Chapter 20

As Feng Yi and Ding Dian left Jing Province City, the entire martial world began to stir.

It was only because a piece of news began to ferment in the martial world.

Eleven years ago, after inheriting Mei Niansheng's legacy, Ding Dian appeared in River Mound; following that, Feng Yi of the Dragon Sand Gang defected from the gang for the Divine Illumination Art and the Linked City Manual, assisted Ding Dian in causing a ruckus at the prefect's office, and abducted the prefect's daughter, Ling Shuanghua.

Feng Yi! An unknown nobody instantly became a hotshot.

To verify this news, Jing Province City quickly gathered all sorts of martial figures, both overt and covert.

A conclusion was reached: the news is true.

Ding Dian had been imprisoned by Ling Tui Si for three years, with too many witnesses from the Jing Prefecture constables, the garrison troops, and the Dragon Sand Gang disciples.

Whether it was the love story between Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua, or Feng Yi's defection, few cared; however, the Divine Illumination Classic and Feng Yi's performance directly struck a nerve throughout the martial world.

Especially since Feng Yi used to be just a petty underling, yet now he could arm-wrestle Ling Tui Si at the prefect's office—what could it be but the Divine Illumination Art? So could I become a second him? The martial world never lacks those who think highly of themselves and take risks for profit.

In an instant, the martial world stirred with wind and clouds because of Feng Yi.

However, although Feng Yi hasn't yet learned of all this, he can imagine it, so he temporarily doesn't want to part from Ding Dian.

It's simply to learn more martial arts, boost his strength, to cope with future journeys in the martial world.

So while the outside world is turbulent, the boat sails the Long River, and he upgrades his skills in the cabin.

Feng Yi simply pointed at the "+" after the Divine Illumination Art.

Suddenly he felt a wisp of cool air slowly seep into his meridians and enter the lower elixir field; that cool air was like a thin stream flowing downstream along the meridians, and he saw the stream grow more and more, faster and faster.

Suddenly his elixir field heated up, his abdomen surged with hot waves; following the Divine Illumination Art's heart method, his internal breath flowed like rushing rivers, naturally circulating through all the apertures of his body without any effort.

Feng Yi's head emitted puffs of white vapor, his whole body went limp and limp, feeling indescribably light and comfortable.

Feng Yi was overjoyed; before this, he had concentrated fully on cultivating his qi, the internal breath in his yin meridians reaching the "Weilu" point at the tip of his tailbone, wanting to rise even an inch was extremely difficult.

And the internal breath in his yang meridians, wanting to rush from the "Baihui" point to the metal lock gate at the mouth and nose, immediately met obstruction; even trying to advance an inch was immensely difficult.

Now, however, his internal breath runs through all the apertures of his body with no blockage; for a moment he felt refreshed and delighted, and actually felt his whole body's blood warming up.

After a while he only felt all sounds cease around him, heaven and earth suddenly stilled, as if he were in the wilderness, a breeze brushing past him, before his eyes a tranquil lake with not a ripple.

After another while, his body felt light and airy, as if he had drunk strong liquor.

After another while, a brightness filled his vision, he felt invigorated, his whole body—even his hair strands—filled with strength; Feng Yi felt completely at ease, unwilling to stop cultivating, and instead drove his internal breath to roam the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, each circuit strengthening his breath a little, endlessly repeating.

After a long while, when Feng Yi slowly opened his eyes, he felt every pore on his body unobstructed and comfortable.

He couldn't help thinking: "My internal breath can swiftly travel through my whole body; the Ren and Du meridians that govern the sea of yin and yang must certainly be opened."

He clenched his fists, feeling his strength was enough to shatter a mountain with one punch.

Feng Yi also knew this was an illusion, certainly impossible; yet it let him grasp the greatest mystery of martial arts.

Why do metal-affinity martial artists not mention their cultivation level? Because it's utterly meaningless.

One who has cultivated the Divine Illumination Art, Nine Yang Divine Art, Nine Yin Divine Art and other top-tier methods to open his meridians, versus one who uses ordinary methods—the speed and power of their internal energy are actually incomparable.

