The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

After receiving the answer, Jiang Ning bid farewell to the Huashan disciples and went directly to Yue Buqun's residence.

Upon arriving at the Suoyoubuwei Pavilion, Jiang Ning discovered that Yue Buqun was teaching a group of children holding wooden swords how to practice swordsmanship in the open space in front of the pavilion.

"Strength must be steady and movements must be fast. The Huashan School of swordsmanship is characterized by its unpredictability and danger, emphasizing surprise. Therefore, movements must be swift. Otherwise, if the moves are slow, others will be able to read them and easily counter them."

Yue Buqun explained to the group of children.

At this moment, the children's innocent faces were very serious as they diligently practiced swordsmanship according to the methods taught by Yue Buqun.

"Master."

Just as Yue Buqun was about to continue instructing the children, he suddenly heard a familiar voice behind him. He turned around and saw the figure he hadn't seen in a long time standing not far away, looking at him with a smile on his face.

"Ning'er?"

Yue Buqun first called out in surprise, but after confirming the identity of the person, his serious face broke into a smile of delight.

"You're finally back."

Yue Buqun looked at the group of children practicing swordsmanship and said, "Today's sword practice ends here. You can go and rest."

"Yes, Master."

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, the children all stopped what they were doing, bowed to Yue Buqun, and left. As they passed Jiang Ning, they also bowed to him.

After they left, Yue Buqun took a closer look at Jiang Ning.

She looked much the same as last year, but her facial features had become more hardened, making Jiang Ning's temperament even more aloof.

But those eyes, like stars in the sky, shone even brighter.

Yue Buqun then said, "You've been gone for a year without a word, not even a letter. Your master's wife is very worried about you."

Jiang Ning said with a look of shame, "This disciple is unfilial, and I have troubled my master's wife with worry."

Yue Buqun shook his head and smiled, "Let's not talk about that. It's good that you came back safely. Did you slack off in your skills during your training trip down the mountain?"

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "I dare not slack off for even a day."

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun reached out and grabbed Jiang Ning's wrist, beginning to inquire about Jiang Ning's condition.

After a while.

A look of surprise flashed in Yue Buqun's eyes as he looked at Jiang Ning and asked, "You've gained unauthorized access?"

Entering the inner sanctum is the third stage of the Innate Skill. Reaching this stage means entering the ranks of first-class masters.

Jiang Ning nodded and said, "I made a breakthrough a month ago by chance."

In the past year, besides traveling around and experiencing many things, killing many people, his state of mind has been constantly changing. He has also been constantly cultivating. After leaving Xiangyang Prefecture in May, he had already completed the refinement of his internal energy in July and entered the second stage with some success, a month faster than he expected. After another half year, his strength continued to increase, reaching the top level of the second tier, but he was still unable to break through the bottleneck and enter the third stage.

Jiang Ning originally thought that if he really wanted to break through the bottleneck, it would take him about two or three years. However, a month ago, he suddenly entered a mysterious state while practicing his skills. His mind was clear, and at that time, he naturally entered the third stage of the Innate Skill and became a first-class master.

The feeling was very mysterious, exactly the same as the feeling Jiang Ning had when he was in Xiangyang Prefecture; it was the state of mind that Taoists talked about.

Jiang Ning had experienced so much along the way, and his thoughts and insights had been constantly accumulating and changing. All of this accumulation exploded on that night, helping Jiang Ning enter the next level in one fell swoop.

If Jiang Ning hadn't been traveling during this time, and had instead been diligently training on Mount Hua, it's unknown how long it would have taken him to break through to a higher realm.

Yue Buqun looked astonished: "Is cultivating the Innate Skill with a pure Yang body really that miraculous?"

It's no wonder Yue Buqun was surprised. He himself was also practicing the Innate Skill, but his progress was slow, barely better than a tortoise crawling. After nearly a year of cultivation, he had only just entered the third stage, almost on par with Jiang Ning.

But he is different from Jiang Ning. Although he is not a pure yang body, he has practiced martial arts for decades and has profound internal strength. It is with this support that he has made such progress.

How old is Jiangning now?

Not even seventeen.

He started practicing martial arts at the age of seven, and in less than ten years, he reached the level of a first-class master.

What does it mean to be a top-tier expert who is not even seventeen years old?

Looking at all the second-generation disciples of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, no one can reach that level. Jiang Ning is currently the number one second-generation disciple of the Five Mountains Sword Sect.

