Chapter 52

“What price must I pay?”

Yan Wu’s voice was extremely low, ensuring that the old monster in the dark could hear him.

Once the young master of Divine Fist Manor, he had encountered martial artists at the pinnacle of their prowess, capable of hearing the buzzing of mosquitoes and flies within ten zhang.

“You’re quite good, there’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Zhou Yi secretly raised his assessment of Yan Wu by a notch and spoke slowly, “This old man needs you to join the Jinyiwei, climb your way up by any means possible, and become an officer managing a thousand households!”

An officer of the Jinyiwei managing a thousand households held the intelligence of an entire prefecture, and while the official rank was lower than that of an inspector, the power was not much less.

“Senior wishes to control the Imperial Court?”

Yan Wu speculated on the old monster’s intentions, to keep his life and gain more benefits.

His father had taught him martial arts and told him many strange tales of the jianghu. Most importantly, he said that old monsters were eccentric and fractious. One must be extremely careful when dealing with them.

“The mere Imperial Court, what’s there for this old man to covet? The throne might be a treasure in others’ eyes, but in my view, it’s as worthless as dog fart!”

Zhou Yi’s voice carried a hint of madness, “The only thing in this world worth pursuing for this old man is immortal cultivation and everlasting life!”

Upon hearing this, Yan Wu’s thoughts raced as he combed through each sentence, each word, trying to paint a mental picture of the old monster lurking in the shadows.

Powerful, arrogant, disinterested in worldly power, life hanging by a thread, all hopes pinned on the elusive path of immortality…

“Similar to the emperors in their twilight years, as recorded in history books!”

Yan Wu steadied his mind, believing he had grasped the old monster’s state of mind, and inquired, “I am willing to follow Senior’s command, but what may I obtain in return?”

As his words fell, his head was struck by a heavy blow, and he lost consciousness instantly.

A shadow fell into the cell, and Zhou Yi’s palm rested on Yan Wu’s back, mana seeping through his body, flowing along his meridians and bones.

A moment later.

Yan Wu slowly came to, smelling a foul odor and finding his body covered in greasy, sticky filth.

His limbs were strong, his meridians clear.

“Cleansing the marrow and refining the essence!”

Yan Wu immediately started running his family’s inner strength technique, finding it about twenty to thirty percent more efficient than in previous days. This improvement was not to be underestimated, as it was enough to bridge the chasm between ordinary people and geniuses.

Divine Fist Manor’s lineage had persisted for over a century, with five generations’ worth of Marrow Cleansing Soup Medicine and secret techniques. Yan Wu had used them since childhood, and yet none of those experiences had been as effective as this time.

“I will join the Jinyiwei as soon as possible.”

Yan Wu suppressed his initial cautious thoughts. The hidden old monster’s strength was so fearsome as to be unfathomable, and he might very well be one of the legendary innate Grandmasters.

“Good! Once you become an officer of the Jinyiwei, begin investigating the local oddities, extraordinary people, and peculiar places. Compile them into a record, and I will come to collect it myself.”

Zhou Yi enticed, “As long as it’s truly related to the path of immortality, you can obtain divine skills and secret techniques from me. Even becoming an innate Grandmaster is not impossible!”

“I will give it my all!”

Yan Wu cautiously asked, “May I know Senior’s name?”

Zhou Yi remained silent for a moment, then slowly said.

“King of Samsara!”

No one would have thought the King of Samsara would be a eunuch, let alone a jailer delivering meals!

Yan Wu respectfully replied, “Junior Yan Wu of Divine Fist Manor, my parents and kin killed by the Black Cavalry, if I can avenge this great enmity, my life will be at your disposal.”

“Heh heh heh heh…”

His declaration of loyalty did not earn him any praise; instead, it provoked a series of strange chuckles.

“This old man has seen much loyalty and betrayal, hence I never believe in lives sworn in allegiance; only consistent interests are eternal. If one day you deem yourself strong enough, you may try to cross hands with me, but be warned, loss means death!”

“Yes.”

Yan Wu’s heart tightened, daring not to probe any further.

…

Cell 12 of the Armor.

The young Ye Xiong curled up in a corner of the cell, his face bruised and battered, his body a patchwork of purples and blues.

