‘Extreme activation… isn’t that essentially Yang Qi?’ Lu Sheng pondered. ‘Meaning my Yang Qi has become so overwhelming that nothing else can rival it.’
He paused, then bit down on his finger, forcing out a bead of thick, dark-red blood.
The droplet hit the floor with a soft splat.
Szzzzz…
Lu Sheng froze, stunned, as the blood began spreading across the ground in a violent expansion.
It had been no larger than a fingernail when it fell.
Within a few breaths, it had already swelled to the size of a palm.
He kept watching as the blood devoured a chunk of metal from the floor, carving out a fist-sized pit before the ravenous cells finally reached their limit and ceased multiplying.
“It can even devour metal?” Lu Sheng lifted the pulsing, flesh-like mass the blood had transformed into after consuming the metal.
He had never encountered a human body capable of such a feat.
He glanced back at his finger. The bite wound had already sealed, covered by a fresh layer of greenish gray cuticle.
“Rumble…”
A sharp wave of hunger surged through him.
He shrank his form back into the more compact Yin Extreme Mode, then immediately took out a small medicine box and popped a condensed grain pill into his mouth.
Made from sesame, peanuts, sugar, flour, and other staples, one pill carried the nutrition of a full meal but was scarcely larger than a walnut.
He cleaned the sanctuary, changed into fresh robes, and stepped out through the stone door.
"How long have I been in solitary confinement?" He inhaled deeply. The midday sun painted everything gold.
"In reply to Sect Master, it has been four hours," a nearby guard answered.
"Is Song Zhenguo here?"
"He has been waiting for a long time."
Lu Sheng nodded, gesturing for someone to guide him. As he walked, he straightened his attire and gathered his composure before meeting Song Zhenguo in the garden.
Winter plums were in full bloom across the garden, their white petals scattered like quiet snow. A soft fragrance drifted through the air, serene yet vivid.
Song Zhenguo sat uneasily at a stone table, dressed in simple gray athletic robes. Though he had seen much of the world, being brought to such an elegant and imposing place put him on edge. This was no common faction’s estate.
The attendant had claimed to come in Master Lu’s name, but until he saw Lu Sheng himself, unease churned in his chest.
"Zhenguo."
Lu Sheng’s voice drifted in before he did, calm and steady. Song Zhenguo sprang to his feet.
"Master Lu!" Relief washed over his face. "I was getting worried, wondering who brought me here. So it truly was Master Lu!" He had long suspected that Lu Sheng’s identity was far from ordinary, but he had not imagined anything on this scale. Judging by the reverence shown by the one who escorted him, Lu Sheng held astonishing authority in this place.
"How’s your body?" Lu Sheng asked as he took a seat. Song Zhenguo hurried to pour him wine, hands almost trembling.
"It’s unbelievable, Master Lu. After receiving your priceless guidance, my cultivation improved drastically. I’ve already stabilized the Initiation phase of the Green Pine One Thought Formula." Joy glimmered in his voice.
"Give me your hand."
Lu Sheng took his wrist, sending a thread of inner Qi into his meridians. As expected, the Green Pine One Thought Formula was only a façade. The foundation of Song Zhenguo’s progress was the Aquarius Qi Lu Sheng had implanted earlier.
That strand had grown much thicker now, seamlessly blended with Song Zhenguo’s own Qi, indistinguishable without meticulous inspection. If he wished, Lu Sheng could reclaim it in an instant, shattering all of Zhenguo’s progress and damaging his very constitution.
‘What a warped technique…’ Lu Sheng thought, though his expression did not shift.
"You’ve made good progress. Next, you can practice a few complementary skills. I have a fist technique that isn’t meant for combat but strengthens Qi and blood circulation. It’s called Pulse Channeling Fist. Learn it."
Lu Sheng had no intention of inflating Song Zhenguo’s strength too quickly. Slow, steady cultivation would serve him far better in the long run.
As for revenge… Song Zhenguo’s enemy was the Scarlet District. With his current level of martial arts, even a lifetime of cultivating wouldn’t make him a match for the weakest ghost roaming those streets. That path was a dead end.
Lu Sheng preferred to guide him toward gradual improvement. If Zhenguo eventually reached the point where he could at least flee from an ordinary ghost, that would already be enough.
After demonstrating the fist technique, Lu Sheng confirmed something crucial: the Aquarius Qi inside Zhenguo could elevate and regulate another person’s cultivation. With that, the foundation for creating a death squad was finally viable.
He instructed his men to escort Song Zhenguo back into the city. Meanwhile, Lu Sheng began charting plans to foster a group of capable subordinates.
At present, not a single member of the Crimson Whale Sect could truly support him if he encountered danger on the level of Noblemen or Bind-realm beings.
"I need a hidden force strong enough to protect my family and friends, even against Bind-realm threats. This trip to Martial League might open some doors. Divine Prime experts would be ideal."
Martial League had recruited many Divine Prime masters to resist the Noble Families. Unfortunately, they lacked the strength to hold their ground and were forced to flee whenever Ashoka Manor appeared.
This time, Lu Sheng intended to clean up any witnesses from that day, gather enough martial manuals, and draw Martial League’s experts under his command—shaping them into cultivators capable of confronting even Bind-realm adversaries.
