I planted the spiritual roots for my people, and they bestowed upon me a body inscribed with incense

Li Yuan watched Li Daqiang leave, his heart filled with emotion. He hadn't expected his father to be so clever; he had managed to get information out of his father simply by asking him to forge a weapon.

Li Yuan didn't think much of it and quickly became immersed in the Vajra Fist technique taught by Li Daqiang.

In just one night, Li Yuan had mastered all the essence and mysteries of the Vajra Fist. Even the more profound power generation techniques that his father had told him were undoubtedly simpler for Li Yuan than one plus one equals what.

Li Yuan was also puzzled by this. He guessed that it was probably related to his ability to sense a distance of two zhang around him, which was one of Li Yuan's extraordinary abilities.

However, rapid comprehension is ultimately a good thing for Li Yuan. If Li Yuan wants to break through to the third rank, one way is to practice hard every day and then supplement his diet with tiger meat. It is estimated that Li Yuan can advance to the third rank in three months.

Secondly, there are many rare and precious natural treasures in the world. Those treasures that increase qi and blood can prolong life and increase the qi and blood of martial artists after consumption.

However, the second option is obviously impossible for Li Yuan. If Li Yuan were to obtain the rare and precious treasures, unless the news were kept secret, the destruction of the Li family would still be imminent.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan felt that about three months was not unacceptable. However, what Li Yuan did not know was that his method of using tiger meat for dietary supplementation was already quite extravagant, especially considering the tiger's heart and gallbladder.

Li Daqiang used the tiger's heart to break through his cultivation level, while the tiger's gall was used by Li Daqiang to make tiger gall wine by soaking it with the ginseng.

Two months later, the tiger gall wine made from these two ingredients will become another precious medicine for Li Yuan and Li Daqiang to improve their martial arts level.

Thinking of this, Li Yuan couldn't help but feel a little excited. He then stopped thinking about it and buried himself in drawing the Mo Dao.

Time passed quietly.

The next day, Li Yuan got up early, took the blueprints with him, and headed towards Luoshan City with Li Daqiang.

Xiaoyu Village is about 50 li away from Luoshan City. If Li Daqiang were alone, he could probably get there in two hours.

However, Li Yuan was not as fast as Li Daqiang, and by the time the two arrived, it was already noon.

Looking at Luoshan City before him, Li Yuan was somewhat shocked. He hadn't expected the Great Qing Dynasty to be so powerful, and even a small city under a prefecture to be so prosperous.

The city walls of Luoshan were constructed by carving massive mountain rocks into standardized stones, which were then used to build the walls.

After observing for a moment, Li Yuan and Li Daqiang walked inside together. The ground was paved with bluestone, and there were all kinds of small wooden buildings on both sides. However, the only drawback was that there were still many refugees on the street. Most of these refugees were thin and could only survive by relying on the government's relief grain every day.

Fortunately, the magistrate of Luoshan City was kind-hearted and did not drive these refugees out of the city; otherwise, when the winter blizzard came, these refugees would have had no way to survive.

Soon, Li Daqiang led Li Yuan to a blacksmith shop that was a mixed bag. The blacksmiths assumed that Li Daqiang and Li Yuan were there to forge farm tools based on their clothes. Then they pointed to a smaller blacksmith shop next to them and indicated that they should go there.

However, Li Daqiang shook his head at the burly man covered in sweat, and then, as he took out two taels of silver from his bag, his aura suddenly changed.

The burly man was startled and quickly ushered Li Daqiang and Li Yuan into the inner courtyard, leading the way while saying:

"Distinguished guests, my name is Zhang Meng. Judging from your appearance, the weapons you wish to have forged must be quite extraordinary, right?"

Li Daqiang nodded, then gestured to Li Yuan, who handed the blueprints to Zhang Meng.

Zhang Meng opened the blueprints and saw the design and dimensions of the Mo Dao (陌刀).

Zhang Meng examined it carefully for a moment, then couldn't help but speak:

"Wow, that's amazing!" Zhang Meng then looked up at the two of them.

"Esteemed guests, our shop only has refined iron. If you wish to forge a weapon capable of withstanding true qi, I'm afraid there isn't a single shop in the entire Falling Mountain City that can do so."

Zhang Meng was clearly saying this to Li Daqiang, after all, Li Daqiang had just displayed the aura of a third-rate expert.

Before Li Daqiang could speak, Li Yuan interrupted:

"Father, the refined iron is enough."

Seeing this, Li Daqiang nodded and said to Zhang Meng, "Just do as he says."

Then, Li Daqiang seemed to remember something and said to Zhang Meng:

"Oh, right, they're also forging a horse-slaying sword of the same style as the one used in the Daqing army..."

Seeing this, Zhang Meng quickly agreed, but immediately looked embarrassed...

Seeing this, Li Daqiang took out five taels of silver from his sleeve and threw it to Zhang Meng.

After Zhang Meng accepted the silver, he smiled and welcomed Li Daqiang and his companion into the courtyard. He then took out a contract, made a couple of casual strokes on it, and handed it to Li Daqiang.

"Honorable guest, please take this token. In one month, you can use this token to take the two weapons away from here."

After listening, Li Daqiang nodded and then said:

"You might need to forge my son's Tang sword, but give me this horse-slaying sword now..."

After hearing this, Zhang Meng shook his head awkwardly, and then said:

"I apologize for my abruptness. Please wait a moment, esteemed guest, it will be served to you shortly..."

After saying that, Zhang Meng left the backyard.

Seeing his father's familiar manner, Li Yuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately said:

"Father, how did you know that the weapon you wanted was found here?"

Li Daqiang glanced at Li Yuan and then spoke:

"Have you ever seen a civilian blacksmith who can forge military ironware?" Upon hearing this, Li Yuan immediately realized that there was someone behind this shop, and that this person was from the imperial court.

Soon, after Li Daqiang and Zhang Meng waited for a while, Zhang Meng came in with a huge weapon covered with a cloth. It looked like the horse-slaying sword that Li Daqiang used.

Upon seeing this, Li Daqiang quickly stepped forward and removed the cloth covering the horse-slaying sword, revealing a heavy weapon about seven feet in size.

Seeing this, Li Daqiang stepped forward and took the horse-slaying sword in his hand. With the sword in hand, Li Daqiang seemed like a different person. He swung it around the courtyard a few times and was very satisfied with the sword.

Afterwards, Li Daqiang and Li Yuan did not linger and left the blacksmith shop with their horse-slaying swords.

Half of their objective had been achieved; next, Li Daqiang would take Li Yuan to visit an old friend in Luoshan City.

Soon, the two walked along the street and arrived at a small martial arts school with a sign that read "Tian Gang Martial Arts School".

Li Daqiang didn't even knock before leading Li Yuan into the martial arts school.

At this moment, five children were standing in the courtyard of the martial arts school, all of them practicing their physical training in a very proper stance.

In front of the five children was a grand armchair, and a person was sleeping lazily on it.

Li Daqiang entered the room, coughed lightly, and before he could speak, a series of sounds came from the person in the armchair.

"To learn martial arts, register in the back hall. It's ten taels of silver a month, excluding room and board. If room and board are included, it's fifteen taels of silver a month."

Upon hearing this, Li Daqiang stepped forward and said:

"Senior brother, you seem to have a very leisurely life..."