Chapter 86: Turbulence Arises

Training room.

Three water-bucket-thick steel bolts locked the heavy stone door tight; the high temperature from the lava grass made the training room sweltering.

Wu Tie had just taken a stalk of lava grass, he was naked, his whole body steaming with heat, practicing the Foundation Establishment style move by move.

Sweat continually poured from his body, dripping onto the floor, quickly vaporized into steam by the heat waves from the lava grass.

The white egg from the Nether Demon Mine clung tightly to Wu Tie's flesh, rolling around him with a "dilili" sound; no matter how he moved, the white egg stuck to his skin, mischievously crawling all over.

Wherever the white egg passed, the heat waves emanating from Wu Tie's body were completely swallowed, leaving a patch of cool skin about a chi in radius.

Not long ago, Lao Bai sneaked over to find Wu Tie, eagerly telling him what had happened during this period.

Actually, it's quite simple.

It was just that Shi Meng's few close aides opened the armory, arming all the outer-recruit soldiers; under their leadership, thousands of outer-recruit troops easily swept through the whole Big Stone City.

Anyone associated with Shixi who had sufficient status was hung on the city gate.

The ordinary soldiers of Shixi's faction were demoted to slaves and thrown into the harshest, most grueling mines to do hard labor.

The entire Big Stone City is now completely in Shi Meng's hands; all offices and positions are occupied by his people.

Lao Bai proudly boasted to Wu Tie about how brave his lads fought and how they played a huge role in this great purge.

In fact, it was exactly as Lao Bai said.

Over two thousand short, agile rat people who could appear and disappear from any corner, when they took up powerful crossbows and fired over two thousand bolts from all directions, it was a nightmare for anyone.

Especially in the city, the rat‑people warriors wielding crossbows displayed extraordinarily fierce combat power.

To Lao Bai, this undoubtedly opened the door to a new world before his eyes.

What made Lao Bai even happier was that, because his clansmen performed outstandingly this time, they were all enrolled into Big Stone City's city defense force and could now properly receive a soldier's salary from the city.

The excited Lao Bai and Wu Tie chatted for a long time, and Wu Tie finally reached an unspoken understanding with Lao Bai.

For three stalks of lava grass as payment, Wu Tie could obtain various information from Lao Bai; if any important event occurred and Lao Bai could give advance warning, Wu Tie would also receive an extra reward.

In the following days, Wu Tie immersed himself in cultivation.

Each day he consumed a leaf of lava grass, cultivating the Foundation Establishment style move by move, not rushing for quick results nor recklessly charging ahead; Wu Tie trained steadily and solidly.

Primal vigor filled his whole body, permeating every cell; every tiniest corner was repeatedly cleansed and soaked by primal vigor.

Righteous vigor coupled with primal vigor, repeatedly forging and tempering his entire body.

Refining away impurities, strengthening his physique.

With the lava grass's powerful energy replenishment, the essence‑blood consumption from the Nether Demon Mine was fully restored in just three days. His body became robust and upright again, and his interior continually generated abundant essence‑blood aura.

The golden light ball at his glabella lost half of its size in the Nether Demon Mine.

After a few days of cultivation, the golden light ball recovered somewhat. As the body's continuously nurturing essence‑blood aura fed it, the golden light ball kept growing stronger bit by bit.

With the breakthrough past 1,080 moves of the Foundation Establishment style, each subsequent move could drive the golden light ball to continuously expand and contract.

Soul power grew rapidly; within the golden light ball, golden light rain continually spun down, sweeping over Wu Tie's entire body again and again, over every tiniest part.

Wu Tie could also feel that at the center of his glabella and celestial spirit cover, a thread of warm air constantly sought to escape, and those spots were continually assorted with sensations of soreness, numbness, itchiness, distension, and other odd feelings.

Many places on his body also continually transmitted a stabbing pain and itch akin to being struck by an electric current spewed from Old Iron's big teeth.

From head to foot, his whole body experienced all kinds of abnormal conditions.

Especially whenever he cultivated deeply and his mind sank into his body, Wu Tie could hear his blood and qi roaring like a tsunami—wave after wave unceasing, from head to foot, repeatedly scouring and rolling over him.

This feeling was as if his entire body were 'awakening'.

His entire interior was undergoing a tremendous transformation.

After cultivating this way for over half a month, Wu Tie hardly ever left the training room.

