Elderly Martial Saint: Sixty Times the Cultivation Speed ​​at the Start

Li Yuzhao once again saw that Yi Yang intended to refuse, so he could only play his last useless sympathy card.

She said somewhat warmly, "Senior, I am also from Yunlin County, just like you. We can be considered fellow townsmen."

"My chamber of commerce was previously located in a town under the jurisdiction of Yunlin County, and it was only in the last two months that it moved to Tainan for development."

Upon hearing the other person's words, Yi Yang's words of refusal trailed off.

"From the same hometown?"

"Yunlin County?"

The fact that the other person was from the same place as him caused Yi Yang's gaze to change slightly.

He wasn't the kind of person who didn't care about his hometown, and he did need some help in the prefectural city.

But none of this was the main reason he took back his words, because Yi Yang noticed two key pieces of information about Li Yuzhao.

"Yunlin County" and her surname.

Is the surname Li?

One of the three prominent families in the inner city of Yunlin County is surnamed Li.

Before that great purge, the Li family and two other families were among the most powerful and influential families in Yunlin County. However, after the purge, only the Li family survived by chance, but they were no longer as powerful as before.

These families are insignificant to Yi Yang now; what matters is something else entirely.

Yi Yang put down his teacup, looked at the young woman opposite him, and asked in a clearer tone, "Are you from the Li family in the inner city?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Li Yuzhao's eyes.

She hadn't expected that the sixty-year-old Yi Yang would react so quickly, digging up almost everything about her from just one sentence.

But she didn't try to hide it, and readily nodded and replied, "Senior has good eyesight, I am indeed from the Li family in the inner city."

"However, our branch is a collateral lineage that separated more than a hundred years ago, and we have long since lost contact with the main branch of the Li family in the inner city. Even our family genealogy has been lost."

"Strictly speaking, the character 'Li' in my name is just a surname now."

A branch line from over a hundred years ago.

Yi Yang's expression remained unchanged, but his mind was racing.

According to Zhou Jiang, the county magistrate of Yunlin County, the "Five Internal Organs Refining Strength" technique he practiced originated from the main branch of the Li family a hundred years ago, was stolen by a collateral branch, and eventually fell into Zhou Jiang's hands.

Afterwards, Zhou Jiang sent people to wipe out the entire collateral branch of that family and took possession of the martial arts technique.

The branch to which Li Yuzhao belongs matches the timeline perfectly.

Unexpectedly, that branch had further branches, and Yi Yang gained a deeper understanding of the ancient Chinese concept of branching out and spreading out.

If that's the case, then perhaps... the other party has clues to the follow-up techniques of "Five Internal Organs Refining Strength".

This internal training method plays a very important role in Yi Yang's combat power system.

He fought his way up from the Qi and Blood Realm to the Second Level of Inner Qi, and the internal energy cultivation of his five internal organs helped him withstand countless attacks that should have been fatal.

The technique has been mastered to a high level and is not far from perfection, but Yi Yang wants to know if there is any further development in this technique.

Because it's easy to find medicine shops and weapon shops in the prefectural city, Yi Yang didn't hear anyone talking about this kind of internal cultivation method, which shows that internal cultivation methods are very precious in the prefectural city.

And Li Yuzhao in front of me is a ready-made thread.

After the thought swirled in his mind, Yi Yang's attitude softened.

He didn't show his true feelings on his face, but simply picked up his teacup again, took a slow sip, and said in a more conciliatory tone:

"Miss Li is not only from the same hometown, but she has also come with such sincerity..."

He put down his teacup, nodded, and said in agreement, "Okay, I agree."

This was something Li Yuzhao on the other side clearly hadn't expected; things would take such a dramatic turn at this critical juncture.

She paused for a moment, then her eyes crinkled into a smile. She stood up, gave a half-bow in thanks, and said, "Thank you, senior!"

The little maid behind him gaped wide-eyed, her two braids swaying as her mistress stood up, her face showing an expression of "that's it."

