Chapter 138: 129 Departure (Part 1)

End of December, 1184.

Tan Yang underwent a major transformation.

Mysterious forces bloodily cleansed several forces in the city, wiped out the secret sect, then quickly retreated, disappearing without a trace.

Only devastation was left behind.

A few days later, at the beginning of January.

The Li family.

Li Ran stood in front of the desk in the study, moving the inkstone screen to one side and unrolling the scroll in his hand.

The scroll was filled with tiny characters.

This was the memorial he was preparing to submit to the court, written over several days, still unfinished…

Looking at the content on the desk, Li Ran sighed softly, lifted his brush, and began to fill in the crucial parts.

“Master…” His wife Zhong Yuran looked at him with some concern.

“Are you really going to do this?”

“Now that Tan Yang is in turmoil, with countless deaths and injuries, I, as the head of the judicial department, if I remain silent, in the future…” Li Ran did not continue.

Although he often calculated, but… upon seeing several friends suddenly suffer disaster, their families wiped out.

The emotions in his heart were difficult to suppress.

He continued to record and supplement recent events.

The Golden Wing Pavilion’s death warriors acted without restraint, and the Thousand Households’ army outside the city did nothing.

The various official departments barely managed to protect themselves.

Inside the city was a scene of gloom and despair, nearly rebellious.

Thud thud thud.

Suddenly, there came a urgent knocking at the door.

“Master! Latest news! Latest news! Lord Sun’s residence… Lord Sun’s residence… is empty!”

A servant shouted urgently outside the door.

“What??!!” Li Ran’s body trembled.

He had been planning to unite with Governor Sun Qinghong to submit a memorial, now…

Outside the study, at the other end of the corridor, Li Huoyun, holding a handwritten Taoist scripture, intended to use it to calm his mind, was stunned upon hearing this news.

He watched his father hurry out, leading a team of men, and reminded the official at home to guard the surroundings.

The city was beginning to show signs of chaos, with many trying to stir up trouble amidst the disorder.

Li Huoyun’s mind was in turmoil; he had sent people to the homes of several friends, also to his eldest brother Zhang Ying’s house, but found no one.

“Even the Governor has run away?” He could not imagine how far the situation in Tan Yang had escalated.

“Young master, someone just shot a letter in through the door!”

Suddenly, a maid hurried toward him, holding a pale yellow envelope.

Li Huoyun took it, looking carefully.

On the cover it read: Huo Yun Personal Opening.

*

*

*

Wanyan Road plunged heavily into the family pond, vigorously beginning to swim.

As her martial arts practice increased, her exercise volume surged, causing her weight to visibly decrease.

These days, her weight was declining almost at a rate of several pounds daily.

Amidst the loud splashes, Wanyan Road vigorously swam, sweat seeping out and blending into the water.

Zhang Ying had not come for quite some time; while swimming, she worried about Zhang Ying’s situation.

Her relationship with Zhang Ying was rather complex and subtle.

Initially, she admired him, then developed a bit of affection, and upon realizing her weight could be saved, her emotions grew more complicated.

Though she was a six-hundred-pound fatty, she was still a young girl, and when large areas of skin were exposed, she felt the blush of a maiden.

But this embarrassment gradually faded through Zhang Ying’s constant training and correction, becoming accustomed.

She gradually opened up herself.

Day by day, she adapted to this training, this lifestyle.

Yet suddenly, Zhang Ying stopped coming.

“Miss! Someone sent a letter!”

Soon a personal maid holding a letter hurriedly approached.

“It says it’s from Young Master Zhang Ying.”

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Road swam to the shore, slowly climbed out, and shivered her body.

Taking the dry towel given by the maid, she wiped her hands and draped it over her shoulder.

“Give it to me.”

She tore open the envelope, finding neatly written lines inside.

“Gone…?” In recent days, Wanyan Road heard too many people had left, never expecting Zhang Ying also…

Holding the paper in silence for a moment, she gazed at the shimmering pond, a faint sense of loss suddenly surfacing in her heart.

*

*

*

Within a month’s time.

Celestial Maiden Tong Chapter continuously sparred with Zhang Rongfang daily.

Each time, she instantly broke him down.

Her Golden Needle seemed light as a feather, yet the burst accuracy was terrifyingly penetrating.

Even without using hidden weapons, her body technique and speed left Zhang Rongfang unable to touch her, let alone hit.

In terms of both body technique and hand speed, he was far behind her.

Apart from sparring, the Celestial Maiden also had many medicinal prescriptions delivered, helping him adjust his body and accelerate recovery from injuries.

In just over half a month, Zhang Rongfang’s previous explosive injuries had largely healed.

Afterwards, the Golden Wing Pavilion mobilized a lot of martial arts materials for him to study and learn.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

At Golden Wing Pavilion’s secret base.

In the dojo, two figures swiftly dodged and maneuvered, resembling two falcons striking back and forth.

Zhang Rongfang’s hands were like hooks, constantly clawing fiercely toward the Celestial Maiden.

But no matter how much he accelerated, he could only grasp a lingering shadow.

This situation had been going on for a long time, and he had long been accustomed to it.

Before long, the Celestial Maiden suddenly paused, raised a single hand, and pushed up from beneath his claw.

Their arms both lifted together.

Swoosh!

A golden needle was pinched by the small hand, steadily hovering at Zhang Rongfang’s throat.

“Again with this trick….”

Sweating all over, Zhang Rongfang raised his hands in resignation to admit defeat.