At this age, with this talent, and with this strength, it's nothing short of terrifying.

Jiang Ning is not yet eighteen years old, his peak period has not yet arrived, and he still has a lot of room for growth.

If given more time to grow, how far will he go?

Yue Buqun began to get excited, his hand holding Jiang Ning trembling slightly.

He looked at Jiang Ning and seemed to see a future where the Huashan Sect would rise to the top of the righteous path.

Chapter 61: I Can't Stand It Anymore

Yue Buqun really wanted to burst out laughing.

My disciple Jiang Ning has the potential to become the leader of the righteous path!

Seeing Yue Buqun's excited appearance, Jiang Ning understood his feelings.

The Huashan Sect now has few disciples and insufficient high-level combat power. There are only about forty disciples in the sect, and only Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze are the two masters in the sect.

In contrast, the Songshan Sect, also one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects, has Zuo Lengchan as an example. He has the Thirteen Protectors of Songshan under his command, including Ding Mian, Lu Bai, and Fei Bin, all of whom are top-notch masters.

These are just the experts openly known in the Songshan Sect. There are countless hidden experts among their subordinates and collateral branches, making them many times stronger than the few insignificant members of the Huashan Sect.

Now, Jiang Ning has not only found the lost sword technique for the Huashan Sect, but also found the Innate Skill for Yue Buqun. Moreover, he himself has entered the realm of a first-class master at a young age. The impact Jiang Ning has brought to Yue Buqun is even more exaggerated than injecting a stimulant into Yue Buqun's major artery.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Yue Buqun gripped Jiang Ning's wrist tightly, his expression excited, repeatedly uttering that word.

After Yue Buqun calmed down, Jiang Ning asked, "Master, why haven't I seen Master's wife?"

Yue Buqun released Jiang Ning's wrist and laughed, "Your master's wife is cooking in the kitchen with Qiaojun and the others."

Jiang Ning nodded, then asked with a hint of curiosity, "When I came back just now, I heard from the other senior brothers that our eldest senior brother was punished to face the wall at the Cliff of Repentance again. I wonder what our eldest senior brother did this time to displease Master?"

Yue Buqun, who had just been smiling, suddenly turned serious.

“Since you left, he has become lax in his training and started drinking heavily again. I have warned him many times, but it has been no use.”

Linghu Chong needs someone to keep him in check and prevent him from slacking off. It's hard for him to be self-disciplined on his own. Jiang Ning played that role before.

But Jiang Ning was gone for such a long time. Without the pressure from Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong was able to practice diligently at first, but as time went on, his true nature was exposed again. He often got drunk and did not practice as diligently as before, making very little progress.

Yue Buqun told him many times, but Linghu Chong only persisted for a few days and then went back to his old ways. No matter what he said, it had no effect.

Ning Zhongze was a doting mother and spoiled him. Yue Buqun was busy practicing his Innate Skill and didn't have much time to manage him. After Linghu Chong repeatedly ignored her, Yue Buqun finally got angry and punished Linghu Chong by sending him to the Cliff of Contemplation to face the wall.

When Linghu Chong was mentioned, Yue Buqun sighed repeatedly.

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "Senior Brother is free-spirited and exceptionally talented. Blindly practicing might not be suitable for him. Everyone has their own opportunities. Perhaps in the end, Senior Brother will lead our Huashan Sect to become famous throughout the martial arts world."

Yue Buqun shook his head and said, "I just hope he doesn't tarnish the reputation of my Huashan Sect and doesn't make any shady friends."

"Let's not talk about this anymore."

Yue Buqun changed the subject and asked, "Where have you been traveling this past year?"

Jiang Ning said, "The North."

north?

Yue Buqun raised an eyebrow; he remembered that the north had suffered a drought last year.

"How is the disaster situation in the north?"

Upon hearing Yue Buqun's words, Jiang Ning couldn't help but shake his head: "The affected areas are mainly located in Shanxi. Huaiqing Prefecture and Luoyang are in better condition and have been less affected."

After leaving Xiangyang, Jiang Ning traveled around incognito. His first stop in the north was Luoyang, which was affected by a drought, but the impact was not significant, and prices of goods and grain remained relatively stable. Later, when Jiang Ning arrived in Huaiqing Prefecture, the drought there was more severe, and prices were high. In Shaanxi, one tael of silver could buy two shi of rice, but there it cost one tael and six mace to buy two shi of rice.

