《Martial Arts Have Mastery》 Chapter 1 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The first thing Shen Ling saw when he opened his eyes was a scarlet table and a chair. He looked around at his surroundings in disbelief. ¡®What is all this? A filming site?¡¯ He slowly got out of bed. He was feeling a little weak. When his feet reached the floor, they nearly buckled because he nearly didn¡¯t have enough strength to stand up on his own. He groaned painfully as he steadied himself. Pain radiated from all parts of his body! Shen Ling decided to lay back down on his bed and stop struggling. A moment later, a memory that wasn¡¯t his suddenly flashed in his mind¡¯s eye. His name was Shen Ling! He was the elder son of the Shen family, a well-to-do family in Qi Hua City. Despite his status as a wealthy second-generation young master, Shen Ling was very down-to-earth and humble. Those who knew him thought him neither arrogant nor overbearing. During his free time, he liked to study poetry and scriptures. But he pretty much kept to himself, so not many people knew about him. A week ago, Shen Ling, who was at his prime, was plagued with illness. His illness came very suddenly and everyone was quite shocked when they heard the news. In just a week, Shen Ling rapidly shed most of his body weight. Pretty soon, he was just skin and bones. The young master officially passed away three quarters ago. That was when he, or rather his soul, took over this body. ¡°Transmigration, huh?¡± Still lying on the bed, Shen Ling stared at his palms. The skin on his palms didn¡¯t look like that of a young man¡¯s. In fact, it looked more like that of an elderly. The blood vessels were sticking out and his skin wrapped tightly around his bones. Obviously ¡°he¡± was in a very weak condition. Shen Ling looked outside the window and thought some more about his current situation. Right now it looked like he was in poor physical condition. If he didn¡¯t find out why he was sick and how he became like this as soon as possible, he probably wouldn¡¯t have long to live. ¡°Well, well¡­¡± While letting out a resigned sigh, Shen Ling couldn¡¯t come up with any other plan at the moment. So what if he had just transmigrated into another body? Was he going to have to just wait for death? Not knowing what else to do, Shen Ling calmly closed both his eyes, and just then, he saw a timestamp etched underneath his eyelids. 5:48. Shen Ling counted for thirty seconds in his head, and the time automatically changed to 5:47. Was this some sort of countdown? Shen Ling had no idea what would happen after the countdown ended but believed that he just needed to give it some more time before he found out. For that matter, there was really nothing else he could do. Soon after ¡ª The door to his room was gently pushed open. A maid, wearing a green dress, carried with her a basin and carefully made her way inside the room. Right when she walked in, their eyes met. The maid gave Shen Ling a caring look and said, ¡°Elder Young Master, you¡¯re already awake? How are you feeling? Should I call Master over?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing fine.¡± Shen Ling spoke his words slowly as if he was still getting used to this body. He still sounded very weak. The maid looked at Shen Ling, paused for a while, and then said in a soft voice. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go ahead and heat up some food for you, Elder Young Master.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shen Ling shook his head slightly back and forth. ¡°Just pour me a cup of water.¡± The maid nodded her head and poured a cup of warm water for Shen Ling. She then placed the cup to Shen Ling¡¯s lips so that he could drink it with ease. ¡°Ahem¡­¡± Shen Ling choked after taking a mouthful of water. He was already so weak that he would choke whenever he drank water too quickly. It was as sure a sign as any that he was terminally ill. But it was clear to Shen Ling that this body was not just simply sick at all. After drinking some more water, Shen Ling lay back down on the bed. It was already nighttime, but knowing that he could die at any second prevented him from falling asleep right away. So he stayed awake like that until daybreak when the countdown reached zero. ¡°Ding!¡± ¡®Welcome to Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: None.¡¯ ¡®Status: Poisoned.¡¯ Shen Ling was quite shocked as he saw this notification. However, seeing the words ¡®poisoned¡¯ in his status panel, his heart suddenly sank in his chest. He knew that he was not sick, but he had never expected to be poisoned. Recalling the memories of Shen Ling, the head of the Shen family had obviously turned to many doctors to treat his illness, but none of them thought it could be poison. Every one of them said he had fallen ill to some strange sickness. And here was the problem all along. Shen Ling stared at the status panel and tried to figure things out in his head. Even though he knew that he was currently being poisoned, the question remained: how to find an antidote and save himself was a difficult problem he had to address. Unless he could find the person who was administering the poison to him! Shortly after, a name came to mind. That person just so happened to be none other than the mistress of the Shen family. As the current Madam Shen, she was also Shen Ling¡¯s stepmother. Madam Shen had been married into the Shen family for twelve years. During those twelve years, she gave birth to a son for Old Master Shen. Old Master Shen favored this younger son. Under normal circumstances, Madam Shen wouldn¡¯t have bothered to poison him. However, Old Master Shen¡¯s health had seen a downward spiral during this time and his days on this earth were said to be numbered. If that happened, the successor of the Shen family would be him, the elder son Shen Ling. Madam Shen probably wanted him out of the way so that she could claim the family assets for herself. Shen Ling was feeling a little depressed about things. Before all this happened, the former Shen Ling had never thought of pointing his finger at Madam Shen or her child. However, he never expected that Madam Shen would resort to such extreme measures to ensure that he would disappear from this world and that all the assets of the Shen family would be hers. This was such a ruthless woman. This was such a cruel method, too! Even just thinking about it sent a chill to his heart. But Shen Ling knew that there was no way he could make Madam Shen admit that she was the one poisoning him. He had no proof, and at the same time, Madam Shen could even retort and say that his words were merely a slander on her character. What should he do now? Shen Ling once more looked at his palm. He was so weak that his hands shook from the exertion. Even getting out of bed proved too much for him, so what could he do about his current predicament? Should he rely on this so-called Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0? The name of this cheating system sounded extremely untrustworthy. ¡°Alas.¡± While sighing repeatedly, Shen Ling¡¯s gaze suddenly moved to a bookshelf not too far away. From what he could remember, he knew that Shen Ling was a booklover from before. Whether it was poetry, scriptures, or the strange or supernatural, Shen Ling loved to read about it all. Everyone in the Shen family knew about his wide range of interests when it came to reading. Then, could there be something useful in those books for his current condition? Say, could he cultivate the poison away? It would at least give him an extra boost of needed strength. ¡°Xiao Huan.¡± Shen Ling called out the maid¡¯s name weakly. Although it would only take a few steps to get to the bookshelf, those few steps would take all his last remaining strength ¨C strength he needed to continue holding on. ¡°Elder Young Master, is anything the matter?¡± Hearing Shen Ling call out her name, Xiao Huan, who was straightening up the house not far away, immediately came over to his side and asked him nervously. Shen Ling pointed to his books on the shelf and said in a soft voice, ¡°Help me get those books.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Seeing that Shen Ling was alright, Xiao Huan let out a huge sigh of relief. She made her way over to the bookshelf, selected a few titles, then set them by Shen Ling¡¯s bed. The Elder Young Master loved to read. She had served as Shen Ling¡¯s personal maid for a long time and knew very well that Shen Ling valued books as much as his life. However, the illness was taking a toll on the Elder Young Master. His face was so emaciated that he no longer looked like his former self at all. As she thought about this, Xiao Huan¡¯s eyes reddened visibly. ¡°What are these tears for?¡± Shen Ling glanced over at Xiao Huan. ¡°You know, girls don¡¯t look good when they cry.¡± ¡°You are right, Young Master. I¡¯ll stop.¡± Xiao Huan nodded her head and wiped her tears away. Shen Ling then bowed his head to look at the titles of the ancient books in front of him. Quickly, the contents of these books flooded back to him. This book wasn¡¯t the one, and neither was that¡­ Under Shen Ling¡¯s supervision, Xiao Huan moved more books over to the bed for Shen Ling. ¡°Stop right there.¡± Just as Xiao Huan was setting an ancient book in front of Shen Ling, Shen Ling suddenly spoke up. There were only two words on the cover of this ancient tome, ¡°Longevity Technique.¡± From what Shen Ling remembered, because this longevity technique was rather obscure and difficult to understand, he had studied it for a good length of time without much results. Because his efforts had turned up fruitless, he had almost given up on this technique. Shen Ling flipped through the ¡°Longevity Technique¡± book and studied the words. He knew each word in this book, but he still couldn¡¯t understand them no matter how many times he tried to put them together. After a while, frustrated, Shen Ling closed his eyes. His last remaining hope was that the system ¡ª God knows what exactly it was ¡ª could be of some use. At this time, Shen Ling was becoming a little nervous.. Chapter 2 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Method: Longevity Technique [rank 9 low-grade cultivation method, not yet learned, proficiency 0/100.]¡¯ ¡®Status: Poisoned.¡¯ Seeing the notification, Shen Ling felt slightly less panicked. Then, he sat in a cross-legged position and began to try cultivating the obscure Longevity Technique. He circulated his Qi, following the rules of the cultivation method, and made little leeway. This could more or less be considered a small success. After some time had passed, a line of words appeared in his mind¡¯s eye: ¡®You have completed one successful circulation of the Longevity Technique. Proficiency gained +1.¡¯ The time for one circulation equaled up to about five minutes of cultivation, and five minutes of cultivation helped him level up by one point in proficiency. This meant that he needed to cultivate for more than eight hours to gain a hundred points of proficiency. This was not too bad. Then¡­ Without any further dilly-dallying, he got straight down to business and started cultivating. With great anticipation in his heart, Shen Ling sat in his cross-legged position and continued cultivating. After eight hours of cultivating, Shen Ling slowly opened his eyes. These were the results to his cultivation: ¡®Cultivation Technique: Longevity Technique [rank 9 low-grade cultivation technique, level one, proficiency 0/1000].¡¯ As if he were having an epiphany, information surged into Shen Ling¡¯s mind, giving him a better understanding of this technique. Suddenly it became a lot clearer to him. One who used this technique would see a limited improvement in the body. Nevertheless, the longer this technique was used, the more it could help increase one¡¯s lifespan. However, there were several exceptions to this rule that included accidents or unnatural deaths. This only suited a portion of people who were destined to die of natural causes. What Shen Ling valued the most out of all this was the improvement of his physical health through the cultivation of Longevity Technique. So that he could buy himself more time on this earth. ¡°I¡¯m so hungry.¡± That was the first thing Shen Ling said when he opened his eyes. Xiao Huan, who had been by Shen Ling¡¯s side this entire time, right away brought in a tray of food and placed it in front of Shen Ling. Xiao Huan spoon-fed Shen Ling the food. After he finished the meal, Shen Ling was only thirty percent full. ¡°It¡¯s not enough. I need more food.¡± After finishing every bite of his food, Shen Ling was still not full. His gnawing hunger made it impossible to concentrate. Xiao Huan bowed her head and said, ¡°I¡¯ll instruct the kitchen to prepare more food for you.¡± Shen Ling ate like this for two straight hours. As he ate, his body showed satisfying signs of recovering. During this time, apparently, more flesh could be visibly seen on his skinny arms. Most importantly, Shen Ling had recovered enough strength to walk around. His limbs were growing stronger by the minute. Xiao Huan was in pleasant surprise when she saw that Shen Ling was well enough to walk around, and she cried, ¡°Elder Young Master, are you feeling better already?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine right now.¡± Shen Ling turned his attention to the words ¡°Poisoned¡± in his settings, feeling very somber about his serious status. Although he would live a little longer with the help of the Longevity Technique, if he didn¡¯t do something to detoxify the poison, all of this would be an illusion and he would die miserably all the same! Xiao Huan smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯ll head out and tell Master to come and visit you now.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shen Ling waved his hands around and put on some clothes by himself. ¡°I¡¯ll go and see him myself.¡± In the Shen family¡¯s hall ¡ª Master Shen was sitting in his chair with a worried expression on his face. His wife and child were sitting next to him. Situated a little further away were his distant relatives in the family. Everyone was gathered there in the hall. ¡°Ahem.¡± Master Shen coughed and looked quite crestfallen. In the past few years, his physical health had taken a turn for the worse. But he never expected that right after he became seriously ill, Shen Ling would also fall seriously ill. What was to happen to the Shen family? Master Shen turned to look at the five-year-old child sitting next to Madam Shen. With Shen Ling seriously ill and at death¡¯s door, all he had left was his five-year-old younger son, who was still too little and vulnerable to shoulder the heavy responsibility of managing a family. Was the prestigious name of the Shen family of Qi Hua City going to fade from everyone¡¯s memory just like that? Old Master Shen felt a little down about this. ¡°Ha, everyone¡¯s here?¡± As the atmosphere of the hall settled into an unusual depression, a calm voice sounded out of nowhere. Everyone turned their gazes to look at the door and found Shen Ling with his hands behind his back, looking everyone up and down with a calm expression on his face. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ okay?!¡± Old Master Shen right away got up from his seat and made his way towards Shen Ling, inspecting him carefully. ¡°Of course.¡± Shen Ling smilingly reassured Old Master Shen. After he said that, he cast a glance at Madam Shen, who was sitting not too far away. Shen Ling was sensitive enough to see a trace of surprise and doubt shoot across Madam Shen¡¯s face before she went back to her usual stoic expression. Even though this expression faded from view in a flash, it was enough for Shen Ling, who had been watching her all this time, to confirm that his guess was right. This was proof that the poisoning incident had something to do with Madam Shen for sure. ¡°Those doctors did a quack job!¡± Seeing that Shen Ling had recovered, Master Shen was overjoyed. Every inch of his face was beaming with happiness, and he even playfully scolded those doctors. During this time, he had spent a huge amount of money to hire doctors to help treat Shen Ling¡¯s illness, but none of them could find a cure. He never expected to find Shen Ling, whose condition doctors all said was hopeless, to be standing here in front of him, miraculously recovered from his illness. The Shen family was definitely blessed. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly true. They¡¯re not quack doctors.¡± Shen Ling gave him a slight smile and said word by word, ¡°It¡¯s just that they can¡¯t pinpoint what¡¯s going on with me.¡± ¡°Mmm, if you say so.¡± Master Shen was in great spirits and was willing to take Shen Ling¡¯s words for it. With a smile on his face, Shen Ling then turned around and made his way to the current Madam Shen¡¯s side and squatted down in front of his half-brother. ¡°You¡¯re already all grown up.¡± Shen Ling patted his brother on the head, and this child, whose name was Shen Ping, stared back at him with a blank look in his eyes. ¡°What in the world do you think you¡¯re doing?!¡± Seeing Shen Ling touch her son, Madam Shen hurried to pull Shen Ping to her side. Shen Ling slowly got up, gave Madam Shen a meaningful look, smiled and said, ¡°What, can¡¯t I show my brother a little affection?¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Madam Shen was momentarily too stunned to speak. Shen Ling smiled down at her. It looked like Madam Shen was already starting to get nervous. Looking at Madam Shen¡¯s face, Shen Ling whispered in her ear, ¡°You poisoned me, didn¡¯t you?¡± His words, which were only audible to the two of them, instantly made Madam Shen¡¯s face grow rigid. She stared at the smiling face of Shen Ling and thought: ¡®I¡¯ll be damned!¡¯ After Shen Ling said that, he turned on his heels and made his way towards the chair that he always sat in. Old Master Shen, who was already back in his seat, also said slowly, ¡°Yunshu, the two brothers should be closer. Don¡¯t stop them from growing closer.¡± ¡°Right! Mmm.¡± Madam Shen nodded her head. Next, a forced smile appeared on her face. ¡®It can¡¯t be, can it? Shen Ling has recovered?¡¯ Old Master Shen was in very good spirits and ordered the kitchen to prepare a feast. Everyone drank and ate merrily, but Madam Shen was the only one not in a good mood. After several quick bites, Madam Shen left the hall to go back to her room. Shen Ling blinked his eyes. Then he smiled. That night ¡ª Madam Shen¡¯s maid could be seen secretly walking out the back door of the Shen family. She looked around warily, and then quickly made her way down the other direction. Seconds later, Shen Ling appeared out of the darkness besides the back door. He stared at the maid¡¯s back, and his eyes flickered with intelligence. Here was his chance. Some moments later, inside a small house down a dark alley in Qi Hua City. ¡°Are you saying that the Elder Young Master of the Shen family has recovered? But that¡¯s impossible! The poison I created has no antidote. The quack doctors in Qi Hua City couldn¡¯t even figure it out!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s true. He has recovered indeed. You promised that his death was guaranteed, but you failed to deliver the result, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be true! Did Madam say anything?¡± ¡°Madam said that Shen Ling already found out about the poison. Now, she plans to either kill Shen Ling and Master Shen, or¡­¡± ¡°Or what happens?¡± Shen Ling spoke up right then.. Chapter 3 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen ¡°Good heavens! It¡¯s a ghost!¡± Right when the fierce-looking maid heard Shen Ling¡¯s voice behind her, she turned around and let out a terrified scream. The man inside the room panicked when he saw Shen Ling, and he scrambled around looking for a way to escape. He caught them like this: a maid and a man. Shen Ling glanced over at the maid, then gripped the man¡¯s neck, and pressed his body against the wall. ¡°Tell me, where¡¯s the antidote?¡± ¡°No, there¡¯s no such thing as an antidote¡­¡± The man turned to look at Shen Ling and shook his head back and forth. ¡°With over twenty kinds of poison as well as more than ten kinds of poisonous plants in my Seven Day Soul Severing Powder, even though the poison won¡¯t cause fatal effect right away, there is no current antidote available.¡± It turned out there was no antidote. Shen Ling exerted a little more strength on his hand, and the man¡¯s face started to redden. Just as the man was about to be strangled to death, Shen Ling was suddenly startled by the noise behind him. From out of the corner of his eye, Shen Ling saw the maid reaching down for something. Shen Ling bowed his head to duck, and a dagger was thrown over his head. That was close! ¡°You¡¯ve practiced martial arts? A maid?¡± A trace of doubt flashed in Shen Ling¡¯s eyes. With no signs of hesitation, he lifted the stool next to him and tossed it at the maid. The room wasn¡¯t very big. As the two of them continued fighting, the maid, who knew only a smattering of martial arts, was soon defeated by Shen Ling. With a thud, the maid fell down to the ground with a bleeding head. After that, Shen Ling¡¯s eyes swept the room. The man was already gone. When he saw that Shen Ling and the maid were fighting, he took advantage of this and fled. After thinking things through, Shen Ling was in no particular hurry to return home. Instead, he did a careful search of this small room. His search came up with an incomplete notebook and a book about the practice and methodology of poison. Although the man was already gone, he had left in a hurry and did not have the time to take his things with him. But among the things he left behind, an antidote was nowhere to be found. Shen Ling¡¯s heart sank in his chest. ¡­ Early in the morning. In the hall of the Shen family. Old Master Shen was sitting in the main seat and as he looked at his wife next to him, he said in a cold voice, ¡°Is is true, what Shen Ling said just now?¡± Madam Shen turned her gaze to the ground and said nothing. The maid, who was tied up and gagged, shook her head wildly at Madam Shen. ¡°Let¡¯s hear what she¡¯s got to say.¡± With a wave of his hand, Master Shen motioned for the servant to remove the cloth out of the maid¡¯s mouth. After the gag was removed, the maid turned to look at Master Shen and pleaded, ¡°Master, I did this all on my own. It really has nothing to do with Madam. Please¡­ I¡¯m telling the truth!¡± After he heard this, Master Shen suddenly slammed the table out of anger. ¡°Are you telling me that a mere maid would dare to poison her master for no reason? Do you really think I¡¯m so old and muddle-headed that I wouldn¡¯t know any better?¡± Shen Ling did not bother to speak up. At this time, he didn¡¯t care a bit about what was going on in the Shen family hall. Because no matter what happened, the poison in his body would still be there and would continue to damage his insides. This was a huge concern for Shen Ling. ¡°Get lost now!¡± With a ferocious roar, Old Master Shen pointed his finger at Madam Shen, the anger on his face clearly visible. ¡°Leave the Shen family at once. I don¡¯t want to see you ever again!¡± After Madam Shen admitted that she had planned to poison Shen Ling, Old Master Shen was so enraged that he chased Madam Shen directly out of the Shen family. Together with Shen Ping, the child she had borne. Shen Ling still did not say anything. His silence was taken as acceptance of the punishment for Madam Shen. Anyway, the matter was settled. Shen Ling went back to his room and tried to think up other ways of saving himself. Apparently, there was no antidote available for this so-called Seven Days Soul Severing Powder. The only choice he had left was to strengthen his body so that he could have a fighting chance of survival. He continued to cultivate the Longevity Technique. ¡®You have completed one full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency +5.¡¯ Seeing this notification, Shen Ling¡¯s eyes flew open. Five points of proficiency? Seriously? He could recall earlier that there had only been one point of proficiency when he first started to cultivate this technique. The system had notified him about the additional point after he had successfully circulated the Longevity Technique for one day. So one successful session of practice added up one proficiency point, while one complete session of practice added up five proficiency points. Originally, Shen Ling had thought that he would need to put in more than ninety hours of cultivation, which was a few days, to be able to cultivate the technique to the second level. But now¡­ It seemed that he only needed more than ten hours to complete the first level of the Longevity Technique. This time difference was a matter of life and death to him. Shen Ling¡¯s enthusiasm to keep cultivating saw an added boost. In his later cultivation attempts, Shen Ling put in a lot of time and effort to fully circulate the Longevity Technique. Because of this, the system was showing better and better results each time. Shen Ling even saw an notification that said: ¡®You have completed one perfect circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 10.¡¯ So there were three types: success, completion, perfection. Based on his past experiences with the system, perfectly circulating the Longevity Technique was one that appeared the least often, but it was also the one that saw the highest increase in proficiency. However, just like the words hinted at, a perfect circulation was no easy task either. Shen Ling had managed to create a perfect operation once, and it was pure luck. From then on, what he had were merely complete circulations. He was already very happy with his results. One day later. After a cultivation session, Shen Ling opened his eyes. He had finally cultivated to the second level of the Longevity Technique. In total, there were three levels. ¡°Hmm?¡± Opening his eyes, Shen Ling was stunned for one complete second. He looked down at his hands and felt that his skin appeared to be a little more tender compared to a few moments ago. When he peered into the bronze mirror, Shen Ling came to the realization that he, who was already quite good-looking, looked even fairer and younger now. Did this Longevity Technique also have the ability to enhance one¡¯s beauty? Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°Xiao Huan.¡± Making his way out of the house, Shen Ling turned to look at Xiao Huan, who was busy tidying up the flowers in the courtyard and called for her. ¡°Young Master, do you need anything?¡± Xiao Huan saw that it was Shen Ling and bowed her head slightly. Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°Tell the kitchen staff to prepare a few dishes for me. They will come in use later.¡± Xiao Huan asked, appearing a little puzzled, ¡°Are you going to treat some guests to a meal?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll eat the food myself.¡± After he said that, Shen Ling turned around and made his way out of the yard. When he walked into the Shen family hall, Shen Ling saw that Old Master Shen was sitting in his chair with a serious expression on his face. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Seeing that something must¡¯ve happened, Shen Ling asked his father. Old Master Shen saw that it was Shen Ling and told him, ¡°Around midnight yesterday, Yunshu drank poison in the her residence.¡± Yunshu was the first name of Madam Shen, who had just been kicked out of the Shen family. Shen Ling turned to look at Old Master Shen and asked, ¡°What about Shen Ping?¡± ¡°I already had someone pick him up,¡± Old Master Shen said word by word. Madam Shen was dead. She was gone. Shen Ling never thought this would happen. He had already decided to let her off and not to pursue this matter, but he never expected her to commit suicide. The funeral was held in a rush. In order to keep the family scandal under wraps, Old Master Shen ordered the burial to be done right away. In the end, Madam Shen¡¯s last resting place was not to be in the Shen family¡¯s cemetery. Instead, she was sent back to her hometown. She was pitiful, but not worthy of his pity. At the funeral of his mother, Shen Ping was crying sorrowfully. He looked up at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°Brother, is my mother really a bad person?¡± Shen Ling turned his head to look down at the grave and bent his head down to say, ¡°Your mother did something unspeakable, but she¡¯s still a good mother to you.¡± Staring down at the grave, Shen Ling mulled some things over in his mind. One could say that everything Madam Shen had done so far was actually for her son Shen Ping, who was standing beside him right now. She had killed herself with poison so that Shen Ping would have a way back into the Shen family. As a mother, Madam Shen¡¯s actions made sense. However, Shen Ling could not agree any less. If he hadn¡¯t transmigrated, once Madam Shen realized her plan, Shen Ping would become the sole heir of the Shen family. But what would happen to the original Shen Ling? He would die a miserable death. Because he was here, he changed Shen Ling¡¯s original fate and exposed Madam Shen¡¯s schemes for all to see. And because of his interference, the person who was fated to die was not him but Madam Shen. ¡°Alas¡­¡± Still looking at the grave, Shen Ling shook his head.. Who knew things would turn out this way? Chapter 4 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen A few days later. ¡®You have completed one perfect circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency +10.¡¯ Shen Ling, who was in the midst of cultivating, slowly opened his eyes and shook his head back and forth as he looked at his current proficiency rate. This was Shen Ling¡¯s current information: ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation technique: Longevity Technique [rank-nine low-grade cultivation technique, level two, proficiency 5500/10000].¡¯ ¡®Status: Poisoned.¡¯ The poison was still in his body. However, Shen Ling was less worried about it. Once he had cultivated the Longevity Technique to level two, Shen Ling discovered that the poison¡¯s effect on him was already less. He had a feeling that as long as he cultivated the technique to level three, the poison from the Seven Days Soul Severing powder would be gone from his system. After lunch. Xiao Huan saw Shen Ling and said, ¡°Eldest Young Master, Master is heading off to Chennan Trading Company. He asked if you¡¯d like to come with him.¡± Chennan Trading Company? Shen Ling thought it over for a minute and nodded his head. ¡°I just so happen to be bored, so I¡¯ll go outside for a stroll.¡± ¡°Mmm, okay.¡± With a smile on her face, Xiao Huan nodded her head agreeably. Soon after, Shen Ling got into the carriage with Master Shen and together they headed towards Chennan Trading Company. The carriage drove for a distance before slowing to a stop. Shen Ling right away got out of the carriage to peer up at the signboard. Chennan Trading Company. According to Shen Ling¡¯s memories he had been here countless times, but in his eyes, what he saw was a large department store. However, Shen Ling had heard somewhere before that the Chennan Trading Company had immense power. Their caravans were so heavily guarded, bandits and thieves stayed clear out of their path. As Shen Ling lowered his gaze to the ground, the manager of the Chennan Trading Company walked out at this time and headed in their direction. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s Young Master Shen. Isn¡¯t this great? You haven¡¯t been here in a while, and I just happened to have a new batch of books in stock. Do you want to take some time to browse through the titles?¡± ¡°Ahem.¡± Old Master Shen, who had just got down from the carriage, was already coughing. Hearing this, the manager of the Chennan Trading Company lifted his head. ¡°Oh, Old Master Shen is here today too. You can blame my poor eyesight for not seeing Old Master Shen back there. The two of you, welcome back. If there¡¯s anything you need, just say the word and I¡¯ll have it for you.¡± Master Shen nodded his head and walked inside. Shen Ling was right behind him. Chennan Trading Company¡¯s branch in Qi Hua City just so happened to be a three-story building in an extremely large and prosperous area. The interior space was decorated grandly and tastefully. It gave people a very comfortable feeling without seeming cheap at all. The manager himself personally received Master Shen. As for Shen Ling, a very good-looking beauty was assigned to him. This woman didn¡¯t look bad, and her figure was a nice round and plump shape. However, her older years gave her a certain mature charm. ¡°What is Young Master Shen looking for?¡± When she saw Shen Ling, the woman spoke without hurry. Her voice was gentle and soft and it was very pleasing to the ear. Now matter which way you looked at it, this woman¡¯s attitude did not seem like she was selling goods to you at all. Shen Ling was slightly mystified, but he did not bother to say anything about it. ¡°Do you have any books on cultivation techniques?¡± Shen Ling slowly asked this. After he arrived at the Chennan Trading Company, it suddenly occurred to him that this was the place where he could easily get more information on cultivation techniques. Although this might cost him a pretty penny, going about it this way was much simpler compared to other methods. ¡°Yes.¡± The woman nodded her head and smilingly said, ¡°Whatever information on cultivation technique you need, we have it here for you.¡± Though her tone was very arrogant, Shen Ling did not for one moment doubt her words. He didn¡¯t know much about the background of the Chennan Trading Company, but in the eyes of this prestigious department store, he was nothing more than a wealthy young master from Qi Hua City. ¡°You can follow me.¡± The woman motioned with her hand, and Shen Ling followed her to the third level of the Chennan Trading Company. Inside the secret room on the third floor, Shen Ling saw more books on cultivation techniques. ¡°¡®Great Qian Art¡¯?¡¯ Staring at these three words, Shen Ling was left dumbfounded for a good moment. He distantly recalled that the kingdom he was in was called the Great Qian Dynasty. Could this ¡®Great Qian Art¡¯ be¡­ ¡°You can believe it. This cultivation technique is the royal family¡¯s.¡± The woman seemed to notice Shen Ling¡¯s confused gaze and immediately gave the subject matter some more background. Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes. They even dared to sell the cultivation technique of the royal family. This Chennan Trading Company was even more powerful than he had originally thought them to be. ¡°How much are you charging for this?¡± Shen Ling asked hesitantly. ¡°Ten million taels.¡± The woman spoke in a soft voice as the words ¡®ten million taels¡¯ left her mouth. Ten million taels? Shen Ling did some calculations in his head. If he calculated it according to one tael of silver equaling one thousand yuan, then ten million taels was how much? After he did the math, Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. Though his Shen family was considered a wealthy family in Qi Hua City, their actual assets were only a few thousand taels. This was barely a fraction of what the ¡®Great Qian Art¡¯ was worth. This cultivation technique book was indeed very expensive! After coming to the realization that he might be able to afford a top-of-the-grade cultivation technique book, Shen Ling decided he would have to settle for second best and buy something within his price range. ¡°And how much is this book?¡± After browsing through the titles for a while, Shen Ling finally held up a saber technique book and asked. The woman checked out the cultivation technique book and said, ¡°This is a rank-nine low-grade Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. It¡¯s worth a tael of silver.¡± It was so cheap! Shen Ling¡¯s eyes instantly lit up, and he right away took out one tael of silver and placed it in the woman¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it!¡± The woman took the tael of silver and asked Shen Ling, ¡°This is your first book on saber technique, right? Our store is known all around for our top of the line sabers. Do you want to take a look at our merchandise?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. The woman then led him to the first floor where they stopped in the weapons district. Shen Ling took a look around and he found himself surrounded by glinting knives. From large sabers with folded pockets to all kinds of scimitars and ancient sabers, he had never seen so many sabers in one room. The Chennan Trading Company had everything here. ¡°How much is this?¡± Picking up a very good-looking knife, Shen Ling turned to ask the woman. ¡°This knife is one hundred taels.¡± The woman said. Shen Ling pulled out the knife to test it out with his finger. After he lightly flicked the blade and heard its echo, he nodded his head, clearly satisfied. This was definitely a good knife. The only thing was that it was too expensive. ¡°This is a longsword, correct?¡± Pulling the sword out of its sheath, Shen Ling looked everywhere in the store but didn¡¯t see another knife like it. A trace of shock shot through the woman¡¯s eyes, and then with a smile on her face, she said, ¡°I never expected Young Master Shen to know so much about weapons. This is indeed a longsword but after our master forgers modified it, this knife will be even more useful in battle.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. There had been a lot of talk on the usefulness of the longsword How it proved to be an exceptional blade during combat. With its recent modifications, the longsword in his hands was even more excellent. The hilt of the blade was not short but fit in his hands perfectly and the blade was extremely long, perfect for slashing through any obstacles. One hundred taels¡­ Shen Ling looked at the knife in his hands, and after comparing it with all the others, he decided to obediently take out his money. This knife was worth one hundred thousand yuan! This was so expensive! Seeing Shen Ling making his way out of the Chennan Trading Company, the woman said, ¡°Be sure you take care, Young Master Shen. And come again next time.¡± After Shen Ling left, the woman looked at the person next to her and asked, ¡°Do you know anything about Young Master Shen¡¯s cultivation skills?¡± The person next to her shook his head back and forth. When Shen Ling got home, he took the expensive longsword out and flipped open the book on the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. Shen Ling felt that the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique Book was worth every penny. It not only had a simple heart technique, it even had a posture diagram to help one¡¯s cultivation. After memorizing everything, Shen Ling made his way into the courtyard. He pulled out his longsword and swept in in a horizontal motion. This was the first move of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. Next, the vertical chop! This was the second move of the technique. After he made the vertical chop, the muscles in Shen Ling¡¯s arms swelled to the size of balloons. Then another vertical chop. This was the third movement of the technique. With three simple movements and the mental cultivation method, this rank-nine low-grade Mountain-splitting Saber Technique elevated his status. ¡®You have completed one full practice of Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency +5.¡¯ Shen Ling continued to swing his sword in a swift motion, showing off his powerful blade.. Chapter 5 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The servants of the Shen family had all seen their eldest young master, Shen Ling, waving around his sword in the courtyard. The young master of the Shen family, who used to be a bookworm, appeared to have changed a little after recovering from his serious illness. This got Old Master Shen a little worried as well. Shen Ling had no idea that the servants were gossiping about him behind his back. He was only focused on two things. He rigorously trained with his saber by day and practiced the Longevity Technique at night. What improvements he saw made him very motivated to continue cultivating. He put his time to good use. Five days had passed since he had gone to Chennan Trading Company with his father. Shen Ling¡¯s statuses were updated. ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Method: Longevity Technique [rank-nine low-grade cultivation method, level 3, proficiency 3025/30000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Method: Mountain-splitting saber technique [rank-nine low-grade cultivation method, level two, proficiency 1250/10000].¡¯ ¡®Status: Normal.¡¯ After reaching level three of the Longevity Technique, all the poison in Shen Ling¡¯s body was gone. After removing the poison from his body, Shen Ling was surprised to find himself feeling a little bored. He walked through the streets and the market, but in the end, he usually had nothing to do so he would return home. Qi Hua City was such a small city with little to no scenery at all. Compared to cultivating, it was not as interesting. Clap ¡ª The sharp blade of the longsword split the wooden dummy in front of him into two halves effortlessly. Shen Ling took his time to sheath his sword. He only had two goals now. One was to witness what would happen when he reached the highest level of proficiency in the Longevity Technique. The other was to cultivate the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique to its fullest potential. Both techniques had three levels in total. At the rate he was going, it would only be a matter of time before he achieved his goals. With notifications like ¡®You have complete one full training session of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency +5,¡¯ Shen Ling slowly put a stop to his daily morning training. His stomach rumbled right on time. He was starving! After eating a meal that could satisfy three people, Shen Ling¡¯s body did not take on any fat. Compared to other martial artists, he actually looked a little thin and weak. In the afternoon. Shen Ling was busy practicing his saber skills, working to reach the fourth level of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique as soon as possible. Right then, a servant hurried over, looked at Shen Ling, and said, ¡°Eldest Young Master, have you seen Master?¡± Old Master? Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°He was still here during lunch. Why¡­ Did something happen to him?¡± The servant said in a hushed voice, ¡°There was an incident in the fields.¡± The fields? There was a slight frown on Shen Ling¡¯s face. The Shen family owned this field, so it was problematic if something were to happen on this said field. After all, the grain produced in this field made up almost half of the Shen family¡¯s income every year. It was nearing autumn now, and the autumn harvest was about to begin. ¡°Slow down. Tell me, what happened?¡± While giving the servant words of comfort, Shen Ling slowed his breathing. ¡°The Green Mountain Bandits showed up.¡± The servant went on to say, ¡°They just walked up to the village sharecroppers and told them that we have to give them one hundred taels of silver within two hours. If we don¡¯t do what they say, they will burn our land.¡± One hundred taels of silver. With what the fields produce yearly, it was possible to give them one hundred taels of silver. Even so, would bandits and robbers keep their word? This was very hard to say. ¡°Let¡¯s head out and take a look.¡± Shen Ling sheathed his blade and turned to make his way out of the Shen residence. He did not know where his father was, but the matter was too urgent to be put on hold. ¡°This¡­¡± The servant turned to look at Shen Ling and said, ¡°I¡¯ll call for more people to back us up.¡± ¡°Okay, hurry.¡± Shen Ling did not turn him down. An hour later, Shen Ling took the lead and guided more than twenty servants to the village where the sharecroppers were situated. All the doors and windows of every household in the village were tightly shut. Out of the corner of his eye, Shen Ling could sense eyes peeking through the cracks of the doors. A chilling sense of unease was making people wary. This was the first time Shen Ling had set foot in this village. He had never been here before. Seeing such ordinary and even somewhat dilapidated wooden houses all around him, Shen Ling¡¯s heart suddenly felt a little weighed down. In this world, the lives of these sharecroppers were not bad. After all, they managed to survive. However, Shen Ling didn¡¯t feel good about this. He shook his head in pity. Shen Ling took the lead and continued making his way forward. In the center of the small village, he could see a group of bandits sitting there guzzling wine. Some of them were even stuffing meat into their mouths while drinking at the same time. They appeared to be having a great time. ¡°They¡¯ve come.¡± Seeing Shen Ling and the others heading over, the bandits all got up at the same time. A man wearing an eyepatch, a bare-chested man, and a man wearing shorts all said, ¡°Who are you? Give us your name.¡± ¡°I am Shen Ling from the Shen family.¡± Shen Ling looked at these bandits and counted about a dozen of them. Though there weren¡¯t many of them, each of them looked capable and strong. However, none of them had cultivated martial arts, so these were just ordinary people. ¡°Shen Ling?¡± The man with the eyepatch turned to look at Shen Ling and said, puzzled, ¡°Who is Shen Ling? The person we want to see is Old Master Shen.¡± ¡°The person standing before you is our Elder Young Master!¡± A servant opened his mouth and explained Shen Ling¡¯s identity to the bandits. ¡°Oh, so he¡¯s your Elder Young Master.