When the City Defense Battalion arrived, the nearly four-meter-tall giant ape mutant plunged into the river and vanished without a trace.
Li Weiyi did not give chase, worried that something might happen to Zhao Zhizhuo at such a critical juncture. By the time he caught up with him, Zhao Zhizhuo was already on his way to the Cangling Tribe to seek help.
"The one who attacked was the Silverback Ape, Yao Zhengsheng!" Zhao Zhizhuo said furiously. "A Top Hundred Martial Artist from Lizhou's Seven Springs Hall, a figure from my generation. Yang Yun and Yang Qingxi must have promised him a Wuhai Pill—otherwise, he wouldn't dare try to commit murder in broad daylight on the open street! It's completely lawless. We're going to see the First Chief right away. They are slapping the First Chief in the face, and he won't just stand by!"
Li Weiyi held him back. "Do you have evidence? Who can prove that Yao Zhengsheng was hired by Yang Yun? Even if the First Chief trusts our judgment and believes Yang Yun is behind this, what can he do without proof? A senior striking down a junior?"
Zhao Zhizhuo quickly calmed down and said, "Now that Yang Yun has resorted to such vicious methods, there will definitely be more to follow. How about we go to the Young Clan Leader? He is the foremost figure among the younger generation in Jiuli City. If he goes to warn Yang Yun, it won't give rise to idle gossip."
Li Weiyi naturally possessed a streak of pride as well. "It's just Yang Yun, not Yang Qingxi. Besides, even if the Young Clan Leader can suppress Yang Yun out in the open, how could he stop Yang Yun's underhanded schemes in the dark? We can't just think of crying for help every time trouble arises. In this world, we ultimately have to rely on ourselves. Old Zhao, where is the heroic spirit you once had? Did these past dozen years wear it all away?"
Zhao Zhizhuo smiled bitterly again and again. "I've grown old; how could any of that edge remain? I was brought to my knees long ago. To speak of heroic spirit now would only invite ridicule. Tell me, what should we do next?"
"First, let's go see that senior. Reshaping your broken spring orifice is the top priority."
Li Weiyi strode forward. Then, something came to mind, and he added, "Yang Yun owes me a carriage. That's a good chunk of money—I'm putting it on his tab!"
Zhao Zhizhuo hurried after him, looking at Li Weiyi's back and inwardly marveling at the young man's calm composure and unyielding edge. Anyone else in his shoes would have either fled to the Cangling Tribe for shelter or slunk out of the city in defeat.
The two walked along the river.
As they walked, Li Weiyi asked, "Old Zhao, what did you mean earlier by the Seven Springs Hall and the Top Hundred Martial Artists?"
Zhao Zhizhuo answered, "The Seven Springs Hall is an arena established by the Prefectural Governor's Mansion, where Seven-Spring martial cultivators can go to make a name for themselves.
"You should know that after a dharma-martial cultivator opens the Seventh Spring, the Baihui at the crown of the head, they can choose to charge into the Wuhai Realm. Once one breaks into the Wuhai Realm, they become a prized commodity to any faction.
"Yet eight or nine out of ten fail at this hurdle. Throughout Lizhou, countless Seven-Spring martial cultivators are trapped beneath the Wuhai Realm until they die, and some can only serve as retainers to great clans."
Li Weiyi recalled the passage from the *Compendium of Nine Springs*: "With twenty years of arduous cultivation, one of superior aptitude may hope to open seven springs."
In other words, a martial cultivator of superior aptitude had hope of opening seven springs in their twenties.
Yet in the eyes of million-tier clans and sects, superior aptitude was merely the baseline for cultivating martial arts.
Not to mention the vastly larger number of those with mediocre aptitude. After slaving away for decades, plenty among them could also reach the Seven Springs.
Zhao Zhizhuo said, "The original intention behind the Prefectural Governor's Mansion establishing the Seven Springs Hall was to select the strongest fighters among the Seven-Spring martial cultivators, who would then be bestowed Wuhai Pills by Lingxiao Palace. This naturally drove Seven-Spring martial cultivators across the world wild with desire, as it offered them a chance to ascend to the Wuhai Realm.
