White-Robed Chief

Chu Li sat in his little courtyard whilst using the Omniscient Mirror to observe King An.

A King An without martial arts was a good King An. He dared not kill him but still dared to cripple him. Chu Li intended to keep him that way.

King An without martial arts was a man without a backbone, unable to create havoc. He would not be able to act with wanton aggression. No matter how much his spirit craves it, his flesh would be too weak to eliminate him.

With the Nine Dragons’ Tripod Cauldron, his martial arts would recover quickly, and he probably would not despair for long. Rather, when the going got tough, the tougher got going. He would soon regain his spirits and recover his martial arts without allowing his focus to wander. After cultivating, he would cultivate some more. He would not come out and disturb others.

The next time he recovers his martial arts, he would not be this reckless. He would have his tail curled between his legs and raise the bar of his Golden Lohan Power. Only once he was sure that he could kill Chu Li, would King An show it and give him the finishing blow.

However, as King An was advancing, Chu Li has been continuously moving ahead as well. As long as he stayed ahead of him, he could restrain him. The best-case scenario was if he could drive him insane.

Achieving Enlightened Mastery against the will of the heavens…

Once this thought appeared in his mind, it became an unstoppable impulse. This was his path to Enlightened Mastery. He was going to become an Enlightened Master instead of being conferred.

To be granted Enlightened Mastery, he needed to become the world’s number one. He had to wait until the current Enlightened Master to pass on for that to be possible.

An Enlightened Master’s life is long and it would be a coin toss to figure out when the current Enlightened Master at the Tempest Temple would pass. He could not wait that long. Thus, only by pathing a way through Hundred-Thousand Hills, could he become an Enlightened Master against the will of the heavens.

He had the Spirit Cranes Peak with the spirit cranes being a strong presence amongst the spirit beasts. Although they were not the strongest, with their protection, he could fend off some of the other spirit beasts.

The more he thought about it the more he felt he had an edge and a bright future. The gods have helped him select this path, he must not disappoint.

The Heavenly Demonic Power and Life and Death Scripture could not be counted on to be completely mastered. Once they were cultivated to perfection, he would need to leave. Having said that, he knew the difficulty of both, cultivating to complete mastery was almost impossible.

He needed to cultivate the martial arts study that originated from the spirit beasts, similar to the Art of White Tiger.

Of the four major sects, the Tempest Temple’s core heart technique was the Scripture to Buddha’s Devil Concealing, which was the martial arts study of a grandmaster. The same for the Titanium Temple’s Ten Lifetimes of Dharma. Although he did not know the core martial arts study of the Amethyst Mountain and the Green Deer Cliff, he reckoned it would a grandmaster study as well.

The Holy Church of Light’s core martial arts study was the Great Light Scripture. This was also grandmaster-standard, but he indistinctly felt that perhaps the four major sects at this stage all cultivated at a grandmaster’s martial arts study level.

Once the spirit beasts entered Hundred-Thousand Hills, the martial arts of the spirit beasts would fall to an all-time low where it would remain. Could it be these first ranked factions such as the Crouching Bull Mountain were in the same position as the Tempest Temple and the other sects?

Was it that once the martial arts study of the spirit beasts suffered, the factions declined as well? Whereas the grandmaster study of the Tempest Temple and the rest were not impacted nor did they decline, causing them to rise to become the four major sects?

If that were the case, then they must be deeply rooted and worth his attention.

However, the White Tiger Sect, which was one of the four major sects in the Li Dynasty, seemed to be of the spirit beast martial arts. It seemed that his deduction may not be accurate.

He wanted to control the Crouching Bull Mountain. He originally wanted to obtain its Surpassing State and then use it to nurture grandmasters and broaden his influence so that he could be spared the effort and need not worry about the High Duke’s Public Houses.

But now the target has changed, not only did he want the Surpassing State, he wanted the martial arts study as well. If the Crouching Bull Mountain’s martial arts study was powerful enough, it may be cultivated to perfection.

“Ah——!” King An looked up at the sky and howled.

Xu Ning hurried over, pressing his palms together.

King An turned and glared at Xu Ning.

Xu Ning asked, “Your Royal Highness, what happened?”

“The Amethyst Mountain… The fellow from the Amethyst Mountain was here again!” King An gnashed his teeth. His expression was vicious as he snarled, “He dispelled me of my martial arts!”

Xu Ning frowned. “What animosity is there between Your Royal Highness and the Amethyst Mountain?”

King An slowly shook his head. “There is none! But the way I do things may offend certain people. Who knows if I unintentionally offended anyone!”

