Chapter 83: Breakthrough, Breakthrough!!!

Yue Qianfeng sat on the corner of the wall, smiling as he sized up Li Guanyi. “Good.”

He leapt down nimbly, his clothes still plain, yet his bearing like a celestial dragon; he slapped Li Guanyi on the shoulder, and an inner qi flowed through Li Guanyi’s body—this was the first time Yue Qianfeng had seen Li Guanyi since he had taught him the cultivation method.

Even though he had seen Li Guanyi ride out on horseback and guessed his martial arts had reached a minor breakthrough.

Yet today, sensing the vigorous vitality within him and the forged physique, he couldn’t help but feel astonished, sighing: “Truly absurd.”

“He’s actually entered the realm—and forged his body.”

“If I hadn’t personally taught you the ‘Break the Formation Melody’ and the Eight Slashing Blades of Break the Army, I wouldn’t believe you could reach this level in such a short time.”

Li Guanyi said: “I had a rare encounter.”

Yue Qianfeng, seeing his expression, laughed heartily and waved his hand. “Ha!”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me.”

“How many people in this world don’t have secrets or stroke of fortune?”

“I’m friends with you, not because of your fortune.”

“You’re that little kid from the mountain shrine—I drank with you. Now you’re a guest minister of the Xue family—I still drink with you. Even if one day you become a hero of the world, I’ll still see you as that little pharmacist I met in Guanyi City, and I’ll still come find you for a drink.”

“Because of that day you charged out like a man who didn’t care if he lived or died, I’ve already claimed you as my brother.”

Yue Qianfeng grinned. “But honestly, it’s like something’s cursed this place.”

“Getting into this city’s become a nightmare. For some reason, these city guards act like they knew I was coming today.”

Yue Qianfeng tossed back his drink. “Guanyi City has suddenly upgraded its defenses several levels.”

“I thought something was off.”

“Lu Youxian, that wooden-headed fool, can barely defend a city like a turtle—no one could break through him, and nothing major’s happened. How could he possibly track me down? That old turtle’s strength is even less than mine. Truly absurd.”

“And they even claimed they caught my accomplice.”

“I originally didn’t plan to come see you. But when they told me you’d been beaten, your legs broken, dragged back—well, I had to believe them, so I came to check. And here you are, perfectly intact.”

“Those soldier bastards can’t even guard a city properly, but they spread rumors worse than village grandmas!”

“If I find out who started this rumor, I’ll beat the shit out of him!”

Li Guanyi kept his eyes on his nose, his nose on his heart.

He said nothing.

He only said: “Brother Yue, are you…?”

Yue Qianfeng waved his hand, cheerfully: “Call me Brother Yue—that’s enough!”

Yue Qianfeng said: “I suspect the Xue family’s tiger already knows I’m here. I just came to check if you’re safe. Now that I’ve seen you, I should leave.” He brushed his robe, rose to go—but Li Guanyi’s bronze tripod jade broth remained utterly still. He knew the final reservoir of the bronze tripod required a special motion.

Such as transmitting a method. Or a divine weapon.

So he said: “Brother Yue, wait.”

Yue Qianfeng looked at him.

Li Guanyi said: “Brother Yue, you’ve been traveling hard for a long time. No one dares to disturb or search the Xue family. Why not rest here a while? At least have a meal before you go.” Yue Qianfeng had no intention of accepting—but he’d been traveling and fighting for weeks, and hadn’t eaten well.

Li Guanyi’s mention stirred his appetite.

So Li Guanyi invited Yue Qianfeng to the kitchen—he’d originally planned to host him in the guest quarters—but Yue Qianfeng’s hunger drove him straight to the kitchen of this villa. Li Guanyi then went to the martial disciples’ dining hall and brought back a large basin of stewed meat and strong liquor.

Yue Qianfeng didn’t use chopsticks—he grabbed several chunks with his hands, tossed them into his mouth, bit down, and swallowed them whole.

He ate seven or eight fist-sized pieces of stewed pork knuckle before finally relaxing.

Yue Qianfeng ate and drank with abandon; Li Guanyi kept bringing more dishes.

At last, the dust of his journey was washed away—he felt utterly comfortable, yet felt slightly ashamed for eating and drinking so much. After thinking a moment, he smiled.

“By the way, I once told you—if you entered the realm, bring the token to me, and I’d teach you the method to enter. I never expected the old man of the Xue family beat me to it—he saw your potential already.”

“Hahaha, the martial art you’re practicing now is the Xue family’s, right?”

Li Guanyi nodded and told Yue Qianfeng the name of his cultivation method.

Yue Qianfeng, slightly drunk, commented: “Concentrating Qi? Hmph. The Jade Arm Divine Bow Art excels in explosive power, and its body-forging techniques are certainly top-tier. But for concentrating Qi, their martial path relies on bows and archery—its Qi refinement and penetration are decent, but not supreme.”

Li Guanyi asked Shunshi : “I’d appreciate your guidance, Brother Yue.”

Yue Qianfeng pointed at him and laughed heartily: “You’ve got thick skin!”

