Qinghe County.

"My boy, you’ve really made something of yourself."

Xue Gui, the former master of Huwei Arts Hall, gazed with satisfaction at the young man before him.

"Master."

Bai Yuan, returning to the Martial Arts Hall once more, wore a nostalgic expression.

It had been a long time since he’d last returned to Huwei Arts Hall.

"Junior Brother Bai."

"You brat."

Chu Yuan and Zhang Yang walked over as well.

The two of them hadn’t followed Bai Yuan to the Divine Mansion Sect, choosing instead to remain at the Martial Arts Hall.

Chu Yuan was now the true master of Huwei Arts Hall. In a small county town, his combat strength at the Peak of Yijin was just barely sufficient.

That’s right. Even with the help of Bai Yuan’s Spirit Soup, Chu Yuan was still stuck at the Yijin Pass.

Perhaps Chu Yuan could break through to the Strong Organ Pass, but that would be a long time from now.

If it took someone with Chu Yuan’s aptitude and resources this long, an ordinary Martial Artist would only take longer.

He was used to seeing geniuses become Sensing Grandmasters before the age of forty, but this slow pace was the reality for most who practiced martial arts.

Breaking through as easily as eating or drinking was a privilege reserved for a tiny minority.

Such was the Martial Dao. You either charged forward and improved relentlessly, or, once you stopped, you would likely remain stagnant for the rest of your life. Time alone could not grind one into a Grandmaster.

In the past, Chu Yuan’s level of skill would have been more than enough to establish himself in Qinghe.

But now, the situation in Ling Province had changed drastically. Many powers originally based in the prefecture city had been forced to relocate to the counties.

Qinghe had gone from having not a single Blood Refining Martial Master to having dozens. The change could only be described as dramatic.

Under these circumstances, Chu Yuan’s strength seemed rather inadequate.

Even the formerly prominent Flying Eagle Castle and Iron Saber Gang had been reduced to third-rate powers.

Fortunately, everyone in Huanglong Prefecture knew that Qinghe was where Sect Leader Bai of the Divine Mansion Sect had started his journey. They also knew that Huwei Arts Hall had deep ties with Bai Yuan, so anyone thinking of causing trouble would first have to consider if they were qualified to do so.

Even if the Divine Mansion Sect’s name wasn’t enough, adding the Lingzhou General—the number one expert in the world—to the equation made for a terrifyingly heavy weight.

Bai Yuan took out seven or eight small vials from his robes.

"Master, Brother Chu, Old Zhang, these are some new Spirit Medicines I’ve developed. Give them a try. Be sure to pay attention to the dosage; I’ve marked it on the vials."

Upon hearing Bai Yuan’s words, Chu Yuan’s and Zhang Yang’s eyes lit up.

Bai Yuan’s skill in Alchemy far surpassed that of most Alchemy Masters in Ling Province, and the efficacy of his medicines was exceptionally good.

The reason Chu Yuan had gone from being a cripple to surpassing his former peak in just a few years was not only his own hard work but, more importantly, Bai Yuan’s pills.

Zhang Yang had even managed to force a breakthrough to the Yijin Pass using the Spirit Soup, becoming a Yijin Martial Master not long ago.

He had originally been just a mud-legged farmer. He never imagined that in this life, he too would get to experience what it was like for the sons of rich families, soaking in medicinal concoctions.

All of this was because of a single thought he’d had back then.

In the Xuanyang Empire, countless people had abandoned old friends, masters, and even their first wives after finding success. The most famous example was that Prince Consort with the surname Chen. In comparison, Bai Yuan was far more loyal and honorable.

Old Xue took one vial symbolically, leaving the rest of the pills for Chu Yuan and Zhang Yang.

"I’m just a worn-out old man. Eating too much of this good stuff is useless for me anyway."

The hidden injuries in Old Xue’s body had long since fully healed, and his constitution was even more robust than before. Living to a hundred would be no problem.

