Immortal Refiner

Shengtian, Lianyue Street.

This was the street where the Flying Cloud School was located. Due to the recent string of serial murders, a dark cloud seemed to hang over the entire street.

Bang!

A deafening explosion erupted inside the school!

Song Yunting, the head of the Flying Cloud School, stood before a shattered wooden dummy, his white training robe stained with dust. His face was grim, and his fists were clenched so tightly his knuckles were white.

”Three down! Now even Fourth Disciple Lu Feng is dead!” Song Yunting roared, his voice thick with barely contained fury.

Since opening the school, he had only taken on seven Personal Disciples. Yet in just half a month, three of them had died under mysterious circumstances.

Though the number of Personal Disciples was small, each one was a trusted confidant he had entrusted with important responsibilities. They were meant to be his greatest support when he grew old and retired.

His heart was bleeding. Even during the fiercest territorial battles with other schools, he had never suffered such losses.

Each of these Personal Disciples had been taught his unique inner martial arts techniques, and their skills were undeniably impressive.

Their deaths, so swift and effortless, felt like a slap in the face, a deliberate act of humiliation that dragged the Flying Cloud School’s reputation through the mud.

”What do you think of this?” Song Yunting’s gaze shifted to the eldest and most mature of the remaining four Personal Disciples.

Eldest Disciple Mo Nian’s expression was grave. He said slowly, ”Master, there’s something very suspicious about this. Why did the deaths only occur among our Flying Cloud School disciples, when there are three major martial arts schools in Shengtian City?”

The other disciples chimed in, ”That’s right. It’s clearly a premeditated attack. Could it be someone who bears a deep grudge against our school from the past?”

”Possibly.”

The sentence trailed off, but anyone could guess the unspoken implication: it could also be the work of the other two schools.

The three major martial arts schools in Shengtian City were renowned throughout the land, controlling over half of the city’s underground influence.

In the past, when the Nine Lotus Sect still existed, the three schools had been able to band together, standing toe-to-toe with the sect. Half the territory belonged to the Nine Lotus Sect, and the other half to the three schools.

Now that the Nine Lotus Sect was gone, the rope that had bound them together naturally frayed, turning them into direct competitors.

While not outright enemies, their relationship was far from harmonious, both openly and covertly.

Creak!

Song Yunting clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles cracked. His face was as dark and stormy as a thundercloud about to burst.

”Damn it, I’m not old yet!”

Among the remaining four disciples, one finally spoke with a clear head.

”Master, this matter requires careful investigation. It’s possible the culprits are secretly stirring up conflict between us and the other two martial schools.”

”If we rashly start a fight like this, we’ll be playing right into their hands!”

His words drew nods of agreement from the other disciples.

”That’s true!”

”Third Brother’s right. That’s definitely a possibility!”

”...”

Song Yunting ground his teeth until they nearly shattered. He spoke through gritted teeth: ”Mo Nian, send more people to negotiate with the Maple Guard these days. Report any leads to me immediately!”

”And the rest of you, don’t go anywhere alone until this is resolved. Stay at the school unless you have a good reason to leave.”

”Don’t let me find out which bastard is behind this, or I, Song Yunting, will tear him into a thousand pieces!”

Since its establishment a year ago, the Maple Guard had rapidly expanded, with branches sprouting up in every major city across the Maple Country like mushrooms after rain. This was the reason for the relative peace in the Jianghu and Martial World over the past year. After all, as a government force, they commanded a certain level of respect.

But now, three Personal Disciples of the Flying Cloud School had died under mysterious circumstances, two of them External Strength Experts.

Naturally, the Maple Guard took charge of investigating the serial murders in the Imperial Capital. These killings, occurring under the very nose of the Emperor, immediately drew the attention of this newly established force.

”Yang Xing, how’s your investigation going?” Zhao Yuan, wielding the Silent Blade, asked a quiet-looking young man.

To be frank, many of the Maple Guard were muscle-brained martial artists, skilled at capturing criminals and fighting, but utterly inept at detective work.

Yang Xing, however, was one of the more intellectually capable martial artists in the Maple Guard. His sharp mind and clear analytical skills made him the obvious choice to lead the investigation.

”At the Golden Armor School, everyone’s whereabouts during the deaths of the two victims can be accounted for, except for Zhang Lai’s death night. Based on this alone, we can tentatively rule them out as suspects.”

Zhao Yuan nodded. ”The situation at the Raging Wind School is similar. Including the school’s master, everyone can be temporarily cleared of suspicion.”