¡± Hearing the servant say this, the man with the eyepatch was quick to react. With a slight smile on his face, he looked at Shen Ling and said, ¡°Did Elder Young Master Shen bring the money? None of you were hurt. Is this enough to show our sincerity?¡± ¡°Sincerity?¡± With a grin on his face, Shen Ling looked at the man with the eyepatch. ¡°After you take our one hundred taels, won¡¯t you be coming back in the future?¡± The man with the eyepatch turned his attention to the money bag in Shen Ling¡¯s hand and chuckled. ¡°We can¡¯t guarantee something like that. We¡¯re only responsible for collecting the one hundred taels of silver. As for whether or not we¡¯ll be coming back again, that¡¯s entirely up to our boss.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Shen Ling¡¯s expression turned frosty. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, then this money is not for you.¡± ¡°What do you mean?!¡± The man with the eyepatch was startled for a moment there. ¡°I don¡¯t have any other meaning.¡± Shen Ling handed the money bag over to a servant and slowly reached for his longsword. ¡°I just want to see what is the best that you guys can do. Do you really deserve to have all this money?¡± ¡°You want to fight us?¡± The man in the eyepatch looked at Shen Ling with shock in his eye. However, this man was far from panicked. Instead, he raised his knife to Shen Ling¡¯s face with a mischievous smile and opened his mouth to say, ¡°Since Young Master Shen is interested in fighting, then us brothers will play with him. Be gentle with him. If we capture Young Master Shen, we can exchange him for at least a thousand taels.¡± ¡°Move back.¡± Shen Ling lifted his hand and gestured for the servants to take a step back. A servant said, ¡°Elder Young Master, please let us help you.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shen Ling refused right away. He slowly moved forward while looking at the bandits who were running towards him. Without saying a word, he raised the blade in his hands. He had yet to kill anyone since he transmigrated into this world¡­ Killing people was not something he wanted either. But this happened to be a chaotic world! In such a chaotic world, he would have to kill to stop the killing and use violence to stop more violence from happening. ¡°Mountain-splitting Saber Technique!¡± Slash! With a slash, a bandit¡¯s head flew straight off his neck. The corpse made two steps forward before falling right to the ground. The bandits who had yet to reach Shen Ling saw what happened and stopped right in their tracks. They stared at Shen Ling, whose clothes were drenched in blood. His expression while watching his victim¡¯s blood drip down his saber was very calm. At that moment, something like fear actually solidified in their hearts. Fear brought only two results. Either they continued to resist even more¡­ Or they ran away with their tail between their legs. For a moment there, some of the bandits raised their knives unfazed by the scene before them, while others were quietly backing away. Shen Ling stepped forward with his blade. Vertical split! Chapter 6 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen With just a few strikes of his saber, Shen Ling had convinced the group of bandits that they were no match for him. The sharp saber attacked their bodies at such warp speed, it was over before the bandits knew it. Throughout all this, Shen Ling¡¯s expression remained as cold as ever. In face of power and strength, even humans were such lowly creatures. Shen Ling grabbed hold of the bandit with the eyepatch and looked down at him. He said in a hushed voice, ¡°My blade has proven to you that this one hundred taels is not yours to keep.¡± The man with the eyepatch knelt on his knees on the ground and said fearfully, ¡°It¡¯s not ours. You are right. This one hundred taels is not ours to keep.¡± Shen Ling quietly watched as this man with the eyepatch groveled on the ground pitifully. He suddenly took off the man¡¯s eyepatch and saw it was an eye without any flaws. ¡°You¡¯re not blind?¡± Shen Ling looked at the man with the eyepatch in shock. Seeing the man look back at him without difficulty, Shen Ling was a bit confused. ¡°No, I¡¯m not blind.¡± The man with the eyepatch continued to grovel. Gone were the traces of his previous arrogance and dictatorship. Before Shen Ling could say anything, the man with the eyepatch continued, ¡°We¡¯re just a bunch of liars. We¡¯re not even Green Mountain Bandits either. I¡¯ve never killed anyone before, so just treat me as an unworthy passerby who poses no threat. Please let me go¡­¡± ¡°Liars?¡± Shen Ling turned to look at the man with the eyepatch, the corners of his mouth twitching out of amusement. It¡¯s no wonder. These guys had no fighting spirit at all. After a few people were struck down by his blade, the rest turned around and ran away. In the end, they were just a group of swindlers who claimed they were the Green Mountain Bandits. This was very interesting indeed. Really damn interesting. Shen Ling¡¯s eyes turned into two frosty points. His knife was already grazing the man with the eyepatch¡¯s neck. Let him go? Well¡­ He wasn¡¯t dumb. These people had been wolfing down fish and meat and some of the knives were still covered in blood. The man with the eyepatch said that he had never killed anyone before. Though he might be telling the truth, this group of people probably robbed all the weak villages they came across and cheated the stronger ones. It was pointless to keep such useless people alive. It was better to just do away with them. After flinging off the blood on his longsword, Shen Ling said in a calm voice, ¡°Clear up the dead bodies and burn them.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The group of servants nodded their heads frantically. They had been prepared to put their lives to the side and rush forward to rescue Shen LIng, but they never expected the battle to end so suddenly. This current Shen Ling was very strange to them, but at the same time, they felt a surge of admiration for their elder young master. He was really too invincible! ¡°Wow.¡± A servant stared down at the corpse in front of him, and with a flick of his hand, grabbed a money bag from under the corpse. ¡°Elder Young Master, look, I found something.¡± A servant carried a bag over for Shen Ling to look at it. When the bag was opened, Shen Ling could see a pile of gold, silver, and jewelry. ¡°Whose is it?¡± Shen Ling asked in a curious voice. The servant chuckled, clearly amused. ¡°This belongs to the ¡®one-eyed¡¯ man. I saw he had a bulge on his waist a while ago.¡± ¡°You have good eyes.¡± Shen Ling took the money bag and threw a few taels of silver to the ground. ¡°After you get rid of the body, take the money and buy some delicious food.¡± ¡°Thank you so much, Elder Young Master.¡± The servant picked up the silver from off the ground, and a servant in the distance, who was watching this scene, also smiled. To an undiscerning eye, a few taels of silver didn¡¯t seem like much, but it was more than enough for the servants to buy a delicious meal that they wouldn¡¯t normally eat. Elder Young Master was really too generous! After some time had passed, an old man turned to look at Shen Ling and asked slowly, ¡°Elder Young Master, you want to see me?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Ling gave the old man a careful look and said in a soft voice, ¡°How is your life in the village now?¡± The old man said slowly, ¡°Thanks to Old Master Shen, life is alright. But as you may know, in this world, it¡¯s not a safe time for farmers.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°How many young and strong people are there in this village?¡± The old man bowed his head to think things over for a moment. ¡°I¡¯d say more than a hundred.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to get all the young and strong people together and teach them to practice their saber skills. During the farm¡¯s busy season, they will plow the land like they always do, and when they are free, I will put them in charge of protecting the village. What do you think about this?¡± The old man gave Shen Ling a look while frowning slightly. ¡°This old man had a similar idea before, but I just don¡¯t know who should be the instructor.¡± Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m game.¡± The old man said, ¡°Elder young master, you are such an honorable young man. How could you¡­¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°It¡¯s settled then.¡± After talking to the village chief, the servants of the Shen family also finished getting rid of the bodies. Although he did not do battle with the real Green Mountain Bandits this time around, Shen Ling also discovered that the village¡¯s defense system against outside forces wasn¡¯t very strong. That was the reason why they had that conversation. That very night, Shen Ling came back to the Shen family home. Master Shen had also gotten back by now. He turned to look at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°Did you send the money?¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°I didn¡¯t give them the money. I killed all of them.¡± Master Shen furrowed his brows out of consternation. ¡°The Green Mountain Bandits are a very powerful group. If we dare provoke them, this could cause us some trouble.¡± Shen Ling turned to look at Old Master Shen. ¡°They¡¯re not real bandits. They¡¯re just a bunch of swindlers. Although they do steal, lie, and cheat, it¡¯s nothing compared to what the actual Green Mountain Bandits are capable of. Besides, giving money to them is not a viable solution in the long run. There¡¯s no way you can fill a tiger¡¯s stomach, is there? It will always be hungry.¡± Master Shen gave Shen Ling a look. ¡°You¡¯re older now and have your own ideas of how to go about things. Tell me your plans. How exactly should we deal with them?¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°I plan to train all the young and strong people from the village and turn them into a militia so that they will know how to protect themselves when something like this happens again.¡± Old Master Shen thought this over for a moment, then lifted his head and asked, ¡°How much money do you need?¡± Shen Ling calculated in his head. ¡°About five hundred taels.¡± Old Master Shen did not say a word. To the Shen family, this was not a small amount of money. To add to that, it was not autumn yet, and the grain harvested from the fields had yet to be cashed in. ¡°Okay.¡± After showing some hesitation, Old Master Shen nodded his head. He turned to look at Shen Ling and suddenly said in a deep and rumbling voice, ¡°I will provide for you while I¡¯m still alive. You can do whatever you want with the money. Even if it turns out you¡¯re wrong, it doesn¡¯t matter. The future of our family is in your hands. I should gradually allow you to take over anyways.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head in agreement. Honestly, he did not know what to say to Old Master Shen. The only thing he could do was live up to Old Master Shen¡¯s expectations and leave an opening for the Shen family to continue prospering. From this point on, the Shen family would see a brand new transformation. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Looking at the book that Shen Ling had placed in front of him, Old Master Shen asked, clearly puzzled. Shen Ling said in a soft voice, ¡°This is a book on the Longevity Technique. It can prolong one¡¯s life. You just need to follow the instructions. I¡¯ve written some notes on the complicated parts. If you have any questions at all, you can ask me at any time.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Old Master Shen smiled. Ever since Shen Ling recovered from that illness, Old Master Shen had been worried about his son. However, over the past few days, he could see that this Shen Ling was more mature and more reliable than the previous Shen Ling who thought books were his life. This was not a bad thing for the Shen family. The next day. Shen Ling entered the Chennan Trading Company early in the morning. The shopkeeper right away came out to greet him. ¡°Young Master Shen, you¡¯re back. Let me know what you need this time, and I¡¯ll get it for you.¡± ¡°I want a hundred weapons.¡± Shen Ling did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point. ¡°A hundred?¡± The shopkeeper of the Chennan Trading Company had a shocked expression in his eyes. Then he asked in a hushed voice, ¡°Dare I ask, are you going to commit a crime or something?¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°The Green Mountain Bandits were seen in my fields. I want to train some servants to keep my home safe.¡± The shopkeeper of Chennan Trading company nodded his head. ¡°This is not a decision I can make alone. Please wait a moment here.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. A hundred weapons were no small number. It was not that they were worth all that much, but there was a law that made things difficult for you if you were planning on doing something like stock your home with a small arsenal. Usually ordinary blacksmiths would not dare to forge weapons recklessly for fear of being beheaded. A moment later. The woman who had been assigned to Shen Ling earlier made her way over and said to Shen Ling, ¡°Young Master Shen, it¡¯s good to see you again.¡± Shen Ling cocked his eyebrows.. Chapter 7 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen ¡°I never expected that Miss Qin would actually be the person in charge of Chennan Trading Company.¡± Looking at the woman in front of him up and down, Shen Ling was smiling slightly. He had originally thought that this woman¡¯s identity might not be ordinary, but he never expected that this woman¡¯s identity was even higher than that of a regular shopkeeper. This was unexpected but not too surprising. There was a smile on Miss Qin¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m merely managing this branch in Qi Hua City. It¡¯s nothing much, really.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°I wonder, has Miss Qin made a decision in regards to my request yet?¡± Miss Qing turned to look at Shen Ling and studied him for a good while. ¡°Young Master Shen¡¯s request isn¡¯t too difficult for Chennan Trading Company. A hundred weapons might be too much for other places, but it¡¯s a walk in the park for us.¡± ¡°However, what kinds of weapons are you planning to buy?¡± After all the formalities, they finally got right down to business. At least, this was what Shen Ling could tell just from hearing this woman¡¯s words. ¡°Ordinary longswords will do.¡± Shen Ling turned to look at Miss Qin and said in a soft voice. He had quite a good impression of the longsword since he read the classic novel The Water Margin. Now that he had put it to good use, he felt that the weapon was a very convenient item. It was also very suitable for cultivating the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. To add to that, compared to the other weapons the store sold, the longsword was way cheaper. Miss Qin thought this over for some time. She looked straight at Shen Ling and said, ¡°How¡¯s this, I¡¯ll give Young Master Shen a discount for the 100 longswords. Is 200 taels of silver okay with you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a cheap price.¡± Shen Ling glanced over at Miss Qin. The Chennan Trading Company wouldn¡¯t be losing much money with this discount. But Shen Ling thought Miss Qin must have some sort of ulterior motive for giving him this particular price. Initially, Shen Ling was planning to spend 500 taels of silver to buy 100 longswords. He did not expect that Miss Qin would sweeten the pot with an even better deal. Miss Qin said with a calm expression on her face, ¡°In addition, I¡¯m also willing to sell 100 triple crossbows to Young Master Shen at 300 taels of silver. And the arrows will be my gift to you.¡± Shen Ling looked at Miss Qin with a calm expression on his face and said, ¡°Nothing in this world is free. Miss Qin, if there¡¯s something on your mind, just feel free to say it.¡± Miss Qin said in a soft voice, ¡°I just want a favor from Young Master Shen. If this little girl were to come across some misfortune in the future, I hope Young Master Shen will be there to help me out in my time of need.¡± Shen Ling looked at Miss Qin and hesitated for a moment before saying, ¡°It¡¯s a deal.¡± To be honest, Shen Ling had no idea what Miss Qin was planning. However, she was practically giving away a hundred longswords and triple crossbows. He would be stupid to refuse such a gift. As for other matters, he could worry about them at a later time. Although the Shen family was very wealthy, it was not worth the efforts of the Chennan Trading Company to go after them. The Chennan Trading Company had a small branch in Qi Hua City, and its annual earnings surpassed the Shen family¡¯s several times over. Therefore, barefooted people were not afraid of those wearing shoes. Shen Ling was not worried about this at all. After Shen Ling left the store, the shopkeeper of the Chennan Trading Company gave Miss Qin a look and said in a hushed voice, ¡°Miss, he is just a rich kid from a small town. Isn¡¯t it a little too risky¡­¡± Miss Qin asked, ¡°Did you know Shen Ling from before?¡± The shopkeeper nodded his head very slowly. ¡°Young Master Shen is a lover of books. He comes to the trading company every month to browse through the new titles.¡± Miss Qin smiled and said, ¡°And what do you think of him now?¡± The shopkeeper appeared puzzled. ¡°He doesn¡¯t seem all that different, but I did notice that he doesn¡¯t read anymore.¡± Miss Qin kept shaking her head back and forth and said with a hint of disappointment in her voice, ¡°If this were the old Shen Ling, would he go about buying weapons and books on cultivation techniques?¡± The shopkeeper shook his head rapidly. ¡°No, definitely not.¡± Miss Qin said, ¡°The Qi Hua City branch that I work at is the smallest and the income here is the lowest. If I¡¯m not creative, how will I ever be able to win over all these wealthy families and get their businesses?¡± The shopkeeper was still looking confused, but he did not question her anymore. He only said word by word, ¡°I just hope that Young Master Shen won¡¯t disappoint you.¡± The shopkeeper did not have much faith in Shen Ling. Qi Hua City was not small. However, comparing it to other various cities in the Great Qian Dynasty, Qi Hua City was at the bottom of the barrel. However, thinking that this amount of money wasn¡¯t a huge number, the shopkeeper decided to keep his mouth shut. If this deal would ensure that Shen Ling bring in more benefits to the branch in the future, then it would be a good thing. If he didn¡¯t fulfill his end of the bargain, they would only lose a few thousand taels of silver. This was a very small loss. Shen Ling came back to the Shen family home. Right up to this moment, he still felt that none of this was real. Five hundred taels of silver to buy a hundred longswords. And he even got a better deal with the hundred triple crossbows! The weapons were super useful yet very rare. But even though he already paid for them, he would have to wait for the goods to be delivered in a few more days. Shen Ling lay on the sofa, trying to calm his racing heart. As much as he tried to calm down, his attempts came up fruitless. After lying down didn¡¯t work, Shen Ling was left with no other choice but to get up and start training with his saber. Practicing his saber moves would help him focus, and focus was good for calming himself down. ¡®You have completed one perfect practice of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency +10.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one perfect practice of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency +10.¡¯ While Shen Ling was deep in his saber training, notifications of perfect practice were constantly popping up one after another. He completely put them to the back of his mind as he concentrated on his cultivation. Every move he made with his blade contained the intent of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. He had finally comprehended it! ¡®You have comprehended the intent of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency +100,000.¡¯ The notification broke through Shen Ling¡¯s concentration. 100,000 proficiency points? Shen Ling studied his information again and found that the status of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique was already updated. ¡®Cultivation Technique: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-seven upper-grade saber technique, level five, proficiency 31250/100000].¡¯ The Mountain-splitting Saber Technique had surpassed the upper limit of level three of the cultivation technique and even reached rank-seven upper-grade cultivation technique. Shen Ling was stunned. Was this what they mean when they say ¡®good things come in pairs¡¯? There was nothing special about level five of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, but by reaching this level, Shen Ling was now able to release Saber Qi just by using the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. ¡°Slash!¡± Shen Ling lashed out with his saber in his hands. As he swung his longsword, he saw a white saber light flying straight into the sky. It slowly dimmed five meters away and then disappeared entirely when it was about ten meters away. Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes in disbelief. He had just swung the saber very casually just now. If he used the full will of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, the range and power of this saber¡¯s Qi would be immense. He was able to master a killer move just like that. His understanding of the intent of the saber also grew. If the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique hadthe intent of splitting the mountain, then did this mean the Longevity Technique also had the intent of longevity? Shen Ling had this thought while he was cultivating the Longevity Technique at night. However, even though the existence of the intent of longevity was known to him now, he had no clue how to comprehend it. That night, the wonders of the intent of splitting the mountain opened up to him and showed him new things. The heavens had blessed him with the ability to comprehend the intent of splitting the mountain. A few days later. The first batch of longswords was delivered to the Shen family home. With a total of fifty longswords, the other fifty would enter Qi Hua City at sunset today. As for the hundred triple crossbows, they still needed to be packaged and it would take a few days before they could be delivered. Shen Ling examined the longswords and nodded his head in satisfaction. Although the craftsmanship of these longswords was slightly less and they looked like the work of an apprentice, these blades would do the job nicely. Moreover, considering how much he paid for them, these longswords were worth every penny. One word. Nice! Chapter 8 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen That night. ¡°Young Master Shen, what¡¯s going on?¡± The village chief looked at the horse carriage behind Shen Ling and a flash of doubt shot through his eyes. Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°We previously agreed to start cultivating a portion of young people to help protect the village. These weapons are for our saber lessons, which will begin tomorrow.¡± ¡°So does this mean Young Master Shen is serious¡­¡± The village chief turned to Shen Ling and stared at him for a long period of time. Just as suddenly he lowered his gaze to the ground. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that Young Master Shen would actually be so concerned about the safety of us lowly sharecroppers. I thought you were just joking. This old man has misjudged you. I am very ashamed of myself.¡± Shen Ling looked at the village chief and said, ¡°What¡¯s the matter with sharecroppers? Sharecroppers are human beings too. If you plan things right, in the future, you will be able to harvest enough crops, sell them, and save money, so that you can become wealthy citizens. You will even have your own fields. Isn¡¯t this how life works?¡± The old village chief shook his head back and forth. Even though this was indeed the ideal life, they were forced to sell their land early on and become sharecroppers. Their status in this society was at the bottom of the barrel. No one had dreams of starting fresh. In their eyes, as long as they survived, they should consider themselves lucky. These simple words explained it all: To survive was their top priority. After a moment of complete silence, the old village chief slowly got up and leaned heavily on his cane. ¡°I¡¯ll head out now and call them over.¡± ¡°Stop right there.¡± Shen Ling lifted his hand to stop him. ¡°It¡¯s already late. You don¡¯t need to wake anyone up. We can start bright and early tomorrow morning.¡± ¡°And you?¡± The old village chief turned his eyes to look at Shen Ling and asked in a confused voice. Shen Ling looked around at his surroundings and said in a soft voice, ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll just stay here.¡± ¡°Really? Are you sure¡­¡± The old village chief stared at Shen Ling in disbelief. ¡°My house is so simple and crude. How can I let Young Master Shen stay here?¡± ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine.¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth and tried to talk the old village chief into letting him stay at his place. He turned his attention to the servants waiting by the side and said, ¡°Have a few people guard the carriage. The rest can head back and report to your superiors. Oh, and if my father asks, tell him that I¡¯m staying here for a while.¡± ¡°Elder Young Master, this¡­¡± The servant thought that this could be a problem. He knew Master Shen would not be taking this well. His son was the elder young master of the Shen family. Why would he would he lower himself to spend that night at the village chief¡¯s house? Shen Ling said, ¡°Stop with your nonsense. Just follow my orders. If there¡¯s a problem, come and find me.¡± ¡°I got it.¡± Seeing that Shen Ling could not be persuaded otherwise, the servant could only do as he was told. That night, Shen Ling spent the night in the old village chief¡¯s house. Hearing the sound of Shen Ling¡¯s shallow breathing, a hint of shock shot through the old village chief¡¯s eyes. The beds in his house were very hard and stiff. But the eldest young master of the Shen family had no trouble falling asleep at all. In fact, he was snoring very quietly in his corner of the room. Feeling less doubtful about things, the old village chief gradually closed his eyes and fell asleep as well. After one night. Around 5:30 am, the old village chief ordered his subordinates to notify all the young men in the village to gather at the open space in the middle of the village after eating their breakfast. Before it reached six am, more than a hundred young men had arrived. During this time, Shen Ling was still eating his porridge. The old village turned to look at Shen Ling and said in a slow voice, ¡°Young Master Shen, the young men have all gathered in the center of the village.¡± ¡°Ah, so early too¡­¡± Shen Ling put down his spoon and started to yawn. He had no idea that tenant farmers normally got up so early. That they were usually up by four or five in the morning. This was really too early for him. After stretching out his limbs, he and the old village chief made their way towards the area located in the middle of the village. Staring straight at each of the young men¡¯s faces before him, the old village chief coughed and said, ¡°You all know who this is. There is no need for an introduction. It was Young Master Shen who saved us from an ill-fated death when the bandits came around last time.¡± The group of young men turned their eyes to look at the old village chief, with no clue why they were all called here at this time. The old village chief hesitated at that moment, then looked at Shen Ling for help and said, ¡°Do you want to speak now or should I?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. You may go ahead.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. The old village chief coughed then said, ¡°Given the recent incidents with bandits and bandits sighted in the area, Young Master Shen has decided to personally go out of his way to teach you all how to wield the saber so that everyone will know what to do when such an event arises again.¡± The group of young men appeared very confused. ¡°Young Master Shen is teaching us how to wield the saber?¡± Shen Ling stared at each of the young men in the face and said word by word, ¡°Don¡¯t you trust me?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t dare.¡± The group of strong and capable young men quickly shook their heads back and forth. They all depended on the Shen family¡¯s fields to eat. They would rather cut off their arm than dare to offend the young master of the Shen family. Even though they knew that Shen Ling was the one who had killed those bandits, there were not many people who would step forward and willingly admit to having witnessed such an act. All of a sudden, Shen Ling pulled out his long saber and swung it at the sky. With the intent of splitting the mountain, it was a full-strength attack! A huge and dazzling light from the saber shot right into the sky. This time, the light of the saber flew for more than twenty meters before completely disappearing. Though the saber light was long gone, the young and strong sharecroppers who all had their eyes on Shen Ling this entire time had a shocked expression on their faces. Some of them were even quivering out of fear. So mighty and powerful! After showing off his power, Shen Ling did not beat around the bush. ¡°Hand out the sabers.¡± The servants of the Shen family right away opened the carriage trunk and handed out the longswords to each of the young and strong sharecroppers. Among those gathered today, there was even a fifteen-year-old boy¡­ Shen Ling was quite startled for a moment there. Then, he suddenly recalled that he was only seventeen himself now. Fifteen years old was considered an adult in this time and age. Giving the young man a pat on the shoulder, Shen Ling walked to the front of the crowd and enunciated, ¡°From today and onwards, you will be protecting the village and your homes with your lives. With my lessons, you will learn how to wield the saber. Pretty soon, all of you will be well-versed in the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique.¡± Having said that, Shen Ling looked around at the empty land in the middle village they were standing in. Even though this place, which was where the tenant farmers all gathered when they had free time, was quite spacious, it proved a little difficult when trying to line up all one hundred people in a row. After thinking things over for a bit, Shen Ling turned to look at the old village chief beside him and asked, ¡°Is there a bigger space around here?¡± The old village chief shook his head back and forth. Outside the walls of this village, there were only roads, fields, or forests. There was no empty space around. Shen Ling gave this some good thought and then looked at the young sharecroppers. ¡°We have no suitable space around here, so everyone will just have to make do. Twenty people will start training the first round and the rest will gather around them and watch.¡± The young sharecroppers made no objections. After the first twenty people stood apart at a five-meter distance, Shen Ling, who stood in front of them, drew in a deep breath. ¡°Watch me carefully!¡± Shen Ling¡¯s voice came out a little muffled. Then he swept his saber in a horizontal motion. After swinging his saber, Shen Ling started his lesson. ¡°This is the first move of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique called the mountain-separating stance.¡± After he said that, Shen Ling put his saber away. ¡°You can begin now.¡± After Shen Ling let out his order, the twenty young and strong sharecroppers began swinging their sabers. ¡°Your strength isn¡¯t right.¡± Shen Ling made his way up to a person and patted him on his shoulder. ¡°You are a bit too nervous. It would be better if you relax a little.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The young sharecropper nodded his head. After Shen Ling saw that everyone was able to swing their longswords in a decent way, he then moved on with the lesson and taught them the second move of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. ¡°The second move is called the mountain-shaking stance.¡± After Shen Ling did a demonstration of this move, he went on to explain, ¡°As the name hints, the mountain-shaking stance does not involve speed or killing. Instead, it targets the opponent¡¯s hands and makes the opponent¡¯s palm numb.¡± The twenty young men then started to practice the mountain-shaking stance. Compared to how quickly they mastered the first stance, the young men spent a lot more time trying to learn the second stance. The third stance, mountain-cleaving stance.¡± Shen Ling then taught them how to execute the third stance. This stance was very easy. It was both simple and crude. Use all one¡¯s strength. Then slash down! Chapter 9 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The Mountain-splitting Saber Technique was not too hard to master. At least, this was what Shen Ling felt based on the notifications he was getting from the Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0 system. From what he could see, the moves of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique were very simple, easy to implement, and convenient to learn. After the first twenty people mastered it, Shen Ling began to train the second group of young and strong sharecroppers. One group after another, Shen Ling taught them all very seriously. During his lesson, he would point out what the young and strong sharecroppers did and didn¡¯t do right without any hesitation. Shen Ling was very strict with his lessons. He wanted to make sure these sharecroppers knew how to wield the saber correctly. He didn¡¯t expect them to master the technique overnight. But at least, they should get the posture right. ¡°Not too bad.¡± Seeing the young sharecroppers work so hard, Shen Ling smiled with satisfaction. After one morning, all one hundred young and strong sharecroppers had learned the basic movements of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. At lunchtime, Shen Ling released them so that could eat and take a break. They were to come back in the afternoon. In the afternoon. Shen Ling explained the basic mindset for the cultivation method of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique to the young and strong sharecroppers little by little. In simple terms, this was a type of cultivation method that required you to regulate one¡¯s breathing. Shen Ling¡¯s students got the hang of it in no time at all. Now they had acquired both the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique and the mental cultivation method. Shen Ling looked at the group of sharecroppers standing before him and nodded his head in satisfaction. ¡°From this day forward, everyone will continue practicing in this way.¡± The young men also nodded their heads in agreement. With weapons and saber techniques intact, their motivation was no less than when Shen Ling would go about training himself. Shen Ling was motivated because he was always seeing new improvements in his cultivation, while these young men were moved to continue working hard because they wanted to protect themselves and their village. These two modes of motivation were different, but the effects were pretty much the same. Another seven days passed like this. The enthusiasm of these hundred young and strong sharecroppers continued to increase by day. Each of them saw a great improvement compared to the very start of their training. ¡°Elder Young Master!¡± On this very day, the servants of the Shen family arrived once again in the village. ¡°I know.¡± While looking at the group of young and strong sharecroppers before him, Shen Ling nodded in a helpless manner at the servants standing behind him. From the very first day, Old Master Shen did not want Shen Ling to stay in the village even temporarily. No matter what message Shen Ling had the servants send, there was nothing they could do to change Master Shen¡¯s mind. Shen Ling knew that Old Master Shen was currently thinking of letting him take complete control of all matters of the Shen family. However, for Shen Ling, he actually did not want to take on that responsibility. Shen Ling had never thought about being the head of the family¡­ However, he was left with no other choice. Looking at the young sharecroppers standing in front of him, Shen Ling gave them a smile. ¡°I¡¯m leaving now. Continue practicing. I¡¯ll try to come and visit often.¡± One of the young sharecroppers said in a loud voice, ¡°Young Master Shen, don¡¯t worry about it. None of us will slack off. Also, we¡¯ll teach whoever slacks off a valuable lesson if they fail to keep up with us.¡± Shen Ling smiled, feeling very pleased with his students. The atmosphere in the village was very good, and during the training, everyone became one united front. So, the lesson they were actually talking about was basically a joke. Shen Ling did not bother to say anything else. He made his way into the carriage, and the carriage took him in the direction of Qi Hua City. ¡°Young Master Shen is gone.¡± All the young sharecroppers turned their eyes to the carriage and watched as it disappeared out of their sight. ¡°I¡¯m going to practice my saber right now.¡± One of the young sharecroppers took the initiative to turn around and walk in the direction of the open space in the center of the village. ¡°I¡¯ll join you too.¡± Another young sharecropper followed behind his companion. One by one, the one hundred young sharecroppers all choose to be diligent in their training and not slack off. The old village chief standing at the village entrance had a very gratified look on his face. He had been the village chief for half of his life, and this was the first tinges of hope he had felt in a long time. ¡°Hmph.¡± When Shen Ling got home, Old Master Shen snorted unhappily. He had been sending out different people to call Shen Ling back for the past week, but in the end, it was futile. Shen Ling always used some excuse to reject his demands. Shen Ling turned to look at Old Master Shen and sat himself down on a chair at the side. He poured himself some tea. ¡°Are you tired of holding up such a stern face all the time?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not tired at all.¡± Old Master Shen leaned heavily on his walking stick and responded. With a smile on his face, Shen Ling said, ¡°Even if you¡¯re not tired, I¡¯m tired. Come now, drink some tea to calm yourself down.¡± Old Master Shen looked over at Shen Ling and did not turn down the cup of tea that Shen Ling had poured him. ¡°How¡¯s your cultivation of the Longevity Technique?¡± Seeing Old Master Shen take a sip of the tea, Shen Ling also drank from his cup and then asked. ¡°It¡¯s going okay.¡± Old Master Shen did not have much to say in regards to his cultivation. Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°That¡¯s good then. That means that you¡¯re making progress¡­¡± Old Master Shen gave Shen Ling a puzzled look. Then, he could hear Shen Ling say, ¡°There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. If you cultivate this Longevity Technique in a proper manner, you¡¯ll be able to prolong your life for at least a few more years.¡± ¡°I know that.¡± Old Master Shen nodded his head, but he still looked puzzled. Shen Ling went on to say, ¡°Then, since your life is extended, it means you can continue to be head of the Shen family for a long time, right?¡± Old Master Shen nodded his head again. Still smiling, Shen Ling said, ¡°That means there¡¯s no hurry for you to groom me to be the next leader. Once Shen Ping grows up in the future, he might turn out to be a more suitable successor of the Shen family than me.¡± Old Master Shen¡¯s expression suddenly became even more serious. ¡°No matter what you say, I still want you to be the head of the family.¡± Right away, Shen Ling pulled his face. Being the head of the Shen family was a powerful position, where he could control a vast amount of wealth and even decide the fate of many people, but the problem was that it was a very tiring job. One should know that most emperors had short lives? Why was this? Because they were all overworked! Shen Ling nodded bleakly, his once bright eyes slightly dulled. Seeing him so downcast, Old Master Shen said in a slow voice, ¡°This is a very coveted spot. So many countless people out there can¡¯t wait to be head of the Shen family. Why do you refuse this position time and time again?¡± While smiling Shen Ling said, ¡°How should I put it? Maybe because if I take on this position, I won¡¯t be a free man.¡± Old Master Shen said, ¡°Then what is your idea of freedom?¡± Shen Ling thought this over for a moment. After some time had passed, he lifted his head and said, ¡°I can eat whatever my heart desires, drink whatever I want, go out and play whenever I feel like it, do whatever I want to do, and act according to my own will.¡± Old Master Shen said in a slow voice, ¡°Do you know who fits your description perfectly?¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. Old Master Shen said in a deep and rumbling voice, ¡°In all of the Great Qian Empire, the only person who fits your description of freedom is the current emperor of the Great Qian Empire.¡± Shen Ling lifted his eyebrows slightly. Master Shen went on to say, ¡°You can rest easy that I won¡¯t hand over all matters of the Shen family to you right away. However, you know my body is not very well, so it is my hope that you can gradually take on some of the more important matters. I¡¯ll see to the rest.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°Okay.¡± Looking at Master Shen, who was obviously only in his forties but already appeared like an old man in his sixties, Shen Ling had a moment of hesitation but, in the end, did not turn him down again. Even if he believed with all his heart the Longevity Technique could indeed length one¡¯s lifespan, in Old Master Shen¡¯s eyes, this might not be the case. After a long time had passed, Shen Ling went back to his room and sat in a cross-legged position on his bed. He closed his eyes and began cultivating. The Longevity Technique! ¡®You have complete one full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency +5.¡¯ ¡®You have complete one full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency +5.¡¯ Shen Ling looked at his status report. ¡®Cultivation Method: Longevity Technique [rank-nine low-grade cultivation method, level 3, proficiency 29940/30000].¡¯ His proficiency points were about to reach the max level. The Longevity Technique was about to witness a huge quantitative leap. Arriving at the fourth level.. Chapter 10 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen ¡°Boom!¡± It was like all his orifices had opened up. All of a sudden, Shen Ling felt very clear-headed, and his body quivered from top to bottom. The Longevity Technique had officially reached the fourth level. His information started to update. ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Longevity Technique [rank-seven low-grade cultivation technique, level 4, proficiency 0/50,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-seven upper-grade saber technique, level 5, proficiency 38,850/100,000]¡¯ ¡®Status: Normal.¡¯ At this very moment, Shen Ling was letting the changes of the fourth level of the Longevity Technique wash over him. Just like with the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, the fourth level, which did not originally exist in the Longevity Technique, saw an alteration to his system. The fourth level of the Longevity Technique did not change the body much, and there was no way to gauge the exact value of the increase in one¡¯s lifespan. However, there was one new change once you reached the fourth level of the Longevity Technique. And that was the birth of the Longevity Inner Energy. Shen Ling slowly opened his eyes and stared down at the pale green inner energy emanating off his palm. A flash of joy shot through his eyes. The Longevity Technique was not that strong. Compared to other techniques once you reach the same level, the inner energy that the Longevity Technique emits is much weaker. However, the Longevity Inner Energy also had its own unique advantage. The inner energy came with it a vigorous vitality. When this inner energy was stored in the body, it could help speed up the recovery of injuries. Even though the effect of releasing it to the outside world would not be much, this inner energy had healing proponents that could help others. Shen Ling was very satisfied with this. He stood up, opened the door, and went out. This time, he could feel the exuberant life energy coming from the flower and plants and even the withering of a tree nearby. Taking a look at the dying tree before him, Shen Ling walked over towards it. He thrust his inner energy into the tree. The withered tree suddenly came to life with countless tender shoots springing up from its branches. It was no longer dying. Shen Ling did not have much inner energy stored up in his reserves, so he did not continue to nurture the leaves. But in Shen Ling¡¯s eyes, this experiment was a huge success. If the tree could be revived in this way, could Master Shen also recover from his illness if some inner energy was injected into his body? Shen Ling mulled this over some more. In terms of love and family, Old Master Shen was his father after all. If he could do anything to save Master Shen¡¯s life, he would definitely do it. Shen Ling wanted to postpone taking over the Shen family for as long as possible. The stronger and healthier Master Shen was, the more time he had to do what he wanted. Pretty soon, Shen Ling was able to recover more inner energy. Shen Ling was feeling a lot better. He made his way to the main hall, but Master Shen was nowhere to be found. ¡°Where did the old master go?