But achieving another breakthrough was now essentially impossible.

After becoming a Spirit Cooker, Bai Yuan understood clearly that no matter how precious the spiritual pills and elixirs in the world, they could only stimulate a person’s latent potential. If that potential was insufficient, then no amount of Spirit Medicine would help.

And Old Xue’s potential was already exhausted. At most, drinking the Spirit Soup would only serve to nourish his health.

Otherwise, if one could become strong just by taking medicine, the Xuanyang Royal Family would have started mass-producing Martial Saints long ago. Why would they even need to recruit a Prince Consort?

Zhang Yang rubbed his hands together with a grin. "Kid, you’re finally back. How about you show off your skills?"

"Alright."

Bai Yuan returned a knowing smile.

Before long, a table was laden with fragrant dishes.

Come to think of it, it had been many years since he had last cooked a proper meal.

Only being here at Huwei Arts Hall could stir his interest in doing so.

Zhang Yang had been craving a taste of Bai Yuan’s cooking for a long time, but he still waited for Old Xue to take the first bite before picking up his own chopsticks.

The group ate with hearty enjoyment.

The courtyard in the Martial Arts Hall that had once been his was still there.

This courtyard had now become an important educational facility for the hall. Zhang Yang would bring every new apprentice here for a tour and say with an air of profound wisdom, "Back then, the Shenfu Sect Master trained his fists tirelessly right here, which is how he achieved his great success today."

After hearing this, the young apprentices would get a shot of adrenaline and train bitterly for several days.

Bai Yuan stayed in the small courtyard for one night, then quietly rose and left Qinghe County Town early the next morning.

By the time Zhang Yang knocked on his door, he was already far away.

...

Sect Leader Hall.

Bai Yuan wasn’t sitting on the Golden Throne; he still preferred a wooden chair.

’I have no idea who came up with the idea of casting a chair from gold,’ he thought. ’Besides showing off, it has no practical value. It’s just uncomfortable.’

He was currently holding a cultivation technique manual.

Toad Poison

That was right, this was the cultivation technique from Yang Fangyu.

Not the Toad Technique, but Toad Poison.

Good thing Bai Yuan’s surname wasn’t Ouyang, or this would be truly hard to explain.

Yang Fangyu had taken the carcasses of the Tier Six Demons, and Bai Yuan had originally expected him to send some Spirit Medicine or the like in return. He hadn’t thought Yang Fangyu would give him a cultivation technique manual directly.

Poison techniques were considered unorthodox cultivation techniques. Although they weren’t as valuable as orthodox ones, it was clear that Bai Yuan had come out ahead in this exchange.

After all, such a profound poison technique was not easy to find, and it was even a cut above the Thousand Shadows Poison Technique.

Yang Fangyu must have sensed Bai Yuan’s potential and was using this as a favor to build a closer relationship between them.

Bai Yuan, of course, gladly accepted this favor.

What was the point of ethereal things like fame and status if not for social exchanges? As long as he could obtain the cultivation technique he wanted, owing a few favors was no big deal.

If he single-mindedly pursued a low-profile existence and avoided all worldly karma, his progress would inevitably be slowed down significantly.

’Where was there a Martial Artist who didn’t contend...?’

This also revealed the depth of the Yang Family’s foundation; a poison technique of this caliber was not easy to come by.

Bai Yuan had been studying it for a full ten days.

He could now be considered a master of poisons. Although his innate comprehension wasn’t enough for him to reach the "Proficient" level on his own, he could still gain some insights.

This poison technique, called Toad Poison, took an unconventional approach.

It was a poison technique created with toads as its inspiration.

Unlike other poisoning methods that relied on administering poison to an enemy, this technique did the opposite: it turned the practitioner into a walking vessel of poison.

Any enemy who so much as brushed against the practitioner’s body would be poisoned and die.

Bai Yuan had to admit, the creator of Toad Poison was a maverick genius.

