Chapter 6

Carrot and big stick is the age‑old surefire method; Zhou Shuo didn't go back on his word. After Ye Jiujie was persuaded, he immediately took out a set of transparent glass horses; glass is the smoothest commodity Zhou Shuo has had since crossing the two worlds. Zhou Shuo took out a set to have the Qingzhu Band's lackeys help sell it, exchanging for a hundred and ten gold coins, then casually distributed the gold coins to those lackeys.

Zhou Shuo used the gold coins to open the way, and also had another meaning: to remind Ye Jiujie that he was not short of money, there was no need to plot his life, only his martial arts were wanted, to properly complete the task; and Ye Jiujie clearly felt this, carefully recalling and recounting his experience learning martial arts from an unnamed master.

In Ye Jiujie's recollection, Zhou Shuo quickly also came to understand this world's martial system; compared to the Yangshen World's focus on training tendons, bones, qi and blood, the martial arts of this similarly fictional world follow the path of refining qi.

After some training and his own exploration, Zhou Shuo has gained a bit of insight: qi‑refining martial arts also exist in the Yangshen World, but there the martial artists' qi refinement mainly controls airflow and hides/conserves energy, whereas this Tianxing Jiuge — or rather the foundation of qi refinement in the Qin Shi Mingyue world — besides airflow and energy also incorporates a bit of soul application, training true qi.

What is true qi? It is the qi of dual cultivation of life and nature. The world is a great sea of suffering; people are in the sea, the flesh is the boat, and the soul is the person aboard; the flesh is life, the soul is nature. In the Yangshen World, to become a Yangshen one must cultivate the flesh into a human immortal and the soul into a ghost immortal — in other words, to bring life‑nature dual cultivation to the extreme. But the Yangshen World's natives have limited energy systems; most can only choose one path to cultivate, whereas the Qin world can already, through true qi, accommodate both.

Ye Jiujie once learned a set of Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique from a nameless senior of the jianghu; Zhou Shuo picked it up with little effort. The Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique emphasizes gathering power in the whip, driving the whip with qi; when the whip is lashed it carries wind and thunder, shattering skulls and breaking bodies, its power unmatched. Ye Jiujie's practice was not deep, but thanks to it he managed to gain a foothold in Xinzheng City for a while.

The Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique mainly lies in the whip; its internal true qi cultivation is not profound, but it is enough for Zhou Shuo to understand true qi quite well.

True qi is a real existing energy; it can be seen as the fusion of thought and qi‑blood qi, not merely a martial artist's bare fist technique, also incorporating the thought of Daoist methods, thus combining the strengths of both — it is formless and colorless yet possesses substantive damage, but like Daoist arts it overemphasizes talent, belonging to the kind of skill that is hard to enter and hard to master.

The Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique stresses driving the whip with qi; the thicker one's true qi, the more subtle the internal force, the more segments the whip is trained in, and finally one can shatter rock with a single soft whip; Ye Jiujie, after more than ten years of bitter practice, only managed to train to a nine‑segment whip, and once the whip exceeds nine segments he cannot unleash its full power when wielding it, and may even strike himself.

Although the path of true qi is hard to enter, once cultivated it gives a feeling of gradual accumulation leading to sudden breakthrough; Zhou Shuo originally worried about lacking a marrow‑refining method and could not casually enter the Yangshen World, so his martial arts could not advance further, but now that he has this method of cultivating true qi, he can directly use true qi to drive the coagulation of his body's qi and blood; although he cannot immediately wash the marrow, at most three to five years he can in one go step into the Blood‑Exchange stage of the Martial Saint realm, only lacking practical combat, unable to unite spirit and flesh, and unable to develop martial intent.

Aside from martial arts, Zhou Shuo's long‑standing difficulty in cultivating Daoist arts has also found a solution: since the soul cannot leave the orifice, why not bypass this gate, using thought to command qi, using qi to command objects, manifesting thought into form, manipulating water, fire, lead and mercury, thereby truly uniting martial and Dao; a Daoist master must undergo at least four or five heavenly tribulations to be able to gather heavenly‑earth true qi, while a human immortal must open hundreds of apertures to sense the power of heaven and earth, and he now already possesses this through true qi.

