Chapter 258: The Seizure, Part 1

If Yang Guang hadn't been assassinated, that woman of some Fu from Goryeo would never have appeared, but since there is the mountain‑pushing master Shi Long, Bai Lang is rather interested in the Longevity Manual he holds. Because one of the four great divine skills in Huang's novel is this, and legend says that Guang Chengzi, a fellow of Yunzhongzi, wrote this thing for longevity ascension.

In this world, Bai Lang has long known that it is hard for him to make a breakthrough in martial arts—the world's ceiling does not support it, and the meticulous, deep‑level cultivation methods are not suited to his temperament, so advancing further in this world is basically impossible for him.

As an Innate Expert, Bai Lang has already known that martial arts depend on the practitioner; they are not divine skills that can be practiced just by acquiring them—it also depends on compatibility. Bai Lang knows that if he were to practice techniques like Carefree Void, Self‑Object Forgetfulness, or the Buddhist Sect's Void Compassion, they are not impossible but would be far less effective. Ten years of hard training would likely be no better than six months for someone with good affinity… not to mention there are divine skills that are completely opposite in nature.

He has considered that the unparalleled demonic skills are likely to have some mutual reinforcement with the Buddhist Sect's divine skills, and that Taoist divine skills, if mishandled, could merge into demonic, Buddhist, or even other philosophical schools' divine skills, but that would never work for him. "The Golden Bell Shield Divine Skill is said to have been realized by Bodhidharma—at least the manual claims so, yet after practicing it there is not a hint of the Buddhist Sect's true meaning. It doesn't even require the Eight Precepts; drinking and eating meat freely, even encouraging heavy drinking and meat to greatly replenish qi, and until one reaches a certain level one cannot be near women—this has a bit of Buddhist flavor…"

Whether to practice or not, he doesn't speak of it; it seems fine. So after settling the bill, Bai Lang also inquired about the route to Shi Long's mountain‑pushing hall and went there. The Shishan dojo is not small; I myself am considered a master in Yangzhou City, "Now it seems that Yuwen hasn't come to seize it, so it's a good chance for me to go in and see." Bai Lang entered the dojo through a side entrance; there are many disciples training martial arts, so a single person coming and going is nothing.

Bai Lang stopped a disciple, "May I ask if your hall's master, the mountain‑pushing Shi Long, is present?" Though Bai Lang looks heroic and strong, he is actually very polite. He even smiles, but the other, not recognizing his goodwill, sized him up and immediately shook his head, "The master is not here; please leave, sir."

Bai Lang, following his gaze, also examined himself, smiling kindly like a man‑eating tiger and nodding, "I see, that was presumptuous." He then turned and left without intending to linger. "Come back tonight!" Bai Lang chuckled to himself, confident in his own martial arts—this disciple's level is only about the average of the dojo's disciples, the same as the level he once had when selected as a hall enforcer; if that's all, then the so‑called Yangzhou's top master Shi Long is just that.

Having learned the layout, Bai Lang's night arrival was smooth as a familiar route; by now his injuries had fully scarred over, and aside from the two penetrating wounds there were no other impediments to movement. A considerable portion of his Internal Force is used to suppress the alien true qi carried by the two swords that pierced his body, but the remaining Internal Force together with his robust flesh should be sufficient—this true qi is a bit troublesome, and Bai Lang thinks it may take two or three months to fully expel.

If Yu Yu were to travel here, it would take several years to return; the entire span of the Datang Shuanglong story is only about ten years, so Bai Lang feels he can certainly experience the whole Datang Shuanglong era. For now, he'll start by entering Shi Long's dojo to examine the Longevity Manual.

With his Lightness Skill, Bai Lang slipped past the training grounds ahead without being noticed by the disciples patrolling at night; he knows the masters here have qi perception, and it works very well. So Bai Lang simply concealed his qi and raced at top speed toward the inner part of the dojo.

Tigers are powerful assassins, but a white tiger's essence is hard to hide; as Bai Lang approached the inner hall where Shi Long was, he had already been detected. The disciples' martial arts are not low, and perhaps due to the world's nature their qi perception is stronger; they sensed Bai Lang's arrival and came out en masse, and Shi Long was already prepared, waiting for Bai Lang's arrival.

After a few breaths, Bai Lang arrived with a gentle breeze. The lights here were all lit, and Bai Lang walked out of the darkness, looking at the middle‑aged man before him. "Mr. Shi Long?" Bai Lang also used qi perception; the qi of the man in front of him was far stronger than that of the surrounding people.

"I am indeed the one." Shi Long replied, his expression very cautious—he could feel that although the man simply stepped forward, it was as if a massive ferocious tiger emerged from the darkness, its hanging tiger eyes fixed on him. Bai Lang's face was fully illuminated by the firelight; he wore a headwrap covering his short hair—he still couldn't tie a topknot, so he remained unpretentious, just as it is.

Bai Lang's beard on his face had already grown two inches, the iron‑like whiskers complementing his imposing appearance, truly majestic—and there was also an aura of "officialdom" about him, walking with a dignified dragon‑like tiger stride, looking like a high‑ranking official. Shi Long was slightly startled, "Sir… how should I address you? What brings you here?"

Bai Lang had hoped Shi Long would address him as "Sir" to indulge his ego, but in this regard the world turned out to be quite "historical" and made no mistake. "I, Bai Lang of the White Jade Pillar, have come merely to borrow a look at the Longevity Manual in Mr. Shi's hand. Rest assured, I will not take it; I will just observe here." Bai Lang never intended to seize it from the start; he thought the technique might not suit him, so what use would taking it be?

Shi Long's face flashed a hint of blue, "Brother Yuzhu, this approach is overly overbearing!" Bai Lang also thought so, so he really chuckled, "If it's overbearing, then let it be overbearing. This world indeed respects the strong, sorry I can only come on the hard way, Mr. Shi Long. Please! Let me witness the force of the mountain‑pushing master."

Doing this many times makes it a habit; Bai Lang is already accustomed. As a guest, he naturally must strike first to respect the host. And the host also has his disciples serve his labor—those who enter must strike first. But Bai Lang's palm sent out a gust of evil wind, and these people simply couldn't breach the "wall" formed by the palm wind true qi.

The result was that Shi Long's twin palms were forced to push out together.

This push truly lived up to the "Mountain‑Pushing Master" reputation; the palm force was heavy, dominant, and seemed capable of toppling a mountain—its true qi locked onto Bai Lang, forcing him to fight head‑on. Bai Lang smiled, his palm technique directly met the twin palms; the earlier sky‑splitting palm forces had already collided, and Bai Lang's force directly cancelled that palm force—the strong force did not rebound on either side but burst outward in all directions. However, Bai Lang transformed his palm into a fist and, within an extremely short distance, delivered another punch…