https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-125-I-Am-a-Disciple-of-Hong-Ming-Time-to-Settle-Debts-/13506758/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-127-Identity-Exposed-Black-Market-Ambush-Let-s-Be-Friends/13509039/
Chapter 126: Acquiring the No Disturbance Manual, Recovering from Injuries, Gaining Fame
Chapter 126: Acquiring the No Disturbance Manual, Recovering from Injuries, Gaining Fame
"Lord Cai, what is this?"
"Master Ding, I have no way to repay your kindness this time. This is the cultivation method I've been practicing. I gift it to you. With your talent, you're certain to make this technique flourish!"
On the main road, Cai Liuliu pulled Su Chen aside and earnestly presented him with a secret manual from his robe.
Thanks to Su Chen's intervention, his family had safely escaped Big Feng City, and Cai Liuliu would always remember this favor.
From Zhu Yan, he learned that Su Chen had been scavenging corpses to obtain cultivation resources.
If he were still the head of the Hex Union, he could easily provide Su Chen with various cultivation resources as repayment.
But now, aside from offering some Vital Energy Pills, he had little else to give Su Chen.
After serious consideration, he decided to gift his cultivation method to Su Chen.
On one hand, he noticed that Su Chen had been injured in his battle with Hong Qi two days ago, and the No Disturbance Manual might help him recover quickly.
On the other hand, he believed in Su Chen's talent and didn't want the No Disturbance Manual to be buried and forgotten. He also hoped to form a good relationship with Su Chen.
Hearing Cai Liuliu's words, Su Chen turned his gaze to the cultivation method.
"May I ask, Lord Cai, which organ does this technique focus on cultivating?"
He knew that Cai Liuliu cultivated the No Disturbance Manual, but many records didn't provide detailed information about this technique, hence his question.
Cai Liuliu smiled. "It cultivates the liver!"
"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Su Chen was slightly surprised, and his mind suddenly became clear.
Currently, he had been cultivating four techniques that focused on the heart, spleen, lungs, and kidneys, but the liver was missing.
He had been thinking about how to find a technique that cultivated the liver, and now, unexpectedly, he obtained it from Cai Liuliu.
After a brief silence, Su Chen nodded and accepted the secret manual. "Thank you, Lord Cai."
Seeing Su Chen accept the secret manual, a smile appeared on Cai Liuliu's face. He then proceeded to carefully explain the key points and variations of cultivating the No Disturbance Manual.
"Master Ding, please wait a moment!" An hour later, Cai Liuliu called out.
"Take care!"
Su Chen looked at the three of them, clasped his fists, and said.
After bidding farewell to Zhu Yan and the others, they slowly departed in a horse-drawn carriage.
After sending off Zhu Yan and his companions, Su Chen finally set off on his return journey. The trip back was uneventful.
...
City Lord's Mansion.
"Milord, the Hong family's plan to assassinate Cai Liuliu has failed. A mysterious expert named 'Ding Peng' intervened and not only rescued Cai Liuliu's group but also killed Hong Qi!"
A refined-looking man was handling official business. This man was Qiao Renzhou, the city lord of Big Feng City.
Xin Yue, one of his advisors, entered with a slightly hasty pace, his face filled with solemnity.
Such an expression rarely appeared on his face, but whenever it did, it meant the matter was significant.
Qiao Renzhou recognized Xin Yue and didn't make any movements, continuing to write with his brush.
Such a calm posture didn't last long, though. When Xin Yue revealed the news, Qiao Renzhou's brush suddenly stopped moving.
After Xin Yue finished speaking, Qiao Renzhou hesitated for half a second, then put down his brush, slightly relaxed his body, and sighed softly:
"It seems Cai Liuliu was not meant to die!"
Xin Yue nodded, his eyes filled with both melancholy and surprise.
Back then, under pressure from the Hong family, they had to abandon Cai Liuliu. Neither Qiao Renzhou nor he had expected that Cai's family would survive the Hong family's encirclement.
Unexpectedly, they had received help from a noble friend and managed to escape with their lives.
"Who is this 'Ding Peng'?"
After expressing his feelings, Qiao Renzhou shifted his attention to the mysterious expert who had rescued Cai Liuliu.
He had never heard of Ding Peng, but he knew about Hong Qi.
Hong Qi was considered a leading figure among the second generation of the Hong family. Since childhood, he had shown extraordinary talent, reaching the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm in less than thirty years. Without any mishaps, he was destined to become a senior elder of the Hong family.
This kind of person had been killed by someone he had never even heard of, which made him feel both pleased and alarmed.
When had Big Feng City produced such a powerful figure?
Xin Yue was prepared and said, "Ding Peng is a friend of Zhu Yan, who is the fiancé of Cai Xiaoyue. This person lives in Ruyi Workshop and hardly interacts with outsiders. He's very reclusive, and his background is extremely mysterious. We haven't been able to determine his origins yet."
As he spoke, he took out a painting and spread it on the table, pointing at Su Chen's portrait and saying, "This is his portrait."
"Hmm?" At the moment he saw Su Chen's portrait, Qiao Renzhou's calm eyes couldn't help but ripple with surprise.
