Immortal Refiner

On the Serpent-Head Spirit Boat, Senior Brother Yang’s expression turned grim. He gazed down at the mortal-filled city below, his eyes narrowing.

Soon, his thoughts turned to his own Dao and the secret treasure Li Qing possessed that could conceal heaven’s will.

In the end, Senior Brother Yang made a decision. ”Let’s go down and search for him!”

The Serpent-Head Spirit Boat landed outside the city walls. Four disciples of the Heavenly River Sect entered the city together, their arrogant demeanor making it clear they held the mortals in contempt.

But the city was vast. Finding Li Qing would be no easy task.

Moreover, Li Qing’s concealment skills were exceptional. With the Aura Concealment Talisman and the Jade Ruyi, he could hide himself completely if he chose to. No matter how hard they searched, they would never find him.

Meanwhile, Li Qing, already hidden, was aware of the Heavenly River Sect disciples’ arrival.

He merely sneered. ”If you want to search, then take your time.”

Having spent so long navigating the treacherous world of mortals, Li Qing knew how to blend in perfectly. It took him almost no effort to become one with the city’s bustling crowd.

That very day, Li Qing exchanged some high-quality jade fragments for a substantial amount of silver. He then purchased two sets of travel attire and settled into a modest inn.

Maple Country had a martial culture, and the Jianghu was teeming with Martial Artists. Li Qing chose to dress as a young, newly initiated Jianghu hero.

He wore a black robe, a finely crafted sword hanging at his waist, and concealed his aura, revealing only a hint of an External Strength Martial Artist’s presence.

Seated in a tavern, Li Qing couldn’t help but inquire about the Jianghu’s affairs.

”I vaguely recall that the Martial Dao in the southern regions of Maple Country favors unconventional methods. Hidden weapons, assassination techniques, Face-Altering Techniques, and Bone Shrinking Arts thrive there, unlike the northern Martial World, which prefers direct, open combat.”

”The others are of little interest, but Face-Altering Techniques and Bone Shrinking Arts might offer some valuable insights.”

Li Qing murmured to himself, then took a small sip of the strong liquor of the mortal world, his expression remaining unchanged.

In the cultivation world, his face was now a coveted prize, sought after by all. He was determined to master these two unorthodox Martial Arts.

Though he was a Martial Dao Grandmaster who had created the powerful Limitless Art, it was impossible for him to have mastered the Bone Shrinking Art and Face-Altering Technique through self-study alone, without understanding their underlying principles.

As luck would have it, Xunjiang City was the second-largest city in Southern Maple, a bustling hub where Jianghu sects were sure to be plentiful.

Sure enough, as Li Qing sipped his wine, he soon overheard a conversation at a nearby table in the tavern.

”That’s brutal! Another person died at yesterday’s Martial Dao Assembly. Rumor has it, it was a scion of a Martial Clan!”

”Hahaha! That news has already spread throughout the Jianghu. Yesterday, that Inner Strength Martial Artist from the Wei Family was beaten to death right on the stage.”

”Damn! The Martial Alliance Leader position isn’t for just anyone. It’s a pity the Wei Family finally produced an Inner Strength Martial Artist, only for him to die so easily.”

”Hmph! The Wei Family is struggling to survive as it is, yet they still dared to covet the Calamity-Severing Spear. They deserve to be wiped out.”

”True. How could they possibly compete for the Martial Arts Legacy of a Martial Extremity Grandmaster?”

”Speaking of which, the Wei Family is quite pitiful. After Patriarch Wei passed away nine years ago, the family has been in name only. Now, just when they finally produced an Inner Strength expert, it’s...”

Li Qing’s hand holding his wine cup trembled slightly, and his gaze sharpened.

Martial Dao Assembly, Martial Alliance Leader, Calamity-Severing Spear, Wei Family, in name only.

As these words entered his ears, his heart stirred with ripples of emotion.

”The Wei Family... is this the same Wei Family I know?” Li Qing muttered to himself, then stood up.

After so many years in the immortal cultivation world, the secular Martial World had naturally undergone changes.

To Li Qing’s surprise, the Calamity-Severing Spear, one of the three Peerless Divine Weapons he had left behind, had become a symbol akin to the Martial Alliance Leader’s emblem.

The ongoing Martial Dao Assembly was being held to compete for the Calamity-Severing Spear and the partial inheritance of the Limitless Art inscribed upon it.

Carrying a jar of strong liquor, Li Qing approached a table of seasoned Jianghu practitioners and said, ”Could you tell me more about the Wei Family and the Martial Dao Assembly?”

