Chapter 93: You Must Walk My Path

In less than three days, all forces within and outside Gao Liu that participated in the ambush on Qiu Long collapsed completely; those deeply involved, from ordinary gang members up to leaders, officials, and shopkeepers, were all executed.

The implicated ones filled the jail cells.

The Yiqi Inn, the Sanhe Gang, the Fire Gang, the Fishing Gang, and other forces were all confiscated and sealed; property deeds, land deeds, and sale contracts were all piled up in the county government office.

Truly, the people of Gao Liu learned what the sky of Zhe Long Prefecture is.

The Gao Liu County government office is a six-courtyard complex facing south with a north-south axis and an eight-character opening; a pair of stone lions crouch at the entrance, two government office Runners stand guard, and people coming and going are endless.

This was Li Yuan's first time at the government office; he passed through the main gate, entered the ceremonial gate, and faced a three-bay main hall with upturned eaves, towering and majestic.

The County Assistant led clerks, counting box after box of seized goods.

In the main hall, Han Han Chuijun lay slanted in a chair, listening to the report from the County Commandant Liu Bin.

"... In total, silver amounts to eighteen thousand six hundred taels, gold over one thousand three hundred taels, one hundred sixty-three property deeds, land deeds..."

"... one thousand six hundred seventy-two sale contracts, eight thousand four hundred qing of farmland..."

"Two thousand one hundred common weapons, two hundred thirty sharp blades, seventy-three superior sharp blades, six inner armors, three heavy armors!"

"Heavy armor?"

Han Han Chuijun opened his eyes: "Which family is so bold?"

"Someone in Gao Liu County actually hid heavy armor?"

Li Yuan was also somewhat surprised.

The Great Yun Dynasty does not forbid weapons, only crossbows and armor, especially heavy armor; as the saying goes, one armor equals three crossbows, and three armors lead to the Underworld.

Three sets of heavy armor are enough to warrant the confiscation of a family and the extermination of its clan.

"The Sanhe Gang, the Wei family of the Inner City Guard, and the Yiqi Inn; these three families each hid one set of heavy armor."

Liu Bin bowed deeply in reply, showing great respect.

"In martial arts duels within the Jianghu, inner armor is sufficient; these three families hiding heavy armor indeed proves they had ulterior motives!"

Han Han Chuijun glanced at Li Yuan.

The latter hurriedly replied: "Master, please see clearly; there is absolutely no heavy armor in the weapon forge..."

As he spoke, Li Yuan's heart skipped a beat, remembering Cao Yan's secret chamber; that chamber, even Zhang Ben had never entered, and he himself did not know where it was.

But he guessed that since those families all hid heavy armor, Cao Yan might not be an exception; indeed, it was even possible they all came from the weapon forge.

"The Cao family has been entirely executed; even if there was any, it matters not."

Han Han Chuijun casually dismissed the matter with a single sentence, making Liu Bin unable to resist glancing at Li Yuan, feeling envious in his heart.

This young man has ascended to the heavens in one step...

"Continue."

Li Yuan walked behind the desk, looking at that thick stack of property deeds, land deeds, and field deeds, and could not help but gasp in his heart.

Compared to ready silver, these were the very foundation upon which these forces stood; the most bustling streets of the inner and outer cities, the best locations, the most fertile fields, were all here.

No, the weapon forge's... is missing.

"... In the jail cells, there are still one hundred forty-two people yet to be disposed of; I do not know, Elder Han..."

Hearing Liu Bin finish his report, Han Han Chuijun finally sat upright:

"Those with deep involvement have mostly been killed; these lowly commoners at the bottom matter little; interrogate them, and after recording those with no issues, release them."

"Yes!"

Liu Bin hurriedly nodded and recorded it.

"As for these land deeds, property deeds, and the like..."

Han Han Chuijun glanced at Li Yuan; the latter's heart jumped, then he shook his head again:

"Register them under the Inner City Guard's name; rent them to merchants at thirty percent below market price; as for the farmland, find people to rent and cultivate it, collecting rent at twenty percent!"

"Elder Han truly has a benevolent heart!"

Liu Bin's face was full of admiration.

In these times, when farmland is rented out, the rent collected is at least forty percent, and often even sixty or seventy percent; the farmland of these families is all top-grade fertile land; if it were him, he would collect at least seventy percent rent...

"A benevolent heart?"

Han Han Chuijun almost laughed himself, waved his hand, and told him to get out.