He himself possesses an innate martial art for training the viscera and also has a decent Daoist foundation; Zhou Shuo cultivates true qi far faster than Ye Jiujie knows how many times over, but he does not use the qi‑refining method of the Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique; instead, relying on his own Daoist visualization foundation, he condenses true qi in the dantian, then aids it with visualization methods, letting qi travel through the limbs and bones; as for the specific eight extraordinary meridians, he still needs to ask someone.

While cultivating himself, Zhou Shuo was not idle; as a tit‑for‑tat, he passed on his revised Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique to Ye Jiujie to help him further master the whip method; as for the Qingzhu Band's little lackeys, he taught them breath‑nourishing qi refinement, the Small Heavenly Circuit Power Fist, and the Swift Wind Sword Technique, and also provided money to help rally forces, preparing to fully dominate the Qingzhu Band.

Regarding Zhou Shuo's domination, Ye Jiujie dared not have any thoughts, especially after Zhou Shuo revised the Wind‑Thunder Whip Technique, he became even more obedient; although nominally still the chief of the Qingzhu Band, he would consult Zhou Shuo before doing anything, and this came from the heart.

Originally, under Ye Jiujie's leadership, the Qingzhu Band was already on the verge of disbanding, but under Zhou Shuo's direction the Qingzhu Band began to revive, opening several shops in Xinzheng City to sell some grain and goods, thus gaining an income source; then it began recruiting members and further developing, subsequently clashing with Guanshankou and Sancun Hall.

Guanshankou's Tie Lao Cai had a decent knife technique, while Sancun Hall's Guan Rang knew a hard‑style kung fu; Zhou Shuo struck first, defeating the two gang leaders and making them hand over their martial arts, then annexed the two gangs; these two gangs were actually not doing much better either, otherwise they wouldn't have been unable to handle the Qingzhu Band; the three sides had been deadlocked on several streets, now pressed together by Zhou Shuo and merged — this too is a survival tactic, and none of the three resisted.

After merging the three gangs, Zhou Shuo felt he was in fact a de facto boss, so he simply went all the way and changed the original name of the Qingzhu Band; since he was studying the Fangxian Classic, researching how to forge elixirs and refine mercury, combining medicines into truth, he originally wanted to call it Fangxian Dao, but Fangxian Dao was founded by the Yangyang Daozun, and he didn't want to impersonate it, so he renamed it Fangsheng Guan, calling it Fangsheng rather than Fangxian, because he didn't want to speak rashly about sages, immortals and gods; he genuinely respects such figures, as long as they deserve those titles.

Fangsheng Guan merged the three gangs in just two months, gathering two or three hundred people; Zhou Shuo, while getting started with the Fangxian Classic, worked out the method of making glass, recruited all sorts of people to form an assembly line, and also opened a crystal workshop, thus greatly opening a source of wealth; in Xinzheng City he set up a signboard of considerable size, trained disciples, spread manpower widely, and laid a network across the city.

Although Zhou Shuo's side was making a noticeable stir, inside Xinzheng City there was no great upheaval, because inside Xinzheng City a bigger storm was brewing: Han state's grain supplies bound for the frontier were seized by ghost troops, and then five senior officials were killed in succession, their deaths extremely tragic; rumors spread that the ghost troops were taking revenge, causing panic throughout Xinzheng City, while the Han palace was rife with intrigue; those generals and ministers had not yet noticed the power gathering in Xinzheng City, and Zhou Shuo himself felt nothing, as he was wholeheartedly studying the medical classics and attempting to forge elixirs and refine weapons; the affairs of Fangsheng Guan were entirely handled by Tie Lao Cai and Guan Rang, with Ye Jiujie supervising.

