, "Teng Qingshan! At such a young age, you managed to defeat people in quick succession at the centurion competition. Thus, it is only normal that you are arrogant and conceited. However, as a lieutenant, today, I will let you know the meaning of 'there are heavens outside of heaven'!" (TL: there is always someone better than you)

Book 3 Chapter 25 Lord Lieutenant, are you alright?

"Then I request the lieutenant to open up my eyes and let me see your ability!" Teng Qingshan said with a gesture.

Lieutenant Bai Qi sneered. "Teng Qingshan, you have lived in the mountains ever since you were young, so I'm afraid the number of powerful Spear Arts you've seen can be counted on just one hand! Today, I will let you see the power of the supreme Spear Art!" Lieutenant Bai Qi laughed arrogantly and immediately walked to a spacious area nearby.

"I, your subordinate, am looking forward to it." Teng Qingshan smiled as he also walked to the spacious area with his spear in one hand, waiting and preparing for the upcoming battle.

At this moment, many of the nearby Black Armored Soldiers began approaching.

"Qingshan and Lieutenant Bai Qi are competing?" Teng Qinghu hastily ran towards the spacious area with flashing eyes. As he looked towards Teng Qingshan and Bai Qi, he exclaimed, "It's true! Lieutenant Bai Qi is competing with Qingshan! Hehe!"

"Qinghu, you came. Do you think Qingshan can win?"

"Yes, I do. Don't worry, Qingshan will definitely win. Just watch and see."

Quiet discussions began to pop up among the surrounding soldiers.

Over a hundred people stood in the area. Since being garrisoned in this great mountain was very uneventful, the competition between Lieutenant Bai Qi and Centurion Teng Qingshan drew everyone's attention.

"This Teng Qingshan actually dared to provoke me today. Humph! This fellow seduced Martial Sister Qing Qing when he just joined Black Armored Army. He must really view himself highly just because others call him a genius! I must teach him a lesson today or, at the very least, make him bedridden for one or two months. Before he becomes too arrogant, I must let him know of my capabilities!" Lieutenant Bai Qi's chest was burning with rage, but he didn't dare to kill Teng Qingshan in this fight. After all, the Black Armored Army had a role that forbade killing during competitions.

"Teng Qingshan, are you ready?" Dressed in a black suit, Bai Qi held his black long spear, appearing extremely arrogant.

"Lord Lieutenant, please do give your best effort and let me, your subordinate, see how astonishing your ability truly is." Dressed in the same black suit and holding a long spear in hand, Teng Qingshan said this with a smile.

Teng Qingshan's barbed words caused Lieutenant Bai Qi to feel even more angry.

"Humph!"

With a cold-sounding humph, Lieutenant Bai Qi stomped the ground with his right foot and instantly darted forward several Zhang like a flying arrow. Resembling a venomous snake sticking out its tongue, the long spear in his hand was thrust forward. It made the air around it explode while it pierced directly towards Teng Qingshan's chest.

However, Teng Qingshan smiled as he faced Bai Qi's attack.

"Phew!"

Teng Qingshan moved the long spear with his right hand and placed it along his back. He skimmed to the side in a flash and dodged Bai Qi's spear thrust with ease.

"Come!" Lieutenant Bai Qi roared furiously and swept the long spear in his hand.

With a rapid leap, Teng Qingshan stepped on Bai Qi's sweeping spear shaft with his right foot and flew up. Simultaneously, he laughed and said, "Lord Lieutenant, your subordinate's ability is just average, but still, these rough and simple Spear Arts cannot hurt me. It would be better for you to show me more powerful Spear Arts."

Hearing Qingshan's words, Bai Qi was enraged and dashed three steps forward, moving a distance of ten Zhang (30m).

"Pu!"

In the twinkle of an eye, his long spear was thrust ten Zhang forward. The sound of air exploding rumbled like a thunderstorm and caused even the dried fallen leaves surrounding them to fly up into the sky.

"Observe my attack," Teng Qingshan said with a smile. He was finally making his move!

"Phew!"

The long spear instantly transformed into millions of mirages, and only "Clang!" Clang!" "Clang!" banging sounds could be heard. These crashes caused Lieutenant Bai Qi's long spear to veer off to the side, and the moment Lieutenant Bai Qi faced Teng Qingshan's spear figures, he was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground. Simultaneously, his left hand pushed against the ground as he began backing away at a rapid pace.

"Puchi!"

One of the spear figures whipped Bai Qi's chest, but Bai Qi was still using the ground to support himself with his left hand, borrowing momentum to escape even faster.

"That spearhead's mirage is like a blossoming fire!"

"Such a fast spear."

The people watching this scene sighed in amazement. When Teng Qingshan encountered Lieutenant Bai Qi's attacks, he only dodged in the beginning without using his spear at all. However, the instant his spear made an appearance, just the first move caused Lieutenant Bai Qi to be inferior.

Forcefully hitting a large, nearby tree, Bai Qi then gained the momentum to leap up. The torso of his black suit was already ripped, showing the white undercloth beneath. Bai Qi looked slightly embarrassed. He glared menacingly at Teng Qingshan, who was at a distance, and thought to himself, "Such a fast spear. I didn't expect Teng Qingshan to have such a marvelous Spear Art."

That first move was the first technique that Teng Qingshan had learned after researching the Ardent Flame Spear Art——Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree!
......

"Qingshan is really powerful. The spear technique he just showed is completely different from the spear techniques he used when he competed for the position of centurion. It's completely different from the simple yet profound spear technique he usually uses."

"I think Lieutenant Bai Qi is going to lose today."

"Bai Qi is usually rather arrogant, but we are no match for him. However, Qingshan can help us teach him a lesson and let him know that we, the centurions, are not that easy to bully."

The group of people watching the fight discussed softly. They were all feeling excited and happy to see the embarrassing appearance of the usually superior and arrogant Bai Qi.
......

Bai Qi cast a glance at the surrounding soldiers who were watching the fight. Those soldiers glanced at him occasionally as they whispered to each other. Seeing this, Bai Qi's face reddened involuntarily.

Lieutenant Bai Qi was someone who greatly cared about his own reputation!

"I must be careful today. Otherwise I might really suffer a huge loss."

Teng Qingshan looked at Bai Qi and sneered coldly in his heart. He had the chance to badly injure and defeat Bai Qi, but he knew that if he let Bai Qi lose so easily, the effect that he wanted would be impossible to achieve. Teng Qingshan then thought to himself, "Today, I must let Bai Qi feel pain and fear so that he will never dare to provoke me again!"

Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan laughed clearly and said, "Lord Lieutenant, where is your powerful Spear Art? You can't hide your abilities in front of me, your subordinate."

"Do you want to see my 'Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun'?" Bai Qi took a deep breath, and the aura he emitted vanished. He skimmed the ground lightly, approaching Teng Qingshan rapidly without making any sounds.

Just when he was three Zhang away from Teng Qingshan, exploding sounds rang throughout the air.

"Boom!"

Bai Qi's eyes widened greatly and his facial expression became terrifying making him resemble a psychopath. The long spear in his hand instantly changed from light and gentle to ferocious. Sounds of air exploding boomed, and dried twigs and fallen leaves flew in every direction. The long spear in Bai Qi's hand seemed to have become a black flood dragon, roaring as it moved to devour Teng Qingshan.

The ferociousness and madness possessing Bai Qi caused everyone to naturally have the urge to avoid the blow.

"Oh?" Teng Qingshan's eyes brightened as he exclaimed, "This 'Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun' really does have some extraordinary qualities." Simultaneously, Teng Qingshan performed Pursuing Shadow Spear Art!

"Whew!"

The shadow of his spear was like arrow, simple and fierce!

"Clang!" After a light impact, Bai Qi could feel the long spear in his hand involuntarily veering to the side, as if it were sinking into an invisible whirlpool.

Bai Qi's facial expression changed drastically, and he let out a furious roar, "Cloud dispelling blazing Sun!" The long spear in his hand instantly became gentle and soft like the clouds and mist. As his long spear was being thrusted towards Teng Qingshan, it instantly accelerated at a fast pace. The outburst of the that strike's imposing manner was even more terrifying than the previous strike!

Cloud dispelling blazing Sun was the most powerful technique within Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun.

The concepts of both Yin and Yang were combined in this technique.

However, Bai Qi's achievement in his most powerful technique, Cloud dispelling blazing Sun, could not be considered very grand.

