Scripture of Days Past

Chu Qiguang patted Wang Cailiang on the shoulder, then said, ”I’ll leave it to you to transport the remaining living corpses on Plum Mountain here in batches. I’ll have the other fiends to help you.”

Even though Wang Cailiang had almost been driven to the point of demonification by Daoist Master Azure Spirit’s incantations, he had managed to keep it at bay thanks to the power of his fiendish bloodline. As a result, he had become someone also capable of using the incantations in the Elixir of Undying.

He instinctively wanted to refuse, but he suddenly realized that he was in no position to reject Chu Qiguang’s instructions. Thus, he gulped nervously, then nodded.

Chu Qiguang was very pleased with how things were going. If he could transport all the thousands of living corpses on Plum Mountain here to cultivate the land, then around this time next year, he should be able to recruit another one or two thousand more fiends.

He would repeat the cycle of training, expansion, and recruitment over and over again, and his fiendish army would rapidly grow.

It took Wang Cailiang almost a month to transport all the living corpses to Hidden Fiend Village. During this time, some villagers were alerted, but all the reports they made to the Daoist temple and the county office were immediately relayed to Chu Qiguang.

Furthermore, the living corpses didn’t attack anyone under Wang Cailiang’s control, so no one felt inclined to pursue the reports.

After the living corpses on Plum Mountain were cleared out, it didn’t take long for the nearby villagers to notice, and they soon began venturing into the mountain to mine coal.

The local authorities wanted to prohibit this, but on one hand, the imperial court no longer cared about Plum Mountain now that its spirit vein had been destroyed. On the other hand, sealing off an entire mountain from the public will be extremely difficult and costly.

Thus, the prohibition order was largely ignored and unenforced. Just as Chu Qiguang had envisioned, everyone in the county was able to benefit from the resumed coal mining operations on Plum Mountain.

It was a win-win situation for all sides, as Hidden Fiend Village had gained close to three thousand living corpses, significantly increasing its productive capacity.

Farming efficiency rose dramatically thanks to these living corpses, but in order to keep up with this sudden influx of labor, Chu Qiguang had to spend a great deal of money on seeds and farming equipment, much to Accountant Qiao Zhi’s dismay.

***

One day, in November of the fifteenth year of the Yong’an Era, Chu Qiguang was invited to Wise Hero Academy to instruct the students in martial arts. He had already turned down the invitation several times, seeing it as a waste of time, but he finally gave in after both Wu Wei and Hao Wen came to him with the same request.

Following his victory over Jiang Longyu, he had become just about the most renowned wusheng in the entire empire, and many rumors about him, both good and bad, were circulating throughout the northern martial arts world.

Some denounced him as an underhanded coward who worked with nefarious forces for personal gain, while others praised him as a once-in-a-generation martial arts prodigy.

Ever since he had returned to Azure Sun County, he had been challenged by at least a dozen people from all over the north. They had nothing to lose even if they were defeated, but everything to gain if they won, so they were all eager to challenge him.

The constant challenges became so annoying that Chu Qiguang had no choice but to put his foot down and cripple a couple of challengers to set an example. Only then did the challenges finally stop.

At this moment, Chu Qiguang was delivering a lecture, and Ye Ye was also in attendance.

”Chu Qiguang had to get past me in order to secure a spot for the martial examination!” Ye Ye bragged to a student beside him. ”At the time, I threw a punch straight at his face, and it was so fast that he only just barely managed to block it. After he blocked my second punch, I knew he definitely had what it took to pass the martial examination.”

”Nonsense! When did Chu Qiguang ever knock me out? I fought him on equal terms, and after he blocked two of my punches, I allowed him to take my spot in the martial examination!”

Hao Yongtai was also present in the audience, looking up at Chu Qiguang with mixed emotions. Back when they first met, there had been a huge gap in status between the two, yet all of a sudden, Chu Qiguang had left him far behind on the path of martial arts.

***

On the street outside Wise Hero Academy, a young man who appeared to be in his twenties was staring intently at the academy entrance. A long, thick object that was enveloped in black cloth strapped to his back.

The young man’s name was Li Miao, and he was from the Azure Heaven County, which fell under the Heaven Ode Manor of the Spirit Province. He had been a martial artist under the Vast Heavens Faction since a young age, and he was on the cusp of reaching the fourth state.

On this day, he had come to Wise Hero Academy to challenge Chu Qiguang.

Qiao Zhi was looking down at him from atop a nearby wall, and he felt like the young man looked rather familiar.

All of a sudden, a look of recognition flashed through his eyes.

Oh, I remember this guy! He’s Li Miao! If I recall correctly, he’s also a martial arts prodigy, but had to marry into a prominent clan in order to secure a spot to take part in the martial examination. He went on to become the chief military commander of the Yong Province and came really close to reaching the Dao Comprehension state, but died during the fiendish invasion. What’s he doing here?

People who married into prominent clans were permitted to take part in the imperial examinations, but they were often heavily looked down on and discriminated against in the officialdom. Despite this, Li Miao had carved out a very successful political career for himself, and that was why he had left such a deep impression on Qiao Zhi.

Li Miao was also accompanied by a young woman, who was looking at him with a concerned expression, and she asked, ”Are you really going to do this?”

Li Miao nodded in response.

”I’m using a spear, while he’s unarmed, and I also prepared Bloodbath Pills in advance. I’ll take the pills right away to enhance my explosiveness, then attack Chu Qiguang before he has a chance to react. No matter how strong he is, he’s still only a third state martial artist. If I sneak attack him at the peak of my powers, I’m at least seventy percent confident that I’ll come out on top.

“Don’t worry about me, Xiao Xiao. If I can defeat Chu Qiguang, then my name will be known far and wide across the entire empire. Once I defeat Chu Qiguang, a bunch of wealthy clans will be clamoring to fund my cultivation and offer me spots to take part in the martial examination.”

Indeed, given that Li Miao had next to nothing to lose, this was a low-risk high-reward move.

However, the young woman’s concerns weren’t assuaged in the slightest.

”I heard that Chu Qiguang is really powerful and influential in Azure Sun County right now. I’m worried that even if you win, you won’t be able to leave the county alive.”

”My horse is tethered nearby, so all I need to do is defeat him, then make my escape right away,” Li Miao replied in a confident manner.