Lu Qingshan (21 years old)

  Lifespan Remaining: 45 years

  Cultivation: Mortal Shedding - Bone Tempering

  Techniques: Tiger Fist (Limit), Deer Steps (Limit), Red Falcon Breathing Method (Level 3, 4187/10000), Layered Rain Inner Force (Level 3, 3611/10000), Stoneskin Technique (Level 3, 1241/10000), River Surge Inner Force (Level 3, 2292/10000), Great Ape Breathing Method (Level 2, 17/10000), Crimson Claw Technique (Level 3, 772/10000), Tiger Roar Technique (Limit), Crane Wings Technique (Limit), Iron Bear Technique (Limit), Viper Strike Technique (Limit), Basic Hand-to-hand (Limit)

  Mystic Jade Essence - Dao Fruit of Sublime Miracles - Condensing... 0%

  One Portion Condensed

  By the time Lu Qingshan exited seclusion, another one and a half months had passed. He had just finished a practice session and the Great Ape Breathing Method went up another level. He didn't feel much of a boost yet, but a certain sense of solidity and additional flexibility helped improve his movements some more.

  And there was that one portion of Mystic Jade Essence as well, which was now orbiting around the stone slab. Pale and colorful, Lu Qingshan knew how to use it as soon as it appeared.

  If he directed the essence to flow into the slab, he could use it to improve his conception of martial arts. If he chose a specific set of words corresponding to a technique below its limit, his comprehension would drastically improve. Meanwhile, guiding the Mystic Jade Essence into martial arts that had reached their limit would spark a miraculous transformation of the touched words.

  But Lu Qingshan didn't want to use any option yet. The most rewarding choice was likely to save it until he knew which option provided him the most benefit. He could continue to grow stronger first.

  After all, each portion took ten years to create. Lu Qingshan didn't want to wait so long but he had no choice. If he made the wrong choice here, he would be stuck for a decade, enough for many things to kill him even if his strength continued to improve rapidly.

  As the saying went, even the cleverest housewife couldn't cook without rice. His current understanding of the world was too low. Using the Mystic Jade Essence to improve his martial arts would have a greater effect if he began the transformation at the highest point he could reach. That meant collecting more martial arts for him to comprehend.

  It was also why Lu Qingshan decided to continue as the Seven Mysteries Gate's leader. Collecting martial arts manuals was difficult for one person to accomplish alone, especially when it took so much time to sift through the manuals to see which one was any good. Time that could be used for training instead.

  But with all the things happening recently, Lu Qingshan was uncertain he would have the opportunity to wait until the perfect moment. Still, he wanted to try and hold onto the essence as long as possible. He would use it later when the time was right.

  On this mountain, the sect had discovered threats on all sides after four months of scouting. The monster beasts in this area varied wildly, and a previously safe position could be occupied by an aggressive and powerful group the next day. None of them had roamed towards their camp yet, but it was a possibility.

  Yan Xi had also returned from his brief trip to Great Wind City. According to him, there was no major unrest. The demonic cultivators shouldn't have arrived yet, or they were laying low.

  Having been chosen for the mission, the Elder had been bestowed most of the top-notch Great Ape secret medicines in order to increase his chances of success. It was considered a payment for his information about the spirit jades, silencing any dissent in the sect.

  Yan Xi made good use of it too. He was now at the peak of the Bone Tempering stage. His return brought a series of old cuisines back to the mountain, giving the disciples a taste of home. Lu Qingshan was glad the Elder was so sociable — the disciples had immediately begun to work harder.

  At least he could rest easy knowing that the demonic cultivators hadn't made any big moves in the city. Neither had the Jade Skies Sect or the White Jade Sect. While the Jade Skies Sect pretended that nothing had happened, the White Jade Sect was in a state of recuperation, trying their best to assimilate the Seven Mysteries Gate's former territory. This included land, housing, stores, reconstruction of ruins, and parts of the market others were also trying to grab.

