A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 135 Sword Forging Manor, Diligent Practice Never Ceases

The night was dark, with no stars or moon.

In a small alley outside the Frost-Dispelling Pavilion, the smoke from a stick of incense flickered, leaving behind a trail of ash. The brownish-yellow incense stick was reduced to less than an inch in length.

After escaping back to the city, Bu Suanzi lit this incense stick in the corner of the wall and watched it burn until now. The seventh floor of Qushuang Tower still remained silent, which confirmed his suspicions.

"Alas, Brother Meng, our surprise attack was quite effective. We could have advanced or retreated freely and waited for three days. But we insisted on taking the risk and fighting to the death on the spot. Now look what happened, we've lost our lives, haven't we?"

He stared at the red glow emanating from the incense stick, lost in thought.

"The higher-ups are taking the killing of Han Wengong very seriously. Even with so many people lost, I'm afraid they still won't let it go. And besides Han Wengong, there will probably be several more targets."

"Now that I've gotten involved in this, there's no way I can avoid it. Well, in my reply, I'll exaggerate the severity of the situation and say that we should bring in as many people as we can to cooperate."

"...There are three possibilities for where these people will go next: Xiushuo City, Sword Casting Manor, and Laojun Mountain. Xiushuo should not be underestimated, but the current leader of Laojun Mountain has already reached the true Grandmaster realm nine years ago. He has many disciples and experts. Okay, let's avoid the other possibilities and just write about Laojun Mountain."

Bu Suanzi still harbored a subtle expectation: if the target changed from the mere retired Han Wengong to "Laojun Mountain," perhaps the higher-ups might temporarily shelve the subsequent revenge plan, giving him more room to maneuver and allowing him to extricate himself from this mess.

Ultimately, the reason he joined the Fire Luo Path was simply to find a backer so he could use that backer to collect some rare and precious medicinal herbs that he liked. Working for the Fire Luo Path would be much more free and unrestrained than being a guest of those righteous families.

However, when he discovered that the risks of certain missions exceeded his expectations, Bu Suanzi would rather resort to some cunning tactics against Huo Luo Dao in order to ensure his own safety.

As for the feud between King Meng and those protectors... well, the belief in ghosts and gods is so widespread in this world, there must be some truth to it, we can't be hasty.

Bu Suanzi looked up, then leaped up and flew to the seventh floor of the Frost-Dispelling Tower. He lifted a few tiles, built a small altar on the railing, stuck three incense sticks in the gaps between the tiles, and lit them with his true energy by rubbing his fingers together.

"By the Supreme Decree, your lonely souls are liberated, all ghosts and demons, all living beings are blessed. Those with heads are liberated, those without heads are ascended, to be executed by spear or sword, to be thrown into water or suspended by ropes..."

After muttering a few incantations for rebirth, Bu Suanzi climbed into the building, took a jar of Xingxian wine, took a sip, and spilled a trail of wine from the jar's mouth.

"Brothers, I have done all I can. From now on, your grudges are none of my concern. If you ever harbor resentment and want to seek help in my dreams, don't come looking for me. Go find your enemies or the cult leader instead."

Bu Suanzi picked up the wine jar again, took a few gulps, and put the rest of the wine on the railing. The wine in the jar sloshed and made a sound.

"Farewell forever!"

A figure soared high above the seventh-floor eaves.

………………

The battle by the river ended. Although several powerful enemies were killed and a half-master was killed, Han Wengong and his men were not in high spirits.

Chen Du, Li Tingsong, and others were the ones who fought alongside them in the southwest. They survived such a great battle, yet their bodies lie here. This must have been a painful experience for Han Yu, a veteran general who had weathered many storms.

After his injuries subsided somewhat, he collected the bodies of the deceased, bowed three times, and then decided to separate from the group.

When Chen Du and his group went to the Sword Forging Manor, they brought some disciples with them. However, they left those younger disciples in the manor because they disliked their lack of martial arts skills and also out of concern for their disciples. Now that they have died, their bodies should be returned and those people should be notified.

However, Han Wengong did not intend to go to the sword-making manor.

He was targeted by the Fire Luo Path. Even though he survived a wave of attacks and was temporarily free to move around, it did not mean that there would be no retaliation later.

Han Wengong mentioned that under the current circumstances, he could certainly take the people of the Han family out to avoid disaster, but there were some considerations about where to go. Whether it was to the Sword Casting Manor or to Lao Jun Mountain, it would inevitably be suspected of diverting the trouble to the east.