In just over half a month, Wu Tie's skin became as fine and smooth as white jade, with a faint luster like pearl‑glazed glass shimmering beneath the surface.

His hair had mysteriously grown several feet long; a thick black mane fell like a waterfall straight down to his heels.

Hair is the excess of blood.

In just over half a month, his long hair grew over a meter, showing how abundantly vigorous Wu Tie's qi and blood now were.

Now Wu Tie, sitting at the center of the tens‑of‑meters‑wide training room, with just a casual breath, the whole room erupted in gales; the turbulent wind would even condense beside him into seven or eight‑meter‑high mini‑tornadoes, howling and swirling, an awe‑inspiring sight.

One thousand one hundred moves……

One thousand one hundred twenty moves……

One thousand one hundred forty moves……

With ample lava grass replenishment, Wu Tie's cultivation speed became extraordinarily fast.

Especially the golden light mass within his glabella had, after a month, swollen to fist size, surpassing its former peak in the Nether Demon Mine by more than double.

Breaking from Foundation Establishment to Profound Mystery Realm, the greatest hurdle is strengthening the soul and condensing mental power.

And this hurdle, Wu Tie had already quietly cleared when he activated his innate bloodline divine ability.

Thus his cultivation advanced a thousand miles a day, so fast that even he dared not continue.

That day, feeling the golden light ball at his glabella expand another layer, righteous vigor repeatedly washed over it, continually forging it into something solid and dense, Wu Tie slowly lowered his posture.

In one and a half months, his Foundation Establishment style had actually broken through to 1,180 moves.

He felt a bit dazed.

Old Iron told him that training the Foundation Establishment style is slow, unless one has a huge amount of cultivation resources.

Now Wu Tie has enough lava grass to aid his cultivation, but this efficiency is truly too fast.

"Surely nothing's gone wrong, right?"

Wu Tie repeatedly reviewed in his mind the Foundation Establishment style taught by Old Iron.

But it's correct—he followed the orthodox Foundation Establishment style move by move, and in just one and a half months he broke from 1,080 to 1,180 moves.

Just twenty more moves, and it would be Foundation Establishment Perfection.

Wu Tie sat on the ground, with a gesture a large water jar in the corner of the training room flew over; he lifted the lid and took a sip of the spring water, scalding hot from being baked by the lava grass's heat waves.

He gulped down several mouthfuls of water, set the water jar on the ground, Wu Tie furrowed his brows, and once again self‑interrogated the entire process of his training.

Thud, thud-thud

The heavy stone door of the training room was violently hammered, and a heavy sound came through the specially left ventilation hole.

"Centurion, Sixth Master is calling you over… Sixth Master has summoned all officials of centurion rank and above in the city to a meeting."

"If I can't figure it out, I'll just stop thinking about it."

"The progress is fast; isn't that good enough?"

After consoling himself a bit, Wu Tie stood up, wiped the sweat from his body, dressed neatly, secured the white egg rolling all over with a heart‑protecting mirror, and strode out of the training room.

In the highest stone fortress at the center of Shibao City, after more than a month, Wu Tie saw Shimen again.

Wearing a set of heavy armor, holding a wheel‑sized axe in his left hand and gulping strong liquor from a huge cup in his right, Shimen sat enthroned on a stone throne in the middle of the hall, occasionally letting out a strange cold laugh.

Within Shibao City, the heads of various departments gathered together, their faces grim, each coldly eyeing the several burly men standing in the hall.

Wu Tie entered the hall and immediately "saw" Lao Bai hiding at the back of the crowd.

Hei Pi, One‑Eye, and Tie Babai, who had been recruited into the Shi Family together with Wu Tie, stood beside Lao Bai, a few of them huddled together, whispering something low.

Last time Shimen unleashed a killing spree, he carried out a massive purge of the Shixi people in Shibao City; Hei Pi, One‑Eye, and Tie Babai stood out, and together with Wu Tie they now hold the positions of centurions in Shibao City.

Because they were recruited at the same time, they obviously reached a tacit understanding and naturally formed a united bloc.

Wu Tie naturally joined them, warmly greeting them.

Wu Tie noticed that Hei Pi's face was grim, his wolfish visage drooping as if someone had forced three catties of bitter gall down his throat.

