Longevity by Grinding Skills

Daoist Qixia frantically grabbed two cultists and shoved them in front of him.

The Heavy Hammer pierced through the first body without slowing, sending the second man flying. He only stopped when his back slammed into the incense burner.

The bronze incense burner was dented by the impact. The ash within, mixed with blood, splashed onto the banner proclaiming, "The Evil World Must Be Destroyed!"

Xu Yunfan strode forward, each step cracking the floor tiles beneath his feet.

The remaining cultists, terrified by his aura, found their weapon-wielding hands trembling uncontrollably.

A young cultist suddenly threw down his steel saber and ran screaming toward the mountain gate.

"Useless!"

Daoist Qixia swept his duster sideways, the steel needles at its tip piercing the back of the deserter’s head.

When he turned back, he saw Xu Yunfan was already upon him, the smell of sweat and blood rushing to greet him.

"Wait, wait!"

Daoist Qixia suddenly ripped open his robes, revealing a chest covered in a dense tattoo of acupuncture points. "If you kill me, the thirty-seven locations in Qingzhou..."

The sickening crunch of the Heavy Hammer crushing his skull cut off his threat. Xu Yunfan planted one foot on the head now embedded in the floor tiles and shook the viscous red and white matter from the face of his hammer.

"Noisy. Boring."

Within a few breaths, not a single person was left standing in Qixia Temple. He had used his Heavy Hammer to shatter the bones and sinews of those who had taken combat drugs, leaving them devoid of life.

The night wind swept over the mountain ridge, carrying the stench of blood.

Xu Yunfan bent down, picked up the blood-soaked banner, and casually used it to wrap his Jar Gold Hammer before slinging it over his back. By now, the cultists in Qixia Temple had long since scattered to the winds, vanishing without a trace.

As he turned, Xu Yunfan caught sight of half a register tucked inside Daoist Qixia’s robes. He picked it up and casually flipped through it. One page starkly read: ’On the fifteenth of the seventh month, send twelve boys and twelve girls to Cangwu Villa.’

Various other supplies were also recorded in detail, most of them destined for a place called Lianshan Town, on the border between Qingzhou and Wuzhou.

’The Incense and Candle Sect...’

Xu Yunfan pondered for a moment. Instead of tossing the half-register into a brazier, he tucked it into his own robes, lifted the Merit Box, and turned to leave.

’This is all money. A rough estimate... with the Silver Notes and silver taels, it has to be three or four thousand taels of silver.’

He placed the rather heavy Merit Box on his horse’s back. The date-red steed snorted outside the temple gate. Xu Yunfan swung himself into the saddle and galloped away.

-----------------

「Three days later.」

In Changyi City, the state capital of Qingzhou, stood the Changfeng Tavern—owned by the same person as the other establishment of the same name.

On the second floor, in a private room, the carved wooden window was half-open, allowing a few rays of twilight to fall diagonally across the Cyan Jade Table.

Xu Yunfan gazed at the crystal-clear liquid in the wine cup before him.

"Brother Liu, try this Steamed Spirit Fish. I’ve only had it a few times myself, but the taste is exceptional."

Once all the dishes had been served, he lifted a bamboo cover, and a billow of white steam carrying an unusual fragrance rose into the air.

The perch on the plate had a jade-like luster, and a faint cloud pattern was visible on its body. This was precisely Changyi’s famous "Cyan Cloud Crossing." This fish lived in the deep waters of the Crossing Sea in Qingzhou. Eighty taels of Patterned Silver could only buy four taels of its prime meat, making it an excellent supplement for Martial Arts Cultivators.

It was highly beneficial for those in the Martial Master Realm, capable of strengthening their muscles and bones, purifying their Blood Qi, and, with long-term consumption, subtly improving one’s natural aptitude.

Unfortunately, such a fine Spirit Fish was extremely rare. It could only be eaten at the Crossing Sea, and even then, one was seen only occasionally. Once removed from the Crossing Sea, it couldn’t survive for more than two Hours. Xu Yunfan was quite lucky today.

"Excellent, excellent!"

Liu Tianyun was overjoyed. "I’ve been working for my master for a long time. The last time I ate this Spirit Fish... let’s see, it must have been four or five years ago."