¡± Shen Ling turned to a servant who was busy cleaning the main hall. When the servant saw that it was Shen Ling, he said in a hushed voice, ¡°The old master is currently in the warehouse in the backyard. He just headed there not too long ago.¡± ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°Thank you so much for your hard work.¡± ¡°Oh, young master¡­thank you¡­that¡¯s what I should do¡­¡± The servant quickly lowered his gaze to the ground and bowed his head, appearing extremely flattered. Shen Ling made his way out of the hall. When he got to the backyard, he could see a servant carrying some luggage and also saw that Master Shen was occupied with looking through the account record books. ¡°What are you up to?¡± Shen Ling went up to Master Shen and looked at the account books Master Shen had in his hands with a curious expression on his face. Master Shen looked up to see Shen Ling and handed the account book in his hands to him. ¡°I¡¯m going to calculate our monthly expenses right now. Do you want to check my figures?¡± Shen Ling glanced up at the sky for an excuse. ¡°Ha, we¡¯re having such nice weather today. I think now would be a great time to take a walk.¡± Hearing him say this, Master Shen took the account book back. With his pen perched in his hand, Master Shen said unhappily, ¡°If you¡¯re not going to help, then please don¡¯t stir up any trouble.¡± ¡°I just came over to check what you were doing.¡± Shen Jing stopped his dilly-dallying and turned to look at the warehouse. ¡°Are the crossbows here yet? I have yet to see any signs of shipment so far.¡± ¡°Everything¡¯s inside.¡± Master Shen nodded his head. He turned to look at Shen Ling and asked with confusion visible in his eyes, ¡°By the way, how did you go about obtaining this batch of triple crossbows? Was it really sent by the Chennan Trading Company?¡± The triple crossbows were only capable of shooting three arrows at a time. But it was still an undeniably fatal weapon. Master Shen had no idea how Shen Ling was able to get his hands on this kind of hard to attain weapon. Even more importantly, these triple crossbows were all brand new. This was altogether too ridiculous. ¡°They were given to me as a gift.¡± Shen Ling said in a calm voice. There was nothing wrong with his words. After all, according to the price he got these items for, it could be said that he was able to come by this batch of longswords for a great deal, but these triple crossbows were more or less handed to him. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly fine if you don¡¯t want to come out and say it.¡± Master Shen did not bring it up again and then began his calculations. The items stored in the warehouse were calculated by the servants and then written up in a report for Master Shen to look at. Master Shen would use the records from the previous month to calculate the current month¡¯s expenses. In this way, he was able to save lots of time and energy. Shen Ling was startled for a moment there. He had just told him the truth. Why didn¡¯t Master Shen believe him? Nowadays, it is getting harder and harder to get people to believe that what you¡¯re telling them is the truth all along. After taking inventory of the things in the warehouse, Master Shen turned to look at Shen Ling and said, ¡°By the way, the Qi family wants to treat me to a meal at Qingyun Building tonight. Do you want to come with me?¡± Shen Ling thought this over and then shook his head back and forth. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in such things. You can forget about it.¡± Master Shen said in a slow voice, ¡°I heard that girl from the Qi family is quite good-looking.¡± With a frown on his face, Shen Ling gave Master Shen a look. Was he out of his mind? Was he the sort of man who could easily be seduced by a pretty girl? No kidding! Women would only slow down his cultivation! ¡°Tell me, what time is the event tonight?¡± Shen Ling turned to ask. Master Shen gave Shen Ling a calm look and said, ¡°Only the head of the Qi family will attend tonight.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t just say half of what you mean to say.¡± Shen Ling could not help but sigh. According to his memories, Master Shen had come across as a very serious person. Why did it appear like he had somehow changed? Could it be possible¡­ That Master Shen had some sort of awakening too? Like, someone had also transmigrated into his body? Shen Ling shook his head back and forth, tossing this unlikely idea to the back of his mind. ¡°Elder Young Master.¡± A servant quickly made his way to the backyard and whispered something into Shen Ling¡¯s ear. Shen Ling immediately got up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Master Shen turned to look at Shen Ling, whose face saw a dramatic change, and asked. Shen Ling said with a somber face, ¡°Something happened at the village. I will head there right now.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Master Shen nodded his head. With a frown on his face, Shen Ling made his way out of the Shen family residence. This time around, he did not use a carriage as transportation. He got a horse and mounted it. The horse sped down the road at an extremely fast speed! In the countryside. The old village chief stood there in the center of the village and stared down at the corpses in front of him with a very solemn look on his face. Among those dead were four young men and women from the village and a dozen bandits who had come to rob them. Even though the young men had fought the bandits back viciously, they still had to pay a very high price. It cost them four lives from four families. Wails could be heard filling the air. The old woman¡¯s heart broke in two for her dead child, the middle-aged woman clutched onto her husband¡¯s unmoving body, and the children all looked over with very confused looks on their faces. Every single farmer in the village bowed their heads down. The atmosphere at this moment was extremely downcast. ¡°Young Master Shen has arrived!¡± Upon hearing the sound of horse hooves growing nearer, the young men in the village all immediately lifted their swords into the air, ready to fight again. However, when they saw that it was Shen Ling heading in their direction, they right away put down sabers. ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± When the old village chief saw that it was Shen Ling, he bowed his head down slightly. ¡°How many people have died?¡± Shen Ling dismounted from his horse and right away asked. The village chief said in a slow voice, ¡°Four. Among them are the Guo family¡¯s second and fourth sons, Ge Wu and Er Zhuang.¡± ¡°That¡¯s really too bad.¡± Shen Ling clenched his teeth and his hands also tightened into fists. He stared down at the four corpses in front of him, and his eyes were overflowing with rage.. Chapter 11 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling shut his eyes tightly. He could still remember how these people were so committed as they practiced their saber skills two days ago. Although they were very tired, they still persevered in their practice. But in less than a day¡­ These few people, who were once full of vigor and vitality, became cold corpses lying in the open space in the village center. Only if he hadn¡¯t returned the previous day¡­ This was all Shen Ling could think of. But even at that, he knew deep within himself that the people who killed the sharecroppers were the Bandits of the Green Mountain. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth in anger. He was determined to avenge the deaths of these four sharecroppers. ¡°He¡¯s here!¡± Someone yelled on top of his voice, which attracted everyone¡¯s attention. They saw a bandit riding a horse while pointing his saber at them. At the same time, there were several dozens of bandits behind him, all with fierce expressions on their faces. ¡°They were the ones who killed our brother just now! They are also responsible for the deaths of our other brothers,¡± the bandit yelled angrily. Immediately after he was done speaking, the face of the man on the horse turned cold. He stopped in front of them, stared at the old village chief and the surrounding sharecroppers and asked angrily, ¡°Were you the ones who killed my men?¡± He didn¡¯t wait for them to answer before ordering his men, ¡°Kill them all!¡± He waved his hand in the air as he signaled to the other bandits. When Shen Ling saw this, he couldn¡¯t help but find it somewhat amusing. He had it in mind to avenge the people these bandits killed. But he didn¡¯t expect that they would come knocking on his door and deliver themselves on a platter! How interesting this was! He looked at the group of bandits as they charged towards him. He kept his cool and walked towards them calmly. Slowly, he drew out his longsword, looked at the bandits, and revealed a sneer. Merely looking at Shen Ling, one would know that he was ready to kill! This made people feel a chill run down their spines. ¡°Watch closely,¡± he said in a low voice. The young sharecroppers around heard his voice. He was about to demonstrate to them the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique and, at the same time, avenge the death of the young sharecroppers who had been ruthlessly killed. ¡°Mountain-splitting stance.¡± As the bandits came forward, Shen Ling swept his longsword swiftly. Under normal circumstances, the longsword was supposed to be held with both hands, but he had used just his right hand and was able to slash the throats of the bandits accurately. ¡°Mountain-shaking stance.¡± One of the bandits charged towards him and just as he tried to attack, Shen Ling raised his sword to block him. As soon as both their weapons collided, sparks flew around and it was obvious that the bandit felt a strong attack. His hands began trembling visibly. Subconsciously, the bandit wanted to retreat, but all to no avail. The saber flashed in that instant. The bandit held the wound on his abdomen and fell to the ground with a loud thud. The mountain-splitting stance and mountain-shaking stance. Shen Ling kept using these two moves and, one by one, the bandits rushing towards him fell down like wheat being reaped. On the other side, the man on the horse watched as his men all died. He couldn¡¯t help but frown in anger. He jumped off his horse and walked briskly towards Shen Ling and yelled, ¡°You bunch of trash! Get out of my sight!¡± Hearing this, the other bandits retreated. Shen Ling looked at the man without any iota of expression. He only wiped off the blood on his sword with his hand. The man held a large sword in his hand and said coldly, ¡°Well, I am the third in charge of the Green Mountain stronghold. My name is Gu Dashan. What¡¯s yours?¡± Shen Ling didn¡¯t say a word in reply. Gu Dashan looked at him with a smirk and spoke again, ¡°Do you think just killing some trash makes you a hero? I know you¡¯ve cultivated martial arts, but you aren¡¯t the only one in the world!¡± As soon as he was done speaking, he walked forward. As his feet met the ground, it produced a muffled sound. With the large sword in his hand, he charged towards Shen Ling. Although he had great strength, his speed was on average. Shen Ling reckoned that he should not use the mountain-shaking stance, as it might not turn out effective this time. Shen Ling, who was the target, calmly analyzed Gu Dashan¡¯s move without blinking and made a quick move horizontally. ¡°Mountain-cleaving stance.¡± Shen Ling quickly moved to his opponent¡¯s side and slashed his sword downwards with all his strength. Gu Dashan, on the other hand, flipped and raised his sword from below. Clang! The two swords collided. Immediately, Shen Ling felt a strong force coming towards him and a strange look flashed in his eyes. Gu Dashan raised his sword gently with his backhand, but his strength actually remained the same. ¡°Ha-ha.¡± He laughed hysterically. At that moment, Shen Ling launched another attack. ¡°What¡¯s the use?¡± Gu Dashan thought to himself as he blocked the attack with his sword and raised his leg at the same time. Since he was relying on his strength and body size, he felt no pressure at all. A cold glint flashed in Shen Ling¡¯s eyes. He attacked again with his longsword which hit that of Gu Dashan heavily. He also used his legs to attack. Since both of them didn¡¯t know any leg techniques, the fight between both legs was equal. However¡­ After fighting for a while, Shen Ling became even more confident. He was able to study and understand Gu Dashan¡¯s attack patterns and was ready to use them against him. Although he cultivated martial arts, his skills only helped in increasing his strength. He had practiced the sword techniques before and it was obvious that he was just getting started. This was the end! He exerted the intent of splitting the mountain! All of a sudden, Shen Ling¡¯s temperament changed and the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique in his hand became even more aggressive. After he had severely injured Gu Dashan using the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, he seized the opportunity to chop off Gu Dashan¡¯s head swiftly when he noticed that the latter was completely exhausted. Immediately after the old village chief saw that Shen Ling had won the battle, he shouted excitedly, ¡°Don¡¯t let the others get away!¡± Those young sharecroppers, who had long prepared for this, came together and launched a fierce attack on the mountain bandits. The bandits of the Green Mountain stronghold were still staring at Shen Ling in a daze. In a flash, they lost control of their fighting style, were surrounded, and killed without mercy. Since Gu Dashan was no longer in the picture, the pride that these bandits came with disappeared instantly. ¡°Leave only one alive.¡± As Shen Ling wiped the fresh blood off his blade, he spoke to the sharecroppers who were about to execute all the bandits on the spot. ¡°Noted.¡± The sharecroppers looked all around them, wiped the blood off their faces, and put away their swords. Indeed, there was only one left. Among these young sharecroppers, only two of them had some slight injuries, and they had managed to kill all the invading bandits. Looking at the group of young sharecroppers who were glaring like tigers waiting to eat him up, the only surviving bandit was filled with fear. He never imagined that there will be so many lunatics in such a dilapidated village. The craziest one had even killed the third-in-charge of their mountain stronghold! He couldn¡¯t help but imagine what they would do to him. Shen Ling walked slowly and squatted in front of this bandit who didn¡¯t dare to move an inch. He looked him in the eye and asked gently, ¡°Who are you and what are you known for in the Green Mountain stronghold?¡± ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m just an errand boy. Really, I¡¯m telling the truth. I¡­ I can¡¯t lie to you.¡± The mountain bandit muttered as he swallowed in fear. His gaze showed that he was terrified. As if to say that the person in front of him was not at all a handsome young man, but a devil incarnate. He couldn¡¯t stop his body from trembling. It was obvious that he wanted to escape. But the way the young sharecroppers surrounded the place so tightly, it was not possible for him to escape unnoticed. ¡°Hmm¡­ An errand boy.¡± Shen Ling looked at him with a sinister smile and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. I won¡¯t kill you.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The bandit¡¯s face lit up. He didn¡¯t have the time to doubt Shen Ling¡¯s words. ¡°Of course.¡± Shen Ling nodded and continued, ¡°But you¡¯d help me deliver a message to the head of your Green Mountain stronghold. I, Shen Ling, will be waiting for him here tonight. If he wants to avenge the death of your third-in-charge, he should meet me here.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t wait for him if he didn¡¯t come here on time!¡± Shen Ling sounded a note of warning and stood up slowly. He looked at the surrounding sharecroppers and said, ¡°Make way for him. Let him go with the horse as well.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± They all nodded in agreement. Although they didn¡¯t understand why Shen Ling did this, they believed that he wouldn¡¯t do anything to harm them. As Shen Ling watched the back of the bandit riding away quickly¡­ His eyes blinked involuntarily. What would happen next? He¡¯d wait and see.. Chapter 12 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen It was already two hours after the incident. The bandit had arrived at the Green Mountain. In a small house halfway up the mountain, the bandit that Shen Ling had let go of was kneeling with his face to the ground, surrounded by a lot of people. ¡°What? You said Dashan is dead? Who dared to kill him?¡± The man sitting on the main seat stood up all of a sudden as he heard the shocking news, and stared at the kneeling bandit. ¡°Yes¡­ He is dead.¡± The bandit nodded and replied, his voice trembling. The other man who was sitting in the deputy seat raised his head and said in a loud voice, ¡°What happened? Give us all the details!¡± The mountain bandit shivered in fear as he spoke, ¡°In the beginning, Chief Third-in-charge asked us to split up and go to various villages to collect money. After a while, one of the brothers ran back and said that the others in his team had been killed by a group of villagers. More than a dozen people had died.¡± ¡°In anger, Chief Third-in-charge gathered the others to go and avenge the death of our brothers.¡± As the bandit spoke, his voice kept trembling. Obviously, he was still in fear. ¡°What happened after that?¡± The man in the deputy seat asked with a frown. The bandit continued, ¡°After that, we arrived at the village and saw the corpses of our brothers laying around. We walked forward, ready to fight, but out of nowhere, a youth came forward. The brothers who rushed towards him were no match for him at all.¡± ¡°When Chief Third-in-charge saw what was happening, he took it upon himself to fight him one on one. At first, he was getting the upper hand, but all of a sudden, the youth used some kind of trick which ¡ª I don¡¯t what that was, but he just killed Chief Third-in-charge with a single strike.¡± The man on the main seat asked in a deep voice, ¡°Dashan is dead. How come you are still alive?¡± ¡°They let me go on purpose,¡± the bandit replied in a bitter tone. ¡°What?¡± The Chiefs First and Second-in-charge exchanged a look in surprise. The bandit continued, ¡°The young man asked me to send a message to you, chiefs. He said if anybody wanted to avenge the death of Chief Third-in-charge, they should come looking for him. He would be there by midnight, and he wouldn¡¯t wait.¡± ¡°Get the weapons ready!¡± The Chief First-in-charge stood up immediately and picked up the mace beside him. The Second-in-charge suggested, ¡°Big Brother, this matter needs further deliberation. Since that young man sounds so calm and confident, there may be some other tricks up his sleeves. This could be a setup.¡± ¡°I know that you are very smart,¡± the First-in-charge said in a deep voice as he held the mace tight. ¡°But you should know that if we don¡¯t avenge Dashan¡¯s death, we will never have a foothold in this stronghold in the future.¡± When the Second-in-charge heard this, he became silent. Although the mountain bandits were fond of doing bad, illegal things, they highly valued loyalty. In all honesty, if they didn¡¯t avenge Dashan¡¯s death, they would be labeled as heartless and incompetent. In that case, the bandits of the Green Mountain might not be as respectful and obedient to them as they were now. Revenge had to be taken no matter the cost. And it couldn¡¯t be delayed. The First-in-charge looked at his brother and said slowly, ¡°Brother, we both know that you aren¡¯t good at fighting. You should just stay in the stronghold and take charge of the routine business for now.¡± ¡°No.¡± The Second-in-charge shook his head in disagreement. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you this time. I don¡¯t feel good about this.¡± ¡°Alright then. Let¡¯s go together.¡± The First-in-charge agreed without hesitation. Outside the house, the other bandits had picked up their weapons and were ready to make a move. ¡°Pour the wine!¡± The First-in-charge ordered in a loud voice. Two bandits were already holding the wine jars and pouring the wine into the bowls that they had prepared beforehand. ¡°Cheers!¡± After everyone held up their bowls, the First-in-charge drank his all in one big gulp. ¡°Avenge the death of the Third-in-charge!¡± ¡°Avenge the death of the Third-in-charge!¡± ¡°Avenge the death of the Third-in-charge!¡± Loud shouts rented the air throughout the Green Mountain. Then, the two chiefs led five hundred mountain bandits down the mountain road and slowly charged towards the village. Meanwhile, back in the sharecropping village¡­ ¡°Young Master.¡± Shen Ling, who was sitting quietly, slowly opened his eyes and saw his servant standing in front of him. ¡°Have the goods been sent here?¡± He asked calmly. ¡°Yes, all of them are here.¡± the servant nodded in affirmation. Shen Ling looked at his servant with satisfaction and said softly, ¡°Start distributing them then.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The servant nodded and left. Shen Ling looked at the sky and tried to estimate the time when the group of bandits would likely arrive. He had a rough understanding of the distance from here to Green Mountain and even at that, the time was just an estimate. However, the bandits meant business, as they arrived earlier than he had expected. It wasn¡¯t even dark yet. ¡°Where is he?¡± The Second-in-charge asked as soon as he stepped into the center of the village, but he didn¡¯t see anyone. His heart sank immediately. ¡°He should be around somewhere¡­¡± The bandit who had been sent to report the news earlier looked at the space and frowned as well. The First-in-charge rode his horse with a mace in his hand and asked as he looked around, ¡°Did he run away?¡± Thinking that Shen Ling had probably run away, the chief of the Green Mountain felt aggrieved. ¡°Even if he runs away, he cannot take this whole village with him. Burn this place down! Then we will begin the search for him.¡± ¡°Big Brother, there¡¯s someone there.¡± At that moment, the Second-in-charge said as he stared at the roof not too far away. ¡°What?¡± The First-in-charge turned abruptly, and as expected, he saw a young man on the roof of a private house. ¡°That¡¯s him!¡± The bandit who had survived the massacre shouted in a loud voice, ¡°He was the one who killed Third-in-charge and our brothers.¡± ¡°They¡¯re finally here.¡± Shen Ling said as he stretched his body lazily and looked at the bandits below. At first glance, the dark mass of bandits almost filled the village center, as well as other places of the village. The sky was already getting dark, so Shen Ling couldn¡¯t tell how many of them there were. All the same, it didn¡¯t matter. ¡°Let¡¯s begin.¡± Shen Ling spread his arms wide and acted as if he was about to embrace the sky. The servants behind him raised their torches in the air, and almost at the same time, the rest of the village was also lit up by torches. In an instant, it looked as if it was daytime in the village. ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± When the bandits saw this, they all looked at one another in shock. Before they could come to their senses and make the next move, screams sounded among the crowd. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What is happening?¡± The screams didn¡¯t stop, but increased in intensity, which made the bandits panic. One by one, the bandits fell to the ground in a miserable state. In less than a minute, half of the bandits were killed. This small and ordinary village seemed to have become death trap to them. Shen Ling watched all this from where he was with a cold glint in his eyes. This wasn¡¯t a supernatural event; neither did it involve any kind of magic. Everything that happened was a result of the triple crossbow. It was very powerful and there was almost no sound of firing. Initially, when he said that he would wait here for the bandits of the Green Mountain stronghold to take revenge, he already had a plan in mind. Right now, the plan was going even more smoothly than he had imagined. In all sincerity, it was great. Watching his brothers falling one after another, the Second-in-charge said with a frown, ¡°Big Brother, let¡¯s retreat.¡± ¡°Damn it!¡± The First-in-charge looked around him and opened his eyes wide, both shocked and furious. He took a quick look at Shen Ling, who stood where he was without batting an eyelid. At that moment, he refused his brother¡¯s suggestion. Instead, he chose to ride his horse and galloped wildly towards the house where Shen Ling was. ¡°Go to hell!¡± With immeasurable anger and hatred in his heart, the First-in-charge, still holding the mace in his hand, jumped up and aimed at Ling. ¡°The intent of splitting a mountain.¡± Shen Ling said calmly. Just then, he swung his saber swiftly. A wide saber Qi flew out of Shen Ling¡¯s longsword and penetrated the body of the chief of the Green Mountain stronghold. His eyes were still wide open in bewilderment. He couldn¡¯t understand how Shen Ling could pull such a trick. His body was cut into two halves in midair and fell to the ground with a loud thud. With just one single shot, he fell down flat.. Chapter 13 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Several bandits stared in shock as they looked at the corpse of their chief who had just fallen to the ground. They became glued to the spot. At that moment, a voice thundered, ¡°Drop your weapons and go on your knees. Don¡¯t play any tricks, and we won¡¯t kill you!¡± Clash! In the blink of an eye, the remaining bandits numbering more than two hundred put down their weapons and crouched in fear. Among the bandits, there was only one exception ¡ª the Second-in-charge of the Green Mountain stronghold. ¡°You¡¯ve got this whole thing planned out. Well played.¡± Looking at Shen Ling, the Second-in-charge couldn¡¯t help but praise him a little. Shen Ling didn¡¯t say a word. The Second-in-charge continued, ¡°If I¡¯m not mistaken, the surrounding houses are all filled with people holding crossbows, right? I¡¯m also sure that the death of all my brothers here was caused by these same crossbows.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you really use crossbows.¡± When he saw Shen Ling confirm his guess, he smiled bitterly. ¡°Not only do you have strength, but you also manage to get such powerful weapons. We are fated to lose this battle.¡± The Second-in-charge turned around to look at the kneeling bandits with despair in his eyes. ¡°Bandits! In the end, we are nothing but a bunch of mobs! Haha!¡± With this statement, he pulled out his sword and walked towards Shen Ling slowly and steadily. Before he could get near Shen Ling, a few arrows flew over and pierced his body instantly. Immediately, he fell to the ground and never got up. Another chief of the Green Mountain Stronghold, who didn¡¯t know anything about martial arts and was very good at strategizing, encountered his death in the sharecroppers¡¯ village just like that. With this, the Green Mountain Stronghold, which had been terrorizing people for a long time, was wiped out in an instant. Shen Ling waved his hand and signaled to his people. The young sharecroppers behind him blew their whistles. The others, who had been standing by all the while, walked out of the surrounding houses and picked up the weapons besides the bandits who had surrendered. ¡°Elder Young Master, what do we do with these bandits who are still alive?¡± The old village chief was leaning on his crutches for support, and he asked Shen Ling as the latter came down from the roof. Although everyone knew that the triple crossbows were very powerful, this was the first time they had used them. In all honesty, they still couldn¡¯t use this weapon with much accuracy, as some of their targets were not immediately fatal. ¡°Try to save them. As for those with severe injuries, just kill them.¡± Shen Ling said coldly with a blank expression on his face. He was not in the mood to be merciful to these bandits, even though most of them didn¡¯t volunteer to be bandits in the first place; rather, they had no choice but to go up the mountain to become bandits. Even at that, this was never a good reason for them to rob the village and harm innocent people. Their acts were evil and wrong. And because of this, they didn¡¯t deserve forgiveness. The torches still lit up the surroundings. Shen Ling said coldly, ¡°Those who have killed innocent villagers, come out right now!¡± None of the bandits made a move. They all stayed where they were with their heads bowed. Shen Ling¡¯s eyes turned cold in an instant. He plunged his sword into the soil and raised his voice, ¡°If no one is ready to confess, then all of you will be punished and killed.¡± All of them? Immediately the bandits heard these words, they started panicking. All of a sudden, one of them shouted as he pointed another man, ¡°He¡­ He has killed villagers and even raped a girl.¡± Another person backed him up and said, ¡°That¡¯s true. He has killed some villagers.¡± The bandit, who was betrayed by his fellows, wanted to escape the village when he saw that the situation of things wasn¡¯t looking good. A young sharecropper saw this and charged forward to stop him. He slashed the escaping bandit with his sword. Fresh blood spilled out and stained the young man¡¯s body. This alone served as a lesson to the other bandits who had it in mind to also escape. Fear gripped them. ¡°Go on.¡± Shen Ling stilled had a blank expression on his face. They all kept pointing accusing fingers at one another, and soon enough, more than thirty bandits were reported. With Shen Ling¡¯s approval, the young sharecroppers showed no mercy as they killed the erring bandits. Their swords were soon covered in blood. ¡°Anyone else?¡± As Shen Ling looked at the remaining bandits in front of him, a faint smile appeared on his face. He knew that these bandits were guilty of certain crimes as well, but unlike those who had committed unforgivable crimes, these people could still have their rights to live. ¡°Leave half of the people behind to watch them closely. Don¡¯t let them run around the village. If anyone tries to resist, kill him without mercy.¡± ¡°The rest of you, follow me to the Green Mountain Stronghold.¡± Shen Ling briefly gave his order and the old village chief quickly put some arrangements in place. With the crossbows, Shen Ling was pretty confident that the fifty villagers would be able to suppress these two hundred unarmed bandits. Right now, he was ready to go to the base of these bandits. He wanted to get the spoils of this battle. That night. Under the leadership of a few bandits, Shen Ling arrived at the base of the Green Mountain Stronghold. This whole operation didn¡¯t take long at all. As soon as they got there, Shen Ling swung into action. The bandits in the base who tried to resist their orders were silenced to death. Following the confession of the other mountain bandits, Shen Ling found another cave in the stronghold covered by huge rocks. He asked the bandits to lead the way while he made sure that it was safe before following them. However, it turned out that his worries were unnecessary. These simple-minded bandits didn¡¯t have any tricks up their sleeves. There were no traps set where the treasures were hidden. There were a lot of things. Even Shen Ling was a bit shocked as he saw all the treasures in front of him. The treasures in this cave was worth far more than the wealth accumulated by the three generations of the Shen family. Ultimately, this only showed how many people had become victims of the Green Mountain Stronghold. ¡°Elder Young Master, this way please!¡± The excited voice of a young sharecropper was heard. Shen Ling looked over and saw that the young sharecropper was standing in front of a rack of weapons. There were various weapons in this cave, which were quite eye-catching. Shen Ling couldn¡¯t believe his eyes as he walked over. The young sharecropper handed over a saber. It was black with a scabbard. The blade was not very wide and it looked like those originated from the Han or Tang Dynasties. ¡°This is a good saber.¡± Shen Ling said as he pulled out the saber and waved it casually. He felt in his heart as if he was somehow being commanded by this saber. He instantly knew that this saber was better than the longsword he was using now. Far better. Shen Ling strolled around the cave majestically and then said, ¡°Bring the treasures back to our village and leave a few people here to watch over the place.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± The young sharecroppers nodded in agreement. The Green Mountain Stronghold was quite large. Some of the bandits had families here too. ¡®Family¡¯ might not be the correct word, as most of them were just innocent women captured by the bandits. Shen Ling escorted them back to the sharecroppers¡¯ village. Their horse carriages were filled with valuable items from the Green Mountain Stronghold. By the time all the valuables were transported back to the sharecroppers¡¯ village, it was already the afternoon of the second day. Right at this moment, the old village chief was carrying out Shen Ling¡¯s orders to build some temporary houses. There was some vacant land in the village so that temporary houses could be erected. Accommodating the bandits and their families wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡°How many days will it take to be completed?¡± Shen Ling asked the old village chief with his hands behind his back as he looked at the mountain bandits who were busy building the houses. ¡°It will take about half a month, but for now, the temporary accommodation has already been arranged.¡± The village chief answered quickly. It seemed like he had already done the calculation. ¡°That¡¯s alright.¡± Shen Ling nodded. Initially, he wanted to drive the bandits away and also send their families away from the Green Mountain Stronghold. However, they didn¡¯t want to leave. Some of them were even willing to exchange their lives for the chance of survival for their families. Shen Ling thought about it for a while and decided to keep them here in the village. As far as he was concerned, they were sinners, which meant that they were still guilty of their numerous crimes. The bandits didn¡¯t have any objections to this. Most people in this troubled world lived a miserable life. As long as they were still alive, they wouldn¡¯t ask for more. Shen Ling stopped to look around the village for a long time and then turned around. He decided to return to the Shen family.. Chapter 14 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen When Shen Ling returned to the Shen family, he saw that Old Master Shen had a serious expression on his face. ¡°What is the matter?¡± He asked as he looked at his father, who raised his eyebrows in bewilderment. Old Master Shen looked at Shen Ling with so much seriousness and said in a deep voice, ¡°I asked you to stay with the Shen family, but you refused. Instead, you chose to risk your life!¡± ¡°Risk my life? What do you mean?¡± All of a sudden, Shen Ling¡¯s voice became strange. He asked again, ¡°When did I risk my life?¡± Master Shen¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change one bit. He asked, ¡°Then, tell me, what happened to the things that were shipped back to the village? Where did you get those gold, silver, and jewelry?¡± ¡°From the Green Mountain stronghold.¡± Shen Ling replied without flinching. ¡°I remember telling you yesterday that something happened to the sharecroppers. I went there to take care of it.¡± ¡°Really? To take care of it?¡± Old Master Shen stared into Shen Ling¡¯s eyes and said in a deep voice, ¡°Then tell me, what exactly happened?¡± Right now, he was confused beyond measure. Yesterday, Shen Ling had gone out all of a sudden and had ordered people to send crossbows to the sharecroppers¡¯ village. Initially, he had thought that Shen Ling was going to let the young sharecroppers familiarize themselves with the use of the crossbows, but he noticed that Ling didn¡¯t return home that night. He sent people to look for Shen Ling and they returned with just one message. He had gone to the Green Mountain Stronghold! This news made Master Shen very scared. What could he be doing there? It was the stronghold with the largest number of bandits among the three great bandits of the Green Mountain. In the past, when Shen Ling was obsessed with poetry and books, he had interacted with the Green Mountain Stronghold several times. Although he always had to spend money in the end to avoid so many disasters, they were fortunate enough to have no worries. And now¡­ Shen Ling had first taught the sharecroppers to practice their machete skills, but in the end, he had gone to the Green Mountain Stronghold in less than two days. As far as Master Shen was concerned, this was a reckless and risky move. Shen Ling, on the other hand, narrated the whole scenario without batting an eyelid. Apart from hiding the details of the head of the Green Mountain Stronghold getting close to him and aiming for his life, Shen Ling told him all about his plan. When Master Shen heard this, his eyes lit up. ¡°What do you think about this?¡± Master Shen asked Shen Ling as he looked at him curiously. Shen Ling rolled his eyes mischievously and said with a smile, ¡°What do I think about this? Of course, I read a book. It is said that there¡¯s endless treasure in a book. You shouldn¡¯t be busy with business all day. It¡¯s good to read a book once in a while.¡± ¡°You¡­¡± Master Shen was about to criticize Shen Ling but fell into deep thought again. All of a sudden, Shen Ling looked at him and said, ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to Chennan Trading Company. I need some money¡­¡± Immediately Master Shen heard the talk about money, he raised his head. ¡°You¡¯re going to Chennan Trading Company? What do you want to buy?¡± Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t enough arrows for the triple crossbows and I don¡¯t want to buy them when I need them. In addition, I got a lot of good things from the Qingshan stockade this time. I¡¯ll see if there¡¯s anything useful.¡± ¡°How much do you need?¡± Master Shen asked. Shen Ling replied, ¡°Well, not much. One thousand teals will be enough.¡± One thousand taels! To Master Shen, this was a lot of money, same for the Shen family. However, after looking at Shen Ling for a few seconds, he nodded in agreement. Seeing how happy Master Shen was, a brilliant smile appeared on Shen Ling¡¯s face. He was a little surprised that things went so smoothly. He hummed a song happily and walked out of the Shen family hall. Master Shen was left behind, shaking his head in concern. In the past few days, the changes in Shen Ling were so obvious. This made Master Shen very pleased, although he also felt that he couldn¡¯t keep up with his son¡¯s thoughts. As a result of this, all he could do was to be a man standing solidly behind Shen Ling and back him up. Simply put, all he had to do was¡­ To give him money. Shen Ling had gotten to the Chennan Trading Company. When the shopkeeper saw Shen Ling, he was full of joy. ¡°Young Master Shen is here. Please come in and make yourself comfortable.¡± ¡°I want to see Miss Qin¡­¡± Shen Ling said as soon as he entered the room. Since he knew that Miss Qin was the main person in charge of the Chennan Trading Company in Qi Hua City, Shen Ling felt that it was better to communicate with her directly. ¡°Miss Qin is on the third floor. You¡¯ll find her there.¡± The shopkeeper replied to him without any dissatisfaction. ¡±Thank you.¡± Shen Ling smiled at the shopkeeper and walked up the stairs to the third floor. In a private room on the third floor, Miss Qin looked at Shen Ling with a smile and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, we meet again.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s true,¡± Shen Ling said calmly. Miss Qin looked at him and said, ¡°I wonder what you are planning to buy this time.¡± ¡°Well, I need a cultivation method.¡± Shen Ling didn¡¯t beat about the bush. He went straight to the point. This time, he had gotten so many things from the Green Mountain Stronghold including the replacement of the weapons he used. However, there wasn¡¯t a single cultivation technique book in the entire cave where the treasures of the Green Mountain Stronghold were hidden. The value of the cultivation method was very obvious. ¡°Alright then, please come with me.¡± Miss Qin said with a smile as she led Shen Ling into the secret room on the third floor. The first thing Ling saw was the ten million teals of the Great Qian Art. His eyes lingered on it for two seconds before he shifted his gaze. Since this was a cultivation technique of the Great Qian Empire, it was quite extraordinary. However, at this moment, Shen Ling couldn¡¯t afford ten million taels, which meant that he would not be able to afford the Great Qian Art. ¡°Do you have any body-tempering cultivation techniques?¡± He asked after he walked around the room for a while. There were simply too many of them. The cheapest cultivation technique in the entire room was the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, which was the price of one tael of silver. The rest had different prices ranging from ten, one hundred, and one thousand taels¡­ This was even worse than a robbery. ¡°Yes, we do.¡± Miss Qin was very familiar with all these cultivation techniques. When he saw the cultivation technique that Miss Qin handed over, Shen Ling took it and looked at it all over¡­ The Iron Shirt. What was this Iron Shirt? This name surprised Shen Ling for a moment. However, after checking it out, he realized that this particular iron shirt was different from the one he knew. Although it was also a body-refining cultivation technique, its defensive ability mainly relied on both internal and external forces to cover the skin of the body. But even at that, this technique could increase the strength of the arm which made it compatible with the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. ¡°How much is it?¡± Shen Ling asked about the price after he had taken a fancy to the technique. It was only natural to do so. Calmly, Miss Qin spoke, ¡°This is a rank-nine upper-grade technique. But because it¡¯s a body refining technique, it is more expensive¡­ I¡¯ll give you for a thousand taels of silver.¡± When he heard this, his hands shook. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it.¡± Shen Ling still chose to buy it after thinking for a few seconds. This cultivation technique could not stop him from being cultivated. Same with the young sharecroppers in the rural areas. Now that he thought about it, he felt that it wasn¡¯t that expensive for a thousand taels of silver. It was still okay for the price. However, when he saw another cultivation technique, he hesitated. He was on the verge of changing his mind. This one was about a footwork technique called ¡®Treading on Air.¡¯ It was worth three thousand taels of silver. Miss Qin followed his gaze and picked up the ¡®Treading on Air¡¯. ¡°Young Master Shen, are you interested in this one?¡± she asked. He nodded in agreement and said, ¡°Yes, I do, but it¡¯s rather too expensive.¡± Her face lit up in a smile as she spoke, ¡°Well, as you already know, I call the shots here. I can give it to you if you want, but you have to promise to do something for me in return.¡± What he dreaded the most was about to happen. Shen Ling¡¯s heart skipped a beat instantly when he heard her words. He knew that there was nothing free in this world. He also knew that he would have to pay one way or another. But what kind of request would Miss Qin make? He couldn¡¯t help but wonder silently. What would he be asked to do? He was in a very critical situation right now.. Chapter 15 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Since he had received her favor, he felt obliged to agree to her request. Shen Ling had always obtained so many benefits from Miss Qin and for this reason, he knew that such a day would come. He looked at her with a smile on his face and said, ¡°Feel free to tell me what it is, Miss Qin. If it¡¯s something I can do, be rest assured that I will put in my best.¡± She nodded slowly and said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s not a difficult matter. I just hope that you can help me in settling some people. They need a place to stay and it¡¯s best if it doesn¡¯t attract any attention.¡± Settling some people? This puzzled Shen Ling. The Chennan Trading Company was quite a popular name, and to him, it didn¡¯t seem like he needed to do something like this for them. Immediately she saw his strange appearance, it was as if she could see through his thoughts. ¡°Actually, these people have special identities and right now, we are not in the right position to do this in the name of the trading company and you¡¯re the only one I can ask right now.¡± As Miss Qin said this, she went on her knees and bowed her head slightly to him. ¡°Alright, I promise you.¡± Shen Ling said with a gentle nod. Then he looked at her closely and asked, ¡°So may I know who you want me to help settle down?¡± With a smile, Miss Qin said, ¡°It¡¯s Yang Jian¡¯s family. He is the former prefecture overseer of the Great Qian Empire.¡± The former prefecture overseer of the Great Qian Empire? Shen Ling squinted as soon as he heard this. Miss Qin continued, ¡°Some time ago, Mr. Yang was framed up and ended up in prison. After a few trials, he was spared from the death penalty. However, his family of six ended up being punished.