It seems judging a person's martial strength cannot rely solely on his cultivation level; this so-called level only serves to understand oneself and promote one's practice, otherwise it's useless.

His thoughts turned, and he saw the heart method slot on the interface.

【Internal Cultivation: Divine Illumination Art (great accomplishment achieved) + note: 'purest furnace fire' requires achievement value 150】

Feng Yi pondered briefly: his internal cultivation had achieved great accomplishment, though his skill had not yet reached the wondrous state of purest furnace fire and return to simplicity and truth, merely a slight gap in internal energy use, with little impact on strength.

In the original plot, Ding Dian's internal cultivation hadn't reached purest furnace fire either, yet he was already extremely formidable.

Although I relied on the system to cut corners, Di Yun also cut corners and still became amazingly impressive; I have no reason to be inferior to him.

He glanced at the system interface; the Shadowless Divine Fist had also achieved great accomplishment. Obviously, as his internal energy increased, various fist techniques became as easy as moving one's arms.

So next he needed to put effort into lightness skill and body technique; he only knew the lightness leaping technique, relying on internal energy to forcibly dodge and weave, which didn't add much to strength.

Only by eliminating shortcomings in internal energy, body technique, and attack methods would his strength truly increase significantly.

……

Below River Mound the terrain is flat; the Long River winds and twists between South of the Lake and North of the Lake, flowing eastward mighty; seeing one market town and village after another pass by the boat along the banks of the Long River, Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua admired the scenery, chatting and laughing, while Feng Yi simply focused on practicing his skills.

Ding Dian's martial arts are eclectic, but Feng Yi's Divine Illumination Art has achieved great accomplishment; with this supreme abundant internal energy as a foundation, any martial art can be learned instantly and mastered through practice.

The speed of progress was so fast that Ding Dian thought he had encountered an immortal; he still didn't know that Feng Yi's Divine Illumination Art had achieved great accomplishment, and without bothering with details, he simply dumped everything onto Feng Yi.

Besides his own cultivation, Feng Yi also exchanged martial arts with Ding Dian,

Each time they exchanged moves, he gained some insight into the subtleties of martial arts; his Divine Illumination Art upgraded to purest furnace fire, and his achievement value dropped from 150 to 149, clearly due to his own comprehension.

To avoid leaking their whereabouts, Ding Dian had the boat travel for several days without landing; he not only taught Feng Yi martial arts, but also told him the Linked City Manual.

Actually, this string of numbers is just a password; it only works when combined with a Tang poetry anthology. Of course, even without this password, Feng Yi knows the Linked City treasure is at Tianning Temple.

Ding Dian also had no mind to manage this treasure; he simply let Feng Yi choose the right opportunity to benefit the people.

Feng Yi knew there was poison on it, and now he also didn't know how to handle it, so he simply didn't bother to remember it, and instead asked a question he really wanted to know.

"Elder Brother Ding, when Hero Mei taught you martial arts, didn't he say anything about cleaning up the sect?"

Ding Dian heard this, his gaze distant, thoughts flying, as if he were back to that night long ago by the banks of the Long River.

After a moment, Ding Dian solemnly said: "No! Back then, my martial arts were vastly inferior to Wan Zhenshan and the others; against just one of them I was no match, let alone three."

Moreover, Hero Mei was at death's door then, and he only said to me: "My third disciple is the fiercest; he sneaked up and stabbed a sword into my back, forcing the old man to leap into the river to escape. At that time he wore a bitter smile, feeling helpless, and how could he bring himself to say anything about cleaning up the sect?"

Feng Yi gave a soft cold chuckle and said: "What a 'Iron Chain Across the River' Qi Changfa!".

Ding Dian grunted in acknowledgment and said: "That's him! Brother, you are a heaven-sent genius; with your age, you will surely make a name for yourself in the martial world, but you must guard against those schemes and plots.

For example, Qi Changfa's nickname 'Iron Chain Across the River' superficially means his martial arts are superb, he's good at defense, and enemies can't breach his gates; in fact, he is resourceful and scheming, extremely formidable, and whoever provokes him.

He will surely exhaust his wits to take revenge, making a person feel like a boat spinning in a whirlpool in the middle of the river, unable to go up or down.