  For now, Lu Qingshan had a moment of respite. How he should spend this time was something he was still unsure on. He hadn't managed to achieve Spiritual Awakening even with a portion of time spent meditating each day, nor had he managed to glean anything from the spirit jades or the scrolls. He could go visit the city, but Yan Xi was much better suited for this task than him.

  He knew his most pressing priority was to reach the Marrow Tempering stage. With the vastly increased blood energy provided by the breakthrough, perhaps it wouldn't take him long to match a Viscera Tempering expert. His fastest growing martial art was currently the Great Ape Breathing Method thanks to secret medicines. This technique had a lot of potential.

  The effects of top-notch secret medicine were too good for him to ignore. But the Great Ape Breathing Method was too far behind. He estimated it would take the same amount of time to break through to the next level with the Red Falcon Breathing Method instead. Therefore, the fastest path was to find the recipe to create Red Falcon secret medicines, and use that as his main method first.

  Since the White Jade Sect was so busy taking over the Seven Mysteries Gate's holdings in the city, if Lu Qingshan made a move right now, there was a fine line he could walk where much of his information would not leak out to those watching. Namely, the demonic cultivators he suspected were hiding in the area. They'd suspect him in return, sure, but the level of suspicion would be lessened. It made the risk easier to take.

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  All this was based solely on the Red Falcon Breathing Method being shared to the White Jade Sect. The entire manual had to be there with all its recipes intact. Though he knew that method was quite generic, it was never a guarantee for the Jade Skies Sect to do such things. But it was a possibility.

  Lu Qingshan sighed. He decided to go and spy on them. If he discerned any signs of someone practicing that method, he would attack the Scripture Pavilion again. Hopefully they'd have restocked it by now.

  After notifying the available members of the sect of his decision, he descended down the mountain along the same secret paths he traveled before. It looked like the White Jade Sect didn't have any watchers over this area. This part of the trip was easy, but Lu Qingshan had a feeling it wouldn't remain once he made his way deeper.

  A mass of new White Jade Sect disciples were working hard to shift materials in the newly-rebuilt ruins of the old Seven Mysteries Gate. Lu Qingshan dashed closer, hiding in an empty building. He stayed there for a while and listened in on the brief conversations that often occurred.

  The Jade Skies Sect was apparently planning to officially declare that the White Jade Sect was under their wing. Anyone seeking to enter the Jade Skies Sect could also consider the White Jade Sect as well. It would become a subsidiary martial arts sect, with the Jade Skies Sect as their rulers.

  Lu Qingshan's first thought was how this would affect the amount of martial arts manuals inside the sect. What cost would the White Jade Sect have to pay to tie their status with a stronger sect? He continued eavesdropping, shifting his location when it was safe in order to overhear different conversations. No patrols found him.

  Fortunately, it seemed the Jade Skies Sect wasn't being too restrictive with its rewards. Over the next few days, Lu Qingshan eventually heard about a shipment of martial arts manuals coming soon to supplement the White Jade Sect. The Red Falcon Breathing Method was to be included.

  A White Jade Sect Elder held a speech that day. Lu Qingshan sat through it all, confirming some of those martial arts would indeed have their secret medicine recipes contained within. It roused a wave of cheers from the martial artists.

  He sneered — would they feel the same after today?

  The Elder continued speaking about the dire situation in Great Wind City, confirming Yan Xi's intelligence as the truth. With the promise of martial arts techniques, he gathered a wave of disciples to come down the mountain with him. Soon they disappeared into the distance.

  Lu Qingshan waited until the Elder returned a few times to bring more people out. His opportunity came when the number of Bone Tempering experts were at an all-time low.

  Lu Qingshan stepped out of a quiet corner of the sect grounds. Sneaking over to the Scripture Pavilion was smooth. He didn't even encounter anyone. There were new guards standing at the entrance, but that was all. The building hadn't changed much from the last time he was here.

