Chapter 87: Contest

At the moment Bai Lang fell, the last thing he saw was a bolt of lightning cleaving the sky, "Fortunately…". His vision flashed, and he was already back in his own room, his form restored. "The white hair has grown, but the skill remains." He already has experience; only his cultivation fell, his insight is intact and can be regained quickly.

When Bai Lang left, the thunder in the sky instantly destroyed half of Jinzhou City's wall and its towers, and the ensuing fire reduced the entire city, along with thousands of soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians, to ash. Contemporary observers said the Ming White Junior Protector had been taken by Heaven, and it was no surprise that the Qing's great generals were also taken. Later, Huang Tai Ji heard that Jinzhou had burned; his top generals such as Ao Bai died in battle, also spitting blood to death—the fat man's body was already in poor condition and could not have lived many more years.

Thus the contest for the Great Khan's throne begins. Originally Huang Tai Ji intended his young son Fu Lin to succeed, but some opposed, and now there is no connection between Ao Bai and Huang Tai Ji's confidants to protect Fu Lin—others still want to protect him, but unexpectedly the child also died, drowning, cause unclear. In this deep winter the water surface was frozen yet he drowned; even choking on food would have been better. The Khan's seat is now uncertain; Huang Tai Ji does have an adult son Hao Ge, and also adult brothers like Duo Ergun and Duo Duo.

Since the Khan's throne cannot be settled, the big guy cannot just start a fight. Simply put, one way is to seize the Ming Nation, and whoever earns the greatest battle merit becomes the next Khan. However, this year is the peak of a minor ice age; Liaodong's temperature is unprecedentedly low… If Bai Lang were still here he would know; this year Shenyang recorded a low of minus 65 °C, and all of Liaodong was shrouded in a white snowstorm…

Going to war in such frigid temperatures? That's not a sensible way to seek death. Outside the city, the village of Zhuangzi saw the whole settlement freeze to death. Better not fight; survive first. The following year there was no spring nor summer—only snow and winter for the whole year; the third year was the same… No spring or summer, only a milder winter and a truly deadly winter.

The Jianzhu Jurchen court collapsed even faster than the Ming Dynasty…

Is all this to blame Bai Lang? Perhaps. Maybe his Yu Yu truly drew energy from somewhere, causing these results? No evidence, so it may be rumor.

Bai Lang is still wearing an ill‑fitting draped robe, plus a tiger patch—when he returned his physique had shrunk, even his big beard was gone; now he looks like a youthful version of the White Junior Protector Xu (some name). He quickly stripped off his clothes, put on ordinary attire, took out the Yu Yu and examined it closely, "Why does this Yu Yu seem finer than before? Previously it was low‑grade jade, basically just a stone seed; now it's a fine white jade."

The fish grew increasingly lively, as if the trans‑dimensional return process also benefited it. Bai Lang thought this plausible; the Yu Yu had probably gained something. "Hmph, Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield, third stage—now the fourth stage is already taking shape. This might finally shake loose," he chuckled, and the white tiger killing aura that had manifested on his body immediately subsided.

Since he's back, he'll return to his days as a thug leader in the Tooth Guild, and he has secretly considered finding a bad guy to test his cultivation results—so far his experience as a thug hasn't involved many killings, mostly just inflicting flesh wounds. This time he wants to try his Tiger Form True Meaning; people in this world have qi, spirit, and body far stronger than those in the world the Yu Yu sent him to.

"Bai Lang, someone's looking for you…" a junior servant who worked in the Tooth Guild rushed in and said, and soon the guild's shopkeeper also ran in, "Quick, quick! Someone from above is looking for you!" He reached out to pull Bai Lang. Bai Lang had to hurry forward. Entering the courtyard, he saw Mu Ronghua sitting at a seat, delicately sipping tea. Upon seeing Bai Lang arrive, Mu Ronghua set down his cup, stood, and greeted him.

"Go quickly and greet this gentleman! I won't disturb you any further." The shopkeeper bowed swiftly to Mu Ronghua and ran off. Bai Lang watched him leave, then Mu Ronghua smiled, "Sit, sit, you are the host." Bai Lang also smiled, "You spent so long looking for me? To be honest I still don't know where your Huanhua Sword‑washing Sect is." Bai Lang had indeed searched, but everyone he asked was vague.

The Tooth Guild members didn't know; this guild seems fake… Mu Ronghua also laughed, "You asked the wrong people. Your gang's senior members know, and the middle ranks actually know too—this is common knowledge. This time I was brought here by your middle‑rank members. Now let's agree: say you once saved a relative of my family, so I came to see you; the testimonies must match, otherwise you'll be unable to explain."

After Bai Lang sat down, the two of them talked about others, and Bai Lang fully displayed his ignorance of the martial world—his identity and location indeed make it hard for him to encounter the true martial world, after all this is just a remote branch of an unremarkable gang. Regarding the upcoming adventure, the two remained tacitly silent, but Bai Lang thought Mu Ronghua's arrival was timely, "Brother Mu, could we spar? Having stayed here for years, I really don't know how my martial skill has progressed."

Mu Ronghua smiled, "No problem, but it seems we can't do it here, right?" Bai Lang nodded, and they agreed on a place.

Soon after, Mu Ronghua took his leave, and Bai Lang was pulled over by the deputy branch leader of the gang. This deputy, surnamed Liu, examined Bai Lang from head to toe, "Master Bai was actually a top expert of this branch; looking at his qi and spirit, he is a martial artist who has already opened the heavenly circuit, right?"

In short, it was a series of recruitment attempts; of course Bai Lang declined the appointment to be a floor‑manager at a brothel‑casino, feeling that lingering in the Tooth Guild was more comfortable…

At night, on a hill outside the city, Bai Lang arrived to find Mu Ronghua standing with his hands behind his back, admiring the moonlight. Mu Ronghua slowly turned, drew a long sword from his waist, held it upright, and said, "Please!" Bai Lang clasped his fists and replied, "Please!" He then summoned a gust of vicious wind and charged. He had already activated Thirteen Tai Bao Golden Bell Shield, adopting a direct, powerful assault style. Mu Ronghua's swordsmanship was unlike anything Bai Lang had ever seen, moving through space like a swimming dragon.