Feng Yi heard his words full of concern, nodded and said: "Thank you, elder brother, for the reminder."

Speaking of this, he let out a faint sigh and said: "A generation's master actually died at the hands of his own disciple.

Truly, the world has undergone many changes, and life is full of sorrow!"

Ding Dian also sighed: "Old Master Mei counts as half a teacher to me; back then I couldn't save him, nor could I avenge him, and I feel guilty inside."

Chinese line.

Translate:

Feng Yi smiled faintly and said: "Big Brother, compared to you now and Wan Zhenshan and his group, who is stronger?"

instruction.

Feng Yi smiled faintly and said: "Big Brother, compared to you now and Wan Zhenshan and his group, who is more formidable?"

explanation (contains Chinese quote).

Now line 62:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian pondered and said: "Back then I thought Wan Zhenshan and his group were very formidable, but now recalling them, their internal energy was ordinary and their swordsmanship full of flaws."

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian pondered and said: "Back then I thought Wan Zhenshan and his group were very formidable, but now recalling them, their internal energy was ordinary and their swordsmanship full of flaws."

Line 63:

Chinese line.

Translate: "If we talk about real martial arts, I am somewhat stronger than them now, but after all I have my pipa bone pierced and my tendon severed; my martial arts can only exert at most sixty percent. In a one-on-one duel I can still secure victory, but if three attack together I cannot resist."

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian continued: "If we talk about real martial arts, I am somewhat stronger than them now, but after all I have my pipa bone pierced and my tendon severed; my martial arts can only exert at most sixty percent. In a one-on-one duel I can still secure victory, but if three attack together I cannot resist."

But we need to keep the speaker: The line starts with "Speaking of true martial arts, I am somewhat stronger than them now, but after all I have my pipa bone pierced and my tendon severed; my martial arts can only exert at most sixty percent. In a one-on-one duel I can still secure victory, but if three attack together I cannot resist." It's still Ding Dian speaking (since previous line ended with his quote). So we should attribute to Ding Dian. So we can start with "Ding Dian said:" or continue his speech. The line is a continuation of his speech without a new speech tag. So we should keep as part of his speech. So we can translate as: Ding Dian said: "If we talk about real martial arts, I am somewhat stronger than them now, but after all I have my pipa bone pierced and my tendon severed; my martial arts can only exert at most sixty percent. In a one-on-one duel I can still secure victory, but if three attack together I cannot resist."

But we need to keep the quote marks? The Chinese line doesn't have opening quote because it's continuation. In English we can keep as part of his speech. We'll start with Ding Dian said: and then the quote.

Thus line 63 translation: Ding Dian said: "If we talk about real martial arts, I am somewhat stronger than them now, but after all I have my pipa bone pierced and my tendon severed; my martial arts can only exert at most sixty percent. In a one-on-one duel I can still secure victory, but if three attack together I cannot resist."

Line 64:

Chinese line.

Translate: Feng Yi nodded and said: "Big Brother, after all you are injured, your divine skill is not yet complete, and moreover you now have concerns; it is truly unsuitable to involve yourself in the grudges of the jianghu. Let Old Master Mei's vengeance be left to me."

instruction.

Thus: Feng Yi nodded and said: "Big Brother, after all you are injured, your divine skill is not yet complete, and moreover you now have concerns; it is truly unsuitable to involve yourself in the grudges of the jianghu. Let me take care of this grudge against Old Master Mei."

Line 65:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise, and said: "You said in the government office that I received Old Master Mei's true transmission and that I am accepting disciples on his behalf—did you already plan this step?"

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian raised his eyebrows slightly, a hint of surprise, and said: "You said in the government office that I received Old Master Mei's true transmission and that I am accepting disciples on his behalf—did you already plan this step?"

Line 66:

Chinese line.

Translate: Feng Yi smiled and said: "Don't blame me, Big Brother; in prison I was merely trying to save my life, actually relying on some information gap to deceive you. Yet you passed on your martial arts to me—truly an unearned reward. If I don't do something, I cannot feel at ease."

instruction.