"Haha......" Teng Qingshan laughed out loud and unleashed a simple and direct strike. This strike seemed to be the same as his previous attack, but the speed of this strike was far more quicker and caused an even a whistling sound that was even more piercing and cacophonous.

"Fifty thousand Jin of strength!"

Teng Qingshan's eyes were indifferent and fierce! At this point, he had to make Bai Qi suffer a crushing defeat. Thus, he released fifty thousand Jin of strength! During the fight against Yue Song, he was able to fight on a par with Yue Song because of the ten thousand Jin from his Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique. Now that he was using fifty thousand Jin of strength, how could Bai Qi possibly to defend against it?

"Pu!"

Teng Qingshan's long spear, possessing rotational force, forcefully knocked Bai Qi's fierce strike to the side. The tip of Bai Qi's long spear landed on the floor and made loud crashing noises. Immediately after, the earth cracked, and large amount of pebbles flew in every direction. The soldiers that were watching in the surrounding hastily moved, dodging the flying pebbles.

"Impossible!" Bai Qi's facial expression changed drastically.

"Prepare yourself!" Teng Qingshan roared. The Reincarnation Spear shuddered, hitting the part of the spear shaft near Bai Qi's hand.

Bai Qi only felt an intense pain on his right hand. Due to a muscle reflex, he released his grip, allowing his long spear to fly upward.

Borrowing the force of the impact, the shaft of the long spear in Teng Qingshan's hand landed directly on Bai Qi's chest.

"Peng!"

Bai Qi's eyes instantly glared at Teng Qingshan as his whole body was sent flying. Once he dropped to the ground, he spat out blood; his whole body was tainted with wet mud, dried twigs, and fallen leaves, giving Bai Qi a very miserable appearance.
......

"How is this possible? I, I.. How is this possible?" Bai Qi collapsed to the ground as blood seeped out of his right hand. He was completely shocked by Teng Qingshan's strike, which had casually broken the technique he was most proud of, Cloud dispelling blazing sun, and even knocked away his weapon.

That long spear cut diagonally into an area of land in the distance.

"Qingshan, great Spear Art!"

"Before I could see clearly, Lord Lieutenant's long spear had already flown up."

"Qingshan is too powerful!"

The nearby soldiers discussed what had happened during the battle.

While fifty thousand Jin of strength burst forth, Teng Qingshan instantly performed the Pursuing Shadow Spear Technique, making the speed of his spear as fast as lightning. In the eyes of the soldiers, all they could see was the shadow of the spear in Teng Qingshan's hand moving, followed by the long spear held in Bai Qi's hand flying away while Bai Qi himself was launched into the air.

Bai Qi and Teng Qingshan were on totally different levels!

"Lord Lieutenant, is this your 'Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun'?" Teng Qingshan walked to Bai Qi's side.

Bai Qi trembled and stared at Teng Qingshan, who was standing before his eyes.

"You, you....." Bai Qi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and grabbed a tree to support himself.

Teng Qingshan suddenly drew near, causing Bai Qi to step backwards in shock. Bai Qi then yelled, "What do you want to do?" At this moment, Bai Qi was truly afraid of Teng Qingshan.

"Nothing." Teng Qingshan approached Bai Qi and whispered, "Lieutenant Bai Qi, you are a lieutenant, and I am a centurion! But......you better not push the limits. After all, the length of our service in our Black Armored Army is still quite long. If you go too far, you should be careful in case I, your subordinate, do something bloody after I lose my temper. Don't you think so?"

Teng Qingshan's eyes instantly became sharp knives as he glared at Bai Qi from afar.

Bai shuddered coldly.

He felt the murderous intent in Teng Qingshan's words and thought to himself, "This Teng Qingshan.......Right. Although he seems old and mature, he is still seventeen years old. If I oppress him to the point that he became humiliated and enraged, he might kill me secretly in a fit of anger!" Although order and rules were very important in this chaotic era, the powerful ones were still superior in world of the warriors.

If no one saw Teng Qingshan attacking secretly, who would argue in Bai Qi's favor?

Earlier, Bai Qi wasn't afraid because he thought that the was stronger than Teng Qingshan. However, he finally realized that the difference between the him and Teng Qingshan was too great.

"Lord Lieutenant, are you alright?" Teng Qingshan's voice suddenly became louder.

Bai Qi's facial expression changed slightly. Immediately coming to his senses, he replied, "I am fine. It's just a minor injury." With this, he began walking towards the long spear that had fallen to the ground.

Book 3 Chapter 26 Stealing gold
While the sergeants of the army discussed the incident, the way they looked at Teng Qingshan in the distance changed as well.

Strength was always respected and worshipped.

"The offensive power of Lieutenant Bai Qi's final spear technique was astonishing, but who would've thought that Brother Qingshan could actually break it so easily? Moreover, the shock even blasted the Lieutenant Bai Qi's weapon out of his hands!" The tall and lean centurion, Wan Fanxiang, exclaimed.

"Among the younger generation, Qingshan is probably within the top three." Centurion Tian Dan added.

Right at this moment, Teng Qingshan, holding his Reincarnation Spear, walked over.

"Brother Qingshan, your last spear move was much stronger, compared to your fight during the competition. It seems like you were hiding your true strength back then." Tian Dan greeted him with a few words of praise. Teng Qingshan smiled while replying, "Brother Tian Dan, at that time, I hadn't practiced the Vigor of the Reckless Bull, so my strength was weaker. The Vigor of the Reckless Bull is much more powerful than the secret technique I cultivated in the past!"

"You cultivate the Vigor of the Reckless Bull?"

The other four centurions were somewhat shocked.

Once the body's inner strength became abundant in supply, one would definitely need his own secret technique in order to become a First Rated Warrior. Tian Dan, Wan Fan, and the other four centurions thought that Teng Qingshan would have his own unique secret inner strength technique by now.

"Of course I relied on it. Otherwise, how else would I have been able to improve so much?" Teng Qingshan said.

"Then, what stage did you reach, and how much power did you receive?" Tian Dan asked.

"The eighth stage." Teng Qingshan replied.

The four centurions looked at each other dumbfounded!

The Vigor of the Reckless Bull's power was strong, but it was difficult to cultivate. In order to cultivate to the eighth stage, nearly all of the eight extraordinary meridians needed to be open.

"No wonder!"

"I'm afraid Qingshan ate some genius treasure fruit."

The four centurions finally understood why Teng Qingshan had became so strong.

Seeing this scene, Teng Qingshan secretly nodded, and thought to himself, "I can't hide my strength completely in the Black Armored Army. It's necessary to expose a bit, in order to get entrusted with heavier responsibility! The eighth stage of the Vigor of the Reckless Bull should be able make all of the powerhouses of the Postliminary Realm take me seriously." This was the reason why Teng Qingshan had exposed the power of 50,000 Jin in a single moment.

The eighth stage of the Vigor of the Reckless Bull could use inner strength to instantly shoot out 50,000 Jin of strength.

With this level of strength, Teng Qingshan had the confidence to fight any powerhouse of the Postliminary Realm! As for his real strength, he would only use it when facing real danger!

......

The recent duel between Teng Qingshan and Lieutenant Bai Qi rapidly spread over the entire mining area in secret. The sergeants of the Black Armored Army and the assisting guards looked at Teng Qingshan in a different light. They both respected and admired Teng Qingshan, especially the soldiers of Yi City — they were extremely proud!

Since Teng Qingshan was from Yi City, the soldiers from Yi City would of course be proud!

Nighttime!

Within the darkness, where neither the stars nor the moon shone, fires were lit around the mining area. Night watchers were standing guard and patrolling.

A young man was lying inside a messy bush, and his flashing eyes were looking at the patrol in front of him, "Why aren't these soldiers tired? Can't they go to sleep faster?" Anxiety spread inside this man's heart. He'd entered this mine to work as hard labor, yet what could this meager wage be counted for?

While panning gold and seeing all those shiny pieces, of course he'd get tempted.

All the gold that was panned had to be handed over to the team leader, and then taken all together to the warehouse. He was a team leader, and had secretly hidden a little gold every day. Every day, he'd hidden one to three Qian of gold (5-15g), so that the soldiers of the Black Armored Army wouldn't find out. After saving for two months, he'd collected one Jin and two taels of gold.

Twelve taels of gold was 1200 taels of silver. If a commoner were to earn twenty taels of silver per year, it could be counted as pretty good. These 1200 taels of silver were worth a lifetime of work!

