Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

”A hundred thousand taels for a single roast chicken! And you say this isn’t highway robbery?”

The Great Master wiped the grease from his beard and grumbled, ”What kind of place sells a roast chicken for that much?”

”Mine does.”

Jiang Ran said with a smile:

”Besides, I didn’t force you to buy it. You’re the one who rushed over and started eating without asking the price, Great Master.”

”If you don’t want to pay, that’s fine too. Just give me back my roast chicken, completely intact, and we’ll call it even.”

”...”

The Great Master looked at the roast chicken, half of which was already gone, and was speechless.

’It’s already half-eaten. Even if I could spit it back up, how could it possibly be completely intact?’

He finally sighed.

”Can I owe you?”

”Fine.”

Jiang Ran glanced at Ruan Yuqing.

”Miss Ruan, you’re an expert from the Shuiyue Sword Sect. The Great Master ate my roast chicken and now owes me one hundred thousand taels. You have to be our witness.”

The Great Master also glanced at Ruan Yuqing.

”Ah, so it’s the Gentle Water Sword herself. I was in such a rush from hunger just now that I didn’t get a clear look at you, Female Knight Ruan.”

”Please forgive me.”

”You’re being too serious, Great Master.”

Ruan Yuqing first shot Jiang Ran a look, then smiled at the Great Master.

”Your whereabouts are always a mystery, Great Master. You’re known for being as elusive as a divine dragon. What brings you here?”

”It’s all because of this great leader Jiang here.”

The Great Master stroked his beard, then took another vicious bite of the roast chicken.

’I’m already in debt for one hundred thousand taels, so how could I not finish this chicken?’

He mumbled as he ate:

”I heard Young Hero Jiang has been involved in several major events recently.”

”The Young Manor Lord of Heterodox Manor appeared in Benma County, only to retreat in defeat.”

”The Yang and Yue Monarchs resurfaced in the martial world after twenty years, only for both to meet their end.”

”After that, over at Red Maple Manor, a certain Shi Pingzhang caused the five great sword sects to mobilize their full strength... only for him to vanish without a trace.”

”The Jiaowei zither chose a worthy master, stirring up a new wave of trouble.”

”In the battle with the Three Rivers Gang, the great eunuch Wu Zhong, who had dominated the martial world for years, was finally slain.”

”And the Three Waters Demon Monarch, who once struck terror into the hearts of all in the Three Rivers region, was killed by the blade in your hand.”

”Recounting this string of events one after another, even I feel my blood rushing with excitement.”

”Not to mention that you are now carrying the Jiaowei zither on your back, planning to go to Sunset Plateau on Three Immortals Mountain to host a tea and zither appreciation gathering!”

”How could this old man miss out on such a grand event in the martial world?”

”So I rushed to catch up, not eating a single grain of rice for days. I truly drank the morning dew for thirst and simply endured my hunger.”

”Who would have thought that after finally catching up, I’d end up with a debt of one hundred thousand taels?”

”Great Master, you’ve... really had a tough time of it.”

Ruan Yuqing suppressed the urge to laugh. After all, she was a renowned expert in the martial world.

Now, she was also considered the public face of the Shuiyue Sword Sect.

She had to maintain her composure.

”Indeed.”

The Great Master sighed, then looked at Jiang Ran again.

”Young Hero Jiang, tell this old man the story.”

”After the battle in Cangzhou Prefecture, how did you end up at odds with Heterodox Manor? How did you slay the Yang and Yue Monarchs? And what happened to Shi Pingzhang—is he alive or dead...? And how did you get involved with the Three Rivers Gang?”

”And the Netherworld Demon Skill, what mysteries does it hold?”

”This old man has already thought it through. I’m planning to write a biography dedicated to you.”

”The title will be... *The Golden Cicada Heroic Legend*!”

”It will surely be passed down through the martial world, and perhaps even for a thousand ages!”

Jiang Ran grimaced at the suggestion.

He wasn’t actually surprised that this old man had appeared before him.

After all, he had indeed done quite a few things recently.

His fame had been growing by the day.

This made him a powerful magnet for the storytellers and chroniclers of the martial world.

He just wasn’t interested in any of that...

As for the questions he’d asked, Jiang Ran could ignore most of them, but he actually did know about the mysteries of the Netherworld Demon Skill.

Although he hadn’t obtained the man’s martial arts from the reward for defeating the Three Waters Demon Monarch...

...Jiang Ran had found the original manual for the Netherworld Demon Skill on his corpse.

He had flipped through it a couple of days ago. It was true that it contained no text, only illustrations.

However, the few deadly poisons noted within were each described by name.

The manual also recorded several other techniques.

The Netherworld Divine Palm and the Netherworld Bone-Transforming Claw were among them.

However, after looking them over, Jiang Ran felt that these techniques weren’t particularly remarkable.

The stances and movements had no real subtlety; their strange effects and astonishing power all came from being activated by poison arts.

What truly caught Jiang Ran’s attention were the few pill formulas recorded in the back.

These various medicinal pills each had their own strengths, but they had to be refined using the Netherworld Demon Skill as a foundation.

Jiang Ran wanted to claim these pill formulas for his own, but for the time being, he had no suitable way to replace the required technique.

As for practicing it himself... he didn’t have the leisure or the inclination.

So, he could only shelve it for now and consider it again later.

Additionally, Jiang Ran had discovered that the main reason this art was called a Demon Skill was because its effects were excessively bloody and cruel.

In terms of the art itself, it was fundamentally different from those other Demon Skills that required killing people to practice.

This was because to cultivate this art, one didn’t harm others... all the poisons were introduced into one’s own body.

Aside from the rather miserable fate of the venomous creatures used for cultivation, it didn’t harm anyone else.

What one did with the skill after mastering it, and how one used it—that all depended on the character of the cultivator.

If used for righteous ends, it was righteous; if used for evil ends, it was evil.

But Jiang Ran had no interest in discussing these matters in detail with the Great Master.

Li Tianxin, on the other hand, was quite interested. He and Jiang Ran had parted ways in Cangzhou Prefecture, only to meet again at the gathering at Heterodox Manor.

The two of them had been together ever since.

He knew most of what Jiang Ran knew.