Liu Bin bowed and retreated, leading a group of government office Runners away in haste; subsequent arrangements were far more difficult than the confiscation.

"The weapon forge's property

deeds, land deeds, and field deeds must also be disposed of in the same manner."

"Yes."

Li Yuan naturally had no objection; these did not belong to him in the first place.

"For a thousand years, the Valley's handling of rebellious forces within its territory has always been: thirty percent goes to the Valley, sixty percent returns to the local area, and individuals can only take one percent; do you know the reason?"

Han Han Chuijun looked at his convenient disciple who had not yet formally entered the sect.

"To prevent killing innocents to claim merit?"

Li Yuan sensed something.

"You do possess some wisdom."

Han Han Chuijun was somewhat surprised and nodded:

"Confiscating families and exterminating clans to gain sudden wealth is a great taboo for all sects; without this rule, Zhe Long Prefecture would have fallen into chaos long ago."

Han Han Chuijun stood up and walked out the door.

Li Yuan followed.

Inside and outside the government office, it was very lively; the collapse of more than ten forces could not be counted and completed in a short time.

"By the way, the Yuan family, to curry favor with me, spent a large sum of silver to purchase rare iron materials and entrusted the weapon forge to forge an exquisite heavy hammer?"

They found a wine tower, and Han Han Chuijun ordered a whole table of wine and dishes, asking questions at the table.

"Indeed, the hammer is now in the forging room."

Li Yuan rose to pour wine; three days ago, he had returned the hammer to the forging room, and Zhang Ben was still doing the final polishing.

"A top-grade heavy hammer is worth about a thousand taels; as for the iron, it costs around two hundred taels. If you want it, you must also bear the forging costs."

Han Han Chuijun glanced at Li Yuan; the cheap disciple's intentions were practically hanging on his face, clearly done for his benefit.

A cunning little brat...

"Thank you, Master!"

Li Yuan was overjoyed in his heart and hurriedly raised his wine cup.

If he hadn't taken it, it would have been fine, but having already wielded it, he truly felt reluctant to part with it.

"Look at your lack of ambition!"

Glaring at him, Han Han Chuijun accepted this cup of wine from him.

At this moment, Fang Fang Yunxiu, who had changed into a capable yellow Wu Gong robe, walked in; seeing the two chatting happily, she felt a certain admiration in her heart.

Whether it was her, Sha Sha Pingying, or even those inner sect disciples, none could get along so harmoniously with this Old Han.

Simply put, birds of a feather flock together?

"Handled?"

Han Han Chuijun set down his wine cup.

"Replying to Old Han, it has been handled properly."

Fang Fang Yunxiu bowed deeply: "The Lu family Retainers and maids have all been dismissed; the fields and land deeds have all been surrendered to the county government office. Lu Lu Bailing..."

She paused slightly:

"This disciple will take her back to the valley."

The Lu family is also finished.

Li Yuan placed bowls and chopsticks before the female knight Fang, feeling a chill in his heart.

His cheap master was truly decisive in killing and cutting; even with Fang Fang Yunxiu's connection, the Lu mansion could not escape disaster.

In fact, if not for the death of a batch of the Weapon Forging Shop's Shopkeepers, they probably would not have escaped reckoning either.

Counting it truly, was it the Daoist who saved the Weapon Forging Shop?

"What about Wu Gong?"

Han Han Chuijun picked up a piece of fish meat with his chopsticks; he really liked this dish.

Fang Fang Yunxiu's forehead showed sweat: "Old Han... she is this disciple's only relative."

"So, you want to keep her, teach her Wu Gong, help her cultivate internal strength, master Wu Gong, slaughter this old man, and then destroy the Divine Weapon Valley?"

Looking at Fang Fang Yunxiu kneeling on the ground, Han Han Chuijun felt somewhat disappointed:

"How many times must this old man teach you the principle of cutting the grass and removing the roots?"

"This disciple..."

Fang Fang Yunxiu's face turned pale.

"This old man spared her life because you begged bitterly, selling your Master a favor..."

Han Han Chuijun put down his chopsticks:

"Disable her, watch her closely; otherwise, you should know what this old man will do!"

"This disciple understands."

Her hidden hope pierced, Fang Fang Yunxiu's face looked very ugly, and her body trembled.

Li Yuan understood Old Han's reasoning, but even though he understood, being so ruthless even to his own people made him feel somewhat startled.

