Chapter 5: Chapter 4: Descend the Mountain
Three months later, Qing Yu still huddled in the Taoist temple, completely dedicated to cultivation.
Cultivating in the Postnatal Realm was simple, measured by the unlocking of the Extraordinary Meridians and the generation of Inner Strength. Achieving the Postnatal First Layer meant unlocking one of the Extraordinary Meridians, and unlocking all of them equated to the Postnatal Ninth Layer. Afterward, one needed to unlock the Heaven and Earth Two Bridges and draw in the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi into one's body to enter the Innate Realm.
The Primordial Qi of this world was much stronger than that of the "Legend of the Condor Heroes" realm. Although the cultivation of the Postnatal Realm did not involve the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi, its strength could still nourish the body, granting those born here far greater potential and physical capabilities than those from the "Legend of the Condor Heroes" realm. Combined with the insights and comprehension of Yin Zhiping, even without the enhancement from Elixirs, advancing to the Postnatal Fourth Realm was a natural progression.
Stretching his arms and swinging his fists, creating gusts of wind, the feeling of possessing strength intoxicated Qing Yu. However, he soon calmed himself, knowing that the Postnatal Fourth Realm was merely the beginning of the Martial Arts journey. Settling for this would inevitably render him a withered skeleton in the tomb.
"My talent is not lacking; otherwise, Xuanfa, that old ghost of a master wouldn't have chosen me. After all, even a show must have a good performer. Choosing a misshaped and split melon would only embarrass him. But the issue at hand is not about talent. I lack guidance. Yin Zhiping, that idiot, is only at the Postnatal Fourth Realm, so now I must rely on myself."
"The problem that lies before me now is how to accelerate the progress of my cultivation. Either continue lying low, farming Character Cards, or descend the mountain to search for resources like Elixirs."
Qing Yu pondered his future path. During these three months, he had still obtained a Character Card of the same Realm each month: One-star Card — Ao Bai, One-star Card — Ping Yizhi, One-star Card — Scorpion, with the specific attributes as follows:
Name: Ao Bai
Realm: Postnatal Fifth Realm
item: None
Martial Arts: "Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield"
Evaluation: I've caught it, hey, Contracting Yang into the Belly!
Name: Ping Yizhi
Realm: Postnatal First Layer
item: Ping Yizhi's Medical Book
Martial Arts: None
Evaluation: Save one, kill one. Maintain ecological balance, I'm a humble destroyer under the director's seat, blowing the daoist child's horn.
Name: Scorpion
Realm: Postnatal Eighth Layer
item: Golden Cicada Gu
Martial Arts: "Five Poison Palm"
Evaluation: Like Li, like Li, still like Li!
Among them, Ping Yizhi was considered a villain, but he was merely a simple doctor. Qingyu pondered this a lot on the day he drew his Character Card. It's well known that medicine and poison are closely related; villains skilled in medical techniques usually excel even more in poisoning. Although Ping Yizhi was only at the Postnatal First Layer, one couldn't ensure that he wouldn't start off with a storm of poison. In the end, Qingyu gritted his teeth and took the risk, and then he slit Ping Yizhi's throat with a Mystic Iron dagger. The reason Ping Yizhi was considered a villain was that he adhered to the principle of killing one to save another and wasn't the protagonist's close friend. He mostly stayed at home, awaiting those who came to seek help, with several people usually guarding his door, so he was never worried about safety. Though he made poison, he only carried his life's work, his Medical Book, which probably led to his extremely frustrating death and the drop of his life's essence, "Ping Yizhi's Medical Book."
The remaining two characters were Ao Shaobao, who possessed the "Thirteen Grand Protectors' Horizontal Training Golden Bell Shield" and was fierce and unmatched. Even with the Mystic Iron dagger, Qingyu dared not provoke this tiger. After all, Ao Shaobao in the drama enjoyed tearing his enemies apart live, a treatment Qingyu dared not try, which usually was only experienced by Neon People.