It is rare for a famous general to enjoy a good reputation until old age. In the end, he would inevitably cherish his reputation and would not want to be suspected in his later years.

However, as a veteran general of the imperial court, it was reasonable, moral, and even legal for him to relocate to the headquarters of the Ironclad Hall, Xiushuo City, two hundred miles to the west, when he encountered trouble.

The Huoluo Road has suffered heavy losses, and reinforcements have not yet arrived. There is no time to lose. Tonight, Han Wengong must return to his residence, dismiss his servants, pack his valuables, and take his family west.

Chen Shouzhen decided to escort Han Yu on his journey.

Guan Luoyang and his group then prepared to go to the Sword Casting Manor.

The group bid farewell by the river, and late at night, Guan Luoyang and his companions arrived at the Sword Casting Manor.

Disciples from various sects came out to claim the body, and upon hearing what had happened, they were filled with grief and anger.

Guan Luoyang, Jiang Jiusi, Zhao Wangui, and others were invited by the manor's head steward to recuperate because of their injuries.

Although there were many wounded, they varied in severity. Guan Luoyang felt that his own injuries would not affect his combat at all, and he didn't even need to take medicine. He agreed to go to the manor to recuperate first, but he just wanted to study something as soon as possible.

The doctor at the mountain villa only briefly examined the injured Lushan master at Guan Luoyang's place before rushing off to Zhao Wangui to carefully care for him.

The noise outside never stopped all night; the lights were on, and no one was asleep.

Guan Luoyang sat on the bed, closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. After a while, he forced out a dark blue halo from his palm.

That was the remnant of Meng Wanghou's palm strike, which he had weakened to a controllable level and deliberately left trapped in the meridians of his arm.

Holding the ball of blue light in his right hand, Guan Luoyang's left fingertips also gathered a point of green light as he reached out towards the ball of light.

The amount of cyan energy was very small, as faint as a cyan snowflake, so it was easily extinguished. Naturally, the changes in the blue light sphere were also very subtle, almost imperceptible to the naked eye.

Guan Luoyang observed very carefully, pondered for a while, and then repeated the action.

He spent the entire night making this tedious attempt.

By sunrise, the sounds of people outside had subsided and quieted down, leaving only An Feiyu's footsteps as he walked towards the door and the sound of him knocking on it.

"Come in."

Guan Luoyang got out of bed and walked to the table.

An Feiyu pushed open the door and immediately saw the blue light in Guan Luoyang's hand.

Because of the numerous attempts, and because the blue aura was now like a tree without roots or water without a source, even though Guan Luoyang used very little energy with his left hand each time, the blue light in his right hand had changed from the size of a basketball to a small ball suspended in his palm, like a billiard ball.

"Is this light the energy from that person last night?"

"Well, I took some for research, and this is all that's left."

Guan Luoyang asked, "How did your conversation with them go?"

An Feiyu sat down at the table: "Regarding the intelligence on the various branches of the Fire Luo Path, I had each faction find those closest to them and copy down that part of the intelligence. As for the specific timing of the subsequent actions, whether or not to coordinate with each other, I don't have much to say. I basically just listened to what they were saying."

He took out a yellow lacquered bamboo tube containing water infused with the Feather Rebirth Pearl. He took a sip to moisten his throat and said, "Apart from those sects that lost their elder masters last night, the people from Sword Casting Manor said that many of the famous masters they invited are willing to take action against Fire Luo Dao once they have definite intelligence. We can stay here for a few more days and wait for those people to arrive."

This intelligence from Huoluo Road had already been transmitted to local governments through Han Wengong's channels.

However, the government had too many daily affairs, and Han Yu had already retired, so he couldn't make these intelligence reports reach the level of urgent delivery over hundreds of miles. By the time the intelligence reports actually reached the local government offices, the branch altars would probably have already made preparations, or even been safely moved.

That's why Guan Luoyang and his group came to the Sword Forging Manor. The martial arts sects are small in size, so they can spread news much faster. In Guan Luoyang's eyes, each of the guests invited by the Sword Forging Manor was an excellent "transmitter".

An Feiyu remembered something and said, "Speaking of which, this Huoluo Dao is really a classic villainous organization setting. Some of the names that Fan Kelian recruited were not even familiar to Chen Shouzhen. But when the various factions gathered yesterday, good heavens, every single one of the protectors had blood on their hands."