Disabling Lu Lu Bailing was merely a snap of the fingers for Han Han Chuijun; with a single word from him, Sha Sha Pingying would handle it.

But he clearly wanted Fang Fang Yunxiu to disable Lu Lu Bailing with her own hands.

"Old Han is truly ruthless; offending him, one probably won't sleep peacefully..."

Li Yuan took a sip of wine, muttering to himself in his heart.

"Old Han!"

Footsteps of "Deng, Deng, Deng" came from outside the door; a burly man pushed the door open, it was Sha Sha Pingying.

In these few days, Li Yuan had met him a few times; compared to Fang Fang Yunxiu, this Senior Brother Sha was obviously much more simple and straightforward, and also much more decisive.

Sha Sha Pingying did not notice the wrong atmosphere either; he sat down on his own and raised his wine cup:

"Old Han, on my way here, I actually encountered a shrew who claimed to be Lu Lu Yunqing's daughter..."

"You?!"

As soon as he spoke, Fang Fang Yunxiu's face changed drastically:

"Where is she?!"

Sha Sha Pingying seemed to notice something was wrong only then; his face froze instantly:

"N-no, didn't kill, disabled..."

Bang!

Fang Fang Yunxiu's sword didn't even leave its scabbard; Sha Sha Pingying was already lifted off the ground, smashed through the window, and fell heavily from the fourth floor onto the street, drawing a burst of exclamations.

"Old Han, spare my life!"

Sha Sha Pingying was almost stunned by the fall; coming to his senses, he let out a wail of misery and ran for his life.

"Good heavens..."

Li Yuan only then realized he seemed to have underestimated this Senior Brother Sha.

This wasn't simple and straightforward; it was clearly great wisdom appearing as stupidity!

He rubbed his chin, feeling he had learned something.

With a single slap that sent Sha Sha Pingying flying out the window, Han Han Chuijun sneered:

"You lot certainly have deep fellow-disciple affection! It makes me, an old man, seem cold-hearted and ruthlessly cruel!"

"Get out!"

Old Han flew into a rage, and Fang Fang Yunxiu retreated in a sorry state.

Her face was still pale, but her footsteps seemed much lighter.

"Useless trash!"

Han Han Chuijun held his wine cup and glanced sideways at Li Yuan:

"Eat up!"

Li Yuan's face stiffened; very obediently, he lowered his head and ate and drank heartily.

This master doesn't seem that easy to get along with...

Li Yuan ate extremely fast; most of the wine and dishes on the table went into his belly.

After he was full of food and drink, the waiter came to clear away the leftovers.

Only then did Han Han Chuijun speak:

"Apart from the White Ape Cloak Hammer and some of the Soldier's Dao Combat Slaying Hammer, you've only learned some crude, superficial horizontal-training Wu Gong, isn't that so?"

"Yes!"

Li Yuan sat ramrod straight.

"Too little."

"Too little?"

Li Yuan was slightly startled: "Fang the heroine said, when practicing martial arts it's best to focus on mastering one discipline, not to be distracted..."

"That's her path, not yours!"

Han Han Chuijun shook his head:

"Scholars stress teaching according to the student's aptitude; learning martial arts follows the same logic. Different people have different bone structures, so the Wu Gong that suits them is different,

and with different talents, the paths they walk are naturally different..."

Han Han Chuijun spoke calmly.

Li Yuan focused intently to listen; he counted as half a self-taught practitioner, and what he lacked most was a lineage, so naturally he listened with all his heart.

"Before internal force, there's not much to say. You only need to complete the great circulation of qi and blood; whatever Wu Gong you learn doesn't matter much. No matter what Wu Gong, practiced long enough, you'll eventually approach the limits of the human body and nurture internal force..."

"Nurturing internal force only requires medicinal baths and pills. Body Tempering, on the other hand, is the process of using various Wu Gong moves to channel internal force to cover the qi and blood circulation and nourish the body."

"Internal force can split steles and crack stones outwardly, and inwardly it can nourish the whole body... When internal force covers the qi and blood circulation, the martial artist will touch the second human limit..."

At this point, Han Han Chuijun paused slightly:

"You were born with divine strength. The moment your internal force formed, it was already comparable to a Body Tempering Great Completion martial artist with superior bone structure. This counts as

extraordinary talent."

Body Tempering Great Completion is two thousand jin of great strength?

Li Yuan understood in his heart; this was more or less the same as what he already knew.