Thus: Feng Yi smiled and said: "Don't blame me, Big Brother; in prison I was merely trying to save my life, actually relying on some information gap to deceive you. Yet you passed on your martial arts to me—truly an unearned reward. If I don't do something, I cannot feel at ease."

Line 67:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ling Shuanghua secretly admired Feng Yi's deep loyalty and righteousness; Ding Dian gaining such a friend is a fortune of three lifetimes.

instruction.

Thus: Ling Shuanghua secretly admired Feng Yi's deep loyalty and righteousness; Ding Dian gaining such a friend is a fortune of three lifetimes.

Line 68:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian, hearing this, felt even more stirred, his chest boiling with hot blood, and he exclaimed loudly: "Brother, your words show your openness! Back then I knew Shuanghua was in danger, feeling helpless, I could only try a desperate remedy! I had long since made up my mind that if you could not enter the Divine Illumination Skill that night, unable to help me escape and rescue Shuanghua, I would really take your life, lest the secret leak! Today you can say this, making me, Ding Dian, deeply ashamed! Moreover, I intend to make up for a regret in my heart; please accept my bow!".

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian, hearing this, felt even more stirred, his chest boiling with hot blood, and he exclaimed loudly: "Brother, your words show your openness! Back then I knew Shuanghua was in danger, feeling helpless, I could only try a desperate remedy! I had long since made up my mind that if you could not enter the Divine Illumination Skill that night, unable to help me escape and rescue Shuanghua, I would really take your life, lest the secret leak! Today you can say this, making me, Ding Dian, deeply ashamed! Moreover, I intend to make up for a regret in my heart; please accept my bow!".

Line 69:

Chinese line.

Translate: Although Ding Dian is proud, he also knows that Feng Yi seeking revenge against Wan Zhenshan and his group for him is taking great risk, and also lets Ding Dian be without guilt before others. Feeling grateful, he suddenly dropped to his knees, about to kowtow to Feng Yi.

instruction.

Thus: Although Ding Dian is proud, he also knows that Feng Yi seeking revenge against Wan Zhenshan and his group for him is taking great risk, and also lets Ding Dian be without guilt before others. Feeling grateful, he suddenly dropped to his knees, about to kowtow to Feng Yi.

Line 70:

Chinese line.

Translate: But Feng Yi had already extended both hands to support him; Ding Dian only felt a great force trying to lift his body, involuntarily exerting strength to resist, yet he felt a mighty internal energy surging forth, overwhelming and impossible to resist. Unable to help it, he was helped up by Feng Yi, stood up, his heart greatly startled, and he trembled: "Brother, have you succeeded?"

instruction.

Thus: But Feng Yi had already extended both hands to support him; Ding Dian only felt a great force trying to lift his body, involuntarily exerting strength to resist, yet he felt a mighty internal energy surging forth, overwhelming and impossible to resist. Unable to help it, he was helped up by Feng Yi, stood up, his heart greatly startled, and he trembled: "Brother, have you succeeded?"

Line 71:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian's kneeling came from the heart, yet unexpectedly Feng Yi lifted him up; he felt that if Feng Yi exerted a bit more force, he could instantly flip him a somersault. And such ability, aside from the Divine Illumination Skill he has cultivated, cannot be explained otherwise.

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian's kneeling came from the heart, yet unexpectedly Feng Yi lifted him up; he felt that if Feng Yi exerted a bit more force, he could instantly flip him a somersault. And such ability, aside from the Divine Illumination Skill he has cultivated, cannot be explained otherwise.

Line 72:

Chinese line.

Translate: Feng Yi, preventing him from bowing again, kept his hands extended and said with a smile: "At that time we were both pursuing our goals; what shame is there? Moreover, you have granted me the favor of teaching me skills; how could I accept your bow?"

instruction.

Thus: Feng Yi, preventing him from bowing again, kept his hands extended and said with a smile: "At that time we were both pursuing our goals; what shame is there? Moreover, you have granted me the favor of teaching me skills; how could I accept your bow?"

Line 73:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian, seeing his strength yet not forgetting gratitude, this is exactly the bearing of chivalry; regarding his divine skill's sudden completion, he felt only joy, and immediately bowed low, saying: "Ding Dian being able to teach Brother Feng some minor skills is also a fortune of three lifetimes."