The last one was Scorpion, from the "The World's Number One" series. This drama could be described as a gathering of big names. Qingyu would never forget the intro, where the four grand spies made their entrance riding horses, which was very rhythmic. In the series, besides many stars taking turns to appear, there was one who, although not appearing frequently, was always present in crucial scenes. Yes, that was Scorpion. He was the Scorpion among the Five Poisons, also a Land Protector, a monk from the Shaolin Temple, a guard of Heavenly Prison, a blind musician providing clues at critical times, and one of the worlds top ten generals holding vast armies. With so many disguises, he could have played the final boss, but unfortunately, the scriptwriters disagreed, so he could only be the top extra.
Ahem, back to the main story, although Scorpion was just an extra, he was skilled. With the strength of the Postnatal Eighth Layer combined with the Golden Cicada Gu that even an Innate Expert like Cheng Shifei, once infected, could only wait for death, a hundred Qingyus were not enough for him to kill, so it was better to save it for later.
After much thought, since there were no Elixirs and the characters he drew were too strong to defeat, just idly staying in the Taoist Temple wasn't a solution. When there was no hope in the past, he had stayed for three years, knowing he could only wait to rot away. Now was different, Qingyu could not tolerate returning to the state of doing nothing and waiting to rot, so descending the mountain was a must.
Of course, descending the mountain had to be planned. Qingyu, a paranoid of persecution thought that it was crucial to be cautious, needing a safe route to avoid the Observers at the foot of the mountain. Indeed, Qingyu still believed someone was watching. After all, with the vast enterprise of True Martial Dao, calling a few from the Postnatal Realm was enough to watch over Qingyu (Postnatal Fourth Realm's forty-year-old Dragon Knight faints in tears).
So, why wait any longer? Wasn't it just a safe and hidden path down the mountain? Qingyu quickly packed up his belongings, mainly clothes and various other strange bottles and jars, which were concocted during his idle time from practicing martial arts and according to Ping Yizhi's medical book, as he had also made some medicine over the past few years and was adept at crafting higher-level elixirs. There were several other robes, but they were all Daoist robes. Currently, Qingyu also held the position of temple master. These Daoist robes were too conspicuous to bring.
After packing up, Qingyu stealthily escaped over the wall from the back of the Taoist temple. 'Golden Wild Goose Skill is potent, escaping over the wall is really thrilling.' Qingyu thought secretly, having always used the main gate when returning late to the dormitory in his past life.
He carefully checked the surroundings to ensure there was no movement, then Qingyu climbed along the mountain's terrain upwards. Indeed, climbing. Qingyu planned to climb to the mountain top and descend from the other side, letting the perhaps non-existent Observers below keep stupidly watching the road.
Beicang Mountain did not look tall, but the mountain path was quite long, mainly because the mountain waist upwards was steep, and the path always needed to wind around. However, this was not a big problem for Qingyu; as long as it wasn't too high, Qingyu could use his Qinggong to leap directly up, and some places with leverage points didn't matter if they were a little higher, as the Golden Wild Goose Skill specialized in handling this kind of terrain.
"Quanzhen Golden Wild Goose Skill, walking feels so easy."
Qingyu hummed lightly as he climbed to the mountain top. Looking down from the summit, he could still see Qingshui Town below. The not-so-small Qingshui Town seemed grasped in one hand in Qingyu's eyes.
"Feeling like I control everything," Qingyu said, his right hand air-grasping, "But, it's too small. I need higher, higher, until no one else is stepping over me at the top." Recent years' experiences intensified Qingyu's desire to climb higher.
"I'll be the one to stand at the summit and look down at all other mountains. I want that feeling too."
Half a day later, Qingyu finally descended the mountain. Beicang Mountain was indeed small without even a mountain bandit, which was a bit disappointing for Qingyu, who wanted to test his skills.
Walking along the big road at the mountain's base, Qingyu crossed the border of Province Qing and Ling and stepped into the Daqian Border of two hundred years ago.
Two days later, Qingyu arrived at Yang City, formally entering Ling Province.
"Ding, mission system activated, now issuing mission. My voice: In this city, make your own voice heard in any way, become one of the individuals who can decide the future direction of Yang City. Time limit: One year. Mission reward: Intermediate Lottery once, Two-star Martial Arts Secret Manual. Failure penalty: Loss of all martial skills, start over from the beginning."