"Although there aren't that many enemies capable of taking action against them, now that we've leaked the information, giving these people the opportunity to connect and call on their relatives and friends, the troubles in Huoluo Road will definitely not be small."

Guan Luoyang reminded him, "But don't forget, Huoluo Dao is only one of our mission objectives."

"Most of the time, there are connections between the various task standards. If we can get more support for the Fire Luo Path, it will definitely help our other task standards as well."

An Feiyu replied with a couple of words and nodded, "But you're right. We absolutely cannot let our guard down in the future. If an incomplete Grandmaster is already so difficult to deal with, if the three of us were to face a complete Grandmaster, even if we used all our trump cards, we could only remain undefeated."

"The only saving grace is that the enemy squad mainly focuses on magic and bloodline abilities, so we probably won't benefit from the upgrades they receive in this world..."

Anfeiyu paused for a moment, "At least not as fast as you, right?"

They had only been in this world for less than ten days, yet Guan Luoyang had already mastered one of the world's martial arts techniques, which could be said to have added the combat power of a top-tier local expert to his original foundation.

If we accept the "petty" explanation that circulates only among reincarnators and is not officially recognized by the light orb, then Guan Luoyang has essentially jumped from the mid-level of three stars to the peak of three stars.

"Hard to say."

Guan Luoyang, however, was not complacent. He simply said, "We will eventually have to fight. It's pointless to speculate on how fast or slow they are progressing. The most important thing is to take care of ourselves."

An Feiyu gulped down a few more mouthfuls of the Feathered Tea and said, "Sigh, I think I've been quite diligent and ambitious, and I've gained a lot of new benefits since forming a team, but you're so perfectly suited to the cultivation methods of this world. It would be very difficult for the two of us to progress as quickly as you."

Guan Luoyang raised an eyebrow, not taking his words seriously at all.

These two temporary teammates are not simply martial artists like him; they both have a transformation-like state, and their combat power after transformation is significantly different from their normal state.

When they first formed the team, if the two of them had revealed their true strengths and transformed into their strongest forms to spar, Guan Luoyang would probably have been the weakest.

After mastering the "Phantom Sun True Skill," Guan Luoyang realized he was only on the same level as the two of them in their transformed "complete forms." At this point, no one could say for sure who would cross the threshold from three to four stars first.

An Feiyu said, "Forget about that, you've been researching all night, have you made any new discoveries?"

"We're starting to see some progress."

Guan Luoyang raised the small blue ball of light in his hand. "I haven't fully understood the realm between first-class and grandmaster yet, but comparing myself to that guy surnamed Meng, I also have a brain and a dantian, two cores of power, so I can study and learn a little about some of the characteristics of his power."

"Only his final strike was truly a master's power, a combination of spirit and true energy. In that state, he achieved a high-quality transformation. I experimented all night and discovered that the key to this transformation might lie in the ratio of spirit to true energy."

An Feiyu didn't know internal energy cultivation, but the explanation was so simple that even he could understand it. He asked curiously, "You mean, just like how several common materials can be combined to make gunpowder, only a fixed ratio can release that kind of power, and if you ignore the ratio and just keep adding more and more raw materials, you might not even be able to ignite it?"

"Not exactly, but close enough."

Guan Luoyang said, "This ratio should be slightly more than 60% true qi and a little more than 38% spirit. This combination is the most stable."

An Feiyu laughed and said, "In the world of martial arts, your speech has become somewhat archaic. It's actually just a combination of 38.something and 61.something. Could it be the golden ratio?"

"It's probably not that much of a coincidence. Anyway, I can't be precise to three or four decimal places right now, so I'll just make an estimate first."

Guan Luoyang raised his left index finger, and his brain and dantian proportionally transmitted power, which condensed into a pure blue ball of light at his fingertip. Then he manipulated two balls of light of roughly the same size to touch.

Bang! ! !

A gust of wind swept away the gusts.

Both beams of light vanished simultaneously.

"really."

Guan Luoyang opened his palms, and the power in his body circulated and adjusted accordingly.

His dantian qi was slightly weaker than the mental power centered on the brain, but the Azure Bird primordial qi, which was originally infused from the outside, could switch freely between the two. Therefore, it was not difficult for him to achieve a state where his dantian qi accounted for more than 60%.

After this adjustment was completed, Guan Luoyang was just a tiny bit away from becoming a four-star character.

(End of this chapter)