The old Jianghu practitioner raised an eyebrow, popped a peanut into his mouth with interest, and chuckled. ”You’re already an External Strength Martial Artist at such a young age? Not bad talent. But I advise you not to get your hopes up about the Martial Dao Assembly. Even Inner Strength experts who go there are doomed!”

With that, he picked up the jar of strong liquor Li Qing had offered, broke the mud seal, and began to answer Li Qing’s questions with a hearty laugh.

As Li Qing had suspected, his Calamity-Severing Spear had indeed surfaced, sparking an unprecedented bloodbath in the Jianghu.

Both the magical weapon itself and the Inner Cultivation Manual of the Limitless Art were treasures that could shake the entire Martial World to its core.

As the death toll mounted and the situation grew increasingly dire, the imperial court finally intervened, sending in the Maple Guard to quell the violence.

Ultimately, under the Maple Guard’s decree, the Martial World began holding the Martial Dao Assembly every five years. The victor would wield the Calamity-Severing Spear and become the Martial Alliance Leader, the supreme leader of the Martial World!

A Grandmaster-level Martial Arts Legacy, a Peerless Divine Weapon, and the prestigious title of Martial Alliance Leader, commanding the entire Martial World!

These three combined would drive any Jianghu practitioner to madness.

Hearing this, Li Qing couldn’t help but force a bitter smile. He never imagined his Martial Arts Legacy would evolve to this point!

Soon, another Jianghu practitioner chimed in, ”Heh heh, I heard the Martial Arts Legacy recorded on the Calamity-Severing Spear is incomplete, only a fragment of the true Limitless Art.”

”That’s right, I’ve heard the same. After the Martial Extremity Grandmaster retired from the Jianghu, he left behind three Magical Weapons, each imbued with his Martial Dao Will and Martial Arts Legacy.”

”Two of them were originally in the hands of the Maple Guard. But for some reason, the Fine Snow Dance disappeared, leaving only the Shadowless Staff in the hands of the imperial court.”

”I can’t even imagine what it would be like if one day we could gather all three Magical Weapons and obtain the complete Limitless Art. What a sight that would be!”

”Hahaha, if that truly happened, we wouldn’t be invincible, but we’d be pretty close, wouldn’t we?”

”...”

Li Qing merely listened to these matters as entertainment. He knew better than anyone what kind of inheritance he had left behind.

The complete Limitless Art was indeed extraordinary, a true Grandmaster-level Martial Arts Legacy that cultivated both Inner Strength and external physical strength. If one could master it fully, they could indeed achieve Grandmaster-level status.

However, it was also extremely demanding to practice, requiring cultivation of Inner Strength, rigorous training of the physical body and Vital Energy, and mastery of footwork.

Ordinary Jianghu Practitioners, even if they obtained it, would struggle to fully master the entire Limitless Art.

The true strength of the Limitless Art lay in the fact that each part could be practiced independently, serving as a gateway into the Martial Dao and granting formidable combat prowess.

Ultimately, however, the true goal was for the practitioner to transcend the art and forge their own Martial Dao path, thereby achieving Grandmaster status.

Forcibly collecting the complete Limitless Art and blindly following Li Qing’s path would be a mistake.

This was precisely why Li Qing had divided the Limitless Art into three parts in the first place.

”What did you mean by the Wei Family being a mere shadow of its former self?” Li Qing asked, turning to a matter that concerned him more.

Soon, the old Jianghu practitioner began to describe the current situation of the Wei Family.

When the Marauders invaded, the Wei Family, like most common folk, crossed Small Jade Ridge and fled south to Xunjiang City.

As the saying goes, ”A strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake.” In the south, the Wei Family lay low, focusing on stable development and avoiding conflicts with outsiders.

However, the situation changed nine years ago when Old Man Wei Cang passed away.

”Young hero, you may not know this, but while Old Man Wei Cang was alive, the family’s Martial Artists dared not act recklessly.”

”Once Old Man Wei Cang was gone, the main branch fell under the control of Inch Fist Wu Yang.”

”For nine years, the Wei Family’s direct bloodline finally produced an Inner Strength expert. But this person was arrogant and dissatisfied with the status quo. Instead of addressing the family’s problems first, he went off to participate in some Martial Dao Assembly, aiming to become the Martial Alliance Leader!”

Hearing this, Li Qing finally confirmed that this Wei Family was the same one he had visited before.

He clearly remembered promising Old Master Wei that if he ever gained the ability, he would help resolve the Wei Family’s crisis.

”May I ask where the Wei Family currently resides?” Li Qing asked with a cupped fist.

The old Jianghu practitioner casually pointed in a direction and replied, ”Bamboo and Cypress Road in the city.”