“Lord, I am already at Ninth Grade. Why is there still such a difference in our body techniques? What realms lie beyond Ninth Grade?”

“Ninth Grade is merely a division created by the Spirit Court to help everyone identify their own positioning. Beyond that are experts who surpass grading.

Among these people, some are the strongest figures of the major sects, who can be called top experts of a generation.”

Tong Zhang retracted the golden needle and explained.

“In fact, beyond Super Grade there is no specific classification. Grading realms are not fixed gaps. Within the Great Spirit, many Super Grades are below Grandmaster, above Ninth Grade.”

“Why is that?”

“Because to be a Grandmaster, one must innovate and have no weaknesses. Only then can they establish their own sect.

Whereas a Super Grade can only be considered innovative but not yet without weaknesses.” Tong Zhang explained.

“Grandmaster….” A clear thread formed in Zhang Rongfang’s mind, “Then exactly how strong is a Grandmaster, can the Lord explain a bit more?”

“To establish a sect, one must endure a hundred-day challenge, face battles from all directions, and only if they can stand firm are they qualified to create a sect.”

Tong Zhang said softly.

“During this process, if there is even the slightest flaw, any weakness, or imperfection in your martial arts, countless people will find it and defeat you.

Therefore, Grandmasters are absolutely dominant strongmen.”

“A hundred days of challenges?”

“Grandmasters may defeat one another, but once you step into that realm, unless you offend the Spirit Court or are besieged, there is almost no danger.” Tong Zhang explained.

“Then…. what level are you?” Zhang Rongfang couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.

“I am not a Grandmaster. My path is different from theirs….” Tong Zhang shook her head.

“You should not follow me. The path I am on is destined to have no good end.”

She seemed unwilling to mention her own direction.

Raising her head, she looked at Zhang Rongfang, whose physique had greatly changed.

“These days, because you were injured, I used special precious medicine to treat you. Now it seems, your physique has changed significantly as well.”

The originally burly Zhang Rongfang, under the effect of a large amount of medicine, had healed his injuries but his physique had shrunk considerably.

However, it wasn’t true shrinking; his weight hadn’t changed. Instead, it seemed like his muscle density had compressed and increased.

The previously puffy muscles now appeared more compact and orderly.

“You’ve basically grasped the key points of the Golden Roc Secret Record. So…. it is time for me to officially leave.”

Before Zhang Rongfang could show his reluctance, she gently clapped her hands.

Soon, an ebony-faced servant came forward with a wooden tray.

On the tray lay a vest-like pale black item.

“This is the Dragon Scale Armor. When you wear it, it can prevent your torso from getting injured in critical areas.”

She clapped her hands again.

Another woman with a new tray also approached.

Tong Zhang picked up a small purple bottle from within.

“Three Saint One Pills, to stop bleeding and save a life when severely injured.”

The third tray soon arrived.

On it was a Feather Talisman.

“This is a Spirit Level token of Wushan City.” Tong Zhang took the Feather Talisman and handed it to Zhang Rongfang.

“My requirement for you is to stay low-key, cultivate. Do not reveal your identity until… until one day, I come to find you myself.

And if I cannot come, someone will bring you a purple stone lotus. At that time, someone will tell you everything.”

“But I…” Zhang Rongfang was bewildered, he still didn’t know anything, and hadn’t agreed to any undertaking.

“It’s alright, if nothing happens within three years, you can decide for yourself…” Tong Zhang didn’t elaborate, her tone was calm yet tinged with a trace of helplessness.

Regarding this matter, Zhang Rongfang had inquired several times, but each time he received no answers.

“The place you need to go is Wushan City. I will leave tomorrow morning. After that, you go on your own to assume your post.

Your official position and registration will be kept for you. But remember, for three years, avoid touching things you shouldn’t.”

She reminded once more.

“After three years, perhaps everything will be different, or perhaps, everything will remain the same…. by then…”

She said something incomprehensible and then, with a blank look, slowly walked away towards the distance.

Zhang Rongfang had already grown accustomed to it.

Staying where he was, he picked up the Dragon Scale Armor and gave it a gentle shake.

The armor felt soft in his hands, containing fine strands that were seemingly metal-like, with unmatched resilience.

On the side of the armor were minute signs of stitching, as if altered from a smaller size to a larger one.

“Young master, it’s time to eat.” A soft voice from behind belonged to Weili.

Zhang Rongfang sighed inwardly.

After a month’s time together, he had subtly grown accustomed to life here.

After accumulating three attribute points, he had used the power of the Golden Wing Pavilion to gather many medicinal prescriptions and experimented with various supplements on their effects on himself.

In the end, he discovered that the factors affecting his absorption of attribute points were not related to supplements, but rather to his body’s absorption capacity.

No matter what medicine he took, it was almost a pace of one point per ten days.

Some medicines were even slower.

Unable to speed up attribute point improvement, he turned his ideas toward other equipment.

He was surprised that, as soon as he hinted at such an idea, Tong Zhang sent him a set of Dragon Scale Armor.

“We have arranged a carriage to Wushan City for tomorrow. Young master, if you need to make any preparations, you can prepare in advance,” Weili continued behind him.

“Wushan City…. Will my sister be going as well?” Zhang Rongfang asked solemnly.

“Yes. Your sister had moved the entire family there half a year ago.

According to the master’s instructions, young master can choose which identity to use to enter Wushan City.” Weili stated.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep