Chapter 129 - 113: Turns Out He’s a Reincarnated Old Geezer

Chapter 129: Chapter 113: Turns Out He’s a Reincarnated Old Geezer

Many people died during Zhang Ji’s ascent to power.

It was no exaggeration to say that rivers of blood flowed.

The family members of the seven councilors, in particular, suffered the worst fates.

Anyone related by blood or association was purged.

Their followers and subordinates were all added to the purge list.

However, the members of the Five Elements Sect didn’t actually have to get involved much.

These councilor families had been at the top for too long, occupying key positions and blocking the way for others. Zhang Ji only had to make a few promises, and countless people rushed to help him take care of them.

There was some resistance, but it was far too weak.

The entire martial arts world now stood with Zhang Ji.

With help from martial artists whose strength far surpassed that of ordinary people, you even had to fight for the chance to claim a head.

After Zhang Ji’s coup officially succeeded, he also received congratulatory messages from abroad.

Guning Country was the first to send congratulations, followed by Color Cluster Country, and the Roman Country as well...

Once the major powers declared their stance, the remaining smaller nations all followed suit and expressed their support.

This was tantamount to recognizing the legitimacy of Zhang Ji’s authority to rule.

Not that Zhang Ji needed their recognition, of course.

Liu Hetong was busy, so busy that he barely had time for two hours of sleep a day.

Every time Zhang Ji signed a list, a batch of people would die. A department originally managed by a thousand people might be reduced to less than a hundred with just a stroke of his pen, a signature, and a stamp.

He had to frantically search for people to fill the vacancies just to keep things running.

In a way, this showed just how deep-rooted the control these councilor families had over the Eastern Extreme Country was.

After all, with over a hundred years of influence, they had turned nearly everyone into their subordinates.

Even with this purge, it was impossible for Zhang Ji to truly root out everyone.

But it was enough.

Between close relatives, associates from the same faction, and the high-level officials who carried out their orders, not a single one was spared.

The scope of the crackdown already far exceeded that of ancient coups.

Under the conditions of an ancient coup, killing this many people would have likely forced them to fight back against Zhang Ji.

But now, they didn’t dare, nor could they.

The key military organizations were already in Zhang Ji’s hands.

The propaganda department was also under his control.

The martial arts world also gave him its full support.

They no longer had the ability to resist.

Any small-scale struggles would be slapped back down without making any waves.

...

In the Capital City, a new palace was under construction.

Before this, Zhang Ji was temporarily residing in the tallest skyscraper in the Capital City.

Once the palace was completed, a formal ceremony would be held to complete the final steps of his ascension and change the country’s name.

At this moment, Zhang Ji was not managing those messy, mundane affairs.

He had the martial arts world and Liu Hetong send him every martial arts manual that could be collected in the Eastern Extreme Country, and then he began to study them.

Zhang Ji was filling in the gaps in his knowledge.

The fundamental concepts and knowledge of martial arts.

Different types of energies, the properties of Primordial Qi, and the effects produced by combining them with external medicines and environments.

This greatly broadened Zhang Ji’s understanding of martial arts.

Among them were many Grandmaster-level techniques.

Zhang Ji read through them all.

Although he didn’t practice them, the knowledge gave him greater insight. He increasingly understood the meaning behind these concepts and began to envision new ways to use his own techniques. His path forward became even clearer.

’Humans possess the Five Elements and Yin-Yang. Primordial Qi is also divided into the Five Elements and possesses Yin and Yang. It changes with the four seasons of heaven and earth. The internal unites with the external, Spirit unites with qi, and man unites with nature...’

What Zhang Ji was currently reading were the *Nine Yin Divine Skill* and the *Nine Yang True Skill*.

Both were Excellent-grade, nine-star combat skills.

Although their names contained "Nine Yin" and "Nine Yang."

In reality, both were about the balance of the Five Elements and Yin-Yang.