”Then we have no one to suspect!” someone exclaimed.

”Sigh, we’ll have to take it step by step,” Yang Xing said, shaking his head. ”Let’s also ask the government for a few experienced constables to assist us.”

The case had caused a sensation throughout Shengtian, yet it hadn’t stirred much unease or panic among the common folk. After all, the victims were all members of the Flying Cloud School, and all martial artists. It seemed unlikely to affect ordinary civilians.

During this period, Li Qing was arguably the least suspicious person in Shengtian. Ever since Zhang Lai’s death on the night of the first murder, he had remained at Maple Guard headquarters, diligently consulting Guo Zhentong on how to advance to the Inner Strength realm. Even as two more deaths occurred, he never left Maple Guard headquarters, remaining engrossed in the mysteries of Inner Strength. His alibi was as clean as could be.

”No wonder the Inner Strength realm is also called the Hundred Battles Realm,” Li Qing murmured to himself. ”This method of channeling power is truly difficult to grasp clearly. One must be forged through countless battles.”

His talent was merely decent, and reaching the Inner Strength realm at the age of twenty was clearly beyond his reach. However, his physical constitution had been honed to an extraordinary degree. Thanks to the Golden Body Technique and Tiger Bone Wine, his foundation was exceptionally robust.

Once he reached the Inner Strength level, his strength would undoubtedly skyrocket.

As he spoke, Li Qing pressed his hand against a stone millstone.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

After three consecutive palm strikes, the millstone still only showed surface cracks.

Beside him lay half a millstone, the other half shattered. The remaining millstone bore only a single palm print.

This was the demonstration Guo Zhentong had given him of Inner Strength: striking through objects from a distance, using force to shatter their internal structure.

At this level, ordinary iron armor would offer little protection. A single blow would pierce through the armor like a hot knife through butter, directly injuring the flesh beneath.

That was why many Inner Strength experts rarely wore iron armor. It was unnecessary against opponents of equal skill and only hindered their speed. Against External Strength Martial Artists, it was equally unnecessary.

Of course, this didn’t apply to Inner Strength experts in battle formations.

Li Qing frowned again as he examined the cracks on the millstone.

It was time to return. He had asked all his questions and learned everything he needed. Now, he just needed the final push.

Thinking of this, Li Qing sighed and took the gourd from his waist, taking a long swig of wine.

”Hah!”

In the beginning, he had actually sought advice from Qian Hong. Seeing that Li Qing practiced external martial arts, Qian Hong immediately recommended Guo Zhentong, who also specialized in external techniques.

To avoid revealing that he was also cultivating the internal martial art, the Turtle Breathing Art, Li Qing naturally agreed.

Initially, Guo Zhentong’s compensation was to help Li Qing refine his Meteor Hammer. It didn’t need to reach the level of a Magical weapon; just a slightly better quality would suffice.

However, after Guo Zhentong noticed the unusual quality of the wine Li Qing was drinking, he quickly changed his terms, asking for half a gourd of the liquor.

The finely brewed Tiger Bone Wine sent Old Guo, a notorious drunkard, into a state of bliss. He was utterly delighted and immediately imparted all his experience to Li Qing.

As it turned out, Guo Zhentong was indeed an excellent teacher. Although Li Qing hadn’t yet reached the Inner Strength realm, he felt he was close.

”Senior Guo, I won’t trouble you any further. Farewell!” Li Qing found Old Guo and clasped his hands in a farewell salute.

Guo Zhentong waved his hand and said, ”Well, things in the sect have been in complete chaos lately. I haven’t had much time to entertain guests.”

This naturally referred to the recent case at the Flying Cloud School, which Li Qing had also heard about.

He didn’t say much, simply clasped his hands in a respectful bow once more before turning to leave.

Watching Li Qing’s departing figure, Guo Zhentong couldn’t help but sigh.

”Ah, Old Gu, Old Gu... you certainly took on a fine disciple.”

He had naturally inquired about Li Qing bringing Master Gu’s descendants to Shengtian City. He was deeply impressed by Li Qing’s character, which was why he had shared the key points of Inner Strength cultivation without reservation.

When the two had first met, Li Qing was just a young upstart. Now, in the blink of an eye, he had not only perfectly inherited Master Gu’s blacksmithing legacy but had also made remarkable progress in the Martial Path, leaving Guo Zhentong deeply impressed.

”It seems this young man should truly grasp the threshold of Inner Strength within a year or so.”

(End of the Chapter)

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