Make the Immortal Sect Great Again

”The secret to the saber comes down to a few words: a steady hand and a sharp eye. Aim for the head and chop down. As long as the weapon doesn’t slip from your grip, you’ve won half the battle.”

”Look at your amateur saber technique.”

”Your eyes aren’t sharp, your grip isn’t steady, and not a single movement looks right.”

”Do it again!”

...

The sun was already high in the sky. The County Yamen Drill Ground was bustling with activity, but unlike usual, many of the veteran bailiffs were nowhere to be seen.

”They all went to catch that White Lotus rebel.”

Liu Ye took a drag from his pipe, continuing to correct Wang Ping’s movements. ”It’s a windfall from heaven, after all,” he grumbled. ”Which bailiff wouldn’t be tempted?”

”That rebel broke into the County Yamen last night and was shot clean through by the magistrate in front of everyone. His skin, flesh, tendons, and bones were ruptured. He bled out half his blood, and his marrow didn’t fare much better. Even with the strength of External Arts Perfection, he probably hasn’t retained a tenth of his skill. It’s the perfect chance to beat a drowning dog.”

Hearing this, Wang Ping couldn’t help but ask, ”Master Liu, aren’t you tempted?””Of course not.”

Liu Ye’s tone was flat. ”Little Wang, I see you have potential, so I’ll teach you something today. Do you know what the most important thing about being a bailiff is?”

”What is it?” Wang Ping asked.

”Restraint!”

Liu Ye emphasized his words. ”Let the sky fall and the earth shatter—I stay put. If the sky falls, it crushes the tall guys first. It won’t hit you or me.”

”Remember, kid, this world belongs to the strong. For nobodies like us to survive, we have to learn to live in the cracks. To put it bluntly: only do things far below your actual capabilities. That way, you guarantee success while leaving plenty of room for error.”

”Take me for example.”

”Almost every bailiff in the County Yamen collects protection money inside the city, making money hand over fist. I’m the only one who goes to the Outer Market to earn pocket change.”

”Why?”

At this, Liu Ye looked smug. ”Because outside the city is safe! The truly powerful people are all in the city. Collecting protection money there carries risks.”

”After all, this business isn’t glorious. It’s blood money.”

”If you aren’t careful, you might run into some hotheaded young hero out to uphold justice. Young, arrogant, and with no sense of restraint—they might just beat you to death!”

”Don’t doubt it, it’s happened at the County Yamen before!”

”But the Outer Market doesn’t come with all that trouble. There are basically no formidable characters out there. I don’t collect much, either. I earn less, but it’s safe.”

”Take the current situation, for example.”

It was as if Liu Ye had opened a floodgate, and he rambled on,

”Without a doubt, what happened last night was a proxy battle between that White Lotus Sect Master and our Magistrate Chen. Is that something we can casually get involved in?”

”What if, on the way to catch that rebel, we run into the White Lotus Sect Master coming to rescue him?”

”If you’re lucky, Magistrate Chen might make it in time to save you, and you’ll only end up crippled for life. If you’re unlucky, the County Yamen will be sending a pension to your family.”

Wang Ping instantly understood.

”Bait...”

Liu Ye nodded slightly. ”It’s good that you understand. Anyway, I’m not wading into these muddy waters. Reel in your thoughts and focus on practicing your saber.”

Wang Ping nodded, then let out a long breath.

As he exhaled, it was as if he expelled all the restlessness in his heart. His expression smoothed, and he resumed practicing his saber technique.

Liu Ye watched with admiration.

’He really has a bright future. He listens to advice and can restrain his greed. It looks like he’ll truly grasp the basics of Yama’s Three Demon Sabers in less than three days.’

’Speaking of which, how is his training with the Iron Ox Art going?’

’He doesn’t seem to have visited the Red Phoenix Tower yet...’

Liu Ye thought for a moment, feeling he had figured out Wang Ping’s mindset. ’He’s probably worried because he’s still a virgin. He has no control over his lower half and is afraid he won’t last a few thrusts?’