Clenching his teeth, this man had prepared for two months, and tonight, he'd decided that he'd grab the gold and run away.

"F*ck, whether I die or get rich, everything will be decided today."

The current patrolling guards turned their backs, and walked toward the western side.

"It's now or never!"

He clenched his teeth!

Whoosh!

Gathering all of his strength, this man fiercely dashed past the first patrol line, before immediately lying down in a slightly hollow but shallow hole. In fact, if the patrolling soldiers were to take a careful look, they'd be able to see him. However during these late hours, the patrolling soldiers' eyes had become dull from tiredness.

As long there were no loud noises, they wouldn't pay attention.

After breathing out twice, this man didn't dare to make any big noises, and stubbornly looked at that tree in the distance.

"My luck is really good. I haven't been discovered after running past the first line of death." The man secretly rejoiced. To the hard laborers, this patrol line was called the line of death.

"My luck might not be so good afterwards, and I'll need to run away in a single breath. Right now, it's so dark that I can't even see the five fingers of my hand. As long as I run to a place where there are no fires, I have a possibility of making it out." The man took a deep breath and gathered his strength, before his whole body dashed forward. Like a vigorous leopard, he crazily rushed down the hill.

Whoosh!!

During this moment of life and death, the man ran away at an unprecedented speed! He only felt strong wind whistling past his ears. Suddenly –

"Gold thief! Catch him!" A loud shout could be heard.

Almost!

This man felt his heart twitch, and his face was burning up. In this crisis of life and death, his running speed had been unexpectedly fast. Before the soldiers in the surroundings were able to rush over and surround him, the man had already snuck into the darkness at the foot of the mountain.

"Catch him, pursue him! You bunch of worthless trash, so many people and you can't even stop a gold thief!" A brawny guy with a black beard roared angrily.

"Catch him!"

"Don't let him get away!" Numerous soldiers started to rush downhill while holding torches.

At this time, Teng Qingshan who was wearing a black gown, walked over. Teng Qingshan usually didn't sleep at night, instead cultivating to improve his body. After hearing that something was happening, he immediately felt that something was amiss.

"My Lord." The brawny fellow with the black beard cupped.

"Hu Tong, what's going on?" Teng Qingshan asked. Having stayed in the mine for the past few days, Teng Qingshan had gotten to know many people. Hu Tong was the captain of the Huafeng City army.

He could be considered a big shot in Huafeng City, but in front of the Black Armored Army, Hu Tong cleverly behaved well.

With frustration, Hu Tong said: "A gold thief! There are no ways to prevent it, since gold moves the will of the people. Although a lot of gold thieves have been caught and killed, many people still try to steal!"

"How many gold thieves have there been in this mine?" Teng Qingshan asked.

"This mine has somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 hard labourers, and every year over a hundred people steal gold and attempt to escape. However, the ones who truly manage to escape are less than ten." Hu Tong said with a sigh, "In this chaotic world, some people don't fear death, and getting one Jin of gold is worth risking their lives over. If they manage to escape, they can go back home, marry a good young wife, and have a comfortable life."

If the escape failed, it would mean death.

If it was successful, it would mean wealth.

Teng Qingshan secretly shook his head, "They're really betting their lives!" Then he walked towards his residence.

"How'd it go? Did you catch him?" Hu Tong shouted.

"My Lord, he was almost caught. I managed to cut him with my sword, but that punk ran too fast. Since it was too dark outside, that punk managed to escape, and we couldn't' find him anymore." The soldiers walked back discouraged. Hu Tong immediately cursed, "You bunch of worthless ants, it's only been a month since the beginning of this spring and we already have our first run away."

......

The days within the mine continued like this.

The hard laborers worked every day, and either crushed ore sieves, or panned gold. The soldiers and the Black Armored Army sergeants went on patrol to supervise. Teng Qingshan practiced his Spear Arts, unlike the other four centurions who were more fortunate, and worked the hardest. He was responsible for the mining area where the responsibility was the heaviest. He didn't dare to be negligent during a single day.

Gold already made people crazy, not to mentioning purple gold.

In less than a month that Teng Qingshan was staying there, there were two more attempts to steal purple gold, but none of them made it out alive. Around the purple gold mining area, the guarding was the strictest. The difficulty of running away was much more difficult when compared to the other mining areas.

To the Gui Yuan Sect, losing several Jin gold every year was nothing.

However, losing purple gold would cause them to feel pain in their heart.

"My Lord, I will return to Huafeng City for a while and come back tomorrow. Does My Lord want something? If so, maybe I can bring it for My Lord?" In the morning, the captain Hu Tong saw Teng Qingshan practicing his spear skills, and walked towards him to ask warmly. In Hu Tong's eyes, Teng Qingshan was young and possessed astonishing strength. His prospect was boundless, and if he curried good favour now, it would only bring benefits in the future.

Teng Qingshan took a look at him and smiled. "Please help me bring some Yang He wine!"

Teng Qingshan liked drinking wine, but Teng Qinghu liked it even more.

"No problem." Hu Tong smiled and his full beard fluttered.
......

Huafeng City, Evening, Hu Tong's residence.

"Brother Dong, you're putting me on a fire to roast. If this matter gets exposed, I'll bear a heavy burden." Hu Tong put down his wine glass and looked at the man opposite him. The fellow sitting opposite Hu Tong was seven Chi tall — which could be regarded as a short stature — however his eyes were still rather sharp.

This kind of sharp look from this slippery and deceitful youngster confirmed to Hu Tong just how ruthless the opposite party really was!

He was a young man who'd just barely reached 20 years old, and heaven knew how many people were already slaughtered by him in Huafeng City.

Even the city army captain Hu Tong could feel his heart go cold while he faced this young man.

"Brother Hu, there are 5200 taels of silver in banknotes first, and after the matter is finished, this brother will thank you again." The young man touched his nose and said with a smile, "Everything that needs to be done, I have already told Brother Hu. You should know... during this matter, you won't be in any danger. Even if an accident happens, if I don't name you, who'll know about you being involved? Even if I give up your name, you can say that I had a grudge against you, and that I wanted to intentionally frame you. You'll be absolutely free of danger."

"Relax, Brother Hu. Don't you already know how I, Dong Yan, get things done?" Dong Yan said.

Seeing the 5200 taels of silver in banknotes, Hu Tong slightly squinted his eyes, and then reached out to grab it, before putting them in his bosom, "Alright, Brother Dong, looking at our past friendship, I'll help you this time! However, when will your people descend the mountain?"

"On March 28! I already introduced that brother to you previously. You know him! There shouldn't be any problems." Dong Yan said.

"On March 28? Relax, on that day, even if I don't sleep, I'll handle the things for you." Hu Tong gave a short laugh, "However, I can only help you with that one thing — I won't worry about anything else."

"Brother, that one thing is the most important thing. Come, let's toast." Dong Yan raised his glass with a smile, while an inexplicable light flashed through his eyes.

Book 3 Chapter 27 Legacy of the Ultimate Flame

In the blink of an eye, Teng Qingshan and his group had been stationed in the Tianlian Mountain Mine for just over a month.

In the evening the sky had dimmed.

There were torches lit up around the mine site already — some bonfire were started on some places. A lot of soldiers and sergeants of the Black Armored Army were vigilantly patrolling the area. Teng Qingshan was currently in a large building inside the Purple Gold Mine. It was his residence here in Tieliang Mountain.

"Chi Chi!" The flame of the bonfire was burning nicely.

Teng Qingshan was holding the Reincarnation Spear, and was immersing himself in spear techniques near the bonfire.

"The feeling of confronting mortal danger and walking out of it after! The mood of despairing, but with a thread of hope..." Teng Qingshan was pondering. Over the past month, Teng Qingshan had separated the eight singular techniques of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» and fit them into five artistic concepts, and had already created four spear techniques from them.

The first technique —– Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree! This technique was very reverie, pretty, and was also very easy to confuse the enemy with.

The second technique —- Inflamed Passion! The name Teng Qingshan gave it was really tacky, but it was easy to understand. The name clearly showed this technique's power: once the technique was used, the force burst out all at once — just like adding oil to a burning fire.

The third technique —- Flashing Fire! This technique was really sneaky; it could be done really quickly, and without a sound.

The fourth technique —– Wildfire Flames! This is technique was a group attack; it used up a lot of energy but the power was shocking in return.

The only technique left was the fifth. The concept of the technique was similar to being in a dejected mood, albeit a little bit different.