Yi Yang waved his hand to indicate that there was no need for formalities, leaned back in his chair, and remained calm.

He was already making plans in his mind. Joining the Chamber of Commerce was just a formality; the real business was to contact the Li family branch and investigate the follow-up clues of "Five Internal Organs Refining Strength".

As for silver and precious pills, consider them extra income; you can get them for free without losing out.

The two sides sat around the stone table for about half a cup of tea's time, finalizing the details.

Finally, she took out a donation contract and a stack of silver notes from her sleeve, placed them on the stone table, and pushed them toward Yi Yang.

"This is the first month's advance payment: five hundred taels of silver notes plus one precious pill. Please accept it, senior."

Yi Yang glanced at it and casually tucked it into his sleeve.

He got up to see the guest off. Li Yuzhao, accompanied by a young maid, stepped out of the courtyard gate, turned back to bow again, and then walked away along the alley.

Yi Yang leaned against the door frame and watched the two figures disappear around the alley before closing the courtyard gate.

The tea on the stone table was still warm. He didn't rush back inside. He stood in the shade of the tree for a moment, his fingers unconsciously tapping on the doorframe as he thought:

"A branch of the Li family... separated more than a hundred years ago..."

His lips twitched, but he didn't utter a sound.

It can't be rushed.

These things need to be done slowly. First, establish a good relationship, and then find opportunities to subtly inquire later. This is a hundred times better than asking directly.

……

The main street of the prefectural city.

Li Yuzhao and his maid were walking on their way back.

The streets were bustling with people in the afternoon, with long queues outside the medicine shops on both sides. The shouts and bargaining sounds mingled together, creating a lively atmosphere.

The maidservant following beside him finally couldn't hold back any longer and whispered in Li Yuzhao's ear:

"Miss, is it really necessary for us to pay such a high price to hire that old man? Five hundred taels of silver a month plus a precious pill! That's enough to hire a proper expert at the peak of the first level of Inner Qi cultivation. Why choose him?"

She glanced back at the courtyard, her voice even softer: "He doesn't look particularly imposing... he doesn't seem like a powerful martial artist at all."

Li Yuzhao, who was standing to the side, didn't stop. He glanced at her and pointed at her rudely, saying, "What do you know?"

The young maid shrank back, but her mouth remained open: "I just feel..."

"Shut up, listen."

Li Yuzhao lowered his voice and explained in a low voice, "When I was looking for the retainer, I found out some information. This Yi Yang has been in Youquan Division for less than a month, and on his first field mission, he killed one of the Six Bandits."

The maidservant paused noticeably after hearing this.

Even a lowly maid like her had heard her mistress mention the name "Zongsha Liufei" (meaning "Six Bandits Who Killed All the People"). It referred to a notorious bandit gang that had terrorized Suining Prefecture for seven years, and which the government and various factions had been unable to subdue despite their combined efforts.

"Those people are a headache even for the major powerful families, and he, an old man, managed to handle it?"

Li Yuzhao's lips curled up slightly: "That's why I said you don't understand. You only look at his age. But did you notice? Even after I presented those conditions, he still wanted to refuse."

She pointed a finger in the air: "Truly capable people don't fawn over you. The more indifferent they are to your conditions, the more it shows they don't lack those things at all. I had to keep raising the bar before they reluctantly agreed."

The maid was speechless, and the scene in the courtyard just now replayed in her mind.

indeed.

The old man remained indifferent throughout until the young lady brought up the "fellow townsman" card, at which point he finally relented.

"Moreover—" Li Yuzhao took two more steps forward, lowering his voice even further, "We just came to the prefectural city from the county town, and we don't know anyone here. Do you think you can hire a reliable expert just by spending a lot of money? Can you trust rogue martial artists? They'll run away faster than anyone else if something happens."

"Yi Yang is from the Youquan Division of the Heavenly Patrol Bureau. Just the name Youquan Division alone will save our caravan from most of the difficulties in the prefectural city."

