Chapter 8 Pingyang Dragon Scale Society

In the second half of the night, the moon disappeared and the stars sank.

Zhang Yu continued to sit in meditation with his eyes closed, circulating his Qi in an effort to consolidate his hard-earned state.

Opening up Dantian and deriving internal strength is the first step.

There are many factors that determine the strength of martial arts masters, and it is not just based on the depth of internal strength. Otherwise, the Huashan Sect would not have had the dispute over qi and sword.

There was once a martial arts elder in the Sanxiang area who was obsessed with breathing exercises and had profound internal strength, but he had no practical experience. He was defeated by a younger generation who had just entered the martial arts world with exquisite sword moves. Feeling ashamed to face his fellow martial artists, he jumped into the river and committed suicide. He has been a laughing stock for many years.

But that is an exception after all. In short, the level of internal strength is still the most effective standard for distinguishing martial arts skills.

Sixty years ago, the Shaolin monk Kong Wu and the former Wudang leader Qingming Taoist discussed Taoism in Kunlun Mountain and set the level of internal strength as six levels. Since the Jiazi year, many martial artists in the world have followed this principle.

Dan Jin, Pojia, Qi Hai, Postnatal, Innate, Grandmaster.

Just like climbing a cliff, most people will be stuck at the foot of the mountain for their entire lives. Only a few can climb to the mountainside, and even fewer can go higher.

The Grand Master realm above the Xiantian realm symbolizes the rise and fall of the martial arts world in each generation.

It doesn't matter if you live far away from the Central Plains or live in seclusion.

There are only two and a half recognized grand masters in the world today.

The leader of the evil cult is Dongfang Bubai.

Master Fang Zheng of Shaolin Temple.

Chongxu is only perfect at the innate level, but his Tai Chi swordsmanship is so powerful that he can barely be considered a half-step master.

The bonfire gradually died down, and the moonlight shone through the branches and leaves into the woods.

"Buzz~"

The army of mosquitoes lying in ambush all around launched a general attack as if they had received a signal.

"You are diligent!"

Yue Lingshan tossed and turned but still couldn't fall asleep. There were too many mosquitoes in the forest, and her hands were tied, so she couldn't kill them.

She looked at Zhang Yu, only to find that he was not affected at all, and could even guide his breath.

"Maybe mosquitoes only bite me?"

Yue Lingshan approached gently, and sure enough, there were no mosquitoes within a foot of Zhang Yu. She sniffed and found no wormwood on his clothes. Would these damn 'buzzing' things pick on the weak?
"I've only heard that if you achieve perfection in the later life, you won't be affected by mosquitoes or dust. How can he do that?"

Without the harassment of mosquitoes, Yue Lingshan felt sleepy and fell asleep next to Zhang Yu.

The night breaks and the sun rises.

Zhang Yu exhaled and immediately took off the green jade ring on his left thumb.

After wearing the ring, the speed of circulation of the meridians will be three times faster, which means that the practice of internal energy can be three times faster.

The longer it took each time, the tighter it became when I took out the ring, and this time it almost melted into my flesh.

"Is this the price?" He put away the green jade ring, feeling vaguely uneasy.

Yue Lingshan opened her beautiful eyes and felt refreshed. She hadn't slept so peacefully for a long time. After a moment, she found her head resting between Zhang Yu's legs. The posture was intimate and weird. She quickly got up and sat aside, pretending to comb her hair.

"Luckily no one saw it."

Zhang Yu looked at the crystal on his trouser leg and sighed: "Otherwise, people would think I wet the bed. If this gets out, how can I survive in the martial arts world? Miss Yue, don't you agree?"

Yue Lingshan wiped the saliva from the corner of her mouth and said with a red face: "Don't talk nonsense! That's dew."

Zhang Yu stretched out his left hand and asked, "Tell me the truth, did you dream about chicken legs? How many did you eat?"

Yue Lingshan looked at the bloody left thumb and couldn't believe it: "This...I bit me?"

Zhang Yu looked around the woods: "Is there a third person here?"

"That's impossible? I never grind my teeth when I sleep."

Yue Lingshan was so distraught that she began to doubt her life.

Pingyang is the easternmost city in the Three Jins.

There was a hustle and bustle of carriages and horses on the official road.

In addition to the heroes carrying swords and knives, there were also soldiers wearing fiery red battle jackets passing by from time to time.

This city is located between the government and the underworld forces.

"Open your mouth."

Zhang Yu pinched her chin.

Yue Lingshan tasted the food and said, "What did you give me to eat? Something sour?"

Zhang Yu said calmly, "You've never heard of the Three Corpses Brain Pill, have you?"

He swung his sword to cut the tendon rope and made up a story: "There are three kinds of corpse worms in this pill. They don't attack normally. On the 7th, 17th, and 27th of every month, if there is no antidote, the corpse worms will break out and dig holes in the body to build nests and devour the flesh and blood. It is extremely painful."