"It's not right!" Teng Qingshan lightly shook his head.

When he'd first created Silver Flower of the Flaming Tree, it had only taken him three days. However, the more techniques that Teng Qingshan created, the more time it took for him to complete them. To be honest, even though the power of these techniques were shocking, it still couldn't compare to 'Pursuing Shadow', 'Transmutation Unity Law', and 'Toxic Dragon Drill'. After all, Teng Qingshan had studied Five Element Boxing for a long time in his last life.

He'd then spent more than ten years in this life to create these three techniques.

They looked as if they were simple, however, they'd already returned to their true form — the power they had was shocking.

However, Teng Qingshan was unable to create the spear technique versions of Cannon Fist from the Five Element Boxing the entire time. Teng Qingshan had the feeling, as he separated and combined the techniques from Ardent Flame Spear Art, that his understanding of the fire attribute was improving as well. As for the spear techniques developed from Cannon Fist, the ideas he had were getting clearer and clearer in his brain as well.

In his last life, 'Tiger Cannon Fist' was Teng Qingshan's most powerful technique. If this was developed into a spear technique, the power should be even better than 'Toxic Dragon Drill'.

However, meals must be taken bit by bit.

He had to create the fifth technique of the «Ardent Flame Spear Art» first; if not, how could he develop 'Cannon Fist', which was even harder?

"The dejected realm was different in essence than being in a life and death battle. That state of mind..." Just when Teng Qingshan was thinking about it, suddenly—–

"Pa!" The sound rang out.

Teng Qingshan turned around to look, but he only saw that the bonfire beside him was getting dimmer. The wood that had burned for a long time had red sparks on it, and was sometimes bright, and sometimes dim. Teng Qingshan grabbed two piece of dried wood from his side and threw them in, suddenly causing the red sparks on the wood to ignite into large flames.

"Hm?"

In that moment when the red sparks became flames, a light flashed through Teng Qingshan's brain. His eyes were filled with enlightenment!

"That's it!"

Teng Qingshan quickly grabbed the Reincarnation Spear beside him, closed his eyes, while at the same time grabbing the top of the spear with his right hand, and the spear body with his left hand. First, he pulled the top of the spear back, and then suddenly pushed. Teng Qingshan delivered the inner strength in his body into the Reincarnation Spear. The head of the spear thrust out very fast in front of him.

Before it met its limit, the head of the spear lightly shook.

Hu! Hu!

There was actually a visible, powerful spiral created on the head of the spear.

"Yeah, this is the feeling!" Teng Qingshan was surprised. Afterwards, he turned around and stabbed again towards a tree beside him.

"Peng!"

When the spear head pierced the trunk, it produced an explosion, and the trunk that weighed so much that two people had to carry it, received a huge hole. Pieces of broken wood flew everywhere, and the big tree began to tremble, before slowly falling down. The surrounding Black Armored Army sergeants were suddenly frightened, and came to a consistent state of full alert.

"Be careful everyone, don't get hit by that big tree!" Teng Qingshan laughed. He then immediately shot out a flying kick, and the big tree crashed down in front of Teng Qingshan. The sergeants of the Black Armored Army who were getting ready for the morning, all went to the side to dodge.

"My Lord's Spear Arts are too strong. Such a thick and big tree was felled with ease."

"Our Lord's spear arts are number one."

One sergeant after another praised.

Teng Qingshan felt happiness in his heart, and thought to himself, "My flying knife technique 'Saddened Knife', can remotely control a knife and let them burst open. However, a moment ago, when my inner strength coordinated with my controlled strength, it resulted in my guidance of energetic thought being unexpectedly able to produce a whirlpool with inner strength. This spear explosions power is definitely strong! Yes......This technique will be called 'Legacy of the Ultimate Flame'!"

Teng Qingshan was very satisfied with this move.

Of the five techniques of the « Ardent Flame Spear Art», Legacy of the Ultimate Flame' was the strongest technique.

"Unfortunately, this technique has to rely on inner strength to achieve this effect, and isn't possible with body strength only! However, with my inner strength, this technique's strength is already very good." In Teng Qingshan's mind, it became much clearer on how he could develop the 'Cannon Fist' in the future.

After one month had passed, he'd finally created these five techniques.

Right now, Teng Qingshan's mood was excellent. Holding his Reincarnation Spear, he began to patrol the purple gold mining area.

"My Lord!"

"My Lord!"

The sergeants for the Black Armored Army who were supervising the patrols immediately saluted Teng Qingshan when they saw him.

"Mm." Teng Qingshan lightly nodded with a smile. Glancing at the mine, he saw that some people had started to come out, "Today is the last day of mining?"

"Yes, My Lord. The hard laborers are coming out of the mining tunnel one after each other." The Black Armored Army sergeant respectfully replied.

Teng Qingshan walked towards the mining tunnel with a smile. The surroundings of the mining area had already been hollowed out, and the mining tunnel was extremely deep. As Teng Qingshan walked towards the deeper parts of the mining tunnel, the hard laborers that were walking outside bowed towards him as he passed.

These hard labourers' faces, heads, and bodies were covered in dust as well as were dirty.

"Er Gou, how much purple gold did you dig out today?"

"Look, it was as big my nail! It was my biggest haul this month! However, no matter how much we dig out, it won't be ours."

"Look at me, this purple gold was dug out by eight people, and it's still so little."

Teng Qingshan looked at the man who'd spoken; in this man's hand were some broken pieces of Purple Gold. Teng Qingshan frowned and asked, "How come the Purple Gold that was dug out by eight people is in your hands?"

"My Lord." When the man saw Teng Qingshan, he was frightened and immediately saluted. He then answered, "These pieces were given to me by my brothers to bring them all together to the sergeants of the Black Armored Army, to make it more convenient."

"What's your name?" Teng Qingshan asked.

The man was somewhat terrified, "My, my name is Wu Dagan!"

Teng Qingshan nodded and looked towards the mining tunnel, before turning his head and walking towards the entrance of the mine. Not far away for the entrance, two sergeants of the Black Armored Army sat before a table and received the purple gold that each miner had unearthed while recording it.

Teng Qingshan secretly nodded, "According to the rules of Gui Yuan Sect, ancestor, the miners in the purple gold mining area have had no means to contact miners of the other mining areas. Moreover, their residences were checked from time to time. When leaving, they will be stripped naked and their heads shaved clean. Then they are given a new pair of clothing after we've let them walk. This is to prevent some people from smuggling purple gold!"

The rules of the purple gold mining area were much stricter when compared to the other four mines.

Quietly stealing some purple gold was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

"Brother Da Gan, what did the Lord of the Black Armored Army say to you?" Some hard laborers asked Wu Dagan.

"Nothing." Wu Dagan casually said. He shot a glance at Teng Qingshan in the distance, and finally breathed out in relief while thinking, "the day after tomorrow will be March 28th! This is a crucial moment, and I better be careful not to offend the people from the Black Armored Army or they'll notice! Otherwise, if I ruin big brother's big thing, the situation will turn bad."

Wu Dagan immediately returned to his residence.

......

Very soon, March 28th had arrived.

According to the rules of the Tielang Shan mining area, if the hard labourers of the four big mining areas wanted to visit their relatives, they could go back every month on the 28th. Each month had only one of such day! However, the purple gold mining area only had this opportunity once every year.

On the morning of that day.

A light mist filled the air, creating a fresh environment. All of the hard laborers were in a good mood today.

"Spending multiple days and nights in this dry place is too tiring, and one can't sleep comfortably. Now I can finally go back."

"Haha, are you missing your young wife?"

"Hehe, sleeping on this ice-cold wooden bed can't be compared to hugging your young woman at home."

A group of hard laborers talked to each other and lined up to get their body searched before they could leave the mining area.

"You guys better not trying anything! If you hid any gold, even it's a tiny bit, you will be executed!" The officers loudly shouted, "Before getting searching, you better check yourself first so that you don't get framed by someone planting some stolen gold on you. Once something is found by us, no matter what you say, it will be useless."

A group of soldiers blocked the path, and was carefully examining the group of hard labourers using special search methods.

According to the rules, the body searches of the golden mining area were generally executed by ordinary soldiers.

The body searches of the hard laborers in the purple gold mining area were specially done by the Black Armored Army sergeants.

At this time, a brawny man with a big black beard strode over.