“Good. That kind of attitude won’t get you hurt out there.”

Since Li Guanyi had fought his way out of death, Yue Qianfeng already saw him as family. He smiled and said:

“Since you asked me, I won’t withhold it.”

“I do have a few methods for concentrating Qi. The one with the most destructive Qi is something I dug up from a tomb when I was still a bandit—seems like a thousand-year-old Qi cultivator’s technique: inhaling Earthly Fiend Qi, refining my true Gang .”

“It lets you store Qi inside your body, then unleash it in an instant.”

“Like carrying a hidden weapon on your person.”

“But unfortunately, it’s too ruthless and brutal—unlike today’s orthodox path.”

“The rest—I’ve crafted one myself over years of cultivation and battle: the Crimson Dragon Concentration Art. The Qi it gathers carries intense heat, excels at firing fire force, scorching lungs and organs, accumulating fire poison to weaken opponents, seeking total victory.”

“Besides these, there’s only the method that aligns with the ‘Break the Formation Melody.’”

The Qi Cultivator’s Concentration Art. The Crimson Dragon Concentration Art.

One is brutal, with unique self-defense techniques.

The other naturally carries fiery energy—Li Guanyi was tempted by both.

Hearing of the third method, he asked curiously:

“Was this also created by General Zhou?”

Yue Qianfeng replied: “It’s a military masterpiece—but not created by General Zhou.”

“Its Qi concentration isn’t as brutal or piercing as the one I found in the tomb, nor does it naturally carry fiery force like my Crimson Dragon Concentration Art, which burns bones and tendons. But it’s balanced, harmonious—like a river that can contain all tributaries.”

“Anyone, regardless of their cultivation base, can practice it.”

Li Guanyi fell into thought.

Yue Qianfeng smiled and explained: “I learned it from Marshal Yue. He said if you want to go far, your foundation must be stable, balanced, like the sea. Marshal Yue himself learned it from the general who led him into battle.”

“It was the Peaceful Duke.”

“This lineage’s method was created by the Peaceful Duke himself—called the ‘Peaceful Book.’”

Li Guanyi recalled the obscure histories, and his aunt’s words—his father had also worn a mask and fought on battlefields. He sat up straight. At that moment, the other two methods seemed meaningless to him. He asked Yue Qianfeng:

“The Peaceful Duke’s method.”

Yue Qianfeng said: “Yes. The Peaceful Duke.”

“And yes, the Emperor burned the records, erased his story from history.”

“People your age probably don’t even know him anymore.”

The rough, mighty general’s face showed a trace of regret. He tossed back his drink. “After all, he had no clan behind him—just a peasant’s son. When the Emperor wanted to make him a marquis, offering him the title ‘Peaceful Duke of the North,’ he said: ‘How can we speak of guarding north or south while the world isn’t at peace?’”

“He picked up sword and spear, abandoned his fields, hoping only for peace in the world.”

“When peace came, he would return to his fields.”

“That’s why his title was Peaceful Duke.”

Li Guanyi sat quietly.

Seeing Li Guanyi’s expression, Yue Qianfeng was willing to say more. He smiled:

“Do you know how the Peaceful Duke became famous? Back then, the southwest hadn’t been subdued. The Peaceful Duke was about twenty, a third-stage martial artist. With no connections, he led only two thousand raw recruits, following Prince Puyang into the southwest.”

“Then he got scattered.”

“The Peaceful Duke thought for a moment. Returning with broken troops meant certain execution by military law. So he gritted his teeth, turned his sword, and charged straight into the heart of enemy territory.”

“Seven hundred battles in total, marching over a thousand miles. For a full hundred days, no word of him. Everyone thought he was dead in the southwest. But the Peaceful Duke carved words onto bamboo slips, wrapped them in his battle robe, and threw them into the river—letting the current carry them. They were found.”

“On them was written just one line.”

“I’m not dead yet. Don’t burn paper money for me.”

“Everyone back then thought it was nonsense.”

“Later, he campaigned against the southern barbarians, breaking over thirty tribes, capturing over twenty thousand men and women. They planned to take the barbarian chieftains too—but whenever this part was mentioned, Marshal Yue would stammer. Later we found out—the Peaceful Duke…”

“Hahaha! The Peaceful Duke took bribes from the barbarian chieftain—gold, jade, and twenty-four perfectly sized night pearls, the barbarians’ national treasures. He thought they looked pretty, so he took them, then let the chieftain go. He came back and insisted he hadn’t captured the bastard.”

“Eventually, the truth came out. When questioned, the Peaceful Duke stubbornly denied stealing the treasure. He nearly got stripped of all rank. Prince Puyang was beside himself, and ended up selling everything he owned to cover the loss.”

“Then he stormed into the imperial court with an iron rod, nearly beating the Peaceful Duke to death with his bare fists.”

“The Peaceful Duke fought back. The two of them sat together in front of the imperial study.”

“Hahaha! How can a great general be so greedy?”

Li Guanyi grinned.

The heroes of history, once locked in bloody battles, now seemed vivid.