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian, seeing his strength yet not forgetting gratitude, this is exactly the bearing of chivalry; regarding his divine skill's sudden completion, he felt only joy, and immediately bowed low, saying: "Ding Dian being able to teach Brother Feng some minor skills is also a fortune of three lifetimes."

Line 74:

Chinese line.

Translate: Feng Yi felt pleased inside, accepted his bow, after all he had once beaten him and made him kneel; this evens things out, he said with a grin: "Big Brother, you overpraise me."

instruction.

Thus: Feng Yi felt pleased inside, accepted his bow, after all he had once beaten him and made him kneel; this evens things out, he said with a grin: "Big Brother, you overpraise me."

Line 75:

Chinese line.

Translate: Ding Dian straightened his body and wondered: "Brother, could you really be an immortal? I myself am not stupid, but I have practiced the Divine Illumination Skill for over eight years and still have not attained perfection; how could you master such divine skill in just a few days?"

instruction.

Thus: Ding Dian straightened his body and wondered: "Brother, could you really be an immortal? I myself am not stupid, but I have practiced the Divine Illumination Skill for over eight years and still have not attained perfection; how could you master such divine skill in just a few days?"

Line 76:

Chinese line.

Translate: Feng Yi organized his thoughts and said: "Big Brother, you also said that the Divine Illumination Skill requires a mind free of distractions. Earlier you were not guarding against others' pursuit, later you were troubled by love, so your progress was slow; whereas I am carefree, lacking your many worries, perhaps this accords with the Divine Illumination Skill's emphasis on natural spontaneity."

instruction.

Thus: Feng Yi organized his thoughts and said: "Big Brother, you also said that the Divine Illumination Skill requires a mind free of distractions. Earlier you were not guarding against others' pursuit, later you were troubled by love, so your progress was slow; whereas I am carefree, lacking your many worries, perhaps this accords with the Divine Illumination Skill's emphasis on natural spontaneity."

Line 77:

After a long while, Ding Dian said leisurely, "Brother, you are unrestrained and of noble character; given time, you will surely become a grandmaster of the age, leaving your name for eternity in the martial world!"

Feng Yi smiled and said, "Big brother, if you praise me any more I'll start floating." Ling Shuanghua said with a smile, "All right, all right, you two stop chatting—it's time to eat."

After the three had finished dinner, Feng Yi said again, "Elder Brother Ding, could you trouble yourself to recount in detail how the heroic Mei Da Xia was harmed by his three disciples, so that I may feel as if I were there?"

Feng Yi had something in mind, but he did not know the detailed circumstances of Mei Niansheng's death, which was somewhat inconvenient.

Ling Shuanghua said in surprise, "Elder Brother Ding, you haven't told Feng Yi about this?"

Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua used to talk about everything back then; he had already told her this matter long ago.

Ding Dian said, "I haven't gotten around to it yet." Then he looked at Feng Yi and asked, "Do you want to expose the three's wicked deeds before everyone?"

Feng Yi nodded and said, "These three old scoundrels murdered their benefactor, utterly lacking humanity; if we merely punched them to death, that would be too lenient."

"We must let them suffer ruin and disgrace!"

Ding Dian nodded and then recounted in detail how he had personally witnessed Wan Zhen Shan and others murdering their master.

After hearing Ding Dian's account, Feng Yi finally understood that Ding Dian had originally thought Mei Niansheng had passed down to him only a divine skill manual, but only after meeting Ling Shuanghua and Ling Tui Si did he learn that the treasure was left behind by Emperor Liang Yuan.

Feng Yi exclaimed, "Was it your elder sister-in-law who told you?" He glanced at Ling Shuanghua.

Although Feng Yi knew the general outline of the Lian Cheng Manual, the finer details were not clear to him.

Ling Shuanghua said slowly, "During the Six Dynasties, Emperor Wu of Liang died in the Hou Jing Rebellion; Emperor Jian Wen succeeded him, but was also killed by Hou Jing; the Prince of Xiangdong, Xiao Yi, then took the throne at Jiangling, becoming Emperor Yuan of Liang."