¡± ¡°His daughter and I used to be close friends. It would hurt me even more if she¡¯s always homeless.¡± Shen Ling nodded to show he understood her and said, ¡°I see.¡± With that being said, he wasn¡¯t worried anymore. It might be difficult for others to get a place for a family of six, but the sharecropping village was currently expanding. Sending this family over there would not be so obvious at all. Since there was now a solution, he looked at her and asked, ¡°Where exactly is Mr. Yang and his family now?¡± ¡°They are still on their way. They¡¯ll arrive here in two days,¡± she said with a smile. Shen Ling nodded. With that, he took the ¡®Treading on Air¡¯ from her. All of a sudden, he looked up and asked, ¡°By the way, why did you choose me to do this for you?¡± As far as he was concerned, settling down a whole family could not be compared to the ¡®Treading on Air¡¯ that costs 3000 taels of silver. Although this was worth 3000 taels of silver in Miss Qin¡¯s eyes, Shen Ling, who did not have the right to set the price seemed to have gained an advantage this time. She smiled again and said, ¡°Truth be told, you have proven your ability over time and I think we can work well together.¡± Proven his ability over time? Shen Ling couldn¡¯t help but wonder. Just then, he saw her pointing to the west. The west¡­ ¡°You mean the Green Mountain?¡± he asked. Shen Ling looked back at her only to see her nod. ¡°It seems that you now understand what I meant.¡± Shen Ling nodded with a smile. ¡°Is Chennan Trading Company just a trading company?¡± ¡°Well, you can think whatever you want, Young Master Shen,¡± she said in reply. Her piercing reply dissuaded him from asking any further questions. But even at that, he already had a rough understanding of the company¡¯s intelligence capabilities. It wasn¡¯t as simple as he had thought. Not at all. He knew he was right. How could a simple trading company like this have something like a brand new triple crossbow? Shen Ling smiled politely. After some time, he talked about the triple crossbow with Miss Qin. After he had ordered another batch of the crossbows, he turned around and left. ¡°I¡¯m getting lucky today!¡± Shen Ling muttered to himself as he went down the stairs. It didn¡¯t matter if it was ¡®Iron Shirt¡¯ or ¡®Treading on Air¡¯, they were both items that he had a huge need for at the moment. Obtaining these two cultivation techniques at a small price was simply making a huge profit. Although he was happy, he still maintained a calm expression. He returned home and went quickly into his room. He put both cultivation methods on the table. Looking from one to the other, he wondered which one to start from. This was a huge problem for a person who found it difficult to make choices. After a while¡­ He opened his eyes and looked at the iron shirt he was holding. He made his choice and then began to practice. He began breathing in and out simultaneously. After a while, he shut his eyes tightly. ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation method: Longevity Technique [rank-seven low-grade cultivation method, Level 4, proficiency 1,000/50,000] ¡®Cultivation method: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-seven upper-grade saber technique, level 5, proficiency 42,850/100,000] ¡®Cultivation method: Iron Shirt [rank-nine upper-grade cultivation method, not yet learned, proficiency 0/100] ¡®Status: Tired.¡¯ Shen Ling looked at his status bar. It showed he was tired. This was quite true. He had been so busy dealing with the affairs of the village in the last two days and didn¡¯t have enough time to rest at all. He didn¡¯t know this without looking at his status bar. But after looking at it, he felt sleepy all of a sudden. Subconsciously, he walked to the edge of the bed and fell asleep. A moment later, Xiao Huan walked into the room and looked at Ling, who was still asleep by the side of the bed. She called out to him gently. ¡°Young Master?¡± When she saw that he didn¡¯t respond, she took off his shoes and placed him well on the bed. She also covered him with the blanket and left the room peacefully. Shen Ling slept for a very long time. The next morning. When Shen Ling woke up, the first thing he saw was the blanket on his body and the breakfast that was on his table. In all honesty, it felt good to have someone look out for him. He sighed in his heart. When he was done with his breakfast, he started circulating his Qi once again. ¡®You have completed one successful training session of the Iron Shirt. Proficiency + 1.¡¯ Success! He nodded in satisfaction. Although it was only a successful evaluation of adding a little proficiency, it was a very good start for him. After all, it was also possible for him to have failed woefully. Before he could finish processing his thoughts¡­ He opened his eyes slowly and noticed that the second Qi breathing exercise had failed. What could have caused this? He thought about this for a long time and still couldn¡¯t come up with a tangible reason. He flipped open the cultivation method book that talked about the Iron Shirt and studied it carefully. Soon enough, he began his third attempt. ¡®You have completed one successful training session of the Iron Shirt. Proficiency + 1.¡¯ He was successful once again. But this time, Shen Ling¡¯s face didn¡¯t show any excitement. He opened the book once again and studied it even more. This time around, he saw something different. He began the fourth attempt. This time, he did strange movements while breathing in and out. After a while: ¡®You have completed one full training session of the Iron Shirt. Proficiency + 5.¡¯ Seeing this, his eyes lit up. Sure enough, the breathing and movements of the Iron Shirt were not cultivated separately. After mastering this, his enthusiasm increased rapidly. After some hours, Shen Ling, who was exhausted and drenched in sweat, successfully cultivated the Iron Shirt to the first level. ¡®Cultivation technique: Iron Shirt [rank-nine upper-grade cultivation technique, first level, proficiency 0/1000] .¡¯ At the same time, he thought about some things about the Iron Shirt that wasn¡¯t recorded in the book. With this, he clenched his fists. All of a sudden, he looked up sharply.. Chapter 16 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen A layer of grey internal force covered Shen Ling¡¯s skin instantly. With this, he hit his chest hard. To his utmost surprise, it didn¡¯t hurt. This was so unlike the feeling of a fist hitting flesh. The feedback he got when he hit his chest felt as if he had hit a stone. In all honesty, although the Iron Shirt¡¯s internal force didn¡¯t make him wear iron clothes, it had increased his defense. Coupled with the fact that the Iron Shirt was a cultivation method, it also improved his physical ability while cultivating. Especially his strength. The effect of this on his body was even stronger than the Longevity Technique. Since his strength had increased, the strength in each of his blades would also increase. The power in the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique would also increase greatly. This was just like killing several birds with one stone. After resting for a while, the excitement that Shen Ling felt in his heart subsided. Instead, he felt extremely hungry. For a moment, a double image appeared right in front of him. Hunger! Very hungry! He was starving! ¡°Xiao Huan!¡± Shen Ling called out as he shook his head. Immediately Huan rushed to where he was and looked at Shen Ling, who was laying on the ground, panting heavily. She asked anxiously, ¡°Young Master, what is the matter? Do you need me to call the doctor?¡± At this point, Shen Ling tried to keep his eyes wide open. He said in a low voice, ¡°Go to the kitchen and get me some food first. The more, the better.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ Alright then.¡± Huan nodded quickly and ran out of the courtyard. Soon enough, she brought over a plate of steamed buns and sausages stored in the kitchen. Without hesitation, Shen Ling picked up the steamed buns and began to eat. With his other hand, he picked up a sausage. ¡°It¡¯s not enough, Xiao Huan. I need some more.¡± Shen Ling muttered under his breath as he ate wildly. He knew that he must have used up too much of his physical strength. In addition, the Iron Shirt had been upgraded which made his body short of nutrients. He needed to replenish his nutrition as quickly as possible. The more, the better. ¡°I¡¯ll go and buy more now!¡± Xiao Huan looked at Shen Ling as she said these words. She didn¡¯t want to say that there was nothing else to eat in the kitchen. Shen Ling nodded as he ate and Xiao Huan left once more. After a long time¡­ The ground in the courtyard was filled with chicken bones. Shen Ling held the drumstick in one hand and the bun in the other. He was slowly tearing at the meat. After eating crazily for some time, he was barely alive now. ¡°Young Master, it seems like you¡¯ve grown a little taller.¡± Shen Ling had just finished eating and stood on his feet. Xiao Huan, who was serving him, raised her head to look at him. Although she used to look up to him in the past, it seemed to her that he must have grown taller today. She couldn¡¯t even see the top of his head. ¡°Really? Have I?¡± Shen Ling asked as he looked at himself and tugged at his clothes. He pressed the clothes on his body to the legs and measured his height to be about five centimeters higher than when he had worn his clothes that morning. He looked at his shoulders once more. Since his physical fitness improved, his shoulders seemed to have widened a little. Right now, he was confused. He didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or worried about this change. Truth be told, it was a good thing to be taller, but this was too much. Besides, he had some doubts in his heart. If he continued cultivating this Iron Shirt, he would probably become a muscular man with arms thicker than a woman¡¯s thigh. He shook his head vehemently and gave up on the fantasy. No matter the excuse, he had to cultivate this Iron Shirt. Rather than worrying about things that were yet to happen, it was better to focus solely on cultivating. After all, he was learning more cultivation techniques now and was spending shorter cultivation time for each technique. In the future, he had to arrange his time reasonably. He and Xiao Huan began tidying up the courtyard and made it clean again. Once they were done, he put away the cultivation technique book that recorded the Iron Shirt and took out the Treading on Air book, and placed it on the table. Treading on Air, as the name implies, was footwork. For someone like Ling who had never for once cultivated footwork before, this book worth three thousand taels of silver was of great significance. He opened the book and began studying it word for word for quite a long time before raising his head slowly. Since he had a vague understanding of the knowledge about treading on air, he didn¡¯t understand how to start practicing. He was still very confused. Without a master to guide him through, it was not easy to practice by just relying on a cultivation technique book. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder how to go about it. He picked up the book and started studying again. His eyes gleamed in thought. After a while, he decided to choose the dumbest way. And that was to try it out first! Unlike other unorthodox martial artists, Shen Ling¡¯s greatest reliance was the proficiency panel that he always carried with him. This helped him to know what the correct cultivation posture was and with this, he could not go astray. After the first attempt, he gained nothing. Same thing happened the second time. And the third¡­ After a countless number of futile attempts, he held his head in annoyance. He kept wondering why it was so difficult to cultivate these rank-five low-grade treading air steps. Treading on air, treading on air¡­ Shen Ling repeated these two words and flipped through the cultivation technique book that recorded the treading air steps ¨C again. An hour passed quickly¡­ Just then, Shen Ling got an idea. He stepped on the table in the courtyard and took a step into the air. Bang! He fell heavily to the ground with a thud. However, it didn¡¯t hurt him. He got up swiftly. With the protection that came with the Iron Shirt, it was as light as a handshake. As soon as he got up, he couldn¡¯t hide the smile on his face. Finally, he found what he had been missing all this while. He had to step into the air! He stepped to the table and fell to the ground countless times. The bluestone on the ground cracked, and he finally saw the prompt he wanted. ¡®You have completed one successful session of cultivating Treading on Air, proficiency + 1.¡¯ He made it! Shen Ling looked at his proficiency panel. ¡®Cultivation method: Treading on Air [rank-three low-grade cultivation method, not yet learned, proficiency 1/100. ]¡¯ Rank-three low-grade? Shen Ling looked at his panel and shook his head in confusion. Initially, he thought that this Treading on Air, which was labeled as rank-five low-grade, was a rank-five low-grade cultivation method. He didn¡¯t expect that it would be a rank-three low-grade cultivation method. In that case, the time he had wasted earlier suddenly made much more sense. He had obtained a rank-three low-grade cultivation method all for free. He felt that it was too exciting. He didn¡¯t know that because of the difficulty of getting started with the Air-treading steps and the loss of the inheritance, no one remembered the true grade of the cultivation technique of Treading on Air. Among all the cultivation methods sold by the Chennan Trading Company, Treading on Air was the one with the worst sales in recent years. The real value of a normal grade-three cultivation method was at least hundreds of thousands of taels. A grade-five cultivation technique was also worth tens of thousands. Shen Ling taking it for free was equivalent to the company making a profit. Treading on Air. As the name implied, the key lied in taking a step in the air. Shen Ling had failed so many times in the past, but every time he did, he felt that he was a little closer to success. As time passed, the gap between the stone slabs beside the table had already become the width of a pinky finger. However, this didn¡¯t stop him from practicing. He kept practicing. Along with the notifications that showed from time to time, ¡°You have completed one successful session of cultivating Treading on Air, proficiency +1¡±, he finally increased his proficiency to 100/100. The moon was high up in the sky and the stars shine brightly. Shen Ling¡¯s Treading on Air¡­ It had finally been successfully practiced. Chapter 17 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Although it was very late into the night, Shen Ling was still awake. He ran back and forth on the wall of his courtyard, and from time to time, he would step into the air. This alone should have resulted in him stumbling or even falling on his face, but none of that happened. Shen Ling, who stepped into the air, felt as if he was stepping on an invisible wall. His entire body could be suspended in the air for more than a second. After then, he landed on the ground with a heavy thud. When he remembered how he felt when he stepped into the air, a smile appeared on his face. It seemed too good to be true. He was stepping into the air. Although this first level only allowed him to take one step, when it came to the actual combat, this step alone was enough for him to turn the table! Two days later. Shen Ling stood at the entrance of the Shen residence and stared at the pedestrians going about their daily activities. Just then, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they here yet?¡± he thought to himself. Time passed by slowly. After waiting for a while, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. It was already past the estimated time for the Yang family to arrive. Could it be that they encountered any problem on the road? ¡°Bring my horse over here!¡± The servant quickly brought it to Shen Ling¡¯s side. He quickly jumped on the horse and took the reins. ¡°Move!¡± Not long after he left the Shen residence, he was also out of Qi Hua City. He passed through the official road and kept looking around. He went one kilometer, and there was no sign. Three kilometers, still nothing¡­ Just as he was still wondering what the matter could be, he heard a noise in front of him. This was so sudden. The noise wasn¡¯t so loud and he even wondered if he had misheard. But as he kept moving forward, he could still hear it. He was not wrong. It was the sound of metals clashing and low growls of people fighting. People were fighting! He rode his horse and rushed quickly to the battlefield. When he got to the scene, he saw a group of men in black, surrounding the guards of the carriage. By the time he took note of the carriage, Ling saw that it looked like the exact carriage that Miss Qin had told him about. This was supposed to be the carriage that had Yang Jian and his family of six. Shen Ling came down from his horse. This was when the two men in black noticed him and exchanged glances. Without thinking, they aimed at him at the same time. Shen Ling, on the other hand, held the hilt of his Saber in his right hand and raised his head slowly. This was the first time he was using this Saber ever since he got it. The moment Shen Ling stopped, both men were already in front of him. They both held a sharp sword in their hands and attacked from both directions at the same time. Their sword moves blocked off all possibilities of him dodging. This kind of tacit understanding and cooperation made him exclaim secretly in admiration. However, unlucky for them, Shen Ling didn¡¯t even think of dodging. The black Saber in his hand was unsheathed instantly as he walked slowly behind both of them. A strong gust of wind blew and the two assassins with extraordinary skills and cooperation fell to the ground with a loud bang. Fresh blood spurted out of their throats and their eyes became blank before they gave up the ghost. Shen Ling continued to move forward while also waving the black knife he was holding. Under his violent push, the remaining assassins died one after another under the black knife. The fresh blood of these men dyed the road red. The carriage guards, who were on the verge of death, yelled all of a sudden, ¡°Reinforcements are here, kill them!¡± One of the guards was able to quickly finish up the enemy in front of him and happened to take a look in Shen Ling¡¯s direction. With that brief look, the guard was able to see a man in black standing on a high ground trying to fire an arrow aimed at Shen Ling. ¡°Be careful!¡± When Shen Ling heard this, he turned around to look in the other direction. He saw the arrow coming towards him at high speed and subconsciously turned his head to the left and with his left hand, he caught the arrow. Although he was holding the arrow, the arrowhead was still trembling. He took his time to observe the arrow with a bleed slot at close range. After that, he forcefully broke it in two with his left hand. Sneak attack! A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes when he saw what this particular assassin was trying to do. With this revelation, Shen Ling ran towards the small hill where he was and at the same time, tried to calculate the distance between him and the other party. Fifty steps, forty steps, thirty steps¡­ During this time, the assassin shot two arrows, but as luck would have it, Shen Ling was able to dodge them. It was the remaining twenty steps. When the distance between both of them had shortened to a certain extent, Shen Ling jumped all of a sudden. This made the assassin, who had initially wanted to retreat, hesitate. Shen Ling¡¯s jump had put himself into a very inflexible and dangerous position, which were simply unthinkably stupid during a fight like this. As long as he was able to shoot an arrow at Shen Ling¡­ Then, there was no need to retreat. When the bow-wielding assassin thought about this, he drew his bow and aimed at Shen Ling¡¯s landing point. Immediately he released the arrow, it flew at a high speed. The assassin¡¯s gaze was very sharp. As an archer, he knew very well that as long as the arrow hit him, Shen Ling would be severely injured even if he didn¡¯t die. But right at that moment, a trace of shock could be seen in the eyes of the assassin. He saw that Shen Ling, who should have had nowhere to hide, actually stepped on the air. It was as if he had stepped on a wall, borrowing a force out of thin air. What in the world was happening right now? He could not believe his eyes. But when he saw Shen Ling falling, he took out an arrow again and slowly pulled the bowstring. He knew that this was the last and only chance he had. ¡°Fifteen steps.¡± Shen Ling said all of a sudden in a calm voice. The eyes of the assassin and that of Shen Ling met. He had just put the arrow in the bowstring when he saw Shen Ling slash out in the air. Fifteen steps, fifteen meters¡­ For Shen Ling, this distance between them was enough for the Saber Qi to maintain its power. It was also his ultimate killing distance. ¡°Whoosh¡­¡± In a split second, the Saber Qi passed through the body of the assassin. At that point, the assassin had a confused look on his face. He still couldn¡¯t comprehend how this man was able to fly in the air, and now, he was even more confused as to how he was able to swing the Saber Qi like a half-moon. As an award-winning silver medal assassin with a lot of experience, he fell on his back with so much confusion and doubt. His body split open neatly. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± After getting rid of the blood on his black knife, Shen Ling put it back into its sheath. He walked towards the corpse. There weren¡¯t so many things belonging to the bow-wielding assassin. Other than a silver badge, only the bow and arrows were considered good enough. He didn¡¯t even bring any taels on him. Shen Ling didn¡¯t understand why. After everything, Shen Ling walked back to the carriage. While Shen Ling was helping on the battlefield by killing numerous black-clothed assassins, the guards had already finished cleaning up the remaining ones. When the guards, who were cleaning the battlefield, saw him walking towards them, they couldn¡¯t help but lower their heads. Although Shen Ling was young, he was an expert for real. He didn¡¯t understand the actions of these guards. But all the same, he asked quietly, ¡°Is Mr. Yang Jian and his family in the carriage?¡± One of the guards nodded and said, ¡°Yes, and you are?¡± ¡°My name is Shen Ling and I¡¯ve been entrusted by Miss Qin to pick up Mr. Yang and his family,¡± he answered boldly. The guard looked at him in surprise and said, ¡°So you are Young Master Shen. Please wait a moment. Allow me to inform Mr. Yang.¡± Just then, the carriage door opened. Shen Ling saw several faces filled with fear. The oldest man was squatting in front of a young girl with his face full of worry. It seemed like something serious must have happened. Shen Ling walked forward and looked at Yang Jian. ¡°What happened?¡± he asked. Before Yang Jian could answer, a seven or eight-year-old kid said, ¡°My sister was shot with an arrow.¡± Shot? Chapter 18 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen When Shen Ling heard the little child¡¯s words, he hesitated. At that moment, Yang Jian turned to look at him and asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, please how far is this place from Qi Hua City?¡± Shen Ling answered quickly, ¡°Well, more than three kilometers¡­¡± ¡°Three kilometers?¡± A trace of disappointment flashed across Mr. Yang¡¯s face as he lowered his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid Yun¡¯er won¡¯t be able to make it by the time we get there.¡± Shen Ling thought for a moment and asked, ¡°Mr. Yang, can I take a look at her injury?¡± Mr. Yang looked at him and nodded in agreement. ¡°Of course. Please come on in.¡± Shen Ling climbed into the carriage. By the time he got in, he saw her lying on the bed with a long arrow on her back. Her clothes had been dyed red by the excess blood oozing out of her body and there were even some on the floor of the carriage. Since she had already lost this much blood, it would be very difficult for her to last till she reached the city. Damn! A younger girl looked at her father and asked in a daze, ¡°Father, is my sister going to die?¡± Mr. Yang put his hand on her head in a bid to pet her. He didn¡¯t say a word in reply. A little child did not know what death meant¡­ Children would always fearlessly voice their thoughts and emotions. Since Mr. Yang didn¡¯t say anything, the little girl seemed to have understood. Tears began to stream down her cheeks. With her little mouth pouted, she said, ¡°I don¡¯t want my sister to die. Father, please save her.¡± Mr. Yang bent down slowly and hugged his little daughter and spoke in a deep voice, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Father would have loved to save your sister, but this is something I can¡¯t do.¡± Although he spoke calmly, there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. As a man who had gone through a lot in his lifetime, he initially thought that there was nothing in this world that could weaken him. But right now, he realized that he was not as strong as he had imagined, neither was he less caring. He went back in time and started remembering every detail of his eldest daughter¡¯s growth. His face showed that he was in deep pain. As Shen Ling watched both of them grieve, he didn¡¯t want to disturb the atmosphere they were in. But the Yun¡¯er didn¡¯t seem like someone who would be able to hold on for long. Her life was already in grave danger. Immediately, Shen Ling asked, ¡°Mr. Yang, do you mind taking a risk?¡± ¡°Taking a risk?¡± Unknowingly, Mr. Yang¡¯s eyes turned red as he looked at Shen Ling. He was somewhat at a loss as he didn¡¯t understand Shen Ling¡¯s question. Shen Ling nodded calmly. ¡°Well, I want to pull out the arrow on her back in exchange for a slim chance of survival.¡± ¡°Are you confident this will work?¡± Mr. Yang looked at him and asked. However, before Shen Ling could reply, Mr. Yang spoke again, ¡°Then, I¡¯ll have to trouble Young Master Shen. I will forever be indebted to you.¡± As he spoke, Mr. Yang knelt and bowed to Shen Ling. This shocked Shen Ling. However, when he saw Mr. Yang bringing his other children out of the carriage, his expression became serious. To be honest, he didn¡¯t have much confidence in himself. With this, he took a deep breath. Shen Ling looked at the girl whose facial expression was unusually calm, but as white as a sheet. He said to her softly, ¡°Please excuse me, Miss.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± The girl replied softly. Her lips were also pale. Looking at her, he took off the clothes on her back which revealed her smooth shoulders. Removing Yun¡¯er¡¯s clothes that were in the way, Shen Ling pressed one hand on her body and grabbed the arrow on her back with the other hand. ¡°This is gonna hurt. Bear with it.¡± Shen Ling hesitated for a moment and suddenly pulled the arrow out of her body. ¡°Ah!¡± The girl let out a piercing scream. At this time, Shen Ling¡¯s expression was still solemn as he threw the bloody arrow out of the window. Immediately, he placed both of his palms on her back. Two balls of light flickered in his hands and an endless stream of immortal power was injected into the girl¡¯s body. Repair! The immortal power that had already entered the fourth level had the characteristics of life and his proposal was based on this. But then, this was the first time he had injected the inner strength of the Longevity Skill into a person¡¯s body. In all honesty, he also didn¡¯t know how efficient it was. ¡°It¡¯s very effective,¡± he said softly. A minute passed. He couldn¡¯t help smiling when he saw that the blood had gradually stopped spurting out. However, he couldn¡¯t stop at this moment. He had to wait for the injury to heal completely. The inner strength of the Longevity Skill was still being injected into her body and Shen Ling became a little nervous. After a while, her wound healed up completely. He looked at her once again and saw that her back was as smooth as jade. He removed his hand slowly and quickly turned his head away. ¡°Thank you.¡± She thanked Shen Ling as she put on her clothes. Her face was redder than an apple. She didn¡¯t expect that he would successfully pull her back from the gates of Hell. What worried her right now was that he had seen her naked. Her mood became disoriented. At the same time, Shen Ling was also feeling extremely awkward. He didn¡¯t have any intention of taking advantage of her, but her dress was causing a hindrance when he tried to save her. ¡°It¡¯s quite fair.¡± As he looked at her, Shen Ling, who originally had the intention to apologize, felt his mind go blank all of a sudden. ¡°No no no¡­¡± He explained quickly, ¡°I meant the dress.¡± Immediately he said that, Shen Ling looked at the pale yellow dress she had on and wished he could give himself a resounding slap. ¡°I¡¯ll go down first then.¡± He knew that he could no longer make things right, so he had to jump off the carriage, leaving her alone. ¡°Young Master Shen, how is Yun¡¯er?¡± Mr. Yang asked when he saw Shen Ling getting off the carriage. He looked excited. He heard his daughter¡¯s piercing scream, and at that moment, he could not hide how he felt. Shen Ling looked at him and said calmly, ¡°She¡¯s fine now. She¡¯ll feel better after eating some nourishing food.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Mr. Yang was stunned. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she need to see a doctor?¡± When Shen Ling heard this, he smiled and said, ¡°When we return to the city, it will be good to see a doctor to know if there are any other complications.¡± Mr. Yang looked at him in surprise. Before he could say anything else, he saw his daughter walk out of the carriage. ¡°Yun¡¯er, are you alright?¡± Mr. Yang asked his daughter excitedly as he held her by the side. His other children also surrounded her asking a series of questions. ¡°I¡¯m alright, Father.¡± Yun¡¯er touched her back. The whole scenario felt so unreal when she thought about it. Obviously, she had been hit by an arrow and she had also lost so much blood. But right now, she couldn¡¯t feel the wound, not even a scar and it didn¡¯t hurt at all. ¡°Thank you so much, Young Master Shen.¡± Yun¡¯er said slowly. She was no longer as nervous as she had been when she was in the carriage. Shen Ling looked at her with a smile and said, ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me. I¡¯m just glad to see that you¡¯re okay.¡± After he spoke, Shen Ling asked again, ¡°By the way, I haven¡¯t asked Mr. Yang whether we should go to Qi Hua City to rest for a while or just go straight to the village.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head straight to the village,¡± Mr. Yang said as he lowered his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone here.¡± ¡°Alright then, I¡¯ll lead the way,¡± Shen Ling said as he jumped on his horse. They didn¡¯t bother going through Qi Hua City. Instead, they followed Shen Ling as he maneuvered the road before they arrived at the sharecropping village. ¡°It¡¯s very quiet here and there are no outsiders. Also, no one will disturb you.¡± When they arrived, Shen Ling said slowly, ¡°If there¡¯s anything you need, you can ask the village chief to inform me.¡± Mr. Yang nodded. ¡°Alright, thank you, Young Master Shen. Also, thank Miss Qin on my behalf.¡± Shen Ling smiled.. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Chapter 19 Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The house that Shen Ling arranged for the Yang family was a newly built house. It had a structure like that of a courtyard and it was more than enough to accommodate a family of six. Since the house was brand new, Shen Ling had also bought complete furniture for them from the city. It could be said that he was quite generous. In other words, he was super rich. Apart from not being as prosperous and convenient as Qi Hua City, this small village was the best place to live in seclusion. ¡°The scenery here is wonderful.¡± After moving all the luggage into the courtyard, Mr. Yang looked outside. He felt relaxed and happy. ¡°I¡¯m glad that you like it.¡± Shen Ling smiled. He thought highly of Mr. Yang. As the former prefecture overseer of the Chong Zhou Province, Mr. Yang had once been superior to tens of thousands of people. But after Shen Ling had been with him for some time, he found that Mr. Yang wasn¡¯t overbearing or aggressive at all. Instead, he was always very calm and friendly. Besides, as a frustrated official, he didn¡¯t show any signs of giving up on himself. And he was not picky about where he chose to live. Apart from how scared he was when his daughter was seriously injured not long ago, Shen Ling thought of Mr. Yang as a very calm man indeed. He didn¡¯t know whether it was proper or not to place such a person in a farming village. He couldn¡¯t help but think about this deeply. Mr. Yang turned to look at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°Does Young Master Shen have anything to do now? If not, why don¡¯t we have a simple meal here tonight?¡± Shen Ling replied slowly, ¡°Well, there¡¯s nothing much to do for now, but won¡¯t it disturb your rest? The journey was quite tiring, why don¡¯t we have the meal some other time?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay then. You know you saved Yun¡¯er, so you are my family¡¯s savior. Since my family has nothing, this is the only way I can thank you for now. I hope you don¡¯t mind.¡± Since Mr. Yang had already said so much, Shen Ling didn¡¯t want to decline again. He nodded and replied, ¡°Very well then. It¡¯s better to accept it respectfully. I¡¯ll just have a meal here.¡± Hearing this, Mr. Yang nodded in satisfaction. Throughout the whole day, Mr. Yang moved his luggage into the house and arranged rooms for his five children. Immediately he was done, he started cooking. Shen Ling looked at him with narrowed eyes. He watched Mr. Yang as he cooked skillfully with a surprised look in his eyes. Mr. Yang noticed Shen Ling¡¯s expression and smiled, ¡°Young Master Shen, don¡¯t be so surprised. I¡¯m also from a farmer¡¯s family. When I was very much younger, my mother fell sick often, so I was always the one cooking.¡± ¡°Really, I see.¡± With a nod, Shen Ling looked highly at Mr. Yang. Coming from such a lowly background and being able to rise to the position of a prefecture overseer under such circumstances. He must have real talent and ability. But he was still this kind of person who was framed by a treacherous official and sent to jail. He almost died, implicating his family at the same time. This was so pathetic. Shen Ling ate slowly during the meal. He could say with certainty that Mr. Yang¡¯s cooking ability was on par with the famous chef of the restaurant in Qi Hua City. His meal tasted very good. At the dining table, Mr. Yang raised his wine glass. ¡°Young Master Shen, please.¡± Shen Ling also raised his wine glass and said, ¡°Okay.¡± After clinking their glasses, Mr. Yang downed the wine in one gulp; so did Shen Ling. In a way to express his gratitude, Mr. Yang drank one glass after another while keeping a smile on his face. As they drank, Shen Ling listened to Mr. Yang talk about the past. From all he said, Shen Ling couldn¡¯t sense any disappointment from his words. Instead, he could tell that Mr. Yang was worried about the country and its people. The situation in Chong Province was similar to what was happening here. Due to the decline of the Great Qian Empire in recent years, the bandits went on a killing spree and the uprising army grew. The people who felt the heat were usually innocent civilians. In addition, since the Great Qian emperor did not care about politics or the people, the imperial court was in a bad state and its jurisdiction over the various regions was getting weaker by the day. Mr. Yang knew that if things went on this way, the Great Qian Empire would eventually be destroyed. He couldn¡¯t hide the fact that he was worried. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not that bad.¡± Shen Ling raised his wine glass and drank slowly. Mr. Yang smiled and raised his glass as well. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just forget about it now.¡± With time, they finished their meal. Although Mr. Yang had drunk quite a lot of wine, he was still sober. However, Shen Ling, who was not strong when it came to wine was drunk and had passed out already. Mr. Yang looked at him and called out softly, ¡°Young Master Shen?¡± Shen Ling was still not awake. Mr. Yang shook his head and smiled helplessly. When he saw Shen Ling drinking initially, he thought he was a veteran and wanted him to drink till he was satisfied. He didn¡¯t expect that Shen Ling would get drunk so easily. ¡°Phew.¡± Shen Ling slept soundly. In a daze, he felt as if someone had helped him to his bed. By the time he woke up in the night, he looked at the unfamiliar ceiling in front of him and felt confused. What happened? He held his head because he had a slight headache. Slowly, he tried to recall what had happened before. He remembered that he was drinking with Mr. Yang and ended up drinking too much. What a big shame! He shook his head and sat up slowly with his legs crossed. He was in a very bad state. He was so drunk that his body swayed from side to side when he sat up. ¡°Phew.¡± With a soft sigh, Ling closed his eyes and began to practice the Longevity Technique. ¡®You have completed a full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed a full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed a successful circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 10.¡¯ ¡­ As he kept practicing the Longevity Technique, the immortal inner strength flowed. With this, Shen Ling felt that his brain was gradually waking up. In the wee hours of the morning, he stopped cultivating the technique and lay on the bed to sleep. The sun was already high up in the sky. By the time Shen Ling woke up again, he could hear people going about their daily activities. Yawning, he walked out of the house. He saw Mr. Yang tidying up the courtyard and greeted him, ¡°Mr. Yang, you¡¯re up so early. Did you have enough rest?¡± Mr. Yang replied, ¡°I¡¯m getting old and I can¡¯t sleep much. I need to get up and move around.¡± Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re just in your forties. How can you be old? You haven¡¯t even lived half your life yet. As far as I¡¯m concerned, it¡¯s too early to say that you¡¯re old.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m counting on your words,¡± Mr. Yang said in reply. After having another breakfast with the Yang family, both men walked around the village together. When Mr. Yang saw the booming construction scene, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh deeply and say, ¡°It¡¯s been a long time I saw something like this.¡± Shen Ling smiled. ¡°Well, you¡¯ll be seeing more scenes like this in the future. Take this, for instance, it is estimated that it will be completed in less than a month.¡± Mr. Yang asked doubtfully, ¡°Are there a lot of people in this village?¡± Shen Ling calculated for a while and felt that there was nothing to hide. ¡°Well, there¡¯s only about five hundred people¡­¡± Five hundred people? This number surprised Mr. Yang when he heard it. This was the population of an ordinary-sized town, yet there were so many people in this small village. No wonder he felt that something was off along the way¡­ ¡°Would you be able to feed them all?¡± Mr. Yang asked curiously. ¡°Well, it¡¯s not that bad.¡± ¡°For now, the grain that the village has stored up is enough to feed them for a year. Besides, the grain in the field would be harvested next month.¡± Mr.. Yang secretly smacked his lips in surprise. Chapter 20 - Another Favor for Miss Qin Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen After walking around for a while, Shen Ling and Yang Jian got to the end of the village. Mr. Yang looked around the village and couldn¡¯t help but sigh, ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this village to be as peaceful as this.¡± ¡°Well, it hasn¡¯t always been so.¡± Shen Ling smiled as he shook his head. ¡°There are several bandits on the Green Mountain there. Their existence alone is always a problem for the surrounding villages.¡± Mr. Yang was even more puzzled. ¡°Why then isn¡¯t anybody here worried about this?¡± With a smile, Shen Ling said, ¡°Well, it¡¯s very simple. When the bandits no longer threaten their safety, they don¡¯t need to be afraid any longer.¡± Mr. Yang was even more confused. Then, Shen Ling led him to the southern side of the village. Mr. Yang looked at the hundreds of young men standing in the huge open space in front of him. Each of them was doing their best to slash hard. Although their clothes were drenched in sweat, their movements were meticulous and uniform. When Mr. Yang saw this, he had just one word in mind¡­ Surprise! Shen Ling looked at the young men with a smile and said, ¡°They haven¡¯t practiced martial arts for long, but it¡¯s enough to deal with those bandits. With their protection, the bandits wouldn¡¯t dare threaten this village again.¡± Mr. Yang looked at him and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, sounds like you have formed a strong army¡­¡± When Shen Ling heard these words, he shook his head and said with a calm face, ¡°I didn¡¯t think of forming an army. I only gave them an avenue to practice martial arts to give them some ability to protect themselves when the time comes.¡± In all honesty, Mr. Yang was surprised by Shen Ling¡¯s calm demeanor. After a long while¡­ ¡°So, Mr. Yang. Do you have something on your mind?¡± Shen Ling took the initiative to ask when he saw that Mr. Yang was deep in thought. ¡°Actually, I wanted to know if the Shen family has surplus farmlands. Since I just came into the village, I need to do something to keep busy. So I thought it would be best if I could rent some farmland.¡± ¡°Well¡­¡± Shen Ling hesitated for a moment. It was no longer an exaggeration that the former prefecture overseer wanted to be a sharecropper here. After contemplating for a while, Shen Ling said, ¡°For now, the Shen family¡¯s current land has all been rented out. We can¡¯t get you another piece of land, Mr. Yang.¡± Hearing this, Mr. Yang understood. Shen Ling continued, ¡°Besides, it would be a waste of talent to allow you to become a farmer here. How about this¡­ I¡¯ll build a school in the village. Then you take your time to teach the children in the village how to read and write.¡± Mr. Yang looked at Shen Ling in surprise. ¡°A school?¡± Shen Ling nodded affirmatively, ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± When he received Shen Ling¡¯s affirmative reply, Yang Jian felt even more surprised and extremely puzzled. In this part of the world, no landlord was willing to care whether the children of farmers could read or not. Even the emperor of the Great Qian Empire had not considered this. Mr. Yang didn¡¯t know that Shen Ling had not considered it either¡­ But his arrival seemed to be the perfect opportunity that made Shen Ling think that he could establish a school and let the children have something to do. Mr. Yang lowered his head and said softly, ¡°Thank you so much, Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need to thank me.¡± Shen Ling said with a smile. After Mr. Yang¡¯s affairs had been completely resolved, Shen Ling turned around and arrived at the square in the south of the village. ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°Young Master¡­¡± As soon as he approached the square, several people called out to him with enthusiasm. He nodded in response to them and looked at these young men who were sweating profusely before he said with a smile, ¡°Pay attention your work and also make sure you have adequate rest. Don¡¯t get hurt just because you¡¯re undergoing training. The gains won¡¯t make up for the losses.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master Shen. We all know what we¡¯re doing and won¡¯t act tough,¡± someone said in a carefree manner. Shen Ling nodded. He looked briefly at the over hundred young men in front of him. They were the first batch of people who followed him to practice the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique in the village. But four of them were gone. As he thought of this, he raised his head high and said, ¡°I¡¯m here today to teach you another cultivation technique.¡± The young men clicked their tongues. ¡°There¡¯s another cultivation technique?¡± Almost everyone in the Great Qian Empire knew how expensive a cultivation technique was. The fact that Shen Ling was willing to teach them a rank-nine low-grade saber technique had already made these young farmers excited. They didn¡¯t expect that there would be a second cultivation technique. ¡°The name of this cultivation technique is Iron Shirt.¡± Shen Ling spoke slowly and explained the main points of the Iron Shirt. After a while, the young men all began to wail, ¡°Young Master Shen, why is this particular cultivation technique so difficult¡­¡± Shen Ling smiled and spoke calmly, ¡°All cultivation techniques are like this. It¡¯s normal for them to be difficult. Have you memorized the part I asked you to?