Xin Yue knew of Qiao Renzhou's astonishment and continued, "It's said this person is less than thirty years old!"
A martial cultivator under thirty years old who had already reached the peak of the Bone Tempering Realm, surpassing even Hong Qi's talent, even overtaking the most gifted young member of the Hong family now.
Truly terrifying!
After all, no matter how talented one might be, without reaching the Bone Tempering Realm, it was all just empty talk.
In contrast, Su Chen had already reached Bone Tempering at such a young age. This level of talent and strength deeply moved even Qiao Renzhou.
"Let Qi Liang investigate his background", Qiao Renzhou said after a moment's thought.
Xin Yue nodded, knowing that Qiao Renzhou had taken an interest in Su Chen.
Without Cai Liuliu, the Hex Union had already been crippled.
Especially with two vice leaders, one missing and the other killed, the Hex Union now existed in name only.
The city authorities had no choice but to take this opportunity to support a new force to counter the Xuan Shui Sect.
Otherwise, the entire Big Feng City would truly become the Hong family's domain.
This martial cultivator named Ding Peng was quite suitable. Young, talented, and strong, he was the perfect candidate for Qiao Renzhou and Xin Yue to counter the Hong family.
Most importantly, he had already completely offended the Hong family.
Hong Qi's identity was very complex, tied to many interests. Now that he had been killed by Ding Peng, the Hong family would never let him go.
Moreover, the Hong family was known for their vengeful nature, the type that would kill one person and destroy an entire family. The two sides were now locked in a battle to the death.
"How is the Hong family handling this?" Qiao Renzhou suddenly asked, changing the topic.
At this question, Xin Yue's face couldn't help but show an odd expression before he replied, "It's in chaos. After the news of Hong Qi's death reached the Hong family, they mobilized all their forces to track down Ding Peng's whereabouts, even issuing a wanted list worth 100,000 taels of silver through the Shadow Killers, vowing not to rest until Ding Peng was dead!"
Shadow Killers was an assassination organization spread across all states of the Eastern Lin Prefecture, mainly present in the prefecture city, though they also had branches in state cities.
The Hong family's reward of 100,000 taels of silver created a sensation within the Shadow Killers organization overnight, even drawing Golden Eagle assassins from other cities to Big Feng City, all aiming for this 100,000 taels of reward.
Golden Eagle assassins were terrifying martial cultivators capable of assassinating Bone Tempering experts. Not only were they powerful, but they also had high success rates in their assassinations.
If they really discovered Ding Peng's whereabouts, Xin Yue felt that Ding Peng might not be able to escape their assassination attempts.
"What about Cai Liuliu?" Qiao Renzhou asked again.
"The Hong family hasn't taken action against him for now. Right now, they're focused on dealing with Ding Peng, but once they settle down, they'll probably send people to hunt down Cai Liuliu", Xin Yue replied.
"Tell the Hong family that the matter concerning Cai Liuliu ends here", Qiao Renzhou said indifferently.
"Yes!" Xin Yue nodded.
Seeing that Qiao Renzhou had no intention of continuing the conversation, Xin Yue respectfully withdrew.
As Xin Yue had said, Hong Qi's death not only shocked the Hong family but also the entire Big Feng City.
Now, all factions with any connections or backgrounds knew that a formidable figure had appeared in Big Feng City, someone who had personally killed Hong Qi.
The name "Ding Peng" echoed throughout Big Feng City.
Su Chen knew he would gain some fame, but he hadn't expected to become the talk of the entire city one day.
In teahouses and taverns along the streets, he could hear people discussing the news of Ding Peng slaying Hong Qi.
Surprisingly, even the City Authorities had posted Ding Peng's portrait on their wanted list.
If it weren't for his disguise, he probably would have been discovered by some people with ill intentions before even entering the city.
"Great, I have to change my name and move houses again!"
Since arriving in Big Feng City, the thing he had done the most was visiting the black market, but even his visits to the black market didn't match the frequency of his moves.
He basically moved house every half month!
However, he didn't mind because he didn't have much stuff and had plenty of money.
Now, through his "hard work", he had accumulated a huge sum of 200,000 taels of silver, rivaling the income of a medium-sized shop in Big Feng City over several months.
He certainly wouldn't care about the expense of moving for just a few taels.
During the time Su Chen was preparing for his move.
The Tan residence.
It was unusually quiet.
"Second brother, is this 'Ding Peng' the person you and Xu mentioned during your merchant travels?"
Tan Zhao, the head of the Tan family, looked solemnly at Tan Run. Since learning that Tan Run and Tan Xu had briefly met Ding Peng, his brows hadn't relaxed.
Now, in Big Feng City, Ding Peng was being hunted mercilessly by both overt and covert forces. If anyone discovered that the Tan Clan Merchant Caravan had previously interacted with him, the Tan Clan would likely face immediate backlash from every side.
Tan Run realized the gravity of the situation. After a moment's contemplation, he said, "It's definitely the same person, but..."
"But what?" Tan Xu pressed.
Tan Run's eyes flickered with suspicion. "The Ding Peng we know doesn't possess such formidable strength."