In the cell where the law of the jungle ruled, the weak were bullied and forced to sleep beside the toilet, especially since Ye Xiong’s gang was at odds with the strongest person in the cell.

“Cough cough cough…”

A suppressed cough echoed a few times, and as his lungs had taken a heavy blow, several drops of bloody foam were expelled.

At that moment.

A voice indistinguishable between yin and yang arose beside Ye Xiong’s ear.

“Do you want revenge?”

“Yes!”

Ye Xiong answered without hesitation, knowing that if his enemies kept beating him for a few more days, he might die in prison.

“What are you willing to give up?”

“Everything!”

“Heh heh heh, very good…”

A series of mnemonics entered his ears, the martial essence within them far more exquisite than anything the cultivation technique of Ye Xiong’s gang could compare to.

“From now on, your life belongs to me, King of Samsara!”

Zhou Yi’s voice was elusive, hard to pinpoint in location: “Little fellow, that man’s acupoints have been sealed, you can try the wonders of the Swallowing Heaven Divine Skill.”

Ye Xiong turned his gaze towards the only straw mat in the cell, where the brawny man, who used to snore like thunder, lay as silent as the dead.

“I thank you, King of Samsara!”

…

“Do you desire power?”

“Do you wish to dictate terms to the wind and rain, to be invincible in all directions?”

“Do you want to understand the meaning of life? Do you truly want… to live?”

“Yes, or no!”

The tempting voice, like a ghost, echoed throughout the prison.

Those from the martial world desire more than the common folk, practicing martial arts not for strengthening the body, but in pursuit of wine, women, wealth, or the lure of fame and power.

Faced with a fortuitous opportunity, no one would refuse, even if it meant dealing with devils from hell!

…

The casual placement of a chess piece.

Zhou Yi wouldn’t bother with the aftermath, only providing the capital to get started and not eager to be a nanny.

After all, if there was one thing the prison wasn’t short of, it was people filled with deep-seated hatred.

If one batch died off, another would be recruited.

Pick out three or five pleasing ones with decent talent each year, for Marrow Cleansing Soup Medicine, while the lesser gifted would be taught demonic techniques—there would never be a shortage of pawns.

“Cast a wide net and gather more fish. Even if ninety-nine percent of the pieces die young, snagging one yields a hundredfold return.”

Zhou Yi let the pieces develop on their own. After ten or twenty years in the Jinyiwei, who would suspect they were spies for someone else?

Once their martial prowess increased, at the very least they’d become local leaders, with troopers distributed throughout the provinces and counties, nothing unusual could escape their surveillance.

“This strategy might seem rudimentary, but stretched over a timeline, I stand on invincible ground.”

Zhou Yi understood that his greatest enemy wasn’t any celestial gods or demonic beings, but the endless, profound loneliness.

Celestial gods and demons could eventually be transcended, but loneliness, with passage of time, would become increasingly difficult to contain.

Such as in the mundane world where spiritual energy is scarce, mana growth as slow as a snail—making no progress after ten or twenty years, one would invariably long to enter the Cultivation World, yet rushing in recklessly is tantamount to courting death.

And this is just the Qi Refinement stage, where you could reach the peak within a few hundred years. Once you break through to higher realms, and you spend hundreds or thousands of years unable to overcome a bottleneck, would you take the risk to fight for opportunities?

“Taking risks is impossible, I will never take risks in this lifetime, but instead use time to grind through bottlenecks.”

What Zhou Yi had in abundance was time, and time was also his greatest enemy. He must endure the extensive loneliness that time brings, endure the tedium of sluggish advancement in strength, he who does not compete will not lose!

“As for overcoming loneliness… I can only reference those oddities from the books of my previous life, the one most similar to me is the Celestial God!

“Equally endless lifespan, equally inferior talents; thus, I must take the Celestial God as a warning. Avoid disputes of passion, do not vie for the title of the strongest in the world, stay low-key and prudent in conduct.”

“Even if there exist great enemies in this era, let them die of old age then dance on their graves!”

Zhou Yi learned from the mortality lessons of the eternals, reflecting on his actions thrice daily, repeatedly admonishing himself to stay steady and not to act rashly.