Emperor Yuan of Liang was weak and incapable, fond of hoarding wealth; during his three-year reign in Jiangling he amassed countless gold, pearls, and treasures. In the third year of Chengsheng, Wei troops captured Jiangling and killed Emperor Yuan, but the whereabouts of the wealth he had gathered remained unknown.

Wei army marshal Yu Jin, in order to inquire about this batch of treasure, tortured and slaughtered thousands of people, yet could not find them.

He feared that those who knew the treasure's location would later secretly excavate it, so he drove the tens of thousands of Jiangling residents en masse to Chang'an—killing some, burying others alive—leaving hardly any survivors. For hundreds of years this secret remained undisclosed; as time passed, even fewer knew of it.

Feng Yi had a sudden realization: "Oh, now I understand—your father guessed that this treasure lies in Jiangling. So…"

Ling Shuanghua nodded and said, "Yes, my father spent years poring over the Jingzhou Prefecture Gazetteer and various ancient texts, concluding that Liang Yuan's treasure must be buried somewhere outside Jiangling city."

Emperor Yuan of Liang was cruel-natured; he must have buried the treasure and then killed everyone who knew of it, so that no matter how the Wei army marshal tortured the populace, he could obtain not the slightest clue.

Ding Dian's mouth twitched with a bitter smile as he glanced at Ling Shuanghua, only to see her also looking at him, her eyes full of sorrow, her body trembling—evidently recalling how both of them had been felled by the Golden Wave Ten-Day Flower poison years ago.

He immediately said, "Before I met Shuanghua, I thought the feud between Old Master Mei and his disciples was merely over a sword technique manual from our sect, so I never imagined I needed to keep it secret, and thus I erected a stele before Old Master Mei's grave."

Who would have thought that someone would follow the clues from that stele, questioning stonemasons and boatmen, and discover that the stele was the one I had erected.

Since Old Master Mei was buried by me, it is eight or nine out of ten that whatever he carried on his person ended up in my hands.

Three months later, someone came to my home; I told the visitor the truth, but he demanded that I let him see the scripture.

Old Master Mei had warned me not to pass the scripture to villains, so I naturally refused to hand it over; the man left resentfully. Less than three days later, in the dead of night he sneaked to my house and came to blows with me; seeing the colored insignia on his shoulder, I realized who he was and withdrew.

Once the news leaked, visitors kept coming; I could no longer cope, and eventually even Wan Zhen Shan showed up.

I could no longer stay in my hometown of Jingmen, so I left, changed my name, and went to work in livestock trading at a ranch beyond the frontier.

After five or six years like that, hearing no more rumors, I missed my hometown, changed my disguise, and returned to Jingmen to take a look—only to find my old house burned to a bare patch of earth; fortunately I had no close relatives left, so it was actually for the best.

Later I met Shuanghua in Wuchang, and you already know what happened after that.

Ling Shuanghua let out a soft sigh, showing a look of regret, and said, "Elder Brother Ding telling you all this, he actually wants to tell you that what's most terrifying in the martial world is not martial skill, but the human heart!"

Feng Yi nodded, and thinking of Ding Dian's experiences and misfortune, he inexplicably felt a sense of unease and fear; he immediately rose and stepped outside the cabin.

Seeing his grim expression, Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua also felt it best not to press him further.

Feng Yi slowly walked to the bow, hands behind his back, gazing at the wide river; his sleeves rustled in the river breeze, and he couldn't help letting out a long sigh.

Feng Yi has now reached a point where, although he has experienced myriad dangers, he can also say that everything has gone smoothly for him.

He has mastered the Divine Illumination Skill and the Shadowless Divine Fist; it's hard to find an opponent under heaven—what more could he want?

But he still felt a trace of apprehension.

After all, Ding Dian was forced into hiding by a single careless move, while his own martial arts now far surpass those of Ding Dian in the past.

Yet in the original storyline, Ding Dian, who had mastered the Divine Illumination Skill, possessed martial arts certainly not inferior to his own, but was killed by the Golden Wave Ten-Day Flower poison.

Who knows if there isn't a poison as deadly as this demon flower? The way of poison is something one cannot guard against at all!