Yue Qianfeng took a sip of wine and whispered: “Later, we learned the Peaceful Duke had distributed the gold to the peasants affected by the army; sold the jade to buy meat, liquor, and pay for his comrades. That’s when his reputation peaked.”

“By sparing the barbarian chieftain, he pacified the southwest without harming civilians or betraying his brothers. He himself pacified the southwest, took the night pearls, and rode his qilin three thousand miles.”

“They say he rode all the way to Jiangnan to propose to a girl.”

Yue Qianfeng marveled: “A great general who turned down a princess’s favor, trading a kingdom’s treasure for the girl he loved since youth.”

“Legend says when the Peaceful Duke removed his mask and rode his qilin into Jiangnan, countless women on upper-story pavilions scattered petals. Petals fell on the blue stone paths, drifted into streams, and flowed endlessly downstream.”

“I wonder what kind of man that young, brilliant general must have been…”

“But now, children in Jiangnan still play with those smooth stones.”

Yue Qianfeng gestured—the same pebbles Li Guanyi and Xue Shuangtao had seen boys treasure. He smiled faintly:

“Boys especially love them.”

“They come from the Peaceful Duke’s legend.”

A general who changed an era—no matter how much a marquis might wish to erase his traces, it is utterly impossible.

Li Guanyi listened to this story and said, “Did she agree?”

Yue Qianfeng whispered, “She did. Marshal Yue said the girl accepted happily, and everyone around them offered blessings—but in truth, he could have won her with nothing more than the pebbles he used as a boy to skip across water. Those pearls were eventually exchanged for gold and silver at their wedding and given to wounded comrades.”

“But I heard that a little girl, only eleven or twelve at the time, grew so furious her head ached that she secretly grabbed a qin and struck Taipinggong ’s battle robe with all her might.”

“Saying, ‘Put it down! Put it down!’”

Li Guanyi lowered his gaze—he might now know who his parents were.

Listening to these tales, warmth settled in his heart.

Yue Qianfeng lifted his eyes. “But in the end of the story, both she and Taipinggong died ten years ago. Marshal Yue was guarding the border when he heard the news and rode to aid them—but all he found was a palace engulfed in flames. Perhaps from that day on, Marshal Yue was no longer tolerated by the current emperor.”

“The ‘Book of Peace’ he created—I now transmit it to you.”

“I will demonstrate it once first. If you do not understand, I will demonstrate again.”

Yue Qianfeng rose, and the Crimson Dragon coiled around him, transmitting the method of refining internal Qi to Li Guanyi.

The bronze cauldron quietly completed its final accumulation of jade nectar.

Then—

Upheaval!

Before Li Guanyi’s eyes, a blurred image appeared: the wind of Jiangnan, the back of a general riding a qilin into Jiangnan—then the vision shattered. This time, Li Guanyi seemed to master the technique; the method of gathering Qi was accelerated by the bronze cauldron’s aura, completing at a visible speed.

The ‘Book of Peace’—Entry achieved!

The ‘Book of Peace’—Proficiency achieved!

The ‘Book of Peace’—Mastery achieved!

But at that moment, a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s howl echoed in Li Guanyi’s ears. The Crimson Dragon’s spiritual form let out a long cry and rose, appearing beside him alongside the White Tiger’s spiritual form. Within his body, the White Tiger and Crimson Dragon spiritual forms had reached comparable levels.

One represented the forging of the body with the tiger.

The other represented the condensation of Qi with the crimson dragon.

Now gold and fire surged, opposing each other. Gold and fire clashed, and within Li Guanyi’s body, chaos erupted. His face grew rigid, pain etched upon it. Yue Qianfeng, happily eating meat and drinking wine, suddenly noticed Li Guanyi’s expression, froze for an instant, then reacted instantly.

“What’s happening?!”

Yue Qianfeng appeared beside Li Guanyi in an instant.

His broad palm pressed down.

He forcibly suppressed the chaotic Qi within Li Guanyi’s body—but in that instant, blazing fire and chilling geng metal surged and exploded inside him. Internal Qi spiraled; dragon and tiger roars filled his ears; their energies collided, causing the internal Qi to erupt inward.

The jade nectar advanced steadily.

With someone aiding in protecting the internal organs, the dragon and tiger spiritual forms began a struggle within the youth’s body. Gold clashed with fire, like cold water poured into a hot oil pot—Qi surged wildly; yet Yue Qianfeng held it in check, preventing damage to the organs, like a river contained by embankments—there was only one path left.

Internal Qi surged wildly through the meridians.

Before the piercing, starlit power of the White Tiger spiritual form, the stagnation of the meridians meant nothing.

The previously stagnant meridians—

Shattered outright!

A surge of Qi erupted from Li Guanyi’s shoulder, flinging Yue Qianfeng’s palm away.

“!!!”

“This is—”

Yue Qianfeng stared, frozen, pupils contracting—he recognized Li Guanyi’s current state.

This was not Qi condensation.

This was—

Meridian Opening!

?? The power went out suddenly today—I just finished (at peace)