"My Lord!" The soldiers immediately saluted since the person who came was the army captain of Huafeng City. It could be said that his status was close to the major, and these soldiers obviously acted with respect.

"Mm." Hu Tong eyes swept over the hard laborers who'd lined up, and shouted towards the soldiers, "Brothers, check carefully. Everyone must be searched thoroughly, don't leave out anyone."

"Rest assured My Lord. They won't be able to get away with any gold." The officer immediately replied.

"Mm." Hu Tong nodded.

His eyes carefully took another fast look around and suddenly fixed on a location dozens of Zhang away. There was a middle-aged guy wearing a patched gown walking towards him, causing Hu Tong's eyes to immediately light up.

Book 3 Chapter 28 Pursuing in secret

Captain Hu Tong and the middle-aged man both cast a glance at each other from afar. The middle-aged man then casually chatted with the worker beside him as he lined up with the other workers.

"Phew!" Hu Tong tried to keep himself calm, and looked casually to the side — who would've thought that Lieutenant Bai Qi of the Black Armored Army would be walking towards him with an indifferent expression at this moment.

"I rarely see this Bai Qi, but he actually appeared today." Hu Tong felt anger in his heart, but a smile still crept up his face as he hastily greeted, "Mister, you aren't doing morning training today?"

"It's the 28th today. I know many workers are going home to visit their relatives, so of course I have to check it out. Hu Tong, watch your men. Have them search more meticulously!" Lieutenant Bai Qi ordered indifferently. To this, Hu Tong only hastily bowed and smiled. "Yes, Lord. My brothers have done it many times. Don't worry. There definitely won't be any problems."

"Mm!" Lieutenant Bai Qi humphed.

With this, Lieutenant Bai Qi stood to the side, scrutinizing the workers that were lining up, and going through a body search one by one. These workers occasionally glanced up at Lieutenant Bai Qi, before immediately lowering their head in fright.

These workers also knew that Lieutenant Bai Qi was a big figure.

"Check more carefully!" Hu Tong who was at the side yelled

Lieutenant Bai Qi looked around casually, glancing at the mine workers from time to time.

"Gold is rather heavy. If a large amount of gold was being smuggled in one's clothing, then their clothing would crumple and droop from the weight of the gold!" Bai Qi clearly knew this fact. If a block of iron were to be placed in one's pocket, it would droop and appear messy, even when worn.

Bai Qi swept a glance at the workers and didn't notice anything unusual at first sight.

"Eh?" Something piqued his interest as his eyes swept past the newly made footprints of a middle-aged man lining up in the back. The mining area had a lot of dust, with crushed pebbles, dirt, and mud scattered all over the place. Footprints were left behind with every step one took. Of course, with so many people lining up who were stepping back and forth, the footprints were very messy.

However, what kind of eyes did Bai Qi have?

He instantly noticed the two footprints left by the middle-aged man. Although they were immediately ruined by the worker behind the middle-aged man, Bai Qi still remembered them clearly.

"One footprint is deeper than the other!" Bai Qi was shocked.

Scrutinizing the middle-aged man, Bai Qi said to himself, "Yes. His clothing is neat and he seems to not be smuggling. However, his legs aren't of different lengths, and are very normal. Yet, one of his footprints is deeper than the other. There's only one possibility: a block of iron or some other heavy object is tied to one of his legs!"

Bai Qi was a lieutenant after all. Although he was slightly narrow-minded, his ability couldn't be denied.

Being able to understand the «Nine Spears of the Rising Sun»showed that Bai Qi was also very smart. He had instantly realized the problem from just the two different-looking footprints.

"Humph." With this, Lieutenant Bai Qi immediately stopped looking at the middle-aged man.

Because the middle-aged man was currently committing a crime, he became extremely nervous when Bai Qi had stared at him from afar. The middle-aged man said to himself anxiously, "Could it be that the Lord of the Black Armored Army noticed me? That's impossible! It's impossible to spot anything just by looking at my appearance. Phew...... He finally looked away. I guess that big figure of the Black Armored Army was only daydreaming."

No matter what happened, the middle-aged man had no way out.

If this feat was achieved, It would mean acquiring a lifetime of wealth.

"Lord!"

"Lord!" As a voice of respect sounded out, Bai Qi turned and saw Teng Qingshan walking along the mountain road towards him with his Reincarnation Spear in hand.

When Teng Qingshan saw Bai Qi, he cupped his hands and said, "Lord Lieutenant is also here?"

"Yeah. Qingshan, where are you going?" Bai Qi said with a smile.

"I am going to find my brother Tian Dan so that I can hang out with him," replied Teng Qingshan.

"Then why don't you hurry? A minor matter like a body check can be handled by these soldiers." Lieutenant Bai Qi said as he flashed a faint smile.

Teng Qingshan cast a glance at him and left with a smile. Ever since the challenge, Lieutenant Bai Qi's attitude towards Teng Qingshan had changed drastically. He hadn't dared to face Teng Qingshan with an indifferent expression.

However......

Teng Qingshan didn't feel very happy. Bai Qi's silent endurance caused Teng Qingshan to be even more cautious.
......

After seeing Teng Qingshan walk past him, Bai Qi turned to look at Hu Tong and ordered, "Hu Tong, speed up the body checking."

"Yes, Lord!" Hearing Bai Qi's order, Hu Tong was secretly glad.

He had originally planned to have one of the soldiers doing the body checks leave, so that he himself could do the job to let the person escape. Now, Bai Qi's words made it even easier for him to work out his plan.

"Hey, slowpokes! If you just search two people at a time, this search will never end. As of now, search three people at a time! You two can continue searching, I'll search the third person myself! You two should learn from me!" Hu Tong strided forward as he waved at the workers that were lining up and yelled, "You guys come over to me!"

The workers that were originally divided into two lines immediately separated into three.

"Undo your outer garments! Do it yourselves!" Hu Tong yelled.

All of the workers took off their outer garments one by one as Hu Tong rapidly patted down their outer garments, checking to see if any hard objects were hidden inside. He then searched their undergarments once, and touched one side of their pants to check if there was gold hidden within the layers of the pants. After that, he had the workers undo their pants and roll them down to their knees.

He checked if gold was hidden around their private parts. Lastly, he checked their shoes and hair.

Hu Tong searched really quickly.

"Next!" Hu Tong yelled.

Successively, Hu Tong searched three people, and these three people were clean.

"Next!" Hu Tong yelled again.

Immediately, the middle-aged man went before Hu Tong with his outer garments undone, revealing an old, sweaty shirt inside. It was obvious that he wasn't hiding anything. Hu Tong searched carefully according to the procedure. His outer garments, pants, shoes, hair, within the body, etc. He checked everything, and nothing was found.

"Next!" Hu Tong said

The middle-aged man immediately wore his clothes and shoes, and walked down the mountain road.

"Hmph." Lieutenant Bai Qi cast a glance at the middle-aged man and secretly sneered, "It looks like even Hu Tong has been bribed. He actually bribed Hu Tong...... Smuggling gold? Impossible. Even if he was smuggling 10 Jin of gold, that would only be equal to ten thousand taels of silver, which couldn't bribe a captain of the city guards. However, what about purple gold?"

Lieutenant Bai Qi became doubtful, "How did he manage to smuggle purple gold? It's impossible for the workers of the purple gold mining area and the workers of the gold mining area to meet. Could it be that I've guessed wrong? Is it possible that that middle-aged man wasn't smuggling? "

At this moment——

"Did you see that? Just do as I did, except faster. You come search." As Hu Tong was saying this, he strode over to the side, and ordered a soldier to search in his place.

Bai Qi looked and a thought struck him, "Eh? From beginning to end, this Hu Tong had only searched four people, with the fourth person being the middle-aged man. He rested while the fifth person was still being searched. Hmph. It looks like he really was bribed!" With this, Bai Qi immediately headed down the mountain.

"Lord," Hu Tong walked towards Bai Qi with a smile.

"I'm heading down the mountain for a walk, why're you following me?" Bai Qi scolded.

Hu Tong had a feeling of suffocation, and immediately backed away.

Bai Qi then strode down the mountain, making it seem as if he was having a casual stroll. Bai Qi was an inner strength expert, so how would it be possible for him to lose to a peasant?

"If my guess is correct, then the gold that this man is smuggling must be worth a lot! There is at least a fifty percent chance that this is man smuggling purple gold!" Bai Qi felt his heart move. According to the rules of the Gui Yuan Sect, the purple gold that was mined everyday was recorded in a file. Even if he was a lieutenant, it would be impossible for him to embezzle it.