Moreover, his advantage of foreknowledge will only dwindle over time; Feng Yi thought of this and felt rather disheartened, wondering in this Lian Cheng world what master of poison arts he should go study under.

So, how exactly should he conduct himself in this martial world?

Feng Yi felt he needed to give it serious thought.

Mighty martial arts, after all, are not an indestructible, immortal body!

……

The boatman said the rice and grain had run out, they needed to dock for supplies. Ding Dian then said they would wait until evening to dock.

By nightfall, before they had even neared the riverbank, Feng Yi and Ding Dian heard a commotion from ashore in the distance, and hurriedly lifted the canopy to look.

They saw two large ships and several small fishing boats moored by the riverbank, torches blazing onshore, shadows moving to and fro.

Suddenly a voice with a duck-like rasp shouted, "Damn it, that little bastard Feng Yi has really struck luck, actually earning Ding Dian's favor!"

Feng Yi's boat was still over twenty zhang from shore, yet both Feng Yi and Ding Dian possessed deep inner energy, sharp ears and clear eyes, and heard everything clearly.

Feng Yi's face darkened, then a loud voice called out, "Yeah, Ling Tui Si is also a good-for-nothing, actually being played by that brat Feng Yi. If our Cave Courtyard Gang had held Ding Dian for three years, we would have already gotten hold of that secret manual!"

"Hmph, damn it, this time we'll split into three routes—let's see where Ding Dian and Feng Yi run to!"

The duck-voiced man shouted loudly, "You're right—Ding Dian and Feng Yi dare to act but not to take responsibility, they're damn cowardly turtles! It's made me search all over!"

Everyone raised their spirits, paying attention to the landing boats, focusing especially on the two men and one woman.

Ding Dian turned his head and asked, "Brother, do you know these people?"

Feng Yi lifted his cup, took a sip, and sneered, "The Dragon Sand Gang and the Cave Courtyard Gang have been rivals year after year; we've clashed with them several times, and their leaders are two hall masters."

Ding Dian nodded and didn't ask further.

Such hall masters are basically just jianghu ruffians—there are far too many of them.

Feng Yi set down his cup and said, "Brother Ding, let's part ways here."

Ding Dian frowned and asked, "You're going out?"

Feng Yi pondered briefly, then said, "You and your sister-in-law are about to retire from the jianghu, while I am about to make my name in the jianghu."

Moreover, the Linked City Manual and the Divine Illumination Skill have surfaced in the martial world, surely causing a sensation; if we don't show ourselves, this will never end.

As long as I remain in the jianghu, all jianghu disputes will fall upon me—so…

Ding Dian's expression showed he was moved, and he said, "Brother, do you know…"

Feng Yi picked up the wine pot and raised it to Ding Dian, saying, "Brother, from now on don't worry about jianghu affairs."

"If I don't die, I will surely shake the world! If I die, it's simply my fate—no need for more words!"

Ding Dian, too, was a straightforward man, knowing everyone has their own aspirations; he stood, clasped his fists, and said, "Brother, take care!" Tears nearly welled up.

Feng Yi rose, bowed to Ding Dian and Ling Shuanghua with clasped fists, and said, "May you two grow old together, have noble sons early—farewell!"

Ling Shuanghua suddenly called out in a sweet voice, "Brother, wait a moment."

Feng Yi turned his head and asked, "Sister-in-law, do you have any other orders?"

Ling Shuanghua: "I…"

Ding Dian gazed at her lowered, blushing neck, the worried Ling Shuanghua said, "Are you wanting to talk about Prefect Ling's affair?"

Feng Yi suddenly realized and said, "Sister-in-law, rest assured—I didn't give poison to Prefect Ling; that's false!"

Ling Shuanghua happily replied, "Then I can rest easy!"

Feng Yi secretly sighed, "You have parental affection, but they lack filial duty!" He clasped his fists and said, "The jianghu road is long—take care!"

Ling Shuanghua only felt a whirlwind rise inside the cabin; as the curtain fluttered, Feng Yi's silhouette vanished, and then she heard a long, mournful cry from the riverside.

(End of chapter)