The emergence of true qi caused a qualitative change in Zhou Shuo's entire cultivation system, comparable to a martial artist condensing martial intent or a Daoist breaking the life‑death barrier; after breaking through this barrier, Zhou Shuo thoroughly began to feel the change in his life — nurturing the body, transferring qi, his mindset shifted; after establishing Fangsheng Guan, aside from periodically receiving news, he spent all other time studying medicine and cultivating.

One day, Ye Jiujie, Tie Lao Cai and Guan Rang together brought new news: the case of the ghost troops' grain robbery has now been solved, and the solver is the ill‑reputed Ninth Prince Han Fu of Xinzheng; it is said that General Ji Wuye also assisted from the side, but these reports are peripheral; the three gang leaders more often mentioned that the Scorpion Sect had defected to the general's manor, becoming Ji Wuye's subordinates, and the Scorpion Sect was originally one of Fangsheng Guan's fixed targets.

"Why is your target only the Scorpion Sect?" Zhou Shuo set down the bamboo slip in his hand, turned his head to look at the somewhat worried Ye Jiujie, and also at Tie Lao Cai and Guan Rang beside him.

"Sir, do you mean we should deal with the Seven Absolutes Hall?" Tie Lao Cai glanced at his two companions, then timidly looked at the boss; the fixed target of Fangsheng Guan, besides the Scorpion Sect, is the Seven Absolutes Hall — the Scorpion Sect can't be moved, so perhaps we should go after the Seven Absolutes Hall.

"The Tang Qi of the Seven Absolutes Hall — this person once served in the Baiyue forces, has an official background, and moreover has a master standing behind him; they are no easier to provoke than the Scorpion Sect." Zhou Shuo looked at the timid Tie Lao Cai, and without thinking placed his right elbow on the low table, supporting his chin with his right hand.

"What…?"

"No way!"

"How is that possible!"

Upon hearing Zhou Shuo's words, Tie Lao Cai, Guan Rang and Ye Jiujie exclaimed in surprise; the Seven Absolutes Hall is another black force that Fangsheng Guan has its eye on, originally together with the Qingzhu Band, Guanshankou and Sancun Hall they all rose in Xinzheng City, and the three of them deep down believed the four had previously been on equal footing, but Zhou Shuo now suddenly says the Seven Absolutes Hall is no easier to deal with than the Scorpion Sect that defected to the general's manor — it's like a bunch of poor thugs suddenly learning that one of them is actually a rich second‑generation official's son, which the other poor thugs find unacceptable.

"No need to be surprised; for now don't think about expanding your forces — train your brothers well, manage your business well, and don't forget to send people to gather the brothers' families together, then go to the wilderness to find a remote place to settle, reclaim wasteland and open fields, and settle your affairs behind you." Zhou Shuo looked at the three surprised gang leaders, thought about the later plot, and spoke to arrange things.

"Why… why is this?" Ye Jiujie, hearing Zhou Shuo's words, couldn't help but feel anxious; this seems like arranging posthumous affairs, but their Fangsheng Guan's undertaking has only just begun!

"Why? Because the Han state's heaven is going to change, and the heaven of the Seven States is also going to change." Zhou Shuo narrowed his eyes; even if he doesn't know the plot, the history of the Qin king sweeping the six states and the lords flocking westward cannot be altered, and since he has no intention of becoming a human emperor, he might as well arrange things as best he can!

"Forget it; if you don't want to do it, then don't do it, and I won't force you." Zhou Shuo, thinking about the arrangements he'd made, turned his head to look at the three dazed gang leaders, and waved his hand; he was merely cherishing a bond of affection, and since these fellows don't recognize goodwill, he has no reason to involve himself — he'll go his own way; although many things have become a bit troublesome, he doesn't need these worries.

"I, we'll follow orders, boss." Tie Lao Cai, seeing Zhou Shuo's impatience, glanced at his two companions and then hurriedly spoke up, cutting them off, while using his gaze to press the two companions, signalling them not to speak further.