All humans had greed.

Even in the society of Teng Qingshan's previous life, some high officials also covettd money. Thus, it wouldn't be weird for Bai Qi to do so.

Although he was the lieutenant of the Black Armored Army, and had a high monthly salary, when compared to some wealthy merchants, there was still a big difference. All men had lust. Bai Qi also desired to buy pretty maids and some servants to make his life more comfortable. Even buying good materials to forge good weapons needed lots of silver and gold.

"Hmph. That money is mine! The sect doesn't know anyway." Greed had already filled Bai Qi's heart.

Just kill that middle-age man, and take the money away.

If he guessed wrong and killed the wrong person, then the middle-age man's bad luck was to blame.
......

At the foot of the Tielian Mountain, on the governmental road, there were five war horses with people beside them.

One of the five people standing beside the horses, the seven chi tall lean man, was Dong Yan. There were three people surrounding him. Of these three people, two of them were tall and fat. The other one was a middle-aged man with silver-white hair.

"Big brother! You said that Old Li San is bringing down some purple gold? I don't get it. The purple gold mining area and the gold mining area are separated, and Old Li San is a worker at the gold mining area, so how can he get purple gold?" One of the two fat men asked, "Big brother, can you tell me this secret now?"

"Er Pang, I'll tell you guys." Dong Yan sneered and said, "There's a secret passage connecting the purple gold mining area and the gold mining area!"

"What?" The two fat men were shocked, while the middle aged silver-haired man remained very calm.

"Actually, one of my brothers accidentally dug too deep while he was mining in the purple gold mining area, and it actually connected with a small mining path of the gold mining area. That brother of mine hastily sealed the mining cave. The number of people that know of this secret is extremely little." Dong Yan said with a calm smile. "During this single year, Brother Wang collected around 10 Jin of purple gold! He hid the purple gold in the secret passage, and Old Li San will collect it. When Old Li San takes that 10 Jin of purple gold out, we'll be rich!"

To Dong Yan, these three people beside him were the ones that he trusted the most. The ones that went through life and death with him.

The reason he didn't tell Da Pang and Er Pang previously, was because he was worried that with the careless character of these two fat fellows, they would let the secret out.

"10 Jin!" Hearing this, Da Pang and Er Pang were shock. Er Pang mumbled, "10 Jin of purple gold is one thousand Jin worth of gold! That is one million Jin of silver taels. One million Jin of silver taels...... We're rich!"

One million silver taels was a very huge amount.

Even if one was a wealthy salt merchant, having a property worth one million silver taels was good enough.

"10 Jin of purple gold! Humph! Compared to the amount of purple gold mined by the Gui Yuan Sect, 10 Jin is nothing. However, with this money, we don't need to hole up in this tiny Huafeng City." Dong Yan said with a smile. Suddenly, he cast a glance in the distance and hastily said, "Yes! Look! There are workers going down the mountain! Old Li San should be coming down soon!"

Book 3 Chapter 29 Slaughter

On the Tielian Mountain, on the bank of a clear stream, both Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan were happily eating meat and drinking wine.

"Ah! This meat is sure tasty." Tian Dan threw a piece of meat in his mouth with a flick of his hand, and chewed twice before swallowing it. He then drank a sip of liquor, making him feel as if he was in heaven.

"That Hu Tong sure knows how to curry favor." Teng Qingshan said with a smile.

As a centurion, the meals were indeed better than what others ate, but it was still impossible to eat various specialities. All these dishes were brought by Hu Tong. He'd assigned some men to bring them from Huafeng City.

"We're already at the halfway point of our stationary period! One more month, and we can return to Jiangning City. However once we go back, we have to busily prepare for the centurion competition where the worst two of each troop are to be decided. We need to be ready to welcome the new recruits on the twelfth of June!" Tian Dan said with a smile, "Brother Qingshan, you don't even need to be worried."

Among the four troops of the Black Armored Army, each must elect the two weakest centurions.

"Brother Tian Dan, within our first troop, your strength can be considered good. There are many who are weaker than you." Teng Qingshan suddenly stopped midsentence, and looked into the distance, "Hey, look over there."

"Hm?" Tian Dan also looked puzzled.

Through the green and dense wilderness, they saw a person's shadow vaguely in the distance.

"Bai Qi?" Tian Dan said in surprise, "Why is he descending the mountain? Today, the hard laborers will descend the mountain.....as a lieutenant, what is he doing at the bottom of the mountain?" Tian Dan was unable to understand his action.

"There is something unusual going on." Teng Qingshan frowned and immediately turned his head to look at Tian Dan, before saying with a smile, "Brother Tian Dan, why don't we go take a look and find out?"

"Yes, let's go." Tian Dan was also interested.

While holding their weapons, they followed behind.

......

"My Lord!"

"My Lord!"

While walking on the mountain road, Bai Qi descended the mountain and when the soldiers below saw him, they immediately respectfully saluted.

Bai Qi frowned and stared at the middle-aged man in the distance who was more than 20 Zhang (60m) away, "There are so many soldiers on this mountain road, if I acted here, they would probably all see it. Especially since I would have to seize the purple gold from that middle-aged man, it would be bad if they saw it and the news spread."

Bai Qi held back his impatience and continued to follow.

This mountain road had the most people.

Because at the foot of the mountain, there was a group of soldiers specially guarding it and taking care the warhorses. The soldiers at the foot and top of the mountain would often change shifts, deliver food and therefore, soldiers could be seen frequently on this mountain road.
......

The youngster, Old Li San and the other hard laborers descended the mountain, and nothing out of ordinary happened.

"Hey, Old Li San? With one breath, you worked for a half year and your salary probably is not small. Once you go back home, that young wife you married will definitely prepare food, wine, and a warm bed for you."

"Me? If my wife would be this good, I wouldn't have wanted to leave home!" Old Li San snorted and casually looked back. When he noticed a distant figure on the road, his heart felt a surprise, "That Lord of the Black Armored Army already stared at me for a long time before, why is he following me now?"

While having a guilty conscience, of course his suspicion grew bigger and bigger.

"No, it's impossible. He can't possibly know." Old Li San couldn't think of any way in which he would have been exposed.

"Ah, Boss Dong is at the foot of this mountain and once I meet him, then everything will be all right. Once I completed this important matter, I can enjoy a lifetime of riches in the future!" Old Li San suppressed his anxiety and pretended to continue his casual conversation with the surrounding hard labourers while walking downhill.

Bai Qi coldly stared at that middle-aged man. In his eyes, killing this kind of vulgar man was nothing worth mentioning. Right now, the thing he needed to consider was – how to kill this guy without being seen by the soldiers and get back the purple gold without anyone noticing.

"I will let you live for a while longer." Bai Qi continued to follow him and didn't fear of losing the opposite party.

Old Li San and Bai Qi continued to descend the mountain one after each other.

Of course, Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan were quietly tracking them.
......

Bai Qi's pupils suddenly shrank. "Finally arrived at the foot of the mountain!" Bai Qi suddenly accelerated and saw that Old Li San separated from the other hard laborers, before vanishing around a nearby curve that was outside of his field of vision. In several breaths, Bai Qi rushed towards the foot of the mountain and looked at the direction of the major road.

"Boss Dong!" Old Li San saw a person's shadow sitting on a warhorse in the distance and immediately dashed forward.

"A helper?"

Bai Qi's face revealed a fierce color, "You will die together!" In the surroundings there were only a few hard labourers and no soldiers. Moreover, the opposite party had a warhorse therefore Bai Qi couldn't wait any longer.

"Whew!" "Whew!"

While displaying his Qing Gong, Bai Qi closed in on Old Li San like a gust of wind.

The moment Old Li San turned his head to take a look, he was immediately panic-stricken, "Boss Dong, help!" At this moment, his two legs desperately stomped on the ground, but that bag with the Purple Gold inside it was too heavy and he couldn't run very fast.

"Who are you?!" A tall, big build fat fellow armed himself with a sturdy black iron mace and shouted in anger.

"Stop."

Bai Qi laughed loudly. What was his status? Would he care about some small thief?

"Go die." Bai Qi revealed a disdainful smile and the long spear in his hand instantaneously stabbed at Old Li San. Full of panic, Old Li San called out, "Help!!!" However, Dong Yan and the others were too far and didn't have the time to save him. With a "puchi", they could only listen as that spearhead pierced Old San's throat from behind.