“Your Royal Highness, do you still have the Primary Heaven Pill?” asked Xu Ning.

King An sighed. “Only one left, it’s impossible to gather more!”

Xu Ning remained silent.

King An gritted his teeth. “If I were to recover my martial arts and that fella comes again…”

Xu Ning added, “It seems that we can’t cultivate in the Imperial Residence anymore.”

“It’s time to seek a hidden spot,” King An spoke in a low voice then turned to look at Xu Ning.

Xu Ning shook his head. “My temple will not agree to it.”

King An scoffed. “If it really can’t be done, then I can only look to the Tempest Temple!”

Xu Ning gently nodded. “The Tempest Temple will agree to it.”

King An saw that he was unmoved. He helplessly said, “I’m not too sure about the Tempest Temple. Fine, let’s just find a secluded spot. As long as the Nine Dragons’ Tripod Cauldron can be brought with us, then anywhere can be a Cultivation Courtyard!… Revered Sir, please assist me on this.”

“Yes.” Xu Ning pressed his palms together.

…

Chu Li appeared at the courtyard of the Crouching Bull Mountain at dawn. His face had changed into that of Zhuge Tian.

There was luxuriant growth of towering old trees at the Crouching Bull Mountain. The air was exceptionally fresh. One deep breath in and his whole body loosened up.

Chu Li took a few deep breaths in the courtyard as he slowly initiated his sword technique practice.

“Young Master?” After practicing for a while, Qiao San’s voice was heard coming from outside.

Chu Li listlessly answered, “Come in!”

Qiao San pushed open the door and entered. He was pleasantly surprised. “Young Master, you’ve finally left seclusion!”

Chu Li lazily nodded without stopping his movements.

Qiao San stood in a corner with his arms by his side. He continued a brief moment later, “Young Master, this time I was almost killed while heading down the mountain!”

Chu Li frowned as he looked at him. “Who was it?”

“I don’t know. It’s someone with great martial arts skills. He reeks of killing intent, especially after pulverizing an entire village. I happened to bump into him, so he tried to silence me. Thankfully, my Light Body Technique was good enough.” Qiao San shook his head.

“Pulverized a village? Due to a personal vendetta?” Chu Li’s expression changed.

“Doesn’t seem so. That person was peculiar. He seemed to almost be aroused from the killings. He seemed to genuinely just like killing people.” Qiao San shook his head.

Chu Li slowly nodded. His heart sank. Could it be the Asura?

“What did he look like? Terrifying?” Chu Li snorted.

“Quite so. He had a pleasant appearance but no matter how I looked at him, it was intimidating. I’m quite ballsy, yet I dared not look further. My only thoughts were to escape.” Qiao San sighed.

“He did not follow you?” asked Chu Li.

“No, I managed to shake him off prior to returning. How could I ever create trouble for Young Master!” answered Qiao San.

“Looks like there will be trouble regardless.” Chu Li frowned.

Qiao San replied, “That person killed a village of people which was not within the boundaries of the Crouching Bull Mountain. We need not bother about it.”

“My only fear is that he is heading this way… Fine, let’s not bother about it,” Chu Li finally concluded.

Qiao San revealed a smile. “Young Master, the hill master is leaving seclusion soon.”

Chu Li was stunned.

Qiao San added, “I heard Elder Murong and the rest mention that the hill master will be out in the next few days.”

Chu Li was expressionless.

Qiao San cautiously observed him. Seeing him act like this, he immediately said, “Young Master, although the hill master is indifferent and devoid of human feelings, you’re still father and son. Moreover, Young Master will be inheriting the hill master position in the future!”

“And do I care about being this hill master?” Chu Li coldly blurted.

“Of course Young Master couldn’t care less! But the Crouching Bull Mountain is the foundation of the madam. Are you going to simply toss it aside?” Qiao San immediately nodded.

Chu Li scoffed.

He knew that Zhuge Tian yearned for the mother who he had never met. As he was deserted by his father, he cast all parental feelings onto his mother that died from birthing him.

Qiao San regained his spirit and immediately added, “The madam would definitely want Young Master to inherit the Crouching Bull Mountain!”

“Alright, when he does leave seclusion, let me know,” Chu Li dully responded.

“Yes!” Qiao San smiled.

Chu Li waved his arm and impatiently ordered, “Leave now. I want to practice my sword.”

“Yes, yes,” Qiao San quickly replied. He left the courtyard hastily and shut the doors. He then waited by the entrance.

Chu Li was about to wield his sword once more when Qiao San’s voice was heard again, “Miss Xia, Young Master is currently cultivating.”