"During its peak, anyone who reached the top one hundred of a province's Seven Springs Hall would receive a Wuhai Pill. The title of Top Hundred Martial Artist arose back then, representing both immense glory and the opportunity to ascend to the Wuhai Realm.
"Ten years ago... or more precisely, thirteen years ago, after Lingxiao Palace promulgated the Lesser Field Order, Wuhai Pills became far harder to obtain!
"Once warfare broke out and the world united in rebellion against Lingxiao Palace, the distribution of Wuhai Pills ceased entirely.
"Yet the Seven Springs Hall still served a purpose. There, martial cultivators unable to advance to the Wuhai Realm could find a small measure of fulfillment and accomplishment. Furthermore, major factions would select people from among the Top Hundred Martial Artists, bestow Wuhai Pills upon them, and recruit them into their service.
"The path upward still remains, but it has narrowed. Yet how precious is a Wuhai Pill? The major powers don't even have enough for themselves. To obtain one that trickles down, just imagine what price you'd have to pay."
Zhao Zhizhuo continued, "Although these veteran Seven-Spring cultivators cannot break through their realm, they can spend decades honing their techniques to an absolute pinnacle. None of those who become Top Hundred Martial Artists are simple figures. In the same realm, even young Pure Immortal Physiques might not be a match for them.
"I've heard that those ranked near the very top of the Top Hundred Martial Artists have even defeated cultivators in the Wuhai Realm.
"Of course, that certainly wasn't with a Seven-Spring cultivation—it was most likely Eight Springs. After all, every province has cultivators who opened eight springs yet failed to break through to the Wuhai Realm, where even taking a Wuhai Pill was of no use.
"That Silverback Ape, Yao Zhengsheng, possesses innate divine strength and a physique far more massive than other mutants. A decade ago, he had already cultivated the Mountain-Cleaving Staff Technique to the Dharma Convergence stage, yet he still ranks only near the bottom of the Top Hundred Martial Artists.
"He is already over fifty this year. If he doesn't risk everything now, he will never have a chance again."
Li Weiyi asked, "What exactly is this Dharma Convergence stage?"
"Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence!"
Zhao Zhizhuo explained, "It means honing a technique to the point where it can harmonize with the wondrous laws of heaven and earth. Naturally, that harmony is merely grazing the surface, but it is still extraordinary. It requires grinding day in and day out, dedicating decades of bitter cultivation to a single move, and very few succeed. Many Wuhai Realm dharma-martial cultivators never achieve it.
"Fortunately, you possess a dharma artifact and could use its might to break his Mountain-Cleaving Staff Technique. Otherwise, today would have been perilous!"
Every time Li Weiyi looked back on Yao Zhengsheng's inescapable staff strike, he felt a sense of marvel. It seemed he would need to learn more about Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence in the future and strive to master such a strike of his own.
When he executed Taiyi Cleaves the Sea in the face of danger earlier, he had caught a glimpse of that sensation.
Unfortunately, the feeling could not be sustained.
...
Li Weiyi led Zhao Zhizhuo around in circles for a long time, even changing their clothes. Only after ensuring they weren't being followed did he pick an ordinary inn at random.
A senior expert wouldn't necessarily stay in a luxurious establishment.
An ordinary inn was perhaps more fitting. Most importantly...
It was cheap.
A hundred zhang from the inn, Li Weiyi stopped and said, "Old Zhao, you've probably noticed that even though we're outsiders, our background isn't simple."
Zhao Zhizhuo had long suspected as much. How could someone with an ordinary background possess a dharma artifact? How could he have enabled two companions to undergo the transformation into Pure Immortal Physiques?
He even guessed that Li Weiyi and his companions might not be from the Lingxiao Realm of the Living at all, but perhaps belonged to some minority clan from an exotic secret realm.