¡± The young men looked at each other. Patiently, Shen Ling repeated it a few more times and began to lead the young men to learn the movements of the Iron Shirt. Truth be told, the movements were quite difficult, but merely looking at more than a hundred young men learning in unison was very eye-catching. In the blink of an eye¡­ The afternoon passed. Only one person out of more than a hundred young men had produced a trace of inner strength from the Iron Shirt. The others had not even touched the door to success. Shen Ling¡¯s expression was calm. Unlike him, these young men could not rely on repeated practice to improve their cultivation methods. For instance, for the young man who had just produced a trace of inner strength from the Iron Shirt, Shen Ling estimated that it would at least take half a year before he could successfully cultivate the first level. ¡°Young Master Shen, are you going back?¡± One of the young men asked when he saw Shen Ling retreating. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m ready to go back.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t go home yesterday. I have to go back home today, otherwise, the old master will be worried again.¡± As soon as he said this, he bid farewell to the group of young men who were reluctant to part and rode his horse towards Qi Hua City. Back in Qi Hua City. He first returned to the Shen residence to meet with Master Shen. After that, he walked out of the house and headed towards the Chennan Trading Company. As usual, he met Miss Qin on the third floor. ¡°Young Master Shen is here.¡± Miss Qin spoke softly as Shen Ling sat beside her. He picked up his teacup to have a drink, but before he did, he spoke first, ¡°I¡¯ve taken care of the matter, so I came here to tell you.¡± ¡°Thank you, Young Master Shen.¡± Miss Qin nodded with a perfect smile. Shen Ling couldn¡¯t see any flaws in her expression. To be honest, he even suspected that she was the one who had assigned those assassins. But then, this suspicion sounded absurd even though he still tucked it away in his heart. However, he decided not to think too much of it. As long as it didn¡¯t involve him and the people he cared about, he didn¡¯t want to bother himself with getting to the bottom of the issue. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡± Immediately after drinking the tea, he got up and was about to leave. ¡°Wait a minute.¡± Miss Qin raised her hand and said slowly, ¡°Well, I¡¯d like to trouble you to help me once more. Is that okay with you?¡± He raised his head and looked at her. ¡°What is it? I can think about it and get back to you.¡± She got up and said, ¡°I¡¯d like to ask you to help me recover a batch of goods. How about a third of the profits from the goods as a reward?¡± ¡°Recover a batch of goods?¡± Shen Ling asked as a trace of doubt flashed in his eyes. She nodded slowly and said, ¡°Actually, a batch of goods belonging to the Chennan Trading Company was stolen by a group of bandits from Green Mountain. I would like you to help me recover them.¡± This extra information didn¡¯t cure the doubts he had. ¡°Someone dared to touch the goods belonging to this company?¡± ¡±Yes!¡± Miss Qin nodded affirmatively.. Chapter 21 - They Can’t Do Anything to Hurt Me Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Seeing the doubtful look on Shen Ling¡¯s face, Miss Qin filled him in on what happened. Shen Ling had guessed right. Because the Chennan Trading Company was a very powerful group, normally, even if there was a merchant group that traveled without guards, as long as they had put on Chennan Trading Company¡¯s banner, bandits and robbers would keep out of their path. But there was one thing that Shen Ling did not expect to happen. Shen Ling turned to look at Miss Qin with a puzzled expression on his face. ¡°You said that someone had interfered and deliberately stopped the theft from being reported?¡± Miss Qin nodded her head and said in a slow voice, ¡°The Chennan Trading Company is not a united business. For example, someone stopped the process of our transaction because it didn¡¯t match their interests.¡± Shen Ling thought this over for a while and then asked, ¡°Who stole the goods?¡± ¡°Green Mountain Bandits.¡± Miss Qin replied calmly. ¡°Even if any of the other bandits knew about the goods, they wouldn¡¯t dare to attempt to steal them.¡± ¡°Green Mountain Bandits¡­¡± Upon hearing the name, Shen Ling could not help but sigh. The Green Mountain Bandits were notorious for being the number one force in the world of bandits. Not only were their members too numerous to count, but they were also a very powerful group. Even the government armies could do nothing to suppress them. Shen Ling thought this over some more and said in a slow voice, ¡°Miss Qin, I know that you trust me, but this is no easy matter to handle¡­¡± ¡°I know this.¡± Miss Qin nodded her head. ¡°If it was easy to deal with, I would not have troubled Young Master Shen.¡± As she said this, Miss Qin set a notebook on the table. ¡°What is this?¡± Shen Ling looked at the notebook and flipped through it upon Miss Qin¡¯s nod of approval. The famous leaders of the bandits and even detailed information on the strength of these people were clearly underlined. Shen Ling continued to look through the pages. This notebook, almost as thick as a tome, recorded everything worth knowing about the bandits here. From the origin of the bandits to their history later on, the book was a detailed record of the bandits. Shen Ling felt quite shocked at this massive amount of information collected. This book was even more detailed than some family tree. As Shen Ling was looking through the information on the bandits, Miss Qin headed into the secret chamber again. When Shen Ling finally finished reading the book from front to back, there was already a book on cultivation techniques on the table. It was called ¡®Regretless Mountain Fist.¡¯ Shen Ling lifted his head and asked, ¡°Miss Qin, what is this about?¡± Miss Qin said with a calm look on her face, ¡°The original payment will stay the same. Consider this cultivation technique book my advance for Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°Miss Qing is really too generous.¡± Shen Ling flipped through the ¡®Regretless Mountain Fist¡¯ book and saw the label of ¡®rank-eight upper-grade¡¯ stamped on it. He blinked his eyes rapidly and exclaimed in a loud voice. Stuffing the fist manual in his pocket, Shen Ling said with a smile on his face, ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in.¡± After he said that, Shen Ling stood up. Seeing that Shen Ling was heading out to leave, Miss Qin held the book that had all the information on the bandits up, and asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, aren¡¯t you going to take this book with you and look through it some more?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need.¡± Shen Ling turned his head, smiled, and said, ¡°I have already memorized everything in the book.¡± A flash of surprise shot across Miss Qin¡¯s eyes. By the time she came to her senses, Shen Ling had already gone. After coming back home from the Chennan Trading Company, Shen Ling put the ¡®Regretless Mountain Fist¡¯ book away and rubbed his temples heavily. Green Mountain Bandits. The first time he had come across them was through that bunch of swindlers who had impersonated them. But now, he was going to have to face the real deal. This was different from the time the swindlers entered the village. This time, he had to face the real Green Mountain Bandits and their weapons and equipment would prove to be far more superior than what the impersonators were waving around. It could be said that the Green Mountain Bandits were very well equipped with state of the art weapons, and they were on par with the royal army of the Great Qian Empire. They even had the triple crossbows. There was no chance of beating them if they were to face these bandits head-on. This was proving to be a very difficult situation! As he went through the information on the Green Mountain Bandits in his head, Shen Ling¡¯s eyes suddenly lit up. According to the information given to him by the Chennan Trading Company, the leader of the Green Mountain Bandits was different from the other bandit leaders. Unlike all the others, this person valued integrity and justice. Maybe, just maybe, they didn¡¯t need to fight¡­ The very next day. Shen Ling rode his horse to the top of the Green Mountain. As he rode up the winding and rugged mountain path, a fortress located at the top of the mountain started to show up in front of Shen Ling. ¡°Who are you? Why are you here? State your business.¡± Before he arrived at the mountain stronghold, an arrow landed on the ground in front of Shen Ling. Shen Ling cupped his hands and shouted out loud, ¡°I am Shen Ling from the Shen family. I would like to meet with your chief. Can you let him know?¡± ¡°Meet our chief?¡± A bandit gave Shen Ling a look and put away his sword. ¡°Wait right here. Don¡¯t move a muscle.¡± His words were crude and not polite at all, and after he said that, he turned around and walked into the forest. Some time later, the bandit reappeared and said to Shen Ling, ¡°The chief agrees to meet with you. You can follow me.¡± Shen Ling followed the bandit into the mountain fortress. He passed his horse to another bandit at the entrance gate of the fortress as he walked all the way into the fortress. Once they reached the top of the mountain, Shen Ling was greeted by a huge wooden house. The bandit walked into the house, bowed, cupped his fists, and said, ¡°Chief, Shen Ling is here to see you.¡± ¡°You can go now.¡± A man in his forties, who had a scholarly look to him, said in a slow voice. ¡°Yes.¡± The bandit respectfully made his way out of the house. Only then did he slowly shift his body around. Seeing that the bandit had left, the scholarly-looking chief turned to look at Shen Ling, giving him the once-over as he said, ¡°Why has the young master of the Shen family left Qi Hua City and come here? What business do you have with my people?¡± Shen Ling looked at the axemen surrounding their chief and smiled. ¡°I¡¯m here to discuss a business deal with the chief.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here to talk about business?¡± The chief suddenly burst out laughing. ¡°We only snatch things. Business is not something we do.¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°That might not be the case for long.¡± Seeing the confused look the chief was giving him, Shen Ling said, ¡°Chief, from what I know, you are troubled about your food supply. The food stored in the fortress will not last until next month¡¯s harvest.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± The chief glanced over at Shen Ling and laid himself down on a chair. ¡°Continue with what you¡¯re saying.¡± Shen Ling slowly opened his mouth to say, ¡°I am willing to exchange grain for the batch of items you have snatched from the Chennan Trading Company.¡± The chief stared at Shen Ling, his expression suddenly turning cold through and through. ¡°How do you know about this?¡± Shen Ling turned to look at the chief and said in a tone neither servile nor overbearing, ¡°Then for what reason does the chief think I came here for?¡± The two of them gave each other a look, and after some time had passed, the chief¡¯s face suddenly revealed a smile. The chief slammed his fists onto the table. ¡°So that¡¯s how it¡¯s going to be!¡¯ ¡°Take him down.¡± Before he finished speaking, the surrounding axemen instantly inched closer to Shen Ling. Shen Ling stood there without moving, totally ignoring the axemen approaching him. ¡°Stop where you are.¡± When the axemen were closing in on Shen Ling, the chief lifted his hand and turned to look at Shen Ling. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you dodge their attack just now?¡± Shen Ling swept his gaze to the surrounding axemen and said in a soft voice, ¡°Because they can¡¯t do anything to hurt me.¡± The chief clapped his hands. ¡°I like your confidence!¡± Suddenly, an axeman made a move and chopped his ax towards Shen Ling¡¯s chest. Shen Ling ducked to the side, and then directly crushed into the arms of the axeman. The blade of the ax slipped out of the axeman¡¯s hand, and Shen Ling caught it with his backhand, and set the blade on the neck of the axeman ¡ª all of this happened within a split of a moment. ¡°Did you see enough?¡± Shen Ling turned his eyes to look at the chief. His eyes were calm throughout all this. He could tell that the chief had been testing him this entire time. It was most likely that the chief had arranged this surprise attack from the axeman after the bandit had notified him of Shen Ling¡¯s arrival. As for what would occur if he somehow didn¡¯t manage to dodge it? One simple word: Die.. Chapter 22 - His Cultivation Skills Are More Than Enough Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling knew very well that his identity as Elder Young Master from the Shen family wasn¡¯t seen as anything special in the eyes of the bandits. Therefore, he had to be even more aggressive. ¡°Good.¡± The chief turned his gaze to look at Shen Ling and nodded his head, clearly satisfied with what he saw. ¡°You have both strength and courage. You are qualified to make a deal with us.¡± ¡°Come, bring a chair so that Young Master Shen could have a seat!¡± As he said this, two axemen carried a chair over. Shen Ling retracted the ax from the axeman¡¯s neck, then returned it to the axeman. Seeing this, the chief showed his appreciation for the gesture by saying, ¡°I hope Young Master Shen is not offended by their rudeness.¡± Shen Ling smiled and replied, ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just don¡¯t know where my suggestion stands with you. Have you already made up your mind?¡± The chief said in a soft voice, ¡°You were right. Currently, the fortress has a grain shortage. We only have enough grain to last for half a month. However, the goods from Chennan Trading Company do not come cheap. How much is Young Master Shen willing to fork up in exchange for the goods?¡± Shen Ling hesitated for a moment there. Without a doubt, the chief had placed the hot potato into his hands. If he gave them a low price, the chief of the bandits might immediately turn on him and break the deal from that point on. On the other hand, if he set the price too high, then he would suffer losses. The thing Shen Ling had to watch out for was that he had no clue the actual value of the goods. He only heard rumors that they were very valuable. He simply could not make an offer right now! Giving this some good thought, with a smile on his face, Shen Ling said, ¡°Chief, I think it¡¯s better if you name your price.¡± The chief of the bandits turned to look at Shen Ling and said, ¡°Young Master Shen is a really cautious man. Then how about a price of 9,000 stones of grain. What do you think?¡± ¡°9,000 stones?¡± Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes. According to his calculations, one stone of grain equaled 50 kilograms, so 9,000 stones of grain equaled 450,000 kilograms. If he calculated correctly, if each person in this fortress consumed 50 grams of grain per day, then that meant there should be more than 3,000 people in this group. Such a large number. The chief of the bandits saw the hesitation in Shen Ling¡¯s eyes and said in a slow voice, ¡°What? Is the price too high?¡± ¡°Of course not.¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth and said in a soft voice, ¡°It¡¯s just that I did not expect that the chief would be so genuine towards my request and thus I am slightly stunned. Then it¡¯s a deal ¡ª 9,000 stones of grain for the batch of goods.¡± ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem at all.¡± The chief nodded his head and said, ¡°You can take the batch of goods with you at any time, but I want to see the grains by seven days¡¯ time.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t see it by that time, then I will go and get it myself.¡± The chief said these words very calmly. It was because of his confidence in the strength of his people that he was not very worried about whether Shen Ling would uphold his end of the bargain or not. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I, Shen Ling, will keep my word.¡± Shen Ling said in a deep and rumbling voice. In all honesty, this trip to the fortress was turning out smoother than he had originally expected. Even though he was confident that he would leave here all in one piece, he wasn¡¯t so sure about being able to snatch all the goods back all on his own. If he could not get the goods, then there was no point in using force and starting a fight in the first place. After another round of discussion, the chief personally stood up to send off his guest. Shen Ling made his way out of the house. Soon after, a bandit took Shen Ling to the site where they were storing the batch of goods from the Chennan Trading Company. The drivers of the cargo, who had also been kidnapped by the bandits, were released at this time. The drivers were scared out of their minds. When they saw the bandits, their bodies quivered out of fear. After figuring out what had gone down, the drivers all looked relieved and delighted. They drove the carriages and slowly followed behind Shen Ling. The chief of the bandits was also there to send them off. However, just as they were about to reach the entrance of the mountain fortress, Shen Ling noted that there were a bunch of bandits standing around. A bearded bandit was staring at him fiercely. ¡°Ma San, what do you think you are doing?¡± When the chief saw the bearded bandit and his crowd, he appeared very furious. ¡°Ma San greets the chief.¡± When he saw the chief of the bandits, Ma San immediately bowed his head down. ¡°I heard from my brothers from the Green Mountain Village that they saw the murderer of Gu Dashan, so I¡¯m here to pay him a visit.¡± The chief thought it over for a few seconds before saying in a slow voice, ¡°Gu Dashan, from the Green Mountain Village?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Ma San nodded his head and said in a slow voice, ¡°Gu Dashan was like a brother to me. The last time I was seriously hurt, he was one who saved my life and I wouldn¡¯t have been here but for him. Now that someone has killed him, I just can¡¯t turn a blind eye.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always risked my life for the betterment of the fortress for so many years, and I have asked for nothing. Now, please let me avenge Gu Dashan¡¯s death.¡± Ma San¡¯s words came from his heart. However, the chief had just made a deal with Shen Ling. How could he break his promise just like that? ¡°No, Young Master Shen is a distinguished guest of mine.¡± The chief turned Ma San down. Shen Ling turned to look at Ma San and quickly recalled the information he had memorized on Ma San in the bandits handbook. This particular fellow had cultivated a body technique and proved to be quite capable of wielding the saber. He was notorious among the bandits for his combat skills. However, in the bandit fortress, this guy¡¯s strength was not the most powerful. He was not someone who Shen Ling should be wary of. ¡°If it¡¯s a life-and-death battle, I¡¯d be glad to put a finish to it.¡± Just as Ma San was about to back down, Shen Ling spoke up at this time. ¡°Come forward!¡± Ma San did not beat around the bush. The chief turned to look at Shen Ling with a frown on his face. ¡°Young Master Shen, you¡­¡± Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°If I accidentally kill him, don¡¯t blame me for his death.¡± The chief of the bandits said in a slow voice, ¡°There are rules for life-and-death battles that you must follow. The matters of the fight must be sorted out within the battlefield. But you have to think this over carefully. This is not some child¡¯s play. Once you accept, you can¡¯t back out.¡± The chief gave Shen Ling a quiet look. It was obvious what he meant. He knew that Shen Ling was a very courageous and skilled man, but Ma Shan was a fighter who had been through countless battles. Shen Ling might be no match for Ma San on the battlefield. It was still a hope of his that Shen Ling would send more grain to alleviate the food crisis. Naturally, it was not his wish for Shen Ling to die here. But as the chief of the bandits, he could not just let Shen Ling walk away without participating in the battle first. That would make him appear biased towards outsiders to his people. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t be a problem for me.¡± Unfortunately, Shen Ling completely put aside the bandit leader¡¯s goodwill. Instead, he happily accepted the challenge. There was no need to arrange an arena for a life-and-death battle. The bandits formed a ring around the fighters and a make-do arena was created just like that. ¡°Pass me a saber.¡± Positioned opposite of Ma San, Shen Ling looked at the bandits surrounding him and said in a soft voice. Unfortunately, none of the bandits wanted to give him their sabers. ¡°Here, take mine.¡± Just as Shen Ling was starting to feel slightly awkward, a bandit tossed his saber over. This saber was of average quality and even had a slight crack in the blade. It looked much weaker than the good saber Ma San was clutching in his hand. To others, if they fought like this, Shen Ling would definitely lose. However, according to Shen Ling, any saber would be good enough for him to take down his opponent. ¡°You can begin.¡± Under the eyes of the chief and countless other bandits, the life-and-death battle had officially begun. Shen Ling right away launched an attack. He adopted the mountain-splitting stance and activated the instant slash. Before the group of bandits could see what happened, a gush of blood spurted from Ma San¡¯s throat and then his entire head fell to the ground. Within no more than a few seconds, the battle was already over. The group of bandits stared down at Ma San¡¯s dead body, their faces filled with doubt and shock. What happened just now? ¡°Here¡¯s you saber. Thanks!¡± Shen Ling returned the saber to the bandit and thanked him. The bandit looked dumbfounded. He studied the saber stained with blood in his hand and couldn¡¯t imagine that it was his saber that had chopped off Ma San¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s¡­it¡¯s alright¡­¡± After hesitating for a good moment, the bandit finally spoke. Shen Ling had already turned around and prepared to leave, his mind already focused on their journey ahead.. Chapter 23 - Rigorous Training Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The bandits all watched Shen Ling¡¯s receding back and then dispersed to go about their own business. When the chief of the bandits got back to his tent, one of the bandits following behind him asked, ¡°Big Brother, you¡¯re going to let him take that batch of goods with him just like that?¡± The chief returned to his main chair and sat down. He said in a soft voice, ¡°Do you have a problem with that?¡± The bandit was unwilling to let this go. He said, ¡°That batch of goods we snatched is worth at least ten thousand taels of silver. If we keep them¡­¡± ¡°Bang!¡± The chief slammed his fist onto the armrest of his chair, and the bandit immediately shut his mouth. Looking at the bandit standing below, the chief¡¯s eyes became increasingly cold as he said, ¡°Fourth Brother, I¡¯ve told you that being a bandit is one thing, but you also have to know when to stop being greedy, and when to behave yourself and not cause trouble.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t forget, those items belong to the Chennan Trading Company. It¡¯s no good keeping them in our possession.¡± That bandit said, ¡°But the man who got us this deal explicitly said that the Chennan Trading Company would not look into the whereabouts of this batch of goods. Otherwise, why would we¡­¡± The chief cut him off, ¡°Can you guarantee that the master of that person will keep their word? If you hadn¡¯t made that reckless decision when I was absent that day, things wouldn¡¯t have turned out this way today.¡± ¡°That batch of goods must be sent away as soon as possible to avoid endless disasters.¡± ¡°The Shen family¡¯s Elder Young Master has come here as a representative of the Chennan Trading Company. In fact, we should thank him for taking back the goods. He¡¯s doing us a favor.¡± ¡°If we keep this batch of goods, some day the Chennan Trading Company might attack us for what we did, and when that happens, you will be the ones to blame.¡± The chief¡¯s words was firm and resolute. Hearing his words, the bandits standing below revealed shameful expressions on their faces. At that time, they were greedy and easily bought that person¡¯s promise that the Chennan Trading Company would not go after them, but they completely forgot that they were much weaker than the Chennan Trading Company. The difference between them and the Chennan Trading Company was like an ant in the face of an elephant. Looking at the bandits standing below him, the chief said in a cold voice, ¡°Also, remember to keep your people in line. Next time when something like what Ma San did occurs again, don¡¯t blame me for acting out violently.¡± ¡°We got it!¡± Everyone responded together. ¡­ Shen Ling had no idea what was going on in the bandit fortress. In the meantime, he was able to successfully deliver the goods from the mountaintop back to the Chennan Trading Company. Miss Qin stared at the incoming carriages that entered the backyard of the Chennan Trading Company and looked at Shen Ling in much surprise. ¡°Young Master Shen, you are truly capable. You actually managed to deliver the goods back to us in no time.¡± With a smile on his face, Shen Ling said, ¡°I made a deal with the bandits so that they would give the goods back.¡± ¡°You can check and see if there¡¯s anything missing or if there are any damaged goods.¡± Miss Qin nodded her head. After doing one round of inspection, Miss Qin led Shen Ling up to the third floor of the store. ¡°What is this?¡± Staring down at the paper in Miss Qin¡¯s hands, Shen Ling looked very confused. Miss Qin pushed it into Shen Ling¡¯s hands. ¡°This is a part of our original agreement. You will get a third of the profits from the goods, that is 4,000 silver taels total. Young Master Shen can take this certificate and cash it at any branch of the Chennan Trading Company at any time.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. Initially, he had thought that this batch of goods would be worth a lot, but he never expected it to have brought him so many benefits¡­ A third of the profits turned over 4,000 taels of silver. It was enough to buy two-thirds of the Shen family¡¯s property. Shen Ling thought this over in his head and smiled. ¡°Thank you so much, Miss Qin.¡± Miss Qin said with a faint smile on her face, ¡°You are more than welcome. Young Master Shen deserves it. You have helped me so much. This is just a small token of my appreciation.¡± ¡°Then consider it a win-win.¡± Shen Ling said without thinking and the two of them laughed together. Through the Shen family¡¯s ties in the food trade, he found out that Green Mountain Bandits had a food shortage. After that, he risked his life to enter the fortress and have a talk with the chief of the bandits. Every step of the way had a meticulous plan in place as well as calm judgment. If this were some ordinary person taking such a risk, they would have died for sure. Shen Ling did not deny that he had been very lucky. However, courage and resourcefulness played a huge part in his survival. After chatting with Miss Qin for a while, Shen Ling stood up and made his way out of the Chennan Trading Company. He was pretty transparent about the deal he made with the bandits and didn¡¯t hide from Miss Qin that he was using food as a bargaining chip for the goods. But he turned Miss Qin down when she offered to help. The Shen family was the biggest landlord in all of Qi Hua City. Not to mention their other resources like food¡­ There was enough food! When he got back home, Shen Ling had some people transport the food, but at the same time, he didn¡¯t put aside his own cultivation. No matter what, strength was the currency for the strong. If he wasn¡¯t endowed with a full set of cultivation skills and strength today, he might not have come out of the bandit camp alive. As Shen Ling calmed himself down, his cultivation training officially started. ¡®You have completed one full circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency +5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one full practice session of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one full practice session of Treading on Air, proficiency +5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one perfect practice session of the Iron Shirt, proficiency +10.¡¯ Shen Ling cultivated all four techniques in one afternoon. As the number of his skillsets increased, he had to take plenty of time out to practice each one of them every day. Among these cultivation techniques, the Iron Shirt was a body-tempering technique. Training this cultivation technique for a long period of time could easily injure the body. However, Shen Ling possessed a great deal of inner energy, so physical injuries were not a serious problem for him. Even though the Longevity Technique did not provide him with strong inner energy, reaching the fourth level of the Longevity Technique allowed Shen Ling¡¯s survival rate to increase at a great level. Just like that, the sky was darkening outside. Shen Ling turned to look at the ¡®Regretless Mountain Fist¡¯ book in front of him. He drew in a deep breath and flipped open the book. This was Miss Qin¡¯s advance previously, and it was a rank-eight upper-grade cultivation technique. ¡°This fist technique is quite interesting! Very interesting indeed.¡± After reading through the entire fist technique manual, Shen Ling had an inkling and found this technique quite intriguing. The person who was behind this fist technique must be a very brave and vigorous individual. If there was one word to describe the entirety of the Regretless Mountain Fist, it would have to be ¡®fierce.¡¯ But overall, it turned out the fist technique was not as complex as the rank-nine low-grade Longevity Technique. Shen Ling went ahead to try and cultivate this new technique. ¡®You have completed one full practice session of the Regretless Mountain Fist, proficiency +5.¡¯ Success in one fell swoop! This¡­ This was exactly like how he felt when cultivating the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. Shen Ling quickly began immersing himself in cultivating the fist technique. Shen Ling executed one punch after another. The fierce fist caused Shen Ling to rip apart his clothes after only one punch. He decided to take off his clothes, which were in the way anyways and swung his fists around even more freely than before. ¡®You have completed one perfect practice session of the Regretless Mountain Fist, proficiency + 10.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one perfect practice session of the Regretless Mountain Fist, proficiency + 10.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one full practice session¡­¡¯ In just under two hours, Shen Ling had successfully broken through to the first level of Regretless Mountain Fist. ¡°Regretless!¡± Shen Ling punched the air, which caused the space before him to explode. ¡°Mountain!¡± Shen Ling made a step forward with his right foot and tossed out a punch with his left fist. ¡°Fist!¡± When Shen Ling stepped forward with his left foot and threw out his third punch, a huge explosion rang through the sky. ¡°Phew!¡± Shen Ling, who by now had practiced for more than two hours, shook his head, then raised a basin of water and poured it all over his face. ¡°This is so awesome!¡± A cold sensation immediately washed over Shen Ling¡¯s brain. After practicing his core strength, he no longer needed to worry about catching a cold or having to deal with a fever. Very soon, Shen Ling threw out another fist again. He continued to cultivate non-stop.. Chapter 24 - Life Extending Power Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Another day had come with the sun rising in the east and the return of the cool autumn air. Shen Ling rose bright and early and continued training his fierce Regretless Mountain Fist in the yard. He used his life energy to guide the air, and his Qi soon sank to the level of his Dantian. His chest was light and his abdomen was heavy. Then, he punched the air, and his body moved with the force. When his punch was released, a loud thunderous sound exploded in the space before him. After that, Shen Ling stepped forward with his right foot, followed by his left foot, and swung his arm out horizontally with the weight of a sledgehammer. He slashed the air with his fists! Regretless Mountain Fist, Regretless Mountain Fist. Shen Ling had no idea what this fist technique was capable of, but every time he threw out a punch, it was squeezing out all the extreme potential inside his body, all for the sake of the constant explosions that would erupt upon the wake of his fists. Shen Ling had an inkling that this Regretless Mountain Fist was similar to the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. If he could combine the aura of the Regretless Mountain Fist with the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, what effect would it have on his cultivation? Feeling curious, Shen Ling decided he would give this a try. He held his saber in his hands, wanting to use the blade to release the aura of the Regretless Mountain Fist. If he could squeeze out the extreme potential of his body, he would be able to unleash a blade power that surpassed all limits. Shen Ling waved his saber around, trying to harness the power. After a few swings, Shen Ling felt as light as a feather. With this wonderful feeling enhancing his mood, Shen Ling swung his blade around some more. The Qi of the Regretless Mountain Fist began to emerge from his body, and then became one with the blade. ¡®You have comprehended a new saber technique, proficiency +10,000.¡¯ Shen Ling inhaled deeply and recalled the feeling from before. He could feel the power of the blade just now. This kind of power was even stronger than what the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique was capable of. It made him feel like just one swing from his blade could cause an entire mountain to shake. ¡°I¡¯ll call this regretless mountain stance!¡± Just like that, Shen Ling had a name for this saber technique. Just like the mountain-splitting stance, mountain-shaking stance, and the Mountain-cleaving stance, Shen Ling chose to name this new style the regretless mountain stance. At the same time, the regretless mountain stance had officially become his secret weapon. Combined with the energy of the saber, this move was proving to be unstoppable. Shen Ling closed his eyes to review his information. ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Longevity Technique [rank-seven low-grade cultivation technique, Level 4, proficiency: 14,000/50,000]¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-seven upper-grade saber technique, Level 5, proficiency 70,200/100,000]¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Iron Shirt [rank-nine upper-grade cultivation technique, Level 1, proficiency 700/1,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Treading on Air [rank-three low-grade cultivation technique, Level 1, proficiency 580/1,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Regretless Mountain Fist [rank-eight upper-grade cultivation technique, Level 1, proficiency 350/1,000]¡¯ ¡®Status: Normal.¡¯ Shen Ling opened his eyes, feeling very satisfied. In a relatively short amount of time, he had already mastered five cultivation techniques, and they all had great potential to be unearthed at a later time. However, he had a problem and that was that he didn¡¯t have enough time on his hands. Initially, Shen Ling thought that he could increase his time of cultivation to resolve this issue. But now, it seemed like this wasn¡¯t a plausible solution. He mulled this over in his head for a long time. Shen Ling decided he would focus on cultivating the three techniques that could be improved in a relatively short period of time to the third level. This way, his strength would be able to see a huge leap. Time passed just like that. After two days of cultivation, Shen Ling slowly opened his eyes. In these past two days, he had cultivated these three techniques to the second level, and from what he could see, these three cultivation techniques had more surprises to them than he had ever expected. When the Iron Shirt reached the second level, his inner energy reserves became more effective. It made Shen Ling, who already had a high defense system, even stronger and more durable. Shen Ling¡¯s body also saw a vast transformation. His muscles bulged from his arms and his strength was 10x stronger as well. This was the magical proponent of the body strengthening techniques, and the improvement could be seen all around. The second out of the three cultivation techniques to enter the second level was the Regretless Mountain Fist that Shen Ling had started cultivating not too long ago. After reaching the second level, Shen Ling discovered more ways to draw out energy from the Regretless Mountain Fist. This method of exerting force was just not limited to the Regretless Mountain Fist. It could be done with the other cultivation methods as well. The last cultivation technique was Treading on Air. Even though Shen Ling rarely used this technique, this unusual cultivation technique would still be of great help to him in case of an emergency. The benefits of entering the second level were very clear. Previously, he could only take one step in the air, but now he could take two steps in the air before falling to the ground. After releasing the air from his abdomen, Shen Ling finished his training session. He made his way to the lobby of the Shen family home. Master Shen saw that it was Shen Ling and looked up to receive him. ¡°The food is ready. When do you plan to deliver it?¡± ¡°As soon as possible.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°Those bandits are very impatient, but they really have nothing to lose. Miss Qin from the Chennan Trading Company rewarded me with 4,000 taels of silver earlier, so it¡¯s more than enough to cover the 9,000 stones of food.¡± Master Shen stared at Shen Ling in shock and said, ¡°4,000 taels of silver?!¡± Shen Ling nodded his head, ¡°Yes, it¡¯s true.¡± After confirming with Shen Ling, Master Shen secretly clicked his tongue. Since he started this business, the Shen family¡¯s grain business did not do too bad, and his annual income was about 2,000 taels of silver. If they were looking at pure profit, it would be even lower. And what about Shen Ling? How much wealth did he amass? First, he received a large number of valuable goods from the Green Mountain Village, and then he earned 4,000 taels of silver from the Chennan Trading Company. Master Shen never expected Shen Ling to turn out to be a business genius! After regaining his senses, Master Shen let out a long sigh and said, ¡°You¡¯re only wasting your talents away by not taking on the family business.¡± Shen Ling¡¯s face remained as calm as ever. ¡°It¡¯s only a coincidence.¡± Master Shen shook his head back and forth and said, ¡°Luck is also a part of it. I know I will leave the Shen family in good hands when I turn it over to you.¡± Shen Ling gave Master Shen a look and said in a soft voice, ¡°That is not an urgent matter.¡± All of a sudden, Shen Ling asked again, ¡°By the way, how is your Longevity Technique cultivation going?¡± Master Shen shook his head back and forth. ¡°I¡¯ve seen no signs of progress. It¡¯s still the same as ever.¡± Shen Ling said, ¡°Let me help you.¡± Under Master Shen¡¯s puzzled eyes, Shen Ling made his way to his side and began massaging his shoulders. Two balls of glowing green inner energy surrounded Shen Ling¡¯s palm and entered Master Shen¡¯s body along with Shen Ling¡¯s strength. Very soon, Shen Ling had a feeling that something was not right. There appeared to be a lot of problems with Master Shen¡¯s body. All of his internal organs were failing him, and it appeared that he was beyond cure. Master Shen had not yet reached his fiftieth year yet, but his body was similar to that of an old man in his sixties or seventies. Repair! Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes, and a long stream of inner energy poured forth from his palms. He still had some inner energy in his body and he planned to use it to save Master Shen. Two hours passed like this, and slowly Master Shen¡¯s hair started to turn from white back to black. All signs of aging had completely disappeared. ¡°Do you feel the results?¡± Seeing that the problems in Master Shen¡¯s body were pretty much gone, Shen Ling slowly retracted his hands. ¡°Oh my¡­!¡± Master Shen opened his eyes and stared down at his arms. He felt that his body had now returned to its youthful state. He did not feel weak at all. Master Shen never thought this could be possible. This Shen Ling was able to extend his life! Chapter 25 - You Guys Go Ahead and Attack! Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling shook his head back and forth when he saw the grateful expression Master Shen had on his face. He was shocked when he saw just how ill Master Shen was. Master Shen¡¯s body was so out of shape, he had no idea how he could still be alive. He must be hanging by a thread. With his life hanging so precariously over the edge, Shen Ling was thankful he was able to get to him in time. Shen Ling turned to give Master Shen a look and said, ¡°If there¡¯s nothing else, I¡¯ll go ahead and transport the food¡­¡± Master Shen gave Shen Ling a look and asked, ¡°You will go personally? Can¡¯t you leave this to the bandits to transport the food themselves?¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth and said, ¡°I want to keep the bandits in their own territory. And that¡¯s because I don¡¯t trust them. If something were to ever happen, we can settle things over there.¡± Master Shen nodded his head. ¡°Okay, then. Be sure you are careful.¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. A few minutes later, after they packed up, Shen Ling and a large number of carriages filled with food left the Shen family residence. The caravan departed from Qi Hua City and stopped at the foot of the Green Mountain after two hours. In front of them, there were bandits waiting in front of their fortress. When they saw that it was Shen Ling, the chief of the bandits smiled and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, you really kept your word¡­ ¡° With a smile on his face, Shen Ling said, ¡°Even you bandits won¡¯t go back on your word, so naturally I will keep my promise.¡± The chief smiled and said, ¡°Young Master Shen¡¯s words seems to have a hint of prejudice to us.¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. ¡°You are wrong. There is no prejudice. After all, because of the difficult times, some of you had no other choice but to go down the mountain to steal and plunder for a living. It was all part of your survival.¡± ¡°I just dislike your unscrupulous way of living.¡± The chief shook his head back and forth. ¡°If we had a choice, why would we be willing to be a group of bandits on a mountain? If you want to blame someone, then blame the Emperor for not lifting a finger to help. Our kingdom is definitely in a sorry state currently.¡± ¡°They raised our taxes, took our land and property, and even forced us into a deadend. If we did not turn to a life of banditry, what else can we do? We can¡¯t just lie down and wait for our deaths, right?¡± The chief¡¯s words was very sincere, but Shen Ling could only smile very faintly. ¡°Maybe you are right¡­¡± Shen Ling turned to look at the bandit leader, then said word by word, ¡°But what about those villagers who were all slaughtered by you, and the villages that were plundered by you? What did they do wrong?¡± ¡°Make no mistake, these modes of making a living have their own validity but using such a reason under the disguise of violence and sin is altogether a meaningless existence.¡± ¡°Why is the name Green Mountain Bandits so notorious in these parts? You and I know full well why.¡± The chief helplessly shook his head. ¡°It seems that there is no way I can convince Young Master Shen otherwise.¡± Shen Ling shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss this some more at a later time.¡± With a wave of his hand, Shen Ling motioned for the servants to move all the food to the side of the road. The chief nodded his head, and the bandits by his side quickly made their way to check the quality of the food. Not too long after, the bandit who finished his inspection reported, ¡°Reporting to the chief, the food is in good condition.¡± ¡°Young Master Shen has proven to us that he is truly a gentleman.¡± The chief turned to look at Shen Ling and said in a slow voice, ¡°Please send my regards to Master Shen for me. We will meet again when we have the chance.¡± Shen Ling smiled and said, ¡°I¡¯m flattered. I might not qualify as a gentleman, but I certainly don¡¯t want to be a villain.¡± ¡°As for the future! It¡¯s better if we don¡¯t see each other again.¡± Seeing Shen Ling and his servants disappear down the road, the chief of the bandits said in a slow voice, ¡°This young master from the Shen family is extraordinarily courageous. I wonder if such a thing is good or bad.¡± The bandit standing beside him said, ¡°Then why don¡¯t I go after him and kill him?¡± The chief shook his head back and forth. ¡°There¡¯s no need. That guy just now had his eye on you. Looks like he knows of your existence¡­¡± The bandit next to him scratched his head in bewilderment. He did not understand what was going on. ¡°Phew.