Chapter 53

The servants of the Song family are highly efficient in their work.

Not long after the fat steward left, several maidservants brought Qin Shuo fresh clothes and food.

Then, a few young servants in green robes carried in a large wooden tub filled with bathwater, with flower petals added to remove odor.

After everything was prepared, the maidservants and young servants bowed and retreated, telling him to call them for cleaning after he finished bathing.

Qin Shuo was not pretentious either; after ten or more days of travel, he had long wanted to take a proper bath.

He stepped into the wooden tub, completely relaxed his mind, wiped away all the sweat and dust accumulated along the way, and instantly felt refreshed and invigorated.

After drying himself and putting on clean clothes, Qin Shuo felt his whole body become light.

He then began to eat heartily, finishing all the food the maidservants had brought, and then had nothing else to do.

Fortunately, the fat steward did not make him wait long, soon appearing with a smiling face: "Young Master Qin, is the food to your liking?"

"Very much so." Qin Shuo nodded seriously.

After all, the Song family is a prestigious household, and their food is still better than that of the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall.

"Satisfied is good. Then shall we go to the Library now?"

The fat steward remained humble throughout, his smile never fading.

"Good." Qin Shuo nodded again.

Although he was not used to the fat steward's enthusiasm, he did not want to say too much.

After all, he is Song Yan's junior martial brother, and her showing favor to him to gain her affection is quite normal.

With the fat steward personally guiding him, Qin Shuo entered the Song family Library very smoothly.

But just as he followed the keeper's directions to find books related to Buddhist scriptures and their meanings, a luxuriously dressed young nobleman strode in with large steps, swaggering arrogantly into the Song family residence.

He passed through without obstruction, and wherever he went, servants and maidservants all bowed in respect.

"Young Master Tian."

"Young Master Tian."

……

Tian Bai had long grown accustomed to the attitude of the Song family servants toward him, paid them no mind, and went straight to the courtyard where his aunt and uncle resided.

Upon entering the gate, he saw the reception hall already filled with people, as if they had known he would come.

"Ha! You little brat came fast enough? What's the matter? So impatient to see Song Yan?"

In the hall, seated in the place of honor was an elderly man with sharp spirit.

He held a teacup in his hands, wearing a teasing expression as he looked at the hurriedly arriving Tian Bai, his eyes full of mockery.

"Uncle is joking, Tian Bai may have sincere feelings for Yan'er, but the most urgent matter now is still the争夺 of the Earth Cave quota."

Uncle, you also know that Yan'er has always disliked me; this time she returned, and even brought a junior martial brother—could it be she came for the Earth Cave quota?

Unlike his earlier aloofness toward the servants, Tian Bai now lowered his posture greatly, clearly very concerned about that so-called Earth Cave quota.

"You're overthinking it."

The middle-aged man sitting beside the elder spoke lightly: "Regarding the reopening of the Earth Cave, the Song family never informed Song Yan, so how could she know?"

"Her return this time was merely coincidental."

"However, given the Family Head's character, he likely would not keep it from her."

"After all, this was obtained at the cost of her father's life; initially, the family promised that once the Earth Cave opened, if the family secured the quota to enter, they would leave one quota for this branch."

"Originally, we thought that if she did not return, you, as her fiancé, willing to fight for the Song family, could naturally inherit this quota; now it seems we may have to expend some effort and words."

"I will follow Uncle's arrangements entirely."

Tian Bai bowed again, paying respects to the middle-aged man.

"If you truly followed my arrangements, you would not have driven Song Yan away back then, causing the main branch's inheritance to remain in her mother and son's hands to this day."

The middle-aged man coldly glanced at Tian Bai, then continued: "As for that country bumpkin who returned with Song Yan, he is merely a泥腿子 with Inner Strength Great Success—what waves could he possibly stir?"

"Does Uncle know this person?" Tian Bai's eyes lit up.

He had rushed over in haste, just unaware of the background of that boy named Qin Shuo.

If he knew the opponent was only at Inner Strength Great Success, he would not have bothered making this trip.

"Do you think that because Song Yan fled to Black Water City, the family would just ignore her? She is the sole daughter of the former Family Head, her every word and deed represents the family—how could the family truly let her go unchecked?"

The middle-aged man showed no expression, clearly not favoring Tian Bai.

If it were not for this Earth Cave争夺, the Song family truly would have no one usable.

Moreover, over these years, the Tian family has always taken this branch as their guide, conducting affairs with relative propriety.

Otherwise, how could someone like Tian Bai, an outsider by surname, get a chance to enter the Yuan Magnetic Grotto?

But now that Song Yan has returned, it indeed disrupted their earlier plans.

If they still wish to continue using the Tian family's hand to erode the main branch's power, they cannot help but rely on this useless nephew.

Thinking this through, the middle-aged man's expression eased slightly, then continued: "According to reports from our spies in Black Water City, this Qin Shuo is Song Yan's junior martial brother from the Liuhe Martial Arts Hall, who once defeated a disciple of the Mang Mountain Martial Arts Hall with Inner Strength Great Perfection using his Inner Strength Great Success."

"This youth likely masters some Burning Blood Secret Technique, capable of bursting forth with strength comparable to Inner Strength Great Perfection in a short time—a rare martial arts genius."