Li Weiyi began to spin the story he had prepared in advance: "That senior is also from our homeland, but something went wrong with his body, and he is currently nursing his injuries in Jiuli City. I only recently reestablished contact with him. Reasonably speaking, I shouldn't be bringing you to him. If word gets out..."
Zhao Zhizhuo hurried to say, "I understand the rules! I swear by the God of Jiuli: if I reveal so much as half a word to anyone, may I lose everything I hold dear in this life, including my own."
"Then I will go inform him first. Wait for me here."
For safety's sake, Li Weiyi gritted his teeth and spent two hundred silver coins to pay for a month's extended stay.
After taking the stone coffin out of the evil camel bell and arranging the room properly, he went back to fetch Zhao Zhizhuo.
*Knock, knock!*
Li Weiyi knocked on the door and asked, "Senior, my friend has arrived. May we come in?"
Senior Coffin's voice sounded. "Come in!"
The two pushed the door open and stepped inside. Thick nether mist filled the room, pitch-black to the point where nothing could be seen.
Senior Coffin had activated the ghost banner, evidently unwilling to let Zhao Zhizhuo discover that he was merely a mangled corpse.
Zhao Zhizhuo was so nervous he was at a loss for what to do with his hands and feet. Now that this moment had finally arrived, he still felt completely uncertain. Reshaping a shattered spring was as difficult as ascending the heavens, after all. What if the senior's dharma artifact was insufficient in rank? What if his spring orifice had been damaged for too long? What if...
There were simply too many 'what ifs.'
"Junior Zhao, come over here," Senior Coffin said.
Li Weiyi's senses were sharp. Though he could not see, he instantly realized that Senior Coffin was currently sitting on the bed. His scalp tingled slightly as the image of a mutilated corpse sitting there crossed his mind.
Senior Coffin did not use the evil camel bell to help Zhao Zhizhuo refine the spring liquid and reshape his spring orifice, but instead utilized his own Nine Emperors Streamer.
This made Li Weiyi all the more certain of his suspicion.
...
Mere half an hour after the ambush on Shenlong Avenue, word reached the clan school established in Jiuli City by the Cangling Tribe.
The head of the clan school had already hurried back to Ancestral Mountain due to the incident with the Snow Wolf King's teeth.
Li Songlin was currently presiding over the school.
Inside the clan school, upon hearing the news, the Cangling Tribe's First Chief, Li Songlin, shed every trace of his usual laziness, standing sharp as an unsheathed sword. "Utterly brazen! How are the victims?"
The messenger recounted the entire ambush in detail.
"The Silverback Ape, Yao Zhengsheng, isn't completely incompetent. Withstanding his assassination attempt is impressive, even with the help of a dharma artifact," Li Songlin remarked.
"Witnesses claimed," the messenger said, "that the sword strike which severed the staff already bore traces of Heavenly Dao Dharma Convergence."
"That is indeed somewhat surprising. How old is he even?"
Li Songlin grew interested, a thought taking root in his mind. Because he cultivated swordsmanship himself, he asked, "Did the two of them go to the Cangling clan estate?"
The messenger shook his head. "They didn't go to the Young Clan Leader, nor did they head to the Jiuli Dao Academy to seek the Fourth Young Miss. It seems they intend to shoulder it on their own."
"They certainly have backbone."
Li Songlin chuckled, but his expression quickly turned cold again. "Matters of the younger generation are inconvenient for me to intervene in directly. Go tell Cang Li that this matter is his responsibility. If he can't even suppress a single Yang Qingxi, his title as the Jiuli Clan's foremost Inheritor won't ring true, and no one will take him seriously.
"In addition, go send word to the Yang clan: if anything happens to anyone in that courtyard within one month, I will purge every gang belonging to the Yang clan in Jiuli City. When that time comes, don't blame me for showing no mercy."
"And after one month?" the messenger asked.
Li Songlin laughed. "I told that kid to enter the Jiuli Dao Academy. Once he's inside, he'll be far safer. Yet he's timid and hesitant, worrying about this and fearing that... Consider this a way to force his hand. One month will be plenty of time for him to think it through!"
Chapter 55