¡± On the other side, Shen Ling, who was leaving the foot of the Green Mountain, was frowning slightly. Just now, standing next to the chief of the bandits, he saw the bandit whom the handbook had marked as extremely dangerous. He was a crazily obsessed martial artist. Though his intelligence was not all that high, he was very strong. His martial arts talent was extremely fierce. It was rumored that he had cultivated a body refining cultivation technique to an extremely deep level and was the go-to man for martial arts advice among the bandits of Green Mountain. Shen Ling had no idea why the crazed martial artist stayed by the chief of the bandits¡¯ side for more than ten years. But from the imposing way he held on his body, he would certainly be a difficult opponent on the battlefield. Luckily for him, this guy wasn¡¯t there on the day he first arrived at the fortress. Shen Ling squinted his eyes. He did not like this feeling of being controlled by others. ¡­ Two days later, in the southern square of the sharecroppers¡¯ village. A gust of autumn wind blew through the village. Shen Ling studied the hundred-odd young and strong sharecroppers standing in front of him. He took off his coat and put it to the side. ¡°Come forward!¡± Shen Ling motioned for the hundred of so young and strong farmers to step forward. His face was full of intimidation. ¡°I¡¯ll volunteer to go first.¡± A young and strong farmer stepped out of the queue, brandishing a wooden saber in his hand. ¡°Ah!¡± No one had told them they could begin. This was not a competition with rules they needed to adhere to. Shen Ling looked at the young farmer who was charging at him with a fearless look in his eyes. Shen Ling pivoted and stood in a Regretless Mountain Fist stance. ¡°Pa! Pa!¡± The young and strong farmer and Shen Ling moved past each other. Shen Ling lightly punched the young man on the back and knocked him to the ground. ¡°You guys should attack together in one go. Otherwise, you will all be goners. This is nothing. I don¡¯t feel tired at all.¡± There was a smile on Shen Ling¡¯s face as he watched the young man on the ground get up. These young and strong farmers saw a huge progress in their combat skills during this time. However, compared to Shen Ling¡¯s speed of improvement, they were moving at a very sluggish pace. Shen Ling did not break a sweat as he fought the young and strong farmer. He had to work to keep himself from feeling bored. ¡°Attack together now!¡± The people holding wooden sabers all ground their teeth. They admitted that Shen Ling was a very powerful force, but he was obviously turning his nose up at them with these words. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Shen Ling shook his body mightily and kept right on swinging using the Regretless Mountain Fist stance. The young and strong farmers all charged forward at the very same time. To them, if they could land a punch onto Shen Ling¡¯s body, this would be a great success worth celebrating over. ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Ahhhh!!¡± ¡°Ouch!!¡± For a moment there, strange sounds kept ringing in the air above the southern square of the village. The villagers, who were watching not too far away, all had smiles on their faces. They could see that the young and strong farmers were being thrown one by one to the side by Shen Ling. Shen Ling kept a calm and composed expression on his face the whole time. ¡°Young Master Shen, you¡¯re really very strong.¡± An old farmer looked down at his own arm, then looked at Shen Ling¡¯s arm to compare the two of them. He had to admit the mass of muscles bulging on Shen Ling¡¯s arm was bigger than the arms of all the number of people who had worked as a farmer in the village combined. ¡°Yes, yes.¡± The woman on the side also nodded her head. ¡°It would be great if my husband was like Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°Stop your daydreaming.¡± Another woman on the side said in a blunt voice, ¡°Even if your husband had such a body, you would still find him ugly.¡± For a moment there, the village became a very lively place to be. On the square. Even though Shen Ling had already beaten up a lot of the young and strong sharecroppers in the plaza, it did not put a dent in the number of sharecroppers surrounding him. ¡°Go ahead!¡± Shen Ling turned to look at the young and strong farmers surrounding him and did not move a muscle. A strange expression popped up on his face at this time. His punches and kicks could not reach the wooden knives. If the young farmers did not charge, the distance would put him at a loss. If he relied on his Iron Shirt to defeat these young and capable farmers, this would be an altogether meaningless move. After all, he was here today to train his reflexes¡­ At this moment in time, he could not depend on the Iron Shirt for an easy victory.. Chapter 26 - Fierce Tiger Climbs Down the Mountain Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling was a very ambitious person. He wanted to become a true expert and not just rely on his cultivation to get him through a battle. To add to that¡­ The Iron Shirt Technique was among one of the techniques he fell back on to help him turn the tides in his favor. But at present, it did not make him invincible. If he came across a large scale of attacks that could put a hole through his defense system in a relatively short period of time, his inner energy from the Iron Shirt would be rapidly reduced until there would be zero protection. After all, he did not need to face all attacks head-on. Shen Ling felt that by training his reaction and dodging abilities, he would able to build a good enough defense barrier in order to avoid getting beaten by his foe. However¡­ ¡°You go ahead.¡± ¡°No, you go!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to go.¡± All of the young and strong farmers turned to look at each other. None of them made the move to attack Shen Ling. ¡°Let¡¯s all go together.¡± Another young and strong farmer made the suggestion. ¡°Okay!¡± The group of young and strong farmers said all at once. ¡°Three.¡± ¡°Two.¡± ¡°One.¡± At that moment, the square fell silent. The strong and young farmer had clearly counted down to three, but when the time came for them to attack, none of the young and strong farmers made a move. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to go too?¡± ¡°Shut your mouth!¡± Looking at the young and strong farmers surrounding him, Shen Ling could not help but sigh. Whether it had to do with his identity as the young master of the Shen family or due to the might of his strength, these young and strong farmers were afraid to touch him. Just as he was about to give up, a whistling of wind sounded out from behind him. Shen Ling unconsciously ducked to the side. The one who had launched the attack was a young and strong farmer who had a calm expression on his face. ¡°Why are you all hesitating? Don¡¯t you know who Young Master Shen is by now? Have you considered that even if we have the ability to hurt Young Master Shen¡­ that Young Master Shen will not blame you?¡± ¡°Go now!¡± Hearing his words, the farmers finally came to an understanding of what was going on. For a moment there, their attack came in sudden waves and Shen Ling was unable to dodge them all. ¡°This¡­¡± When a young and strong farmer slammed his wooden blade onto Shen Ling¡¯s body and saw that the reverberating force caused his wooden blade to fly right out of his hands, he could not help but shout out in surprise. Just like that, the wooden saber was swiped away by Shen Ling. It was already obvious who was the victorious side was going to be. Shen Ling, who was the only one standing in the arena, looked at the surrounding young and strong farmers who were slowly getting up. While cupping his fists, he said, ¡°Thank you for cooperating with me.¡± Although they had a rough start, it was still a good starting point for his training. In this training session, Shen Ling focused on his dodging and reaction skills. The young and strong farmers threw everything they had learned at Shen Ling. But Shen Ling was always a few steps ahead of them every time and managed to block their blows each time they attacked. With this battle, the second round of training commenced very quickly. At this time, the young and strong farmers no longer waited around to attack. They already found out that Shen Ling did not even wince when their wooden blades fell on his body. Shen Ling¡¯s defense abilities continued to amaze them. But at the same time, they were feeling very relieved that their blows did not do much to harm their eldest young master. After some time had passed. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough.¡± The young and strong farmers bent over with their hands on their knees. They turned to look at Shen Ling who seemed to still have some energy left in him and waved their hands all at the same time. More than a hundred people were up against one person. Just thinking of this made everyone quite embarrassed. However, the young and strong farmers didn¡¯t feel so bad losing to Shen Ling. To them, Shen Ling was a very powerful martial artist, so it was perfectly normal for them to lose to him. ¡°Thank you, everyone, for all your hard work.¡± Shen Ling released his fist, put on his coat, and said to the young and strong farmers with a smile on his face. ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard at all.¡± The young and strong farmers said at the same time. After leaving the southern square, Shen Ling made a trip to visit the Yang family. Due to the fact that school was not over yet, Yang Jian was still at home, helping his children with their studies. ¡°Young Master Shen has arrived.¡± Seeing that it was Shen Ling, Yang Jian quickly stood up. ¡°Yun¡¯er, go ahead and brew a pot of tea for our guest.¡± ¡°Yes, Master.¡± The young girl glanced over at Shen Ling, and her face immediately turned a crimson red. She bowed her head, turned around, and headed to the kitchen. On the other side of the room, Yang Jian turned to look at Shen Ling and said with a smile on his face, ¡°Young Master Shen, please have a seat. What brings you here today?¡± Shen Ling said with a smile on his face, ¡°I came here today to check up on the progress of the village wall. I just happened to be passing by, so I came to pay you a visit.¡± After having said that, Shen Ling looked around at his surroundings. ¡°Mr. Yang has already stayed in the village for a few days. How do you feel about it?¡± With a smile on his face, Yang Jian said, ¡°Everything is going great. I find that the people in the village are quite friendly.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. After chatting for some time, Shen Ling did not want to overstay his visit so he returned to Qi Hua City in the afternoon. Just like that¡­ A month had gone by. The time had arrived for the farmers of the Great Qian Dynasty to harvest their fields. To the Shen family, these two months were of utmost importance. This was because the Shen family business was linked to food. Families like the Shen¡¯s heavily relied on their harvest for income and the plentifulness of their harvest also had to do with the considerations for the following year. ¡°Such a beautiful scenery.¡± Shen Ling had gotten to the farm early in the morning. He stared across at the golden wheat waves in front of him. A dazzling smile was on his face. ¡°From what I see, the harvest this year is really good.¡± A young and strong farmer held up his sickle and followed behind Shen Ling as he said, ¡°From our estimates, it looks like everyone¡¯s share will also be higher than the previous years.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very good.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head and said. In a place like this, which was very much similar to the era of his previous life, farming entirely relied on heaven¡¯s will. Once a disaster like drought or flood hits, the lack of harvest would pose a huge problem. Their harvest entirely depended on their fortunes with the weather. If the farmers were to be so lucky as to be blessed with good weather for the entire year, by the time the harvest season came around, they would be sure to reap the rewards. ¡°Is the wall ready yet?¡± After turning his eyes away from the field, Shen Ling looked back at the young and strong farmer and asked him this. The young farmer said, ¡°It¡¯s already done. According to Young Master¡¯s orders, the wall was built around the village.¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. No natural disasters had occurred this year, and the grain was about to be harvested. However, other than natural disasters, the Shen family had to watch out for man-made disasters as well. The wall was meant to keep out the bandits. ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± Suddenly, a voice could be heard sounding out from afar. Shen Ling turned his head and saw that a young and strong farmer was running over in his direction, shouting as he ran towards him. ¡°I¡¯m over here!¡± Shen Ling waved his hand around. The farmer ran over and stopped right in front of Shen Ling. As he panted, he said, ¡°Young Master, we sighted a tiger at the entrance of the village. The village chief told me to come see you for advice on what to do.¡± ¡°Tiger?¡± Shen Ling rapidly blinked his eyes in confusion. Although he had heard of tiger sightings at Green Mountain, he had yet to see them with his very own eyes. But now, the tiger had climbed down the mountain. ¡°Let¡¯s go and have a look for ourselves.¡± Shen Ling got on his horse and rode in the direction of the village. Soon after, Shen Ling came back to the village and saw the tiger prowling around at the village entrance. Although the tiger was still far away, Shen Ling¡¯s horse stayed put where it was. It would not move an inch closer. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared.¡± Shen Ling gently patted the horse on its head and dismounted. From this distance, the tiger looked tall and strong. The length of its body was at least four and a half meters long. If not for the fact that they had set up camp and gates to guard themselves against bandits, this tiger might already be inside the village walls. Shen Ling knew he had to drive this tiger out. Shen Ling slowly inched forward, and the two young and strong farmers standing behind him said, ¡°Young Master, isn¡¯t this too dangerous?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. Even though he was scared of tigers, he believed that this would be a good chance for him to train his cultivation skills. He had always wanted a worthy opponent. It was best if he found someone who would not pay attention to his identity. Only in a real battle would he be able to comprehend his true abilities. However, it turned out Shen Ling¡¯s opponent this time wasn¡¯t even human. It just so happened to be a tiger.. Chapter 27 - One Single Man Fights a Tiger Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen After two months, Shen Ling¡¯s status was updated to show: ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Longevity Technique [rank-seven upper-grade cultivation technique, Level 5, proficiency 8,000/100,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-six mid-grade saber technique, Level 6, proficiency 10,200/150,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Iron Shirt [rank-eight mid-grade cultivation technique, Level 4, proficiency: 8,000/50,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Treading on Air [rank-three low-grade cultivation technique, Level 3, proficiency 900/30,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation Technique: Regretful Mountain Fist [rank-seven low-grade cultivation technique, Level 4, proficiency: 19,900/50,000].¡¯ ¡®Status: Normal.¡¯ Such wonderful information even gave Shen Ling an added boost of confidence to face the crazed martial artist. However, upon facing an adult tiger, Shen Ling put up a lot of precautions to ensure he doesn¡¯t end up losing the battle. Shen Ling had once looked up the information on the tiger because he had read about Wu Song fighting one in the classic novel named Water Margin. Shen Ling was curious to learn more. Take the northeast tiger, which was also known as the Siberian tiger, as one example. It weighed about 3,000 kilograms, had a body length of about 2.6 meters, and a shoulder height of about 1.1 meters. In the animal kingdom, this was already a very large animal! However, the tiger that Shen Ling faced, whose species was unknown, had a body length of four meters and a shoulder height of 1.6 meters. Shen Ling could just tell that this fellow was even heavier than the Siberian tiger. Its strength was probably even greater also. ¡°Stop right there!¡± On the other side, the old village chief could be seen standing on the wall of the camp. When he saw that Shen Ling was heading towards the tiger, he quickly raised his hand to stop the archers. Actually, he didn¡¯t need to give this order because when they saw Shen Ling approaching the tiger, all the young and strong farmers on the wall had already silently lowered their crossbows. ¡°Phew.¡± Shen Ling breathed out. He had no idea if his fourth level Iron Shirt had the ability to withstand the attack of this ferocious tiger. He also had no clue how Wu Song managed to fight the tiger he faced with his own bare hands. ¡°Roar!¡± As Shen Ling was hesitating to make a move, the tiger, who had been pacing under the wall, detected his scent. Like a predator who had just discovered its prey, the tiger immediately started charging at Shen Ling. Its four limbs trod the ground, making the surrounding sand and dust billow up into the air. ¡°The tiger has such a strong aura.¡± Staring at the tiger before him, Shen Ling slowly reached for his black blade. The intent of splitting the mountain! He was getting ready to launch the regretless mountain stance! Facing a tiger head-on, Shen Ling completely skipped the part where he checks his memory for information on how to defeat his foe. After all, he must go about this differently. Only by using all his might and power from the start to finish could he avoid a painful death. ¡°Roar.¡± The moment it neared Shen Ling, the tiger lunged its whole body at him. Its huge front paws were aimed straight at Shen Ling¡¯s head, and its sharp claws were glinting with a cold light. Shen Ling stared straight at the tiger. At this very moment in time, an unsteady hand on the blade would not only not stand in the tiger¡¯s way, it would also mean dying under the tiger¡¯s claws. Shen Ling rolled on his side and then transitioned from the regretless mountain stance to the mountain-splitting stance. His black blade slashed across the tiger¡¯s body, leaving a cut on the tiger¡¯s skin. However, Shen Ling was quite shocked to find that his blade wasn¡¯t sharp enough to cut through the flesh under the tiger¡¯s skin. ¡°What the¡­¡± Shen Ling shook his head back and forth, amazed at the might of this tiger. He had just used the mountain-splitting stance combined with the sixth level of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique along with the intent of splitting the mountain. A stronger warrior would have dropped dead from just one slash from this blend of moves. However, his combination of moves only managed to scratch the tiger in front of him. It hardly caused a dent in its shiny and glossy coat. ¡°Roar!¡± The tiger was hurt and it became even more bad-tempered. It lunged at Shen Ling once again, in an attempt to press Shen Ling down with its body and bite him. Shen Ling ducked again¡­ Using the Iron Shirt was his last resort. He would rather dodge any sort of attack than use this move so rashly. The Iron Shirt would come into use at a critical moment when his life was in danger and he had nothing else to turn to. If worse comes to worst, this would be his emergency go-to move. After ducking down, Shen Ling launched an attack, but he missed. This time around, he quickly set in motion a second attack. Shen Ling was forced to dodge again. He rolled around continuously, steering clear of the tiger¡¯s attack for several more times. But Shen Ling never expected the tiger to anticipate a pattern in his moves and had been lying in wait expectantly for him all this time. Staring at the tiger paw that was inching closer and closer to his face, Shen Ling was left with no other choice but to stop it with his saber. A huge force came down onto his blade. Shen Ling¡¯s arms quivered, then he clenched his teeth and pushed with all his might. The tiger swayed on its feet and fell straight to the ground. At this moment in time, Shen Ling thrust his black blade into the ground and half-knelt there to catch his breath. If it wasn¡¯t because he was only at the fourth level of his Iron Shirt, or for the fact that the quality of his black blade posed a problem, he would not have been tossed to the ground by the tiger¡¯s paws. ¡°Roar!¡± The tiger lunged and launched another attack with its bare claws. Once more, Shen Ling dodged again, then adjusted his body into a stance and used the intent of splitting the mountain again. ¡°Regretless mountain stance.¡± Once the stance was made, Shen Ling swung his blade with full force. With the mountain-cleaving stance, he sent all the power to the upper of the blade while the regretless mountain stance placed all the power in the hilt. Together this force was unstoppable. With just one slash, Shen Ling cut the waist of the tiger¡­ Even though the waist of a tiger was obviously tougher than a wolf¡¯s, when faced with the regretless mountain stance, it was no match for either. The black blade cut an opening in the tiger¡¯s skin, and the remaining force of the regretless mountain stance allowed Shen Ling¡¯s blade to penetrate right into the tiger¡¯s body. Although Shen Ling had no idea exactly how much damage his blade had done, the spine of the tiger seemed to be seriously hurt. The battle raged on in this way. When Shen Ling slashed the tiger¡¯s waist with the regretless mountain stance for the second time, he could see that the tiger¡¯s waist was collapsing. The fallen tiger tried to get up again and again, but it failed each time. Pretty soon, the tiger stopped moving. Not only was its spine damaged, but Shen Ling had also opened up many wounds on its body. Its life was in critical condition. ¡°Young Master Shen beat the tiger!¡± ¡°He actually won!¡± Seeing the tiger lying so still on the ground, one by one, the farmers got up and cheered. Although they could pretty much drive the tiger away using their triple crossbows, beating the tiger in a one-on-one battle was obviously even more shocking and difficult. ¡°Roar.¡± The tiger let out a low roar from its position on the ground. It watched Shen Ling as he came up to it. It tried to wave its claws at Shen Ling, but it was no use. It had long since lost all power of mobility in the lower regions of its body. Shen Ling raised his knife and stared straight into the tiger¡¯s eyes. As long as he executed the killing blow, the tiger would become his spoils of war. However, Shen Ling hesitated at that moment. In his previous lifetime, tigers were endangered animals; besides, he was a cat person himself. At this time, while looking down at the dying tiger, he felt that he would not execute it in this way. After hesitating for some time, Shen Ling started to use his inner energy to heal the tiger¡¯s injuries. He did not restore the tiger¡¯s body to its peak state but healed it so that it would not die. Looking down at the tiger, Shen Ling said in a slow voice, ¡°After I¡¯ve healed you, stay away from here.¡± The tiger made no sound. Shen Ling could care less if the tiger understood his words or not. He allowed the farmers to build a large cage and lock the tiger inside. With the help of Shen Ling and a few young men, the tiger was locked up in its cage. Only then did he have a change of heart towards the tiger. ¡°Bring it some raw meat so that it can recover faster.¡± Shen Ling looked at the tiger¡¯s state and said in a soft voice. This tiger must be hungry which was why it came down from the mountain. Shen Ling decided to feed the tiger a full meal. It was said that a full tiger would be less prone to attack. Although he had no idea if this was true or not, the tiger was already locked up in a cage so they pretty much had nothing to be afraid of. Seeing the tiger eat his meal, Shen Ling once more put his palms over the tiger to heal its wounds. The tiger kept quiet throughout this entire process.. Chapter 28 - More Triple Crossbows Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Once the tiger was almost fully healed, Shen Ling had the surrounding farmers head back to the camp wall. He opened the door to the cage and backed away. ¡°Roar.¡± The tiger roared ferociously and slowly got up from its position on the ground. Chunks of meat were still in its mouth, leftover from the meal Shen Ling had ordered his men to feed it. It looked at the camp wall and cautiously made its way out of the cage. The tiger stared at Shen Ling for a very long time before leaving this place far behind. Shen Ling released a long sigh of relief. What he was most worried about was that the recovered tiger would launch another attack on them. Although he was capable of defeating the tiger once more, all his hard work to heal the tiger would have been in vain. However, soon after this¡­ Shen Ling had a whole new understanding of the fifth level of the Longevity Technique¡¯s inner energy. Compared to his fourth level standing of the technique two months ago, the current inner energy, whether it was for healing speed or healing effect, saw an obvious improvement. After his fight with the tiger, the Longevity Technique¡¯s inner energy had also reached the upper grade of the seventh rank. Watching the tiger¡¯s figure retreat into the distance, Shen Ling turned his body around to give the people on the camp wall a look and said. ¡°Everyone, it¡¯s okay. Everything¡¯s fine now.¡± ¡°Yes, it is.¡± The old village chief nodded his head. At this very moment, the farmers who were making their way down the wall were still heatedly discussing what had happened just now. ¡°Young Master Shen is really too strong!¡± ¡°When I heard the tiger¡¯s roar just now, I felt my legs go weak. Young Master Shen didn¡¯t even bat an eyelash.¡± ¡°Though it¡¯s such a big tiger, this is nothing to Young Master Shen. I just knew Young Master Shen would come out of this alive. Not only that, he actually won and came out with very little injuries.¡± ¡°However, Young Master is such a kind soul. He actually healed the tiger¡¯s wounds.¡± ¡°In regards to that, I heard from Xiao Liu that Young Master Shen¡¯s inner energy has a special ability. The last time Xiao Liu fell off the roof, it was Young Master Shen who cured him using his internal energy. As the group of young farmers spoke about this, their discussion entirely revolved around Shen Ling and his startling abilities. They were all mesmerized by Shen Ling, who was clearly only 17 or 18 years old but had done so many extraordinary things. After the farmers discussed this, the matter of Shen Ling defeating the tiger slowly began to spread¡­ But pretty soon, the matter of the tiger passed and faded from the farmers¡¯ minds. The farmers all went back to their normal everyday way of life. Everyone from man, woman, to young and old busied themselves with their work on the fields. Under everyone¡¯s cooperation, carts filled with food were being pulled from the village. The joy of the harvest could be seen on each of the villagers¡¯ faces. Even the children could not help but look at the plentiful food and smile. They might not know about much, but they knew that an abundant harvest meant they did not have to starve. Being able to eat was a blessing. ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± While Shen Ling was busy harvesting the crops, a young farmer went up to him once again. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Ling wiped the sweat off his forehead as he looked up to receive the farmer with a puzzled expression on his face. The young and strong farmer had a strange look on his face. ¡°The tiger from this morning has returned¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s returned?¡± There was a frown on Shen Ling¡¯s face. He turned around and headed back. ¡°Then let¡¯s quickly go back. No one¡¯s guarding the village right now. Don¡¯t let this become a bigger problem.¡± ¡°No.¡± The young and strong farmer shook his head back and forth and said in a slow voice, ¡°The tiger left a wild boar and then went away.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± Shen Ling stopped in his tracks and turned to look at the young and strong farmer with confusion on his face. He knew what had happened when he heard the young farmer¡¯s words. However, he had released the tiger just this morning, and in the afternoon, the tiger had presented them with a wild boar as a gift¡­ Was he doing this to repay his debt or merely to thank him? ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that it didn¡¯t hurt anyone.¡± While smiling and nodding, Shen Ling then asked, ¡°That can¡¯t be right. Then why did you come to see me just now?¡± The young and strong farmer said with a strange expression on his face, ¡°The village chief asked me to come to see you. The wild boar that the tiger left is still breathing. We¡¯re having some difficulty catching it¡­¡± ¡°Ah?¡± Shen Ling was startled for a moment there. He turned to look at the young man with a strange expression on his face and decided he would personally head back and see for himself what had happened. Wild boars were very different from domestic pigs. Though with the same body size, this thing had the fighting spirit of a tiger. Shen Ling came back to the sharecroppers¡¯ village. He was met with the sight of a fleeing boar running around the village, followed closely behind by a few young and cautious farmers. ¡°Young Master Shen has come to our rescue!¡± Seeing Shen Ling appear before them, the villagers were quite surprised. To them, as long as Shen Ling was here, nothing could stand in their way. ¡°This boar¡­¡± Looking at the wild boar running around, Shen Ling finally understood why the young and strong farmers all had strange looks on their faces. This wild boar did not have any fangs. Therefore, it was a given that it was a female wild boar. Even though female, this didn¡¯t mean the wild boar wasn¡¯t dangerous. But the young and strong farmers couldn¡¯t even catch themselves a female wild boar, which was the less aggressive out of the two genders, so this was obviously a little embarrassing. ¡°This proves problematic.¡± Shen Ling let out a long sigh as he made his way towards the female wild boar. Seeing that Shen Ling was approaching it, the female boar right away assumed an offensive stance. After staring right into Shen Ling¡¯s eyes with its two dark ones, the female boar suddenly turned its body around and ran at top speed in the opposite direction. ¡°Hmm?¡± Shen Ling looked down at himself. He recalled that he had bathed after fighting with the tiger that morning. Could it be that the tiger¡¯s scent was still on him? Why did this wild boar flee all of a sudden¡­ ¡®I can¡¯t let it get far!¡¯ In the next moment, Shen Ling recovered and chased crazily after the wild boar. He somehow managed to corner the boar and watched as it rushed right into the pigsty¡¯s gate. ¡°Forget about it. Just close the gate.¡± This was different from the way they handled the tiger situation. Wild boars let loose on the farm were very harmful to the fields. To avoid such a catastrophe, the wild boar had to be contained. After some careful consideration, Shen Ling did not choose to release the wild boar back into the forest. For the farmers of the village, the most important thing they had to focus on was the autumn harvest. With the harvest season in full swing, they had no time to consider the fate of this wild boar. If this wild boar wanted something to blame, then blame the tiger for bringing it here. All of a sudden, Shen Ling smiled. On his way back to the fields, Shen Ling stopped by the village¡¯s school. He saw that Yang Jian had brought his kids here to study. He looked into the school¡¯s entrance and chose to not go inside in order not to disturb them. A school did not take up a lot of space, but for the people of this village, they had never imagined before that, one day, their children could learn how to read and write at this place. Shen Ling sighed heavily in his heart. Inadvertently, he had changed the trajectory of this village¡¯s life. Unlike what he experienced when he first came here, the villagers now had a more positive outlook on life. The pessimism they used to have when all they could do was survive was long gone. Now, they took on a more human look. They no longer walked around like zombies. Two days later. On the third floor of the Chennan Trading Company. Miss Qin turned to look at Shen Ling and said word by word, ¡°Young Master Shen, what brings you here today?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve naturally come here to buy some items,¡± Shen Ling said with a smile on his face. Miss Qin smiled back and said, ¡°And what exactly is Young Master Shen looking for?¡± ¡°Crossbows and arrows. As much as I can get,¡± Shen Ling said in a deep and rumbling voice. Miss Qin¡¯s beautiful eyes studied him as she asked in a doubtful voice, ¡°Young Master Shen wants so many crossbows. Whatever do you need so much for?¡± While smiling, Shen Ling said, ¡°The autumn harvest will be over soon. Our Shen family owns a lot of fields, so it¡¯s perfectly normal for bandits to target us.¡± Miss Qin asked quizzically, ¡°Is that the gist of it?¡± Shen Ling nodded his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be frank with you. This year will be a good harvest. So I can surmise that the bandits will definitely fight us for control of the food.¡± Miss Qin nodded her head. She clearly understood Shen Ling¡¯s meaning. Miss Qin smiled and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, don¡¯t worry about it. I will have someone deliver these items as soon as possible.¡± ¡°That would be good. The Green Mountain Bandits have a grudge against me, and I want to make sure the village will be well protected against them in case they ever come down Green Mountain..¡± Chapter 29 - The Prelude to War Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Miss Qin¡¯s smile was beautiful, but Shen Ling only felt a chill as he thought about what the future held for him and the villagers. He didn¡¯t know what the bandits would do if they found out he had such a strong collaborator on his side. But one thing that he was sure of was that by having Miss Qin on his team, this could indeed turn the odds in his favor. There was a saying that the enemy of the enemy was a friend. Miss Qin and he were definitely in a cooperative relationship. Naturally, such a relationship was mutually beneficial to both parties. After making a deal with Miss Qin to buy the triple crossbows, Shen Ling immediately headed to the countryside. During the peak harvest season, it was a given that someone would be guarding the village. Shen Ling did not want to leave the farmers to deal with all this by themselves. In the past few days, he couldn¡¯t even find the spare time to cultivate. But if he did not stay here, Master Shen, who did not know any martial arts, would be useless in the face of any attack on the village. With no one to protect him here, he would be safer in Qi Hua City. In the past, when the bandits would come down to rob them, the Shen family would just deal with it. After all, some bandits would not be so merciless. They would still leave behind some food for the villagers. However, due to Shen Ling¡¯s influence, the farmers were no longer the same farmers, and the Shen family was longer the same either. If the bandits did attack again, even if Shen Ling was nowhere to be found, the farmers would not raise their hands and surrender. In the eyes of the farmers of the village, ever since the moment Shen Ling taught them martial arts¡­ The days of being kicked around and humiliated were long past! ¡°Young Master Shen.¡± Once Shen Ling arrived back at the village, the old village chief right away came up to him. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Shen Ling could see that the old village chief had something on his mind and asked him directly. The old village chief said, ¡°More than a dozen people arrived this morning to join the village. I wanted to ask you for your opinion on whether we should let them stay or not.¡± Shen Ling asked in a curious voice, ¡°More than a dozen people? Who are these people? And where did they come from?¡± The old village chief shook his head back and forth. ¡°Their identities shouldn¡¯t be a problem. They were all villagers from the nearby villages who had come here for refuge. The group mostly consists of women and children. I heard that their village was plundered by bandits. Their whole food supply was taken away.¡± ¡°Is that really so?¡± Shen Ling then nodded his head. ¡°Can you offer them housing?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The old village chief nodded his head. A few months ago, when the village was being renovated, he had specially laid out plans to build more houses, so the refugee¡¯s housing situation shouldn¡¯t be a problem. Shen Ling then replied, ¡°Then arrange housing for them. Also, remember to take their names down. This is very important.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The old village chief nodded his head. Currently, Shen Ling was the unofficial leader of the village. Even Master Shen¡¯s words might not have as much power as Shen Ling¡¯s. Under Shen Ling¡¯s influence, the villagers first practiced martial arts, then absolutely defeated the bandits of the Green Mountain Stronghold. After they stamped down the Green Mountain Village, they incorporated the people from the village into theirs so that the sharecroppers¡¯ village did not lack in people. Even harvesting the crops was getting done much faster than it had been done in the past. In the past, there were more than 200 people working the fields, including women. This year, there were more than 400 working the fields and that also included women. Shen Ling turned to look at the old village chief and said word by word, ¡°By the way, you should build more houses. The next time there are refugees looking for a safe place to stay, just let them come here. Anyway, the village still has room for more. If we can save all of them, then let¡¯s save all of them.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The old village chief nodded his head. Although he was very worried that with more people working the fields, the tenant farmers would rent less land from the Shen family and as a result, turn up less of a profit for their landlord. However, because he respected Shen Ling, the old village chief did not argue with him. After saying goodbye to the old village chief, Shen Ling made his way to the wall of the camp. Staring out at the golden wheat waves in the distance, he began to mull over what was going on at that time. It was a very normal thing for bandits to rob villages. Throughout the village¡¯s history, they had seen their fair share of pain and suffering dealt by the hands of the bandits. However, things might be even more serious this year. Shen Ling had previously heard that the bandits faced a food shortage and had even struck a deal with them to alleviate the problem. However, the grain supply he had given them would only last them a month. Today, a month later, the bandit camp would still be in need of more grain. For regular people, if they needed more grain, they could just go out and buy it. But for the bandits, when facing a similar situation, they would only go down to the surrounding villages to loot what they needed. This had already become a part of their subconscious living, just like eating and drinking. It was precisely because Shen Ling understood this that he knew, without a doubt, that there would be a conflict between him and the bandits. It was a conflict over food. ¡°This is not going to be easy at all.¡± Shen Ling muttered this to himself. He had read up on the Green Mountain Bandits and knew just how ferocious they were. In regards to numbers, the number of people of the two villages combined was not as high as the number of Green Mountain Bandits. In regards to the number of people fighting, the number of people in the sharecroppers¡¯ village was even lower. Therefore, the triple crossbow was an integral part of their defense. A few days later. The farmers had completed their harvest, and the newly built granaries were stock full of grain. In the past few days, there had been no sight of the bandits. However, the crossbows and arrows that Miss Qin had promised had all been delivered on time. Coincidentally enough, at this moment in time, a bandit that Shen Ling had yet to ever hear of had led a group of his people to attack them. ¡°What is this?¡± A group of bandits stared up at the stone walls of the camp, their eyes filling with doubt. ¡°Boss, should we still go ahead and rob them?¡± Peering up at the tightly shut gates of the camp, one of the bandits had a strange feeling that something was wrong. They knew what to expect when robbing villages, but this was the first time they had come across a village with a camp wall. ¡°Of course, we have to rob them!¡± A man with a protruding belly and a fierce expression on his face raised his knife. ¡°This looks like a very wealthy village. Brothers, follow me. After we rob this place, you can have your pick of the womenfolk.¡± Initially, the bandits were hesitant when faced with the wall of the camp. However, these words had the ability to ignite their fighting spirit. ¡°Charge!¡± In that instant, dozens of people started to charge toward the wall. ¡°Sigh.¡± Standing at his position at the wall, Shen Ling shook his head back and forth. He stared down at the bandits below who looked pretty unprotected as they charged at the gate. Shen Ling began to feel sorry for them. They had no idea what they were up against. ¡°Fire the arrows.¡± Shen Ling ordered. The young and strong farmers who were standing at the wall released their arrows. Whiz ¡ª Arrows fell down in waves. Hearing the sound of arrows, the bandits all lifted their heads to check, and a shocked expression instantly lit up their faces. Just like that, the battle was over before they knew it. Shen Ling didn¡¯t even bother to give the corpses on the ground a second glance. More time passed by¡­ The bandits did not come, and Shen Ling would not leave the village. However, there was no news that the bandits were arriving any time soon. Instead, he heard that the Great Jin Empire had started a war against the Great Qian Empire. The Great Jin Empire was located on the east side of the Great Qian Empire In terms of strength, it was a powerful country. Any country that wanted to go up against it would have to come to the battlefield prepared, knowing full well that the Great Jin Empire was a formidable foe. Based on the deterioration of the Great Qian Empire it was questionable whether the Great Qian Empire would be able keep their enemy at bay. However, something was off about the timing of this attack. Shen Ling thought that something very strange was going on. The geography of the Great Jin Empire and the Great Qian Empire were not very different. The Great Jin Empire should also be harvesting grain now. Since ancient times, apart from nomadic invasions, wars in autumn were very few and far between. As winter made things different to move around, the normal time for warfare should be spring and summer¡­ It would benefit the Great Jin Empire to win this war before the winter months came along. Hopefully, the Great Qian Empire would be able to defend itself against such an imposing enemy. Shen Ling thought this to himself.. Chapter 30 - Once You’re Committed It’s Impossible to Stop Midway Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen As a transmigrator, Shen Ling didn¡¯t feel much love for the Great Qian Empire. However, he still hoped that the war would not completely destroy the Great Qian Empire. Even if it was a wreck right now. The news of the oncoming war in the Great Qian Empire spread very quickly, but it didn¡¯t do much to change the way of life in Qi Hua City in the north. Qi Hua City was as big as a small town. Rather than talk about the war, the citizens would rather discuss about Shen Ling¡¯s battle with the tiger. Shen Ling being able to defeat the tiger was a hot topic currently under discussion. Meanwhile, in the courtyard of the Shen family, Shen Ling was busy cultivating. ¡°Elder Young Master, someone is here to see you.¡± Xiao Huan made her way to the courtyard and saw that Shen Ling was immersed in his training as he practiced his Iron Skin technique. She slightly bowed her head and averted her eyes out of respect. At this time, Shen Ling was going around shirtless and only had a pair of shorts on. ¡°Who¡¯s looking for me?¡± Shen Ling turned to Xiao Huan and asked. Even as he asked this, Shen Ling did not stop his cultivating. He has been very busy lately. It was hard for him to find the time to cultivate, so he didn¡¯t want to waste any more of his precious time. Xiao Huan thought it over for a second and then shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know who he is, but he said that the tiger returned to the village again. He wanted your advice on what to do.¡± ¡°Oh? Is that so?¡± Shen Ling lifted his head, looking very confused. ¡°That tiger came back again?¡± Some time had passed since the tiger sent the wild boar to him. This time, the tiger was back again. Shen Ling had no idea why this was so. After quickly finishing up his training of the Iron Shirt, Shen Ling put on more clothes and headed outside. ¡°Tell me exactly what is going on right now.¡± Shen Ling turned to give the young and strong farmer in front of him a look and asked straightforwardly. The young farmer said in a soft voice, ¡°The tiger is lying down just outside the village. It does not move at all. The village chief forbids anyone from going over to it. He is afraid that if provoked, the tiger will hurt someone.¡± ¡°Lying in wait outside the village?