"Ah, so he's just a waste who relies on the Burning Blood Secret Technique to reach Inner Strength Great Perfection—now I can rest easy."

Tian Bai slightly straightened his body, his worries gone, confidence appearing on his face.

He is a genuine Inner Strength Great Perfection martial artist, already half a foot stepped into the Tongmai Realm, far surpassing the Inner Strength Consummation of those rural places like Black Water City.

This time entering the Yuan Magnetic Grotto is also to利用 the grotto's special environment to accelerate the process of Inner Strength transforming into Qi, so as to enter the Tongmai Realm as soon as possible.

The Tongmai Realm, even in a city like Songyang Prefecture City where experts are as numerous as clouds, counts as a major power.

Like the Tian family, the Song family's Family Head is merely at the peak of the Tongmai Realm.

Of course, the gap between Tongmai Realm martial artists is much greater than that between Inner Strength martial artists.

Likewise, both at the peak of the Tongmai Realm, the Song family's Family Head could defeat three ordinary peak Tongmai Realm martial artists like your father—and this is without killing intent.

The stronger a martial artist becomes, the more factors influence their combat power as they advance.

Beyond cultivation realm, the number of advanced martial arts one masters and the degree to which their meridians and physique have been tempered greatly affect one's strength.

This is why the Song and Fang families would fight to the death over a quota for the Yuan Magnetic Grotto.

Because tempering in the Yuan Magnetic Grotto not only refines a martial artist's strength and qi and blood to be more vigorous, but also accelerates the transformation of inner strength into qi, and to some extent enhances meridian flexibility.

Take Tian Bai himself—he had already reached Inner Strength Great Perfection for over half a year before successfully condensing his first thread of inner qi.

This was despite a steady supply of exotic beast meat at home and various qi and blood pills aiding him.

If it were an ordinary martial artist, wanting to transform inner strength into qi to the point of clearing the meridians would be unthinkable without two or three years of tempering.

If one could cultivate in the Yuan Magnetic Grotto, even for just a few short days, their inner strength-to-qi transformation speed would increase significantly.

Moreover, after being tempered by the Yuan Magnetic Force, their meridians would become more resilient, able to withstand greater qi and blood eruptions, and their strength would surge accordingly.

By then, even without relying on pills, he would be confident of breaking through to Channel Opening within three months.

This is the true reason he values the Yuan Magnetic Grotto quota so highly.

"Alright, regarding the grotto quota—since we promised you, even if Song Yan returns, it won't change anything.

You'd better prepare well; if you lose to the Fang family, don't blame us for forgetting old ties." The middle-aged man said impatiently.

"Uncle, rest assured—I, at Half-Step Channel Opening, combined with the superior palm technique you taught me, even if I face Fang Lin, the strongest of the Fang family, I have eighty percent confidence of victory." Tian Bai patted his chest.

"Hope so!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand, signaling Tian Bai could withdraw.

After Tian Bai left, the middle-aged man turned to the elder seated in the chief position and said: "Father, should we send a few people to test Song Yan's junior disciple?"

"No need."

The old man waved his hand and firmly rejected.

"Just a rustic from a remote region—even if he truly has some martial arts talent, how much strength could he possibly have?"

"Even if he's a helper invited by Song Yan, he's nothing to fear."

"What's more, as an unknown nobody, he likely lacks the courage to interfere in our Song family affairs."

"If he truly doesn't know good from bad, we can step in later to discipline him—it's not too late."

"That's how Father educates."

The middle-aged man nodded in deep agreement: "He's just a tiny insect clinging to a high branch—indeed not worth damaging our Song family's reputation for courteous conduct over this."

"Send someone to notify your third uncle, telling him to return and attend this family meeting."

The old man's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery as he coldly laughed:

"Three years ago, I overruled the consensus and let Tian Bai marry into the main house, making him a pawn for our branch to replace the main line.

Now, I can also let Song Yan enjoy the right to use the grotto quota, but prevent her from actually using it."

"Yes."

The middle-aged man replied respectfully, then strode out of the reception hall in large steps.

……

"The Buddha-nature within all beings is like the sun wheel—clear, round, complete, vast and boundless; only obscured by the five aggregates like clouds, like a lamp inside a bottle, unable to shine forth……"

"Buddha-nature is none other than awakened nature……"

"All beings possess Buddha-nature, but due to ignorance, they cannot attain liberation……"

"Seeing that the five aggregates are all empty, one relieves all suffering……"

In the Library.

Qin Shuo gazed upon the vast sea of Buddhist scriptures, and instantly felt his head swell like a large斗.

The richness of the Song family's Library exceeded his imagination—various Buddhist and Daoist classics, rare editions and translations, estimated at two or three hundred volumes.

He spent a great deal of time finding a few texts describing Vajra Buddha Nature, but the result was reading through clouds and mist, completely incomprehensible, and he didn't even know how to dispel the five aggregates' heavy clouds to manifest Vajra Buddha Nature.

"Forget it—I'll go to the temple and ask a high monk; relying on my own enlightenment to grasp Vajra Buddha Nature, I fear there's no hope in this lifetime."

Qin Shuo rubbed his temples, then resolutely walked out of the Library.

These Buddhist scriptures, he truly couldn't understand a bit—too damn convoluted.