Old Li San's eyes widened into perfectly round circles.

Originally....

He almost obtained big riches. However, in the final moment, he died!

Dong Yan's complexion sank and shouted from the distance, "Kill him!"

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Da Pang held a pair of iron maces and Er Pang was armed with a pair of copper hammers. As for the silver haired middle-aged man, he held a double edged sword as they rushed over. As for Dong Yan, he followed from behind and took two flying knives into his hands.

(TLN: Pang means fat. Instead of calling them Big Fatty and Second Fatty, we decided to go with Da Pang and Er Pang for obvious reasons...)

"Humph." Bai Qi kicked Old Li San's corpse to the side and with one stroke, his long spear slashed past his right leg. His pants were immediately cuts apart and a bag could be vaguely seen tied on Old Li San's calf. The bag was already ripped open, and small pieces of purple gold fell out. The purple light could move people's heart and soul.

Bai Qi's eyes immediately lit up.

"Little thief!" Da Pang who was running at the front saw that purple gold and roared. The iron mace in his hands pounded towards his opponent.

"Give it up!" Bai Qi sneered and the long spear in his hand flung towards the side.

Hu!

"Clang!" The long spear smashed on the iron maces, and Da Pang's hands trembled from the impact. His whole body couldn't help but continuously retreat three steps. Bai Qi also felt his hand growing numb and looked at that huge fat fellow with a surprised look. "An astonishing strength!" With only one exchange, Bai Qi could already determine that the opposite party was a First Rated Warrior!

"Big Bro, the opponent is strong!" Da Pang screamed.

"Let's attack together." Dong Yan ordered and rushed forward.

That silver haired man grasped his long sword and with two swings, the sword's shadow flew towards Lieutenant Bai Qi.

Bai Qi's complexion turned cold and with a swing of the spear shaft, the spear in his hand instantaneously danced in a full circle. With a loud impact noise, that sword's shadow was swung away. "Where did these experts come from, it's another First Rated Warrior!" Bai Qi's heartfelt even more anxious now, since he hadn't thought that there would be so many powerful experts here.
......

Both Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan hid in the thick patch of bushes while staring at the scene. Because the distance was too far, they didn't see the purple gold.

"Qingshan, what do we do?" Tian Dan said in a low voice.

"Brother Tian, seeing such an interesting thing, why don't we look at it for a while?" Teng Qingshan said with a faint smile.

Tian Dan nodded and laughed: "Bai Qi killed that hard laborer, moreover he provoked these fierce experts. It seems like this matter is complicated. This trouble was caused by him, let him solve it. Seing Bai Qi admit defeat is also a very interesting thing."

Teng Qingshan carefully observed the battle. "Hm, among the four people, that guy holding the flying knives stood at the side and didn't dare to join close combat. Only the other three were truly fighting. The two fat fellows have huge strengths, but their hammer art and mace art are nothing special. Only that silver-haired man could be considered an expert. However, compared to Bai Qi, he is still no match."

"Ah, that fat guy with the pair of hammers got stabbed by the spear. It seems like the opposite party formed by these three men don't have a chance against Bai Qi. What a pity. I also wanted to see Bai Qi losing face by admitting defeat," Tian Dan helplessly said.

Bai Qi's Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun technique was only a bit weaker than Yue Song's technique.

During the competition against Teng Qingshan, Bai Qi suffered such a miserable defeat only because Qingshang used 50,000 Jin worth of strength.

Bai Qi's real strength was quite strong.

Without having some means, how could one hold the post of lieutenant?
......

"Er Pang, retreat!" Dong Yan shouted anxiously.

"Want to run away?" Bai Qi laughed wildly once and flicked the long spear in his hand. That Er Pang only felt a bright light shining in front of him, as if the sun appeared.

"Xiu!"

Dong Yan immediately anxiously aimed at Bai Qi and threw the flying knives.

With a shock, Bai Qi knocked away the fly knives with his spear and simultaneously stabbed forward, puff! He instantly stabbed Er Pang's chest and rapidly pulled it out!

Puff!

Blood splashed everywhere.

A terrifyingly big hole appeared on Er Pang's stomach and blood fell down in streams. He looked at Dong Yan in the distance and wanted to say something, but in the end his head drooped and his whole body smashed onto the ground.

"Er Pang!" Dong Yan's complexion sank.

"Little bro!" Da Pang also roared madly.

"A Yan, you guys are to leave!" That silver-haired middle-aged man roared and a cold air simultaneously appeared on his face. Holding the long sword in his hand, his speed suddenly sharply increased.

"No, I must revenge my little bro!" Da Pang's eyes reddened and he seemed to become insane.

"Haha, going all out?" Bai Qi laughed, "Today, none of you are leaving this place alive!" Just when Bai Qi managed to achieve Nine Spears facing the Morning Sun, he didn't even have time to celebrate and was already defeated by Teng Qingshan. Bai Qi was unwilling to accept that, but now, meeting this group of people, he could finally let out his frustration and was extremely happy.

Chi!

Da Pang's belly was cut by the spear and blood started to fly.

"Clang!" That silver-haired middle-aged man blocked, attacked, and simultaneously kicked away Da Pang with his foot.

"A Yan, you take Da Pang and run away first!" the silver haired middle-aged man anxiously said.

Dong Yan stared at Er Pang's corpse and his whole body slightly trembled. Suddenly turning his head, he stared at Bai Qi and his eyes changed to a light red color. In a low and deep voice, he said, "Uncle, you take Da Pang and leave!" After saying this sentence, his whole body unexpectedly shot towards Bai Qi. Holding his flying knives, Dong Yan who initially hid in the distance closed in with rapid speed!

Book 3 Chapter 30 Poisoned

"Haha, time to die!" Bai Qi laughed madly. He had never put someone, who had been hiding in the distance the whole time shooting knives, in his eyes. What kind of decent technique could he have?

"Big bro, " The injured Da Pang anxiously shouted.

"Ah Yan, don't do something crazy," The silver-haired middle-aged warned anxiously, since they all knew, that between the four people, Dong Yan's strength was the weakest. Taking only strength into consideration, both Da Pang and Er Pang could easily defeat Dong Yan. However, because of his intelligence and craftiness, he had become the leader of these four people.

However, Dong Yan seemed as if he went mad and rushed over.

"Haha!" Bai Qi grabbed his spear with both hands and prepared to stab Dong Yan to death.

Exactly, at this time – –

Coldness swept swiftly across Dong Yan's eyes. Suddenly a long black pipe emerged from his right sleeve, and he fiercely pressed against a hole in the pipe.

Whew!

Several blurry projectiles shot out from the black pipe. Their speed was extremely shocking.

Bai Qi's complexion instantly changed, "Not good!" The speed of the projectiles from that hidden weapon was simply too fast, and Bai Qi only had enough time to swing his long spear and reluctantly block those unclear images.

"Little thief, time to die!" Bai Qi only felt a slight pain in his left arm and right leg, before they quickly became numb. Roaring angrily, he wanted nothing more than to kill that Dong Yan.

However, Dong Yan actually turned around and ran away: "If you don't fear death, come and chase me!"

Once poisoned, the more one moved, the faster the blood flowed and the faster the poison will spread. Bai Qi could only stop and stare, not daring to move. However, Dong Yan was only 10 Zhang away and obviously didn't want to run away. His eyes swept over Er Pang's corpse, before reaching Old Li San' leg where the purple gold bag was tied on.

Inside was nothing but purple gold!

"Come, come and I will kill you." Bai Qi fiercely pressed against the acupuncture points in his left arm and right leg. Simultaneously, he swiftly tore off some cloth stripes and tied them tightly below the shoulder of his left arm, as well as on his right thigh, in order to reduce his blood flow.

The silver haired middle-aged man immediately grabbed Er Pang's corpse.

"Lord Lieutenant!" With a loud shout, Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan finally came over.

"Let's go!" Dong Yan clenched his teeth, and quickly jumped onto his horse.

The silver haired-middle-aged man also placed Er Pang on a horse, while Da Pang jumped on his, before immediately dashing away. The speed of the horses that Dong Yan's group possessed were extremely fast. Once they started gallop, Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan could only watch their backs vanishing into the horizon.

Actually, while Tian Dan was perhaps not able to catch up to their speed, it would be no problem for Teng Qingshan.

However......

Teng Qingshan couldn't possibly expose his true strength just to help Bai Qi.

......