So he wanted to master the basics and improve his stamina before seeing real combat... Young men cared about their pride. It was understandable!

At this thought, Liu Ye chuckled inwardly.

’Naive kid. How could getting started be that easy?’

’Given the difficulty and intensity of the Iron Ox Art, trying to master the basics in a single night would require practicing it seventeen or eighteen times. Even a young man couldn’t handle that toll.’

...

”I’ll aim to practice another hundred times tonight!”

After finishing his drills, Wang Ping returned home. Once he ate the meal delivered from Yuelai Tower, he shut his doors and windows again, then sat cross-legged on his bed, ready to dive into his martial arts training.

Just as Liu Ye had expected.

Even though his body was still young, by the time he reached his third cycle, Wang Ping’s face had already paled slightly. His hands were trembling slightly from the strain.

But a second later, he took a deep breath. His ten fingers lightly clasped together, forming a bizarre hand seal. A sudden spark flared from his fingertips, flickering in the dim room before flowing through his entire body like water, revitalizing his physical form.

The spell, Qi Restriction!

Even though Wang Ping’s Qi Restriction could no longer render him invulnerable to weapons after losing his strongman body, it was still capable of stopping bleeding, regrowing flesh, and restoring his body.

This was especially true when used for training.

The painstakingly refined True Qi wasn’t abundant, but it was more than enough to fill the void and quickly replenish his exhausted vitality and spirit.

Because of this, Wang Ping’s progress in the Iron Ox Art far exceeded Liu Ye’s imagination.

It was only the second day, yet he had already reached minor mastery in the cultivation method. At a conservative estimate, he would bring this technique to full consummation within seven days at the latest.

”Again!”

Wang Ping gritted his teeth and threw himself back into his training. As for the city-wide manhunt and the White Lotus rebels, he pushed all of that to the back of his mind.

A short while later, Wang Ping succeeded once more.

As the cultivation method circulated again, Wang Ping felt as if his soul had suddenly left his body. Casting aside all stray thoughts, he entered a state of complete tranquility and inaction.

”Now!”

Without any hesitation, he seized this rare window. He snatched up the Oxtail Saber beside him and executed the forms of Yama’s Three Demon Sabers.

Shing!

The long saber left its sheath. In that instant, an intensely extreme will flooded into Wang Ping’s mind alongside the ring of the blade, causing his eyes to abruptly turn bloodshot.

It was—greed!

Money, women, power—the desire to possess everything in the world at any cost, to fight, to snatch. It was a desire that epitomized the inherent evil of human nature!

As Wang Ping swung the blade according to the forms of Yama’s Three Demon Sabers, synchronizing his breathing and circulating his vitality, this emotion grew increasingly severe. It faintly resonated with the Oxtail Saber in his hand. More and more blood vessels burst in his eyes as his rationality faced a violent assault.

”What a demonic saber!”

A second later, Wang Ping held his breath. Relying on the relaxed state of mind from finishing his prior training, he barely managed to suppress his desires and return the Oxtail Saber to its sheath.

When he came to his senses, he realized he was already drenched in sweat.

”So that’s how it is... I understand now.”

Looking at the long saber in his hand, enlightenment bloomed in Wang Ping’s heart. ”Greed. The process of being assailed by this emotion is actually the process of the cultivation method altering my body.”

”Only by remaining clear-headed during this process.”

”Only by using rationality to suppress the desires and refusing to be influenced by them can the physical transformation be maximized. The results after grasping the saber technique will be that much better.”

Thinking of this, Wang Ping immediately made a decision.

’For now... there’s no rush to master it.’

In all fairness, with the Iron Ox Art serving as his foundation and the rapid recovery provided by Qi Restriction, he felt confident he could master the saber technique right now.

However, reaching the threshold this way would likely only forge the lowest tier, a Viper Dragon Tendon. It would be fast, sure, but it would offer no benefit to his future development. If he didn’t have his cheats, he would have just settled for whatever he could get. But since he was using cheats now, he naturally had to look further ahead.

