Martial Saint with Passives

「Three days later.」

Jiang Che drove the horse-drawn carriage and finally arrived at Cangzhou Prefecture.

The city walls were tens of meters high, constructed from massive blocks of square stone.

They stretched so far that he couldn’t see the end of them.

Gazing at the immensely vast and magnificent city before him, Jiang Che felt a sense of awe.

Arriving at the city gate, he saw a large number of outsiders waiting to enter the city.

There were well-dressed merchants and gentry, as well as hawkers and laborers in coarse linen.

In addition, there were also quite a few gang members who looked like trained martial artists.

The city gate guards all had vigorous Qi Blood; even the weakest among them were at the Stone Skin Realm.

The one who appeared to be a minor leader was already at the Iron Skin Realm.

When it was Jiang Che’s group’s turn, he presented their travel permit and stated their purpose for coming to Cangzhou Prefecture, then discreetly slipped the guard some silver. The guard expertly took it and let them pass.

Inside the city, the streets were wide and clean, lined with numerous shops on both sides. It was bustling with activity.

Few pedestrians on the streets looked sallow and emaciated.

Their clothing and appearance were generally much better than those in Lin Yuan City and Hengsha City.

Afterward, Jiang Che first took Yin Yingying to her parents’ place.

Yin Yingying’s parents ran a silk shop of considerable size. They were very surprised to see their daughter.

After learning what had happened, the elderly couple was filled with lingering fear, and Mrs. Yin hugged Yin Yingying, crying incessantly.

Then, Father Yin directly handed him a gold note worth one hundred taels of gold.

Jiang Che was a bit surprised but didn’t stand on ceremony.

Including the gold he had brought from Lin Yuan City, he now had about one thousand taels of gold in total.

’Although this is a considerable sum, enough to live without worry in Lin Yuan City... but I’ve never been to the Prefecture City before. I don’t know how much this is actually worth here.’

’Especially with my future cultivation, the necessary restorative medicines, Cultivation Techniques, Weapons, and so on will likely cost a lot of money.’

Afterward, Father Yin invited them to a meal, but Jiang Che declined, using the excuse that he was in a hurry to get to the Cangyun Sect.

After leaving the Yin Family, Jiang Che found an inn.

The brother and sister were weary from their long journey, so they decided to have a good meal first.

At the same time, Jiang Che also wanted to ask about the location of the Cangyun Sect and the general situation in the city.

After ordering his food, Jiang Che found the Shopkeeper.

After handing over a piece of silver, the Shopkeeper held nothing back and told him everything about Cangzhou Prefecture.

”Here in Cangzhou Prefecture, there are Three Great Sects: the Taiyuan Sect, the Profound Sound Sect, and the Cangyun Sect. These three are first-rate Major Sects with countless experts. All the powers in Cangzhou Prefecture, big and small, are connected to them! And among the Three Major Sects, the Taiyuan Sect is the strongest! Why, even across the entire Great Chu, the Taiyuan Sect is considered a top-tier Major Sect! People come from all over just to join it!”

Jiang Che nodded. ’The Cangyun Sect may not be the top sect, but it’s still one of the Three Great Sects. That’s very good. It seems Master was right.’

”Can you tell me more about the Cangyun Sect?” Jiang Che asked, slipping him a bit more silver.

The Shopkeeper’s smile widened.

”You’ve come to the right person! My own nephew got into the Cangyun Sect’s Inner Sect! You see, the Cangyun Sect is divided into the Outer Sect and the Inner Sect. The Outer Sect is where all disciples who haven’t achieved Force Integration cultivate. The Inner Sect is divided into the Seven Great Halls, and each hall’s Cultivation Techniques are a little different. Liufeng Courtyard focuses on Body Techniques; Yanluo Courtyard on Medical and Poisonous Elixirs; Panyue Courtyard on Physical Body Hard Skills; Yunhai Courtyard on fist and Palm Techniques; Thunder Shock Courtyard on Saber Techniques; Lingxiao Courtyard on Swordsmanship; and Qianji Courtyard on Hidden Weapons, mechanisms, and traps. The strongest are Lingxiao Courtyard and Liufeng Courtyard, followed by Thunder Shock Courtyard and Yunhai Courtyard. The other three are relatively ordinary. And my nephew? He’s in Liufeng Courtyard!”

When he finished, a trace of pride appeared on the Shopkeeper’s face.

Getting into the Cangyun Sect, and into a powerful Inner Courtyard like Liufeng Courtyard at that, basically guaranteed a limitless future.

Jiang Che nodded. ’Master came from Yunhai Courtyard, and I need to visit the head of Yunhai Courtyard, Xu Qingshan. If all goes well, I should be joining Yunhai Courtyard.’

However, learning that the different halls had different Primary Cultivation Techniques sparked a faint sense of anticipation in his heart. ’If I could learn the skills of all Seven Great Halls, my power would probably reach a whole new level!’

”So, can disciples from different halls learn each other’s Cultivation Techniques?” Jiang Che asked.

”That, I don’t know. If you want to find out, you should go ask around the gates of the Cangyun Sect. The people there should know more,” the Shopkeeper said, shaking his head.

”What other major powers are there in Cangzhou Prefecture?” Realizing he couldn’t get any more information about the Cangyun Sect, Jiang Che started asking about other matters.

”Well, we won’t even get into the official powers like the Government Office and the Qilin Army. Even the Three Great Sects have to behave themselves in front of them. As for the others, there’s the Four Seas Commerce Association and the three great Noble Families. While they’re not as powerful as the Three Great Sects, they’re not forces an ordinary person can afford to provoke.

”The Four Seas Commerce Association is a faction formed by merchants from all trades, big and small, in this Prefecture City. They band together for mutual support and to prevent malicious competition. If a dispute arises, the association itself will mediate and ensure justice is served. I’ve heard they have the backing of the Lord General himself, so their background is incredibly deep!

”As for the three great Noble Families, they are the Chen Family, the Fang Family, and the You Family. The Chen Family is a family of officials; their members are spread throughout Cangzhou’s political circles, wielding immense influence! Although they don’t have any high-ranking officials at the level of a Governor or a General on the surface, even the Lord State Governor and the Lord General have to show them some respect.

”The Fang Family is the largest land-owning gentry in Cangzhou Prefecture, with vast properties and many skilled fighters in their service. As for the You Family, they are a top-tier Martial Arts Family, with numerous experts among their clan!