Chapter 6: Chapter 5: Unskilled Infighting
"Become someone who can influence Yang City, with no specific methods or limits on how you can influence it?"
"Yes."
Qing Yu seemed to hear a satisfying answer, smiled, and slowly followed the crowd into the city.
After entering the city, his first stop was at a pharmacy. Ultimately, Qing Yu was alone, and there weren't any decent herbs on Beicang Mountain; the medicine he had made on the mountain was never very effective.
However, halfway there, Qing Yu remembered his pockets were still empty; he had spent all his money from selling Lingzhi on women's clothing. It seemed that Qing Yu's first priority was still to make money.
"I have no capital and no channels, and if I go to work, I don't know when I'll have enough money. It looks like I can only do some business without any initial investment."
While there was still daylight, Qing Yu quickly went to scout locations. As for how to scout, with no experience, Qing Yu could only choose the least conspicuous method—being a beggar, his old trade. There was one advantage to being a beggar—no need to prepare any clothes. The advantage of traveling with the Golden Wild Goose Skill was its speed; the downside became apparent now, as taking unconventional paths meant his clothes were tattered and his face dusty, all from being snagged by branches off the mountain paths.
Then, just as Qing Yu had found a decent spot to squat, he saw a group of beggars approaching fiercely. Sensing trouble, Qing Yu did not want to cause a scene and took off running. To avoid showing off his martial arts, Qing Yu did not use the Golden Wild Goose Skill; he ran quite fast relying solely on his legs. The beggars, seeing his fleeing figure, weighed the pros and cons, calculating that the calories burned would require begging for half a day to replenish, and so they dispersed, cursing under their breath.
There, Qing Yu ran all the way to a remote alley and sat down on the ground, catching his breath: "Damn, after years out of this line of work, I'd forgotten—beggars are the most territorial. It's not easy being a beggar."
By then, the sun was already setting, making the alley even dimmer. A few figures approached from the other end of the alley. Qing Yu looked up, and in his dim vision, he could only see that the newcomers were burly, and he heard a few sinister laughs.
"Kid, hand over the money quietly, and avoid some unnecessary pain," said one of the figures, who seemed to be somewhat educated, even using idioms.
"Please, do I look like I have money?" Qing Yu said, shaking his sleeve that was already in tatters.
The newcomers were probably local hoodlums, and as they got closer and saw Qing Yu's ragged appearance, the leader cursed their bad luck and was about to beat Qing Yu to let off some steam, but he didn't notice the sinister smile curling on the lips of the beggar in front of him.
After a scuffle, Qing Yu changed into new clothes, holding several shriveled money bags. "Really poor, still had the nerve to say they were out to rob." Qing Yu shook his hand, feeling the weight in his hands.
On the ground lay several figures trembling slightly, one of them shirtless having contributed his clothes to Qing Yu. Hearing Qing Yu's comment, the hoodlums couldn't help but curse inwardly: 'Damn, it's this secluded alley, who would casually stroll in here? We finally find a small lamb, and damn it's a case of the pot calling the kettle black!'
"A talentless case of the pot calling the kettle black, but since it's your first time doing this, reward: 50 Villain Points." The System timely came out to make its presence felt.
"I've gotten Villain Points already, that came a bit too easily, didn't it?"
"According to faction alignment, the host isn't yet a villain, just leaning toward the villain faction. So, doing minor deeds can still garner Villain Points. Once fully shifted to the villain faction, such small acts like robbery won't earn Villain Points anymore. Even later, as more Villain Points are accumulated, common acts like murder and arson won't earn Villain Points either."
"So, I can only become worse and worse? What a tragedy," Qing Yu shrugged indifferently, envisioning his future.
After ending the conversation with the system, Qing Yu crouched down and flashed a meaningful smile at a few gangsters lying on the ground like dead fish: "Suddenly I remember, I might still have some things to ask."
Thirty minutes later, Qing Yu walked out of the dim alley, stretched his slightly stiff body, picked a direction, and strode off.