’No rush. I’ll take my time.’

’My Iron Ox Art hasn’t reached perfection yet. My little brother isn’t fast enough, nor is he ruthless enough, making it impossible to maintain the relaxed state needed to resist the greedy saber intent for long.’

Wang Ping continued to train as he planned his next steps.

As the saying went, a towering skyscraper was built from the ground up. If he couldn’t even achieve the best in martial arts, wouldn’t cultivating immortality be a complete pipe dream?

’Once my Iron Ox Art reaches perfection, I can practice the Desire Realm Heavenly Birth Method and shed my mortal body. When the time comes, I’ll use a cultivator’s physique to train in martial arts and grasp the saber technique. The results shouldn’t be any worse than those geniuses with top-tier bone structures. At the very least, my starting point should be a Flood Dragon Tendon.’

Regardless, this was the time to keep his head down and steadily grow his strength.

No acting reckless!

...

Longxing County, Outer City.

Following Chen Haoyan’s orders, Longxing County went into an official lockdown. People were allowed in but not out. Dozens, perhaps hundreds of bailiffs were conducting house-to-house searches for the White Lotus rebels.

However, after searching for the better part of the day, they failed to find the rebel Xie Shi. Instead, they accidentally uncovered a large number of fugitives, throwing the entire county town into utter chaos.

”Damn it. If I had known, I never would’ve listened to that old geezer...”

In a remote alley in the outer city, Xie Shi hid in the shadows. He wrapped the rags tightly around his body, focusing on protecting a fist-sized wound on his lower abdomen.

Through the wound, his internal organs were faintly visible.

”The Cloud-Piercing Heaven-Shaking Bow...”

Xie Shi gritted his teeth. He felt an agonizing sting in every inch of his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones. His blood loss was severe, and his body continuously sent him sensations of extreme depletion.

Skin, flesh, tendons, bones, blood, and marrow—none were spared.

The six corresponding weapons were entirely shattered. As a result, he couldn’t display even a tenth of his martial arts prowess. He had practically lost half his life.

”What do I do now?”

Waiting for rescue... was out of the question. Given that old geezer’s personality, there was absolutely no way he would risk falling into a trap by charging into the county seat to save him.

He could only save himself.

After much deliberation, Xie Shi could only think of one path. ”In the northern part of the city, the turf belonging to the imperial alchemist, the Perfected Wandering Spirit. That place should be able to protect me in my current state.”

Although the County Yamen was a monolithic giant in Longxing County, it wasn’t the sole absolute authority. Leaving aside the White Lotus Sect outside the city, there were targets inside the city that even the yamen refused to provoke. The Youren Temple in the north city was one of them. Even during a city-wide manhunt, no one dared to search that place.

And right now, the Youren Temple was recruiting servants.

”As long as I find a way to sneak in, I can dodge the pursuit of those black-coats,” Xie Shi plotted inwardly, though his brows quickly furrowed in worry.

The problem lay in the Youren Temple’s recruitment conditions.

Applicants had to be beautiful women.

At this thought, Xie Shi suddenly felt an overwhelming despair toward this superficial world. After all, with his burly physique and face full of fierce, meaty features, he couldn’t be considered a beautiful woman by any stretch of the imagination.

Unless—

Xie Shi’s eyes flickered. Back when he was striving for External Arts Perfection, he had sought out many martial arts, and among them was a bizarre technique that perfectly suited his current situation.

Change and Disguise Technique.

It was an unranked martial art with no corresponding weapon. Upon reaching consummation, the Art of War it condensed was called One Person, a Thousand Faces. It allowed one to disguise their appearance and reshape their body.

Not only could it change a person’s face, but it could even alter their body shape and size at will. A woman could grow a beard, and a man could enlarge his breasts. Aside from being unable to genuinely change one’s sex, there were almost no limits to the external alterations. By using this martial art, he should be able to meet the Youren Temple’s recruitment conditions.