While their horses dashed through the wind, Dong Yan and his men were grieving.

"Little bro, Little bro!" Da Pang's eyes were filled with tears as he cried in pain.

Dong Yan clenched teeth: "It's my fault. Because of me Er Pan was killed! If I had shot out the Ghost Spirit Needles earlier, Er Pan wouldn't have died!" During Er Pang's fight for his life, Dong Yan didn't have enough time to take out the Ghost Spirit Needles and could only use the flying knives. However, with those moves alone, he couldn't rescue Er Pang.

"Big bro, I don't blame you! Just now, you simply didn't have enough time to rescue Er Pang. I could only watch as well." Da Pang said painfully.

"A Yan, don't be overcome by grief! Er Pang died, but fortunately he left behind two sons and his lineage won't end." The silver-haired middle-aged man said with a sigh, "From now on, we need to take care of his sons."

"Yes." Dong Yan thought for a while, "Uncle, we can't stay in Huafeng City any longer! We have to go back and immediately retrieve all our money, then leave Huafeng City, and even Jiangning County!"

"Hm?"The silver-middle-aged man was startled.

"Big Bro, the troops and horses we laboriously gathered in Huafeng City, are we really going to abandon it all?" Da Pang looked at Dong Yan. The troops they had gathered under them were all natives and had wives or families. Asking these normal people to travel the world with them was simply impossible.

"When I say we leave, then we leave. What is there to think about! If we were able to control everything in Huafeng City, then we can do better in other places! Moreover that bastard from Gui Yuan Sect, one day I, Dong Yan, will take his life!" Clenching his teeth, Dong Yan proclaimed.

"He won't die even after getting shot by the Ghost Spirit Needle?" The silver-haired middle-aged man asked.

"Humph, if he's indecisive, the toxin will spread and he shall die. However, if he acts ruthless to himself, he won't die. At most, he will become a cripple!" Dong Yan sneered while saying "Even as a cripple, he killed my brother, so I must kill him personally." Dong Yan's group immediately, rushed to Huafeng City as fast as they could.

On that afternoon, Dong Yan and his men led their families to quietly leave Huafeng City and wander the world.

"Lord Lieutenant, are you alright?" Tian Dan continuously asked.

Teng Qingshan noticed there was a bag tied to the leg of the corpse, and found it was filled with pieces of purple gold inside. Teng Qingshan was actually startled when he suddenly found that the bag was filled with purple gold: "No wonder Bai Qi was acting secretly. He must have initially wanted to take this purple gold for himself, not informing the Gui Yuan Sect of the matter." Teng Qingshan immediately reached out and untied the bag from the corpse, before placing the purple gold that fell out back into the bag.

"Teng Qingshan, what do you think you're doing?" Bai Qi shouted.

"These pieces of purple gold were secretly being smuggled out of the mines by this person. Of course I must return these to the sect." Teng Qingshan said calmly.

Bai Qi clenched his jaws, and the hatred in his heart became rampant!

He had chased down that man alone, for what purpose? Of course it was because of this purple gold. However, now that Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan were present, he didn't have any opportunity to pocket it. Unless ......He could kill both Teng Qingshan and Tian Dan. However, Teng Qingshan's strength was very clear to him.

He'd rather fight with the four people from before than fight with Teng Qingshan again.

Not only had he not obtained the purple gold, he even got poisoned.

It was like going to steal wool and coming back shorn.

"Bling, bling! Lieutenant Bai Qi, brother Tian Dan, this bag of purple gold weighs at least 10 Jin, possibly even more." Carrying the small cloth bag, Teng Qingshan said, impressed by the quantity of purple gold inside, the rare material being even heavier than gold. This was also why there was the legend that the Heavenly Sword made of purple gold, belonging to Emperor Qinling weighed a hundred Jin.

After all, a normal sharp sword weighed only several Jin.

However, the legendary Heavenly Sword was rumored to weigh a hundred Jin.

A small cloth bag filled with purple gold already weighed at least 10 Jin, so the rumors were understandable.

"10 Jin of purple gold?"Tian Dan exclaimed, "That's worth 1000 Jin of gold, 1 million taels of silver! What a huge amount of wealth! Our Gui Yuan Sect, only makes a dozen's worth of Jin of purple gold in the mine each month. Those people really know their stuff and unexpectedly stole 10 Jin without being discovered."

If they were taking one Jin each month, the Gui Yuan Sect would have had no way to know.

"10 Jin!" Bai Qi felt even more pain in his heart. Even though his salary was high and he received 1200 taels of silver a month, he still had food and beverage expenditures. Bai Qi could only save around 3500 taels of silver per year. If asking him to accumulate 1 million taels of silver, even 100 years wouldn't be enough!

"My Lord!"

"My Lord, is something wrong?" Several soldiers came from the distance and immediately asked respectfully.

"Lord Lieutenant, can you walk?" Tian Dan asked worriedly.

"You two." Bai Qi pointed at two soldiers and snapped, "Support me and help me climb the mountain!"

The two soldiers felt helpless in their heart, but they could only accept the order and support Bai Qi.

Teng Qingshan shot a glance at Bai Qi and saw his face was completely pale. It appeared that he was somewhat in pain.

After walking only 20 Zhang, Bai Qi anxiously shouted, "Quickly put me down, quick!"

The two soldiers got frightened and gawked for a moment.

"Leave." Bai Qi anxiously waved his right hand and pushed the two soldiers to the side. Bai Qi immediately sat down and fiercely ripped apart the pants on his right leg.

Slash!

The entire pants were ripped apart.

"What's that!" Both Teng Qingshan and Bai Qi's complexion changed when they saw how swollen the right leg was. It had become completely pitch-black.

"What poison is this?" Tian Dan exclaimed.

"This poison is unexpectedly ruthless." Bai Qi initially thought t he could rely on his inner strength alone to stop it. Who would have thought that even after pressing his acupuncture points and tying up the blood vessels, he could only slow it down, but wasn't able to stop it, "Tian Dan, do you know what kind of poison this is? Know any methods of detoxification?"

Tian Dan shook his head.

Teng Qingshan also shook his head.

As for poison, Teng Qingshan wasn't afraid of it!

Teng Qingshan's foundation was to practice control over his body. In his previous life, Teng Qingshan was able to control his blood flow, slow down his heartbeat and so on. Right now, Teng Qingshan's control over his body was even greater. The muscle, skin pores, bones, organs, he had control over it all. His body could instantly grow several Cun taller or fall several Cun shorter.

He could even control some areas and stop the blood flow there for a short time.

The efficiency of a poison depended on the blood's circulation. If the blood wasn't circulated, the poison wouldn't be able to spread through the body. This was also the reason why people feared experts in the previous era. As for an expert of inner strength, although his strength was great, he only relied on inner strength. Regarding the control of the muscle and bones, it was too lacking, not mentioning the control of the blood flow.

......

Teng Qingshan didn't fear poison himself, but he actually couldn't help others with it.

"Lord Lieutenant, this poison is spreading faster and faster." Tian Dan said anxiously as he saw the pitch-black region of Bai Qi's thigh extending. Seeing his thigh worsening, Bai Qi felt short of breath.

Suddenly, Bai Qi shouted: "Do you have a saber?"

"I don't."

"I have a dagger." The soldier on the side shouted.

"Give it to me." Bai Qi immediately received the dagger from the soldier and slashed a large wound across his thigh. Immediately, pitch-black blood started to flow out.

In merely a second, Bai Qi cursed: "It's completely numb now, just what kind of poison is this? Letting out the poisonous blood is not helping at all." Bai Qi could clearly feel the poison continuously spreading, and once it reached a crucial spot, he did not doubt he would die. Cold sweat appeared on Bai Qi's forehead, and his whole body trembled slightly.

Chi!

Tearing off the cloth tied around his upper body, he immediately saw his left arm was also swollen and pitch-black.

"What to do, what to do? I cannot die, I cannot die!" Full of anxiety, Bai Qi 's whole body trembled and cold sweat dripped down.

"Lord Lieutenant, if you continue to hesitate, all hope will be lost!." Tian Dan shouted.

Bai Qi quickly grasped the meaning and suddenly looked at his pitch-black swollen arm and leg. Clenching his teeth, he fiercely wielded the dagger!

Puchi! Puchi!

The thigh and left arm were completely cut off!

From the places where his amputated limbs had once been, red blood started to flow out.

"Ahhhhh!" Bai Qi issued a painful and pitiful yell.