”Thank you!”

With that, Li Qing turned and walked away, silently musing to himself:

Now’s a good time to settle this karmic debt. I’ll repay this favor in full this time.

Li Qing still had a vivid memory of Wu Yang, who had caused him considerable trouble when he was still an Inner Strength Martial Artist.

But after all these years, this practitioner of External Martial Arts was still able to keep the younger generation of the Wei Family from raising their heads. This made Li Qing pause in thought.

Instead of using his Inner Strength to resolve his family’s problems, he chose to participate in the Martial Dao Assembly first... It seems the Twin Blades of Lingering Embers have fallen into Wu Yang’s hands.

Li Qing stroked his chin thoughtfully before quickening his pace toward Bamboo and Cypress Road.

Unlike their lavish residence in Origin Spring City, the Wei Family’s Xunjiang City mansion was far less ostentatious. It was smaller in scale but still elegant, understated, and refined.

The guards at the gate saw Li Qing walking straight toward them and immediately shouted, ”Who goes there? Halt!”

Li Qing ignored them, not even glancing at the two men beside him as he continued toward the Wei Family’s mansion.

The guards frowned, ready to attack.

But before they could move, Li Qing’s divine sense power swept out, instantly knocking them unconscious.

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled thuds echoed as the guards collapsed in front of the gate.

At that moment, in the Wei Family’s main hall, a lean, middle-aged man in his fifties sat in the main seat, gesturing with two exquisitely crafted, flawless black scimitars.

The blades of these scimitars shimmered with an eerie red glow, like the last crimson rays of the sunset before nightfall.

Below the main seat, the Wei Family’s direct descendants wore grim expressions, some trembling with fear.

Among them, a woman in her thirties, with a proud bearing and resolute gaze, stared intently at the two scimitars.

”Heh, who would have thought that Wei Tian would actually achieve Inner Strength? I spared his life after taking his scimitar back then, and it nearly led to disaster.”

”What a pity, such a pity. After achieving Inner Strength, he knew he couldn’t defeat me, who possessed the Lingering Embers. So he planned to seek another path at the Martial Dao Assembly, seize the Calamity-Severing Spear, and then challenge me again.”

”But in the end, he died at the Martial Dao Assembly, and Old Master Wei’s final contingency plan was thwarted.”

As he spoke, the aged Wu Yang couldn’t help but stroke the Twin Blades of Lingering Embers in his hands with a look of rapt fascination.

These were peerless magical weapons, treasures sought after throughout the Jianghu. He never imagined the Wei Family truly possessed such divine artifacts!

Back when Patriarch Wei was still alive, Wu Yang had been extremely docile, never revealing any hint of his ambition.

But after the old man’s death, he could no longer restrain himself. He immediately seized control of the Wei Family and obtained the Grandmaster’s Martial Dao Insights.

Unfortunately, his age had caught up with him. His Vital Energy was depleted, and reaching the Grandmaster Realm was now beyond his grasp.

However, the Twin Blades of Lingering Embers were an unexpected boon.

The woman with the upright figure in the audience glared at Wu Yang with fury in her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it. She lowered her voice and said, ”Elder Wu, Wei Tian may be my nephew, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he felt any loyalty to the Wei Family.”

”He might have entered the Martial Dao Assembly solely to compete for the title of Martial Alliance Leader,” Wei Qingqing said, her beautiful face contorted with a mixture of sorrow and determination. ”He would never harbor any ill intentions toward you.”

”Hahahaha, Wei Qingqing, do you even believe your own words?” Wu Yang roared with laughter, a murderous glint flashing in his eyes as he glared at the direct descendants of the Wei Family present. ”Back then, I showed mercy and spared your lives. Now, it seems that was a mistake.”

”Do you really think I didn’t know you’ve been secretly funding Wei Tian’s martial arts training all these years?!”

With that, Wu Yang rose to his feet. Though not particularly imposing in stature, his presence now radiated an aura of terrifying power. Like an enraged lion, his entire body seemed poised to explode with raw energy. Coupled with the twin blades in his hands, the sight sent shivers down the spines of everyone present.

”You...” Wei Qingqing’s face crumpled with despair. Clenching her fists, she realized the direct line of the Wei Family was likely doomed.

But just as despair threatened to engulf her, a clear, cheerful voice suddenly cut through the tension:

”Hehe, Brother Wu Yang, I seem to recall you used to favor the Inch Fist. Why the sudden change to twin blades?”

The sound of the voice froze Wu Yang in his tracks, the twin blades still clutched in his hands.

(End of the Chapter)

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