However, one generated yang from extreme yin, while the other generated yin from extreme yang.

Furthermore, both were internal Cultivation Techniques of the Primordial Qi school.

They were similar in many ways.

However, Zhang Ji felt it would be rather difficult to combine the two techniques.

His theoretical knowledge seemed insufficient.

Moreover, his understanding of the two techniques wasn’t deep enough.

He decided to spend some time practicing both techniques to mastery. Only then would he consider merging them into one and deriving the *Taiqing True Scripture*, which he had seen back when he played the game.

He casually tossed a pill made from a mixture of giant whale viscera, meat, Yan Fruit liquid, and other items into his mouth. Activating his Great Eater Technique, Zhang Ji quickly refined it.

Then, he closed his eyes and began to practice the *Nine Yin Divine Skill*.

This was a seated Primordial Qi Cultivation Technique. Zhang Ji closed his eyes and sat cross-legged. After entering a meditative state, the essence, qi, and spirit throughout his body began to circulate in a rhythmic pattern as described in the manual. After a long while, saliva pooled in his mouth, and he swallowed it.

That one swallow felt like inhaling a breath of air that went straight to his Dantian. It then radiated out from his Dantian and entered his Mud Ball Palace, causing Zhang Ji’s Spirit to jolt.

This was the Primordial Qi internal skill of the *Nine Yin Divine Skill*.

Nourishing the Spirit was the key.

If one’s Spirit was insufficient, one could not master the *Nine Yin Divine Skill*.

If one’s Spirit was sufficient, qi would be generated on its own.

At that point, there would be no need to deliberately circulate the energy. The technique would operate on its own, twenty-four hours a day, nourishing his Spirit and body, strengthening him, and extending his lifespan.

Next, Zhang Ji tried the *Nine Yang True Skill*.

The *Nine Yang True Skill* was an Active Skill.

It involved more than a thousand points throughout the body for exerting force.

Performing a complete set of the Nine Yang Skill was comparable to an extreme-overload workout.

For Zhang Ji, however, it wasn’t too difficult, even after having extracted many of the combat crystals from his body.

His body moved rapidly around the room. He punched, shook his body, kicked, and trembled his shoulders. As he moved, streams of heat gathered within him, circulating through his body under his guidance. After he finished the entire set of the Nine Yang Skill, the heat converged at his Danzhong point before spreading throughout his body, greatly alleviating the soreness and aches from the exercise.

This was the *Nine Yang True Skill*.

Its Primordial Qi primarily focused on tempering the physical body. Its nature was yang, and it possessed a powerful destructive effect.

...

「July 13th.」

Cyan Cloud Mountain, the headquarters of the Northern Dao Sect.

The moment Zhang Ji stepped out of the car, he saw Ma Rui and others waiting for him.

He glanced at the words written on the banner.

[Welcome, Saint, we await your guidance...]

Ma Rui stepped forward, looking like he was about to offer a greeting.

Zhang Ji waved his hand dismissively. "No need for pleasantries. Where is he?"

"The Elder Ancestor is awaiting the Saint in the grotto-heaven," Ma Rui said. "It’s not that he is unwilling to come and pay his respects; rather, the Elder Ancestor is at the end of his life and can no longer travel long distances."

"It doesn’t matter. Seeing him won’t take up much of my time," Zhang Ji said. "Lead the way."

"This way, Saint," Ma Rui said with a nod.

A disciple from the Five Elements Sect, who was serving as his messenger, followed beside Zhang Ji. The disciple was about to step forward to hold an umbrella for him, but Zhang Ji waved him away. "Just follow me. Don’t do anything else unless I tell you to."

He didn’t need a large retinue of bodyguards, attendants, and chefs serving him all the time.

A single ceremonial officer to act as a mouthpiece was sufficient.

Against those who could threaten him, any number of bodyguards would be useless.

And against those who couldn’t, what was the point of having bodyguards at all?

Chang Hui nodded and immediately fell back half a step, following closely behind Zhang Ji.