She turned her head to the side, her eyes gleaming with smugness, and said, "This is called striking first; we're definitely going to gain a huge advantage."

The maid clicked her tongue, and seeing that her mistress agreed, she remained silent.

……

More than half a month later.

As it turned out, Li Yuzhao's judgment was correct.

That evening, after the Zhao Chamber of Commerce released the news that "Yi Yang, the deputy director of the Xuntian Division and Youquan Division, is a member of our association," the effect was immediate.

The local small businesses that had previously made things difficult for them visibly softened their attitude.

When caravans were transporting goods around the prefectural city, as long as they mentioned the name of Yiyang and the affiliation of Youquan Division, the ordinary bandits and highwaymen who came along the way did not cause too much trouble, and the number of times they were intercepted and extorted decreased dramatically.

The Wanzhao Chamber of Commerce finally managed to gain a foothold in the prefectural city, albeit a small one.

In the past two weeks, Yi Yang has only been asked to show his face once. Some thug with no sense of propriety was harassing the shop entrance and demanding protection money. Yi Yang went over and found a reason to put him in jail.

Effortless and worry-free, yet you still get paid.

……

Inside the main room of Yiyang.

The doors and windows were tightly shut. Empty medicine bottles and jade boxes with leftover dregs lay scattered on the corner of the table. The box of Crimson Ginseng was almost empty, and only a thin stalk of Jade Spirit Grass remained, soaking in water to keep it alive.

The combined effect of the three precious herbs and the precious pill was more potent than expected.

The Crimson Ginseng nourished his five internal organs and meridians, allowing him to practice the technique an extra time each day without feeling his Qi Sea empty. The Jade Spirit Grass directly replenished the depths of his Qi Sea, making the feeling of "almost overflowing" during cultivation three times more noticeable than before.

Yi Yang, sitting on the futon, exhaled a breath of stale air and opened his eyes.

The panel silently appeared in my mind.

[Yi Wood Health Preservation Exercise - Internal Qi Chapter, Second Level - Returning to the Origin of Purity and Turbidity (219200/250000)]

Two hundred and ninety thousand.

We are only a little over 30,000 away from achieving the goal of 250,000.

At the current rate, it will be filled in another ten days to two weeks. At that time, the internal energy will reach the third level, and heavenly rain will descend upon the head.

Yi Yang got up from the futon and stretched his wrists and shoulders.

His gaze fell on the Tiger Roar sword sheath standing in the corner, lingering for a moment.

The scene of that fierce battle in the Beast Ridge Mountains resurfaced.

He had already reached the perfection of the Nine Peaks Blade technique he had cultivated.

The methods are too simplistic.

This combination is more than enough to deal with opponents of the same or lower rank.

However, when faced with cross-border enemies, their tactics are not varied enough, and their countermeasures are inadequate.

The Pig King was a beast, lacking intelligence and cooperation, and was worn down to death by him.

But what if it were someone with a third-level internal energy? Or a powerful human with cultivation techniques, moves, and combat experience?

Yi Yang walked up to Hu Xiao and placed his palm on the cold scabbard.

Back in Yunlin County, my opponents were all at the Qi and Blood Realm, and the Nine Peaks Saber set was more than enough to handle them all.

But once you reach the level of a prefectural city, the days of relying solely on a superior swordsmanship to make a living are over.

Yi Yang withdrew his hand and paced around the room for a couple of steps.

He hadn't been to the armory of the Youquan Division yet.

According to the rules Liu Qing had mentioned before, the deputy patrol director had the authority to borrow some of the martial arts manuals in the armory, and had additional selection rights within a month after completing the mission.

He killed Zhao Hu and received a commendation; he currently has that authority.

"I'll go tomorrow."

Yi Yang made the decision and stopped worrying about it.

He returned to the futon, sat cross-legged, and continued circulating his internal energy.

The condensed internal energy in his dantian surged, getting closer and closer to perfection.

The numbers on the panel moved silently.

219260.

219320.