¡± Shen Ling¡¯s eyes were filled with doubt. The last time the tiger was there, it sent a wild boar. This time, it directly lied in wait outside the village walls? Shen Ling could not understand this tiger at all. But he was left with no other choice but to make another trip down there. Soon after. Shen Ling got to the camp wall of the village. He peered down at the tiger situated not far away and slowly made his way forward. ¡°Roar!¡± The tiger roared fiercely when it saw that it was Shen Ling. The meaning of the roar was unknown, but Shen Ling could also hear a trace of weakness from the tiger¡¯s cry. Shen Ling slowly approached the tiger and stood next to it. He glanced over at the tiger. The tiger made no move to attack him. ¡°Is that blood?¡± Shen Ling saw that the tiger was bleeding. The tiger that he had fought must have gotten hurt again. In fact, this was such a severe injury that Shen Ling might not be able to heal it in time. If that were the case, the tiger would have to no choice but to wait for its death. Did it come here asking for help? Shen Ling looked straight into the tiger¡¯s eyes, and the tiger also stared back at him. The man and the tiger looked at each other like this for a long time. Then Shen Ling slowly bent his body down. He stretched out his hand to touch the tiger¡¯s belly. If the tiger attacked him at this time, it would prove that he was wrong. Shen Ling moved very slowly. He carefully got closer to the tiger. However, the tiger did not react when it saw what Shen Ling was doing. It didn¡¯t even growl once. Shen Ling¡¯s hand gingerly touched the tiger¡¯s stomach. He inspected the wound. It was a long and deep gash. After hesitating for some time, Shen Ling circulated the inner energy in his body. Pretty soon, his hand was emanating a green light. When the inner energy entered the tiger¡¯s body, the tiger released a low roar. ¡°Roar.¡± After doing this for a while, Shen Ling extracted his hands. He turned to look at the tiger before him and shook his head slightly. ¡°Your wounds are healed. You can leave this place.¡± ¡°Roar.¡± The tiger tried to get up from its position on the ground. It paced around Shen Ling a few times and even rubbed its head against Shen Ling¡¯s leg. Just as Shen Ling was starting to worry that the tiger might attack him, the tiger suddenly knelt down and lay beside him. ¡°Hmm?¡± Shen Ling and the tiger exchanged a look. Seeing that Shen Ling wasn¡¯t reacting, the tiger stood up and gently rubbed its head against Shen Ling¡¯s arm. Shen Ling thought this movement was similar to that of an affectionate cat. Cats would also rub against his body intimately in such a way. Very quickly, the tiger laid its body in front of Shen Ling again. It kept checking its back every now and then. Shen Ling turned to look at the tiger and asked in a curious voice, ¡°Do you want me to sit on your back?¡± Shen Ling guessed that this was what the tiger meant when it roared again, seeing that he was making no move to get on it. Shen Ling felt a headache coming on. He had no idea how to speak beast language, so he couldn¡¯t fully comprehend what the tiger was trying to say. There was no way the two of them could communicate since they were not familiar with each other¡¯s language at all. A few minutes later¡­ Shen Ling focused his eyes on the tiger and attempted to take a few steps towards it. However, the tiger did not try to shake him off when he sat down on its body. On the contrary, after Shen Ling settled on its back, the tiger right away stood up. For a moment there, Shen Ling, who was riding on the tiger¡¯s back, felt like he was riding a boat; the movement was so rocky that it made him think of this. The tiger carried him around like this and ran around the camp wall at top speed. Shen Ling was used to riding horses, but this was the first time ever in his two lifetimes that he rode a tiger. How should he describe this sensation¡­ It might not be all that comfortable, but it was both exciting and refreshing all at once. ¡°Roar.¡± All of a sudden, the tiger stopped in its tracks. Shen Ling got off the tiger¡¯s body and turned to look at the tiger in front of him. Shen Ling boldly petted the tiger¡¯s head. The tiger also rubbed its head against Shen Ling¡¯s hand. It proved to be as docile as a cat. Looking down at the cute tiger, Shen Ling suddenly smiled and said, ¡°Are you planning to stick with me from now on?¡± The tiger again affectionately rubbed its head against Shen Ling¡¯s arm and appeared to nod. Shen Ling made his way towards the gate of the camp wall, and the tiger obediently followed behind him. Shen Ling turned to look at the tiger and said, ¡°Everyone in the village is afraid of you. You should wait for me here at the gate.¡± ¡°Roar.¡± The tiger growled ferociously. Shen Ling had no idea if the tiger could understand the human language, but as he continued to make his way towards the village, the tiger made no move to follow him. However, when Shen Ling turned around to check up on it, the tiger was still at its post by the gate. He had not left yet. It merely stood at the entrance of the village and stared at Shen Ling¡¯s back. Just as suddenly, it laid its body on the ground. A few minutes later¡­ Shen Ling planned to leave with the tiger on horseback, but the tiger suddenly released another roar. The horse under Shen Ling trembled out of fear. If it wasn¡¯t because of Shen Ling, the horse would have fled long ago. ¡°Okay, okay, I got it.¡± When Shen Ling wanted to go on horseback, the tiger would roar with displeasure. Under the tiger¡¯s watchful eyes, Shen Ling got off his horse. Shen Ling was left with no other choice but to sit on the tiger¡¯s back. They made their way quickly in the direction of Qi Hua City. At this moment in time, Shen Ling was feeling both very happy and frustrated. In his previous lifetime, raising a cat was very expensive. Even though his family in this life was well-to-do, raising a tiger was simply¡­ Way beyond his wildest dreams. ¡°Look! A tiger!¡± Shen Ling, who was riding on the tiger¡¯s back, had just arrived at the entrance of Qi Hua City when a disturbance broke out. Shen Ling tried to explain as he attempted to keep the tiger calm. However, the ruckus in the crowd did not affect the tiger. On the contrary, the tiger looked on at the panicked humans before it with clear disdain in its eyes. Under the crowd¡¯s watchful gaze, Shen Ling barely managed to return to his home in time. The eyes on them the entire time made Shen Ling understand one thing¡­ What it meant to be cornered up against a wall, unable to back down! Chapter 31 - The Bandits Ambition Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The elder young master of the Shen family rode a tiger into the city! A real tiger! Alive! As soon as Shen Ling arrived home, the news spread throughout the city like wildfire. At this time, nobody remembered the tall and big horse which was cowering behind the tiger. A tiger! That was a fierce beast! Whether they believed the rumor of Shen Ling fighting a tiger or not, they all wanted to have a look at the tiger right now. It was the nature of humans to gossip. When Shen Ling first heard this saying, he didn¡¯t believe it. But when he saw the crowd close to his door, he felt it could be true after all. People did like to gossip after all. But then, he didn¡¯t want to be watched like a monkey any longer! For this reason, he quickly locked the door as soon as he got home. ¡°Young Master.¡± When Xiao Huan heard that Shen Ling had returned home, she walked in and saw the tiger standing beside his bed. ¡°Oh my God!¡± she exclaimed. For a moment, Xiao Huan covered her mouth in shock. Her body shook visibly as she retreated. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Shen Ling, who was walking into the room, asked. When he saw that Huan was about to fall, he quickly held her up before she injured herself. ¡°There¡­ There¡¯s a tiger in your room!¡± She stuttered in fear. She felt relieved seeing him. ¡°Oh, I know.¡± Shen Ling said calmly with a gentle nod. ¡°This fellow isn¡¯t willing to return to the mountain. Let¡¯s keep it here for now.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Xiao Huan exclaimed as she stared at him with her eyes wide in shock. She couldn¡¯t believe her ears. If not that he was higher than she was in status, Xiao Huan even wanted to check Shen Ling¡¯s temperature to be sure he wasn¡¯t running a fever. Shen Ling smiled. Truth be told, it was very dangerous to keep a tiger at home, but this particular tiger seemed to understand human language. Simply put, he felt that the tiger was actually quite intelligent. There was no problem keeping it at home. He sat on a chair and looked at the tiger next to him and asked softly, ¡°How about I give you a name?¡± ¡°Roar.¡± The tiger growled in a low voice, which showed it agreed. Looking at the tiger¡¯s strong body, Shen Ling had an idea. ¡°How about we call you Strong?¡± ¡°Roar-roar.¡± The tiger growled twice in a row. Shen Ling saw reluctance in its eyes. It seemed like the tiger understood what he was saying. He was not hallucinating. ¡°Alright then. Then how about¡­ General?¡± Shen Ling asked, but the tiger still growled twice. He looked at it and frowned, ¡°Really? You don¡¯t like General either? How about King?¡± ¡°Roar-roar.¡± The tiger growled twice again. Shen Ling thought for a very long time and every time he said a name, the tiger would growl twice in disagreement. Just then, Shen Ling voiced what he had in mind all this while, ¡°Wait a minute. You¡¯re a female, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Roar.¡± This time, the tiger growled once. Only then did he realize why the previous names had all been rejected. ¡°Oh, I see. Silly me!¡± Shen Ling said as he patted his head. Then he said, ¡°Since you¡¯re a female, let¡¯s call you Lily¡­¡± ¡°Roar.¡± Tigress let out a low growl. Shen Ling smiled when he saw that this name wasn¡¯t rejected. Although he knew that he could not come up with any good name, he was still glad that it was accepted. The name was now official. It would be called Lily. After a while, Xiao Huan stood carefully by the door and said, ¡°Young Master, Master Shen wants to see you.¡± Shen Ling nodded. ¡°Okay, I understand.¡± ¡°Alright then. Can I go back now, please?¡± Xiao Huan asked as she looked at him pleadingly. ¡°Alright, go on.¡± He waved his hand as he watched Xiao Huan rush out like a frightened rabbit. With a smile, Shen Ling patted Lily¡¯s big, fluffy head and said softly, ¡°I¡¯m going out for a while; don¡¯t attack anyone. If you¡¯re hungry, I¡¯ll get someone to prepare some meat for you.¡± ¡°Roar.¡± Lily let out a low growl and nodded. After this response, Shen Ling stood up and headed towards the Shen family¡¯s main hall. ¡°You¡¯re here already?¡± Master Shen said when he saw Shen Ling and greeted him casually. ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Ling said with a nod as he sat beside him. Master Shen looked at him and said slowly, ¡°I heard you got a tiger.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Shen Ling replied. ¡°Well, I thought it was just a silly rumor.¡± Master Shen looked at Shen Ling and said again, ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business. Many people in the city want to sell their land. I called you here to discuss whether we should take it or not.¡± Shen Ling looked at Master Shen in confusion and asked, ¡°They want to sell their land? But why?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Master Shen nodded and continued, ¡°The war between the Great Jin Empire and the Great Qian Empire has caused many people to live in fear. The people of the Great Qian Empire are clear about what their country is like now. If they lose this time, the previous land ownership would naturally become null. They just want to sell the land deed before it becomes worthless.¡± Shen Ling understood what he meant. He smiled and said, ¡°Since they are selling their land, let¡¯s buy it. As long as it¡¯s cheap, we will buy as much as we can.¡± ¡°Why would you want to do so?¡± Master Shen asked. He was quite interested in how Shen Ling would think of it. Shen Ling began to explain slowly, ¡°The Great Qian Empire might lose, but not this year. The Great Jin Empire sending troops to declare war in the autumn was a very hasty move if you ask me. Once it¡¯s winter, the soldiers will have problems moving forward, let alone resupplying.¡± ¡°With this, even if the Great Qian Empire loses, it won¡¯t happen before next year.¡± ¡°In addition, although the Great Jin Empire is strong, the Great Qian Empire is still capable of fighting back. I don¡¯t think the situation is that bad.¡± Master Shen nodded in understanding. In all honesty, he was worried that the Great Qian Empire would be destroyed and had thoughts of putting other preparations in place. However, Shen Ling¡¯s words helped him think clearly. ¡°I understand all you¡¯ve said.¡± Master Shen nodded as he looked at Shen Ling. Although Shen Ling didn¡¯t intend to take over the matters of the Shen family, Master Shen had already heard so much about what he had done in the sharecropping village. In all aspects, Shen Ling was the most suitable person to take over the position of the family head. With a child as intelligent as Shen Ling was, what more could a man ask for?! A few days later¡­ As soon as Master Shen spread the news, many people with land deeds started rushing into the Shen residence. The money that the Shen family had was reducing quickly while the land deeds they had were increasing by the minute. By the time no one came to the Shen family to sell their land, the land deeds in Master Shen¡¯s hands, put together, had already covered more than 80% of the arable land area in Qi Hua City. However, with such an exaggerated figure, the money that the Shen family had was not much. Even Shen Ling¡¯s main meal was affected by this. Money was still very important! While Shen Ling was free at home, spending more time cultivating and walking the tiger his leisure time, the Green Mountain Bandits that he had forgotten about finally made their move. But this time, their target wasn¡¯t the sharecroppers¡¯ village. Very early the next morning¡­ Shen Ling was surprised by the news he heard. The Green Mountain Bandits had gathered outside Qi Hua City and were about to launch an attack. What was this all about? This act surprised him greatly. He thought that they would attack the sharecroppers¡¯ village. What they were doing right now superseded his expectation of them. They wanted to enter the city and loot. Shen Ling analyzed the whole scenario calmly for a while. When he compared the military strength and the number of people, the army of Qi Hua City wasn¡¯t a match for the bandits. However, were they not afraid of annoying the emperor by taking such a bold move? Or did they think that the Great Qian Empire would lose for sure? Chapter 32 - The Escape Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± ¡°Bang!¡± The gate of Qi Hua City kept shaking and the soldiers behind the gate were terrified. Meanwhile, on the other end of the gate¡­ A strong man over two meters tall was standing at the entrance of the city gate and ramming the gate repeatedly with his shoulder. He continued doing this without stopping. Apparently, he would not stop until the city gate came down flat. If Shen Ling was there, he would have recognized the person at a glance. This man was none other than the most powerful bandit in Green Mountain. The martial maniac whom even Shen Ling had to be very cautious of. At that moment, the madman seemed to have transformed into a human-shaped hammer, slowly breaking open the city gate bit by bit. In the main hall of the Shen residence¡­ Shen Ling rushed over and asked, ¡°How¡¯s the situation?¡± One of the servants shook his head negatively, ¡°Young Master, I¡¯m afraid the city gate won¡¯t be able to hold on for long. The bandits will enter the city very soon.¡± Shen Ling frowned when he heard this. ¡°What¡¯s the situation outside?¡± he asked again. ¡°Young Master, there are a large number of bandits near the east gate, north gate, and the south gate; there are fewer people on the west.¡± Master Shen looked at Shen Ling and said, ¡°You can leave the city first.¡± Shen Ling shook his head in disagreement, ¡°No, I can¡¯t go alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go to the city gate and take a look. You all should pack your things and go to the sharecroppers¡¯ village together. It¡¯s safer there!¡± Master Shen looked at Shen Ling with a frown and asked, ¡°Are you sure?¡± Shen Ling shook his head. Although his strength had greatly improved during the past two months¡­ He could not tell whether or not he was a match for that madman unless they fought each other. Master Shen frowned deeply and said, ¡°Then¡­¡± Shen Ling nodded and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be very careful. With my current strength, even if I can¡¯t win, I can always run away.¡± After Shen Ling had persuaded him, Master Shen began to pack some of the valuable things in preparation to leave his place. The bandits were about to enter the city and the people were all afraid. Shen Ling brought Lily along, and as they walked on the road, they found that the surrounding commoners were anxious as ants on the hot pot. ¡°This won¡¯t work!¡± Shen Ling contorted his face in a frown. Qi Hua City had a permanent population of over a thousand households and if the bandits entered the city, it was very likely that these people would be plunged into misery. After thinking for a while, he decided to make a trip to the Chennan Trading Company. ¡°Young Master Shen, is there something important that you need at this time?¡± Miss Qin asked him, a strange look flashing in her eyes. She was just packing her things when he came in. Shen Ling shook his head. ¡°There¡¯s nothing important, Miss Qin. I just wanted to know if you want to evacuate from here.¡± Miss Qin smiled. ¡°This city is no longer safe for anybody. Of course, we have to leave here.¡± He nodded and said, ¡°Well, it also happens that the Shen family is also evacuating. Why don¡¯t we all go together?¡± She nodded, ¡°Of course, but I wonder where you plan to go to.¡± Shen Ling said in reply, ¡°For now, there is a village not far from Qi Hua City. That should be the safest area around here.¡± Miss Qin looked at Shen Ling with curiosity. ¡°Could it be the village where you arranged for the Yang family to settle down some weeks ago?¡± Shen Ling nodded. All those triple crossbows and arrows he had specially bought previously were all stored in the sharecroppers¡¯ village. Coupled with the camp wall that had been built to guard against attacks from the bandits, the sharecroppers¡¯ village was their best bet. In addition, the one hundred young sharecroppers that Shen Ling had trained before had already mastered the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. No other place nearby was safer than this village. Miss Qin nodded happily and said, ¡°In that case, we will go over there as well.¡± Shen Ling nodded. If it weren¡¯t for the sudden turn of events, he wouldn¡¯t want to leave the Qi Hua City either. But at this moment, the bandits were very powerful. If he recklessly fought them head-on, he would probably get into big trouble. The Shen family, Chennan Trading Company, and a large number of commoners all gathered near the Shen family residence. Shen Ling went to the south gate where the bandits were attacking. The gate was already on the verge of collapse. As soon as he returned to the Shen residence, Miss Qin looked at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, when are we leaving the city?¡± Shen Ling said in a deep voice, ¡°We¡¯re leaving now! Through the north gate!¡± ¡°The north gate?¡± Miss Qin asked in confusion. There were fewer bandits near the west gate. Why then did Shen Ling choose the north one? The reason was very simple! When Shen Ling heard that there were fewer bandits near the west gate, he felt that there was something off. After walking around the four city gates on his own, he was sure that there was something wrong with the west gate. Previously, he had done a food trade with the bandits, and at that time, he had estimated that there were more than three thousand bandits in their camp. If he only counted the young men who could fight, he estimated that they were at least two thousand of them. However, Shen Ling noticed that the bandits around the three city gates added up to only one thousand. Except for the east gate where the madman was, the other bandits didn¡¯t even come close to the city gates, which made Shen Ling even more suspicious. These actions are a bit like the siege in the art of war ¡ª the seemingly safe way out might just be the trap set up by the enemy. For this reason, they could not go through the west gate. ¡°Yes!¡± Shen Ling nodded and said, ¡°The number of bandits doesn¡¯t add up. They might have laid an ambush on the west side. It would be safer to go through the north gate.¡± When Miss Qin heard his explanation, she nodded and said, ¡°Alright then, we¡¯ll go through the north gate!¡± A group of people marched mightily towards the north gate. The bandits at the north gate, who had been idling about, were stunned when they saw a large number of carriages appear at the gate all of a sudden. ¡°Attack!¡± The guards of the Chennan Trading Company led the way. Before they got close, the bandits let go and fled for their dear lives. ¡°Quick, Quick!¡± Below the north gate, Shen Ling urged the civilians to hurry up and exit the city. Behind the carriage of the Chennan Trading Company was that of the Shen family and the surrounding civilians. They all left the city almost at the same time. ¡°Hurry!¡± After the Shen family¡¯s carriage left, Shen Ling still stayed behind. There were still some people who hadn¡¯t left the city yet. As time went on, Shen Ling looked at the guards who had run over and smiled as he nodded at them. In a situation like this, where their strength was inferior to that of the bandits and the difference in number was huge, these guards didn¡¯t flee for their lives. This was already enough for Shen Ling to hold them in high regard. ¡°So, it¡¯s you!¡± The madman, who had just broken through the east gate, caught up to the north gate and he immediately saw Shen Ling, who had just bolted the north gate. By then, Qi Hua City was already empty. Except for some supplies that could not be taken away in time, all the citizens had already escaped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. You¡¯re too late!¡± After successfully closing the city gate, Shen Ling smiled at him. As he spoke, Shen Ling ran towards the city wall. And he yelled while running, ¡°See you next time!¡± He didn¡¯t forget about his manners. The madman was very angry. He had put in his strength to bring down the city gate, but everyone in the city had run away. Now, Shen Ling, who was right in his presence, was about to escape too. He said in a rage, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare run!¡± The madman chased after him wildly. But Shen Ling ran so fast that he had already jumped down from the city wall in no time. The madman looked down and saw Shen Ling stepping on the air and landing on a tiger. Soon he disappeared from his sight. ¡°Ah!¡± He yelled in anger. He felt very bitter in his heart.. He vowed that the next time he saw Shen Ling, he would tear him into tiny pieces! Chapter 33 - The Decree Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen The Green Mountain Bandits took over Qi Hua city. However, all they got was an empty city. This wasn¡¯t worth celebrating. Once they took over the city, the Green Mountain Bandits changed the name and raised high their anti-Qian banner. They claimed to be one of the eighteen rebels in Anzhou Prefecture. Two days later¡­ Shen Ling, who was in the sharecroppers¡¯ village, received a piece of news. At the same time that the Green Mountain Bandits besieged the Qi Hua City, 17 other cities within Anzhou Prefecture were also attacked. This made it a total of 10 cities, including Qi Hua City. The other eight managed to resist the attack, for now. When people of other parts of the Great Qian Empire got to know about this, they were really shocked. At this moment, the Great Qian Empire was facing a huge crisis, with enemy troops on the outside and rebels on the inside. This intensified the rumors that the Great Qian Empire was collapsing. The prefecture overseer was utterly anxious and worried, wondering what to do with the imminent danger. Soon enough, the long-awaited imperial decree arrived. The emperor of the Great Qian Empire ordered the prefecture overseer to suppress the rebel troops as quickly as possible. He could not let this situation continue. The prefecture overseer accepted the order with immediate effect, but there was an issue ¨C he had only twenty thousand troops. This number couldn¡¯t even be compared to that of the rebel troops. How could they, in their small numbers, possibly eliminate the Green Mountain Bandits? The prefecture overseer had no choice but to order for more recruits! However, with the current state of affairs, how many people were willing to defend their country? ¡°Master, we have a visitor.¡± An official came to report all of a sudden. The prefecture overseer immediately got up to receive the visitor. ¡­ After two days¡­ ¡°Ha!¡± ¡°Ha!¡± Shen Ling was busy training the young sharecroppers in the village how to fight. The bandits were in Qi Hua City at the moment, which was not too far away. Although they referred to themselves as the Volunteer Army, their way of doing things was no different from before. Since they occupied Qi Hua City and gained nothing, they began to spread to other surrounding villages. After all, they needed food, and relying on the granary that the Shen family left behind was not going to be enough. ¡°Dong! Dong! Dong!¡± The bell rang three times. ¡°Young Master Shen, it seems the bandits are here!¡± Shen Ling, who was still training the young sharecroppers, was surprised when the people keeping watch sounded the alarm! His expression turned cold as he ordered in a deep voice, ¡°Brothers, go up the camp wall now!¡± ¡°Alright, Young Master!¡± they replied in unison. Shen Ling went up the camp wall and looked at the Green Mountain Bandits not too far away. When he saw the chief, who was leading the bandits, he wasn¡¯t surprised. However, when he looked around for some time, he didn¡¯t see any sign of that madman. What were they up to? Shen Ling narrowed his eyes and said in a loud voice, ¡°Chief, you should be staying in Qi Hua City. What are you here for?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m here specifically for you, Young Master Shen,¡± the chief replied. ¡°Really? For me?¡± Shen Ling smiled and spoke again, ¡°Let¡¯s just get to business. What do you want?¡± ¡°I want to invite you to join our rebel army so we can overthrow the muddle-headed emperor together. With this, the world would have a brighter future,¡± the chief replied. Hearing this, Shen Ling shook his head, ¡°I won¡¯t disagree with you when you say that current emperor is muddle-headed, but how good can all of you be? The way I see it, there¡¯s no difference between you all and him.!¡± Shen Ling¡¯s voice was very loud and he made sure he drove home his point. When the sharecroppers heard this, their faces remained blank. Meanwhile, those citizens of Qi Hua City felt that Shen Ling was simply too bold. Even Miss Qin had a surprised look in her eyes when she heard this. If these words spread out, he would be accused of disrespect for the emperor. He could even be executed! ¡°If you want to accomplish great things, you have to pay a price. The villagers who died all sacrificed their lives for the rise of a new dynasty. This is the only right thing to do,¡± the chief said in a deep and cruel voice. ¡°Haha!¡± Shen Ling laughed all of a sudden. The chief made it sound as if depriving people of their right to live was a sacred thing to do. Shen Ling was simply speechless with disgust. How could they be so shameless! He just couldn¡¯t understand. Could it be that only those who were selfish could succeed? Shen Ling shook his head and said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t want to join you.¡± In reply, the chief looked at him and said, ¡°Young Master Shen, do you really think that just because you¡¯ve built a camp wall, I can¡¯t do anything to you?¡± ¡°Whether or not you can do anything to me, why don¡¯t you try it first?¡± Shen Ling said with a smile. With this, the chief waved his hand. The bandits around him began to charge towards the camp wall. One hundred and fifty steps away¡­ One hundred steps away¡­ Fifty steps away¡­ When Shen Ling saw that the bandits were getting closer to the main gate of the camp wall, he clapped. Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! In an instant, a large number of bandits were shot. When the other bandits who had not been captured saw the miserable state of the others in front of them, they began to retreat and ran for their dear lives. But it was already too late! The firing range of the triple crossbow was seventy-five steps and Shen Ling had deliberately waited until they were only fifty steps away before giving the order to launch an attack. To those escaping bandits, these short twenty-five steps were the distance they had between life and death. ¡°Triple crossbow?¡± The chief looked at Shen Ling with a sinister smile and said, ¡°Looks like I¡¯ve underestimated you, Young Master Shen. I didn¡¯t expect you to have managed to get triple crossbows.¡± As soon as he said this, he turned his horse around. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± He left immediately, not feeling any remorse or pain of losing almost a hundred bandits. Shen Ling turned around and looked at Miss Qin. ¡°Have you heard any news about the bandits recently?¡± he asked. Miss Qin shook her head. It wasn¡¯t a secret to Shen Ling that Chennan Trading Company was involved in intelligence, and right now, he needed information. He hadn¡¯t heard about the Green Mountain Bandits in the last two days. At night. Shen Ling went to visit Miss Qin again. She handed him an envelope. ¡°Let me see¡­¡± Shen Ling opened the envelope and read the letter. This letter was filled with all he needed to know about the Green Mountain Bandits. Through this letter, he got to know that the Green Mountain Bandits had already merged with all the other bandits. As at that time, the number of fighters had increased to eight thousand and the total number of members was over ten thousand. ¡°This isn¡¯t going to be easy¡­¡± Shen Ling said with a frown. The speed at which the Green Mountain Bandits developed exceeded his expectations. If they continued this way, the sharecroppers¡¯ village would not be a safe place anymore. A young sharecropper knocked on the door and disrupted his thoughts. ¡°Young Master Shen, someone is here to see you.¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± Shen Ling asked. ¡°He said that he is the prefecture overseer of Anzhou. I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s true or not¡­¡± the young man replied. Prefecture overseer of Anzhou? Shen Ling and Miss Qin looked at each other in surprise. Shen Ling then said, ¡°Please bring him in.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Master.¡± The footsteps of the young sharecropper faded into the distance. After a while, a noble middle-aged man in plain clothes walked into the room. When he saw Shen Ling, the prefecture overseer, who was in his forties, asked, ¡°You¡¯re Young Master Shen, right?¡± Shen Ling nodded, ¡°Yes, I am.¡± That being said, he and Miss Qin looked at each other. Miss Qin nodded secretly. The man¡¯s identity had been confirmed ¡ª he was the prefecture overseer all right. With a smile, Shen Ling said, ¡°Forgive my manners, my lord. Please take a seat.¡± The prefecture overseer nodded as he sat on the chair offered to him. ¡°I heard that you are good at training soldiers. This is the reason why I¡¯m here.¡± What? What was he talking about? Shen Ling, who had already prepared his speech, looked at the man with a blank expression. Good at training soldiers? Who gave him this piece of information? Shen Ling couldn¡¯t help but wonder. He was far gone in his place of thought. After several calls from the prefecture overseer of Anzhou, he came back to his senses. ¡°No, I¡¯m not¡­ I haven¡¯t trained soldiers¡­.¡± Chapter 34 - Training the Soldiers Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling denied it strongly. However, the prefecture overseer could see through him. He knew that Shen Ling was just trying to avoid what he was known for. When he entered the camp wall and went to Shen Ling¡¯s residence, the young sharecroppers, who were training in the Southern Square of the village, attracted his attention immediately. There were just about a hundred people, but their movements were uniform, their momentum was great, and their every move was filled with fierceness. This made his eyes dazzle. If his 20,000 soldiers and horses were able to do half of what these 100 people did, then there was no need to worry. They would be able to deal with those rebels. ¡°How about this¡­¡± Miss Qin said slowly after listening to the man and Shen Ling talk for a long time. ¡°Why don¡¯t you send over 2,000 people for training first? If there¡¯s any effect, you can send over the remaining people.¡± ¡°After all, this village is not so big. It¡¯s already a little strenuous to accommodate the people from Qi Hua City. I¡¯m afraid it won¡¯t be appropriate to accommodate another 20,000 soldiers.¡± The prefecture overseer looked at Miss Qin. His pupils contracted slightly. The man looked at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, what do you think about this suggestion?¡± Seeing that he couldn¡¯t refuse anymore, he could only nod in agreement. ¡°That¡¯s fine then.¡± After thanking him profusely, Shen Ling watched the man leave with the guards. He couldn¡¯t help but feel very troubled. Who gave him this information? Who said that he knew how to train soldiers? How could he know how to train soldiers? All he did was teach the young sharecroppers how to practice martial arts. How was it related to training soldiers? Unlike Shen Ling, who was confused, Miss Qin quickly understood. ¡°Do you think you were recommended by Mr. Yang?¡± Shen Ling nodded. Since he was just a commoner, he couldn¡¯t have known a big shot like the prefecture overseer. However, since Mr. Yang was a former prefecture overseer, they must both be colleagues. So it was very likely that it was Mr. Yang who had recommended him! After Miss Qin left, Shen Ling went to the Yang family¡¯s courtyard. Mr. Yang looked at him with a smile and asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, what brings you here?¡± ¡°Some minutes ago, the prefecture overseer of Anzhou came here and said that he wanted me to help him train his troops,¡± Shen Ling said slowly. ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to train soldiers. What do you think I should do?¡± Mr. Yang smiled. ¡°You¡¯re just too modest, Young Master Shen. There¡¯s no need to put so much pressure on yourself. Just get those soldiers to follow the villagers¡¯ training methods and guide them.¡± Shen Ling raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Do you think this will work?¡± Mr. Yang nodded and said affirmatively, ¡°Of course, it will.¡± Hearing this, Shen Ling felt relieved. If it was that simple, then he wouldn¡¯t mind giving it a try. The following day, two thousand soldiers arrived in the village. ¡°Who is Young Master Shen?¡± The leader of the soldiers, who had dignified demeanor, asked as he cupped his hands and looked at the crowd. ¡°That would be me.¡± Shen Ling answered as he took a step forward. ¡°Alright. Under the orders of the prefecture overseer, I have brought two thousand soldiers here. Please give the order, Young Master Shen.¡± The imposing soldier bowed as he spoke. Hearing this, Shen Ling took a deep breath. ¡°Divide them into groups of twenty soldiers each.¡± ¡°Right away!¡± The leader spoke loudly, ¡°I want twenty people in each group, making a total of 100 groups.¡± Before long, the 2000 people were divided. ¡°Da Zhuang!¡± Shen Ling spoke again. This time, he wasn¡¯t talking to the soldiers. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Da Zhuang, who was standing behind Shen Ling, took a step forward. ¡°Each of you will be in charge of a group. I want you all to make sure that they learn the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique in the shortest amount of time possible!¡± Shen Ling ordered. ¡°Yes, Young Master Shen.¡± Da Zhuang nodded. Under Shen Ling¡¯s orders, the 2000 soldiers began their training in earnest. However, Shen Ling was able to quickly discover the problems with these soldiers. They were extremely nervous. They felt uneasy. They were also unable to concentrate. There were even internal disagreements. When all these seemingly small problems were added, it gave Shen Ling quite a fit. This was the so-called Great Qian Army? This? Was this an army or just a bunch of random people? ¡°Dong.¡± The bell rang. To the young sharecroppers, this meant that they were supposed to assemble. Very quickly, they led the 2,000 soldiers to Shen Ling. ¡°For the time being, you¡¯d stop your cultivation and run three laps around the camp wall.¡± Shen Ling said. As soon as he said this, over a hundred sharecroppers started running. The soldiers looked at their commander in awe. He had already followed suit and started running with the sharecroppers. ¡°Lily, follow them.¡± After everyone had set off, Shen Ling patted his tiger with a wicked smile on the corner of his lips. Not running? Then such a person would have to contend with his tiger! ¡°Roar-roar!¡± Lily, who was still lying on the ground, raised its head to look at her master. It roared unwillingly. ¡°There will be an extra meal for you!¡± Shen Ling said to her as he stretched out a finger. ¡°Roar!¡± When the tiger heard this, it let out a low roar again and chased after the soldiers without wasting any more time. ¡°Ah!¡± Soon enough, several screams came from afar. All through, Shen Ling had a blank expression on his face. With just these three laps, it seemed some of the soldiers had run for a long time. If it weren¡¯t for the tiger behind them, which would have pounced on them as soon as they stopped, they wouldn¡¯t have held on for those three laps. On the camp wall, Shen Ling had his hands behind his back, and said in a low voice, ¡°I might have overestimated you.¡± ¡°Initially, I thought that even if you ran three laps, you would still be able to hold on.¡± ¡°I never expected that there would be people left behind before you even finished one lap.¡± ¡°In the future, if you lose on the battlefield, what would you do to survive?¡± ¡°If you decide to take your time and run slowly, you will be killed by the enemy!¡± ¡°Always have it at the back of your mind that you have to move forward quickly and at the same time, you have to run faster while escaping as well.¡± ¡°Starting from today, you all will run three laps every day. After that, you can practice your saber techniques.¡± Once he was done speaking, he patted Lily¡¯s head fondly. Lily had just run three laps with the soldiers. He discovered that its endurance level wasn¡¯t bad at all. When Shen Ling was done, the soldiers went back to practicing their Saber techniques from the young sharecroppers. But even more soldiers were curious about the tiger beside Shen Ling. Regarding this issue, the sharecroppers didn¡¯t withhold this information and they began to explain it to the soldiers. For some time, the matter about Shen Ling and Lily the tiger spread throughout the military camp. Ever since then, some soldiers began to respect Shen Ling without reservation. They felt that he was a very fierce person to be able to fight tigers. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by. The sharecroppers¡¯ village was not so big before. But the more they expanded, the soldiers became completely familiar with the place. There was the high-ranked Young Master Shen, the mysterious and unfathomable Chennan Trading Company, and some simple villagers. During their free time every day, the soldiers helped to expand the village. With the help of these two thousand soldiers who also doubled as laborers, the village became even more developed. To what extent was it developed? In the eyes of the villagers and soldiers, the village should actually be considered as a city. However, the villagers preferred to see it as a village, because that was what it had been when Shen Ling first arrived there. One day, Miss Qin looked at Shen Ling and said softly, ¡°Young Master Shen, the thing you¡¯ve always wanted has arrived.¡± ¡°Oh! Really?¡± Shen Ling responded with a smile. He looked at what was in the box on the ground with a glimmer of light in his eyes. The Flying Rope! This was his idea and it was created by the craftsmen of Chennan Trading Company. At the same time, it was also the core of Shen Ling¡¯s next plan. With this, he could now study how to take back Qi Hua City.. Chapter 35 - Counter Attack Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen 15 days later¡­ It was late at night and a few bandits were keeping watch on the city wall of Qi Hua City. They kept dozing off constantly. ¡°Bam!¡± A small sound was heard all of a sudden, but it didn¡¯t alert the bandits. At first, the bandits guarding the city were worried that the army might attack soon. But recently, they had become far too slack. Some bandits even felt this new life they were living was not as happy and fulfilling as living in the mountains. But even at that, their forces kept growing over time. However, as a result of having people from several places, fighting had become a normal occurrence. Although the chief settled quarrels and disputes, the complaints he was getting were becoming more intense. ¡°Bam!¡± ¡°Bam!¡± This sound was heard again. One of the bandits rubbed his sleepy eyes and stared into the darkness. When he didn¡¯t see anything, he closed his eyes again to sleep. After a while, the bandit opened his eyes again. He felt that he saw someone climbing up the city wall. Startled, he became fully awake and tried to run, but bumped into someone. Before he could react, the person was so swift that he slashed the bandit down with his longsword. The light from the torch shone on this person¡¯s face ¡ª it was Shen Ling! This was a night attack! Shen Ling stood on the city wall of Qi Hua City and looked toward the center of the city. This place had been occupied by the Green Mountain Bandits for a month. But right now, it was time to take it back. A man walked towards Shen Ling and said respectfully, ¡°Young Master Shen, everyone is here now.¡± Shen Ling nodded with satisfaction and said, ¡°Act according to the plan.¡± ¡°Right away!¡± Da Zhuang said with a nod. Shen Ling stared into the distance. His foot missed a step which made him fall flat. He missed his target. Step! Shen Ling stepped on the eaves and walked forward carefully. He came to the roof of the second floor that was originally a restaurant and opened the tiles. There was no sign of the madman! Shen Ling checked the rooms one after the other in search of him. Very soon, he saw the person he was looking for ¨C alone! In his excitement, the tiles under his feet made a crisp sound. Instantly, the madman looked up. ¡°Who is it?¡± Shen Ling quickly turned around and left. ¡°Boom!¡± With a loud sound, the madman shattered the eaves. Looking at Shen Ling¡¯s back, he charged forward like a raging bull. The tiles under his feet continued to shatter, but the distance between him and Shen Ling kept growing. In the end, he didn¡¯t know where he was, but Shen Ling was standing opposite him. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have chased after me!¡± Shen Ling turned around as he looked at the madman with a blank face. ¡°So it¡¯s you!¡± When the madman saw Shen Ling, he put up his fist immediately. ¡°Clap, clap!¡± Shen Ling clapped twice. Instantly, the madman sensed countless gazes. ¡°Whoosh!¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± Before he could understand what was going on, countless arrows flew from all directions. The madman stood on the spot without moving. He was about to activate his body-refining cultivation technique to defend himself. A wave of triple crossbows shot out without harming him in any way. However, he couldn¡¯t move if he wanted to. Another round of arrows came close. Shen Ling watched with a cold expression from a distance. After three rounds of arrows were fired, it seemed like the madman¡¯s defense started to show a crack. Just when he was about to run, Shen Ling shot out a stream of Saber Qi. ¡°You are so despicable!¡± The madman shouted with a glare at Shen Ling. He did not expect that Shen Ling would use such a trap to force him into a dead end. ¡°That makes the two of us.¡± Shen Ling smiled and looked at him still breathing. With that, another round of arrows was fired with so much vigor. The madman collapsed and died on the spot. The madman was dead and the sound of killing could be heard from the surroundings. Shen Ling had brought 100 young sharecroppers with him. 60 were used to set up an ambush while the other 40 were responsible for opening the city gates. From the sound they heard, the soldiers who had undergone a month of special training should have charged in by now. Two thousand against twenty thousand! The difference in number was quite huge, but Shen Ling wasn¡¯t bothered at all. ¡°Freedom of movement!¡± With his command, the surrounding young sharecroppers turned around and left the scene. Shen Ling searched the body of the madman and found an iron body technique book. ¡°Wow!¡± When he saw how well-preserved the book was, he took it and put it in his pocket. Now that the madman was dead, as long as he could get hold of the chief and deal with him, he could easily win this battle. As for the rest of the bandits¡­ He didn¡¯t even have to worry about them. ¡°Kill!