Accompanied by the group, they soon arrived at the entrance to the Northern Dao Sect’s grotto-heaven.

The entrance was a pavilion with a stone table in the center. In the middle of the table was a stone carving of a Profound Turtle.

The Profound Turtle’s back was etched with the patterns of the bagua and yin-yang.

That Profound Turtle was the core of the Northern Dao Sect’s Ruins Realm.

Led by Ma Rui, Zhang Ji and Chang Hui stepped into the pavilion. Ma Rui twisted something on the turtle’s shell, aligning it with the current time, and the three of them vanished on the spot.

...

「Inside the Northern Dao Sect’s Ruins Realm.」

Pavilions and towers were arranged in an orderly fashion amid beautiful, pristine scenery and fresh air.

It was a stark contrast to the ruined state of the Shoushan Temple’s Ruins Realm.

The three of them appeared on a platform in front of the Northern Dao Sect’s training grounds.

"This way, Saint!"

Ma Rui led Zhang Ji and Chang Hui inside.

They passed straight through the training grounds and arrived at the practice area in the front courtyard. There was no one in sight; the area had likely been cleared in advance to avoid any chance of offending Zhang Ji.

Arriving before the closed doors of a great hall, Ma Rui stopped and said, "The Elder Ancestor is waiting inside."

Zhang Ji nodded, told Chang Hui to wait outside, and pushed the doors open, entering alone.

Upon entering the hall, the first thing Zhang Ji saw was a diagram hanging on the wall: a chart of the Five Elements, Yin-Yang, and the Bagua.

They didn’t worship their ancestors here, but rather Heaven and Earth, and "the Dao" itself.

Smoke drifted from an incense burner, helping to focus the mind and calm the spirit.

There were two meditation cushions in the hall.

A figure was seated on one of them.

He was ancient and decrepit, like a flame about to be extinguished.

And yet, for some reason, Zhang Ji also felt he was like a seed on the verge of sprouting, a tender new shoot about to emerge.

’He’s really something.’

Just seeing this made Zhang Ji feel that the trip had been worthwhile.

He walked to the empty cushion and sat down, facing the old man.

The old man opened his eyes. A contemplative look appeared in his cloudy gaze as he spoke slowly, "The Saint has graced us with his presence. Please forgive this old one for being too frail and weak to welcome you from afar. It is a great discourtesy..."

"Enough with the pleasantries. I came here only to ask you a few things," Zhang Ji said.

"If the Saint has questions, this old one will naturally say all that he knows and hold nothing back..." the old man said slowly.

His voice was ancient and hoarse, and it seemed like a challenge for him to utter every single word.

But Zhang Ji paid it no mind.

"Are you Yang Zixiu?" Zhang Ji asked.

That’s right. This was the reason Zhang Ji had come.

He had heard that this Terrestrial Immortal of the Northern Dao Sect was named Yang Zixiu.

And in his memories, the young man from more than twenty years in the future—the librarian at the Dao Sect who created the *Taiqing True Scripture*—was also named Yang Zixiu.

"That was my secular name in the past," Yang Zixiu said with a faint smile.

’So it really is him!’

Zhang Ji stared at the old man opposite him, his emotions stirring.

’I thought he was some peerless genius.’

’Turns out he’s an old coot living a second life!’

Judging from the aura of this old coot before him, he was currently in a very delicate state.

His flame was about to be extinguished, yet he was also on the verge of reversing death and being reborn.

’I have no idea how he’s doing it.’

’But it’s probably not a technique like the *Celestial Silkworm Rebirth Scripture*.’

’After rebirthing with the *Celestial Silkworm Rebirth Scripture*, one’s strength quickly recovers to its original level.’

’But as for this old coot...’

Zhang Ji remembered that the future Yang Zixiu was only at the Grandmaster level.

’So this old coot’s method must be to completely abolish his cultivation and start over from scratch.’