'With the augmentation of a thousand jin of force, in pure explosive power, he is no weaker than Body Tempering Great Completion—and it would have to be Body Tempering Great Completion with superior bone structure.

People like Yu Zhen and Wang Ding, even at Body Tempering Great Completion, are not his match.

"Lower Wu Gong reaches its limit at this step. To drive force inward, you must touch Middle Wu Gong; the small circulation of qi and blood absolutely cannot cultivate Internal Strength!"

Han Han Chuijun was quite satisfied with Li Yuan's expenditure of Ku Gong to complete the great circulation of qi and blood.

This kid could restrain his desires and, without a lineage, still choose the correct path—that wasn't easy.

"To achieve Internal Strength, one must complete the great circulation of qi and blood?"

Li Yuan suddenly understood in his heart.

This must be the reason Qin Xiong switched to cultivating the Tiger Roar Blade?

"What is Internal Strength? Internal force piercing the whole body is the foundation; from outside to inside, strengthening oneself—that is called Internal Strength. Without the great circulation of qi and blood, you can't even cover the whole body, so how could you talk about going from outside to inside?"

Han Han Chuijun continued speaking; he had many disciples and was long since well-practiced at this:

"When force enters the body, the martial artist breaks the human limit a second time. An Internal Strength martial artist moves like a fierce tiger, is swift as a flying eagle, their strength surges so they can tear tigers and leopards apart alive, and their endurance is astonishing, no less than a spirited horse.

Internal force weaves into a net beneath the skin, like a layer of membrane, unafraid of ordinary blades..."

No wonder Cao Yan was so hard to kill...

Wait, wasn't that unknown swordsman he ambushed earlier also Internal Strength?

Li Yuan thought to himself, somewhat lost in thought.

Han Han Chuijun paused at the right moment, took a sip of tea, and let him digest it. After quite a while, seeing him look up, he said:

"You were born with divine strength and ambushed with a heavy hammer; killing a self-taught practitioner like Cao Yan is nothing remarkable. Swap in your Senior Sister Fang or Senior Brother Sha, and you'd have died on the spot..."

"This disciple will keep it firmly in mind!"

Li Yuan's expression turned solemn.

He had never thought of ambushing Fang Fang Yunxiu or Sha Sha Pingying, but Han Han Chuijun's words also served as a warning to him.

To ambush these sect disciples, he had to be even more careful, even more unexpected...

"Master, what about Form Transformation?"

Li Yuan asked proactively.

He had asked Fang Fang Yunxiu before but never got an explanation, so naturally he wouldn't let slip this rare opportunity.

"As for Form Transformation, you only need to remember this. Qi and blood, internal force, Body Tempering, Internal Strength—these four realms are all merely preparation for Form Transformation..."

"One who has undergone Shape Transformation is no longer human."

Han Han Chuijun did not hold anything back; seeing that Li Yuan was interested, he spoke a few more words with him.

He looked down upon martial artists who aimed too high, and those who did not aim too high alike.

"No longer human?"

Li Yuan was taken aback.

"Practicing martial arts is itself a process of strengthening the body and breaking through limits. Shape Transformation, on the other hand, is a method of elevating those limits…"

The human body has limits.

In many respects, it is inferior to all manner of wild beasts, let alone those rare spiritual beasts.

"Shape Transformation, as the name implies, is Nai Shi Xiao Fa the myriad beasts, altering one's own bone structure, a method to raise the limits of the human body! The more Shapes one transforms, the deeper the innate endowment, and the stronger one's strength."

"Why do sects, when taking in disciples, place bone structure above all else? A superior bone structure is born already possessing at least one Shape, even two or three! Take the Fire Dragon Temple's 'Yue's weight — he was born with the 'Red Dragon Physique,' innately possessing nine Shapes!"

"Therefore, after his Shape Transformation, he was naturally several times, even ten-plus times, stronger than those of the same rank!"

Talent, bone structure!

So that's how it is, so that's how it is…

The more Li Yuan listened, the more his heart trembled; beyond his sudden realization, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

His path of wielding other Root Diagrams to alter his bone structure was correct!

"For ordinary martial artists, cultivating one Shape is already extremely difficult; naturally, they can only proceed step by step, not daring the slightest overreach."

Han Han Chuijun, with rare solemnity:

"But your talent

is extraordinary — the White Ape Cloak Hammer can be trained to Great Perfection in a single year. That gives you the qualification to walk another path…"

"That is, this old man's path — Yi Bai Xing!"