Through Song Zhenguo, Lu Sheng had discovered that Aquarius Qi could raise another cultivator’s foundation simply by being injected into them. What remained unknown was how far the enhancement could go.
"Get Xu Chui to come here," Lu Sheng ordered after a moment of thought.
"Yes, sir!"
Before long, Xu Chui arrived at the garden and knelt on one knee.
"Greetings to Sect Master."
"Come with me." Lu Sheng walked ahead, leading him out of the garden and all the way to a secluded martial arts arena. As they entered, he issued an order that no one was allowed to disturb them.
"Ah Chui, how long have you been stuck at the edge of Intent Proficiency?" Lu Sheng stood before a wooden window, his back turned to Xu Chui as he looked into the distance.
From afar, a dark reef streaked with green jutted from the river, boats moored alongside it. Anglers perched along the stone, quiet and steady as they fished. White seagulls streaked past with sharp cries, and the river’s surface rippled in the wind.
Near the Crimson Whale, disciples in shorts plunged repeatedly into the icy waters, training their endurance through relentless swimming.
"It’s been three years…" Xu Chui replied, voice low but respectful.
To the Crimson Whale Sect, Lu Sheng’s presence had become what the Zhen Family once symbolized. Alone, he held back every supernatural threat in the Northern Lands. Tens of thousands of lives depended on the young man standing before him.
Xu Chui revered him for it.
"You’re thirty-six this year. How many cycles of three years can a man afford to waste?" Lu Sheng asked, drawing his gaze back toward him.
"Xu Chui knows… but the step ahead is… still…" Defeat flickered across Xu Chui’s face.
"If there were an opportunity for you to break through into Intent Proficiency and gain its strength, but it required that you rely on me from that day forward… what would you choose?" Lu Sheng’s voice was low, steady.
Xu Chui stood frozen, silence crushing around him. The conflict played openly across his features. His grip tightened on his saber hilt until his knuckles blanched.
After a long breath…
"Ah Chui… is willing!"
Lu Sheng turned fully to face him.
"I can help you break through your current bottleneck using certain methods. But… once you accept this breakthrough, you will never be able to raise a hand against me. It isn’t poison, and it won’t require antidotes. Still, your cultivation will forever be tied to mine," Lu Sheng said, each word deliberate.
"That would be your subordinate’s honor!" Xu Chui replied with unwavering conviction.
Lu Sheng blinked, momentarily taken aback. Then he reminded himself—this world was not Earth.
Here, hearts were simpler. Convictions clearer. Loyalty was a virtue carved deep into bone. Men died for their banners, for their lords, for debts of gratitude. Mercenaries shed blood for nobles who had shown them even a sliver of favor.
Such loyalty was not fiction here.
Seeing the resolve and reverence in Xu Chui’s eyes, Lu Sheng felt the weight of the authority he now held over the sect.
"I hope you’ll never regret this," he murmured.
Xu Chui stepped forward and knelt once more.
"Absolutely never!"
Lu Sheng studied him in silence for a moment.
"Your inner Qi is just one step away from breakthrough. You’ve stagnated so long that your Qi has lost its sharpness. Let me help you take that step today."
Xu Chui lifted his head, confused.
Before he could speak, Lu Sheng’s figure blurred. A stream of afterimages trailed behind him as he closed the distance.
"Unlimited Heaven and Earth, Yin Yang Jade Crane!"
SWISH!
A jade-like palm pressed against Xu Chui’s forehead, moving with a speed both impossibly fast and eerily measured.
A surge of pure inner Qi poured into him like a tidal wave. His body swelled—skin stretching, muscles knotting, organs trembling. Agony stabbed through every inch of him. He cried out despite himself, but the moment he remembered it was his Sect Master who was granting him strength, he forced himself to endure, teeth clenched as the pain threatened to split him open.
Lu Sheng’s right hand swelled slightly, threads of light-red aura streaming off his skin. The defensive blood web of the Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill had activated on its own.
Red Qi coiled around them, circling and twisting like living flame.
With a sharp motion, Lu Sheng lifted Xu Chui into the air. Xu Chui’s body spun violently, caught in Lu Sheng’s grip as if seized by a storm.
BOOM!
Lu Sheng’s palm struck the center of Xu Chui’s chest with thunderous force.
Yin Yang Jade Crane Aquarius Qi erupted into Xu Chui’s body like a surging flood. The pain drove him to the brink of madness. Muscles writhed, tendons trembled, and patches of blood rose beneath his skin.
Even a fragment of Lu Sheng’s centuries-old cultivation was far beyond what Xu Chui’s body could withstand.
Lu Sheng himself had advanced step by step, adapting after every breakthrough before daring to climb higher. But this—this overwhelming infusion—was unlike anything he had ever attempted before.
The immense force rampaging through Xu Chui’s meridians twisted his flesh. Blood-red tumors sprouted across his chest, each one the size of a fingernail. Soon they clustered densely, covering a palm-sized area.
Two crimson lines unfurled from the cluster, crawling down his arms like living veins.
A terrifying strength surged within him—several times greater than anything he had ever possessed.
The arena fell utterly still. Xu Chui hung suspended in the air, as if Lu Sheng’s palm had anchored him in place. His body did not drop or sway.
Wisps of red smoke curled around both of them, swirling in silent spirals.
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