  To hopefully lower suspicion from the demonic cultivators, Lu Qingshan decided to use a level of force expected from the remnants of the Seven Mysteries Gate. Somewhere between Bone Tempering and Marrow Tempering might mislead them into underestimating him. He snuck behind the pavilion and quietly dashed into motion.

  From behind the guards, a hand reached out and snapped a guard's neck before they had a chance to scream. The second was immediately roused, moving into a punch, but Lu Qingshan's claw had torn through their throat moments later. They died swiftly while he entered the pavilion.

  Inside were a few martial disciples poring over a few manuals. They looked up at him, only to find their throats all cut in half in a single breath. Lu Qingshan wiped his hand on a manual — they weren't even Flesh Tempering stage martial artists. Too weak to even delay him.

  He swiped a few random manuals and stuffed them in his bag. Better than nothing if he had to flee early. Then, he charged up the stairs.

  Two people — a man and a woman — blinked at him. One of them immediately drew their saber and attacked, while the other stood up from their reading. Lu Qingshan deflected the blow with a nearby manual and circled around. He did not want to get entangled with them. Judging by their strength, they were Bone Tempering experts.

  If he killed them too smoothly, it would look suspicious, but too slowly and the Marrow Tempering expert would arrive. He needed a bloodbath.

  His first attack was at the level of a peak Bone Tempering expert. Aimed at the shoulder of his attacker, Lu Qingshan's palm shattered bone and shoved him aside. His stance then solidified into an Iron Bear's and he easily deflected the other person's fist. She had to be a new breakthrough — she was far too weak.

  Lu Qingshan unleashed a flurry of claws and fists onto the first martial artist. Shoving them to the ground, he brutalized their head, completely ignoring the attempts from behind to shove him off. His Iron Bear Stoneskin easily blocked anything the woman could do. Lu Qingshan threw out another hard fist into the man's jaw. His final blow slammed their skull into the hard stone of the pavilion, knocking them out unconscious.

  Loud footsteps sounded out from upstairs. Lu Qingshan spun around and struck the annoying woman with his fist. She fell to the floor, unmoving. He turned back to face the stairway.

  A Marrow Tempering expert was glaring at him. But as soon as they tried to lunge towards him, Lu Qingshan dodged. He flung himself up the stairs instead of attempting to fight back. With help from Deer Traverses the Forest, Lu Qingshan practically flew upwards.

  “Stop, thief!” the man roared.

  Lu Qingshan quickly identified the booklet containing the Red Falcon Breathing Method and grabbed it. He was even able to quickly scan the book for the martial recipe while the man scrambled up the stairs behind him, confirming that it did have the recipe he wanted. Then he began to grab a few more books just in case.

  He didn't have the chance to read through them this time. In frustration, the man seemed to visibly transform. Somehow, the room's temperature dropped — Lu Qingshan was faced with even faster attacks. His Stoneskin rapidly broke, but he protected his vitals while continuing to dodge lethal blows.

  This sudden surge in strength must’ve been one of the rare self-sacrificing martial arts techniques. Lu Qingshan wanted one, but that meant having to win the fight. A Marrow Tempering expert under the power of self-sacrifice was no longer simple. If he won, it would result in more trouble, likely from the Jade Skies Sect's actual Elders.

  Lu Qingshan was not yet ready to draw Viscera Tempering levels of scrutiny just yet. He found the right moment to evade one of the enemy's attacks and leaped down the stairs. As his opponent chased him out the pavilion, he tried to slip away.

  But the man stuck to him like glue. It took a surge of inner force for Lu Qingshan to finally outrun him. Though the Marrow Tempering expert likely had his own inner force technique from that cold wind, most martial artists tended to focus on external techniques in the early stages. They took longer to cultivate and provided less power overall until they reached a certain level. He only hoped the situation wouldn't escalate too much with that move.

  Lu Qingshan disappeared back into the mountains. He returned to the Seven Mysteries Gate camp and dumped the bag of books onto a table. Finally, he could see the road in front of him.