However, the drawback was also obvious: practicing this technique was extremely dangerous. Using one’s own body as a vessel for poison meant there was a high chance of being poisoned to death oneself.

This was precisely why Yang Fangyu had been able to get it from the Yang Family.

After all, very few Martial Artists were willing to cultivate such a poison technique. Even if they chose to practice poison arts, there were safer options available. There was no need to take such personal risks, to say nothing of having to test poisons on oneself for five years just to achieve initial success.

But for Bai Yuan, none of this was a problem.

He was not only a master of poisons but also a Spirit Cooker, which made him a master of antidotes. It couldn’t possibly stump him.

He still had quite a few enhancement points left over from killing the Wolf Demon, and now was the time to use them.

"Add points for me!"

[Year 1 of cultivating Toad Poison: You use sedatives and aphrodisiacs as primers, testing the poison on yourself.]

...

[Year 100 of cultivating Toad Poison: You use Crane Peak Red as a primer, testing the poison on yourself.]

...

[Year 500 of cultivating Toad Poison: You use Profound Yin Poison as a primer, testing the poison on yourself.]

...

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker, Skin Painter]

[Skills: Chaotic Blood Hidden Tiger Saber (Beginner), Toad Poison (Proficient), Ten Thousand Poison Hand (Master), Thousand Shadows Poison Technique (Master), Demon Search (Legendary), Demonic Qi Lure (Legendary), Thousand Faces Technique (Legendary)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

The rank of Toad Poison was truly high.

Bai Yuan had spent nearly two thousand enhancement points just to raise it to the Proficient level.

He now possessed three different poison techniques. As long as he raised all three to the Legendary level, the resulting synthesized poison technique would surely be extraordinary.

Bai Yuan felt the changes in his skin.

With a thought, strange bluish-black spots appeared on his skin. There weren’t many, and they would be nearly impossible to guard against without prior knowledge.

If he trained it to the Master level, they would become completely invisible.

Bai Yuan tried touching the wooden chair beneath him.

The instant his elbow touched the chair, it began to decay at a visible rate, ultimately dissolving into a puddle of sludge.

’So potent!’

If an opponent touched his body during a fight, they might very well be poisoned to death on the spot.

Bai Yuan was very glad he had a cheat system.

In the early stages of cultivating Toad Poison, one couldn’t control it freely. No one could get close; even the most intimate loved ones would be poisoned to death. Thus, the practitioner had to live in seclusion.

But Bai Yuan had managed to avoid such a fate.

Otherwise, he would never have cultivated this poison technique.

Perhaps for this very reason, Toad Poison was virtually unknown in the Jianghu.

Bai Yuan retracted the poison technique. He was very satisfied with the effects of Toad Poison; it would surely have an unexpected and devastating effect in battle.

...

"Lord Dong, what are your thoughts?"

Jiang Changping looked toward Dong Wanjun, who was seated to the side.

Dong Wanjun sat calmly in a Grandmaster’s Chair made of Yellow Flower Pear Wood, his expression noncommittal.

A General and a Prefect rarely had the opportunity to gather in the same hall. After all, one was in charge of civil administration and the other military affairs, and with their opposing positions, there was usually little to discuss.

The reason the two of them were here was, naturally, the chaotic situation in Ling Province.

The situation in the Northern Territory was even worse than His Majesty the Emperor had imagined. The barbarians, monsters, and Demons from further north had already reached the foot of the Great Wall.

Every day, large numbers of Northern People crossed the Great Wall to raid the Northern Territory.

Ling Province was a particularly hard-hit area.

Ling Province had expended tremendous effort just to protect the Official Roads used for grain transport.

They had come here today to discuss countermeasures.

"Enough."

An aged voice echoed through the grand hall.

Both Jiang Changping and Dong Wanjun turned to look at the gaunt old man seated at the head of the Lingzhou Prefecture Magistrate’s Office hall.

The only person who could command such deference from two of Ling Province’s top officials was the Shuofang Jiedu Envoy, Du Qinghui.