However... what was a beautiful woman supposed to look like?

Xie Shi got a slight headache. His mind subconsciously flashed with images of beauties he had seen in the past, but without a real person in front of him, it would be difficult to flawlessly disguise himself purely from imagination.

”...I need to find a real person for reference.”

Where were there the most beautiful women?

With this thought, Xie Shi raised his head. His gaze immediately landed on the largest, most bustling, and brightly lit tower in the city.

...

Red Phoenix Tower.

Regarding this largest entertainment venue in Longxing County, Wang Ping only had four words to describe it.

Very accommodating, and huge.

In the brightly lit tower, the clamor was endless. Crowds came and went in search of pleasure. There were wealthy gentry, scholars, and even government officials.

However, Wang Ping didn’t pay attention to these people. Instead, he looked straight at the woman sitting properly on the highest central stage, playing a zither and singing. Her name was one that even he had heard other bailiffs mention at the Drill Ground. She was the most famous courtesan in Longxing County.

She lightly plucked the zither strings like a gentle breeze brushing against willow branches. Her red lips parted slightly, her voice like a nightingale singing in spring.

Even though Wang Ping wasn’t a lustful man, he was still stunned at first glance. There was no denying that someone who could become the top courtesan possessed genuine skill.

In terms of looks, the woman’s meticulously made-up jade face was second to none.

In terms of temperament, the woman also carried herself like a proper lady from an aristocratic family.

Yet she wore a thin dress, with a wrapping cloth pushing up two snowy peaks on her chest. Half-concealed and half-exposed, her bottomless cleavage eventually converged into a single dark line.

In a word:

A worldly stunner and the girl of one’s dreams, with a slender and graceful waist. Waking from behind fragrant curtains, hair pinned and wine-rich, cheeks flushed like apricot blossoms in spring. Full of charm, she loves to hold a white silk fan, masking her red lips with a smile.

”Lady Qingfeng sings beautifully.”

”It’s a pity she’s still a virgin courtesan. We won’t get to hear what kind of wondrous sounds she makes in bed...”

”Hah, what a vulgar man. To dare use such filthy language...”

Withdrawing his gaze, Wang Ping stopped paying attention to the courtesan and the clamor surrounding her. After all, having trained bitterly for half a month, he was here on serious business.

A second later, Wang Ping strode over to a corner of the building.

There, a beautiful woman was busy giving orders. Although she was clearly getting on in years, her glances couldn’t hide the charm in her eyes.

”Miss Feng.”

Wang Ping, who had done his homework long before coming, directly called out to stop the beautiful woman. He cut straight to the chase. ”My name is Wang Ping. Master Liu sent me.”

After speaking, he patted the Oxtail Saber at his waist.

Although he wasn’t wearing his black and red bailiff uniform, the Oxtail Saber had a unique design. Showing it was enough to prove his identity.

”...So it’s young brother Wang!”

The madam of the Red Phoenix Tower blanked for a moment before seemingly remembering something. She immediately smiled. ”Master Liu did give instructions. Come this way, young brother.”

A short while later, Wang Ping followed Miss Feng into a private room.

”You obtained the Iron Ox Art and plan to train it, right?” Miss Feng’s tone was relaxed. It was clear from her words that she had an unusual relationship with Liu Ye.

Following that, she looked Wang Ping up and down.

Taking in Wang Ping’s figure—which didn’t seem all that muscular at first glance—and his rather young face, a hint of teasing appeared in Miss Feng’s eyes.

”You’ve only just started practicing the Iron Ox Art, so you shouldn’t overexert yourself. How about this? I’ll invite three girls over first to let you warm up. What do you think?”

”Three? Who are you looking down on?”

Wang Ping sneered. He immediately circulated his perfected Iron Ox Art, bolstered by the Art of War: Golden Spear Standing Tall, and said seriously, ”I want to fight ten!”