Immortal Refiner

As the situation in the imperial capital grew increasingly chaotic, street fights and killings became a common occurrence. It seemed the imperial court was unwilling to let this state of affairs continue.

A few days later, a major piece of news spread throughout Shengtian.

The Wu Li Army was returning to the capital!

With the announcement of this news, the martial artists who had been relying on their strength to break the law in the capital quickly became much more subdued.

In the streets of certain districts where fights had been a daily occurrence, peace suddenly prevailed. At least during the day, no martial artist dared to engage in open combat.

Upon hearing this news, Li Qing couldn’t help but chuckle.

But it was only natural. The Wu Li Army had over a dozen chiliarchs, each of whom was a top-tier Inner Strength expert! Although, due to the previous war with Liang Country, only seven or eight of them might be able to take action, this was undoubtedly an extremely powerful deterrent.

Moreover, the commander of the Wu Li Army, Lu Guanghong, was most likely a Transformed Strength Grandmaster! In the entire martial world today, there were only a handful of Grandmasters, which spoke volumes about his strength.

On Chiming Street, after a few Liangzhou Heroes took over the Green Mountain Martial Arts School, there hadn’t been any major movements.

Apart from announcing that the protection fee would be reduced to two taels of silver per month, the merchants on the street rarely saw them.

However, since the protection fee had been reduced and daily life remained largely unchanged—except for the fact that the authority had shifted from the Green Mountain Martial Arts School to a few rough men—the neighbors quickly accepted them.

One day, at Boss Zhang’s wonton shop.

Fang Long, with his left arm wrapped in bandages, brought his seven brothers to patronize the shop again. At first, Boss Zhang was so frightened that his legs trembled and he broke out in a cold sweat. But upon realizing that these men were indeed just there to eat wontons, he breathed a sigh of relief.

”Gentlemen, here are your wontons!”

Boss Zhang brought out the wontons, all served in large bowls, steaming hot and looking incredibly appetizing.

”Hahaha, Boss Zhang, don’t be nervous. We brothers really do love your wontons,” Fang Long said with a smile. ”As we said before, from now on, you only need to pay us one tael of silver for the protection fee, not two!”

Hearing this, Boss Zhang immediately became flustered and said, ”This... this won’t do!”

The other men also laughed. ”We men from Liangzhou mean what we say. We said we’d only take one tael, so we’ll only take one tael, not a penny more!”

”Then I must thank you, gentlemen. Today’s bowl of wontons is on me!” Boss Zhang smiled with delight.

Fang Long didn’t refuse Boss Zhang’s kindness, and the rest of the men also dug into the fragrant wontons with gusto.

All eight of them were martial artists, so their appetites were naturally large. In no time, even the chili oil and vinegar bottles on the table were emptied, and every last drop of soup in the bowls was consumed.

After they had eaten their fill, Fang Long glanced at the youngest of the group, Yang Xing.

At that moment, Yang Xing also looked up, met Fang Long’s gaze, and nodded.

Seeing this, Fang Long’s eyes flickered with a hint of seriousness. He then stood up and said, ”You guys keep eating. Young Yang and I are going to pay a visit to the blacksmith next door.”

The remaining six men were slightly taken aback but didn’t say much.

”It’s nothing serious, just a courtesy visit. You can sit back and relax,” Yang Xing also stood up and followed Fang Long into the blacksmith shop.

Inside the shop, Li Qing was intently polishing an iron nail the size of a finger.

Hearing the footsteps at the entrance, he didn’t even look up as he asked, ”Are you here to buy weapons or to forge iron?” Fang Long glanced at Yang Xing again, and after receiving a confirming nod, he laughed heartily, raised his bandaged arm, and clasped his fists in greeting. ”As expected of Shengtian, truly a place where dragons and tigers lie hidden. Who would have thought that in such a humble blacksmith shop, there’d be an Outer Strength master living in obscurity as a blacksmith!”

Hearing this, Li Qing’s hands paused slightly for a moment before he continued polishing the iron nail, calmly saying:

”Impressive. Xu Qingshan couldn’t see through my Martial Path cultivation even after all this time, yet you’ve figured it out in just a few days. No wonder you managed to drive him away.”

”Hahaha, you flatter us. It’s not that our eyes are sharp, but rather my brother here has a unique Internal Family Skill that allows him to sense the purity of a person’s Vital Energy, giving him a rough idea of their Martial Path level.”

As he spoke, Fang Long patted Yang Xing, who was standing beside him.

Only then did Li Qing put down the polished iron nail and look curiously at the young man with a quiet demeanor.

”So there’s such a miraculous martial art in the world. I’ve truly learned something new.”

Yang Xing replied, ”I just stumbled upon it by chance. Aside from being able to sense Vital Energy, there’s nothing particularly special about it.”

Not delving deeper into the topic, Li Qing spoke up, ”What brings you two to my shop today?”

Fang Long said boldly, ”Nothing much, just here to pay our respects!”

”Now that Chiming Street is under our protection, someone of your stature doesn’t need to worry about the Protection Fee. We’re not like that old fool Xu Qingshan, who couldn’t recognize true talent.”

Li Qing smiled and said, ”I’ve never been one to fight for fame or fortune. Practicing martial arts is just a hobby of mine. Who knows, I might need your help in the future. I can still afford the two taels of silver for the Protection Fee each month.”

However, Fang Long waved his hand dismissively and said, ”If you ever need our help, Master Li, just say the word. But don’t mention the Protection Fee. If word got out, I’d lose all face!”

Charging a Protection Fee from a Martial Path expert of the same level was something most people wouldn’t dare to do. Only someone like Xu Qingshan, who was clueless, would attempt such a thing.

Accepting the goodwill from these heroes from Liangzhou, Li Qing didn’t refuse further. Instead, he clasped his fists in respect.

Watching the two men leave, Li Qing finally let out a slight sigh of relief, then furrowed his brows.

”An Internal Family Skill that can sense a person’s Vital Energy is truly impressive. It seems this Yang Xing is also an Outer Strength master.”

Li Qing’s tone was serious. Then, he looked at the trees on the street, their new leaves sprouting, and pursed his lips slightly.

”Spring has been here for a while now. It’s about time I set off for Small Jade Ridge.”

In order to hunt down the fierce tiger at Small Jade Ridge, he had prepared for a long time. Not only had he reforged a suit of armor with reverse spikes, but he had also obtained thirteen Bone-Piercing Awls, each the size of a finger! Additionally, he had prepared a specially designed hunting blade with a wide edge, incredibly sharp!

”It’s a good time to leave the city and avoid the attention of the Wu Li Army, just in case I’m recognized.”

Li Qing touched his cheek. In truth, his appearance had changed quite a bit, and his demeanor had matured compared to when he was in the frontier military camp.

(End of the Chapter)

📚 Read [IR] on Patreon.com/AnubisTL – Up to c100. [+4/4.8k]

☕ Supportme and ReadAhead for just $5/mo.

🎯 Translated [2] Novels [593k+] Words and counting!