"Once you enter Pingyang City, you must obey me in everything, otherwise you will never get the antidote."

Yue Lingshan rubbed her wrist which was scarred by the strangulation and whispered, "You little thief from the Demon Cult, I knew you were no good."

The two were about to enter the city.

Fifty or sixty horsemen came whistling down the official road, the clatter of their horses' hooves like drum beats, getting faster and faster.

“Jingjing!”

“Well, well, well!”

Those men wore black gauze hats, Feiyu uniforms, standard long swords on their waists, and carried powerful crossbows on their backs. Each of them exuded an elite and iron-blooded aura.

The rider in the middle has a flag on his back that reads "Ming Dynasty Pingyang City Jinyiwei Qianhu Suo".

"Flying fish suit, embroidered spring sword?"

It was the first time that Zhang Yu saw the Embroidered Uniform Guard. As far as he knew, although this world was 70% to 80% similar to the Ming Dynasty in his previous life, it was not exactly the same.

For example, the country was named Ming, but the emperor's surname was not Zhu, but Han.

"Are there Jinyiwei here too?"

The two of them quickly stepped aside.

The Jinyiwei swarmed into the city without any intention of slowing down, and the city gate was suddenly in chaos. The old soldiers guarding the city did not dare to look at these evil masters, and stayed away from them. After they were far away, they came to maintain order.

"What a sin!" The old woman knelt on the ground, picked up the flour with trembling hands and put it back into the empty cloth bag.

If this bag of white flour is replaced with the lowest quality aged coarse grains, it might be enough to last for two months.

No one cares what a poor old woman thinks.

The hooves of various animals trampled on the white surface, leaving marks.

"Get out of here, old man, and stop blocking the city gate."

The guards drove her away and the horses and men trampled on her. In the end, she only collected half a bag of flour, which was mixed with dust and dirt. She was afraid that she would not be able to sell it at a high price.

The old woman turned and left disappointed.

Zhang Yu came forward and asked with a smile: "Grandma, are you selling this bag of flour?"

"Selling... is just spilling on the ground, covered with dust, not clean, young master..."

The old woman looked at Zhang Yu and saw that he was wearing ordinary cloth but had a handsome appearance, a long sword on his waist, and a beautiful maid followed behind him. It was obvious that he was not from an ordinary family. She was afraid that he was deliberately making fun of her.

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "It's not clean, but you won't get sick if you eat it."

"Then Sir...how about giving me fifty cents?"

Zhang Yu searched through the purse and found only thirty-nine coins. The disciples of Songshan Sect were indeed very poor, and the two of them only managed to find seven or eight taels of loose change.

"These will do, too."

The old woman said quickly, "Using these copper coins to exchange for some leftovers will allow her and her grandson to live a little longer."

When the two people passed each other, a silver ingot fell into the cloth bag.

Yue Lingshan saw this and said with a smile: "I didn't expect you to have such a kind heart."

Zhang Yu asked, "How much money does Huashan Sect give its disciples every month?"

Yue Lingshan asked in confusion: "Why do we need to give out money? We are all family, so giving out money would be awkward, wouldn't it?"

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "The Huashan Sect is even more ruthless than the Songshan Sect. No wonder they had the last laugh in the internal fight among the Five Mountains Sword Sects."

The two men talked as they walked through the city gate.

The streets were bustling with traffic and lined with brothels and taverns.

Pingyang is located at the junction of two provinces. There are endless caravans coming and going, and a huge influx of silver and money, which supports the prosperity of two completely different worlds from the outside world.

Zhang Yu noticed that there were many people in the city carrying weapons, including spears and iron bows that were explicitly prohibited by the "Taizu Banning Weapons Order". As long as they did not cause trouble, the patrolling soldiers would turn a blind eye.

As the dynasty entered its middle and late stages, it began to decline inexorably.

The military was in disrepair, border troubles continued, and internal control was also powerless.

Otherwise, they would not sit idly by and watch a gang like the Sun and Moon Sect, with 30,000 followers and occupying a dangerous pass, which is definitely treason.

If it were the time of Taizu and Taizong, which sect would dare to defy the government?

Do you still dare to "achieve literary and military virtues for thousands of years"?
He had already trampled upon the sect and his head was known throughout the world.

Unfortunately, that was a hundred years ago. Now that the Holy Emperor is in power, the imperial court can no longer spare the strength to invade the martial arts world. We can only hope that the martial arts world will fight within its own rules and both sides will suffer losses.

Suddenly, there was a crowd of people on the street, and two servants in blue clothes were beating gongs and drums and shouting loudly.

"Hurry to the south of the city! Let's begin."

"Let's go together, let's go together to see the most beautiful woman in Pingyang City."

"Brother, what's going on?"

"The Lin family's martial arts competition to recruit a bride has begun again."

"Which Lin family?"

"In Pingyang City, besides Lin Kun from the Dragon Scale Society, who else is there from the Lin family?"

(End of this chapter)

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