During the past thirty minutes, Qing Yu had thoroughly inquired about the situation in Yang City. These low-level gangsters didn't know much about major events, but they knew far more than the common folk. Through them, Qing Yu had roughly understood the power dynamics in Yang City. It's just that he had been a bit heavy-handed earlier, which made it hard for the gangsters to speak unless he crouched close to listen; Qing Yu had crouched for about thirty minutes until his legs were numb.
Two hundred years ago, Yang City was a border city of Daqian. Naturally, the border was a focal point of military defense, traditionally garrisoned by fifty thousand border troops. To accommodate these troops, along with logistics personnel, civilians, and some soldiers' families, Yang City had to be built sufficiently large.
Later, after Emperor Daqian conquered Qing Province, the border was pushed forward, and Yang City was no longer considered a border city. Although, to guard against any uprising in the newly conquered Qing Province, troops were not widely withdrawn. However, it gradually received less attention from the court.
Over time, as Qing Province stabilized, troops were either reassigned or disbanded to return to civilian life. Now, only about two thousand troops are stationed in Yang City, officially. After two hundred peaceful years, the actual count might not even reach fifteen hundred, but they probably could still take on an average adult in combat.
Although many border troops were withdrawn, some officers stayed behind. Now the Yang City Lord's Mansion and several other city families are descendants of those officers. As for the government offices, sorry, there are none. Yang City, with its remote location far from the Emperor and backed by military families within the city, is beyond the court's control. Consequently, the military dynasties in Yang got to act like kings of their own realms.
In recent years, as more merchants traveled to and from Qing Province, Yang City, being the sole hub on the route, flourished increasingly.
With the city's prosperity, the stakes also grew larger. Zhang Family, Li Family, Sun Family, and the City Lord's Mansion of the Song Family struggled fiercely in secret for a larger share of the pie, sword shadows flashing in and out. It only began stabilizing a few years ago, but undercurrents of strife never ceased. Today, Yang City's major gangs—Iron Saber Association, Qingshan Gang, Five Tigers Sect—are all backed by these families. As for which family backs which gang, these low-level henchmen aren't privy to such details, though they suspect that the Iron Saber Association might be supported by the Li Family because they once saw its members entering Chun Gui Pavilion with the third son of the Li Family. What happened afterward is unknown to them; these henchmen couldn't even afford to indulge themselves inside and had to satisfy themselves by merely watching from outside.
"It seems that the other two gangs must be backed by Zhang Family and Sun Family, just not sure which belongs to whom. These three families squabble among themselves yet also unite against the Song Family, who controls the City Guard Army. Establishing a dominant position in Yang City means starting with these three families. The City Lord's Mansion has its guards and doesn't lack people. These families, on the other hand, recruit members through the gangs to challenge the City Lord's Mansion, with all sorts from Three Sects mingling in there, an ideal entry point," Qing Yu pondered to himself, considering his next moves. After all, there was only a year for the mission, not too long nor too short, reminiscent of his student years that flew by only to end in unemployment.
Lost in thought, Qing Yu was interrupted by several cries of pain—it turned out that the gangsters couldn't hold back their suffering any longer.
"Eh, why haven't you left yet?" Qing Yu asked.
"Boss, if you have things to do, please go ahead; we'd like to sit here a bit longer, hehe, just sitting," spoke up the henchman with a bit of smarts, who seemed to be the gang leader. Qing Yu, though he had only been testing his skills, had never fought before and hardly knew his own strength, leaving these still unknown extras unable to even stand up. Seeing Qing Yu engrossed in thought, these streetwise henchmen had remained silent in pain, not wanting to disturb this fierce expert, lest they receive another harsh beating. However, as time passed, a few with less willpower couldn't help but cry out in pain; the sharp-witted gang leader cleverly said they wanted to lie down a bit longer. At the moment, the gang leader mentally applauded his own cleverness.
Little did Qing Yu know that these people still had the mood to play mind games while lying on the ground.
"Then just keep lying there," Qing Yu said indifferently, not bothering to uncover their thoughts, and picking up a few not-so-full money bags, he walked towards the inn he had learned about earlier.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
12 Power
stone 
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