¡± As soon as they entered the city, the soldiers¡¯ morale was greatly boosted. The front row held longswords, while the back row held crossbows. Ten people were in a group, looking after the front and back. Under the formation that Shen Ling had arranged, the soldiers got rid of all the bandits. Soon it was daytime. The bandits, who had been beaten without mercy, threw off their arms and fled in panic. They were just two thousand soldiers, but they ended up defeating the rebel army, which was ten times their own. This could be regarded as a good example of defeating the strong with the weak. Even at that, the soldiers who participated in the battle knew that they didn¡¯t feel so much pressure because the pressure that they should have felt was shouldered by Shen Ling and the young sharecroppers. ¡°We won!¡± ¡°We won!¡± The soldiers began to celebrate, but the young sharecroppers remained very calm. To them, Shen Ling was the target of the bandit. So, this battle was not worth celebrating because some of them had been injured in the process. However, Shen Ling was very happy. ¡°You have all performed well. Thank you so much for your hard work. It was worth it.¡± When the sharecroppers heard this, they felt flattered. Shen Ling smiled at them. Never could he have thought that the young sharecroppers, who didn¡¯t have a foundation in martial arts before, could have made such great progress. What moved him even more was how loyal they all were. It was his honor to deserve such loyalty from them. Just then, Shen Ling closed his eyes. ¡®Perseverance and Hard Work 3.0.¡¯ ¡®Name: Shen Ling.¡¯ ¡®Age: 17.¡¯ ¡®Cultivation method: Longevity Technique [rank-seven upper-grade cultivation method, level 5, proficiency 12,000/100,000] ¡®Cultivation method: Mountain-splitting Saber Technique [rank-six middle-grade saber technique, level 6, proficiency 18,800/150,000] ¡®Cultivation method: Iron Shirt [rank-eight middle-grade cultivation method, level 4, proficiency 13,000/50,000] .¡¯ ¡®Cultivation method: Treading on Air [rank-three low-grade cultivation method, level 3, proficiency 3,900/30,000].¡¯ ¡®Cultivation method: Regretless Mountain Fist [rank-seven low-grade cultivation method, level 4, proficiency 24,990/50,000].¡¯ After looking at his information, Shen Ling turned around and walked into the city. After the rampage the previous day, Qi Hua City was now in tatters and covered in blood. He couldn¡¯t stand it. The sight was horrific. Shen Ling shook his head and brought his men back to the sharecroppers¡¯ village. To be honest, he was already used to living in the sharecroppers¡¯ village, so he didn¡¯t feel any particular feelings for Qi Hua City. As soon as he returned, he went to his residence. Old Master Shen looked at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°How did it go?¡± ¡°We won,¡± Shen Ling said calmly. He picked up the teapot by the side and poured himself a cup. Old Master Shen comforted him, ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s normal to win. Next time, look for a better opportunity. Don¡¯t be discouraged about this.¡± Shen Ling sipped his tea and said softly, ¡°I said we won.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Old Master Shen nodded. Shen Ling didn¡¯t say anything else. After a moment, Old Master Shen raised his head. ¡°Wait¡­ What did you just say? You won?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Shen Ling nodded in reply. Old Master Shen said doubtfully, ¡°Then why do you look so depressed? I thought you lost.¡± Shen Ling shook his head. ¡°Well, although we won, the chief ran away..¡± Chapter 36 - Practicing the Iron Body Technique Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling felt disappointed that he didn¡¯t kill the chief of the bandits. After laying an ambush that got the madman the day before, he had been on the lookout for the chief. However, the chief was as cunning as a fox. When he saw that the situation was no longer in his favor, he slipped away from the city without anyone knowing. Shen Ling searched for a very long time but didn¡¯t find him. Old Master Shen looked at Shen Ling and asked, ¡°How are things in Qi Hua City now?¡± Shen Ling shook his head negatively and said, ¡°There aren¡¯t many bandits, but the whole city is a huge mess. According to my estimation, it will take a lot of silver to restore it. It¡¯s quite impossible to restore it to how it was before.¡± Old Master Shen frowned. ¡°Is it that serious?¡± The bandits only occupied the city for a month. He didn¡¯t expect it to turn out this way. Shen Ling looked at the complicated expression on Old Master Shen¡¯s face and said softly, ¡°If you don¡¯t believe me, you can go back and see for yourself. But remember to take Da Zhuang with you. It¡¯s quite dangerous out there.¡± ¡°Let me think about it,¡± Old Master Shen said as he paced back and forth. He was a native of Qi Hua City. The Shen family had grown up in the city for three generations. His feelings about the city were something that even Shen Ling would not be able to understand. In comparison, Shen Ling preferred the sharecroppers¡¯ village. ¡°No, I have to go back and take a look.¡± After hesitating for a long time, Old Masters Shen decided to go back and see for himself. Shen Ling didn¡¯t mind, but said, ¡°Ask Da Zhuang to go with you. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be at ease here.¡± Old Master Shen replied, ¡°Yes, I know.¡± While he went to Qi Hua City to take a look, Shen Ling sat in front of his house in a daze. After a while, he took out the Iron Body Technique from his pocket and began to study it. Iron Body Technique, a rank-four low-grade cultivation method. It was a type of body refining cultivation method, and its value was extremely high. There were more than ten times of the Shen family¡¯s property. However, it was not easy to practice this cultivation technique. As the name implied, the Iron Body Technique was to cultivate one¡¯s body to be indestructible as iron. According to the appendix at the back of this book, if the Iron Body Technique was cultivated to the extreme, the body would be as tough as iron, weighing ten thousand Jin with one finger. Shen Ling didn¡¯t know what this concept was, but he knew that the power of the madman was closely related to this technique. He decided to practice it! Shen Ling felt that this body-refining technique, which had reached rank-four low-grade, was quite awesome! The Iron Shirt, which had only reached rank-nine upper-grade, had brought him such a huge change. This upper-grade Iron Body Technique would make him much stronger! Shen Ling began to prepare for his cultivation. The cultivation methods of the Iron Body Technique were quite different from that of the Iron Shirt. The Iron Body Technique required one to maintain the stance of a horse and then circulate one¡¯s strength to resist attacks from the surroundings. If the Iron Shirt was used for internal defense, then the Iron Body Technique was purely used for strengthening the body. Although the two were very different, they did not clash. They could even complement each other if need be. But right now, there was one problem. The iron Body Technique could only be cultivated with the help of others. Finding people to help him was not a big deal, but the sharecroppers had fought hard all through the night and needed to rest now. Who could he ask for help right now? All of a sudden, he looked towards Lily the tiger. At that moment, Lily was lying lazily on the ground, enjoying the morning sun. Its sweet nap time was soon interrupted by Shen Ling. ¡°Roar-roar!¡± Lily roared as it stood up unhappily. ¡°Hit me!¡± He said to Lily. This shocked it as it wondered what Shen Ling was trying to do. ¡°Just hit me once!¡± Shen Ling repeated the order when he saw that Lily didn¡¯t make a move. It still didn¡¯t hit him. Instead, it sniffed around him. ¡°Come on, hit me once!¡± Shen Ling said the third time. ¡°Bang!¡± Lily pinned Shen Ling to the ground all of a sudden. ¡°Once more!¡± Shen Ling said as he stood up and gestured to Lily to make it understand his instructions. After a while, Lily finally understood that he really meant it when he asked it to hit him. ¡°Come on!¡± Shen Ling quickly positioned himself. Lily raised its palm and hit his chest hard. ¡°Ouch! It hurts so much.¡± Lily hit really hard. Under the circumstances of receiving it head-on, even Shen Ling was unable to endure it. However, with the Iron Shirt¡¯s inner energy protecting his body and the healing of the Longevity inner power, Shen Ling was not afraid of being injured. ¡°Again!¡± He yelled at it again. Once more, Lily hit his chest very hard. ¡°Ouch¡­¡± Shen Ling winced in pain as he sucked in a breath of cold air. Lily saw that he was okay after the previous hit, so it increased its strength this time around. However, he was very happy because he had successfully cultivated the Iron Body Technique. Although he was yet to grasped the rudiments¡­ ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ Shen Ling¡¯s eyes lit up immediately. This was because the cultivation method of the Iron Body Technique was different, the proficiency obtained was also different. Five points at a go? To find out if this was some sort of bug in the system, Shen Ling started cultivating again. ¡°Hit me!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 7.¡¯ ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 12.¡¯ ¡°Again!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± Just as Shen Ling was getting carried away by the irregular increase in proficiency, Lily¡¯s another palm caused him to collapse. Sensing that it had caused trouble, Lily whimpered in a low voice. Shen Ling endured the pain and waved his hand. ¡°It¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t die.¡± The internal force of Longevity flowed through his body as he closed his eyes. His broken ribs were reconnected and even the blood clots from the tiger¡¯s palm earlier had disappeared without a trace. ¡°Again!¡± Once again, Shen Ling took his stance and threw a provocative gaze at Lily. Perhaps it was because Lily had hurt him some seconds ago, it hid in a corner in low spirits curled up like a ball. When Shen Ling saw her appearance, he walked over to her and said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± As he spoke, he patted his chest to prove that he was completely fine. When the tiger saw this, it felt better, but no matter what Shen Ling said, it didn¡¯t have a move against him. It was afraid that he would die under its palms. Shen Ling sighed. He thought that he had found a suitable sparring partner, but he didn¡¯t think that any problem would arise. Right now, he couldn¡¯t blame it. He just patted its head fondly and comforted it. After a while¡­ Shen Ling stood in the courtyard, wondering who he could tell to be his sparring partner. He was quite confused. After a long while, he went to the military camp. ¡°Hit me!¡± Shen Ling said softly as he looked at the soldier in front of him. ¡°What?!¡± The soldier was dumbfounded. Shen Ling repeated his request once more, but the soldier didn¡¯t dare to make such a move. Seeing that he couldn¡¯t persuade this soldier, Shen Ling walked towards another soldier. For some reason, the news that Shen Ling was in a bad mood and was looking for someone to vent his anger, spread around the barracks. Rumor had it that he was looking for someone to beat him up first. In order not to become Shen Ling¡¯s target, the soldiers in the barracks ran as soon as they saw him. For a moment, Shen Ling was short of words. What in the world was going on? Chapter 37 - A Proposition Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen Shen Ling couldn¡¯t find anyone in the barracks to help him. This was because as soon as the soldiers saw him, they all ran away. Helplessly, Shen Ling returned to his courtyard to rest while he waited for the sharecroppers to wake up. There was nothing else he could do. After all, he couldn¡¯t cultivate the Iron Body Technique alone. Because this Iron Body Technique wasn¡¯t attacked, his proficiency didn¡¯t increase at all. Shen Ling rested for a long time before opening his eyes in the afternoon. He went to the southern square of the sharecroppers¡¯ village and saw that there were already a few people practicing their Saber Techniques. Although they had taken back Qi Hua City, the soldiers who had been sent here hadn¡¯t been transferred yet. The soldiers who had rested had also started cultivating. In terms of self-discipline, the young sharecroppers wouldn¡¯t lose one bit to Shen Ling. ¡°Ahem!¡± Shen Ling coughed deliberately. ¡°Hello, Young Master!¡± The young men greeted him respectfully immediately they saw him. ¡°Hello!¡± Shen Ling said with a nod as he thought of how to speak. He had scared the soldiers, but after thinking hard for a long time, he still couldn¡¯t figure out what the reason was. ¡°Well, hit me!¡± Shen Ling said in a low voice as he looked at the men in front of him. ¡°Pa!¡± The young sharecropper put away his Saber and punched Shen Ling. ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 2.¡¯ It worked! Shen Ling said excitedly, ¡°Give me one more punch!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± Another punch came. ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 2.¡¯ Shen Ling¡¯s eyes lit up. He looked at the young sharecroppers in the distance and shouted, ¡°You guys should come over too.¡± The special training had officially begun. Shen Ling took away the inner force of the Iron Shirt scattered on the surface of his body. He was surrounded by four or five young sharecroppers. They were about to launch a one-on-one fight! ¡°Pa!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± ¡°Pa!¡± This made Shen Ling feel so good. ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 3.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 6.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 9.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + ¡­¡¯ Although he would feel the pain caused by the blows after switching off the Iron Shirt, the rising proficiency made Shen Ling feel that he could still tolerate it! It didn¡¯t take long for his Iron Body Technique to step into the first level. His muscles and bones made a series of explosive sounds, and his height got to 1.85 meters. Ten minutes later, he had risen to the second level of Iron Body Technique! Shen Ling¡¯s body changed again. Although he didn¡¯t grow taller, his muscles became even tighter. Another hour passed, he rose to the third level of the Iron Body Technique! Shen Ling exerted a little strength, and he couldn¡¯t feel the pain from the punches and kicks anymore! Four hours later, he was at the fourth level of the Iron Body Technique! After changing several people, in less than one afternoon, Shen Ling¡¯s mastery of the Iron Body Technique soared like a rocket! He couldn¡¯t help but smile. He believed that if the madman knew about this in the underworld, he would be shocked that he could cultivate this martial art so fast! ¡®Cultivation technique: Iron Body Technique [rank-four low-grade cultivation technique, level 4, proficiency 0/50,000].¡¯ But soon enough, Shen Ling opened his eyes and said in a deep voice, ¡°Stop!¡± In an instant, the surrounding sharecroppers stopped at the same time, waiting for another order from him. ¡°What was going on?¡± Shen Ling looked at himself. After entering the fourth level of the Iron Body Technique, his proficiency notification stopped abruptly. There was no increase in proficiency for more than ten minutes, and Shen Ling felt something was wrong. However, since he had gotten all the information about the Iron Body Technique, he raised his head slowly and said, ¡°Take the knife and cut me!¡± Although they never hesitated when they heard his request, this time the young sharecroppers became hesitant. One of them asked, ¡°Young Master Shen, are you sure?¡± Shen Ling nodded in reply, ¡°Yes, I¡¯m sure!¡± While breathing, Shen Ling released the inner energy of the Iron Shirt. This was the first time he had to be attacked while standing, and he wasn¡¯t sure if his fourth layer of Iron Body Technique could withstand this. So, he activated the Iron Shirt, both internal and external defenses. ¡°Clang!¡± The Podao struck Shen Ling¡¯s body with a loud report. When the sharecropper¡¯s knife was knocked away, Shen Ling remained unharmed. This won¡¯t do! Shen Ling weakened the Iron Shirt¡¯s inner strength. He didn¡¯t feel anything special with the attack just now. As a result, he did not obtain the proficiency of the Iron Body Technique. ¡°Do it again!¡± Shen Ling said. Another slash! ¡®You have completed one successful training of the Iron Body Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ It was now effective! Shen Ling¡¯s eyes lit up. Then he devoted all his attention to cultivation. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Shen Ling¡¯s Iron Body Technique had been cultivated to the sixth level, far surpassing the madman, who was at the fourth level. Right now, even if a young sharecropper tried his best to use the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique, Shen Ling wouldn¡¯t get hurt. ¡°Young Master Shen!¡± Outside Shen Ling¡¯s courtyard, the prefecture overseer of Anzhou came again. He looked at Shen Ling and said amiably, ¡°Young Master Shen, have you thought about what happened in the past?¡± Shen Ling smiled broadly. Ever since the prefecture overseer got the news that the Green Mountain Bandits in Qi Hua City had been breached, he hadn¡¯t visited the sharecroppers¡¯ village until that moment. After a detailed understanding of what happened in the previous battle, the prefecture overseer hoped to achieve success in other places. However, he required Shen Ling¡¯s cooperation on this. This was because he knew that without Shen Ling¡¯s orders, no matter the benefits he promised, the young sharecroppers won¡¯t make a move. Shen Ling looked at the prefecture overseer and said bluntly, ¡°I don¡¯t want to work for free. Let¡¯s talk about what I stand to gain from this.¡± The prefecture overseer was in shock. He said, ¡°The rise and fall of a country is the responsibility of the people. You are a man of lofty ideals, Young Master Shen. How can you stoop so low to speak in such a manner?¡± Shen Ling shook his head and said in reply, ¡°When I agreed to train 2,000 soldiers for you, I didn¡¯t ask you for a dime. However, you want to let the horses run, but you don¡¯t want to feed them. That¡¯s disappointing if you ask me. One cannot be so greedy.¡± Seeing that Shen Ling had defeated him, the prefecture overseer gave in and said, ¡°Alright, Young Master Shen. Name your price!¡± With a smile, Shen Ling said, ¡°My requirements aren¡¯t high. I just hope that after helping you, there will be some gains.¡± ¡°I want the Qi Hua City!¡± Shen Ling said this with a bright smile. It wasn¡¯t as if he didn¡¯t want to help the prefecture overseer eliminate the rebel army, but he felt that Qi Hua City had to be under his control! Now that the Shen family had control of 90% of the land in Qi Hua City, if a county magistrate who didn¡¯t like the Shen family came in the future, it would only make him worried based on what they had at stake. ¡°You want the Qi Hua City?¡± The prefecture overseer of Anzhou asked in surprise. He instantly understood what Shen Ling was talking about. ¡°Young Master Shen, if you want the position of the county magistrate, that is a very easy thing to handle!¡± The last county magistrate died of illness five years ago, and since then, no one had taken over his place. The prefecture overseer thought that Shen Ling was going to ask for something even more expensive, but he didn¡¯t expect that Shen Ling just wanted the position of the county magistrate. ¡°It¡¯s not for me!¡± Shen Ling shook his head and said, ¡°I have no intention of becoming an official, but my father is very much available¡­¡± The prefecture overseer nodded and said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that. I will write to the capital right away. Once His Majesty approves, we will discuss this matter.¡± Shen Ling nodded. ¡°Good..¡± Chapter 38 - The Longsword Team Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen As soon as the prefecture overseer left, Shen Ling returned to his room and sat down slowly. As far as he was concerned, developing the sharecroppers¡¯ village was far more important to him than developing the Qi Hua City which hadn¡¯t developed much. Truth be told, he didn¡¯t want to be stabbed in the back this time. It was better to hold Qi Hua City in his hands. After a while, the old village chief walked towards Shen Ling and placed a thick book beside him. He said softly, ¡°Young Master Shen, this is the list of names you asked for.¡± ¡°Ahem!¡± The old village chief coughed a few times. Shen Ling raised his head in amazement and asked, ¡°Have you been feeling unwell recently?¡± The old village chief shook his head and smiled. ¡°It¡¯s an old problem, Young Master Shen. You don¡¯t have to worry about me.¡± Shen Ling smiled back. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I happen to know some medical skills. Let me take a look at you.¡± As he said this, Shen Ling held the old man¡¯s arm. In all honesty, Shen Ling didn¡¯t know any medical skills. However, he had the inner strength of Longevity, so he used it to rotate around the old village chief¡¯s body. Soon enough, he found the problem. He also used his inner strength to examine his body and as Shen Ling did this, he discovered something else¡­ The old village chief was dying. He didn¡¯t have so long to live anymore. Actually, it was not an incurable disease. Instead, it was something beyond the physical. Shen Ling felt that the old man¡¯s life was coming to a natural end. After Shen Ling treated him, the old village chief exclaimed, ¡°Young Master Shen is truly amazing!¡± Shen Ling concealed his worry and said slowly, ¡°It¡¯s just a little trick. Remember to always take good care of your body, don¡¯t tire yourself out too much.¡± The old village chief shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m already old and I don¡¯t know how much longer I can live. I¡¯ll take the opportunity to do something when I can help. It can be considered to be my last rendition before I die.¡± Shen Ling kept mute and didn¡¯t say a word in reply. However, he realized that the old village chief seemed to have sensed something. Before he died? These three words weighed heavily on Shen Ling¡¯s heart. However, he changed the topic immediately and opened the register. ¡°Why has the population of the village increased so much recently?¡± The chief smiled and said, ¡°The war is very chaotic now and no place is peaceful. Although our village is not so famous, in the eyes of the surrounding villages, it is the safest place.¡± ¡°Following all you said, we have kept these people and recorded their details in the register. Currently, there are a total of 3,200 villagers in the register¡­¡± The old village chief felt relieved. Just a few months ago, this small sharecroppers¡¯ village only had no less than 100 households and more than 200 people. In a short period, following Shen Ling¡¯s arrival, the village had increased to more than 1000 households with more than 3,000 people. Houses were being built each day and the camp wall was expanding. If it weren¡¯t for Shen Ling saying that they needed to relax their hands and feet, the village would have been unable to continue construction. To put it bluntly, the area within the sharecroppers¡¯ village¡¯s camp wall was even twice that of the small Qi Hua City. The same was true for the population. After closing the register, Shen Ling looked at the sketch in front of him and frowned. ¡°The population of the village is increasing so much, the length of the camp wall is also increasing. It will be a little difficult to manage with the current number of people. It seems that we should recruit more members for the Longsword Team.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s put up the recruitment notice for the Longsword Team all around the village. It will be based on the principle of voluntary participation. We won¡¯t force anyone to participate if they don¡¯t want to.¡± Shen Ling spoke softly. There won¡¯t be any preferential treatment as a member of the Longsword Team for now. On the contrary, being a member of the Longsword Team was even more difficult than being a normal villager. Due to the current situation as well as some complicated relations among different parties, there was a very high possibility that there would be more casualties. For this reason, Shen Ling did not want to force the villagers to do what they didn¡¯t want. ¡°I understand.¡± The old village chief said with a gentle nod. After thinking for a while, Shen Ling said again, ¡°How about this, we can build another commercial street here and give some space to those people who are interested in doing business.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The old village chief noted down the place. Shen Ling smiled and said softly, ¡°That¡¯s all for now.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± With that, the old village chief left Shen Ling¡¯s house. When the notice came out, the villagers¡¯ enthusiasm exceeded Shen Ling¡¯s expectation. In less than a day, the number of villagers who wanted to join the Longsword Team had already exceeded a thousand. Shen Ling looked at these people and decided to accept them all. He simply waved his hand to that effect. With that came the high-intensity training. Unlike when he was training the soldiers, Shen Ling had higher requirements for these people. He didn¡¯t want the Longsword Team to have people who were as lazy as those soldiers. It happened that apart from building houses, they didn¡¯t have much farm work. For this reason, they used their spare time for training. ¡°No!¡± ¡°No!¡± As Shen Ling shook his head as people were being disqualified from the Longsword Team. After three days of intense training, the number of villagers who had persevered till the end was more than 600. ¡°Da Zhuang!¡± Shen Ling called out softly. ¡°I¡¯m here, Young Master.¡± Da Zhuang answered as he held his longsword upside down. Shen Ling looked at Da Zhuang and said softly, ¡°From today onwards, you will be the leader of the Longsword Team. You¡¯ll be in charge of getting them to practice while I check on them later.¡± ¡°Be rest assured, Young Master. I¡¯ll do my best,¡± Da Zhuang said in a deep voice. When Shen Ling heard this, he nodded. Da Zhuang was one of the young sharecroppers who in the beginning was not very talented. With time, Shen Ling found out that those who had low talent could keep up with the first tier as long as they relied on continuous hard work. All of a sudden, he became interested in talents! As far as Shen Ling was concerned, hard work was also a type of talent. For example, he was a very hardworking person. Right now, Da Zhuang could take charge of affairs alone, even though his Iron Short was yet to move to the next level. However, he was able to quickly learn the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique and was already on the third level! When the Longsword Team¡¯s training started, Shen Ling didn¡¯t sit idly. Since the Iron Body Technique was currently stuck at the sixth level, the attacks of the sharecroppers have been unable to increase his proficiency. So, Shen Ling decided to change his cultivation technique and focus on offense! This was the Longevity Technique. Currently, the Longevity Technique was on the fifth level, and his proficiency was at 17,000/100,000. Shen Ling began to cultivate! ¡®You have completed one perfect circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 10.¡¯ ¡®You have completed one perfect circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 10.¡¯ Longevity, Longevity¡­ Immortality¡­ A day after! ¡®You have comprehended of the essence of longevity, proficiency of the Longevity Technique + 100,000.¡¯ He had a breakthrough! Shen Ling opened his eyes slowly and looked at the crystal clear green liquid in his hand. Although it looked very little, this little drop contained an extremely abundant power of longevity. How abundant could it be? Shen Ling suspected that if this was injected into a healthy person¡¯s body, he could be stuffed to death by the power of longevity. As the saying went, when the energy of life exceeded the limits of the body, it would inflate like a balloon. ¡°Bang!¡± There was a short pause. Shen Ling flipped his fingers, and the droplet-like power of longevity disappeared without any trace. He did the same thing again and the droplet appeared again. ¡°Go forth!¡± Chapter 39 - The Flower Wine Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen A drop of water containing the ultimate longevity inner strength smashed into a large tree. Shen Ling looked at the poplar tree in the courtyard and silently observed the changes that were about to take place. Soon the tree¡¯s bark began to crack and its branches began to fall apart. When Shen Ling saw that the oldest tree in the sharecroppers¡¯ village was about to disappear in this courtyard, he quickly smashed another drop of longevity inner strength like a drop of water onto it. Since the two balls of inner strength were entangled, the tree changed repeatedly between withering and sprouting. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed. The ancient tree finally became calm after a while. Its branches were even blossoming with leaves that should not have appeared. ¡°What a nice fragrance!¡± Shen Ling said as he sniffed the flowers. He also saw that there were dew-like drops of water on the flowers which he licked a little. Instantly, he felt as if he had drunk a mouthful of sweet wine. As soon as the feeling disappeared, Shen Ling used the power of longevity to examine his body thereby putting his mind at ease. ¡°It¡¯s harmless!¡± He was dumbstruck after analyzing the results. He had never expected that the poplar tree would undergo such a change after absorbing the power of longevity. It could produce something like flower wine. Shen Ling brought out the wine jars that he had drunk previously and began to collect the flower wine produced by the tree. He had already verified that the wine was harmless. Although this wine was not very strong, it was quite delicious. Shen Ling decided to let everyone in the village have a taste of this new discovery. This flower wine was not like any other wine they knew. They were both different. Shen Ling collected a few jars and sent them to the southern square of the village. He wanted the members of the Longsword Team, who were training, to have a drink. ¡°This is so light.¡± Da Zhuang said as he tasted it. Another young man tasted it and blushed. ¡°This wine is so refreshing.¡± The young man muttered to himself as he began to practice his sword skills not too far from where Shen Ling was. Soon enough, this young man mastered the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique! In the beginning, he was making a lot of mistakes; but later, he improved at a very rapid pace. ¡°This wine¡­¡± Da Zhuang also narrowed his eyes. Right in front of Shen Ling, he began to cultivate the Iron Shirt that he had never stepped into the first level. Not long after, Da Zhuang was able to break through! This alone shocked Shen Ling. Da Zhuang opened his eyes slowly and said in a deep voice, ¡°Young Master, I feel I can increase my cultivation speed after drinking this wine.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Shen Ling smiled as he took a big gulp. He began cultivating the Longevity Technique. He wanted to test if it was useful. ¡®You have completed one successful circulation of the Longevity Technique, proficiency + 5.¡¯ The increase in proficiency didn¡¯t speed up. It looked just as usual. Still, Shen Ling wasn¡¯t convinced. But after drinking so many cups, he could only admit one fact in the end. As far as he was concerned, the flower wine produced by the poplar tree had no effect whatsoever. It was only useful for those who had low cultivation techniques. Just as Shen Ling was still trying to get over the feeling, a young sharecropper ran over and said, ¡°Young Master, Miss Qin from the Chennan Trading Company is here to see you.¡± Shen Ling raised his head in surprise. ¡°Oh?¡± He stood up immediately. Ever since they had taken back Qi Hua City, Chennan Trading Company returned. Compared to the miserable state of destruction in other parts of the city, the company had suffered much less damage. Although the Green Mountain Bandits had raised the banner of rebellion, they still had some misgivings about the Chennan Trading Company. Of course, there was another possibility, which was that they only wanted to buy weapons from them. Miss Qin stood at the entrance of the village with an enchanting smile. She stretched out her right hand and said softly, ¡°Young Master Shen, please check the money.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Shen Ling nodded in reply. He opened one box after another and looked at the number of silver taels. He had a wide smile on his face when he was done. ¡°Indeed, you are very fast.¡± ¡°Well, since you¡¯re willing to sell me the things that the Green Mountain Bandits have accumulated, I will not let you suffer a loss.¡± ¡°Thank goodness you¡¯re here. I also have something to discuss with you.¡± She raised her head. ¡°Alright. Go on then.¡± They both went to Shen Ling¡¯s courtyard to discuss. Miss Qin sat by the side and perceived the tree¡¯s fragrance in front of her. ¡°Young Master Shen, what is this adorable smell?¡± she asked. With a smile, he replied, ¡°This is all coming from the tree over there. It¡¯s also harmless to the human body. So, you don¡¯t need to worry about it.¡± Her eyes followed his finger as she looked at the poplar tree. ¡°Wow, so this tree can still bloom?¡± ¡°Who knows, it¡¯s very strange. However, the leaves of this tree produce a kind of sweet wine which seems to be useful for some low-level cultivation techniques.¡± Immediately she heard this great news, her eyes lit up in wonder. ¡°Do you have any plans to sell this kind of wine? I¡¯m willing to buy it at a very high price if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Shen Ling shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid the wine is not for sale at the moment!¡± Indeed, that Miss Qin was willing to buy it at a high price tempted him. However, he had too many people under him now. Using this wine to nurture the young members of the Longsword Team was going to be more beneficial to his future arrangements. What Shen Ling lacked right now was time, not money. As it were, he already had a lot of money. After living in the world for such a long time, he knew how difficult it was to obtain the ability to protect himself in these troubled times. ¡°Alright then. If you say so.¡± Miss Qin¡¯s eyes were filled with disappointment. ¡°When you want to sell it, please do not forget to let me know.¡± Shen Ling nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I will!¡± After a short pause, she switched to a very official tone and asked, ¡°Since it¡¯s not to sell alcohol, what business do you want to discuss with me?¡± Shen Ling smiled. ¡°I want to buy swords and armor!¡± Swords and armor! Miss Qin looked at Shen Ling and said softly, ¡°Swords are easy to talk about, but armor would be a bit difficult.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll raise the price!¡± Shen Ling said as he stretched out a finger. Miss Qin shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s not about the money, Young Master Shen. It is¡­ !¡± Shen Ling stretched out another finger. ¡°I¡¯ll double it!¡± Miss Qin quickly took the offer before he changed his mind. ¡°Deal!¡± She looked at him with a smile and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know how many sets of armor I can get, but as for longswords, I can get as many as I want.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± Shen Ling nodded happily. Although Miss Qin had made a fortune, Shen Ling didn¡¯t care. At the moment, the sharecroppers¡¯ village had witnessed steady development. In addition, the items that he had seized previously and the treasury of the Green Mountain Bandits had all been sold. Right now, Shen Ling did not lack money! The only thing he lacked was enough time. Triple crossbows, longswords, armor, and flying ropes. The military equipment of the Great Qian Army might not be able to compare to the equipment he owned. Besides, Shen Ling did not plan to teach them any longer. After all, he had fewer people, so he had to strive for perfection. He planned to train a part of the Longsword Team to become an existence like the special forces in his previous life. The others could act as guards and would be responsible for protecting the village. And during the harvest season, they could also help out as farmers. ¡°Alas.¡± Shen Ling stretched his body. He sighed deeply. He didn¡¯t want to overwork himself, but the business was getting bigger by the day. And there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was quite difficult! So difficult! Difficult! Chapter 40 - The Rigorous Training Translator: Tuiwen Editor: Tuiwen A few days later¡­ The prefecture overseer of Anzhou brought an imperial decree with the jade seal on it. Master Shen took this seriously. His mind was quite messed up. He didn¡¯t understand how he had become the county magistrate of the Qi Hua City overnight. However, when Master Shen saw the prefecture overseer staring at Shen Ling from a distance, he understood instantly. Then, Master Shen took the imperial decree and the official uniform. He turned around and went back to his room. ¡°Young Master Shen, are you satisfied now?¡± After the ceremony to receive the imperial decree, the prefecture overseer looked at Shen Ling as though he was expecting something from him. ¡°Not yet.¡± Shen Ling knowing what he wanted to ask for shook his head. This made the prefecture overseer frown. Just as he thought, Shen Ling was going to make some strange request to make things difficult for him. Shen Ling spoke again, ¡°My things are yet to arrive. Can you please be patient for a few more days?¡± ¡°Alright! I trust that you¡¯ll arrange everything.¡± The prefecture overseer said with a nod. Since he had a favor to ask, he had to lower his pride. As long as he could get rid of the bandits in Anzhou so that the emperor would stop blaming him, he was willing to pay any price no matter how huge it was. After all, it was very important for him to protect his reputation. He had to do something about this! He could either be dismissed from his position or sent to jail and this was something that the prefecture overseer didn¡¯t want to experience. He didn¡¯t want to lose his life; nor did he want to give up his official position. For this reason, all he could do was hold on to Shen Ling, hoping that this Young Master would be able to bring the miracle of winning. As for not relying on Shen Ling¡­ it wasn¡¯t that he hadn¡¯t given it a thought. But those bandits were either hiding in the city or the forest. The prefecture overseer didn¡¯t dare to forcefully attack the city. His army of 20,000 couldn¡¯t afford such a waste of time and resources. Although anyone who saw him would think he was calm, he couldn¡¯t help but feel agitated. He was very worried that if he waited any longer, winter would come. During winter, there was snow, which would make it inconvenient for the army to move. It would also be very difficult to transport resources. There was even the risk of frostbite. Under such crucial circumstances, trying to forcefully take back the cities that had been occupied by the rebel army was no different from dreaming. After some careful consideration, the prefecture overseer chose the most likely method to achieve his goal. He decided to ask Shen Ling for help. When Shen Ling looked at the prefecture overseer, he was startled. Originally, he thought that if he rejected the prefecture overseer¡¯s suggestion again, the man would have to ask a few questions to show off his power as a prefecture overseer even if he wasn¡¯t angry. However, he didn¡¯t expect that the prefecture overseer would be so calm and collected. He was very cultured. This surprised him in no small way. After a while¡­ ¡°Ha.¡± Shen Ling slashed down with his saber. Two wooden sabers collided. Da Zhuang was sent flying by the terrific force. This stunned him greatly. ¡°Fourth level?¡± Shen Ling wasn¡¯t surprised by such an outcome. What surprised him was that Da Zhuang¡¯s Mountain-splitting Saber Technique seemed to have been cultivated to the fourth level. There were only three levels of Mountain-splitting Saber Technique! Even the author of the cultivation technique failed to reach the fourth level. However, Shen Ling¡¯s interface showed that his cultivation had gone way beyond the third level. His Mountain-splitting Saber Technique was currently at the sixth level and was slowly moving towards the seventh level. ¡°Mm.¡± Da Zhuang replied in a simple and honest voice, ¡°It¡¯s all thanks to you, Young Master, and that wine!¡± He smiled happily as he got up from the ground. The Mountain-splitting Saber Technique was very easy to get started with. Da Zhuang was able to cultivate to the third level in a short time because of his hard work. Besides, Shen Ling always gave detailed explanation and instructions with patience. ¡°That¡¯s not bad.¡± Shen Ling nodded and asked, ¡°How many people are eligible currently?¡± Da Zhuang thought for some seconds and replied in a deep voice, ¡°Young Master, they are less than ten.¡± When Shen Ling heard this, he was a little disappointed. Although he had the flower wine produced by the blooming of the poplar tree to speed up cultivation, there were less than ten young men who could satisfy the first level of the Iron Shirt and the third level of the Mountain-splitting Saber Technique. If they continued this way, even if Miss Qin delivered the goods he bought, it would be a problem because there won¡¯t be enough people to use them. ¡°We must act as fast as possible.¡± Shen Ling contorted his face in a frown as he looked at the sky. Da Zhuang nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Young Master. I will supervise them.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Shen Ling nodded. After a few days, Miss Qin delivered the goods. There were a hundred sets of armor, a thousand longswords, and more than a thousand flying ropes. She also sent some of the triple crossbows. ¡°This is fair enough.¡± Shen Ling put on his armor as he tried to check it out. As he looked at himself in the bronze mirror, Shen Ling discovered that he looked stronger and even more handsome than usual. He walked confidently, full of vigor. ¡°Young Master.¡± Da Zhuang called out to him respectfully as he walked over. ¡°What¡¯s the matter, Da Zhuang?¡± Shen Ling asked as he turned around. Da Zhuang replied, ¡°There were 12 people who broke through last night. Right now, the number of people who are eligible has gotten to 50.¡± ¡°Fifty people¡­¡± Shen Ling narrowed his eyes and said, ¡°That should be enough for now!¡± ¡°Bring them over here.¡± ¡°Alright, Young Master!¡± Da Zhuang nodded and turned to leave. After a while, Shen Ling brought the fifty young men in armor to the southern square to familiarize themselves with their equipment. Each person was given his ration of a longsword, a triple crossbow, and a flying rope. After the inspection, Shen Ling gave the first order, ¡°Now start running!¡± With so many items that needed to be inspected, it seemed like Shen Ling loved long-distance running the best. In an instant, the young men began to prove their strength. Since they had heavy armor on their bodies, they weren¡¯t able to run fast. After they ran three laps, Shen Ling shouted softly, ¡°Get on the wall.¡± ¡°Whoosh!¡± One after the other, flying ropes flew up the camp wall and the young men began to move forward. Although it wasn¡¯t the first time that most of them used flying ropes, some people had problems using them. Besides, the armor was very heavy. This also caused them to climb the wall very slowly. Moreover¡­ As far as Shen Ling was concerned, this kind of adaptation training was just the beginning. There was still more cruel training waiting for these young men. A day passed. ¡°Charge!¡± They had to be trained fiercely. Fear had to be far from them. Including the fear of death! Since Shen Ling was constantly urging them, the fifty young men were able to quickly understand this principle. They gritted their teeth and persevered, running wildly around the camp wall. At the end of the day, most of them had serious leg injuries. Even walking became very painful for them. ¡°You have all worked hard.¡± Shen Ling said softly as he treated their injuries one after another. Thanks to the powerful effect of the longevity inner strength, all the injuries that they sustained the previous day healed up nicely. Even their internal injuries were not left behind. ¡°We¡¯ll continue tomorrow.¡± Just as the young men were feeling the sweet comfort brought about by the longevity inner strength, Shen Ling¡¯s words caused them to fall into hell once again. A few days later. ¡°Fair enough!¡± Shen Ling spoke slowly, ¡°After a few days, your performance has been quite satisfactory, but it¡¯s still far from what I had expected.¡± ¡°Even at that, we don¡¯t have time to train anymore.¡± ¡°If we do not eliminate the bandits who have taken over the city before winter, we can¡¯t tell how many people will die on the streets by next year spring.¡± ¡°In addition to that, once the bandits gain a foothold, the Qi Hua City and even this village can be attacked at any time. Our fields will not be peaceful.¡± ¡°For this reason, I think we must eliminate them as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Brothers, please come with me!¡±