"Could he have been hiding his true power?" Tan Zhao pondered.
"It's possible", Tan Run replied neutrally. "He's only a suspicion, not a certainty. But what about this matter?"
Hearing this, Tan Zhao's face grew solemn as he addressed both Tan Xu and Tan Run. "This must never reach outside ears. You both must take this secret to your graves. The Tan Clan lacks the strength to oppose the Hong Clan."
"Big Brother, why not assist the Hongs in capturing him?" Third Young Master Tan Pei interjected. "If we forge an alliance with them, our merchant caravan could soar to unprecedented heights."
"Absolutely not!" Before Tan Zhao could speak, Tan Run immediately rejected the proposal.
Nodding in agreement, Tan Zhao added, "This man killed Hong Qi. He could just as easily destroy our clan. Our best course is to bury this secret forever. Even if we encounter Ding Peng again, we must act as strangers."
He paused, fixing his gaze on Tan Pei. "This matter determines our clan's survival. You must never utter a word—not even on your deathbed!"
Tan Pei chuckled nervously. "Understood. I know what to do."
...
That afternoon.
Su Chen had moved into his new residence.
"Setting aside the wealth, my most valuable gains are the Vital Energy Pills, the No Disturbance Manual, and the Xuan Yuan Qu."
Inside his room, a porcelain tray on the table held forty-two Vital Energy Pills. Beside them lay the No Disturbance Manual and Xuan Yuan Qu.
"Cai Liuliu mentioned this manual has both healing and destructive techniques", Su Chen mused. "The healing method might cure my internal injuries."
Still, he decided against splitting his cultivation focus. "First, I'll prioritize mastering the No Disturbance Manual."
After a brief internal debate, he activated his system ability.
"Gold-Fueled Enhancement: Easy Mode activated. Ten minutes of meditation will bring No Disturbance Manual to introductory mastery."
"Mediation?" Su Chen hesitated briefly. But once he sat cross-legged, he watched his experience surge rapidly.
Ten minutes later, the system confirmed: "Easy Mode: Twenty minutes of meditation to achieve first layer."
After completing twenty minutes of cultivation, Su Chen felt a tingling sensation near his bones, as if something shifted within.
"Twenty Vital Energy Pills required to reach second layer?" he frowned. Previously, advancing any technique from first to second layer required only ten pills. "Perhaps the dual nature of this manual doubles the requirement."
Though frustrated, he proceeded.
"Easy Mode: Thirty minutes of meditation to achieve second layer."
As he meditated, thirty minutes passed. A thin thread of Vital Force emerged in his body—half emerald green, half ashen gray.
Testing it, he confirmed their properties: green for healing, gray for destruction. Their coexistence within a single thread was astonishing, though the force remained frustratingly weak. With only one thread, even the healing aspect couldn't address his injuries.
He glanced at his remaining twenty-two pills. Not enough for further advancement.
"Worth trying Thick Earth Manual", he suddenly realized. "Using its assimilation ability might strengthen my No Disturbance Vital Force."
Activating the system again: "Easy Mode: Forty minutes standing meditation to reach third layer of Thick Earth Manual."
After completion, his Vital Force began refining his spleen, combining with the assimilated energy. The process accelerated, approaching Xuan Yuan Qu's efficiency. Five Vital Force threads had restored his physical condition, though he sensed brewing conflicts.
"Vital Energy Pills exhausted. Time to test my theory."
He directed Thick Earth Vital Force into No Disturbance techniques, repeating the cycle until morning. Half his Thick Earth Vital Force was spent, but his No Disturbance technique reached perfection.
Using the gray force to 'erase' dead bone sections, then green force to 'reconstruct' them, he achieved miraculous healing. Three days later, his injuries fully recovered.
During recovery, he learned the Hong Clan still hunted his fake identity, unaware of his true self. Meanwhile, the Hex Union had collapsed—Cai Liuliu's departure and the deaths of two vice-leaders left them vulnerable, like a fallen whale feeding ocean life.
Now focusing on refining Dreamweaver Powder, Su Chen found third-generation formulas ineffective against Bone Tempering experts. His previous poison barely affected Hong Qi, requiring blood transmission and deception to work.
Taking advantage of his recovery period, he began improvements. With extensive medical tome studies, he intended to refine the formula using his Ancient Medical Manual.
Meanwhile, deep within Xuan Shui Sect miles away...
He Qiu arranged recent intelligence—Hong Clan's missing persons, Ding Peng's infamous activities, and newly acquired Su Chen records. Patterns emerged in these seemingly disconnected events. He focused intently on the documents, his mind racing with rapid calculations. Suddenly, his eyes blazed with a flash of sharp insight.
"Hahaha! Of course! Ding Peng and Su Chen are one and the same!"
His laughter echoed through the chamber, as if unearthing a cosmic truth.
Staring intently, his mind raced. Suddenly, his eyes blazed with realization.
"Hahaha! Of course! Ding Peng and Su Chen are one and the same!"
His laughter echoed through the chamber, as if unearthing a cosmic truth.
(End of Chapter)
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