That's not all. Prices were even worse in the places we went to after Jiangning. In Zhangde Prefecture, it cost two taels of silver to buy a shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice.

If prices in these places are still relatively high but within a controllable range, then prices in Shanxi have already collapsed and are out of control.

Grain prices in Taiyuan and Pingyang skyrocketed, reaching five taels of silver per shi (a unit of dry measure) of rice, and were rising at an alarming rate every day. By the time Jiangning arrived, the price had risen to eight taels and six mace per shi of rice, making it unaffordable for ordinary people.

"Is it that serious?"

Yue Buqun was speechless with astonishment.

Shaanxi is also located in the northern region and is connected to Shanxi. Yan'an Prefecture was also affected, with prices being relatively high, but not as outrageous as those in Taiyuan and Pingyang Prefecture.

Jiang Ning shook his head and said, "Shanxi is the hardest-hit area in this drought. In addition to the price increase due to the natural disaster, some rice and grain shops there are also hoarding food and driving up prices."

There are always people who profit from national crises in every era. They put their own interests first and don't care about national turmoil or the widespread displacement of people. They only care about whether food prices have risen and whether their own wallets have grown.

Jiang Ning traveled, observed, and killed his way through the area.

Jiang Ning's journey was filled with shocking sights and sounds. He had seen too many people selling their children just to survive, and he had also seen people who made a fortune from the disaster and were singing and dancing with joy.

Among the northern regions, Taiyuan and Pingyang Prefecture suffered the most severe disasters and also experienced the most severe price increases. Jiang Ning spent a considerable amount of time in these two places.

What impressed Jiang Ning the most was a street in Pingyang Prefecture, a street known as Yin-Yang Road.

That street was where the mansions of high-ranking officials and nobles were located. Some starving people, unable to bear the hunger any longer, would wander outside those mansions, hoping that the tightly closed red gates would one day throw out some leftover food that the nobles didn't want.

But Jiang Ning saw that the nobles behind those grand mansions would rather dump the leftover food in their backyards than give it away, especially in those mansions where prices were inflated, the aroma of meat wafting from the backyards assaulted Jiang Ning's nose.

Inside the mansion, people were talking loudly about how much the price should be raised next and how much money they could make after the price increase. A child nearby spat out a piece of meat he had just eaten, just to play with it. Outside the mansion, there were starving people everywhere.

Upon witnessing this scene, Jiang Ning took a deep breath and then unleashed a massacre.

Those officials and merchants who deliberately inflated prices and disregarded the lives of ordinary people were wiped out one by one by Jiang Ning, including their families. From seventy-year-old women to three-year-old children, they were all wiped out by Jiang Ning, leaving no one alive.

Yue Buqun hesitated several times before finally saying, "Ning'er, aren't you being too extreme? Those merchants who deliberately inflate prices can be killed, but why be so ruthless as to not even spare their wives and children? The harm should not extend to their wives and children."

Yue Buqun hoped that his disciples would be self-disciplined and uphold the righteous path, but not like Jiang Ning, who was too righteous, too extreme, righteous to the point of being evil, and righteous to the point of being frightening.

Jiang Ning looked at Yue Buqun and said, "Master, the premise of 'the calamity should not extend to wives and children' is that the benefits should not extend to wives and children. They inflated prices, hoarded rice and grain, and made a fortune. They profited from the blood and tears of the people, drank their blood, and ate their flesh. Those who were harmed by them starved to death, fled famine, or sold their children, did they have wives and children? Did they show any mercy?"

Jiang Ning understands that some people want to make money, as long as it's normal and reasonable. Even if they deliberately raise prices, as long as it's not too excessive, Jiang Ning won't intervene. In Luoyang, Huaiqing, and Zhangde Prefecture, although prices were high, the people could at least survive, so Jiang Ning didn't intervene. But the dire situation in Pingyang Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture made Jiang Ning unable to hold back any longer.

These guys are evil spirits in human skin. They have no bottom line, are inhumanly greedy, and are driving the people to their deaths. Jiangning wants to stop evil by killing.

Jiang Ning turned to look into the distance, his face calm: "I could tolerate them selling rice for one tael and six mace per shi, two taels of silver per shi, and even five taels of silver per shi, but I can't tolerate them selling it for eight taels and six mace per shi."

Jiang Ning spoke faster and faster, his face contorted with rage and fury. With each word he uttered, his ferocity and anger intensified, and his obsidian-like eyes grew icy cold.

"If they don't want the people to live, then they shouldn't live either."