Liu Tianyun picked up a piece from the tenderest part of the fish’s belly. As it entered his mouth, a fresh, sweet Spiritual Qi rushed straight to his Celestial Spirit. He was just about to praise it when he noticed the young man across from him caressing his wine cup, his gaze lowered, his mood not particularly high.

"Have you run into some trouble?"

Liu Tianyun set down his wooden chopsticks.

He remembered when he first met the young man in the forest two months ago. Although his aura had been weak and his skin was covered in blood-red lines from overexerting his body to the point of near collapse, his spirit had been remarkably eye-catching. Now, however, he seemed somewhat listless.

After they had traded toasts and sampled all the dishes, drinking several rounds of wine until only the fish’s skeleton remained, Xu Yunfan placed his cup on the table and let out a sigh.

Seeing this, Liu Tianyun couldn’t help but ask, "I haven’t seen you in a few months, Younger Brother Xu. Why the long face?"

"For the past few months, I’ve visited seven or eight Sects within a five-hundred-li radius of Changyi, and without exception, they all turned me away."

Xu Yunfan rubbed the bridge of his nose and said with a helpless tone, "They either disliked that I’ve practiced other Martial Arts, or they were too arrogant. They thought my realm as a Second Level Martial Artist was too high and my motives for joining their Sect were impure. They said a Second Level Martial Artist coming to pay respects to their mountain was probably just planning to step on their plaque on the way in..."

"PFFT..."

Liu Tianyun choked on a mouthful of wine, which shot out in a silvery arc. If he hadn’t turned his head in time, the entire table of food would have been sprayed.

He slammed his wine cup down and shot to his feet, bracing his hands on the table. His black brocade robes knocked over the wine pot, and the liquid trickled down the corner of the table, blossoming like red plum flowers on the floor.

"You’re actually a Second Level Martial Artist?!"

Xu Yunfan nodded, a little surprised. "Didn’t you know, Brother Liu?"

"How could I possibly know that!"

In the silent room, the bronze bells on the eaves chimed erratically as they were struck by the night wind. Xu Yunfan nodded blankly, a few strands of hair falling across his forehead. In the candlelight, the lingering immaturity of youth was still faintly visible on his face.

Liu Tianyun stared at the face, which couldn’t be more than twenty years old. He was struck by the memory of his own past—how he had toiled day and night for ten years just to reach the threshold of the First Level by the time he was thirty. Even now, he had only achieved Great Mastery of Muscle Training and Minor Achievement in Bone Cultivation. He was still a long way from Great Mastery of Bone Cultivation.

’And someone like this can’t find a master?’

’Those Sects are truly squandering a heaven-sent gift. To reject a prodigy like this... are their eyes just for show?’

"Those old bastards..." 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

He clenched his fists so hard his knuckles cracked, then suddenly grabbed the wine jug and began to drink from it furiously.

Watching this, Xu Yunfan’s lips twitched. That jug was full of medicinal wine, brewed with rare herbs that replenished Blood Qi. It was a specialty of the Changfeng Tavern, sought after by countless Martial Artists. If not for his connection with Liu Tianyun, he wouldn’t have been able to get it. That jug alone had cost him thirty taels of silver.

The amber nectar streamed down his neck and soaked his collar, but it couldn’t extinguish the fire of anger in Liu Tianyun’s heart.

’A world-shaking talent like this was turned away! The Elders of those Sects must have had their eyes blinded by swamp gas!’

"Alright, alright, Brother Liu, calm down! I’m fine, I’m fine!"

Xu Yunfan hurried forward and snatched the jug away. A quick glance showed that Liu Tianyun had already drunk half of the five-jin jug of wine.

"Sigh, if only..."

Liu Tianyun let out a long sigh and sat back down. He scratched his head, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Younger Brother Xu, do you know which Sect I come from?"

"Please enlighten me, Brother Liu."

"I am from Wuzhou. What I practice is the Celestial Cicada Force, the Ultimate Skill of the Celestial Cicada Sect. For someone like you... going to those Sects in Qingzhou is truly a waste of your talent. The Celestial Cicada Sect in Wuzhou was once a first-rate Sect, famous throughout the entire Great Zhou..."

As he spoke, Liu Tianyun took a Token engraved with a thundercloud pattern from his robes and handed it to Xu Yunfan.