"What's the situation?" Wu Tie pointed at the few men standing in the hall who were glaring at each other, the surrounding Shibao City officials snorting and staring hostilely.

"Trouble's come knocking." Lao Bai's news is always the most well‑informed; he split his mouth, showing two big front teeth, and laughed happily: "But it's not really our concern…… it's…… it's…… it's Master Shimen's trouble."

Lao Bai glanced quickly at Hei Pi and quietly explained the origins of these men.

They are members of the Yan Family, one of the three great clans of the Cangyan Realm; they came to Shibao City because, over a month ago, when Shimen carried out his great purge of the Shixi clan, a great‑grandson of Shixi named Shiyu was also slain by Shimen's men.

Shiyu was precisely the youth who burst into the armory while Lao Bai and the others were equipping themselves, shouting loudly to stop them.

The leader of the iron‑dwarf warriors under Shimen's command struck Shiyu down with a single axe blow in public.

Actually, it's nothing much; this is merely an internal affair of the Shi Family, and with Shiyu killed, it's not the Yan Family's place to intervene.

The crucial point is that Shiyu's newly wed wife is in Shibao City, and she comes from the Yan Family.

Even more crucial, in that great purge Shimen, to gain absolute advantage, employed these outsiders recruited by Shifei; many are of mixed quality, originating from mountain bandit gangs… for example, Hei Pi and his wolf‑clan followers are a notorious bandit group.

Thus, it was inevitable that someone would take advantage of the chaos to loot.

Hei Pi then did some unpleasant things to Shiyu's new wife.

In the end, Hei Pi himself hung Shiyu's new wife on the city gate.

One and a half months is enough for the news to reach the Yan Family's territory, and also enough for their leaders to formulate a response.

After hearing Lao Bai's words, Wu Tie glanced at Hei Pi.

Hei Pi's face grew even uglier, and he said coldly: "What are you looking at me for? It's just… fooling around with a woman… at a time like that, if there's an advantage to be taken, why not take it?"

He stuck out his tongue in extreme resentment, gazing wistfully at Wu Tie and asking: "Isn't that right? At such a time, with such an opportunity, such a lovely young woman—if I could take advantage, why wouldn't I? After all, we're all going to die… can chastity be eaten as food?"

Wu Tie remained silent.

He could not pass judgment on such matters.

In this damned age, everyone does such things.

Women, unless they possess sufficient strength, as the weak can only become spoils of war, to be enjoyed by the victors.

Everyone does it that way.

Things like ethics and morality simply do not exist in this era.

Wu Tie even doubted whether the splendid morals and integrity described by Grey Master, and the fine conduct and ethics mentioned by Old Tie, were merely legends, pipe dreams…

So, Hei Pi was not wrong.

From his standpoint, who could say he was mistaken?

If we must assign blame, the chief culprit is Shimen, seated on that huge chair, guzzling liquor.

"Gulgulgul," Shimen extended his right hand; a guard lifted the wine vat and poured him a bowl of liquor, which he gulped down in two swallows, and a layer of red slowly rose in his eyes.

He glared fiercely at several Yan family envoys, speaking in a low voice: "Listen up, brothers, this is how it is."

He repeated word for word what Lao Bai had just said to Wu Tie.

Pa— Shi Meng slammed the wine bowl in his hand hard onto the ground, shards flying everywhere.

He pointed at several Yan family envoys, speaking in a low voice: "The Yan family's young lady is dead… well, we'll talk about this later. Tell me, what are the Yan family's terms? Well? Just now, you told me—what are your terms?"

A burly man over two meters tall, his skin and hair flushed red, his head of long hair as red as flames, sparks continually spewing from his pores, stepped forward a few steps, his face grim, and spoke.

Shi Lao Liu, if you want us to say it again, then we'll say it again…

Everyone who participated in this rebellion must die.

The barbarians and outlaws you recruited—like Hei Pi, Du Yan Er, Tie Bashi Ba, Lao Bai, Xiao Tie… and also Da Chui, Lao Ya, Tie Dan, Tong Ke, etc., the chiefs of the barbarian tribes, the leaders of the outlaws, and all their clansmen and subordinates, must be executed.

Then, you, Shi Lao Liu, personally go to the Yan family and kowtow to make amends.

Shi Meng clapped his hands, pointing at Wu Tie and the others, laughing: "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? They want to have you all executed…"